Frost Brand (dNetHack)
| ) Frost Brand (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Base item | long sword |
| Appearance | ice-runed <base item> |
| Affiliation | |
| Generation |
|
| Wishable? | yes (see table) |
| Damage vs. small | (1d8 explosive ×2) + 3d8 cold + 3d8 physical |
| Damage vs. large | (1d12 explosive ×2) + 3d8 cold + 3d8 physical |
| Damage type | energy (additional types vary with base item) |
| To-hit bonus | +1 |
| Bonus versus | targets without cold resistance |
| Weapon skill | long sword |
| Primary attribute | strength |
| Properties |
|
| When carried | (none) |
| When wielded | |
| When used | (none) |
| When invoked | (none) |
| Base size | (base item standard) |
| Base price | 3000 zm |
| Weight | base item default (30) |
| Base material | glass |
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Frost Brand is significantly changed from its behavior in NetHack—it can appear as one of many available base item types, with the default being a long sword. It is normally made of glass, and it appears as an ice-runed variation of its base item when unidentified.
Fire Brand is the ember-runed, fire-attuned counterpart of Frost Brand.
Generation
Frost Brand's available range of base items is partly determined by the race, role and certain other qualities of the current hero, as well as whether the artifact is being randomly generated, given by the hero's current deity as a sacrifice gift, or else being wished for directly. Once either Fire Brand or Frost Brand has been generated, the other of the pair can only be generated as the matching object type.
For random generation, Frost Brand is actually less likely to appear than a normal artifact, due to the massive pool of available items. There is a base 1⁄120 chance that a random item of a compatible base item type generated on the ground will be made into Fire Brand, with two further rolls applied if this chance is successful:
- The first roll is 1⁄X to skip turning the object into Frost Brand, where X is the value representing the base item's default size (0 for tiny, 4 for huge, 7 for gigantic, and so on)—in practice, this means that tiny items will always be skipped and larger items have a lesser chance of being skipped.
- If this skip does not occur, and the item is a valid base item for Frost Brand that is also an elven item or droven item, then there is a further 1⁄4 chance required for artifact generation to succeed—this is likely implemented due to the high amount of such items that are generated on the floors of certain quest levels, such as the Mordor Ruins Quest.
If Frost Brand is being given to the hero as a sacrifice gift, it will pick a random base item type that is valid for the hero in the current game by using normal item generation probabilities. If it fails to generate a valid base type, then Frost Brand will default to being a long sword.
Certain base item types for Frost Brand are restricted to specific races, roles and sometimes alignments of hero: a hero can wish for Frost Brand, receive it as a gift or reshape it using the form of a particular base item only if they qualify for those restrictions. Such restrictions are detailed in the table within the description below.
Reshaping
Frost Brand can be reshaped into a different base item type from its current one by dipping the artifact into a fountain, and it can be formed into any compatible weapon that is type-identified, in the hero's inventory or uses a weapon skill that the hero is at Skilled level or better in. Certain base item types are only available to certain races and roles of hero, as they are for wishing and gifting—one example is the ring of nothing for an elven hero, which is the only means of turning the artifact into a ring of any kind.
Description
Frost Brand has +1 to-hit and deals double cold damage, as well as an extra +3d8 explosive cold damage and +3d8 explosive physical damage: this becomes triple cold damage and +6d8 each of explosive cold damage and physical damage against monsters that are vulnerable to cold, and the physical component of its damage always gain an extra damage mask—blunt for non-blunt weapons, piercing for blunt weapons that are non-piercing, and slashing otherwise. Frost Brand will not resist being used in two weapon combat with Fire Brand (and vice versa). On each hit, Frost Brand will subtract 2 movement points from the target with a minimum of 6 for the player and -12 for monsters).
Strategy
Frost Brand's viability relies heavily on how the player has their character set up, which form is most conducive to their build, whether or not the hero is able to spare a wish for the artifact if they cannot find it normally, and the hero's ability to reshape the artifact once it is in their possession—all of this assumes that one or both Brands are an important part of the player's strategy in the first place.
Valid forms
The table below covers the breadth of what base items Frost Brand can be gifted as, wished for or reshaped into—listed items that can be randomly generated normally should be assumed to have a chance of generating as Frost Brand in the manner described above, unless noted otherwise.
| Base item type | Giftable? | Wishable? | Shape-able? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chakram | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| spear | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| atgeir | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| javelin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| trident | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| dagger | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| stake | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| athame | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| set of crow talons | half-dragon Nobles only |
| ||
| scalpel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| knife | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| stiletto | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| sickle | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| saw cleaver | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| razor cleaver | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| long saw | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| saw spear | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| axe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| diskos | No | Anachrononaut and Android only |
| |
| hunter's axe | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| hunter's long-axe | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| battle-axe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| short sword | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| khopesh | Wizard only |
| ||
| wakizashi | Samurai only |
| ||
| church-brick | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| hunter's shortsword | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| scimitar | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| bow-blade | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| bladed bow | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| rapier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| saber | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| crow quill | half-dragon Noble only |
| ||
| soldier's rapier | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| soldier's saber | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| broadsword | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| long sword | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| crystal sword | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| two-handed sword | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| katana | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| cane | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| whip-saw | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| beast crusher | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| beast cutter | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| church shortsword | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| church-pick | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| church sheath | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| hunter's longsword | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| nagamaki | Samurai only |
| ||
| odachi | Samurai only |
| ||
| partisan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| ranseur | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| spetum | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| glaive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| naginata | Samurai only |
| ||
| lance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| halberd | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| poleaxe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| bardiche | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| voulge | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| fauchard | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| guisarme | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| bill-guisarme | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| lucern hammer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| bec de corbin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| scythe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| mace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| great mace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| tonitrus | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| morning star | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| war hammer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| smithing hammer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| club | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| goedendag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| square club | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| macuahuitl | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| quarterstaff | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| khakkhara | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| double sword | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| aklys | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| flail | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| nunchaku | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| ball | Convict only |
| ||
| katar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| droven greatsword | Drow hero only (incl. Kensei) |
| ||
| flintlock | Pirate only |
| ||
| cutlass | Pirate only |
| ||
| pistol | No | Undead Hunter only |
| |
| carcosan sting | Madperson only |
| ||
| bow | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| yumi | Samurai only |
| ||
| crossbow | Gnomish hero only |
| ||
| atlatl | Archeologist and Caveperson only |
| ||
| ring of nothing | Elven hero only |
| ||
| crystal gauntlets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
| runesword | chaotic human Kensei only |
| ||
| mirrorblade | lawful incantifier Kensei only |
| ||
| all unlisted short sword weapons | lawful incantifier Kensei only | none | ||
| kamerel vajra | neutral incantifier Kensei only |
| ||
| all unlisted mace weapons | neutral incantifier Kensei only | none | ||
| rod of force | chaotic incantifier Kensei only |
| ||
| all unlisted scimitar weapons | elven Kensei only | none | ||
| all unlisted trident weapons | salamander Kensei only |
| ||
