Long sword

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) Long sword.png
Name long sword
Appearance long sword
Damage vs. small 1d8 (1-8)
Damage vs. large 1d12 (1-12)
To-hit bonus +0
Weapon skill long sword
Size one-handed
Base price 15 zm
(+10/positive
enchant)
Weight 40
Material iron

A long sword is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed melee weapon that is made of iron.

The long sword is the base item for several artifacts: Demonbane, Excalibur, Fire Brand, Frost Brand, Giantslayer, Sunsword, and Vorpal Blade. Excalibur in particular can be created by either dipping a long sword into a fountain as a lawful hero who is at least experience level 5, or else by being crowned while wielding a long sword as a lawful hero.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Demonbane's base item is changed, first to a mace via commit b1a5a9c3, then to a silver mace via commit 67d58202.

Generation

Knights and Valkyries start each game with a +1 long sword.[1][2]

Long swords make up 1⁄20 of weapons randomly generated on the floor, as death drops or in shops. General stores, antique weapon outlets and used armor dealerships can stock long swords.

Several monsters can be generated with long swords:

  • Barrow wights and Nazguls are always generated with long swords.[3]
  • Yendorian army lieutenants and captains, as well as watch captains, have a 1⁄2 chance of generating with a long sword as their primary weapon.[4][5]
  • A strong humanoid monster with a weapon attack, the ability to wield weapons and no other ruleset governing its monster starting inventory has a chance of generating with a long sword, unless they are being generated on the Rogue level:[6] the base odds are 1⁄14 for normal monsters, 1⁄12 for a monster that is a lord or nasty, 1⁄10 for a monster that is either an overlord or else is both a lord and nasty, and 1⁄8 for a monster that is both nasty and an overlord.
  • Chieftains, pages, roshi, and warriors have a 2⁄3 chance of generating with a long sword.[7]
  • Humanoid angelic beings are always generated with blessed, rustproofed and enchanted long swords, with the long sword always being made into either Sunsword or Demonbane for Archons, and a 1⁄20 chance of being made into either artifact for Angels and Aleaxes.[8]
  • Player monsters that are not monks, including those on the Astral Plane, have a 1⁄2 chance of being generated with a long sword as their initial weapon, and otherwise have a 5⁄116 chance (~4.3%) of generating one, resulting in an effective ~54.3% chance before role-based replacements.[9] Knights have a 3⁄4 chance of forcing a long sword in place of their initial weapon, resulting in an effective ~34.3% chance of their weapon being a long sword.[10]

A long sword is always generated in a niche within the first floor of Vlad's Tower.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit c09ae332, human Valkyries start the game with a +1 spear, while dwarvish Valkyries start the game with a +1 dwarvish spear.

As part of commit 20cbadc–which strengthens quest leaders and makes it so that killing them no longer makes the game unwinnable–the Valkyrie quest leader The Norn generates with a +4 long sword.

Long sword skill

Long sword
Max Role
Basic
Skilled
Expert

Both long swords and katanas use the long sword skill.

The following artifact weapons use the long sword skill:

  • Demonbane (lawful long sword)
  • Excalibur (lawful long sword)
  • Fire Brand (unaligned long sword)
  • Frost Brand (unaligned long sword)
  • Giantslayer (neutral long sword)
  • Snickersnee (lawful katana)
  • Sunsword (lawful long sword)
  • Vorpal Blade (neutral long sword)

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Demonbane uses the mace skill as a result of the aforementioned base item changes.

Strategy

The long sword is one of the more popular weapons for its damage and versatility, and has the highest amount of artifact weapons at 7. Heroes in roles that start with one (i.e. Knights and Valkyries) or else find one early in the game should ideally make it their main or backup weapon until they can either sacrifice for an artifact weapon or dip for Excalibur if lawful. Lawful and neutral roles that are restricted in long sword can unrestrict the skill by receiving one of the many artifact long swords as a sacrifice gift, as well as via crowning (even if they do not receive Excalibur or Vorpal Blade this way). The long sword is also a popular off-hand weapon for two weapon combat.

Barrow wights are a reliable source of long swords for heroes that can deal with them efficiently. Heroes that are especially desperate for a long sword may consider attacking the Minetown watch captain, or else using a pet to kill them, if they have generated with a long sword.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

The changes to Excalibur dipping make it so that Knights are the role that can most reliably create the artifact—combined with the changes to Demonbane, other lawful roles are less likely to unrestrict the long sword skill and gain relatively access to Excalibur in order to utilize it.

While it is still possible to do, unrestricting long swords and obtaining Excalibur will likely prove tedious unless a player is especially patient: for example, while Valkyries still have the same skill level cap for long swords, they will have to obtain a long sword to dip elsewhere (e.g. hunting down barrow wights), and their odds are low enough that they are sometimes better off sticking with their spear and/or sacrificing for Mjollnir (both of which are still respectable sources of damage for them).

