Difference between revisions of "Athame"
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A [[Wizard (player monster)|wizard player monster]] has 37.5% of been generated with one. [[Player monster]]s aren't randomly generated however. [[Enchantment]] will be random between +0 and +3 (or between +4 and +8 if on Astral), and it will be either [[erodeproof]] or [[greased]] (but not both) with 33.3% probability each. On the Astral Plane, it has a 50% chance of been converted to [[Magicbane]] if not alredy generated, with its enchantment reduced to between +1 and +4. | A [[Wizard (player monster)|wizard player monster]] has 37.5% of been generated with one. [[Player monster]]s aren't randomly generated however. [[Enchantment]] will be random between +0 and +3 (or between +4 and +8 if on Astral), and it will be either [[erodeproof]] or [[greased]] (but not both) with 33.3% probability each. On the Astral Plane, it has a 50% chance of been converted to [[Magicbane]] if not alredy generated, with its enchantment reduced to between +1 and +4. | ||
| − | + | ==History== | |
| + | Prior to 3.3.0, wizards started out with athames. | ||
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
Revision as of 07:22, 7 February 2015
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | athame |
| Appearance | athame |
| Damage vs. small | 1d4 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d3 |
| To-hit bonus | +2 |
| Weapon skill | dagger |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 4 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | iron |
Athames are almost completely identical to daggers, even using the dagger weapon skill. However, athames are exceptionally suited for engraving. Any non-cursed athame will not dull from engraving, and will engrave at up to 19 letters per turn (or up to 9 letters instantaneously) rather than 1 letter per turn. (Although any athame that has an enchantment of -3 or lower is too dull to engrave with, regardless of blessed/uncursed/cursed status.) They are useful for writing messages and, if your version has it compiled in, engraving "Elbereth".
You should formally identify your athame's BUC status as soon as possible so that the game will show when it gets cursed, e.g. by a spellcasting monster.
Beware: an athame found in bones or dropped by a lich might be cursed. If it is, attempting to engrave Elbereth in a dangerous situation will immobilize you for a few turns and probably kill you. If you can't spare identify to check, you could dip it in a potion of holy water to make sure it's at least uncursed, or try engraving a single letter with it--if you get "Your athame gets dull. You finish engraving.", be sure to uncurse it before you use it any more!
Generation
Athames are rarer than daggers, as they are never randomly generated.[1] However, the first gift that a wizard receives from his/her god is always Magicbane, a co-aligned artifact athame.
Master liches and arch-liches have a chance of being generated with an athame. For master liches, the chance is 6/91 (about 6.6%); for arch liches it is 2/9 (about 22.2%).[2] There is a 1/260 chance of an athame dropped by an arch-lich (but not by a master lich[3][4]) being Magicbane.[5][6]
Newt, prisoner in the wizard quest end, often carries one.[7]
A wizard player monster has 37.5% of been generated with one. Player monsters aren't randomly generated however. Enchantment will be random between +0 and +3 (or between +4 and +8 if on Astral), and it will be either erodeproof or greased (but not both) with 33.3% probability each. On the Astral Plane, it has a 50% chance of been converted to Magicbane if not alredy generated, with its enchantment reduced to between +1 and +4.
History
Prior to 3.3.0, wizards started out with athames.
Origin
It is a ceremonial dagger borrowed from the Wiccan tradition. The encyclopedia entry is accurate, a double edged, black handled dagger.
Encyclopaedia entry
The consecrated ritual knife of a Wiccan initiate (one of
four basic tools, together with the wand, chalice and
pentacle). Traditionally, the athame is a double-edged,
black-handled, cross-hilted dagger of between six and
eighteen inches length.
See also
References
- ↑ objects.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 132
- ↑ makemon.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 609: liches generated with athames
- ↑ makemon.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 611: master lich athames are generated by mongets
- ↑ makemon.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 1493: mongets always passes FALSE as the artif parameter to mksobj
- ↑ makemon.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 614: 1/13 chance of TRUE being passed as artif parameter
- ↑ mkobj.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 403: 1/20 chance of a possibly-artifact athame being Magicbane
- ↑ mplayer.c in NetHack 3.4.3, line 213
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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
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