Battle-axe
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | battle-axe |
| Appearance | double-headed axe |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8+1d4 (2-12) |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6+2d4 (3-14) |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | axe |
| Size | two-handed |
| Base price | 40 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 120 |
| Material | iron |
A battle-axe is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a two-handed melee weapon that uses the axe skill, and appears as a double-headed axe when unidentified.
The battle-axe is the base item for the artifact Cleaver.
Generation
Barbarians have a 1⁄2 chance of starting the game with a +0 battle-axe as their starting axe.[1][2]
In addition to random generation, general shops and antique weapon outlets can sell battle-axes.
Ogres can be generated with battle-axes: ogres have a 1⁄12 chance, ogre lords have a 1⁄6 chance, and ogre kings have a 1⁄3 chance.[3]
A strong humanoid monster with a weapon attack, the ability to wield weapons and no other ruleset governing its monster starting inventory has a chance of generating with a battle-axe, unless they are being generated on the Rogue level: the base odds are 1⁄14 for normal monsters, 1⁄12 for a monster that is a lord or nasty, 1⁄10 for a monster that is an overlord or both a lord and nasty, and 1⁄8 for a monster that is both nasty and an overlord.[4]
Strategy
While they may be powerful early-game choices, battle-axes are two-handed. This means that if a battle-axe become cursed while you wield it, you will lose the ability to do a number of actions. In NetHack 3.6.0 and later, players wielding two-handed weapons can use the #tip command to get items out of containers and onto the floor, so the curse is slightly more manageable than in earlier versions.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 44: Barbarian initial inventory
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 680: Barbarian inventory substitution;
rn2(100)is used rather thatrn2(2) - ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 434
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 521: Case for battle-axe in "default" monster weapon generation
