Difference between revisions of "Rogue"

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m (→‎Strategy)
(Rewrite for clarity; I'd always found this article a bit confusing when I was a new player.)
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* an uncursed +0 [[short sword]]  (orcish short sword if an orc)
 
* an uncursed +0 [[short sword]]  (orcish short sword if an orc)
 
* 6—16 uncursed +0 [[dagger]]s (orcish daggers if an orc)
 
* 6—16 uncursed +0 [[dagger]]s (orcish daggers if an orc)
−
* an uncursed +1 [[leather armor]] ( 5% chance of being blessed instead )
+
* an uncursed +1 [[leather armor]] (5% chance of being blessed)
 
* an uncursed [[potion of sickness]]
 
* an uncursed [[potion of sickness]]
 
* an uncursed [[lock pick]]
 
* an uncursed [[lock pick]]
 
* an uncursed [[sack]]
 
* an uncursed [[sack]]
−
* a 20 % chance of a [[blindfold]]
+
* 20% chance of a [[blindfold]]
  
 
==Skills==
 
==Skills==
Line 59: Line 59:
  
 
== Strategy ==
 
== Strategy ==
−
* Rogues can be better suited to fighting with ranged attacks; like [[dagger]]s, [[crossbow]]s, [[dart]]s, and [[knife|knives]]. However, realistically, at higher XLs or later in the game when one's AC is sufficiently negative, melee combat with an artifact weapon obviously becomes the norm.  
+
* Rogues are better suited to fighting with ranged attacks, like [[dagger]]s, [[crossbow]]s, [[dart]]s, and [[knife|knives]]. However, later in the game when one's AC is sufficiently negative, melee combat with an artifact weapon is common.
−
* Rogues can get to expert skill in [[twoweaponing]] as well, but as they cannot become expert in the better artifact weapons (besides [[Magicbane]]) and cannot get backstab damage while twoweaponing, this may not be the best use of skill points.
+
* Rogues can get to expert skill in [[twoweaponing]] as well, but they cannot become expert in the better artifact weapons (besides [[Magicbane]]) and cannot get backstab damage while twoweaponing, so this may not be the best use of skill points.
−
* Rogues start with a lot of daggers and they should be thrown often. The skill should be raised to expert before anything else, as they can throw up to 4 daggers at once at expert. They also have a high dexterity, so it is rare for them to miss. Even at start they get a +1 bonus to the number of daggers they randomly throw so this is a source of extra damage, but watch out for pets and peaceful monsters behind the desired target in case of overkills.  (Both rogues and rangers need to consider the shot limitation prefix from the start of the game in order to limit themselves to a single dagger or arrow at a time as needed.)
+
* Rogues should throw their starting daggers as their primary attack in the early game. The skill should be raised to expert before anything else, because this allows up to 4 daggers to be thrown at once, as well as 2 extra damage per dagger. It should be noted that rogues also get an additional +1 multishot when throwing daggers. Because of the potential for shooting peaceful monsters behind your intended target, rogues need to learn how to use the shot limitation prefix to fire only one dagger at a time when necessary.
−
* Rogues start with a potion of sickness. This can be used to make poisoned weapons, which are capable of instakills if the monster doesn't have poison resistance. In the beginning of the game, it's a good idea to #dip a stack of darts in the potion of sickness to use on tougher monsters. Rogues are good at finding and disarming dart traps, but care should be taken so that a poisoned dart is not tossed back at the Rogue (or triggered from a trap) before a decent cloak or better yet poison resistance is acquired.
+
* A ring of increase damage is a very nice item for rogues, as the damage bonus applies to each dagger thrown.
−
* Since in the later game you will not use your short sword, you should use any dagger (even a crude one) as your primary weapon as soon as possible. This will help you to raise the dagger skill. One dagger can be separated from your starting stack for wielding by naming the stack, dropping the chosen dagger, renaming the stack, and picking up the dagger again. #adjust the stack to a lesser inventory letter so that new daggers are added to the quiver instead of the wielded dagger.
+
* Rogues start with a potion of sickness. This can be used to make poisoned weapons by #dipping the stack of weapons into the potion. Poisoned weapons do an additional d6 damage to non-resistant monsters and also have a 10% chance of killing the monster outright. Unfortunately daggers cannot be poisoned, so you will need to pick another weapon like darts to poison and use on tough monsters. Fortunately, dart traps are fairly common, and #untrapping one will usually yield a good number of darts. Finally, be careful that an intelligent monster does not pick up a poisoned weapon and toss it back at you if you don't yet have poison resistance! Orcs start with poison resistance and thus are immune to this problem. (Note that [[magic cancellation]] does not protect against thrown poisoned weapons, as was previously noted here.)
−
* Because Rogues tend to use low damage weapons which hit often, strength is an especially important attribute. Early [[boulder]] pushing may be in order, and gauntlets of power are good candidates for wishing if you can't get up to 18/** (ex. if you are an orc)
+
