War hammer - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: dropped an entire number

2026-06-04T17:18:42Z

dropped an entire number

Umbire the Phantom: full update pass

2026-06-04T16:50:40Z

full update pass

Umbire the Phantom: Undo revision 195861 by Umbire the Phantom (talk)

2025-12-09T10:23:11Z

Undo revision 195861 by Umbire the Phantom (talk)

Umbire the Phantom: tweak

2025-12-09T10:22:57Z

tweak

Umbire the Phantom: base damage range

2025-12-09T10:22:36Z

base damage range

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ typo

2025-12-03T05:43:44Z

‎dNetHack: typo

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ last bit for the moment ideally

2025-12-03T05:43:11Z

‎Description: last bit for the moment ideally

Umbire the Phantom: and another

2025-12-03T05:41:03Z

and another

Umbire the Phantom: /* Hammer skill */ word choice

2025-12-03T04:57:24Z

‎Hammer skill: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* Generation */ punc, etc.

2025-12-03T04:56:56Z

‎Generation: punc, etc.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 [[Player monster]]s, including those generated on the [[Astral Plane]], have a low {{frac|5|388}} chance (effectively ~1.29%) of generating with a war hammer as their weapon before the following adjustments are applied:{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|150|nethack=5.0.0|comment={{frac|2}} to get a random weapon&mdash;the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in <tt>objects.h</tt>, and uses normal generation odds}}
-* [[Valkyrie (player monster)|Valkyries]] have a {{frac|2}} chance of forcing a war hammer as their weapon, raising their effective chance to.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|233-L234|nethack=5.0.0}}
+* [[Valkyrie (player monster)|Valkyries]] have a {{frac|2}} chance of forcing a war hammer as their weapon, raising their effective chance to ~50.64%.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|233-L234|nethack=5.0.0}}
 * As with other player monster weapons on the Astral Plane, the war hammer has a {{frac|2}} chance of being made into either Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if it is not replaced and neither artifact has been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|264-L266|nethack=5.0.0}}
 * Player monsters that retain the war hammer as their weapon are given [[gauntlets of power]].{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|285-L286|nethack=5.0.0}}

