Vorpal Blade - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: note in generation, touch-ups

2026-03-23T19:21:38Z

note in generation, touch-ups

Quietust: mention the "snicker-snack" message here, which happens if you get crowned as a Neutral while already wielding it

2026-03-20T21:31:44Z

mention the "snicker-snack" message here, which happens if you get crowned as a Neutral while already wielding it

Umbire the Phantom: pothole, evil

2025-12-19T19:37:05Z

pothole, evil

Umbire the Phantom: ditto here

2025-07-02T17:23:11Z

ditto here

Umbire the Phantom: /* UnNetHack */ detail

2025-04-25T21:31:28Z

‎UnNetHack: detail

Aximili: /* Description */ typo

2025-04-13T01:35:51Z

‎Description: typo

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ detailing, upcoming

2025-04-09T09:58:44Z

‎Generation: detailing, upcoming

Umbire the Phantom: /* SLASH'EM */ link

2025-04-04T08:29:44Z

‎SLASH'EM: link

Umbire the Phantom: updates and detailing

2025-04-04T08:26:03Z

updates and detailing

Show changes

Umbire the Phantom: /* EvilHack */ objmat too

2025-01-28T05:03:37Z

‎EvilHack: objmat too

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 A long sword randomly generated on the ground or as a [[death drop]] has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which has a {{frac|6}} chance of being made into Vorpal Blade.
-A neutral [[hero]] may receive Vorpal Blade as a possible [[sacrifice]] gift. Vorpal Blade is the default neutral [[crowning]] gift for a neutral hero in most roles: the only exceptions are neutral [[Monk]]s and [[Wizard]]s, who can only receive it this way by carrying their role's crowning gift [[spellbook]] ({{+ of|finger of death}} for Wizards, and {{+ of|restore ability}} for Monks) when they are crowned.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|783|nethack=3.6.7}}
+A neutral [[hero]] may receive Vorpal Blade as a possible [[sacrifice]] gift. Vorpal Blade is the default neutral [[crowning]] gift for a neutral hero in most roles: the only exceptions are neutral [[Monk]]s and [[Wizard]]s, who can only receive it this way by carrying their role's crowning gift [[spellbook]] ({{+ of|finger of death}} for Wizards, and {{+ of|restore ability}} for Monks) when they are crowned.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|783|nethack=3.6.7}} A message is printed if the hero is wielding the artifact when they would otherwise receive it by crowning.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|857|nethack=3.6.7|name="snickers"}}
 [[Player monster]]s on the [[Astral Plane]] that generate with a long sword have a {{frac|2}} chance of that long sword being turned into an available compatible artifact, which then has a {{frac|6}} of being made into specifically Vorpal Blade assuming no compatible artifacts have already been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=Artifact generation for Astral Plane player monsters}}
@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 ==Messages==
-{{message|Vorpal Blade <beheads/decapitates> the <monster>!|A monster was instantly killed by the artifact's special beheading attack.}}
+{{message|Your Vorpal Blade goes snicker-snack!|You were [[crowned]] while already wielding Vorpal Blade.<ref name="snickers"/>}}
 {{message|Vorpal Blade <beheads/decapitates> it!|As above, with an unseen monster.}}
-{{message|Somehow, you miss the <monster> wildly.|You would have beheaded a monster with Vorpal Blade, but it lacks a head and thus takes no damage.<ref name="miss"/>}}
+{{message|Somehow, you miss <the monster> wildly.|You would have beheaded a monster with Vorpal Blade, but it lacks a head and thus takes no damage.<ref name="miss"/>}}
-{{message|Vorpal Blade slices through <monster>'s neck.|As above. but the monster was unsolid and ''not'' headless (e.g. a [[ghost]] or [[shade]]) and takes normal damage.<ref name="unsolid"/>}}
+{{message|Vorpal Blade slices through <the monster>'s neck.|As above. but the monster was unsolid and ''not'' headless (e.g. a [[ghost]] or [[shade]]) and takes normal damage.<ref name="unsolid"/>}}
 {{message|Vorpal Blade decapitates you!|You were beheaded by a monster wielding Vorpal Blade.}}
-{{message|Somehow, <foo> misses you wildly.|As above, but you were in a headless form.<ref name="miss"/>}}
+{{message|Somehow, <the monster> misses you wildly.|As above, but you were in a headless form.<ref name="miss"/>}}
-{{message|Vorpal Blade slices through your neck.|As above, but you were in an unsolid form with a head.<ref name="unsolid"/>}}
+{{message|Vorpal Blade slices through your neck.|As above, but you were in an unsolid form with a head and took normal damage.<ref name="unsolid"/>}}
 ==Variants==

