Shattering blow
A shattering blow is a type of attack in NetHack that the hero can perform at random when attacking, and is capable of destroying a monster's weapon.
Description
To perform a shattering blow, the hero must be wielding a two-handed weapon as any role, or wielding a katana as a Samurai, and their skill in that weapon must be at Skilled or higher. Cleaver cannot be used to perform shattering blows, due to the artifact striking in an arc.[1]
A shattering blow has a base 1⁄40 chance (2.5%) of occurring when attacking a monster wielding a weapon under the above conditions, with the odds increasing if the target's weapon is more eroded than the attacker's, and decreasing if the attacker's weapon is more eroded than the target's.[2] If a shattering blow occurs, the target's wielded weapon is destroyed unless it is flimsy or an artifact weapon, and the monster will turn to flee 3⁄4 (75%) of the time and become scared for 2d3 turns[3][4] - this will occur before any damage dealt from the blow itself.
Messages
- <The monster>'s <weapon> shatters from the force of your blow!
- You attacked a monster and performed a shattering blow.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the chance of a shattering blow (or shattering strike) occurring is raised to 1⁄10 (10%) for all roles except the Barbarian, who has a special rule raising their odds of a shattering blow to 1⁄5 (20%).
The same conditions from NetHack apply, i.e. the hero must be wielding a weapon with Skilled level or better, the weapon must be two-handed for them (since two-handedness in dNetHack depends on monster size compared to their weapon size) or a katana for a Samurai, and they must attack a monster wielding a weapon that is not flimsy or an artifact. Shattering blows can also be performed with the following weapons and under the following conditions:
- Cleaver and the Atlantean Royal Sword always shatter wielded weapons on hit.
- The double-bladed Pen of the Void can perform shattering blows while the spirit Berith is bound into the artifact.
- Lightsabers are capable of destroying weapons.
- The Green Dragon Crescent Blade has a skill-based chance to shatter a target's weapon (specifically SL + 2⁄20).