* Using a dagger instead of your short sword as your melee weapon will help you to raise your dagger skill faster (you won't be using short sword skill once you get an artifact anyway). One dagger can be separated from your starting stack for wielding by naming the stack, dropping one dagger, renaming the stack, and picking up the dagger again. #Adjusting the stack to a lesser inventory letter will cause any new daggers that merge to be added to the stack rather than the wielded dagger.
−
* Remember that runed daggers are made from wood, so you would like to have one or three in case of an acid blob or something like that. If you're playing Slash'em, try to get a Great Dagger; The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa (chaotic Necromancer great dagger) if you can, because it gives you magic resistance when carried and its level-drain ability can be helpful.
+
* Because Rogues tend to use low damage weapons which hit often, strength is an especially important attribute. Early [[boulder]] pushing may be in order, and gauntlets of power are good candidates for wishing if you are playing an orc and thus can't get up to 18/** strength naturally.
−
* Rogues can gain an additional +1d([[experience level|XL]]) "backstab" damage when striking a [[flee]]ing monster and not two-weaponing. Because of this, [[Elbereth]], [[scroll of scare monster|scrolls of scare monster]], and [[tooled horn]]s are useful to rogues in close quarters. This is extremely powerful when combined with thrown daggers. In addition, Rogues might wish for [[Magicbane]] or find it in the bones file of a Wizard - its [[scare]] attack can very often cause monsters to flee, giving the Rogue backstab opportunities, and more importantly, it is an [[athame]], so when uncursed or blessed, it can engrave Elbereth in one turn.  However Magicbane is not a chaotic artifact so it can cause damage when picked up or wielded so it should not be wished for before the rogue has enough hitpoints to handle it and care should be taken when switching the wielded weapon to use a pickaxe or such. Boots of speed are very useful for a Rogue when combined with Magicbane because it increases your chance of landing scare results on monsters faster than they recover. [[Grayswandir]] is another worthwhile weapon to consider for backstab; Rogues can reach Skilled in [[saber]] and backstab benefits greatly from Grayswandir's guaranteed double damage.
+
* Runed daggers are wooden and thus not affected by acid and rust, so it's a good idea to pick up a couple of these to use against monsters that would otherwise damage your weapon. If you're playing Slash'em, try to get the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa (chaotic Necromancer great dagger) if you can, because can drain levels from monsters and gives you magic resistance when carried.
−
* Rogues are one of the classes that lose the least from wearing a shield as it doesn't block backstabing and their spell groups are non-combat. A trip down to the [[medusa|lady who always has a bad hair day]] can be especially rewarding for a rogue, as long as she doesn't stiff him.
+
* Rogues can gain an additional 1d([[experience level|XL]]) "backstab" damage when striking a [[flee]]ing monster and not two-weaponing. Because of this, [[Elbereth]], [[scroll of scare monster|scrolls of scare monster]], and [[tooled horn]]s are particularly useful for rogues. This is even better when used with thrown daggers, because you get the backstab damage for each dagger. Rogues might consider wishing for [[Magicbane]] (or they might find it in the bones file of a Wizard)--its [[scare]] attack can often cause monsters to flee, and more importantly, it is an [[athame]], so you can engrave Elbereth even more effectively.  However, Magicbane is not a chaotic artifact, so watch out for the (admittedly small) [[Artifact blast|blasting damage]]. [[Grayswandir]] is another worthwhile weapon to consider for backstab; Rogues can reach Skilled in [[saber]], and backstab damage can be doubled by artifacts with double damage, including Grayswandir.
−
* If one starts with a blindfold it's a good idea to consume a [[floating eye]] corpse as soon as possible, because this always conveys [[telepathy]].  
+
* Rogues are one of the classes that lose the least from wearing a shield, as it doesn't block backstabbing and the spells they are good at are non-combat. Checking [[Perseus]]'s statue for a shield of reflection can be especially rewarding for a rogue, provided you are careful not to get stoned by [[Medusa]].
−
* The [[Rogue quest]] is a tad trickier than others.
+
* The [[Rogue quest]] is a bit tricky.
−
** The home level contains several [[chameleon]]s.  The longer you spend on this level, the greater the chance that one will turn into a master- or arch-[[lich]], warp to you, and cast a spell that ruins your day.  If you find a [[ring of protection from shape changers]], keep it on until you have hunted down all eight chameleons.  Otherwise, you may want to delay beginning the Quest until you have genocided either chameleons or whatever other monsters you deem a threat.
+
** The home level contains several [[chameleon]]s. The longer you spend on this level, the greater the chance that one will turn into a master- or arch-[[lich]], warp to you, and cast a spell that ruins your day. If you don't have magic resistance, try to kill them fast, and be ready to engrave Elbereth if one does show up. If you have a [[ring of protection from shape changers]], keep it on until you have hunted down all eight chameleons.
−
** About 1/7th of generated monsters will be [[nymph]]s, with the corresponding hazards of losing your weapon and armor and having your wands used against you. Use your daggers/darts to eliminate them from a distance, and try to avoid being surrounded on the locate level.  If you have polymorph control, polying into a nymph or succubus will protect you from their theft attacks.  Guardian nagas are also quite common, so have either [[MC]]3 or a [[ring of free action]] to prevent paralysis.
+
