                         Getting out of trouble
                        ========================
                       From the Nethack Grimoires

This file contains information which answers common questions (in this
case, about getting out of trouble). I've tried to organize this in a
sort of "question-oriented" format. I'm interested in any additions or
clarifications.

Originally by Boudewijn Wayers, added to by Jonathan Ellis for NetHack 3.2.3.

I'm being punished for my misbehavior. What do I do about the ball and chain?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Read a scroll of remove curse.
- Cast a spell of remove curse.
- Let a nymph steal the ball by dropping everything except the ball.
- Polymorph into a nymph and remove it yourself (#monster).
- Let a rock mole, rust monster, etc. eat the ball or the chain.
- Eat the ball or chain yourself while polymorphed into a rock mole, rust
  monster, etc.
- Step on a magic trap (there are possible negative results).
- Pray (sometimes).
- Zap a wand of opening or a spell of knock at the chain.
- Bury the ball in a pit beneath a boulder.
- Polymorph into a non-solid or amorphous monster (e.g. yellow light, pudding)
- (As a side note, the heavy ball is an effective weapon when wielded
  or thrown, but don't throw a ball that's still chained to you).

How do I stop hallucinating?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Apply an uncursed or blessed unicorn horn.
- Quaff a potion of extra healing.
- Quaff a potion of sickness (there are negative side effects).
- Wait until it wears off.
- Sit on a throne (small chance)
- Pray (only if this is your only problem, and even then there is only
  a small chance).
- Quaff from a sink (infintesimally small chance)
- Also, wielding the artifact Grayswandir prevents hallucination.

How can I restore my sight when blind?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: this refers to intrinsic blindness. If you're wearing a blindfold
or towel, obviously, remove it. If it's cursed, see below on removing
curses.

- Apply an uncursed or blessed unicorn horn
- Quaff a noncursed potion of healing or extra healing
- Eat a carrot
- Quaff a potion of see invisible
- Cast a spell of cure blindness
- Quaff from a fountain (small chance)
- Sit in a throne (small chance)
- Wait until it wears off (it will, eventually - blindness is not permanent)
- Pray (sometimes)
- Quaff from a sink (infintesimally small chance)

How can I get rid of a cursed item?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Read a scroll of remove curse (preferably blessed, it will affect 
  all items in your inventory)
- Cast a spell of remove curse
- Dip the offending item in holy water
- Dip the offending item in a fountain (sometimes)
- If it's armor or a weapon, enchant it to +0 or better
- If it's armor or a weapon, polymorph into something that can't wear
  armor or carry weapons
- If it's armor, let a succubus undress you (possible negative effects)
- If it's armor, read a scroll of destroy armor (take off everything
  that's not cursed first, though)
- Sometimes, master liches and golden nagas will disintegrate armor, but
  this is probably a bad idea
- If it's a chargeable ring, overcharge it and cause it to explode
- Drop everything that isn't cursed and let a nymph steal the cursed items
- Drop everything that isn't cursed and zap yourself with a wand or spell
   of cancellation.
- Pray (sometimes)
- Step on a magic trap (somtimes)
- Special to cursed boots of levitation: Float over a sink
- Special to cursed loadstones: Drop everything, then dig in a shop
- Special to cursed rings: A blast of lightning will sometimes cause rings to
  explode, but this is generally a bad idea

How can I stop myself turning into a wererat/werejackal/werewolf?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Quaff a potion of holy water
- Eat a sprig of wolfsbane
- Pray (sometimes)

Ulch! That meat was tainted! I feel deathly sick!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Note that the same also applies to the sickness attacks of Juiblex,
Demogorgon (if you meet him) and Pestilence.)

- Apply an uncursed or blessed unicorn horn
- Polymorph into a unicorn and use your #monster ability
- Quaff a potion of extra healing
- Zap a spell of cure sickness
- Pray (if your god is happy with you)
- Polymorph into a fungus.
- Sit on a throne (sometimes)
- Don't go eating old corpses or zombie corpses again: make sure that
  any corpses you eat are fresh and do not come from undead monsters.

