Silver spear

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Name	silver spear
Appearance	silver spear
Damage vs. small	1d6+(1d20)
Damage vs. large	1d8+(1d20)
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	spear
Size	one-handed
Base price	40 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	36
Material	silver

A silver spear is a kind of weapon. It can be used in melee, or thrown. It deals the same base damage as a regular spear, but can also cause silver damage.

It does only one point less damage on average against small or medium monsters than a silver saber, and the same against large monsters (which include most major demons), making it an attractive option for roles restricted in saber, such as Cavemen, Priests, and especially Monks.  Valkyries might also consider this weapon for two weaponing as they can be skilled in spear versus basic skilled in saber, overcoming the damage difference.

Average damage calculation

We assume the player has expert skill in spear, which gives a +2 damage bonus. A blessed weapon deals 1d4 extra damage against demons and undead, and being of silver, an added 1d20 to silver-hating monsters. The worst case scenario is against a non-undead, non-demon, non-silver-hating monster. The best case scenario is against a undead/demon silver-hating monster.

Weapon	Against regular small monsters	Against regular large monsters	Worst case scenario	Best case scenario
Blessed silver spear+0	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2=\bold{5.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+2=\bold{6.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2=\bold{5.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+\frac{1+20}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2=\bold{19.5}$
Blessed silver spear +7	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2+7=\bold{12.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+2+7=\bold{13.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2+7=\bold{12.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+\frac{1+20}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+7=\bold{26.5}$
Blessed silver spear +9	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2+9=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+2+9=\bold{15.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+2+9=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+8}{2}+\frac{1+20}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+9=\bold{28.5}$

Despite the inclusion in the above table, attempting to enchant a silver spear to +9 is generally a very bad idea, as they're usually rare.

Encyclopedia entry

- they come together with great random, and a spear is brast,
and one party brake his shield and the other one goes down,
horse and man, over his horse-tail and brake his neck, and
then the next candidate comes randoming in, and brast his
pear, and the other man brast his shield, and down he goes,
horse and man, over his horse-tail, and brake his neck, and
then there's another elected, and another and another and
still another, till the material is all used up; and when you
come to figure up results, you can't tell one fight from
another, nor who whipped; and as a picture of living, raging,
roaring battle, sho! why it's pale and noiseless - just
ghosts scuffling in a fog. Dear me, what would this barren
vocabulary get out of the mightiest spectacle? - the burning
of Rome in Nero's time, for instance? Why, it would merely
say 'Town burned down; no insurance; boy brast a window,
fireman brake his neck!' Why, that ain't a picture!

[ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark
           Twain ]

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