Hermit's pendant
| An ascetic once took a sacred vow, forswearing use of magical tools and ownership of everything but this pendant. Which god they made this vow to remains a point of bitter contention among the devout, but their pendant's power - and limitations - are irrefutable. |
the Hermit's Pendant
Amulet of faith
Sets the wearer's Invocations skill to 14 and their Evocations skill to 0.
+5 MP
Desirability
Usually, you'll find the the Hermit's pendant early, where you're unlikely to have another amulet. Even as a regular amulet of faith, this item can help you survive the earlygame. The Evocations downside is clear, but many wands remain useful at 0 skill. Meanwhile, 14 Invocations will greatly boost the strength and/or success rates of your divine abilities. It also means that you don't have to train the Invocations skill, saving you some XP.
The viability of this amulet depends on your current god. Gods like Nemelex and Uskayaw benefit the most from both faith and Invocations. But even if your god doesn't use Invocations, it can be viable to wear this amulet just for the faith alone. Note that not all gods benefit from faith. Even then you might benefit from the extra MP.
The only penalty of removing this artefact is the usual piety penalty from any amulet of faith. It may be wise to take the pendant off if you want to train Invocations past 14, or if you want Evocations skill at all. If your god doesn't benefit from faith, you can remove this item with no penalty.
This artefact is more likely to spawn in the early game, where it is more likely to be useful.
History
- The Hermit's pendant was added in 0.30.