History

The long sword first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.

Origin

Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:

Like most melee weapons in NetHack, the long sword and its damage dice originate in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and many modern fantasy works depict long swords in a similar manner. In the study of historical weapons, however, the term long sword or longsword refers to a medieval two-handed sword, the adjective "long" describing the long, two-handed grip rather than the length of the blade. The weapon depicted in NetHack is closer to a knightly sword, a single-handed weapon used throughout the Middle Ages that originally developed from Viking weapons. The knightly sword had a thick blade intended primarily for slashing or cutting, although later examples could thrust effectively as well. Medieval (two-handed) longswords were often derived from knightly swords, with examples differing from the latter only in the length of the hilt.

As armor became thicker, the one-handed knightly sword was relegated to the status of a sidearm (referred to as an arming sword or side-sword), with the two-handed longsword predominating in combat. However, once the advent of firearms rendered metal armor ineffective in war, the single-handed arming sword came to prominence in civilian use, gradually evolving into the light and slender rapier, a weapon intended mainly for thrusting at unarmored targets.

Variants

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM adds the silver long sword as a weapon that uses the long sword skill, and is simply a long sword made of silver. SLASH'EM also adds the following artifact weapons that use the long sword skill:

The artifact long sword Giantslayer is replaced by Giantkiller, an artifact axe.

The Valkyrie's starting +1 long sword is replaced with a +1 spear, and dwarven Valkyries will be given a +1 dwarvish spear instead.[11][12]

The Rat King is always generated with a long sword on his square.

SporkHack

SporkHack also adds the silver long sword as a weapon that uses the long sword skill, and is simply a long sword made of silver: Sunsword has its base item changed to a silver long sword. SporkHack also adds a new artifact long sword in Dirge, a chaotic counterpart to Excalibur.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, black marketeers are always generated with an enchanted long sword.

dNetHack

dNetHack adds the crystal sword, white vibrosword, gold-bladed vibrosword, and red-eyed vibrosword as weapons that use the long sword skill. dNetHack also adds several artifacts that use the long sword skill:

The Singing Sword is an unaligned artifact whose base item is a long sword, but it does not use the long sword skill—it instead uses and exercises the musicalize spell skill.

Some artifacts make particular use of the long sword skill: Sunsword is a silvered gold long sword and uses the stronger between your long sword and short sword skills, and invoking Tobiume casts the fireball or fire storm spell using the stronger between the hero's attack spells and long sword skills. The Fire Crystal boosts the hero's skill in long sword by one level while carried.

Hydrargyrumach Rilmani are generated with metallic long swords. Ancient nagas are generated with two huge long swords. Gray intoners and any Eladrin that are summoned by Dracae Eladrin, but are not Uiscerre Eladrin, will generate with dragonbone long swords.

The minor spires encountered in the Outlands of the Neutral Quest may contain a long sword made of silver and a shield of reflection if Mirror Brand has already been generated.

Excalibur can be created from a long sword of any material via dipping or wishing. Fire Brand and Frost Brand have a 1⁄3 chance of generating as a long sword, and can be wished for in the form of a crystal sword as well.

Eden is a spirit that grants skill in long swords while bound.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, Fire Brand and Frost Brand are changed to short swords.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, two short swords can be combined at a furnace to create a long sword.

notdNetHack

In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, Berith generates with a long sword when summoned by an Illithanachronounbinder.

EvilHack

EvilHack adds the orcish long sword, elven long sword and dark elven long sword as weapons that use the long sword skill. EvilHack also adds some artifacts that use the long sword skill:

Fire Brand and Frost Brand are changed to short swords, similar to xNetHack.

A long sword can be created at a forge by combining two short swords. Long swords can be used to create a few other items:

  • A long sword can be combined with a scimitar to create a saber.
  • A long sword can be combined with a broadsword to create a two-handed sword.
  • Two long swords can be combined to create a katana.

SlashTHEM

In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM adds the electric sword as a weapon that uses the long sword skill. SlashTHEM also adds several artifacts that use the long sword skill, including several from other variants:

Clockwork automaton heroes can always reach a minimum of Basic skill in long swords.

Hack'EM

Hack'EM adds the orcish and elven long swords from EvilHack as weapons that use the long sword skill. Hack'EM also adds Giantslayer from NetHack, Thiefbane from SLASH'EM, Dirge from EvilHack, and Kiku-ichimonji from dNetHack and SlashTHEM - it additionally introduces The Master Sword, a silver long sword that is capable of firing magic missiles.

Upgrading a long sword will produce an elven long sword, and upgrading an orcish long sword will produce a long sword.

References

  1. ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 74
  2. ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 153
  3. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 474
  4. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 203
  5. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 207
  6. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 539
  7. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 292
  8. ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 329
  9. ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 155: 1⁄2 to get a random weapon - the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in objects.c, and uses normal generation odds
  10. ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 199
  11. ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 229
  12. ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 343
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