Tools

Spoiler Warning: This page contains spoilers which may affect your IVAN experience negatively

A tool is an item used on another item or on the environment for some utilitarian purpose. Strangely, tools are often very light or very heavy.

Pickaxes

One of the most useful tools in the game; pickaxes are mostly used for digging shortcuts through dungeon walls and mining for precious metals. A Scroll of Detect Material will help keep you from having to mine every single square of wall.

♫Dig a tunnel, dig-dig-a-tunnel...♫

Harder walls and dirt obviously require a harder pickaxe; an Octiron pickaxe will be plenty good enough for the majority of the game. By the time you need something harder than that, you'll have much more pressing issues than looking for pretty rocks.

Stethoscopes

While they seem a bit out of place in a world of swords and magic, stethoscopes are quite useful for seeing the stats of literally anything that moves. They are mostly good for checking yourself or allies for leprosy, parasites, and perma-stats you can't normally see in your character window such as Confusion or Teleporting. Even hostile units can be examined; apparently even Sherarax will pull up her shirt and take a deep breath for you. \;-} (woo woo!)

Using a stethoscope does not take up a turn; feel free to examine your enemies midcombat without fear of reprisal.

Musical instruments

Horns, lyres, whistles, etc.

See here for full article.

Keys

See here for full article.

Light Sources

See here for full article.

Used for bringing light were there was none before, light source is a must for every adventurer. Most dungeons are fully dark except for small illuminated rooms and thus you have to carry your own light. The first thing most players will pick up is a lantern in the entrance room of Underwater Tunnels.

Explosives

• Backpack full of gun powder
• Dwarven Gas Grenades
• Holy Handgrenades of Antioch

Miscellaneous

• Head of Elpuri
• Palm branch - used by Female Servants to fan their masters