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
   |material=iron
 }}
-A '''war hammer''' is a type of [[weapon]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. It is a [[one-handed]] [[melee]] weapon that is made of [[iron]].
+A '''war hammer''' is a type of [[weapon]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. It is a [[one-handed]] [[melee]] weapon that can also be [[thrown]], and is made of [[iron]].
 The war hammer is the [[base item]] for the [[artifact]]s [[Mjollnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]].
 ==Generation==
-War hammers make up {{frac|3|200}} (1.5%) of all weapons randomly generated on the ground, in general [[shop]]s or as death drops. Antique weapon outlets and used armor dealerships can also stock war hammers. A normally-generated war hammer has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which will either be Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if neither artifact has been generated.
+The war hammer makes up {{frac|3|200}} (1.5%) of all weapons that are randomly generated on the ground, in general [[shop]]s or as [[death drop]]s. Used armor dealerships and antique weapons outlets can also stock war hammers. A war hammer generated this way has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which will either be Mjollnir or Ogresmasher assuming no artifacts have been generated.{{refsrc|src/mkobj.c|889-L893|nethack=5.0.0|comment=artifact generation}}
-[[Player monster]]s, including those on the [[Astral Plane]], have a ~1.3% chance of [[generating with]] a war hammer as their initial weapon before role-based replacements{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|155|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment={{frac|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}}&mdash;as with other player monster weapons on the Astral Plane, the hammer has a {{frac|2}} chance of being made into either Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if neither artifact has been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} [[Valkyrie (player monster)|Valkyries]] have a {{frac|2}} chance of being given a war hammer as their weapon.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|239|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
+[[Player monster]]s, including those generated on the [[Astral Plane]], have a low {{frac|5|388}} chance (effectively ~1.29%) of generating with a war hammer as their weapon before the following adjustments are applied:{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|150|nethack=5.0.0|comment={{frac|2}} to get a random weapon&mdash;the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in <tt>objects.h</tt>, and uses normal generation odds}}
 ==Hammer skill==
 {{hammer skill table}}
-The war hammer is the only weapon to use the '''hammer''' [[skill]]&mdash;despite its name, the [[lucern hammer]] is a type of [[polearm]] and uses that skill instead.
+The war hammer is the only weapon to use the '''hammer''' [[skill]].
 ==Description==
-The war hammer deals 1d4+1 damage to small monsters and 1d4 damage to large monsters, and gains a +2 [[to-hit]] bonus when [[thrown]].{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1070|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1672|nethack=3.6.7}}
+The war hammer deals 1d4+1 damage to small monsters and 1d4 damage to large monsters, and gains a +2 [[to-hit]] bonus when thrown.{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1437|nethack=5.0.0|comment=list of throwing weapons}}{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|2184-L2185|nethack=5.0.0|comment=to-hit bonuses for throwing weapons}} A hero can use a war hammer to shatter [[iron bars]], with the chance dependent on the hero's strength, whether they throw the weapon or [[force-fight]] with it, and the war hammer's [[enchantment]].{{refsrc|src/mthrowu.c|1473-L1490|nethack=5.0.0}}
 ==Strategy==
@@ Line 50: / Line 54: @@
 ==History==
-The war hammer first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.3]].
+The war hammer first appears in [[NetHack 3.0.3]]: In previous versions, the lucern hammer (which first appears in [[NetHack 1.3d]]) was erroneously classified as using the hammer skill rather than [[polearm]] skill&mdash;this mistake was carried over from early editions of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' and retained across several versions, leading to [[Thunderfist]] (the predecessor of Mjollnir) and Ogresmasher each having the base item of a lucern hammer when they were introduced in [[NetHack 3.0.0]]. The addition of the war hammer is meant to correct this mistake.
-In previous versions, the lucern hammer (which first appears in [[NetHack 1.3d]]) was erroneously classified as using the hammer skill rather than [[polearm]] skill&mdash;this mistake was carried over from early editions of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', and led to [[Thunderfist]] (the predecessor of Mjollnir) and Ogresmasher each having the base item of a lucern hammer when they were introduced in [[NetHack 3.0.0]]. The war hammer was introduced in part to correct this mistake.
+The ability of a war hammer to break iron bars is added in [[NetHack 5.0.0]] via {{commit|f61e1e8e23f48f670c5b7c465089effd7743aba9}}.
 ==Origin==
@@ Line 62: / Line 66: @@
 ==Variants==
 ===SLASH'EM===
 [[SLASH'EM]] adds a new type of hammer in the [[heavy hammer]], which is stronger than the war hammer and used as the base item for Mjollnir&mdash;this change is derived from [[NetHack Plus]] and [[SLASH 6]].
@@ Line 68: / Line 74: @@
 [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]] add the [[church-hammer]], [[smithing hammer]] and [[seismic hammer]] as weapons that use the hammer skill.
-The war hammer itself is improved: it deals 1d8+1 bludgeoning damage to small monsters and 1d8 bludgeoning damage to large ones, and can be thrown with no to-hit penalty. A hero wielding a war hammer with Expert skill in hammers gains the "hew", "stunning strike" and "penetrate armor" [[expert trait]]s.
+The war hammer itself is improved as a weapon: it deals 1d8+1 bludgeoning damage to small monsters and 1d8 bludgeoning damage to large ones, and can be thrown with no to-hit penalty as in ''NetHack''. A hero wielding a war hammer while they are at Skilled or better in hammers gains the "hew", "stunning strike" and "penetrate armor" [[expert trait]]s.
-[[Gold golem]]s have a {{frac|6}} chance of being generated with a [[Gold (material)|gold]] war hammer. [[Iron golem]]s have a {{frac|3}} chance of generating with a weapon set that includes an iron war hammer.
+[[Gold golem]]s have a {{frac|6}} chance of being generated with a [[golden]] war hammer. [[Iron golem]]s have a {{frac|3}} chance of generating with a weapon set that includes an iron war hammer.
 ===xNetHack===
-In [[xNetHack]], the war hammer is a [[two-handed]] weapon that deals 2d6 damage to small creatures and 2d8 to large creatures.
+In [[xNetHack]], the war hammer is a [[two-handed]] weapon that deals 2d6 damage to small monsters and 2d8 to large ones.
 ===EvilHack===
@@ Line 95: / Line 101: @@
 ==References==
 <references/>
-{{nethack-367}}
+{{nethack-500}}
 [[Category:Weapons]]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
   |smalldmg=1d4+1 (2-5)
   |largedmg=1d4 (1-4)
-  |tohit=+0
+  |tohit=0
   |skillraw=hammer
   |cost=5

