Buckler

[   buckler
Appearance	buckler
Slot	shield
Base size	small
AC	1
DR	0
MC	0
Magical item?	no
Properties	(none)
Base price	3 zm
Default weight	25
Base material	wood

A buckler is a type of shield that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. It is small and has a base material of wood.

The buckler is renamed from the small shield of NetHack, as dNetHack and its variants have multiple possible sizes for armor and other items.

The buckler is the base item for the artifact The Golden Knight, which is a golden buckler.

Generation

Half-dragon Noblewomen start each game with a +0 buckler. Priests start each game with a +0 buckler—drow Priests are given a +0 droven helm in place of the buckler. Valkyries start each game with a +3 buckler. Vampire Undead Hunters that start with a soldier's rapier or shanta-pata will be given a +0 buckler in place of the role's standard flintlock.

Heroes of certain races in roles that start with a buckler will be given a race-appropriate shield instead:

• Dwarven heroes that would start with a buckler will be given a dwarvish roundshield.
• Elven heroes that would start with a buckler will be given an elven shield.
• Orcish heroes that would start with a buckler will be given an orcish shield.

Bucklers make up ³⁄₅₀₀ (0.6%) of all shields that are randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock bucklers. Sand-walker's shops run by selkies in Elshava can stock bucklers.

Human smiths, Dracae Eladrin and Oona are all capable of smithing a buckler for a hero paying to request the service.

A blessed +2 buckler is generated on the Convict quest locate level, where it is placed in the chest within the warden's office during level creation.

Monster starting inventory

Many monsters can be generated with bucklers:

• Valavi have a ¹⁄₃ chance of generating with a buckler.
• A'salom, the Hedrow Noble quest leader, is generated with a +0 buckler.
• Hedrow master-wizards are always generated with bucklers.
• Mother, the Drow Noble quest leader and mother of the drow Noblewoman heroine, is always generated with a blessed and erosion-proofed +0 buckler.
• The sisters of the drow Noblewoman heroine that act as the Drow Noble quest guardians are always generated with bucklers.
• Y-cultist fighters have a ²⁄₃ chance of being given an equipment set that has a ¹⁄₄ chance of including a buckler (effectively a roughly ¹⁄₆ chance).
• Other drow that are capable of two-weapon combat and lack defined starting inventories will have a ²⁄₃ chance of being given an equipment set that has a ¹⁄₄ chance of including a buckler (effectively a roughly ¹⁄₆ chance).
• Troopers are generated with non-cursed plastic bucklers that have a ¹⁄₁₀ chance of being gray in color and will otherwise be white—the buckler will have an enchantment of either +2 or +3 with equal probability.
• Pages and warriors are always generated with bucklers.
• Mayor Cummerbund, the Pirate quest leader, is always generated with an erosion-proofed buckler that retains the higher enchantment between its initial value and a value randomly chosen from +1, +2 or +3.
• A mercenary that is not a Yendorian army fighter being created in the Law Quest will have a ²⁄₃ chance of being generated with a buckler whose base AC counts towards their total target AC.
• Aligned priests, high priests, the Arch Priest, and the elder priest always generate with a buckler.
• Cuprilach Rilmani have a ¹⁄₃ chance of being generated with an uncursed copper buckler that has a minimum enchantment of +2.
• Movanic Deva are always generated with bucklers.
• Coure Eladrin have a ¹⁄₄ chance of a supplementary equipment set that includes a buckler.
• Dwarven monsters that are generated in the future (i.e. the Anachrononaut quest and Android quest) during level creation are given plastic gray bucklers that will have an enchantment of either +2 or +3 with equal probability.
• The Great High Shaman of Kurtulmak is always generated with a buckler.
• Deminymphs that are created outside of the Drow Healer quest and are not marked as part of the cult of the Black Mother by default can generate with bucklers under multiple circumstances:
  • Deminymphs that are generated with "Yellow Sign" noblewoman kits are created with a golden buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +1 to +3.
  • Deminymphs that are generated with "Dreamlands" undead hunter kits are created with a buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +1 to +3 and a ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into an artifact (i.e. The Golden Knight).
  • Deminymphs that are generated with standard noblewoman kits are created with a buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +1 to +3 and a ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into an artifact.
  • Deminymphs that are generated with standard pirate kits are created with a buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +0 to +3 and a ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into an artifact.
  • Deminymphs that are generated with standard pirate kits are created with a buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +0 to +3 and a ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into an artifact.
  • Deminymphs that are generated with standard priestess kits are created with a blessed buckler that has an enchantment ranging from +0 to +3 and a ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into an artifact.
• Lilitu that are generated in the Convict quest have a roughly ¹⁄₂ chance of being given an equipment set that includes a cursed +4 buckler.
• Naome is always generated with a cursed +4 buckler.
• Some player monsters and related monsters can be generated with bucklers:
  • Priests and priestesses, as well as itinerant priestesses that are generated outside of the Madman quest, have a ¹⁄₂ chance of being generated with a buckler.
  • Pirates are always generated with bucklers.
  • Valkyries, awakened valkyries and transcendent valkyries that are not slated for "good" equipment are always generated with bucklers.
  • Each buckler has a ¹⁄₃ chance of being erosion-proofed, and otherwise there is a ¹⁄₂ chance (effectively ¹⁄₃ total) of it being greased. It has a ¹⁄₃ chance of being cursed followed by a ¹⁄₃ chance of being blessed, and it will otherwise be uncursed. The buckler's enchantment has a ³⁄₅ chance of ranging from +0 to +4, a ³⁄₁₀ chance of ranging +4 to +7, and will otherwise range from -1 to -3.

