Dwarvish mattock

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) Dwarvish mattock.png
Name dwarvish mattock
Appearance broad pick
Damage vs. small 1d12 (1-12)
Damage vs. large 1d8+2d6 (3-20)
To-hit bonus −1
Weapon skill pick-axe
Size two-handed
Base price 50 zm
(+10/positive
enchant)
Weight 120
Material iron

A dwarvish mattock is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a two-handed weapon-tool that is made of iron and uses the pick-axe skill, and appears as a broad pick when unidentified.

Generation

Dwarven characters start the game with knowledge of the dwarvish mattock. There is a line of code that gives any dwarven character in a role starting with a pick-axe a dwarvish mattock instead, though the line is currently commented-out.[1]

Dwarvish mattocks make up about 1.3% of all randomly generated weapons. General stores, antique weapon outlets and used armor dealerships can sell dwarvish mattocks.

Live dwarves generated with a dwarvish short sword and dwarvish iron helm have an effective 18 chance of being generated with a dwarvish mattock.[2] Watchmen and soldiers that generate with a polearm as their primary weapon (13 chance) may receive dwarvish mattocks.[3]

Player monsters, including those on the Astral Plane, have a ~1.1% chance of generating with a dwarvish mattock as their initial weapon before role-based replacements.[4]

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

Per commit da859c5e, mattocks no longer generate as starting weapons on watchmen and soldiers.

Description

As with a pick-axe, a dwarvish mattock can be applied or wielded to dig through walls or floors, as well as break boulders and statues; shopkeepers will also prevent you from entering a shop with a mattock in your inventory. Buying or selling a dwarvish mattock will auto-identify it, as will attempting to enter a shop with one, or else removing it from a container in your inventory while inside.

Strategy

A dwarvish mattock can be an effective weapon, as it deals far more damage than a pick-axe, especially against larger monsters - it is also much heavier and requires both hands free to wield, and their -1 to-hit penalty can make hitting with one difficult early in the game until you boost your Luck. Archeologists and other roles planning to utilize a mattock as their primary weapon can use their starting pick-axe and train to Skilled to offset the penalty.

As with a pick-axe, applying a mattock to wield it does not use up a turn, which can be advantageous when combined with other wielded items: as an example, you can apply a bullwhip at a monster to disarm it, then immediately attack on your next turn by applying a mattock, without having to take a turn to wield it.

Enchanted mattocks are among the best naturally-occurring weapons that can be given to a strong pet with a weapon attack - they are also the deadliest weapon that early characters and pets can encounter, where they are in the hands of hostile dwarves that can do upwards of 20 damage per swing.

Average damage calculation

The average damage calculations in the following table do not include bonuses from weapon skills, strength, or from using a blessed weapon against undead or demons.

Weapon Small monster Large monster
+0 dwarvish mattock \frac{1+12}{2}=\bold{6.5} \frac{1+8}{2}+\frac{2+12}{2}=\bold{11.5}
+7 dwarvish mattock \frac{1+12}{2}+7=\bold{13.5} \frac{1+8}{2}+\frac{2+12}{2}+7=\bold{18.5}

History

The dwarvish mattock first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, upgrading a pick-axe will produce a dwarvish mattock and vice versa.

Upgrading makes it possible to enchant any weapon to +127 by polymorphing the weapon of choice until it turns into a mattock: the mattock can then be upgraded to a pick-axe and polymorphed again until it becomes a tinning kit or an expensive camera; after charging the resulting item until it has 127 charges, it will become a +127 weapon upon reverting completely, since charges and enchantment are stored with the same variable. A +127 long sword can be turned into Excalibur for a lawful character, while a +127 bow or other launcher can fire 40 or more projectiles at once.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the dwarvish mattock can be thrown with no to-hit penalty.

Slave to Armok is a lawful artifact mattock that favors dwarves and grants +1d5 to hit and double damage against elves, orcs, always-peaceful monsters, and monster lords - it is bloodthirsty, with a sanity-based chance of attacking adjacent monsters each turn.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, a dwarvish mattock can be created by combining a pick-axe and an axe at a furnace.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, a dwarvish mattock can be created at a forge by combining a dwarvish short sword and a pick-axe.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, upgrading a pick-axe will produce a dwarvish mattock and vice versa, as in SLASH'EM, and forging recipes are the same as in EvilHack.

Encyclopedia entry

A mattock is an agricultural tool similar to a mining pick.
It is distinguished by the head terminating in a broader blade
rather than a narrow spike, which makes it particularly suitable
for breaking up moderately hard ground. ... During the Middle
Ages of Europe, the mattock served as an improvised shafted
weapon for the poorer classes.

[ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

References

  1. src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 228: Race-based substitutions for initial inventory
  2. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 367: sword and helm have 14 chance of being hiven, followed by 12 chance of a mattock
  3. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 191: eligible weapons are those listed from partisan to bec de corbin in objects.c, which includes mattocks
  4. src/mplayer.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 155: 12 to get a random weapon - the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in objects.c, and uses normal generation odds