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Sinks are a dungeon feature represented by a #. Sinks will cause anything in the air above them to fall to the floor, be it thrown weapons, or your levitating character. Falling into a sink while levitating will damage your hit points, and might even cause death. Sitting on a sink will produce the message "Your rump gets wet." Kicking a sink or quaffing from it has consequences, most of them negative, with a few beneficial ones. Dropping rings into a sink will cause them to be lost down the drain, with a message that enables you to identify the ring.

If there is a sink on the current dungeon level, you will occasionally get the message "You hear a gurgling noise."

Kicking a sink[]

Kicking a sink has several possible effects.

80 percent of the time, "Klunk! The pipes vibrate noisily." This exercises dexterity and wakes nearby monsters.

Once per sink, "A black ooze gushes up from the drain!" A black pudding is summoned, and dexterity is exercised.

Once per sink, "The dishwasher returns!" The dishwasher is a foocubus of opposite sex to the hero, or of random sex if the hero is a neuter creature. Dexterity is exercised.

Sometimes, "Flupp! Muddy waste pops up from the drain." Once per sink, when this happens, "You see a ring shining in its midst" and dexterity and wisdom are exercised.

If none of these things happens, "Ouch! That hurts!" You lose up to 5 hit points, abuse dexterity and strength, and possibly end up with a wounded leg.

Quaffing from a sink[]

You can drink from a sink by using the quaff command while standing over it. Upon doing so you get a message hinting at the resulting consequences. The specific message you receive depends on your status and the condition of dungeon monsters.

Chance What Came Out Effect Condition NetHack Message
11/20 water     You take a sip of (very) <hot, warm, cold> water.
You hear clanking from the pipes...
You hear snatches of song from among the sewers...
you are hallucinating From the murky drain, a hand reaches up... --oops--
1/20 scalding water lose 1d6 hit points   You take a sip of scalding hot water.
  you are fire resistant You take a sip of scalding hot water. It seems quite tasty.
1/20 a rat A sewer rat is created you can see Eek! There's a sewer rat in the sink!
you are blind Eek! There's something squirmy in the sink!
nothing   Sewer rats are genocided or extinct The sink seems quite dirty.
1/20 random potion same effect as drinking that potion you can see Some <potion appearance> liquid flows from the faucet.
you are blind Some odd liquid flows from the faucet.
1/20 random ring A random ring is created and your wisdom exercised   You find a ring in the sink!
dirty water   you already got a ring from this sink Some dirty water backs up in the drain.
1/20 nothing The sink becomes a fountain.   The pipes break! Water spurts out!
1/20 a water elemental A water elemental is created.   The water moves as though of its own will!
nothing   water elementals are extinct The water moves as though of its own will! But it quiets down.
1/20 hard water You gain one experience point.   Yuk, this water tastes awful.
1/20 sewer water Your hunger increases   Gagg... this tastes like sewage! You vomit.
1/20 toxic waste You polymorph   This water contains toxic wastes! You undergo a freakish metamorphosis!
  you have unchanging This water contains toxic wastes!

Identifying rings with a sink[]

All rings may be identified by dropping them into sinks. The sink will show an effect depending on the type of ring. Rings other than searching and slow digestion will be lost with 95% probability; therefore it is a good idea to do this test only if you have another ring of the same type as the one being tested, or if you know that the ring is cursed, or you don't want it for some other reason.

After receiving the message you will be given the opportunity to name the kind of ring you dropped, but only if you have not already named it. A ring of hunger will also not give you the opportunity, if it fails to destroy an item. Of course, if you have a duplicate of the ring you dropped, you can always name that instead.

NetHack Message Type of Ring Notes
You thought your [ring] got lost in the sink, but there it is! Searching Ring is not lost
The ring is regurgitated! Slow digestion Ring is not lost
The sink quivers upward for a moment. Levitation  
You smell rotten fruit. Poison resistance  
Several flies buzz angrily around the sink. Aggravate monster  
Static electricity surrounds the sink. Shock resistance  
You hear loud noises coming from the drain. Conflict  
The water flow seems fixed. Sustain ability  
The water flow seems stronger now. Gain strength (at least +0)  
The water flow seems weaker now. Gain strength (-1 or worse)  
The water flow seems greater now. Gain constitution (at least +0)  
The water flow seems lesser now. Gain constitution (-1 or worse)  
The water flow hits the drain. Increase accuracy (at least +0)  
The water flow misses the drain. Increase accuracy (-1 or worse)  
The water's force seems greater now. Increase damage (at least +0)  
The water's force seems smaller now. Increase damage (-1 or worse)  
a) Suddenly, [object on the floor] vanish[es] from the sink!
b) You hear the ring bouncing down the drainpipe.
Hunger a) If there is an object on the sink; certain objects may resist
b) If no object on sink
Several flies buzz around the sink. Meat ring Not the same as aggravate monster

The effects in the following table only occur if the hero can see:

NetHack Message Type of Ring Notes
The faucets flash brightly for a moment. Adornment Does not distinguish negative enchantment
The sink looks as good as new. Regeneration  
You don't see anything happen to the sink. Invisibility  
You see the ring slide right down the drain! Free action  
You see some air in the sink. See invisible  
The sink seems to blend into the floor for a moment. Stealth  
The hot water faucet flashes brightly for a moment. Fire resistance  
The cold water faucet flashes brightly for a moment. Cold resistance  
The sink looks nothing like a fountain. Protection from shape changers  
The sink glows silver for a moment. Protection (at least +0)  
The sink glows black for a moment. Protection (-1 or worse)  
The sink glows white for a moment. Warning  
The sink momentarily vanishes. Teleportation  
The sink looks like it is being beamed aboard somewhere. Teleport control  
The sink momentarily looks like a fountain. Polymorph  
The sink momentarily looks like a regularly erupting geyser. Polymorph control  


This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:

Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

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