Orcish shield
[ orcish shield 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | red-eyed shield |
| Slot | shield |
| AC | 1 |
| Special | (none) |
| Base price | 7 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Material | iron |
An orcish shield is a type of shield that appears in NetHack. It is made of iron and appears as a red-eyed shield when unidentified. The Uruk-hai shield is a near-identical shield with a different appearance.
Contents
Generation
Mordor orcs have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with an orcish shield;[1] orc-captains have a 1⁄2 chance to be generated with Mordor orc armor, giving them an effective 1⁄6 chance of generating with orcish shields.[2]
Description
When worn, an orcish shield grants 1 base AC.
Strategy
Orcish shields are heavier than small shields while providing the same amount of AC, and significantly inhibits spellcasting more than the small shield does. An orcish shield may suffice to fill out the shield slot momentarily, but should ideally be replaced with a lighter or better shield as soon as possible.
The orcish shield is mainly useful as racial equipment for racial conducts involving orcs.
History
The Uruk-hai shield first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
The red eye is the symbol of Sauron, the title character and main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Sauron's forces included armies upon armies of orcs, whose shields all bear the red-eye symbol as a mark of their servitude to him - the Uruks of Mordor that serve the wizard Saruman are a notable exception, as their shields bear the White Hand of Saruman, which was a deliberate imitation of Sauron's red eye.
Variants
Some variants distinguish the orcish and Uruk-Hai shields, and others may give orcs (including the player) an AC bonus for wearing orcish shields.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, orcish shields can be upgraded into elven shields, and upgrading an elven shield produces either an orcish shield or an Uruk-hai shield, with an equal chance of each item.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, player orcs wearing Uruk-hai shields gain a +1 AC bonus.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, orcish shields grant 1 AC and 0 DR when worn. Like all shields, they add their full enchantment to AC while giving no bonus to DR.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, orcish shields do not count as bulky for purposes of spellcasting penalties, while Uruk-hai shields do.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, all orcs wearing orcish shields gain a +1 AC bonus.
An orcish shield can be created at a forge by combining orcish boots and an orcish helm. Orcish shields can be used to forge a few items:
- An orcish shield can be combined with ring mail to create orcish chain mail.
- An orcish shield can be combined with an orcish helm to create orcish ring mail.
- Two orcish shields can be combined to create an Uruk-hai shield.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 402: armor and weapons for Mordor orc
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 400: switch for orc-captains
