You can identify items with relative ease using a scroll of identify, especially when it is blessed. However, such scrolls are not always at the player's disposal at times of need.
This is where a material-based identification method can come in useful. Many worn items in ADoM are restricted to certain types of material, such as wood, iron, or gold. While the unidentified names for these items can often vary, their material type remains static between games. Interestingly, the unidentified names themselves are also tied to the material type, and thus it is possible to narrow the possibilities for many unidentified objects purely by comparing lists of unidentified and identified item materials.
This page provides a resource in the form of lists of unidentified object names and their material types, and of material types and the items that may have those types, along with further methods of narrowing the range of possible items beyond this.
Bear in mind that many special items may also have different weights to the rest of their kind, and there are only a few prefixes and suffixes which adjust weight, and always by a set amount, so its always worth checking the item lists to get a better range of which item it could be. In particular, magic girdles can almost entirely be told apart from their normal counterparts just by their weight.
Note that Mist Elves face a particular hazard when it comes to identification. Iron items will cause significant damage per turn while worn, and if the PC is unable to remove a cursed iron item, it will likely result in a rapid death. If the player isn't certain about what metal a particular object is, they are advised to avoid trying to equip-ID it unless they have a means to uncurse immediately.
Bracers[]
Bracers are, in general, harmless and/or helpful. Furthermore, bracers do not serve to trap any other item. Thus the risk of cursed bracers is not a great concern, and it is generally advisable to equip the first pair of bracers that you find, with the exception of brass bracers.
Material | Unidentified name pool | Weight | Item | Auto-identifies on equip? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cloth | Linen bracers | 8s | Bracers of resilience | Yes |
Gold | Brass bracers | 10s | Brass bracers | N/A |
Gold | Copper bracers Electrum bracers Jeweled bracers Silver bracers White bracers |
8s | Bracers of empowerment | Yes |
Bracers of piety | Yes | |||
10s | Bracers of defense | Yes | ||
Bracers of protection | Yes | |||
Bracers of purity | Yes | |||
Iron | Bronze bracers Iron bracers Steel bracers |
10s | Bracers of resistance | No |
Bracers of speed | Yes | |||
18s | Bracers of regeneration | Yes | ||
Leather | Broad bracers Curled bracers Leather bracers |
8s | Bracers of boxing | Yes |
Bracers of lifting | Yes | |||
Bracers of precision | Yes | |||
Mithril | Massive bracers | 20s | Bracers of strength | Yes |
Wood | Bone bracers | 10s | Bracers of toughness | Yes |
Rings[]
Rings are generally safe to equip immediately, especially at low DL. At worst, PCs will be stuck with a cursed Ring of the fish. Note that at low DL, rings in the adamantium group will always be rings of damage, and, if cursed, reduce the PC's melee capacity. Equipping on the left hand can minimize this effect.
At higher DL, it may be prudent to ID unknown rings with a scroll first, as equipping a Ring of weakness or Ring of doom could have lethal consequences.
Material | Unidentified name pool | Item | Auto-identifies on equip? |
---|---|---|---|
Adamantium | Ordinary ring Opal ring Onyx ring Adamantium ring |
Ring of djinni summoning | No |
Ring of fire | No | ||
Ring of damage | No | ||
Ring of slaying | No | ||
Stone | Jade ring Marble ring |
Ring of cold resistance | No |
Ring of invisibility | Yes | ||
Wood | Wooden ring | Ring of fire resistance | No |
Nonmetallic | Nograin ring | Wedding ring | No |
Nonmetallic | Brass ring | Brass ring | N/A |
Mithril | Mithril ring | Ring of ice | No |
Gold | Amber ring Black ring Bronze ring Copper ring Coral ring Glowing ring Golden ring Peridot ring Ruby ring Scratched ring Silver ring |
Ring of defense | Yes |
Ring of doom | Yes | ||
Ring of gain attribute | Yes | ||
Ring of karmic absorption | No | ||
Ring of levitation | Yes | ||
Ring of luck | No | ||
Ring of protection | Yes | ||
Ring of regeneration | Yes | ||
Ring of searching | No | ||
Ring of see invisible | No | ||
Ring of teleport control | No | ||
Iron | Agate ring Aquamarine ring Electrum ring Emerald ring Iron ring Fire opal ring Plain ring Topaz ring Vibrating ring |
Ring of acid resistance | No |
Ring of elemental mastery | No | ||
Ring of minor elemental mastery | No | ||
Ring of mental stability | Yes | ||
Ring of speed | Yes | ||
Ring of stun resistance | No | ||
Ring of the clear mind | No | ||
Ring of the fish | No | ||
Ring of weakness | Yes |
Amulets[]
The most dangerous amulet is certainly the amulet of hunger. Therefore, care should be taken with any Iron amulet. However, it is generally fairly safe to identify amulets by equipping them.
