Uruk-hai shield

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[   Uruk-hai shield   Uruk-hai shield.png
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. It is made of iron and appears as a white-handed shield when unidentified.

The orcish shield is a near-identical shield with a different appearance.

Generation

Orcish characters start the game with knowledge of the Uruk-hai shield.[1]

Uruk-hai have a 13 chance of being generated with an Uruk-hai shield;[2] orc-captains have a 12 chance of being generated with Uruk-hai armor, giving them an effective 16 chance of generating with Uruk-hai shields.[3]

Description

While worn, an Uruk-hai shield grants 1 base AC.

Strategy

Main article: Shield#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 that guarded 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 orcish characters) 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, Uruk-hai shields grant +1 AC to orcish monsters that wear them, including orcish characters.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, Uruk-hai shields grant 2 base AC, 0 DR and MC1 while 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, Uruk-hai shields grant +1 AC to orcish monsters that wear them, including orcish characters.

An Uruk-hai shield can be created at a forge by combining two orcish shields.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, Uruk-hai shields grant +1 AC to orcish monsters that wear them, including orcish characters.

References