Demonbane

)   Demonbane
Base item	long sword
Damage vs. small	1d8 x2
Damage vs. large	1d12 x2
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	major demons
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful
When carried	(none)
When wielded	prevents demon gating
When invoked	(none)
Base price	2500 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Demonbane is an artifact weapon that appears in NetHack. It is lawful for wishing purposes, and its base item type is a long sword.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Per commit b1a5a9c3, Demonbane's base item is a changed to a mace.

Generation

A randomly generated long sword has a base ¹⁄₂₀ chance of being made into an artifact, which has a ¹⁄₇ chance of becoming Demonbane (and otherwise will be another artifact long sword) if no artifacts have already been generated. Lawful characters may receive Demonbane as a sacrifice gift.

Randomly-generated Archons are always generated with a long sword that has a ¹⁄₂ chance of being made into Demonbane if it does not already exist (and will otherwise be made into Sunsword), and other randomly-generated angelic beings created with long swords (i.e. Angels and Aleaxes) have an effective ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being generated with Demonbane this way.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

As part of commit b1a5a9c above, Demonbane is made the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Priests, and the base item change means that angelic beings will no longer generate with Demonbane.

Description

Demonbane has +1d5 to-hit and deals double damage against monsters considered to be demons, and blocks demon gating while wielded.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Wielding Demonbane prevents you from bribing demons as Excalibur does. Per commit b1a5a9c above, Demonbane can also be invoked to banish an imp or major demon within your character's line of sight, level teleporting them to Gehennom - invoking Demonbane while in Gehennom teleports them elsewhere on the level. This ability does not work on a quest nemesis, and demon lords and princes have a chance to resist the effect, while demons encountered in the quest have a much greater chance to resist if the nemesis is alive.

Strategy

On paper, Demonbane is a stellar weapon choice among the Banes: demons are reasonably common from the Valley of the Dead on, and preventing them from gating makes encounters with them far easier. However, demons are also vulnerable to several other weapons, ranging from a well-enchanted silver saber to artifacts such as Grayswandir and Frost Brand - as a result, Demonbane rarely sees use among most characters. Lawful roles such as Archeologists, Monks and Priests may still appreciate receiving Demonbane as their first artifact gift to unrestrict the long sword skill for Excalibur.

If you are equipping a lawful, intelligent weapon-using pet and have better artifact weapons as part of your own kit, Demonbane may be a good candidate to hand off to such a pet.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

The base item change means that lawful roles can no longer unlock the long sword skill by receiving it.

History

Demonbane first appears in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on these versions, it is somewhat common to wish for a figurine of an Archon to have a chance at obtaining Demonbane: monsters created from figurines in these versions generate with their starting inventory.

Demonbane's ability to block demon gating is introduced in NetHack 3.6.1, and is imported from SporkHack.

Variants

NetHack: The Next Generation

In NetHack: The Next Generation, Demonbane is one of the artifacts that can be created at The Forge, with a base price of 9000zm.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Demonbane's +1d5 to-hit bonus is converted to a flat +5 bonus as with all artifacts, and like the Banes it has a ³⁄₂₀ chance of cancelling any major demon it hits.

SLASH'EM introduces several angelic beings that are lawful and humanoid, making them eligible to generate with long swords that have an effective ¹⁄₄₀ chance of being made into Demonbane if it has not yet generated; the Planetar and Solar are lords to their kind, and generate with long swords that are guaranteed to be made into Demonbane or Sunsword, assuming neither artifact has generated.

SporkHack

)   Demonbane (SporkHack)
Base item	silver mace
Damage vs. small	1d6+1 x2
Damage vs. large	1d6 x2
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	major demons
Weapon skill	mace
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful Priest
When carried	warning versus demons
When wielded	prevents demon gating
When invoked	(none)
Base price	2500 zm
Weight	40
Material	silver

In SporkHack, Demonbane has its base item changed to an artifact silver mace, and acts as the first sacrifice gift for Priests - it also will not appear randomly, otherwise since silver maces are not randomly generated.

While wielded, Demonbane grants warning versus demons and prevents demon gating from occurring. It has +1d5 to-hit like all revised SporkHack artifacts, and deals double damage to demons.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, Demonbane grants warning versus demons while wielded.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, Demonbane is changed to a silver saber.

While wielded, Demonbane warns of demons and blocks their passive summoning abilities. It grants +1d10 to-hit and deals +1d20 bonus damage against demons, and has a ¹⁄₁₀ chance of attempting to cancel any demons it hits, subject to a roll against their MR score. Demonbane does not resist being held second to other weapons, but the character must be Expert skill in two-weapon fighting to use it in the off-hand without a −20 to-hit penalty.

FIQHack

In FIQHack, Demonbane is changed to a silver saber. It prevents demon gating while wielded as in NetHack and some other variants, and deals +1d20 bonus damage against demons.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, Demonbane is an artifact mace made of silver and is the first sacrifice gift for Priests. Invoking Demonbane can banish an imp or demon in the character's line of sight, level teleporting them to Gehennom - doing this by invoking Demonbane while in Gehennom teleports them elsewhere on the level. This does not work against quest nemeses, demon lords and princes have a chance to resist the effect, and demons encountered in the quest have a much greater chance to resist if the nemesis is alive.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, Demonbane is made of silver and grants additional warning of demons, and can be invoked to toggle flight.

Messages

You sprout three pairs of angelic wings!

You invoked Demonbane, and gained the ability to fly.

Your wings vanish.

You invoked Demonbane and lost the ability to fly.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Demonbane is a heavy mace made of silver that is the first sacrifice gift for Priests. In addition to its traits in NetHack, it grants warning of demons while wielded, and demons present on the level will become hostile upon your character wielding it. Like all "Bane" artifacts in EvilHack, it has a chance to instantly kill any demon it strikes. Infidels that become crowned become demons, and cannot touch or wield Demonbane.

Demonbane can be combined with Sunsword at a forge to create the Hammer of the Gods.

SlashTHEM

In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM incorporates The Forge from NetHack: The Next Generation, and Grayswandir is available there with the same base price.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, Demonbane behaves as it does in EvilHack, but cannot be forged with another artifact.