** About 1/7th of generated monsters will be [[nymph]]s, with the corresponding hazards of losing your weapon and armor and having your wands used against you.  Use your daggers/darts to eliminate them from a distance, and try to avoid getting surrounded on the locate level. If you have polymorph control, polymorphing into a nymph or succubus will protect you from their theft attacks. Guardian nagas are also quite common, so have either [[MC]]3 or a [[ring of free action]] to prevent paralysis.
−
** There are three distinct sections of the goal level: one containing the up stairs, one containing the Nemesis, and one containing neither. Because the three segments are partitioned by non-diggable walls and the level is non-teleport, gaining access to the Master Assassin is non-trivial. One can overcome this in a few ways:
+
** There are three distinct sections of the goal level: one containing the up stairs, one containing the Nemesis, and one containing neither. Because the three segments are partitioned by non-diggable walls and the level is no-teleport, gaining access to the Master Assassin is non-trivial. One can overcome this in a few ways:
−
*** By digging down from the previous level and hopefully landing in the region where the quest nemesis is, waking him, and then getting out of the level by [[quaff]]ing a [[cursed]] [[potion of gain level]] or by [[read]]ing a cursed [[scroll of teleportation]] or reading an uncursed scroll of teleportation while [[confusion|confused]].  Once the Master Assassin is awake, he will warp to the up stairs, and you can meet him there. Be prepared to do this multiple times if you land in the section without access to the Nemesis or stairs.
+
*** Digging down from the previous level and hopefully landing in the region where the quest nemesis is, waking him, and then getting out of the level by [[quaff]]ing a cursed [[potion of gain level]] or by reading a cursed [[scroll of teleportation]] or reading an uncursed scroll of teleportation while [[confusion|confused]]. Once the Master Assassin is awake, he will warp to the up stairs, and you can meet him there by descending the stairs normally. Be prepared to do this multiple times if you land in the section without the Nemesis.
−
*** By polymorphing oneself into a [[xorn]] to be able to walk through walls (make sure to take off the appropriate pieces of armor which would break upon polymorphing first).  Note that unlike Wizards, Rogues lose almost all of their special role abilities while polymorphed so they should reserve polymorphs for items and pets for the most part.
+
*** Polymorphing oneself into a [[xorn]] to be able to walk through walls (be sure to remove your cloak and body armor first to avoid destroying them).
−
*** Applying a drum of earthquake sufficiently close to the Master Assassin to alert him of your presence.
+
*** Applying a drum of earthquake may wake up the Master Assassin..
−
*** Use the psychic blast of a tame (master) mind flayer to alert the Master Assassin of your presence.
+
*** Using the psychic blast of a tame mind flayer (or polyself) to alert the Master Assassin of your presence.
−
*** The quest nemesis is a bit of a pushover and might even easily be overcome when the player is in the form of another monster.  Even if the player is reduced to 0 [[HP]] in polymorphed form, however, they will return to their original form at whatever HP they had before the polymorph.  The quest nemesis could then be dispatched from their original form.
+
* The Rogue quest artifact is [[the Master Key of Thievery]], a very nice artifact which confers the [[half physical damage]], [[warning]] and [[teleport control]] intrinsics. It can also be #[[invoke]]d to untrap boxes and doors with 100% success, though this is somewhat useless unless you know the door or chest is trapped, something most players don't bother to check.
−
* The Rogue class artifact is [[the Master Key of Thievery]], a very nice artifact which confers the [[half physical damage]], [[warning]] and [[teleport control]] intrinsics. It can also be #[[invoke]]d to untrap boxes and doors with 100% success.
+
* Don't neglect your spells! Rogues can reach Skilled in [[divination spells] and [[escape spells]], as well as the somewhat less useful [[matter spells]], and [[human]] rogues can reach a respectable 87% success rate without a [[robe]]. You most likely started the game with a mediocre intelligence, so consider performing [[alchemy]] to brew up some [[potion of gain ability|potions of gain ability]].
−
* Don't neglect your spells!  Rogues can reach Skilled in the very useful [[divination spells|divination]] and [[escape spells|escape]] schools (as well as the somewhat less useful [[matter spells|matter]] school), and [[human]] Rogues can reach a respectable 87% success rate without a [[robe]].  You most likely started the game with a mediocre IN score, so consider performing [[alchemy]] to brew up some [[potion of gain ability|potions of gain ability]].
+
* Human Rogues do not start with food or poison resistance, so they can starve fairly easily. Orcish Rogues do not have these problems, so are a good choice for new players.
−
* Human Rogues do not start with food, poison resistance, cloak or spells so they run the risk of losing strength to starvation or poison.  Orcish Rogues do not have the first two of those problems so are a good choice for players learning how to play the role.
 
