Difference between revisions of "Vorpal Blade"
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===Monsters wielding Vorpal Blade=== | ===Monsters wielding Vorpal Blade=== | ||
| − | Vorpal Blade is a very dangerous weapon to find in the hands of a monster for the same reason it is sought by players—in particular, if Vorpal Blade has not already been created in your game, the [[player monster]]s in the [[Astral Plane]] have a chance of being | + | Vorpal Blade is a very dangerous weapon to find in the hands of a monster for the same reason it is sought by players—[[melee]] combat with any monster wielding Vorpal Blade can easily end in tragedy, especially since you may not be aware until it is too late. In particular, if Vorpal Blade has not already been created in your game, the [[player monster]]s in the [[Astral Plane]] each have a chance of their weapon being turned into an artifact, naturally including long swords possibly being turned into Vorpal Blade. |
Definitely avoid close combat in the Astral Planes until you can be certain that your target does not have Vorpal Blade, and attack such targets from a distance when possible; using a [[bullwhip]] to disarm them may be a last measure in especially dire situations. An [[amulet of life saving]] is highly recommended, as even without player carelessness an irreversible [[YASD]] can still occur. While the chances are incredibly low, a player monster with the weapon ''and'' two weapon attacks may be "lucky" enough to behead you twice in a row. | Definitely avoid close combat in the Astral Planes until you can be certain that your target does not have Vorpal Blade, and attack such targets from a distance when possible; using a [[bullwhip]] to disarm them may be a last measure in especially dire situations. An [[amulet of life saving]] is highly recommended, as even without player carelessness an irreversible [[YASD]] can still occur. While the chances are incredibly low, a player monster with the weapon ''and'' two weapon attacks may be "lucky" enough to behead you twice in a row. | ||
If you kill a monster wielding Vorpal Blade but do not plan on using it at that time (or at all), leaving it in a well-protected [[container]] (i.e. at least with a [[scroll of scare monster]] over it) or stashing it within a [[bag]] in your inventory is highly recommended—at minimum, it will be kept out of enemies' hands. | If you kill a monster wielding Vorpal Blade but do not plan on using it at that time (or at all), leaving it in a well-protected [[container]] (i.e. at least with a [[scroll of scare monster]] over it) or stashing it within a [[bag]] in your inventory is highly recommended—at minimum, it will be kept out of enemies' hands. | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
Vorpal Blade was introduced in [[NetHack 3.1.0]]. | Vorpal Blade was introduced in [[NetHack 3.1.0]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Origin== | ||
| + | Vorpal Blade originates from the poem "[[Commons:s:en:Jabberwocky|Jabberwocky]]" by [[Commons:s:en:Author:Lewis Carroll|Lewis Carroll]], an excerpt of which is included in the encyclopedia entry. The unnamed adventurer's "vorpal blade" is used to cut through the titular jabberwock and behead it, mirrored by its ability in ''NetHack'' (and its variants) to potentially behead monsters and instantly behead jabberwocks. | ||
==Messages== | ==Messages== | ||
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===UnNetHack=== | ===UnNetHack=== | ||
| − | In [[UnNetHack]], Vorpal Blade deals +1d8 damage instead of the vanilla +1. | + | In [[UnNetHack]], Vorpal Blade deals +1d8 damage instead of the vanilla +1. Additionally, it warns of jabberwocks and instakills [[Vorpal jabberwock (UnNetHack)|vorpal jabberwock]]. |
===xNetHack=== | ===xNetHack=== | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | + | {{nethack-366}} | |
[[Category:Artifact weapons]] | [[Category:Artifact weapons]] | ||
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Revision as of 00:26, 27 June 2022
) Vorpal Blade 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | long sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8 +1 (2–9) |
| Damage vs. large | 1d12 +1 (2–13) |
| To-hit bonus | +1d5 |
| Bonus versus | (any) |
| Weapon skill | long sword |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
(none) |
| When wielded |
|
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 4000 zm |
| Weight | 40 |
| Material | iron |
Vorpal Blade is an artifact weapon that appears in NetHack. It is neutral, and its base item is a long sword.
One of the randomly generated epitaphs on a grave may read "Here lies The Lady's maid, died of a Vorpal Blade".
Contents
Generation
In addition to randomly generating in the dungeon with a very low chance, the Vorpal Blade appears as a possible sacrifice gift for neutral players, and is the default neutral crowning gift for most roles. Neutral Wizards and Monks can receive it only by carrying their role's crowning gift spellbook (finger of death for Wizards; restore ability for Monks) when they are crowned.