@@ Line 89: / Line 89: @@
 {{message|Somehow, <foo> misses you wildly.|As above, but you were in a headless form.<ref name="miss"/>}}
 {{message|Vorpal Blade slices through your neck.|As above, but you were in an unsolid form with a head.<ref name="unsolid"/>}}
 ==Variants==

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
    |material=iron
 }}
 '''Vorpal Blade''' is an [[artifact]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. It is [[neutral]]-aligned, and its [[base item]] is a [[long sword]].
@@ Line 134: / Line 133: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], Vorpal Blade is made of [[steel]], warns of jabberwocks and [[Vorpal jabberwock (EvilHack)|vorpal jabberwocks]] while wielded, causes any monster of either type that sees it to become hostile, and additionally protects against beheading attacks while wielded.
+In [[EvilHack]], Vorpal Blade is made of [[steel]], protects against beheading attacks and warns of jabberwocks and [[Vorpal jabberwock (EvilHack)|vorpal jabberwocks]] while wielded, and causes any monster of either type that sees it to become hostile.
-[[Cerberus]] is immune to decapitation by Vorpal Blade, as he will instantly grow a new head in its place before the other two can be removed.
+[[Cerberus (EvilHack)|Cerberus]] is immune to decapitation by Vorpal Blade, as he will instantly grow a new head in its place before the other two can be removed.
 Vorpal Blade can be combined with [[Dramborleg]] at a [[Forge (dungeon feature)|forge]] to create [[Ithilmar]], an artifact set of [[runed barding]].

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 A long sword randomly generated on the ground or as a [[death drop]] has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which has a {{frac|6}} chance of being made into Vorpal Blade.
-A neutral [[hero]] may receive Vorpal Blade as a possible [[sacrifice]] gift. Vorpal Blade is the default neutral [[crowning]] gift for a neutral hero in most roles: the only exceptions are neutral [[Monk]]s and [[Wizard]]s, who can only receive it this way by carrying their role's crowning gift [[spellbook]] ([[finger of death]] for Wizards, and {{+ of|restore ability}} for Monks) when they are crowned.
+A neutral [[hero]] may receive Vorpal Blade as a possible [[sacrifice]] gift. Vorpal Blade is the default neutral [[crowning]] gift for a neutral hero in most roles: the only exceptions are neutral [[Monk]]s and [[Wizard]]s, who can only receive it this way by carrying their role's crowning gift [[spellbook]] ({{+ of|finger of death}} for Wizards, and {{+ of|restore ability}} for Monks) when they are crowned.{{refsrc|src/pray.c|783|nethack=3.6.7}}
 [[Player monster]]s on the [[Astral Plane]] that generate with a long sword have a {{frac|2}} chance of that long sword being turned into an available compatible artifact, which then has a {{frac|6}} of being made into specifically Vorpal Blade assuming no compatible artifacts have already been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=Artifact generation for Astral Plane player monsters}}

@@ Line 123: / Line 123: @@
 ===UnNetHack===
-In [[UnNetHack]], Vorpal Blade deals +1d8 damage to all monsters, [[Warned of monster type|warns of jabberwocks]] and other monsters in the [[Jabberwock (monster class)|jabberwock]] [[monster class]] while wielded, and instakills [[Vorpal jabberwock (UnNetHack)|vorpal jabberwocks]] on hit as well as regular jabberwocks. The average damage for an unenchanted Vorpal Blade is 9 versus small monsters and 11 versus large ones.
+In [[UnNetHack]], Vorpal Blade deals +1d8 damage to all monsters, [[Warned of monster type|warns of jabberwocks]] and other monsters in the [[Jabberwock (monster class)|jabberwock]] [[monster class]] while wielded, instakills [[Vorpal jabberwock (UnNetHack)|vorpal jabberwocks]] on hit as well as regular jabberwocks, and protects its wielder from decapitation. The average damage for an unenchanted Vorpal Blade is 9 versus small monsters and 11 versus large ones.
 ===dNetHack===

