drgn-343.txt  Last edited 2005-06-03 for NetHack 3.4.3
The dragon resistances in NetHack 3.4
Compiled by Dylan O'Donnell <[email protected]>.

There are nine basic colours of dragon in NetHack 3.4. These breathe
eight different types of dragonbreath; a resistance can be acquired
(either intrinsic or extrinsic) to each of these types, and these are
therefore sometimes referred to as the "dragon resistances". This
spoiler discusses how to acquire these resistances and the protection
they give. Note that, as a general rule, any intrinsics acquired solely
by experience level can be lost by being drained below that level.


acid resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     yellow dragon scales or scale mail, or an alchemy smock.
   Being polymorphed into:
     spotted or ochre jelly, glass piercer, (baby) yellow dragon, green
     mold, black naga (hatchling), gold or glass golem, or any of bmyP.
 protects against
   Acid attacks of ochre jellies, *yellow dragons, black nagas, Juiblex,
   and the *Chromatic Dragon.
  *Passive acid attacks of acid blobs, spotted and ochre jellies, and green
   molds.
   Damage from eating acidic corpses (acid blob, gelatinous cube,
   spotted or ochre jelly, (baby) yellow dragon, green mold, black naga
   (hatchling), and all P).
   Damage from thrown or quaffed potions of acid.
  * = may still corrode armour.

cold resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     white dragon scales or scale mail, or a ring of cold resistance.
   Eating:
     gelatinous cube, winter wolf (cub), blue jelly, white dragon, brown
     mold, frost giant, gray ooze, brown or black pudding, ice troll, yeti,
     flesh golem, or the Chromatic Dragon; ring of cold resistance.
       "You feel full of hot air."
   Polymorphing into:
     gelatinous cube, winter wolf (cub), freezing sphere, blue jelly, ice
     vortex, Aleax, (baby) white dragon, silver dragon, earth elemental,
     brown mold, frost giant, ice troll, xorn, yeti, flesh or iron golem,
     ice devil, or any of yLMPWZ.
   Reaching:
     XL 1 as Valkyrie; XL 13 as Monk.
       "You feel warm!"
       "You feel cooler!" (level drain loss)
   Wielding:
     Frost Brand.
   Granted when crowned.
   May be lost by night-time gremlin attack.
     "You feel cooler."
 protects against
  *Cold attacks of winter wolf (cub)s, freezing spheres, ice vortices,
   silver and white dragons, all liches, ice trolls, ice devils, Asmodeus,
   and the Chromatic Dragon.
   Passive cold attacks of blue jellies and brown molds.
  *Damage from Frost Brand's cold attack.
  *Damage from zapped or broken wands of cold and the cone of cold spell.
   Reduces slipping on ice.
  * = may still freeze potions.

disintegration resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     black dragon scales or scale mail.
   Eating:
     black dragon or the Chromatic Dragon.
       "You feel very firm."
       "You feel totally together, man." (hallucinating)
   Polymorphing into:
     energy vortex, black or yellow light, (baby) black dragon.
 protects against
   Disintegration attacks of black dragons and the Chromatic Dragon.
  *Wide-angle disintegration beams of angry gods.
  * = May still disintegrate armour.