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
   |smalldmg=1d4+1 (2-5)
   |largedmg=1d4 (1-4)
-  |tohit=0
+  |tohit=+0
   |skillraw=hammer
   |cost=5

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
   |name=war hammer
   |tile=[[image:war hammer.png]]
-  |smalldmg=1d4+1
+  |smalldmg=1d4+1 (2-5)
-  |largedmg=1d4
+  |largedmg=1d4 (1-4)
   |tohit=0
   |skillraw=hammer

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 The war hammer deals 1d4+1 damage to small monsters and 1d4 damage to large monsters, and gains a +2 [[to-hit]] bonus when [[thrown]].{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1070|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/dothrow.c|1672|nethack=3.6.7}}
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|f61e1e8e23f48f670c5b7c465089effd7743aba9}}, there is a small chance of breaking iron bars by hitting them with a [[war hammer]], and the chance is dependent on the hero's strength, whether they throw or [[force-fight]] with the weapon, and the war hammer's [[enchantment]].}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|f61e1e8e23f48f670c5b7c465089effd7743aba9}}, there is a small chance of breaking iron bars by hitting them with a war hammer&mdash;this chance is dependent on the hero's strength, whether they throw or [[force-fight]] with the weapon, and the war hammer's [[enchantment]].}}
 ==Strategy==

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 War hammers make up {{frac|3|200}} (1.5%) of all weapons randomly generated on the ground, in general [[shop]]s or as death drops. Antique weapon outlets and used armor dealerships can also stock war hammers. A normally-generated war hammer has a base {{frac|20}} chance of being made into an artifact, which will either be Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if neither artifact has been generated.
-[[Player monster]]s, including those on the [[Astral Plane]], have a ~1.3% chance of generating with a war hammer as their initial weapon before role-based replacements{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|155|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment={{frac|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}}&mdash;as with other player monster weapons on the Astral Plane, the hammer has a {{frac|2}} chance of being made into either Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if neither artifact has been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} [[Valkyrie (player monster)|Valkyries]] have a {{frac|2}} chance of being given a war hammer as their weapon.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|239|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
+[[Player monster]]s, including those on the [[Astral Plane]], have a ~1.3% chance of [[generating with]] a war hammer as their initial weapon before role-based replacements{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|155|version=NetHack 3.6.7|comment={{frac|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}}&mdash;as with other player monster weapons on the Astral Plane, the hammer has a {{frac|2}} chance of being made into either Mjollnir or Ogresmasher if neither artifact has been generated.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|270|version=NetHack 3.6.7}} [[Valkyrie (player monster)|Valkyries]] have a {{frac|2}} chance of being given a war hammer as their weapon.{{refsrc|src/mplayer.c|239|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
 ==Hammer skill==
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]] add the [[church-hammer]], [[smithing hammer]] and [[seismic hammer]] as weapons that use the hammer skill.
-The war hammer deals 1d8+1 bludgeoning damage to small monsters and 1d8 bludgeoning damage to large ones, and can be thrown with no to-hit penalty.
+The war hammer itself is improved: it deals 1d8+1 bludgeoning damage to small monsters and 1d8 bludgeoning damage to large ones, and can be thrown with no to-hit penalty. A hero wielding a war hammer with Expert skill in hammers gains the "hew", "stunning strike" and "penetrate armor" [[expert traits]].
 ===xNetHack===
@@ Line 74: / Line 76: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-[[EvilHack]] adds the [[heavy war hammer]], a stronger type of hammer that acts as the base item for Mjollnir and Ogresmasher.
+[[EvilHack]] adds the [[heavy war hammer]] as a stronger type of hammer, and it acts as the base item for Mjollnir, Ogresmasher and the [[Hammer of the Gods]] (which EvilHack introduces as an artifact).
 A war hammer can be created at a forge by combining a [[flail]] and a [[mace]]. War hammers can be used to create a few other items:
@@ Line 81: / Line 83: @@
 * A war hammer can be combined with a [[spear]] to create a [[bec de corbin]].
 * A war hammer can be combined with a [[knife]] to create a [[dented pot]].
 ==Encyclopedia entry==