−
* [[Ring of protection from shape changers|Rings that unmask the giant mimics]] in Sokoban can be used in the first level of the Rogue quest (accessible before reaching level 14) to [[Polymorph_trap#Strategy|upgrade pet]] cats and dogs, but some players would [[Tinning kit|rather can it]].
 
−
Shields up!
 
  
 
== Weapon Choice ==
 
== Weapon Choice ==
−
Rogues are good twoweaponers but better missile users. Thrown weapons will often make sense at all ranges.  
+
Rogues are good twoweaponers but better missile users. Thrown weapons will often make sense at all ranges. Note that twoweaponing removes backstab damage, so it's not always the best choice.
−
If you do twoweapon, consider leading with a dagger to allow expert skill and conserve skill slots.
 
  
 
Damage of selected weapons versus small targets with only skill +damage.  Daggers thrown except as noted.
 
Damage of selected weapons versus small targets with only skill +damage.  Daggers thrown except as noted.
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−
Damage vs. demons in the late game, blessed +7 weapons, XL30, 18/**-25 strength, no misses, with backstab for non-twoweapons:
+
Damage vs. demons in the late game, blessed +7 weapons, XL30, 18/**-25 strength, with backstab for non-twoweapons:
 
(assumes demon is large, fire resistant, drain resistant, poison resistant, hates silver, and is fleeing):
 
(assumes demon is large, fire resistant, drain resistant, poison resistant, hates silver, and is fleeing):
−
As you can see, due to the double backstab damage, Grayswandir by itself *beats* Grayswandir and a silver saber twoweaponed -- against a non-silver-hating monster, where the silver damage doesn't help, the effect would be even more dramatic.
+
As you can see, due to the double backstab damage, Grayswandir by itself beats Grayswandir and a silver saber twoweaponed--against a non-silver-hating monster, where the silver damage doesn't help, the effect would be even more dramatic.
  
 
{| class="prettytable striped"  
 
{| class="prettytable striped"  
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== SporkHack ==
 
== SporkHack ==
  
−
In [[SporkHack]] ranged attacks do not backstab, which wipes out the d4xd30 nuclear ranged option and E-graving is less effective, but Magicbane is still worthwhile because it grants Magic Resistance which is even more useful because reflection is limited. It is also the most damaging weapon which uses dagger skill and can cause fear (and hence backstab damage) against monsters that ignore E-graving.
+
In [[SporkHack]] ranged attacks do not backstab, which wipes out the 4d30 nuclear ranged option. Elbereth is also less effective, but Magicbane is still worthwhile because it can cause fear (even against monsters which ignore Elbereth) and grants Magic Resistance (especially useful because reflection is less useful).
  
