Stiletto
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | stiletto |
| Appearance | stiletto |
| Damage vs. small | 1d3 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d2 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | knife |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 4 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 5 |
| Material | iron |
A stiletto is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is made of iron and uses the knife skill, and can double as a projectile weapon.
Contents
Generation
Stilettos make up about 0.5% of randomly generated weapons (on the floor, in shops, or as death drops).
Salamanders have a 1⁄21 chance of being generated with a stiletto.[1]
Strategy
Stilettos are identical to knives and much rarer, making them impractical to collect for use as projectiles - standard knives are somewhat more common, and weapons such as daggers, spears and the similarly-rare shuriken offer much more damage.
History
The stiletto first appears in NetHack 3.1.0. Stilettos become stackable and eligible for multishot in NetHack 3.6.0.
Origin
A stiletto is a specialized dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a thrusting and stabbing weapon - the blade's narrow width and sharply-tapered tip allow it to penetrate deeply for this purpose. While considered a form of dagger, most stilettos are not designed for cutting or slashing, even with edged examples.
Over time, the term stiletto has been used as a general descriptive term for a variety of narrow knife blades with minimal cutting surfaces and a needle-like point, and in American English can also refer to a switchblade knife with a stiletto- or bayonet-type blade design. The term may also describe any exaggeratedly thin and pointed feature, such as a stiletto heel.
Variants
Some variants of NetHack make the stiletto somewhat more common.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, several monsters can generate with stilettos:
- A witch has a 9⁄10 chance of generating with a stiletto.
- A maid has a 4⁄5 chance of generating with a stiletto if the player character is a Samurai, and a 3⁄10 chance otherwise.
- A garo always generates with two different stilettos.
- A garo master always generates with two different stilettos, both of which are cursed and enchanted to +4.
- Glass golems and argentum golems have a 1⁄12 chance of generating with a stiletto of the same material as them, while gold golems have a 1⁄6 chance of generating with a stiletto of the same material as them.
- Seyll Auzkovyn generates with a pair of blessed mithril stilettos.
- Y-cultists have a 1⁄10 chance of generating with a stiletto - the stiletto can be made of iron (1⁄2 chance), obsidian (1⁄4 chance) or bone (1⁄2 chance), and has a 1⁄20 chance of being filth-poisoned.
- Lady Constance generates with a +7 damp and psionic mineral stiletto.
- Contaminated patients have a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a poisoned stiletto alongside a yellow robe.
- The Master of Thieves generates with a blessed +4 stiletto.
- Wizard driver and wizard leader Amm Kamerel generate with a small stiletto that will be at least +1 and has an equal chance of being made of bronze, silver or glass.
- Oona generates with a blessed +3 stiletto as her offhand weapon, with the object property of her weapon dependent on her elemental affinity (e.g. a fiery Oona will have an "arcing" stiletto, a cold Oona has a "forge-hot" stiletto and so on).
xNetHack
xNetHack removes the stiletto from the list of available objects.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, Oathkeeper and Spineseeker are artifact stilettos.
Encyclopedia entry
Possibly perceiving an expression of dubiosity on their
faces, the globetrotter went on adhering to his adventures.
-- And I seen a man killed in Trieste by an Italian chap.
Knife in his back. Knife like that.
Whilst speaking he produced a dangerous looking clasp knife,
quite in keeping with his character, and held it in the
striking position.
-- In a knockingshop it was count of a tryon between two
smugglers. Fellow hid behind a door, come up behind him.
Like that. Prepare to meet your God, says he. Chuck! It
went into his back up to the butt.
