Potion of exchange

Potion of exchange ( ! )
Item Type	Potion
Artifact?	No
Weight	4s
Danger Level	1
Material	Glass

Potions of exchange are a rare type of potion in ADOM. As their name implies, they can be used to change the properties of an object:

• Drinking a potion of exchange will cause a number of PC's attributes (along with their potentials) to be swapped. The number of swaps performed depends on the B/U/C status of the potion — blessed potions perform 1 swap, uncursed 3, and cursed 5. The same attribute can be swapped multiple times. The message "You feel altered" is displayed after doing this.
• Throwing a potion of exchange at a monster (or bashing them with the potion in melee) will transform it into another one according to the current DL. Monsters that cannot be wished for (excluding those with special wish behavior) are not affected. Shopkeepers can be transformed, but multiple attempts may be required as they are very proficient at dodging the potions.
• Thrown potions of exchange are the only known potions which can be resisted by magic resistance, although there is no separate message for this. Non-resistant monsters will be affected around half of the time.
• Dipping a stack of items in a blessed potion will polymorph each item in the stack individually into an item of the same type (e.g. rings are transformed into rings, scrolls into scrolls etc.) according to the current DL.

Desirability

Potions of exchange are highly desirable for a number of tactics:

• Polymorphing a monster can save the PC's life in extreme cases and can help avoid several types of monsters (for example, cats or karmic creatures) with ease. Taking a potion of exchange to Arena fights is always a good idea, as cats are possible opponents there and fights can't be escaped from without the help of teleportation.
• Drinking a potion of exchange can be a great boon if the player knows what (s)he is doing. For example, level 1 mist elven Wizards or Mindcrafters will have single-digit Strength and Toughness but very high values in attributes not crucial to early game survival (Perception, Appearance, Mana) and can start with a potion of exchange in the backpack. Drinking it immediately have a chance to create a 20+ Strength/Toughness PC with great spellcasting capabilities, instantly boosting the chances of success.
• Drinking a potion of exchange can also be a way to enhance attribute training. If Toughness has been trained to 25 with herbs (thus making further training impossible), it can swapped with some other lower attribute and trained again.
• Dipping a stack of rings on a DL 8 or higher level has a chance of generating a ring of djinni summoning. However, this only works once per game.

Guaranteed/Common sources

They can be obtained in the same manner as all generic loot. As of version 1.2.0, the chaos diplomat will reward the PC with three such potions (as well as a number of other powerful items) for slaying the ice queen.

Greater Identify information

--------------------------- blessed potion of exchange-------------------------


When used in melee combat it grants a +0 bonus to hit and causes 1d2 points of
damage. When used as a missile it grants a +0 bonus to hit and causes 1d2
points of damage.