Fly swatter
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | fly swatter |
| Appearance | fly swatter |
| Damage vs. small | 1d10 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d2 |
| To-hit bonus | +2 |
| Weapon skill | paddle |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 3 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | plastic |
A fly swatter is a type of melee weapon that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. It is one-handed and made of plastic.
The fly swatter uses the paddle skill in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM, and uses the whip skill in Hack'EM.
Generation
In addition to random generation, fly swatters are often found in large weapon shops.
The Chamber of Junk in the Lawful Quest has a 2⁄5 chance of containing a cursed -2 fly swatter named Bugsmasher among its fake artifacts.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, the Undertaker quest goal level is a near-exact copy of the Lawful Quest, including the same chance of containing a cursed -2 flyswatter named Bugsmasher.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, fly swatters instead generate in junk shops.
Paddle skill
| Paddle | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
| Expert | |
The fly swatter is the only weapon in SLASH'EM that uses the paddle skill. All roles except Ice Mages, Necromancers, Rangers, and Valkyries can reach at least Basic in the skill; Priests can reach Expert skill.
Strategy
Overall, the fly swatter is a very situational weapon: as a one-handed weapon, it has excellent damage against small monsters that is matched or surpassed only by elven broadswords and crysknives, and their +2 to-hit bonus makes using one while unskilled somewhat less cumbersome. Unfortunately, the penalty is usually enough to offset those positive qualities early on - its poor damage against large monsters makes it non-viable in the long run, and most roles already start with viable weapon choices that deal far more damage.
Tourists are the exception, starting with only Basic skill in darts: they may consider keeping a fly swatter on hand to deal with smaller monsters, while using their darts or any other weapons against large monsters such as baby dragons.
Origin
A fly swatter (also "fly-swat" or "flyswatter") is a type of fly-killing device used for pest control of flying insects. A flyswatter usually consists of a small rectangular or round sheet of lightweight, flexible, vented material attached to a handle made of wire, wood, plastic, metal, or another lightweight material. The vents reduce air resistance and minimize the disruption of air currents, making it harder for the insect to detect and escape.
Flyswatters are ideally light and stiff, allowing quick acceleration to overcome the insect's reaction time and making it easier to hit a fast-moving target without damaging other objects. Typically, the flyswatter is used to crush the fly or insect against a hard surface once it has landed somewhat; users can also injure or stun an airborne insect mid-flight by whipping the swatter through the air at an extreme speed.
The Priest's ability to reach Expert in paddles is designed to evoke images of a spanking paddle used at strict theological children's schools.
