Halberd

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Name	Halberd
Appearance	angled poleaxe
Damage vs. small	d10
Damage vs. large	2d6
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	polearm
Size	two-handed
Base price	10 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	150
Material	iron

A halberd is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a two-handed polearm that is made of iron, and appears as an angled poleaxe when unidentified.

Generation

In addition to random generation, general shops and antique weapons outlets can sell halberds.

Watchmen and soldiers may be generated with a halberd.

Strategy

The halberd has some of the best damage among the polearms, and has the highest average damage against small monsters - it is also tied for the heaviest with the lucern hammer at 150 aum.

History

The halberd is introduced with all other polearms in NetHack 1.3d.

Origin

A halberd (also called halbard or halbert) is a two-handed polearm that came to prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. A halberd is usually 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) long, and consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft, and may have a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants.

Early halberds were not too distinct from other types of broad axes or bardiches used all over Europe, until it began developing a more acute thrusting point in the late 13th century - hoops were used to secure the blade, and some variations also had spikes on the back. This early form of halberd is sometimes called a voulge or swiss voulge, though there is no historical evidence supporting the use of these terms for this weapon. Later halberds would incorporate sockets into the blade in place of hoops, with back spikes integrated into the blade construction as a universal part of the design. The halberd was the primary weapon of the early Swiss armies of the 14th and early 15th centuries, and was relegated to closer combat with the addition of the pike to better repel knightly attacks and roll over enemy infantry formations; the German Landsknechte, who imitated Swiss warfare methods, also used the pike supplemented with the halberd, though the short sword (or specifically the Katzbalger) was the preferred side arm.

Halberdiers became less common in pikemen units used for "push of pike" warfare as that army's position became more defensive, and in general halberd usage by infantry became more rare and infrequent well into the mid 17th century. Halberds were still used by some low-ranking officers and sergeants until the 18th century, where it became a symbol of rank that lacked a sharpened edge and was instead used as an instrument to keep infantrymen in ranks correctly aligned with each other and level their muskets when aiming. The halberd has also been used as a court bodyguard weapon, and is still the ceremonial weapon of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican and the Alabarderos (Halberdiers) Company of the Spanish Royal Guard.

Variants

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM adds Reaper, a lawful artifact halberd that is the guaranteed second sacrifice gift for Yeomen, and has +5 to-hit and +20 damage bonuses when pounding. This also applies to SlashTHEM.

dNetHack

In dNetHack and notdNetHack, the halberd has its weight reduced to 75 aum.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, frost salamanders have a ³⁄₄ chance of being generated with a halberd.

A halberd can be created at a forge by combining an axe and a ranseur - it is the only polearm not to directly use a spear as a component item, though a spear can be used to forge a ranseur.

Tempest is an unaligned artifact halberd that can only be created at a forge by combining Mjollnir and Cleaver.

Hack'EM

Hack'EM retains Reaper from SLASH'EM, and all details from EvilHack minus Tempest apply.

Encyclopedia entry

See the encyclopedia entry for polearm.