Small shield
[ small shield 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | small shield |
| Slot | shield |
| AC | 1 |
| Special | (none) |
| Base price | 3 zm |
| Weight | 30 |
| Material | wood |
A small shield is a type of shield that appears in NetHack. It is made of wood.
Generation
Knights and Priests start each game with a +0 small shield.[1][2] Valkyries start each game with a +3 small shield.[3]
Lines of code are present that would give Dwarvish, elven and orcish characters in roles that start with small shields a race-appropriate shield instead - of these, only the line regarding orcs and orcish shields is not commented out, as it has no applicable roles.[4][5][6]
Mercenaries have a 2⁄3 chance of being generated with small shields.[7] Aligned priests, high priests and the Arch Priest always generate with a small shield.[8]
Description
When worn, a small shield grants 1 base AC and inhibits spellcasting. The spellcasting penalty for a small shield is much lower than other shield types due to its low weight.[9]
Strategy
The small shield is the best shield by far for spellcasters and characters with low carrying capacity - characters in other roles or builds may consider sticking with a highly-enchanted small shield in the long term if they have reflection covered by other slots. An elven shield may be a superior option depending on a characters exact needs: it has higher base AC and can be enchanted safely from +5, in exchange for weighing 10 more aum and inhibiting spellcasting harder than the small shield.
A Valkyrie's starting small shield is worth wearing for a long time due to its high enchantment, though many of them eventually ditch the shield so they can twoweapon.
History
The small shield first appears in NetHack 3.0.0, where it replaces the shield from NetHack 2.3e and previous versions - this shield was somewhat similar to the small shield, but was metallic and could rust.
Variants
In variants with object materials systems, shields larger than the small shield may be exempt from additional spellcasting penalties if they are made of a lightweight, non-metallic material such as bone or wood.[9]
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, upgrading a small shield will produce an elven shield and vice versa. Elven Knights start the game with a small shield instead of an elven shield, which they can upgrade to easily.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 78
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 103
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 155
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 210
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 219
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 227
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 639
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 694
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 src/spell.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1802: extra shield penalty doesn't apply for small shields