fire resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     red dragon scales or scale mail, or a ring of fire resistance.
   Eating:
     fire ant, gelatinous cube, pyrolisk, hell hound (pup), red dragon,
     red mold, fire giant, red naga (hatchling), gray ooze, flesh golem,
     the Wizard of Yendor, salamander, the Chromatic Dragon, Ixoth, or
     Lord Surtur; ring of fire resistance.
       "You feel a momentary chill."
       "You be chillin'." (hallucinating)
   Polymorphing into:
     fire ant, gelatinous cube, pyrolisk, hell hound (pup), flaming
     sphere, steam or fire vortex, black or yellow light, (baby) red
     dragon, fire elemental, red mold, fire giant, master lich, arch-lich,
     red naga (hatchling), gray ooze, xorn, flesh or iron golem, horned
     devil, succubus, incubus, barbed devil, marilith, vrock, hezrou,
     bone devil, ice devil, nalfeshnee, pit fiend, balrog, or salamander.
   Reaching:
     XL 11 as Monk; XL 20 as Priest.
       "You feel cool!"
       "You feel warmer!" (level drain loss)
   Wielding:
     Fire Brand.
   Carrying:
     The Mitre of Holiness.
   Granted when crowned.
   May be lost by night-time gremlin attack.
     "You feel warmer."
 protects against
  *Fire attacks of fire ants, pyrolisks, hell hound (pup)s, flaming
   spheres, steam and fire vortices, red dragons, fire elementals, red
   nagas, salamanders, the Chromatic Dragon, and Ixoth.
   Passive fire attacks of fire elementals and red molds,
  *Damage from Fire Brand's fire attack.
  *Damage from scrolls and zapped or broken wands of fire, and fireball
   spell.
   Damage from scalding hot water from a sink and lit potions of oil.
  *Damage from the pillar of fire spell cast by monster.
  *Reduces damage from fire traps and chest fire traps, and lava.
  * = may still boil potions and burn armour, scrolls and spellbooks.

magic resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     gray dragon scales or scale mail, or a cloak of magic resistance.
   Polymorphing into:
     (baby) gray dragon.
   Wielding:
     Magicbane.
   Carrying:
     Orb of Detection, Sceptre of Might, Magic Mirror of Merlin, Eyes of
     the Overworld, Platinum Yendorian Express Card, or Eye of the
     Aethiopica.
 protects against
   Magic missile attacks of Angels, gray dragons, Yeenoghu, and the
   Chromatic Dragon.
   Passive magic missile attack of the Oracle.
   Prevents instadeath and reduces chance of damage from death attack
   of Death.
   Zapped wands of death.
   Damage from zapped or broken wands of striking, magic missiles, and
   broken wands of cancellation, create monster, digging, light
   make invisible, polymorph, sleep, slow monster, speed monster,
   teleportation, and undead turning; and spells of force bolt, magic
   missile, and finger of death.
   Scaring attacks of Magicbane; reduces chance of special effects.
   "Touch of death", destroy armour, drain strength, and confusion spells
   cast by monsters; paralysis and stunning spells' effect reduced to one
   turn; psi bolt's and open wounds' damage halved.
   Thrown potions of polymorph.
   Damage from exploding spellbooks.
   Polymorph, antimagic, teleport, and level teleport traps.
   Reduces damage from cross-aligned artifact blast.
   Reduces number of objects cursed from a "malignant aura"-type curse.

