Dagger

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Name	dagger
Appearance	dagger
Damage vs. small	1d4
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	iron

Daggers are one of the most popular range weapons, being cheap, plentiful, and more durable than arrows, crossbow bolts, and darts.

Stacks of 1d6 daggers comprise 3.0% of randomly-generated weapons in the dungeon.

Types of dagger

The ordinary dagger (appearance: "dagger") is the most common type, but there are others.

Orcish dagger

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Name	orcish dagger
Appearance	crude dagger
Damage vs. small	1d3
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	iron

This dagger can be found on orcs (and in your starting inventory, if you're an orc). Its appearance as "crude dagger" is accurate (only d3 damage against small monsters instead of d4).

Being made of iron, it's susceptible to corrosion and rusting from acidic/rust monsters and water, like an ordinary dagger.

Stacks of 1d6 orcish daggers comprise 1.2% of random weapon generation in the dungeon.

Elven dagger

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Name	elven dagger
Appearance	runed dagger
Damage vs. small	1d5
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	wood

This dagger can be found on elves (and in your starting inventory, if you're an elf). It is superior to an ordinary dagger (d5 damage vs d4 against Small). It is also made of wood, and therefore immune to corrosion and rusting. It can, however, become burnt or rotted.

Naming an elven dagger "Sting" turns it into the artifact, Sting.

Stacks of 1d6 elven daggers comprise 1.0% of randomly-generated weapons in the dungeon.

Silver dagger

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Name	silver dagger
Appearance	silver dagger
Damage vs. small	1d4+(1d20)
Damage vs. large	1d3+(1d20)
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	40 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	12
Material	silver

This special dagger is very rare, but can be obtained in quantities with patience. It is normally equivalent to an ordinary dagger, but does an extra d20 damage against silver-hating creatures (e.g. werewolves and demons). A stack of highly enchanted silver daggers is amongst the deadliest weapons in Gehennom.

Additionally, silver is immune to all forms of erosion.

Stacks of 1d6 silver daggers comprise 0.3% of randomly-generated weapons in the dungeon.

New types of dagger in SLASH'EM

Dark elven dagger

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Name	dark elven dagger
Appearance	black runed dagger
Damage vs. small	1d5
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	wood

This dagger is identical to an elven dagger, except in appearance. It may be generated in the inventory of drow.

Great dagger

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Name	great dagger
Appearance	great dagger
Damage vs. small	1d6
Damage vs. large	1d7
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	500 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	iron

This is the best non-artifact dagger in SLASH'EM, having 1d6 damage versus small enemies, and 1d7 versus large. It is never randomly generated. The only way to obtain one is by upgrading a dark or normal elven dagger or to acquire the Necromancer quest artifact, the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa.

Dagger skill

Dagger
Max	Role
Basic	Archeologist, Barbarian, Caveman, Knight, Samurai
Skilled	Healer
Expert	Rogue, Ranger, Tourist, Valkyrie, Wizard

The following weapons use the dagger skill:

• dagger
• elven dagger
• orcish dagger
• silver dagger
• athame

The following artifact weapons use the dagger skill:

• Grimtooth (orcish dagger)
• Magicbane (athame)
• Sting (elven dagger)

Strategy

Daggers can be very useful in the early game, despite their weight and low base damage. A ranged volley denies monsters even the chance to hit you, or at least softens them up. All classes except Monks and Priests can attain proficiency in dagger skill and may wish to do so, under the right circumstances.

Encyclopedia entry

 Is this a dagger which I see before me,
 The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
 I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
 To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
 A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
 Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
 I see thee yet, in form as palpable
 As this which now I draw.
              [ Macbeth, by William Shakespeare ]

See also

• Athame, a non-dagger which uses the dagger skill.
• Grimtooth, an artifact orcish dagger.
• Sting, an artifact elven dagger.
• In SLASH'EM the Wooden stake uses the dagger skill and does 1d6 damage to both small and large targets.