Scrolls are common, one time use Magic Devices with a variety of different effects. The most valuable of these is the scroll of gain attribute. A high Magic Device level will make scrolls more effective. Generally, cursed scrolls have the opposite effect of their normal counterparts. Reading scrolls practices Literacy.
Types of Scrolls
Ally
Attempts to spawn a Pet for you of roughly your level. Note that the ally summoned will not always be your level - even a level 30 character has a chance of getting a Putit. Also has a chance to summon a boss-type ally <name>.
Change Material
Same as Superior or Inferior Material Scrolls, but any material type can result. Most commonly it's a 'normal' material, unless the scroll is blessed, in which case 'superior' materials will result much more frequently, or cursed, in which case 'inferior' materials will be more common.
- Blessed: Will act almost like a Superior Material scroll (but cannot reroll static artifacts)
- Cursed: Will act almost like an Inferior Material scroll
- Other: See Jeweler for easy ways to get Change Material scrolls
Contingency
Blesses you with Contingency, a temporary buff which has an 80% chance of healing you if you take lethal damage. For example, a nuke would heal you for 1000 instead of damaging you. Probably.
Curse
Attempts to curse an item at random.
- Blessed: No change in effect.
- Cursed: No change in effect.
Detect Objects
Reveals the locations of all objects in the map. You can use the (l)ook command to see where they are. Can be used to easily find stairs.
Enchant Armor
Increases the enchantment of an armor by 1 (maximum +2). This will also reduce negative enchantment caused by acid damage. Enchant armor scrolls will work on rings and necklaces.
- Blessed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +3)
- Cursed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +0)
Enchant Weapon
Increases the enchantment of a weapon by 1 (maximum +2). This will also reduce negative enchantment caused by acid damage. Enchant weapon scrolls cannot be used on ammo.
- Blessed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +3)
- Cursed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +0)
Escape
Attempts to return you to the surface from inside a dungeon. If successful, you will be placed on the world map on the dungeon's entrance square. The spell takes ten turns to work. The spell will not work on no-teleport maps.
Faith
Increases your favor with your God if you have one and exercises faith skill. Sells for a decent amount.
- Cursed: abuses the faith skill.
Flying
Decreases the weight, PV and damage bonus of an item by 15%. Use at your own discretion. Saves the game. Multiple uses on the same item are cumulative in effect.
The PV/damage loss does not affect equipment which already has a nonpositive bonus.
Can be used to lower the weight of your shelter, or possibly even furniture you can't otherwise carry, such as an altar.
Only works on items in your inventory. (Sorry, this won't help you with thievery.)
- Blessed: reduces weight by 25% and PV/damage by 12.5%.
- Cursed: increases weight by 50% and PV/damage by 12.5%, capped at +5 each use.
Gain Attribute
Gives you a random skill. Learning a skill in this manner does NOT increase the platinum coin cost of learning skills at the trainer. If you already have all skills, it increases a random skill's potential by 50.
Extremely rare and valuable. Without Negotiation, each sells for 5000 gp and costs 240,000 gp--2.4 times the cost of a potion of cure corruption--to buy!
- Blessed: same.
- Cursed: Removes a random skill.
Gain Material
Adds random materials to your inventory and saves your game.
- Cursed: adds only garbage.
Greater Enchant Armor
Increases the enchantment of an armor by 1 (maximum +4). This will also reduce negative enchantment caused by acid damage. Enchant armor scrolls will work on rings and necklaces.
- Blessed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +6)
- Cursed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +0)
Greater Enchant Weapon
Increases the enchantment of a weapon by 1 (maximum +4). This will also reduce negative enchantment caused by acid damage. Enchant weapon scrolls cannot be used on ammo.
- Blessed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +6)
- Cursed: increases enchantment by 1 (maximum +0)
Greater Identify
Attempts to fully identify any item, including Artifacts. This will fully identify Artifacts, but the scroll is quite rare.
Growth
Raises the potential of a random skill. Sells for a good price.
- Blessed: Boost potential twice for about 1.5x the value of a normal growth scroll; e.g. a normal scroll will boost potential by 25% but a blessed scroll will boost two potentials by 37% or one potential by 72%.
Healing Rain
Heals you and allies in your party.
Holy Light
Gives you holy protection for more turns than a scroll of Holy Rain.
Holy Rain
Gives you holy protection for a few turns.
Holy Veil
Gives you holy protection for even more turns than a scroll of Holy Light, but with a slightly weaker effect.
Identify
Attempts to identify a target item. Will only work on non-Artifact items. Artifact items will be half-identified and you will be told to have the item investigated or read a scroll of Greater Identify.
