                                Wishing
                                ~~~~~~~
Largely written by Jonathan Ellis, but also quoted from the "wishing" spoiler
on Boudewijn Wayers's site for NH 3.1.3. (Priorities of some wished-for items
have changed.) Suitable for NetHack 3.2.3.


How do wishes work?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have to wish for an object. Named artifacts can be wished for, but may not
necessarily appear in your game - if (1) the artifact has already been created 
elsewhere, (2) you are not scrupulously pedantic about getting the exact correct
spelling of the name, or (3) sometimes you simply won't get them anyway. If 
wishing for an artifact, it can be wished for by name alone (simply wish, for 
example, for "Magicbane") or by its item type as well (an athame named 
Magicbane). You may specify that the item is blessed or rustproof, and the 
number of pluses it should have, but are highly unlikely to get everything you
wish for, especially if you are greedy. It is generally accepted that you are
unlikely to get anything better than blessed rustproof +2 items, and then if you
are lucky. You are also unlikely to get more than 2 items if you are wishing for 
items that can be stacked (for instance, 2 scrolls of charging are likely, but 
not 3.)

You may *NOT* wish for the Amulet of Yendor, your own class's Quest Artifact, or 
any of the invocation artifacts (Book of the Dead, Bell of Opening, Candelabrum
of Invocation.) You may wish for the Quest Artifact of another class, although 
you will probably not be able to pick it up if you are of the wrong alignment.

What are good things to wish for?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is generally agreed that the following items are considered very good to 
wish for:

High Priority
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"blessed +2 gray dragon scale mail"  => protects against wand/touch of death
"blessed +2 black dragon scale mail" => if you have magic resistance: resist
                                              disintegration is hard to find
"blessed fireproof +2 pair of speed boots"
"blessed fireproof +2 gauntlets of power/dexterity"
"blessed +2 shield of reflection"            => protects against bolt spells
"blessed amulet of life saving"
"blessed wand of polymorph"                  => if you believe in polypiling
"blessed bag of holding"
"blessed magic marker"      => for writing blessed scrolls of charging, etc.

Medium Priority
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"blessed +2 Grayswandir"                         => good against major demons
                   (warning: it is a Lawful weapon, other alignments beware.)
"blessed rustproof +0 Magicbane"  => good for engraving, protects from curses
                   (Wizards should not waste a wish here - sacrifice for it.)
"blessed rustproof +2 Mjollnir" => Can be great even if you're not a Valkyrie
                (Valkyries get it from sacrificing, no point wasting a wish.)
"blessed rustproof +2 Vorpal Blade"                  => good for a quick kill
                                   (if non-neutral: Neutral characters get it 
                                    from crowning, but may not want to wait.)
"blessed rustproof +2 Stormbringer"                       => tough to control
                                   (if non-chaotic: Chaotic characters get it
                                    from crowning, but may not want to wait.)
"blessed rustproof +2 Excalibur"              => protects against level drain
            (if non-Lawful: Lawful characters can either #dip or be crowned.)
"blessed Platinum Yendorian Express Card"                       => if Neutral
                 (note that only Tourists can get blessed charging: a blessed 
                     PYEC gives only uncursed charging for all other classes.
            However, you can still recharge your wand of death infinitely...)
"2 blessed scrolls of charging"                  => if you can't write it yet
"2 blessed scrolls of genocide"                                      => ditto
"blessed amulet of magical breathing"                   => so you won't drown
"blessed fireproof +2 water walking boots"
"blessed rustproof +2 helm of brilliance"        => or cornuthaum for wizards
"blessed rustproof +2 helm of telepathy"
"7 uncursed wax candles"  => candles are so mundane that you might get all 7:
                             useful if there are not enough in the Mine Town.

Low Priority
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"blessed fireproof +2 cloak of displacement"             => harder to hit you
"blessed fireproof +2 oilskin cloak"        => protects from eels and krakens
                   (bump this up the priority list if you object to genocide)
"blessed fireproof +2 T-shirt"     => better AC, and worn *inside* the armour
"blessed tinning kit"                                   => makes blessed tins
"2 blessed potions of gain ability"
"blessed ring of levitation"   => if you haven't found one before the endgame
"blessed ring of teleport control"     => if you got teleport without control
"blessed ring of polymorph control"   => if you want to polymorph yourself in 
                                         order to eat a few rings or amulets,
                                        such as this ring itself or an amulet 
                                                        of magical breathing.
"2 cursed scrolls of genocide"      => for nurse dancing: caution is advised
"blessed spellbook of identify"
"blessed spellbook of magic mapping"
 - many other spell books and weapons, but it's easier to get them by sacrificing, or at least they are not as necessary so it's not worth wasting
a wish on them.