 
{{nethack-343}}
 
{{nethack-343}}
 
[[Category:Roles]]
 
[[Category:Roles]]

Revision as of 16:16, 26 July 2011

Wikipedia
Wikipedia has an article about:
This article is about the player role. For the game, see Rogue (game).

The Rogue is a player role. Rogues can be humans or orcs, and are always chaotic. Rogues are skilled thieves. The NetHack encyclopedia says of them:

I understand the business, I hear it: to have an open ear, a
quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cut-purse; a
good nose is requisite also, to smell out work for the other
senses. I see this is the time that the unjust man doth
thrive. <...> The prince himself is about a piece of iniquity,
stealing away from his father with his clog at his heels: if
I thought it were a piece of honesty to acquaint the king
withal, I would not do't: I hold it the more knavery to
conceal it; and therein am I constant to my profession.

[ Autolycus the Rogue, from The Winter's Tale by
                William Shakespeare ]

...and from the guidebook: 

             Rogues are agile and stealthy  thieves,  with  knowledge  of
         locks,  traps,  and  poisons.   Their advantage lies in surprise,
         which they employ to great advantage.

Starting equipment

Skills

Rogue skills
Max Skills
Basic
Skilled
Expert

Intrinsics

Quest

Main article: Rogue quest

The Rogue quest sees you fighting the Master Assassin for The Master Key of Thievery. Inspired by the profession you have chosen, there are lots of stealing monsters, traps, shapeshifters and challenges to even access the quest nemesis!

Rank titles

The status line shows you to be one of the following ranks when you reach the specified experience level:

  • XL 1-2: Footpad
  • XL 3-5: Cutpurse
  • XL 6-9: Rogue
  • XL 10-13: Pilferer
  • XL 14-17: Robber
  • XL 18-21: Burglar
  • XL 22-25: Filcher
  • XL 26-29: Magsman/Magswoman
  • XL 30: Thief


