Bare hands
Bare hands is a skill in NetHack that is used when attacking enemies while not wielding anything. Every role except for the Monk and Samurai has this skill - the Monk and Samurai instead possess the martial arts skill.
Bare hands skill
| Bare hands | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
| Expert | |
| Master | |
Fighting while not wielding anything naturally trains the bare hands skill. Barbarians and Cavepeople can reach Master in barehanded combat, and so start with Basic skill, while all other roles start as Unskilled.[1] No role can advance to Grand Master in bare hands.
Damage calculation
Attacks using the hero's bare hands have a base damage of 1d2 against both small and large monsters, with the exception of shades (who take 0 base damage);[2] attacks made while wearing gloves are referred to as attacking with bare gloves or gloved hands.
Bare-handed attacks gain damage bonuses for strength, as well as skill-based damage bonuses: +1 for Basic or Skilled level, or +2 for Expert or Master level, with an average of is (1 + (2 + x))/2 where x is the applied bonus.[3] Skill training and skill-based damage bonuses only apply for hits with more than 1 base damage. In addition, bare-handed attacks with at least Basic skill have a small chance of performing a staggering blow on hit.
Blessed gloves grant a +1d4 damage bonus to bare-handed attacks against undead and major demons. Wearing a ring with the randomized appearance of a silver ring without wearing gloves over them grants a +1d20 damage bonus to bare-handed attacks against silver-haters (which is not applied twice if wearing two silver rings).[4]
Below is a table that outlines damage and to-hit bonuses for skill in barehanded combat, along with the average damage:
| + to-hit | + damage | average damage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | +1 | +0 | 1.5 |
| Basic | +1 | +1 | 2 |
| Skilled | +2 | +1 | 2 |
| Expert | +2 | +2 | 2.5 |
| Master | +3 | +2 | 2.5 |
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
Per commit c1c515af, skill-based damage bonus is applied regardless of base damage, though hits that roll base damage of 1 will still not train the skill.
Per commit 60c19568, bare-handed combat has a skill dependent chance of performing a second attack automatically: this has a 1⁄5 chance of occurring for each skill level above Basic, e.g. 2⁄5 for Skilled or 4⁄5 for Grand Master. Each hit only gains a 3⁄4 bonus to strength when attacking twice, though both attacks landing results in a net 3⁄2 strength bonus.Strategy
Barehanded combat can be serviceable for certain starting heroes until they find a proper weapon, and may even be viable in certain situations where the hero is either desperate or does not want to risk degrading of particular weapons (e.g. fighting a rust monster). Generally though, the skill is rarely worth enhancing for such marginal benefits, and any ranged attack options may be more favorable.
For weaponless conduct, roles with martial arts are preferred due to the skill's higher damage output and superior quality overall.
History
In NetHack 3.4.3, there is no to-hit bonus for this skill.[5]
A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:
"Verify the exact commit(s) that remedied this and clarify when they were implemented."
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, drow heroes can put monsters to sleep by attacking in barehanded combat, which can be deceptively powerful against certain monsters that lack sleep resistance.
SporkHack
In SporkHack, advancing the skill grants to-hit bonuses.