Description

While worn, a buckler grants 1 base AC and 0 base DR. Like other shields, bucklers gain no bonus to DR from their enchantment, but add their full enchantment to AC. A somewhat-related item is the silverknight spear, a weapon that comes with its own 'buckler' attached to it and increases the wielder's AC by 1 (before enchantment modifiers) if they are not wearing a shield of their own.

A worn buckler's spellcasting penalty and AC bonus from the hero's shield skill depends on the buckler's weight relative to the hero's own physical size: the weight threshold for determining a small shield versus a large one is 25 for medium-sized and smaller heroes, 50 for large heroes, 75 for huge heroes, and 100 for gigantic ones. 'Small' bucklers have a lower spellcasting penalty while worn but will only gain a +1 AC bonus at Skilled and +3 AC at Expert, and they also deal lower damage than other shields when used for the shield bashing style of knightly stance, which reduces the AC bonus granted by the hero's skill to +0 for Skilled and +2 for Expert—large bucklers have a higher spellcasting penalty in comparison, but gain a higher bonus of +1 AC bonus at Basic, +3 at Skilled and +3 AC at Expert; they also deal more damage when shield-bashing, and their bonus is reduced to +0 for Basic, +2 for Skilled and +5 for Expert.

Origin

A buckler (French bouclier 'shield', from Old French bocle, boucle 'boss') is a small shield that measures up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, and is gripped in the fist using a central handle behind the boss. Bucklers were most common during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods of European history, where they served a mixture of offensive and defensive purposes: they protected the user's sword hand and could be used to shield that hand from view, making it harder for the opponent to guess their next strike. While their size made them poorer protection against arrows and similar missile weapons, they were much more maneuverable compared to standard shields, making them useful in deflecting the blows of opposing weapons as well as binding the opponent's arms, hindering their movements or else striking them.

The buckler was most often combined with an arming sword, falchion, or rapier, and was also fairly common in hand-to-hand combat. Bucklers are sorted into types determined by their size and the shape of their cross-section: the sizes are round, rectangular or trapezoidal, and oval or teardrop-shaped; and the cross-section shapes are flat, concave, convex, and wavy. In classical antiquity, bucklers on medals were either used to signify public vows rendered to the gods for the safety of a prince, or that he was esteemed the defender and protector of his people: these were called votive bucklers, and were hung at altars and the like.