Pistol (SLASH'EM)
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | pistol |
| Appearance | pistol |
| Damage vs. small | 1d2 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d2 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | firearms |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 100 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 20 |
| Material | iron |
- For the firearm in dNetHack and its derivatives, see pistol (dNetHack).
A pistol is a type of weapon that appears in SLASH'EM, SpliceHack, SlashTHEM, and Hack'EM. The pistol is a one-handed launcher that uses the firearms skill and is designed for use with bullets (including silver bullets). It is made of iron.
In Hack'EM, the pistol appears as a broken hand-crossbow when unidentified, similar to the item in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. Pirates in SlashTHEM know the item as a barking iron, while Pirates in Hack'EM know the item as a blunderbuss.
Contents
Generation
Pistols are generated differently across variants.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, pistols are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
Rogues have a 3⁄10 chance of starting the game with a pistol and 25–34 bullets in place of their daggers and darts.[1] Undead Slayers have a 1⁄4 chance of starting the game with a pistol and 30–39 silver bullets as their secondary weapon[2]—lycanthrope Undead Slayers will be given normal bullets instead.[3]
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, pistols are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, pistols are very rare and make up 1⁄1000 of weapons randomly generated on the ground, in shops or as death drops.
Gun stores can also stock pistols, and gun stores have a 1⁄5 chance of generating one on each square.
In addition to generation details for monsters in SLASH'EM, player monster pirates and officers are always generated with a pistol and 2 different stacks of 3–52 bullets as ammo.
Hack'EM
In Hack'EM, pistols are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
Gun stores can stock shotguns, and have a 1⁄5 chance of generating one on each square.
Shopkeepers have a 7⁄40 chance of being generated with a pistol and 2 different stacks of 3–22 bullets as ammo. Keystone Kops that are not given cream pies have a 1⁄3 chance of generating with a pistol and a stack of 3–17 bullets as ammo.
Rogues have a 3⁄10 chance of starting the game with a pistol and 25–34 bullets in place of their daggers and darts. Undead Slayers have a 1⁄4 chance of starting the game with a pistol and 30–39 bullets with an object material of silver as their secondary weapon.
A pistol can be created at a forge by combining a flintlock and an iron chain.
Description
Pistols have a range of 15 squares, but have no to-hit bonus and possess a rate of fire of 0.
Rate of fire
| Enchantment | Unskilled/basic | Skilled | Expert |
|---|---|---|---|
| -3 or lower | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| -2 to +2 | 1 | 1 | 1d3-1 |
| +3 to +5 | 1 | 1d3-1 | 1d4-1 |
| +6 to +8 | 1d3-1 | 1d4-1 | 1d5-1 |
| +9 | 1d4-1 | 1d5-1 | 1d6-1 |
Strategy
In SLASH'EM, the pistol is a sufficient form of firearm and long-ranged weapon for early-game heroes that can train the skill, particularly for Rogues or Undead Slayers that start with one—the Undead Slayer's silver bullets in particular are very useful against early werecreatures, since you will want to bring them down quickly while they are in their base form (usually their human form) before they can close in.
Multishot from pistols will be difficult to achieve without enchanting the pistol or reaching Expert in firearms; the former is usually not worthwhile, and heroes planning to use firearms long-term will want to train the skill as much as possible regardless, especially if they are fortunate enough to find a large enough cache of bullets. Such heroes should switch their pistol out for a submachine gun or an assault rifle as soon as possible: they provide a much higher rate of fire for bullets and are not significantly heavier in weight, with submachine guns weighing 25 aum and assault rifles weighing 40.
A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:
"Consider detailing per-variant strategy."
Origin
A pistol is a type of handgun characterized by a barrel with an integral chamber: the most common type of pistol used in the contemporary era is the semi-automatic pistol (e.g., Colt M1911), while the older single-shot and lever-action pistols are rarely seen and used primarily for nostalgic hunting and historical reenactment. Fully-automatic machine pistols are uncommon in civilian usage because of their generally poor recoil-controllability (due to the lack of a buttstock) and strict laws and regulations governing their manufacture and sale (where they are regarded as submachine gun equivalents). The tile for the weapon in SLASH'EM and similar variants resembles a semi-automatic pistol.
The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French pistolet (c. 1550), meaning "a small gun or knife", and first appeared in the English language c. 1570 when early handguns were produced in Europe. In colloquial usage, the word "pistol" is often used as a generic term to describe any type of handgun, inclusive of revolvers (which have a single barrel and a separate cylinder housing multiple chambers) and the pocket-sized derringers (which are often multi-barrelled).
