Uruk-hai shield
[ Uruk-hai shield 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | white-handed shield |
| Slot | shield |
| AC | 1 |
| Special | (none) |
| Base price | 7 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Material | iron |
A Uruk-hai shield is a type of shield that appears in NetHack, and is almost identical to the orcish shield. It is made of iron and appears as a white-handed shield when unidentified.
Contents
Generation
Uruk-hai have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with an Uruk-hai shield;[1] orc-captains have a 1⁄2 chance to be generated with Uruk-hai armor, giving them an effective 1⁄6 chance of generating with Uruk-hai shields.[2]
Description
When worn, an Uruk-hai shield grants 1 base AC.
Strategy
Like orcish shields, Uruk-hai shields are fairly heavy and provide no more AC than a small shield while significantly inhibiting spellcasting - they 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 Uruk-hai 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 basis for the Uruk-hai of NetHack are the orcs that served under the wizard Saruman in J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, particularly the company seen guarding the tower of Isengard. The shields of these Uruks bore a small White Hand of Saruman centered on a black field, as opposed to the red-eyed shields of Sauron's armies; Saruman's white hand symbol was a deliberate imitation of the red eye used by Sauron. In NetHack, this is reflected in the shield's unidentified appearance and default tile.
Variants
Some variants may give orcs (including the player) an AC bonus for wearing Uruk-hai shields.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Uruk-hai 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.[3]
dNetHack
In dNetHack, Uruk-hai shields grant 2 AC and 0 DR when worn, and add their full enchantment to AC while giving no bonus to DR.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, Uruk-hai shields count as bulky for purposes of spellcasting penalties, while orcish shields do not.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, all orcs wearing Uruk-hai shields gain a +1 AC bonus.
An Uruk-hai shield can be created at a forge by combining two orcish shields.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 412: armor and weapons for Uruk-Hai
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 400: switch for orc-captains
- ↑ include/obj.h in UnNetHack revision 1986, line 215
