Snickersnee

)   Snickersnee
Base item	katana
Damage vs. small	1d10 +1d8 (2–18)
Damage vs. large	1d12 +1d8 (2–20)
To-hit bonus	+1
Bonus versus	(any)
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful (Samurai)
When carried	(none)
When wielded	(none)
When invoked	(none)
Base price	1200 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Snickersnee is an artifact weapon that appears in NetHack. It is lawful, and its base item is a katana.

Generation

Snickersnee is the first guaranteed sacrifice gift for a Samurai.

Description

Snickersnee has +1 to-hit and deals an extra +1d8 damage to monsters.

Strategy

Snickersnee's simple damage bonus makes it at least moderately useful in the early game, especially for Samurai, Valkyries and Knights (who start the game with training in the long sword skill); it is also a decent weapon for other roles to unlock and train the skill with. Its damage against small monsters is on the same level as Excalibur without allowing hostiles to track you, but it is weaker against large monsters and lacks the latter's drain resistance and automatic searching, and gets only +1 to-hit versus Excalibur's +1d5.

Origin

Snickersnee is a reference to The Mikado, a popular 19th century comic opera set in Japan. Its name is actually an old English word for "large knife".

Average damage calculation

The average damage calculations in the following table do not include bonuses from weapon skills, strength, or from using a blessed weapon against undead or demons.

Weapon	Small monster	Large monster
+0 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}=\bold{10}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}=\bold{11}$
+7 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}+7=\bold{17}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}+7=\bold{18}$

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Snickersnee does its maximum damage bonus on each hit, thus 1d10+8 vs. small and 1d12+8 vs. large, making it significantly more powerful than in vanilla.

Weapon	Small monster	Large monster
+0 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+8=\bold{13.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+8=\bold{14.5}$
+7 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+8+7=\bold{20.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+8+7=\bold{21.5}$

Additionally, since artifacts can be #twoweaponed, a Samurai who finds a long sword can get easy access to both Excalibur and Snickersnee, which makes for a formidable combination even into the late game.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, like SLASH'EM, Snickersnee's damage bonus is +8 instead of +1d8. However, it is no longer associated with Samurai; Kiku-ichimonji replaces it as the first sacrifice gift for Samurai.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, Snickersnee is an intelligent artifact knife with +1d3 to-hit, +1d10 to damage, and a chance of beheading similar to Vorpal Blade. It cannot be gifted, but is nameable by mid-game Tourists; as with SlashTHEM, Kiku-ichimonji also replaces Snickersnee as the Samurai's first gift. Both Tourists and Samurai can wield it in the off-hand.

SporkHack

In SporkHack, Snickersnee gains +1d5 to hit (in addition to the +1 for being a katana), but is otherwise unchanged. This is more significant than it might initially seem because of the to-hit calculation changes in SporkHack.

Encyclopedia entry

Ah, never shall I forget the cry,
or the shriek that shrieked he,
As I gnashed my teeth, and from my sheath
I drew my Snickersnee!
--Koko, Lord high executioner of Titipu

[ The Mikado, by Sir W.S. Gilbert ]