Reflection

Reflection is an ego that can be found on shields and amulets. It reflects all successfully blocked projectiles, both physical and magical, back in the direction they originated. An amulet of reflection grants +5 SH, though shields of reflection don't give any more SH than their mundane counterparts.

Keep in mind that you must block the attack in order it to be reflected. Some spells can't be blocked - while you can reflect a devastating crystal spear or orb of destruction, you can't deflect an Airstrike, Bolt of Fire, or javelin. For a list of what can and can't be blocked, see Shields. And since you must succeed your SH roll to actually block, reflection works best at high levels of SH.

Tips & Tricks

• Reflection is strong against enemies with blockable projectile attacks, such as centaurs and yaktaurs, or spellcasters with spells like Iron Shot. Monsters tend to deal high damage compared to their HP, so a few reflected shots should kill them. Unlike in NetHack, reflection isn't vital for survival.
  • An amulet of reflection can be good for the +5 SH alone. This amulet gives added defense, without the added complexities of guardian spirit or acrobat. The reflection property itself can be treated like a bonus.
  • A shield of reflection is at least better than a mundane shield of the same type. Due to the rarity of shields with an ego, a shield of reflection can end up being your best shield, where you might as well use it.
• The reflected attack can miss and may strike unintended targets.

See Also

• Warlock's Mirror, an unrand buckler that can also reflect enchantments and piercing attacks.

History

• Prior to 0.25, the brooch of Shielding carried the reflection ego.
• The amulet of reflection was added in 0.18.
• Prior to 0.15, the game treated the reflected attack as an attack initiated by the player. If you followed a god who prohibited certain attacks, you would invoke penance for these unintentional reflected attacks.