In my current Slashem game I'm on the dungeon level where the bottom
Wizard Tower is located. I have a horde of nine tame angelic beings
as pet minions nearby. A lot of killing around me. Then this message:
"You see here a blessed blue dragon scale mail {50}."
Now, where does the dragon scale mail comes from?
Minions don't pick up (or drop) things.
Dragon scale mail is not randomly generated (AFAIK; please CMIIW).
Monsters (also dragons) don't drop dragon scale mails (only scales).
Dragons are anyway already genocided.
It is no bones level (I got no message from my bones alert script).
Any other explanation?

Janis

On Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 6:06:04 PM UTC-7, Janis wrote:
> In my current Slashem game I'm on the dungeon level where the bottom
> Wizard Tower is located. I have a horde of nine tame angelic beings
> as pet minions nearby. A lot of killing around me. Then this message:
> "You see here a blessed blue dragon scale mail {50}."
> Now, where does the dragon scale mail comes from?
> Minions don't pick up (or drop) things.
> Dragon scale mail is not randomly generated (AFAIK; please CMIIW).
> Monsters (also dragons) don't drop dragon scale mails (only scales).
> Dragons are anyway already genocided.
> It is no bones level (I got no message from my bones alert script).
> Any other explanation?

Slash'EM shows random items of the same object class as the actual
item when you are hallucinating (nethack doesn't do that). But it works
by creating an object, formatting the description, and deleting it so
ought to have the same restriction against picking dragon scales and
dragon scale mail (their random creation percentage is 0) as regular
object creation.

That is a special level so doesn't necessarily obey the same rules as
ordinary levels. But a quick look at some of the sources didn't reveal
anything relevant.

On 02.09.2021 20:34, Pat Rankin wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 6:06:04 PM UTC-7, Janis wrote:
>> [ random blue dragon scale mail generated ]
>
> Slash'EM shows random items of the same object class as the actual
> item when you are hallucinating (nethack doesn't do that).

I was not hallucinating. (If that was the thought behind the
explanation.)

Just tested that I can also wear that piece of dragon armor.

> [ technical hallu-display process snipped ]
>
> That is a special level so doesn't necessarily obey the same rules as
> ordinary levels. But a quick look at some of the sources didn't reveal
> anything relevant.

It just occurred to me that (in Slashem) I occasionally find
random items that are not randomly generated in Nethack (e.g.
royal jelly). So I suspect that it might be just such a rare
random generation effect?

Janis

On Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 4:40:55 PM UTC-7, Janis wrote:
>>> [ random blue dragon scale mail generated ]

Found it. When a gnoll chieftain is created, it has a 10% chance to
start with blue dragon scale mail; the other 90% of the time it gets
crystal plate mail. So your minions killed one that had blue DSM.

A gnoll warrior has a 5% chance to start with orange dragon scale
mail, a gnoll shaman with silver (10%) or red (72%, via 4/5 of the
90% not silver). The color of dragon is specific and those appear
to be the only cases of dragon scale mail (with no cases of plain
scales) except for fake player monsters on the Astral level.

On 03.09.2021 11:04, Pat Rankin wrote:
> On Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 4:40:55 PM UTC-7, Janis wrote:
>>>> [ random blue dragon scale mail generated ]
>
> Found it. When a gnoll chieftain is created, it has a 10% chance to
> start with blue dragon scale mail; the other 90% of the time it gets
> crystal plate mail. So your minions killed one that had blue DSM.
>
> A gnoll warrior has a 5% chance to start with orange dragon scale
> mail, a gnoll shaman with silver (10%) or red (72%, via 4/5 of the
> 90% not silver). The color of dragon is specific and those appear
> to be the only cases of dragon scale mail (with no cases of plain
> scales) except for fake player monsters on the Astral level.

Aha! A case not encountered too often. Thanks!

Janis