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Vorpal Blade has +1d5 [[to-hit]] and +1 damage bonuses against all monsters, with a {{frac|20}} chance (5%) of instantaneously killing monsters it hits by [[beheading]] them&mdash;this deals damage equal to twice that monster's HP, ignoring any damage penalties, and due to its calculation method is not considered a "true" [[instadeath]]. This also applies to a hero hit with Vorpal Blade: if they are polymorphed into a monster and decapitated, they will die and be returned to their base form as usual.{{refsrc|src/artifact.c|1337|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} If Vorpal Blade hits a [[jabberwock]] (including a hero in the form of one), it will always behead them.{{refsrc|src/artifact.c|1296|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} If a monster (including the hero) would be beheaded with Vorpal Blade and has a head, but they are also [[unsolid]], the sword will slice through the neck without beheading them and deal normal damage.{{refsrc|src/artifact.c|1312|version=NetHack 3.6.7|name=unsolid}}
-How many heads the victim actually has (e.g. [[ettin]]s and their [[ettin zombie|zombie]]/[[ettin mummy|mummy]] forms) has no bearing on the beheading effect: so long as they are corporeal and havea head, Vorpal Blade can behead and kill them.{{refsrc|include/artilist.h|145|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=the artifact entry notes that allowing for unusual messages, e.g. when decapitating multi-headed monsters, would cause more trouble than worth addressing}} However, if the target has [[Headless|no head at all]], or else the hero is attacking a monster currently [[engulfing]] them with the artifact, it instead has a {{frac|20}} chance (5%) of missing completely and dealing no damage in those cases.{{refsrc|src/artifact.c|1304|version=NetHack 3.6.7|name=miss}}
+How many heads the victim actually has (e.g. [[ettin]]s and their [[ettin zombie|zombie]]/[[ettin mummy|mummy]] forms) has no bearing on the beheading effect: so long as they are corporeal and have a head, Vorpal Blade can behead and kill them.{{refsrc|include/artilist.h|145|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=the artifact entry notes that allowing for unusual messages, e.g. when decapitating multi-headed monsters, would cause more trouble than worth addressing}} However, if the target has [[Headless|no head at all]], or else the hero is attacking a monster currently [[engulfing]] them with the artifact, it instead has a {{frac|20}} chance (5%) of missing completely and dealing no damage in those cases.{{refsrc|src/artifact.c|1304|version=NetHack 3.6.7|name=miss}}
 ==Strategy==

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Generation==
-Any randomly generated long sword has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into Vorpal Blade.
+A long sword randomly generated on the ground or as a [[death drop]] has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which has a {{frac|6}} chance of being made into Vorpal Blade.
 A neutral [[hero]] may receive Vorpal Blade as a possible [[sacrifice]] gift. Vorpal Blade is the default neutral [[crowning]] gift for a neutral hero in most roles: the only exceptions are neutral [[Monk]]s and [[Wizard]]s, who can only receive it this way by carrying their role's crowning gift [[spellbook]] ([[finger of death]] for Wizards, and {{+ of|restore ability}} for Monks) when they are crowned.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 [[Player monster]]s on the [[Astral Plane]] that generate with a long sword have a {{frac|2}} chance of that long sword being turned into an available compatible artifact, which then has a {{frac|6}} of being made into specifically Vorpal Blade assuming no compatible artifacts have already been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment=Artifact generation for Astral Plane player monsters}}
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|The odds of a randomly generated object being made into a compatible object now also lowers depending on how many artifacts are already generated: {{frac|30}} if one artifact has been found, {{frac|40}} if two have been found, etc.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|b1a5a9c3903a0282f82787d20fd70f13196e2465}}, [[Demonbane]]'s base item is a changed to a [[mace]], so any long sword made into an artifact has a {{frac|5}} chance of being made into Vorpal Blade.
 ==Description==

@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
-In [[SLASH'EM]], Vorpal Blade beheads targets {{frac|10}} (10%) of the time, making it considerably more powerful. A similar weapon, [[Thiefbane]], has a 10% chance of beheading any {{white|@}}.
+In [[SLASH'EM]], Vorpal Blade beheads targets {{frac|10}} (10%) of the time, making it considerably more powerful. A similar weapon, [[Thiefbane]], has a 10% chance of beheading any {{mcsl|@}}.
 Despite their monster type, [[Vorpal jabberwock (SLASH'EM)|vorpal jabberwocks]] in SLASH'EM are not subject to decapitation on any hit of Vorpal Blade as with normal jabberwocks, instead having the same chance as any other monster.

@@ Line 126: / Line 126: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-In [[EvilHack]], Vorpal Blade warns of jabberwocks and additionally protects against beheading attacks.
+In [[EvilHack]], Vorpal Blade is made of [[steel]], warns of jabberwocks and additionally protects against beheading attacks.
 [[Cerberus]] is immune to decapitation by Vorpal Blade, as he will instantly grow a new head in its place before the other two can be removed.