Incognito
Gives you a disguise effect for 10 turns. Useful for fooling guards and shopkeepers if you're a criminal; they will not attack for the duration of the effect. Same effect as a disguise kit.
- Blessed: lasts 15 turns.
Inferior Material
Attempts to change a target item's material type to an inferior material. This is not recommended to use on gear of superior quality material. Will not work on Godly-level Artifacts (use a Material kit) but will work on Miracle-level Artifacts. The primary uses of this are to attempt to change worthless weapons and armor into raw in case of a hunger emergency, or as a solution to removing "cursed" items by eating them.
This scroll can actually improve materials, as it selects anything from raw/candy up to obsidian, so if you have a lot, it can be worth trying on that bronze Claymore to get one of the better materials.
Can also be used to improve the value of furniture if the furniture doesn't have a material type.
Fairies or light-armor users may wish to try for mica or paper equipment since both tend to reduce weight to a fraction of one stone. Excellent for weapons with a useful Invoke ability.
- Blessed: Increases chance of higher quality chosen
- Cursed: Increase chance of lower quality chosen
- Other: See Jeweler for easy ways to get Inferior Material scrolls
Knowledge
Blesses you with Divine Wisdom (boosts your learning and magic attributes, and your Literacy skill) for 71 turns.
- Blessed: lasts for 102 turns.
- Cursed: lasts for 22 turns.
Magical Map
Reveals nearly every square (roughly 90%) in the current map. Can be used to easily find stairs.
- Blessed: reveals entire map.
- Cursed: gives little information. If map near or fully explored, may blank small areas.
Mana
Restores your mana reserves.
Minor Teleport
Same as Teleport, but with a 10-tile restricted range.
Name
Allows you change a random artifact's name, chosen like alias selection during character creation. Has no effect on normal items or non-random artifacts. Renaming a living weapon will alter its level-up bonus list.
- Blessed: same.
- Cursed: same.
Oracle
Tells you where artifacts have been created. (It reads the art.log file stored in your save folder.) Sells for a very good price.
- Cursed: Does not reveal any information about artifacts created. "You hear a sepulchral whisper but the voice is too small to distinguish a word."
Recharge
Attempts to recharge a rod or spellbook. You can recharge uses in a blanket as well. Multiple attempts to recharge an item will result in the item exploding. Some items can not be recharged, like spellbook of harvest/wishing and rod of domination/wishing.
Return
Attempts to return you to a point of your choice ("The air around you becomes charged."). You can choose between the lowest level of Lesimas that you have visited, or your house. Larna and the Sister's Mansion will also be available when you have been to these locations once. Bosses in non-guaranteed (randomly generated) dungeons have these as a guaranteed drop. Note that it takes ten turns for the spell to work (Note: as of 1.16xmas, the spell takes twenty turns to activate). The spell will not work on teleport-proof maps (such as the arena). Note that being overweight will prevent you from returning, but having your cart overloaded with Cargo presents no problem.
To cancel a return in progress, use another return scroll or the Return spell ("The air around you gradually loses power.").
- Cursed: teleports you to prison.
Superior Material
Attempts to change a target item's material type to a superior material. This is not recommended to use on any item short of a Miracle-level Artifact. Will not work on Godly-level Artifacts (use a Material kit). May reroll static artifacts.
- Blessed: Increases chance of higher quality chosen
- Cursed: Increase chance of lower quality chosen
- Cursed: 27% chance of heal.
- Cursed: lasts 5 turns.
Teleport
Attempts to move you to a random point on the floor of the dungeon you are on. Will not work on no-teleport maps (such as the Pyramid), and may put you in more danger than if you had not used it.
Uncurse
Attempts to remove curses on equipped items only. Does not have a 100% success rate. Unblessed cannot undoom equipment.
- Blessed: attempts to remove curse on whole inventory. Has a 100% success rate to remove Curse (it may sometimes say that the curse was resisted even though it wasn't). Sometimes removes Doom from your entire inventory.
- Cursed: Curses an item.
- Other: If given to an NPC, a blessed scroll will remove curse status, but almost never doom. 0 success out of 17 attempts while trying to undoom an NPC's equipment. To remove doom from an NPC's equipment, you will need to use Vanish Curse.
Vanish Curse
Attempts to remove curses on equipped items only. Does not have a 100% success rate, but has a much higher success rate than scrolls of Remove Curse. Can remove Doom.
- Blessed: attempts to remove curse/doom on whole inventory. Has a 100% success rate on your equipment. lesser effect on the rest of your inventory.
Wonder
Gives you spell stocks for a random spell.
- Blessed: gives two spells (or the same spell twice).
- Cursed: Causes loss of all stocks for a random spell.