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.

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.

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, however, can become burnt or rotted, but this rarely happens in practice, since most sources of fire or rot damage don't affect weapons.

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

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

The silver dagger is a very rare item. It is normally equivalent to an ordinary dagger, but does an extra d20 damage against silver-hating creatures (e.g. werewolves and demons). This makes a stack of highly enchanted silver daggers amongst the deadliest weapons in Gehennom. Another benefit of the silver dagger compared to other daggers is that it is immune to all forms of erosion.

Silver daggers comprise 0.3% of randomly-generated weapons in the dungeon.

Average damage calculation of thrown silver daggers

The following average damage calculation shows the average amount of damage dealt per turn by throwing as many silver daggers as possible. We assume the player has expert skill in dagger, which gives a +2 damage bonus, and a multishot rate of 1d3 daggers. A blessed weapon deals 1d4 extra damage against demons and undead. The worst case scenario is against a non-silver-hating, non-undead, non-demon large monster. The best case scenario is against a silver-hating undead/demon small monster.

	Weapon
	Uncursed silver dagger + 0	Blessed silver dagger +7
Against regular small monsters	$\left(\frac{1+4}{2}+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{9}$	$\left(\frac{1+4}{2}+7+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{23}$
Against regular large monsters	$\left(\frac{1+3}{2}+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{8}$	$\left(\frac{1+3}{2}+7+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{22}$
Worst case scenario	$\left(\frac{1+3}{2}+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{8}$	$\left(\frac{1+3}{2}+7+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{22}$
Best case scenario	$\left(\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+20}{2}+2\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{30}$	$\left(\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+20}{2}+7+2+\frac{1+4}{2}\right)\times{\frac{1+3}{2}}=\bold{49}$

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. It deals 1d6 damage versus small enemies, and 1d7 versus large. It is never randomly generated. The only ways to obtain one are:

• upgrade a dark or normal elven dagger,
• acquire the Necromancer quest artifact, the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa,
• wish for one (although this is probably not worth it).

WARNING: Great Daggers DO NOT STACK. This is by design. If you upgrade to a stack of Great Daggers, it will be stacked ONLY until they are thrown or dropped individually. After that, they will never stack again.

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.