Items in ADOM are subject to periodic destruction by various means. These range from intentional usage (eg. potions, scrolls) to destruction by monsters, to acts of divine malevolence. Item destruction is generally undesirable, although it may occasionally be used to remove cursed stuff or under other specific circumstances. Note that not all items are subject to destruction in the same manner: potions and scrolls, for example, are tend to be vulnerable to destruction; metal equipment, especially higher metal equipment, tends to be fairly resilient. Artifacts are immune to all normal forms of item destruction (but may be destroyed through a few select means). Item destruction can be reduced most generally by acquiring the Luck and Fate Smiles intrinsics and removing Cursing and Dooming. Cursed equipment also seems more likely to be destroyed than blessed equipment. Rusty equipment is more vulnerable. Elemental resistances and immunities lower the chance of item destruction from their respective element.
See also: Material for a lovely chart showing the vulnerabilities of your items versus the elements.
Types of Item Destruction[]
Fire[]
PCs engulfed by fire, be it from a fireball trap, dragon breath, or persistent heat from the Tower of Eternal Flames are subject to item destruction. A spellbook exploding in a ball of fire — which can sometimes happen if the PC fails to learn a spell from it — tends to do huge fire damage to the inventory. Fire is capable of destroying nearly all items not made of higher metals, including scrolls, potions, bows, arrows, and iron equipment. Carrying a fireproof blanket will protect the inventory from fire damage; wearing a ring of ice will protect both the inventory and worn equipment.
| Material | Amount of fire protection needed for immunity to item destruction[1] |
|---|---|
| Stone (blessed) | 1 resistance |
| Stone (other) | 2 resistances |
| Iron (blessed, not rusted) | 2 resistances |
| Iron (other, not rusted) | 3 resistances |
| Leather (blessed) | 1 immunity, 5 resistances |
Acid[]
Acid destruction typically comes from acid traps, acid vortices, or black dragons. Acid is capable of damaging most items in the PC's inventory; it has a quite high chance to destroy items of iron and weaker materials, and has a small chance to destroy mithril or even adamantium items.
| Material | Amount of acid protection needed for immunity to item destruction[1] |
|---|---|
| Adamantium | 1 immunity |
| Truesilver | 1 immunity |
| Mithril | 2 immunities |
| Cloth | 3 immunities |
Water[]
Water has the capacity to destroy items made out of paper, such as scrolls or books, and to rust metal items. No other items are damaged by water. Waterproof blankets will protect the inventory from such damage; cloaks (any type) will protect equipped items from being damaged by rain in the wilderness. Water damage can arise from swimming, rain, water traps, or water breath attacks.
Cold[]
If the PC is attacked by a powerful blast of cold, such as from an ice vortex or white dragon breath, then they will experience item destruction. Items damaged from cold seem to be restricted primarily to items damaged by water, namely books and scrolls, as well as potions. A ring of fire protects the inventory from cold damage. Note that cold bolts from ogre magus and the Chaos Archmage do not cause inventory damage; neither does traversing D:49.
| Material | Amount of cold protection needed for immunity to item destruction[1] |
|---|---|
| Stone | 2 resistances |
| Glass (blessed) | 2 immunities, 2 resistances |
| Paper (blessed) | 1 immunity, 1 resistance |
| Paper (other) | 1 immunity, 2 resistances |
Lightning[]
Lightning damage results primarily from encounters with lightning vortices, lightning lizards, blue dragons, or self-electrocution with a lightning bolt spell or wand. Lightning affects the same materials as fire, except for iron and gold.
| Material | Amount of shock protection needed for immunity to item destruction[1] |
|---|---|
| Glass (blessed) | 1 immunity, 1 resistance |
| Glass (other) | 1 immunity, 2 resistances |
| Stone (blessed) | 2 resistances |
| Stone (other) | 1 immunity |
| Leather (blessed) | 2 immunities, 2 resistances |
| Nonmetallic (blessed) | 1 immunity, 1 resistance |
| Nonmetallic (other) | 2 immunities |
Falling/Crushing[]
PCs who fall from using a cursed climbing set, fall down the Rift, or are crushed by a falling door or ceiling trap will be subject to significant equipment damage. This damage tends to be localized to potions, scrolls, and arrows, primarily, although on occasion items made from iron, such as climbing sets may also experience some damage.
Rune Traps[]
Exploding runes from doors are among the nastiest sources of item destruction. They often destroy worn equipment, particularly cloaks and items made from leather or iron.
Monsters[]
Some monsters have the capacity to destroy worn items. Annihilators and eyes of destruction are able to destroy any non-artifact the PC is wearing, including higher metal items. Monsters' melee attacks can sometimes damage PV-increasing equipment, either reducing PV or destroying the item outright. Any applicable non-artifact items can be affected, even rings worn under gauntlets. Rust monsters may rust any worn iron equipment, and can destroy rusty equipment. Gelatinous cubes can destroy any item that they step on; ochre jelly and gray ooze will damage metal weapons, up to and including adamantium. Fighting them barehanded will damage gauntlets; kicking them will damage boots, and persistently fighting these will eventually result in outright destruction of the equipment.
Divine Retribution[]
Divine wrath can destroy all worn items, regardless of metal or status, except artifacts. Wrath can be triggered by praying, sacrificing, kicking an altar, or reading a religious tract, provided that the god or gods involved are sufficiently angry.