| Item Classes | ||
| " Amulets | [ Armor | |
| % Comestibles | $ Coins | |
| * Gems | ! Potions | |
| = Rings | ? Scrolls | |
| + Spellbooks | ` Statues and Boulders | |
| ( Tools | / Wands | |
| ) Weapons | ||
A ring, represented by =, like most other items with magical powers, can be either helpful or hazardous for the wearer. Until identified, they have a randomized appearance. For each ring you wear (other than a chargeable ring at +0), you will lose one point of nutrition every twenty turns.
To wear accessories such as rings or amulets, use [P] to put on the item. All rings have a weight of 3, except the meat ring, which has a weight of 1.
Table of rings[]
Instead of giving an attribute, chargeable rings modify a stat by n, where n is the ring's charge, which can be positive or negative.
Generation[]
Rings comprise 3% of all randomly-generated items in the main dungeon, 5% in containers, 5% on the Rogue level, and 8% in Gehennom. All types of rings are equally likely to be generated.
Of the rings marked as 90% cursed above, the remaining 10% are uncursed. The BUC status of chargeable rings is determined by the following table:
| +ve | +0 | -ve | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blessed | 181/1200 | 1/240 | 7/3000 | 59/375 ~= 16% |
| uncursed | 1/3 | 1/60 | 19/300 | 31/75 ~= 41% |
| cursed | 19/1200 | 1/240 | 307/750 | 161/375 ~= 43% |
All other rings are generated 10% cursed, 90% uncursed, and 0% blessed. Rings of invisibility carried by Nazgul are always cursed.
The initial enchantment of a chargeable ring has an exponentially-weighted probability, but tends to be in the range of -3 to +3. When a ring with a positive enchantment is charged, it has an (enchantment before) in 7 chance of exploding. Rings with enchantments of <= -5 or >= +7 will always explode when charged. Otherwise, blessed charging adds 1 to 3 points of enchantment, cursed charging removes 1 to 2 points, and uncursed charging always adds 1. Therefore, the highest possible enchantment is +9 by charging (and +10 by random generation). You may repeatedly enchant and disenchant a ring.
Assuming the exact same level of enchantment per scroll, the odds of working from +0 to the highest enchantment possible:
| +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adds +1 | 100% | 85.7% | 61.2% | 34.99% | 14.99% | 4.28% | 0.61% | Zero | Zero |
| Adds +2 | N/A | 100% | N/A | 71.4% | N/A | 30.6% | N/A | 4.4% | Zero |
| Adds +3 | N/A | N/A | 100% | N/A | N/A | 57.1% | N/A | N/A | 8.2% |
So it is generally a bad idea to attempt more than three charges, as in the worst case (uncursed scrolls), to be even 50% certain to get the +7 ring, a player would have to spend ~113 rings and several hundred charging scrolls—more of both than normally even exist in the game.
Identifying rings using sinks[]
When a ring is dropped on top of a sink, you will get a message that can help you identify the ring. Note that most messages require that you are not blind, and the ring of hunger requires that there is a (preferably worthless) object already on the sink; if these are not the case, you will just get "You hear the ring bouncing down the drain pipe." Except for the rings of searching and slow digestion, there is a 95% chance that the ring will fall down the drain and you will lose it forever.
| Message | Ring | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Several flies buzz around the sink." | meat ring | Works when blind | |
| "Several flies buzz angrily around the sink." | aggravate monster | Works when blind | |
| "Static electricity surrounds the sink." | shock resistance | Works when blind. | |
| "Suddenly, <item> vanishes from the sink!" | hunger | An object must be on the sink. If you are unblind and it fails a resistance roll, it disappears. | |
| "The cold water faucet flashes brightly for a moment." | cold resistance | ||
| "The faucets flash brightly for a moment." | adornment | ||
| "The hot water faucet flashes brightly for a moment." | fire resistance | ||
| "The ring is regurgitated!" | slow digestion | You never lose the ring. Works when blind. | |
| "The sink glows silver/black for a moment." | protection | Silver/black determined by non-negative/negative enchantment | |
| "The sink glows white for a moment." | warning | ||
| "The sink looks as good as new." | regeneration | ||
| "The sink looks like it is being beamed aboard somewhere." | teleport control | ||
| "The sink looks nothing like a fountain." | protection from shape changers | ||
| "The sink momentarily looks like a fountain." | polymorph | ||
| "The sink momentarily looks like a regularly erupting geyser." | polymorph control | ||
| "The sink momentarily vanishes." | teleportation | ||
| "The sink quivers upward for a moment." | levitation | Works when blind. | |
| "The sink seems to blend into the floor for a moment." | stealth | ||
| "The water flow hits/misses the drain." | increase accuracy | Hits/misses determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind. | |
| "The water flow seems fixed." | sustain ability | Works when blind | |
| "The water flow seems greater/lesser now." | gain constitution | Greater/lesser determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind. | |
| "The water flow seems stronger/weaker now." | gain strength | Stronger/weaker determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind. | |
| "The water's force seems greater/smaller now." | increase damage | Greater/smaller determined by non-negative/negative enchantment. Works when blind. | |
| "You don't see anything happen to the sink." | invisibility | ||
| "You hear loud noises coming from the drain." | conflict | Works when blind. | |
| "You see some air in the sink." | see invisible | ||
| "You see the ring slide right down the drain!" | free action | ||
| "You smell rotten <fruit>." | poison resistance | Works when blind. | |
| "You thought your ring got lost in the sink, but there it is!" | searching | You never lose the ring. Works when blind. |
Strategy[]
Dropping a noncursed ring down a sink is not a good use of it, but if you have two, you may as well use up one to identify the other. Rings are only very occasionally destroyed by an electrical attack, so spares are not essential. Also if you are on the brink of starvation and have several unidentified rings, you may consider giving up all of them to a sink, as ring of slow digestion is not lost when dropped down the drain.
Eating rings is a way to permanently obtain the effects granted by wearing some rings.
See also[]
Encyclopedia entry[]
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
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