Effects
Vorpal Blade has a +1d5 bonus to hit and +1 bonus damage against small and large monsters. The sword has a 5% chance of instantaneously killing monsters it hits by beheading, ignoring any damage penalties; if the monster is headless, they will instead take no damage. The exception to this is the jabberwock, which it will always behead.[1]
Strategy
While often overlooked by some players due to its low bonuses to hit chances and damage, it is sought after by others for its ability to insta-kill.
Instakill probability table
The following table summarizes the damage done by Vorpal Blade. For example, if you expect to hit a monster ten times, you can assume a 40% chance of beheading it. You have also done an average of 55 points of physical damage to it. The odds of beheading a monster are above 50% if you can expect to hit it 14 times, which entails inflicting about 77 points of damage anyway.
| Hits | Cumulative instakill probability | Damage at +0 to small monsters (avg) | Damage at +0 to large monsters (avg) | Additional damage at +7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5% | 2–9 (5.5) | 2–13 (7.5) | 7 |
| 2 | 9.75% | 4–18 (11) | 4–26 (15) | 14 |
| 3 | 14.26% | 6–27 (16.5) | 6–39 (22.5) | 21 |
| 4 | 18.5% | 8–36 (22) | 8–52 (30) | 28 |
| 5 | 22.6% | 10–45 (27.5) | 10–65 (37.5) | 35 |
| 10 | 40.1% | 20–90 (55) | 20–130 (75) | 70 |
| 15 | 53.7% | 30–135 (82.5) | 30–195 (112.5) | 105 |
| 45 | 90.0% | 90–405 (248) | 90–585 (338) | 315 |
Monsters wielding Vorpal Blade
Vorpal Blade is a very dangerous weapon to find in the hands of a monster for the same reason it is sought by players—melee combat with any monster wielding Vorpal Blade can easily end in tragedy, especially since you may not be aware until it is too late. In particular, if Vorpal Blade has not already been created in your game, the player monsters in the Astral Plane each have a chance of their weapon being turned into an artifact, naturally including long swords possibly being turned into Vorpal Blade.
Definitely avoid close combat in the Astral Planes until you can be certain that your target does not have Vorpal Blade, and attack such targets from a distance when possible; using a bullwhip to disarm them may be a last measure in especially dire situations. An amulet of life saving is highly recommended, as even without player carelessness an irreversible YASD can still occur. While the chances are incredibly low, a player monster with the weapon and two weapon attacks may be "lucky" enough to behead you twice in a row.
If you kill a monster wielding Vorpal Blade but do not plan on using it at that time (or at all), leaving it in a well-protected container (i.e. at least with a scroll of scare monster over it) or stashing it within a bag in your inventory is highly recommended—at minimum, it will be kept out of enemies' hands.
History
Vorpal Blade was introduced in NetHack 3.1.0.
Origin
Vorpal Blade originates from the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll, an excerpt of which is included in the encyclopedia entry. The unnamed adventurer's "vorpal blade" is used to cut through the titular jabberwock and behead it, mirrored by its ability in NetHack (and its variants) to potentially behead monsters and instantly behead jabberwocks.
Messages
- Vorpal Blade decapitates the <monster>!
- The monster has been instantly killed from the special beheading attack.
- Vorpal Blade beheads it!
- Vorpal Blade instantly killed an unseen monster.
- Somehow, you miss the <monster> wildly.
- Your hit would normally have beheaded the monster, but it lacks a head and thus had no effect. The monster takes no damage.
- Vorpal Blade slices through <monster>'s neck.
- Your hit would normally have beheaded the monster, but it was insubstantial (e.g. a ghost or shade). The monster takes no damage.
- Vorpal Blade decapitates you!
- You were beheaded by a monster wielding Vorpal Blade.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Vorpal Blade beheads foes 10% of the time instead of 5%, making it considerably more powerful. A similar weapon, Thiefbane, has a 10% chance of beheading any @.
| Hits | Cumulative instakill probability |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10% |
| 2 | 19% |
| 3 | 27.1% |
| 4 | 34.4% |
| 5 | 41.0% |
| 10 | 65.1% |
| 15 | 79.4% |
| 22 | 90.1% |
Slash'EM Extended
In Slash'EM Extended, the Spacewars fighter quest has a 20% chance to spawn a tame ally, Sizzle, next to the player upon entering - he will always start out wielding Vorpal Blade if it was not generated elsewhere. Slash'EM Extended also includes the Verbal Blade, a similarly-named weapon that serves as the Zyborg quest artifact and has a similar chance to behead foes.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, Vorpal Blade deals +1d8 damage instead of the vanilla +1. Additionally, it warns of jabberwocks and instakills vorpal jabberwock.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, Vorpal Blade's damage bonus is +1d8 rather than +1. The average damage for an unenchanted Vorpal Blade is 9 versus small monsters and 11 versus large ones.
Encyclopedia entry
This entry is shared with the jabberwock.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