poison resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     green dragon scales or scale mail, an alchemy smock, a ring of
     poison resistance, or an amulet versus poison.
   Eating:
     killer or queen bee, soldier ant, giant beetle, quivering blob,
     gremlin, homunculus, quasit, tengu, blue jelly, white or gray or
     black unicorn, xan, green dragon, brown or yellow or red mold,
     shrieker, violet fungus, gray ooze, black or brown pudding, snake,
     water moccasin, pit viper, cobra, flesh golem, nurse, Medusa, the
     Wizard of Yendor, jellyfish, the Chromatic Dragon, Master Kaen, or
     any of csN; amulet versus poison; ring of poison resistance.
       "You feel healthy."
       "You feel especially healthy." (already poison resistant through XL)
   Polymorphing into:
     killer or queen bee, soldier ant, giant beetle, werejackal, werewolf,
     wererat, gremlin, manes, homunculus, lemure, quasit, tengu, blue
     jelly, rabid rat, white or gray or black unicorn, couatl, Aleax,
     vampire bat, (baby) green dragon, air or earth or fire or water
     elemental, brown or yellow or red mold, shrieker, violet fungus,
     quantum mechanic, snake, water moccasin, pit viper, cobra, horned
     devil, succubus, incubus, barbed devil, marilith, vrock, hezrou,
     bone devil, ice devil, nalfeshnee, pit fiend, balrog, jellyfish, or
     any of bcksvxyLMNPVWZ'.
   Reaching:
     XL 1 as Barbarian, Healer or an orc; XL 3 as Monk; XL 20 as Tourist.
       "You feel healthy!" (Monk)
       "You feel hardy!" (Tourist)
   Granted when crowned.
   May be lost by night-time gremlin attack.
     "You feel a little sick!"
 protects against
   Poison attacks of killer and queen bees, soldier ants, quasits, rabid
   rats, centipedes, giant spiders, scorpions, couatls, vampire bats,
   green dragons, guardian nagas, snakes, water moccasins, pit vipers,
   cobras, iron golems, Medusa, erinyes, bone devils, Orcus, Geryon,
   Baalzebub, jellyfish, the Chromatic Dragon, and the Master Assassin.
   Effects of eating poisonous corpses: killer or queen bee, soldier ant,
   giant beetle, werejackal, werewolf, wererat, gremlin, homunculus, rabid
   rat, giant spider, scorpion, xan, vampire bat, (baby) green dragon,
   yellow mold, guardian naga, green slime, quantum mechanic, snake, water
   moccasin, pit viper, cobra, Medusa, jellyfish, salamander, the Chromatic
   Dragon, Scorpius, and all k.
   Damage from stinking clouds.
   Prevents instakill and reduces damage from poisoned weapons and poison
   dart traps, poison-spike pits, and poison gas/needle chest traps.
   Reduces damage from "contaminated water" from a sink.
   Reduces effects of potions of sickness and contact-poisoned spellbooks.

shock resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     blue dragon scales or scale mail, or a ring of shock resistance.
   Eating:
     gelatinous cube, blue dragon, storm giant, black or brown pudding,
     flesh golem, electric eel, or the Chromatic Dragon; ring of shock
     resistance.
       "Your health currently feels amplified!"
       "You feel grounded in reality." (hallucinating)
   Polymorphing into:
     gelatinous cube, shocking sphere, energy vortex, grid bug, black or
     yellow light, Aleax, (baby) blue dragon, storm giant, arch-lich, black
     or brown pudding, green slime, flesh or iron golem, or electric eel.
   Reaching:
     XL 15 as Monk.
       "You feel insulated!"
       "You feel conductive!" (level drain loss)
   Granted when crowned.
 protects against
  *Electricity attacks of shocking spheres, energy vortices, grid bugs,
   blue dragons, electric eels, and the Chromatic Dragon.
   Passive electricity attacks of energy vortices.
  *Damage from Mjollnir's electricity attack.
  *Damage from zapped or broken wands of lightning.
  *Damage from lightning bolt spell cast by monster.
   Lightning bolts from angry gods.
  *Electricity traps on chests.
   Reduces damage from electric-chair thrones.
  * = may still destroy wands and rings.

sleep resistance
 acquired by
   Wearing:
     orange dragon scales or scale mail.
   Eating:
     gelatinous cube, homunculus, orange dragon, flesh golem, elf,
     Woodland-elf, Green-elf, Grey-elf, elf-lord, Elvenking, or the
     Chromatic Dragon; ring of free action.
       "You feel wide awake."
   Polymorphing into:
     manes, homunculus, lemure, Aleax, vampire bat, (baby) orange dragon,
     Woodland-elf, Green-elf, Grey-elf, elf-lord, Elvenking, salamander,
     or any of bvyLMVWZ'
   Reaching:
     XL 1 as Monk; XL 4 as an elf.
       "You feel awake!"
       "You feel tired!" (level drain loss)
   Granted when crowned.
 protects against
   Sleep attacks of homunculi, orange dragons, Nazgul, and the Chromatic
   Dragon.
   Spells of sleep, and the sleep effect of zapped or broken wands of
   sleep.
   Amulets of restful sleep.
   Quaffed and thrown potions of sleeping.
   Sleeping gas traps.


Acknowledgements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corrections and clarifications provided by Michael Gusovsky, Nathan Moore,
Joseph S. Myers, Kate Nepveu, and Irina Rempt.