hat of illiteracy

[mollymolluskus]

How about a +3 Hat of Illiteracy which, while worn, would prevent the character from reading scrolls or spellbooks (though you could still cast spells already memorized)? Note that a *cursed* Hat of Illiteracy would be a truly awful item!

[svendre]

I don't think it would be that awful, and only in some rare cases early on do people not have any remove curse scrolls. This item would just be junk cluttering the dungeon for the most part. Robes of misfortune are so much worse (or whatever they're called). To make the item more interesting, it should do something good as well, like a boost to strength or something, and re-curse itself so it can't be swapped easily.

[Fingolfin]

I'd never put it on as-is. I'd give up 3AC for the ability to read scrolls any day.

[TheMeInTeam]

I don't think it would be that awful, and only in some rare cases early on do people not have any remove curse scrolls. This item would just be junk cluttering the dungeon for the most part. Robes of misfortune are so much worse (or whatever they're called). To make the item more interesting, it should do something good as well, like a boost to strength or something, and re-curse itself so it can't be swapped easily.

He's proposing that the hat would block reading scrolls, which means remove curse scrolls would be useless. It would indeed be a terrible/noob trap item lol.

[svendre]

I don't think it would be that awful, and only in some rare cases early on do people not have any remove curse scrolls. This item would just be junk cluttering the dungeon for the most part. Robes of misfortune are so much worse (or whatever they're called). To make the item more interesting, it should do something good as well, like a boost to strength or something, and re-curse itself so it can't be swapped easily.

He's proposing that the hat would block reading scrolls, which means remove curse scrolls would be useless. It would indeed be a terrible/noob trap item lol.

Oh, yes, right that would be horrible. Funny, hilarious even, but horrible.

[Sorcerous]

I don't think it would be that awful, and only in some rare cases early on do people not have any remove curse scrolls. This item would just be junk cluttering the dungeon for the most part. Robes of misfortune are so much worse (or whatever they're called). To make the item more interesting, it should do something good as well, like a boost to strength or something, and re-curse itself so it can't be swapped easily.

He's proposing that the hat would block reading scrolls, which means remove curse scrolls would be useless. It would indeed be a terrible/noob trap item lol.

Can scrolls be read while transmuted? As in, would becoming a tree restore literacy and create a bypass for this issue?

[petercordia]

Yes, I think that'd work, except if you're a mummy/goul.

Probably the hat shouldn't be cursed tough. Needing 5 turns to read a scroll is had enough. I'm not sure how much AC the hat would need to have for me to consider wearing it. Maybe +6AC would do the trick in the early game. For flavor it should also come with an int penalty?

[Fingolfin]

I'm not sure how much AC the hat would need to have for me to consider wearing it. Maybe +6AC would do the trick in the early game.

I'd still much rather wear a plain +2 hat.

[Aean]

Yeah, for what's basically a permanent loss of the ability to read scrolls, you'd need a serious benefit. We're talking less "+3 AC" and more "+23 AC."

[Shtopit]

I think it would be cool to have some unique items that forever change your character and offer a consistent power-up against a drawback. But maybe it would step on Ru's feet.

[Utis]

Yeah, for what's basically a permanent loss of the ability to read scrolls, you'd need a serious benefit. We're talking less "+3 AC" and more "+23 AC."

Yes, though even with +23 AC I would still consider it a trap. That much more AC means that you get out of fights with more HP on average, which is very good. But scrolls are for emergencies. To make me consider this hat, it would have to provide something on the level of evocable teleport.

[Aean]

It'd probably be less than optimal in the long term, but it'd at least be an interesting, sometimes-optimal tradeoff, in the same sort of way as Formicid stasis.

After all, that much extra AC on D1 would do far more for your chances of getting the Orb, since it'd carry you through the more dangerous parts of the game - or even shore up a squishy character later in the game.

[TheMeInTeam]

I would definitely wear a +20 AC hat that blocks scrolls/spells if I could take it off later. Considering other gear it would be routine to have ~30+ AC in lair while wearing it, and there's not a lot that can threaten you with those AC values until rune branches. Probably enough that what few dangers there are can be handled by potions/wands.

Interestingly I'd still consider it an early-mid game only item even at 20AC, which is otherwise a preposterously huge benefit.

[Piginabag]

I would only wear this hat if, in exchange for illiteracy, you were able to fold your scrolls into tiny paper birds and bring them to life, not sure what you would do after that though.

[stormdragon]

A less extreme idea for this item could be a helmet with blurry vision.

[Siegurt]

How about a helm that gives blurry vision, and ranged weapon slaying (maybe replace gloves of archery with it)

  Code:

+3 Helm of binocular {archery, blurry vision:1}

"This helm has clear glass that covers your eyes, letting you see with greater clarity at a distance, at the expense of making reading things up close much harder"


[Shtopit]

I would only wear this hat if, in exchange for illiteracy, you were able to fold your scrolls into tiny paper birds and bring them to life, not sure what you would do after that though.

If you sacrifice 5 scrolls, you get a Shrike!

[braveplatypus]

You feed scrolls and books to the hat, as it consumes magical lore it becomes more powerful, giving larger bonuses and eventually casting spells on it's own.

If you're a berserker and Trog finds out you're dating a magic hat you get kicked out of the basement and have to find an apartment to live in.