Club

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) Club.png
Name club
Appearance club
Damage vs. small 1d6
Damage vs. large 1d3
To-hit bonus +0
Weapon skill club
Size one-handed
Base price 3 zm
(+10/positive
enchant)
Weight 30
Material wood

A club is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is made of wood.

Generation

Clubs make up about 1.2% of randomly generated weapons (on the floor, as death drops, or in shops).

Cavepeople start the game with a +1 club.[1]

Ogres have a varying chance of being generated with a club: 1112 for ogres, 56 for ogre lordss, and 23 for ogre kings.[2] Keystone Kops have a 16 chance of generating with a club.[3] Ettins are always generated with a club.[4]

Player monsters, including those on the Astral Plane, have a roughly 1100 chance of generating with a club as their initial weapon before role-based replacements. Cavepeople have an effective 18 chance of their initial weapon being made into a club.[5]

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.

As of commit 20cbadc, which makes quest leaders significantly stronger and prevents killing them from making the game unwinnable, Shaman Karnov generates with a +5 club.

As of commit e5c73d0, wood golems have a chance of dropping clubs among the wooden items they leave behind as their special death drop instead of a corpse.

Club skill

Club
Max Role
Basic
Skilled
Expert

The club and the aklys both use the club skill. There are no artifact clubs.

Notably, it is the only weapon skill that Tourists cannot reach basic proficiency in.

Strategy

While the club is an adequate weapon for a starting Caveman, most characters will prefer stronger weapons. A major exception is the aklys, which has the same damage dice as a club and is made of iron, but can double as a ranged weapon: it can easily be a solid replacement for some projectiles such as the Caveman's sling, flint and rocks, and can even serve as a primary melee weapon until an artifact weapon is obtained.

History

The club first appears in NetHack 1.3d.

Variants

Some variants give player gnomes an increased skill cap with clubs, due to their perceived affinity with the aklys. Specific variants based on NetHack 3.4.3 and earlier versions may not include the ability to tether an aklys and use it as a long-range weapon introduced in NetHack 3.6.1.

SLASH'EM

SLASH'EM adds two new items that use the club skill: the baseball bat and the torch.

A club can be upgraded into an aklys, and vice versa; SLASH'EM does not alter the aklys from NetHack 3.4.3.

The club skill is considerably more useful in SLASH'EM due to the addition of two endgame-quality artifacts that use it:

  • Skullcrusher is a lawful artifact club that serves as the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Cavepeople, and does a flat +10 damage to all monsters.
  • The Bat from Hell is a chaotic artifact baseball bat that serves as the guaranteed first for Rogues, and does a flat +20 damage against all monsters.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, all player dwarves begin the game with a wooden club that staves can be carved into, as well as a knife to carve with. Clubs can also be used to make torches by dipping them into a potion of oil.

Living lecterns leave behind 2-6 clubs as part of their special death drop instead of a corpse.

NetHack Fourk

In NetHack Fourk, player gnomes have increased skill caps in clubs.

The Big Stick is a chaotic artifact club that replaces The Sceptre of Might as the Caveman quest artifact.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, the Big Stick also replaces The Sceptre of Might as the Caveman quest artifact.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, a club can be combined with a rubber hose at a furnace to create a baseball bat.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Keolewa is a neutral artifact club that acts as the first sacrifice gift artifact for Cavepeople.

A club can be created at a forge by combining 2 arrows and 2 crossbow bolts. A club can be used to forge a couple of items:

  • A club can be combined with a dagger to create a mace.
  • A club can be combined with a flail to create an akyls.

Player giants wielding a club have a chance of stunning any monsters they hit with it.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, the metal club is a new weapon that uses the club skill, and deals the most damage among non-artifact clubs.

Petslayer is a chaotic artifact club that has +5 to-hit and deals +10 damage against domestic animals.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, Skullcrusher and the Bat from Hell from SLASH'EM appear as artifacts along with Keolewa from EvilHack.

A club can be upgraded into an aklys and vice versa, as in SLASH'EM. Clubs can also be dipped in oil to make torches, as in dNetHack.

References