Thiefbane
) Thiefbane 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | long sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8 +1 + level drain + cancellation + beheading |
| Damage vs. large | 1d12 +1 + level drain + cancellation + beheading |
| To-hit bonus | +5 |
| Bonus versus | @ |
| Weapon skill | long sword |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
(none) |
| When wielded |
(none) |
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 1500 zm |
| Weight | 40 |
| Material | iron |
Thiefbane is an artifact weapon in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM, SpliceHack, Hack'EM, and UnNetHack. Generally a chaotic long sword, it is found in the possession of One-eyed Sam in the Black Market.
Description
Against monsters represented by @, Thiefbane has a 10% chance of beheading, causes level drain similar to Stormbringer, and has +5 to hit and +1 damage. Thiefbane also has a 1 in 6 chance of canceling any @ it hits, which is probably you.[1]
Note that Thiefbane may blast you, even if you are chaotic, as you are represented by @.
Generation
Thiefbane cannot be randomly generated; the game will always attempt to give Thiefbane to One-eyed Sam, but in SLASH'EM it is possible to wish for it before the Black Market is generated, causing her to generate with an ordinary long sword instead.
If generated in One-eyed Sam's inventory, Thiefbane will be well-enchanted. It is not generated rustproof, as players who elect to kill Sam via controlled polymorph into a giant shoggoth will discover.
Strategy
Thiefbane is the primary reason that angering One-eyed Sam is frequently a game-ending mistake; against the player, it is easily the deadliest weapon in the game. However, in the player's hands, it is somewhat underwhelming, as for the most part non-player @ are not particularly dangerous or common. One possible exception is on the Astral Plane, with its hordes of aligned priests and player monsters, but even there, most players will likely prefer a weapon such as Vorpal Blade or Excalibur.
Even in variants that allow it, Thiefbane is not generally worth a wish. As mentioned, it is not a particularly outstanding weapon in player hands, and while one can indeed render One-eyed Sam less dangerous by wishing for her weapon, there are better ways of disposing of her (such as the aforementioned polymorph, or a boulder fort and well-enchanted firearm/stack of poisoned darts) that do not require spending an early wish on a sub-optimal artifact.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, Thiefbane's base item class has been changed to two-handed sword and the player is in danger of being decapitated even if not in a form symbolized by @.
UnNethack does not allow Thiefbane to be wished for (the code calls this wishing abuse),[2] meaning it will always appear in One-eyed Sam's inventory.
References
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