Strategy

  • Rogues are better suited to fighting with ranged attacks, like daggers, crossbows, darts, and knives. However, later in the game when one's AC is sufficiently negative, melee combat with an artifact weapon is common.
  • Rogues can get to expert skill in twoweaponing as well, but they cannot become expert in the better artifact weapons (besides Magicbane) and cannot get backstab damage while twoweaponing, so this may not be the best use of skill points.
  • Rogues should throw their starting daggers as their primary attack in the early game. The skill should be raised to expert before anything else, because this allows up to 4 daggers to be thrown at once, as well as 2 extra damage per dagger. It should be noted that rogues also get an additional +1 multishot when throwing daggers. Because of the potential for shooting peaceful monsters behind your intended target, rogues need to learn how to use the shot limitation prefix to fire only one dagger at a time when necessary.
  • A ring of increase damage is a very nice item for rogues, as the damage bonus applies to each dagger thrown.
  • Rogues start with a potion of sickness. This can be used to make poisoned weapons by #dipping the stack of weapons into the potion. Poisoned weapons do an additional d6 damage to non-resistant monsters and also have a 10% chance of killing the monster outright. Unfortunately daggers cannot be poisoned, so you will need to pick another weapon like darts to poison and use on tough monsters. Fortunately, dart traps are fairly common, and #untrapping one will usually yield a good number of darts. Finally, be careful that an intelligent monster does not pick up a poisoned weapon and toss it back at you if you don't yet have poison resistance! Orcs start with poison resistance and thus are immune to this problem. (Note that magic cancellation does not protect against thrown poisoned weapons, as was previously noted here.)
  • Using a dagger instead of your short sword as your melee weapon will help you to raise your dagger skill faster (you won't be using short sword skill once you get an artifact anyway). One dagger can be separated from your starting stack for wielding by naming the stack, dropping one dagger, renaming the stack, and picking up the dagger again. #Adjusting the stack to a lesser inventory letter will cause any new daggers that merge to be added to the stack rather than the wielded dagger.
  • Because Rogues tend to use low damage weapons which hit often, strength is an especially important attribute. Early boulder pushing may be in order, and gauntlets of power are good candidates for wishing if you are playing an orc and thus can't get up to 18/** strength naturally.
  • Runed daggers are wooden and thus not affected by acid and rust, so it's a good idea to pick up a couple of these to use against monsters that would otherwise damage your weapon. If you're playing Slash'em, try to get the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa (chaotic Necromancer great dagger) if you can, because can drain levels from monsters and gives you magic resistance when carried.
  • Rogues can gain an additional 1d(XL) "backstab" damage when striking a fleeing monster and not two-weaponing. Because of this, Elbereth, scrolls of scare monster, and tooled horns are particularly useful for rogues. This is even better when used with thrown daggers, because you get the backstab damage for each dagger. Rogues might consider wishing for Magicbane (or they might find it in the bones file of a Wizard)--its scare attack can often cause monsters to flee, and more importantly, it is an athame, so you can engrave Elbereth even more effectively. However, Magicbane is not a chaotic artifact, so watch out for the (admittedly small) blasting damage. Grayswandir is another worthwhile weapon to consider for backstab; Rogues can reach Skilled in saber, and backstab damage can be doubled by artifacts with double damage, including Grayswandir.
  • Rogues are one of the classes that lose the least from wearing a shield, as it doesn't block backstabbing and the spells they are good at are non-combat. Checking Perseus's statue for a shield of reflection can be especially rewarding for a rogue, provided you are careful not to get stoned by Medusa.
  • The Rogue quest is a bit tricky.
    • The home level contains several chameleons. The longer you spend on this level, the greater the chance that one will turn into a master- or arch-lich, warp to you, and cast a spell that ruins your day. If you don't have magic resistance, try to kill them fast, and be ready to engrave Elbereth if one does show up. If you have a ring of protection from shape changers, keep it on until you have hunted down all eight chameleons.
    • About 1/7th of generated monsters will be nymphs, with the corresponding hazards of losing your weapon and armor and having your wands used against you. Use your daggers/darts to eliminate them from a distance, and try to avoid getting surrounded on the locate level. If you have polymorph control, polymorphing into a nymph or succubus will protect you from their theft attacks. Guardian nagas are also quite common, so have either MC3 or a ring of free action to prevent paralysis.
    • There are three distinct sections of the goal level: one containing the up stairs, one containing the Nemesis, and one containing neither. Because the three segments are partitioned by non-diggable walls and the level is no-teleport, gaining access to the Master Assassin is non-trivial. One can overcome this in a few ways:
      • Digging down from the previous level and hopefully landing in the region where the quest nemesis is, waking him, and then getting out of the level by quaffing a cursed potion of gain level or by reading a cursed scroll of teleportation or reading an uncursed scroll of teleportation while confused. Once the Master Assassin is awake, he will warp to the up stairs, and you can meet him there by descending the stairs normally. Be prepared to do this multiple times if you land in the section without the Nemesis.
      • Polymorphing oneself into a xorn to be able to walk through walls (be sure to remove your cloak and body armor first to avoid destroying them).
      • Applying a drum of earthquake may wake up the Master Assassin..
      • Using the psychic blast of a tame mind flayer (or polyself) to alert the Master Assassin of your presence.
  • The Rogue quest artifact is the Master Key of Thievery, a very nice artifact which confers the half physical damage, warning and teleport control intrinsics. It can also be #invoked to untrap boxes and doors with 100% success, though this is somewhat useless unless you know the door or chest is trapped, something most players don't bother to check.
  • Don't neglect your spells! Rogues can reach Skilled in [[divination spells] and escape spells, as well as the somewhat less useful matter spells, and human rogues can reach a respectable 87% success rate without a robe. You most likely started the game with a mediocre intelligence, so consider performing alchemy to brew up some potions of gain ability.
  • Human Rogues do not start with food or poison resistance, so they can starve fairly easily. Orcish Rogues do not have these problems, so are a good choice for new players.

Weapon Choice

Rogues are good twoweaponers but better missile users. Thrown weapons will often make sense at all ranges. Note that twoweaponing removes backstab damage, so it's not always the best choice.

Damage of selected weapons versus small targets with only skill +damage. Daggers thrown except as noted.

