Abilities

You can view your abilities by hitting C or by clicking the Self button.

Unlike Powers and Skills, abilities are passive (active all the time) without needing an initiation by the player. They are generally known to 'fill the gaps' or 'fulfill a player's needs' throughout the game.

Wearing the helm of knowledge and/or blessing the scroll significantly increases the chance that Identification, Telepathy, and Swimming will be learned next.

Ability	Best Acquisition	Alternative Acquisitions(and Restrictions)	Description
Acute senses	eat orange powder urn (10% chance)	wear a ring of third sight	You can see invisible monsters.
Identification	read a knowledge scroll	n/a	Passively identifies any item you see(delusion rings included) with its quality, even if hit by pale mosses.
Levitation	read a scroll of knowledge	polymorph into a flying creature	You hover just slightly above the terrain, thus avoiding most traps and obstacles.
Music	drink an alchemist potion		Allows you to choose your destination when using a glass ocarina. Improves the benefit of wooden flutes.
Sixth sense	eat a dead anssk		Causes a secondary bundle of nerves to grow parallel to the optic nerve. If you're blinded somehow, this alternate link-up will allow for limited "sight".
Swimming	read a scroll of knowledge		Allows you to: Navigate water without a boat. Retrieve underwater items. Enter Mimer's Well to obtain Gjall.
Telepathy	read a scroll of knowledge		The ability to sense other minds, thus knowing the positions of hostile creatures before they are inadvertently discovered. Use the look command(l) on the exact location of a monster to have its full name regardless of distance.
Throwing skills	successfully using the related weapon (increases per successful usage)		Practicing with each type of throwing/shooting weapon increases accuracy and power. See the Weapons page for exact values.
Weaponmaster	read a scroll of knowledge	reach viking level 9 or polymorph into a swordsman	Grants a chance for a second attack per round. Grants +5 damage to all weapon attacks. Grants additional +10 damage to the sai and katana. Grants a chance to "wound" attacked enemies for 21-35 bonus damage.