Bare hands
In NetHack, the bare hands skill is used when the hero attacks while wielding nothing. Every role except for the Monk and Samurai has this , who instead possess the superior martial arts skill.
Bare hands skill
| Bare hands | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
| Expert | |
| Master | |
Fighting while not wielding anything naturally trains the bare hands skill. Barbarians and Cavepeople, who can reach Master, start with Basic skill, while all other roles start as Unskilled. No role can advance to Grand Master in bare hands.
Damage calculation
Attacks using the hero's bare hands (or bare gloves if wearing them) have a base damage of 1d2 against both small and large monsters, with the exception of shades (who take 0 base damage).[1] These attacks gain damage bonuses for strength, as well as skill-based damage bonuses: +1 for Basic or Skilled level, or +2 for Expert or Master level, with an average of is (1 + (2 + x))/2 where x is the applied bonus.[2] Skill training and skill-based damage bonuses only apply for hits with more than 1 base damage. In addition, bare-handed attacks with at least Basic skill have a small chance of performing a staggering blow on hit.
Blessed gloves grant a +1d4 damage bonus to bare-handed attacks against undead and major demons. Wearing a ring with the randomized appearance of a silver ring without wearing gloves over them grants a +1d20 damage bonus to bare-handed attacks against silver-haters (which is not applied twice if wearing two silver rings).[3]
Below is a table that outlines damage and to-hit bonuses for skill in barehanded combat, along with the average damage - not:
| + to-hit | + damage | average damage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | +1 | +0 | 1.5 |
| Basic | +1 | +1 | 2 |
| Skilled | +2 | +1 | 2 |
| Expert | +2 | +2 | 2.5 |
| Master | +3 | +2 | 2.5 |
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Per commit c1c515af, skill-based damage bonus is applied regardless of base damage, though hits that roll base damage of 1 will still not train the skill.
Per commit 60c19568, bare-handed combat has a skill dependent chance of performing a second attack automatically: this has a 1⁄5 chance of occurring for each skill level above Basic, e.g. 2⁄5 for Skilled or 4⁄5 for Grand Master. Each hit only gains a 3⁄4 bonus to strength when attacking twice, though both attacks landing results in a net 3⁄2 strength bonus.Strategy
Barehanded combat can be serviceable for certain starting heroes until they find a proper weapon, and may even be viable in certain situations where the hero is either desperate or does not want to risk degrading of particular weapons (e.g. fighting a rust monster). Generally though, the skill is rarely worth enhancing for such marginal benefits, and any ranged attack options may be more favorable.
For weaponless conduct, roles with martial arts are preferred due to superious Bare-handed attacks do not break the never hit with a wielded weapon conduct. However, a role with martial arts is much more suitable for this conduct.
History
In NetHack 3.4.3, there is no to-hit bonus for this skill.[4]
A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:
"Verify the exact commit(s) that remedied this and clarify when they were implemented."
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, drow heroes can put monsters to sleep by attacking in barehanded combat, which can be deceptively powerful against certain monsters that lack sleep resistance.
SporkHack
In SporkHack, advancing the skill grants to-hit bonuses.