weapon skill(s) base per hit #attacks (avg) total damage notes
Crossbow E 2.5 8.0 1-3(2) 16 +d6 poison
Dart E 2.0 7.5 1-3(2) 15.0 +d6 poison
ElvenDagger E 3.0 5.0 1-4(2.5) 12.5
ElvenShort+ElvenBroad E/E 4.5/6.0 5.5/7.0(t) 2 12.5 two handed
OrcishDagger E 2.0 4.0 1-4(2.5) 10.0
Dagger E 2.5 4.5 1-4(2.5) 11.25
ElvenDagger+ElvenBroad E/E 3.0/6.0 4.0/7.0(t) 2 11 two handed
ElvenShortx2 E/E 4.5 5.5(t) 2 11.0 two handed
Katana x2 S/S 5.5 5.5(t) 2 11.0 two handed
Crossbow S 2.5 7.0 1-2(1.5) 10.5 +d6 poison
DwarfShortx2 E/E 4.0 5.0(t) 2 10.0 two handed
Dart S 2.0 6.5 1-2(1.5) 9.75 +d6 poison
ElvenDagger+LongSword E/E 3.0/4.5 4.0/5.5(t) 2 9.5 two handed
LongSword x2 S/S 4.5 4.5(t) 2 9.0 two handed
Dagger S 2.5 3.5 1-3(2) 7.0
Crossbow B 2.5 6.0 1 6.0 +d6 poison
Broadsword S 5.0 6.0 1 6.0
Dart B 2.0 5.5 1 5.5 +d6 poison
Longsword S 4.5 5.5 1 5.5
Halberd B 5.5 5.5 1 5.5 two handed, ranged
Spetum B 4.5 4.5 1 4.5 two handed,ranged
Dagger(wielded) E 2.5 4.5 1 4.5
Dagger B 2.5 2.5 1-2(1.5) 3.75

Damage versus small targets with +3 damage from strength and a +3 damage from enchantment.

weapon skill base per hit #attacks (avg) total damage notes
ElvenDagger E 3.0 11.0 1-4(2.5) 27.5
Dart E 2.0 13.5 1-3(2) 27.0 +d6 poison
Dagger E 2.5 10.5 1-4(2.5) 26.25
OrcishDagger E 2.0 10.0 1-4(2.5) 25.0
ElvenShort+ElvenBroad E/E 4.5+6.0 11.5+13(t) 2 24.5 two handed
ElvenBroadx2 S/S 6.0 12.0(t) 2 24.0 two handed
ElvenDagger+ElvenBroad E/E 3.0+6.0 10.0+13(t) 2 23.0 two handed
Katana x2 S/S 5.5 11.5(t) 2 23.0 two handed
Crossbow E 2.5 11.0 1-3(2) 22.0 +d6 poison, no strength bonus
LongSword x2 S/S 4.5 10.5(t) 2 21.0 two handed
Dagger S 2.5 9.5 1-3(2) 19.0
Broadsword S 5.0 12.0 1 12.0
Longsword S 4.5 11.5 1 11.5
Halberd B 5.5 11.5 1 11.5 two handed, ranged
Spetum B 4.5 10.5 1 10.5 two handed,ranged
Dagger(wielded) E 2.5 10.5 1 10.5


Damage vs. demons in the late game, blessed +7 weapons, XL30, 18/**-25 strength, with backstab for non-twoweapons: (assumes demon is large, fire resistant, drain resistant, poison resistant, hates silver, and is fleeing): As you can see, due to the double backstab damage, Grayswandir by itself beats Grayswandir and a silver saber twoweaponed--against a non-silver-hating monster, where the silver damage doesn't help, the effect would be even more dramatic.

weapon skill base average per hit #attacks (avg) total damage notes
SilverDagger E 2.0 45.5 1-4(2.5) 113.75 silver
ElvenDagger E 2.0 35.0 1-4(2.5) 87.5
Dagger E 2.0 35.0 1-4(2.5) 87.5
OrcishDagger E 2.0 35.0 1-4(2.5) 87.5
Grayswandir S 4.5 74.0 1 74.0 silver
Grayswandir+Saber S 4.5+4.5 42.0+30.5 2 72.5 silver
Dart E 1.5 34.5 1-3(2) 69.0
SilverDaggerx2(wielded) S 2.0+2.0 28.0+28.0 2 56.0 silver
Silver Saber S 4.5 47.0 1 47.0 silver
SilverDagger(wielded) E 2.0 45.5 1 45.5 silver
Magicbane(wielded) E 2.0 38.8975 1 38.8975
Barehanded w/ silver ring E 1.5 20.0 1 20.0 silver

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, rogues are especially proficient at "borrowing" gold from monsters.

SporkHack

In SporkHack ranged attacks do not backstab, which wipes out the 4d30 nuclear ranged option. Elbereth is also less effective, but Magicbane is still worthwhile because it can cause fear (even against monsters which ignore Elbereth) and grants Magic Resistance (especially useful because reflection is less useful).


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