Shepherd's crook
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | shepherd's crook |
| Appearance | bent staff |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d4 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | quarterstaff |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 30 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 5 |
| Material | wood |
A shepherd's crook is a type of weapon that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. It is a two-handed weapon that uses the quarterstaff skill. It has a default material of wood, and appears as a bent staff when unidentified.
Generation
All Binders that do not have a starting inventory specific to their race start the game with a +0 shepherd's crook.
Valavi shopkeepers in the Arcadia segments of the Law Quest can sell shepherd's crooks.
The Stranger always generates with a yellow +5 shepherd's crook.
Description
While wielded, a shepherd's crook extends the distance a pet will follow the hero to other levels from by 1 square, and acts as a spellcasting focus that reduces the failure rates of enchantment spells.
Applying a shepherd's crook can be used to pound targets as with a polearm, pick up items on a target square or pull a monster closer to the hero.
Origin
A shepherd's crook is a long and sturdy stick with a hook at one end, often with the point flared outwards, used by a shepherd to manage and sometimes catch sheep and other animals by catching the crook around their neck or leg—the crook may also aid in defending against attack by predators. When traversing rough terrain, a crook is an aid to balance. Shepherds may also use the long implement to part thick undergrowth (for example at the edge of a drovers' road) when searching for lost sheep or potential predators.
The shepherd's crook has been used as a religious symbol of care, particularly in difficult circumstances, and has been employed in this and other contexts throughout human history: for example, Ancient Greek art depicted the pastoral deity Pan and Thalia, the Muse of pastoral poetry, with shepherd's crooks; in Ancient Egyptian civilizations, it and is paired with the agricultural flail to form an insignia of pharaonic authority, with the crook representing kingship and the flail symbolizing the fertility of the land—the coffinette of Tutankhamun provides one of the few remaining extant examples from this era.
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