Help! I'm turning to stone!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- If you have just been hit by a cockatrice, you have one or two turns
  (if you are not burdened - you may end up missing that turn if you are)
  to do something about it. These things may include:
  - praying, if your god is happy with you
  - eating an acidic corpse
  - eating a lizard corpse (they never rot and will thus not give you food 
    poisoning, so can be carried around forever.)
  - polymorphing into something that cannot be petrified (a cockatrice, xorn, 
    stone golem, earth elemental or any of those creatures you could eat to 
    stave off the effects of petrification.
  - turning into any other type of golem, and then you will end up as a stone
    golem
- If you have been turned to stone instantly (rather than gradually over a 
  couple of turns), you could try the following in your next game:
  - not looking at Medusa when unblind: use a blindfold or make her invisible 
    when you haven't got see invisible.
  - not eating a cockatrice corpse or egg
  - avoiding any monsters wielding cockatrice corpses until the corpse rots
  - not wielding a cockatrice corpse in your bare hands
  - not being seduced by a succubus while wielding a cockatrice corpse, as 
    she may remove your gloves
  - not climbing or descending stairs while wielding a cockatrice corpse
  - not falling into a pit or trapdoor when wielding a cockatrice corpse
  - wearing gloves if you are blind and looking through objects on the floor,
    in case you touch a cockatrice or Medusa corpse with your bare hands
  - not being burdened when you fight a cockatrice, then you can be sure you 
    won't miss the turn you could be spending eating a lizard corpse
  - if all else fails, genociding cockatrices and getting rid of all the 
    problems involving cockatrices and their corpses, leaving Medusa as the 
    only petrifying monster in the game...

How do I cure and/or avoid leg wounds?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 - Wait. They will heal eventually.
 - If you can't afford to wait, eat a lump of royal jelly.
 - Kill any xan you see before it has a chance to hurt you.
 - And don't tread on landmines.

Help! I keep teleporting randomly!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 - Allow the teleport intrinsic to be stolen by a gremlin (can have nasty 
   side effects like losing poison resistance instead)
 - If your problem is a cursed ring of teleportation, uncurse and remove it.
 - Get up to character level 12, or 8 for wizards, then you will get some 
   control over when to teleport with Ctrl-T.
 - Get the teleport-control intrinsic - wear or eat a ring of teleport 
   control, eat tengus or the Wizard of Yendor, or be a wizard of 17th
   level or greater, or carry the Master Key of Thievery.
 - Alternatively, live with it. The worst problem is teleporting in the 
   middle of a meal when starving... so pick up your corpses if there's 
   nothing else in the room and you can carry them.

How do I stop trolls regenerating?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 - The AD&D method of setting fire to them doesn't work. This isn't AD&D.
 - So tin them.
 - Or genocide them.
 - Or polymorph the corpse into something else.
 - Or just beat the crap out of them again and again, say thanks for the 
   experience points and dinners, and wait till they eventually fail to
   regenerate. (NB: If you eat the corpse before it wakes up, it won't wake 
   up again.)
 - Note: This WILL NOT WORK on the endgame's Riders of the Apocalypse, who
   also regenerate and their corpses cannot be tinned or polymorphed. 

How do I stop my equipment being damaged?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 - If a monster is damaging it, kill it from a distance.
 - If it's rusting, corrosion, burning or rotting of armor or weapons that 
you're worried about, read a non-cursed scroll of enchant armor/weapon
while confused. It will make your weapon or armor damage-proof and remove
any damage that has occurred. You can also read a cursed scroll of 
destroy armor when confused, but this will not repair damage.
 - To stop your potions freezing or boiling, your spellbooks and scrolls 
from burning, and your rings and wands from being electrified, put them in 
a bag or sack - any such item will do. (NB: *NEVER* put a wand of 
cancellation into a bag of holding.)
 - To stop water damage (say, when you fall into a pool), put your potions, 
scrolls and spellbooks into an oilskin sack. An ordinary sack does not 
protect against this unless greased.

Help! There's no stairs down from here!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 - You have reached the bottom level of some part of the dungeon: most 
likely the Gnomish Mines. From this level there is nothing to do but turn 
round and go up again, until you find a level with *two* down staircases:
go down the other one.
 - If it is the bottom level of your Quest, kill your Quest Nemesis and 
go back up to your Home level. (Don't forget the loot.)
 - If it is the level with the Castle (it has a moat around it), use one of
the trapdoors just inside the back entrance to reach Gehennom.
 - If it is one of the Gehennom mazes, and you have checked *every* square and
there is no staircase, find the one that vibrates under your feet. Then 
apply the traditional exorcism of book, bell and candle to find the way into
Moloch's Sanctum.
 - Otherwise, keep looking. There will be another exit somewhere behind a 
secret door, to a room you haven't found yet, which contains the stairs down.
