Dagger
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | dagger |
| Appearance | dagger |
| Damage vs. small | 1d4 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d3 |
| To-hit bonus | +2 |
| Weapon skill | dagger |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 4 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | iron |
A dagger is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed stackable weapon that can both be used in melee and thrown as a projectile, and uses the dagger skill.[1] It is made of iron.
Generation
Various roles of hero can start the game with one or more daggers:
- Human and gnomish Rangers start each game with a +1 dagger as their secondary weapon.[2] Elven Rangers start with a +1 elven dagger in place of the standard dagger, while orcish Rangers start with a +1 orcish dagger in place of the standard dagger.[3][4]
- Human Rogues start each game with a stack of 6-15 +0 daggers as their secondary weapons.[5] Orcish Rogues start with the same amount of +0 orcish daggers in place of the standard daggers.[4]
- Valkyries start each game with a +0 dagger as their secondary weapon.[6]
The dagger makes up 3⁄100 (3%) of all weapons that are randomly generated on the floor, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock daggers.
Various monsters can be generated with daggers:
- Watchmen and soldiers have a 1⁄2 chance of generating with a dagger as their secondary weapon, and other mercenaries have a 1⁄4 chance of being given a dagger as their primary weapon.[7][8]
- Students, attendants, abbots, acolytes, guides, and apprentices have a roughly effective 1⁄3 chance of generating with a dagger.[9]
- Hunters have a 1⁄3 chance of generating with a dagger.[10]
- Thugs have a 2⁄3 chance of generating with a dagger.[11]
- Hobbits have a 1⁄3 chance of generating with a dagger.[12]
- Dwarves that are not undead have an effective 1⁄2 chance of generating with a dagger.[13]
- A humanoid monster that is not marked as strong and has a weapon attack, the ability to wield weapons and no other ruleset governing its monster starting inventory will have a chance of generating with a stack of 3–5 daggers, unless they are created on the Rogue level:[14] the base odds are 1⁄14 for normal monsters, 1⁄12 for a monster that is a lord or nasty, 1⁄10 for a monster that is either an overlord or else is both a lord and nasty, and 1⁄8 for a monster that is both nasty and an overlord.
- The Master of Thieves is generated with a stack of 2-8 non-cursed +2 daggers when acting as the quest leader for the Rogue quest.[15]
- Player monsters that are not monks and are created on the Astral Plane have an effective 5⁄194 chance (~2.58%) of generating with a stack of up to 8 daggers as their initial weapon before role-based replacements are applied.[17][18][19]
Description
A dagger inflicts piercing damage, and deals 1d4 damage versus small monsters and 1d3 versus large ones. A stack of daggers may be automatically quivered if the hero uses the firing command without any other projectiles or ammo quivered.[20] Rogues gain a +1 multishot bonus when throwing daggers.[21]
A hero that wields a dagger while eating a non-blessed tin will open the tin in 3 turns at most.[22]
In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters will prefer a standard dagger to an orcish dagger in both melee and ranged combat, and will similarly prefer an elven dagger or better to the standard dagger.[23][24]
Strategy
Despite their weight and low base damage, a stack daggers can be very useful in the early game: ranged volleys at sufficient skill levels can kill monsters before they even breach melee range or at least soften them up before they can engage you. Daggers are typically cheap and plentiful, and are more durable than arrows, crossbow bolts and darts, but cannot be poisoned by dipping into a potion of sickness. A spare, non-cursed dagger can also serve as a makeshift "pick" for forcing open locked chests and large boxes.
All roles except Monks and Priests can attain proficiency in dagger skill, and may wish to do so early on if the circumstances warrant it. Rogues and Wizards in particular can reach Expert and gain multishot bonuses, which gives them high damage potential from a "storm" of daggers. If daggers are your primary choice of projectile, then be sure to erodeproof them when possible, avoid throwing any enchanted daggers at disenchanters, and especially avoid leaving any of them near metallivores such as rock moles and rust monsters if possible!
History
The dagger first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and it is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, upgrading an orcish dagger successfully will create a dagger, while upgrading a dagger successfully has a roughly equal probability of creating either an elven dagger or a dark elven dagger.[25][26]
dNetHack
In dNetHack, drow heroes in roles that would start with daggers will instead start with droven daggers. Vampire heroes in roles that would start with athames will instead start with daggers—currently, this only applies to the Wizard.
Samurai know the dagger as a "kunai".
The dagger makes up 1⁄50 (2%) of all weapons that are randomly generated on the floor, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock daggers.
Andromalius is a spirit whose binding ritual involves placing two items from a set of several eligible objects onto his seal, which can include a dagger—successfully binding him will exchange the two items used for a third object, which also has a chance of being a dagger if it was not used initially.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, a dagger can be combined with an iron chain at a furnace to create a spiked chain.
notdNetHack
In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, two spirits generate with daggers when summoned by an Illithanachronounbinder:
- Andromalius generates with a stack of 5-15 daggers.
- Balam generates with two separate sets of large daggers.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, a dagger can be created at a forge by combining two arrows and a knife. Daggers can be used to create many other items this way:
- A dagger can be combined with two darts to create 3-4 shuriken.
- A dagger can be combined with two arrows to create a spear.
- A dagger can be combined with a stiletto to create an athame.
- A dagger can be combined with a spear to create an axe.
- A dagger can be combined with two crossbow bolts to create a short sword.
- A dagger can be combined with a broadsword to create a runesword.
- A dagger can be combined with a club to create a mace.
- A dagger can be combined with a mace to create a morning star.
- A dagger can be combined with a dented pot to create a helmet.
- A dagger can be combined with a helmet to create a small shield.
Encyclopedia entry
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
References
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1433-L1435
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 125
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 226: elven substition for daggers
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 235: orcish substitution for daggers
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 135
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 162
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 199
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 213-L215
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 276-L283
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 308
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 317
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 363-L367
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 397-L399
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 552-L557: Case for daggers in "default" monster weapon generation
- ↑ dat/Rog-strt.lua in NetHack 5.0.0, line 109
- ↑ include/objects.h in NetHack 5.0.0, line 174-L392
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 150: 1⁄2 to get a random weapon—the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in objects.h, and uses normal generation odds[16]
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 199: monks will always have either shuriken or no weapon
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 267-L271: Stackable thrown weapons may be generated in multiples
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 420-L423
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 63-L67
- ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1752-L1761
- ↑ src/weapon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 501
- ↑ src/weapon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 699
- ↑ potion.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 2196
- ↑ potion.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 2200
