Dagger

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Name	dagger
Appearance	dagger
Damage vs. small	1d4
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+2
Weapon skill	dagger
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	10
Material	iron

A dagger is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It can be used in melee and thrown as a projectile, and is made of iron.

Generation

Various roles start the game with one or more daggers:

• Human and gnomish Rangers start each game with a +1 dagger as their secondary weapon.
• Human Rogues start each game with a stack of +0 daggers as their secondary weapon.
• Valkyries start each game with a +0 dagger as their secondary weapon.

The dagger makes up about 3.0% of randomly generated weapons. In addition to random generation, weapon shops and general stores can stock daggers.

Various monsters are also generated with daggers:

• Watchmen and soldiers may generate with daggers.
• Students, attendants, abbots, acolytes, guides, and apprentices have an effective ¹⁄₃ chance of generating with a dagger.
• Hunters also have a ¹⁄₃ chance of generating with a dagger.
• Thugs have a ²⁄₃ chance of generating with a dagger.
• Hobbits have a ¹⁄₃ chance of generating with a dagger.
• Live dwarves have an effective ¹⁄₂ chance of generating with a dagger.
• Monsters with weapon attacks that do not have a default initial weapon may generate with a stack of daggers.

Dagger skill

Dagger
Max	Role
Basic	Archeologist, Barbarian, Caveman, Knight, Samurai
Skilled	Healer
Expert	Rogue, Ranger, Tourist, Valkyrie, Wizard

The following weapons use the dagger skill:

• dagger
• elven dagger
• orcish dagger
• silver dagger
• athame

The following artifact weapons use the dagger skill:

• Grimtooth (orcish dagger)
• Magicbane (athame)
• Sting (elven dagger)

Strategy

Despite their weight and low base damage, daggers can be very useful in the early game: a ranged volley at sufficient skill can kill monsters before they even breach melee range, and can at least soften them up before they can engage you. They are typically cheap, plentiful, and more durable than arrows, crossbow bolts and darts, but cannot be poisoned by dipping into a potion of sickness.

All roles except Monks and Priests can attain proficiency in dagger skill, and may wish to do so early on if the circumstances warrant it. A spare, non-cursed dagger can also serve as a makeshift "pick" for forcing open boxes.

Variants

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM features three new weapons that use the dagger skill: the dark elven dagger, the great dagger and the wooden stake. There are also new artifact weapons that use the dagger skill:

• The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa is an artifact great dagger that acts as the Necromancer quest artifact.
• Serpent's Tongue is a chaotic artifact dagger that is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Necromancers.
• Deep Freeze is an artifact athame that is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Ice Mages.
• Firewall is an artifact athame that is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Flame Mages.
• The Stake of Van Helsing is an artifact wooden stake that acts as the Undead Slayer quest artifact.

The dagger skill has also been adjusted across new and returning roles:

Dagger
Max	Role
Basic	Archeologist, Barbarian, Caveman, Knight, Samurai
Skilled	Healer, Yeoman
Expert	Flame Mage, Ice Mage, Necromancer, Rogue, Ranger, Tourist, Undead Slayer, Valkyrie, Wizard

All new roles can reach expert in dagger except the Yeoman, who can reach Skilled.

Encyclopedia entry

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.

[ Macbeth, by William Shakespeare ]