Material | Unidentified name pool | Weight | Item | Auto-identifies on equip? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adamantium | Obsidian amulet | 3s | Amulet of chaos | No |
Glass | Glass amulet | 3s | Amulet of light | No |
Gold | Brass amulet | 3s | Brass amulet | N/A |
Iron | Amber amulet Bleak amulet Blue amulet Bronze amulet Copper amulet Electrum amulet Golden amulet Gray amulet Iron amulet Lead amulet Platinum amulet Splendid necklace Steel amulet Tarnished amulet |
3s | Amulet of balance | No |
Amulet of defense | Yes | |||
Amulet of free action | No | |||
Amulet of greed | No | |||
Amulet of hunger | No | |||
Amulet of life saving | No | |||
Amulet of perseverance | Yes | |||
Amulet of speed | Yes | |||
Amulet of teleport control | No | |||
Amulet of the cold heart | No | |||
Amulet of water breathing | No | |||
Necklace of the eye | No | |||
Pendant of mana | No | |||
8s | Amulet of luck | No | ||
Mithril | Silver amulet | 3s | Amulet of protection | Yes |
Stone | Marble amulet Onyx amulet Opal amulet Ruby amulet Stone amulet |
3s | Amulet of order | No |
Amulet of petrification resistance | No | |||
Amulet of protection from constructs | No | |||
Pendant of beauty | Yes | |||
7s | Amulet of death ray resistance | No | ||
Nonmetallic | Coral necklace Leather amulet Pearl necklace Shining necklace |
2s | Necklace of rabies resistance | No |
Necklace of rapid healing | No | |||
Necklace of the silver tongue | Yes | |||
3s | Amulet of health | No | ||
Wood | Bone amulet | 3s | Amulet of protection from undead | No |
Wands[]
The most dangerous type of wand to use-ID is wand of ball lightning, which is a 4s wooden wand. Keep in mind that many of the other wands also produce bolts which bounce off of walls.
Material | Unidentified name pool | Weight | Item | Auto-identifies on use? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eternium | Glowing wand | 3s | Wand of wishing | Success only |
Glass | Glass wand | 3s | Wand of door creation | Success only |
Stone | Marble wand Obsidian wand Stone wand |
3s | Wand of earthquakes | Yes |
Wand of fireballs | Yes | |||
Wand of poison | Success only | |||
Iron | Brass wand Bronze wand Golden wand Iron wand Ironwood wand Purple wand Silver wand Steel wand Tin wand |
3s | Wand of magic missiles | Yes |
Wand of monster creation | Success only | |||
Wand of trap detection | Success only | |||
4s | Wand of cold | Yes | ||
Wand of fire | Yes | |||
Wand of light | Yes | |||
Wand of lightning | Yes | |||
Wand of teleportation | Success only | |||
6s | Wand of gold detection | Yes | ||
Wood | Black wand with white tips | 3s | Wand of bunny summoning | Yes |
Wood | Bone wand Brittle wand Cedar wand Copper wand Curved wand Crystal wand Ebony wand Ivory wand Oak wand Pine wand Softwood wand Teak wand Twisted wand Wooden wand Willow wand |
3s | Wand of death | Success only |
Wand of destruction | Yes | |||
Wand of digging | Success only | |||
Wand of Grond | No | |||
Wand of far slaying | Yes | |||
Wand of item detection | Yes | |||
Wand of knocking | Success only | |||
Wand of monster detection | Yes | |||
Wand of paralyzation | Success only | |||
Wand of stunning | Success only | |||
Wand of trap creation | Success only | |||
Wand of webbing | Yes | |||
Wand of wonder | Yes | |||
4s | Wand of acid | Yes | ||
Wand of ball lightning | Yes |
Potions[]
UnIDed potion name | IDed potion name |
---|---|
Brown | Berzio potion |
Orange | Potion of carrot juice |
Watery | Potion of water |
White | Oil of rust removal |