Lance
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | lance |
| Appearance | lance |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d8 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | lance |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 10 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 180 |
| Material | iron |
A lance is a weapon in NetHack. It is meant to be used while mounted and gives a chance (dependent on your lance skill) of jousting a monster on a successful attack, granting an additional 2d10 damage, and causing the victim to be pushed back a square if they are not already dead. Very heavy monsters (eg mastodons) and monsters who have a wall or another monster behind them will not be pushed back. Same thing if entering the square would kill the monster (eg a lava pool).
Jousting will also stun the victim. Stunning monsters seems to reduce the frequency of their attacks, or at least make them attack last. It also seems to hamper their use of special attacks (e.g. breath weapons) and teleport. Jousting can cause the lance to break; as lances are difficult to come by, you should avoid breaking yours. High luck and a positively enchanted lance reduce the chance of breakage.
A lance can also be applied on any of the 16 squares at exactly two squares of the wielder. There is a to-hit penalty for applying when the wielder is at basic skill level or lower. Because applying a lance is not restricted to attack on lines or diagonals but can also be used at "chess knight distance," it is possible to wear out monsters who are able to use spells, breathweapons or throw missiles without them being able to retaliate.
A deadly jousting tactic is to let the monster close, then apply the lance on it until it moves adjacent, then hit it normally. Since at high skill levels a joust is nearly guaranteed, the monster will be pushed back for another round of lance thrusts, then will move adjacent again only to be jousted and so on until the monster is dead, usually without ever having an opportunity to attack.
Lance skill
| Lance | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
| Expert | |
The lance is the only weapon to use lance skill, and there are no artifact lances.
