Uruk-hai shield
[ Uruk-hai shield 
| |
|---|---|
| Appearance | white-handed shield |
| Slot | shield |
| AC | 1 |
| Special | (none) |
| Base price | 7 zm |
| Weight | 50 |
| Material | iron |
A Uruk-hai shield is a type of shield that appears in NetHack, and is almost identical to the orcish shield. It is made of iron and appears as a white-handed shield when unidentified.
Contents
Generation
Uruk-hai have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with an Uruk-hai shield;[1] orc-captains have a 1⁄2 chance of being generated with Uruk-hai armor, giving them an effective 1⁄6 chance of generating with Uruk-hai shields.[2]
Description
When worn, an Uruk-hai shield grants 1 base AC.
Strategy
Like orcish shields, Uruk-hai shields are fairly heavy and provide no more AC than a small shield while significantly inhibiting spellcasting - they may suffice to fill out the shield slot momentarily, but should ideally be replaced with a lighter or better shield as soon as possible. The Uruk-hai shield is mainly useful as racial equipment for racial conducts involving orcs.
History
The Uruk-hai shield first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
The basis for the Uruk-hai of NetHack are the orcs that served under the wizard Saruman in J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, particularly the company seen guarding the tower of Isengard. The shields of these Uruks bore a small White Hand of Saruman centered on a black field, as opposed to the red-eyed shields of Sauron's armies; Saruman's white hand symbol was a deliberate imitation of the red eye used by Sauron. In NetHack, this is reflected in the shield's unidentified appearance and default tile.
Variants
Some variants distinguish the orcish and Uruk-hai shields, and others may give orcs (including the player) an AC bonus for wearing Uruk-hai shields.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Uruk-hai shields can be upgraded into elven shields, and upgrading an elven shield will produce either an orcish shield or an Uruk-hai shield, with an equal chance of each item.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, player orcs wearing Uruk-hai shields gain a +1 AC bonus.[3]
dNetHack
In dNetHack, Uruk-hai shields grant 2 AC, 0 DR and MC1 when worn. Like all shields, they add their full enchantment to AC while giving no bonus to DR.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, Uruk-hai shields count as bulky for purposes of spellcasting penalties, while orcish shields do not.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, all orcs wearing Uruk-hai shields gain a +1 AC bonus.
An Uruk-hai shield can be created at a forge by combining two orcish shields.
References
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 412: armor and weapons for Uruk-Hai
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 400: switch for orc-captains
- ↑ include/obj.h in UnNetHack revision 1986, line 215
