Katana

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Name	katana
Appearance	samurai sword
Damage vs. small	1d10
Damage vs. large	1d12
To-hit bonus	+1
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Base price	80 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	40
Material	iron

A katana does d10/d12 damage against small/large monsters, with a +1 bonus to hit. When unidentified, it appears as a samurai sword; samurai start with one.

The only differences between katanas and long swords are the +1 bonus to hit and the katana's 1d10 damage vs. small (as opposed to 1d8 for a long sword). Because the katana is the most damaging non-artifact weapon to use the long sword weapon skill, it is often a desirable off-hand weapon for two-weapon combat.

A katana will not turn into the Excalibur if you dip it into a fountain. Don't degrade your weapon.

Average damage calculation

We assume the player has expert skill in long sword, which gives a +2 damage bonus. A blessed weapon deals 1d4 extra damage against demons and undead. The worst case scenario is against a small, non-undead, non-demon. The best case scenario is against a large undead/demon monster.

Weapon	Against regular small monsters	Against regular large monsters	Worst case scenario	Best case scenario
Blessed katana +0	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2=\bold{7.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+2=\bold{8.5}$	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2=\bold{7.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2=\bold{11}$
Blessed katana +7	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2+7=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+2+7=\bold{15.5}$	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2+7=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+7=\bold{18}$
Blessed katana +9	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2+9=\bold{16.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+2+9=\bold{17.5}$	$\frac{1+10}{2}+2+9=\bold{16.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+9=\bold{20}$

Despite the inclusion in the above table, attempting to enchant a katana to +9 is generally a very bad idea, as they're quite rare.

Encyclopedia entry

The katana is a long, single-edged samurai sword with a
slightly curved blade. Its long handle is designed to allow
it to be wielded with either one or two hands.

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