Lance
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | lance |
| Appearance | lance |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d8 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | lance |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 10 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 180 |
| Material | iron |
A lance is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed weapon that is designed for use in mounted combat, and is made of iron.
Lances behave similarly to polearms, only dealing full damage when used for pounding monsters as well as mounted melee attacks.
Contents
Generation
Lances make up about 0.4% of randomly generated weapons (on the floor, as death drops, or in shops).
All Knights start with a +1 lance.[1]
Watchmen and soldiers may be generated with a lance.[2][3]
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
Per commit da859c5e, lances no longer generate on watchmen and soldiers.Lance skill
| Lance | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
| Expert | |
The lance is the only weapon to use the lance skill, and there are no artifact lances.
The range at which a character or monster can pound with a lance varies with skill level - see that article for more information.
Jousting
When a mounted character attacks an adjacent monster in melee with a lance, there is a skill-dependent chance of jousting the monster:[4]. the base chance is 1⁄5, and increases by an additional 1⁄5 for each skill level (i.e. 2⁄5 at Basic, 3⁄5 at Skilled, and 4⁄5 at Expert). If jousting as part of twoweaponing, the skill level used is the lower between the character's lance skill and their twoweapon skill, e.g. the chance of jousting with an offhand lance is 1⁄5 if the character is unskilled in two-weapon combat.
A monster that is jousted monster takes +2d10 damage (or +2d2 if the lance is twoweaponed in the offhand), loses all its movement points for that turn, and becomes stunned; the monster is also pushed back one square in the direction of the melee attack, if they are not currently immobilized (e.g. they are trapped, as opposed to being sessile) and are of medium size or smaller, and the target square is not occupied or deadly. Each joust also has a luck-based chance of breaking the lance (with a hypothetical artifact lance resisting this chance completely), unless the jousting occurs against an unsolid monster:[5]
| Luck | Break chance |
|---|---|
| −13 | 1 in 18 |
| −5 | 1 in 43 |
| −1 | 1 in 126 |
| 0 | 1 in 250 |
| +1 | 1 in 9550 |
| +5 | 1 in 10500 |
| +13 | 1 in 12500 |
Strategy
The lance is an extremely heavy weapon that is only second in weight to the heavy iron ball, and as its base damage is quite low for that weight, a character seeking a weapon solely for pounding will prefer any polearm - the lance's primary perks lie in its jousting ability, which more than makes up for the lance's base damage and turns it into one of the most powerful non-artifact weapons.
Jousts can push monsters into pounding range, and with sufficient player skill it is possible to stay a knight's jump away from monsters with ranged attacks and pound at them without fear of retaliation. Lances are difficult to come by, meaning that most players only attempt this with Knights and their starting lance once they secure enough positive luck - until then, a lance is most safely applied at range, ideally with a backup weapon and/or space to retreat when opponents close in; even low-skill Knights in an open space can make particularly good use of this strategy with their role's jumping ability.
Barracks offer the best odds of finding a backup lance, particularly in the Castle and Fort Ludios, and dedicated lancers can wish up a spare or backup if all else fails - a light source is also worth carrying around to keep the character's pounding range illuminated. A deadly jousting tactic at high skill level is to pound at a monster that comes in range until it moves adjacent to the character, then melee with the lance to push it back into pounding range: this potentially stunlocks monsters to death without them getting a chance to attack, and with enough movement speed even covetous monsters like many of the demon lords and princes are unlikely to get a single turn in.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
The removal of lances from watchmen and soldier starting inventories means that lances will be much more difficult to come by through regular means for most characters.History
The lance first appears in NetHack 1.3d.
Origin
A lance is a long thrusting spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (called a lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting unlike similar weapons typically used by infantry. Lances were often equipped with a vamplate, a small circular plate to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact; beginning in the late 14th century, they were used in conjunction with a lance rest attached to the breastplate.
Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms, the use of lances was widespread throughout Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa wherever suitable mounts were available. Lancers of the medieval period also carried secondary weapons such as swords, battle axes, war hammers, maces and daggers for use in hand-to-hand combat, since the lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon; assuming the lance survived the initial impact without breaking, it was often too long, heavy, and/or slow to be effective in a melee.
Variants
Some variants add artifact lances, which will not break when jousting as explained above.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the range of pounding is also unrestricted, and lances can hit any square that is two squares away from the wielder.
Two of the five roles that are new to SLASH'EM can raise their skill in lances:
| Polearms | |
|---|---|
| Max | Role |
| Basic | |
| Skilled | |
SporkHack
SporkHack changes the additional jousting damage from 2d10 to 2d(5 + XL⁄3).
dNetHack
In dNetHack and notdNetHack, the lance's weight is reduced to 80 aum, and both variants add the elven lance, droven lance, white vibrospear, gold-bladed vibrospear, and force pike as weapons that use the lance skill.
Berith is a spirit that grants skill in lances while bound.
Iron golems may be generated with a lance.
There are several artifact lances:
- Dragonlance is an unaligned artifact that is made of dragontooth. It has +1d10 to-hit and deals +1d20 bonus damage against dragons and reptilians, with a 1⁄10 chance of canceling those monsters on hit, subject to their MR score. While wielded, Dragonlance confers warning of dragons and reptilians, and grants vanilla-strength reflection.
- Rhongomyniad is a lawful artifact that favors Knights and is the first sacrifice gift for Knights. It has +1d3 to-hit and double damage versus all monsters, and if gifted to a character, it unrestricts the riding, martial arts and lance skills and comes with a saddle.
- The Lance of Uriel is a lawful intelligent artifact that is large and made of silver. It has +1d7 to-hit and +1d10 damage versus all monsters, and while wielded it grants automatic searching and blindness resistance, and acts as a light source; targets that it strikes may be blinded, gremlins are reduced to dust, and trolls are petrified.
- The Rod of Lordly Might, The Rod of the Elvish Lords and The Sceptre of Lolth can be invoked to take on the form of an appropriate lance.
FIQHack
In FIQHack, Dragonbane has its base item changed from a broadsword to a lance. Dragonbane is the first sacrifice gift for Knights, and deals +1d20 against dragons - it also confers reflection while wielded, as in NetHack. Dragonbane has half the weight of a regular lance at 90 aum, and being gifted Dragonbane unrestricts riding and provides a free saddle.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, Bradamante's Fury is a neutral artifact lance that has +1d5 to-hit and +1d10 damage bonuses versus all monsters. It has a 1⁄10 chance of stunning a monster on each hit, and instantly dismounts any mounted monsters it hits and stuns them.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, a lance can be created at a forge by combining a glaive and a javelin.
The ability to forge lances of a desired (usually lighter) material and/or object property makes them much more attractive propositions for most EvilHack characters compared to vanilla NetHack.
Hack'EM
Hack'EM adds Bradamante's Fury from SpliceHack, improving the damage bonus to +1d12 and changing its alignment to lawful to match the source material. Forging recipes are the same as in EvilHack.
Encyclopedia entry
With this the wind increased, and the mill sails began to turn
about; which Don Quixote espying, said, 'Although thou movest
more arms than the giant Briareus thou shalt stoop to me.'
And, after saying this, and commending himself most devoutly
to his Lady Dulcinea, desiring her to succor him in that trance,
covering himself well with his buckler, and setting his lance
on his rest, he spurred on Rozinante, and encountered with the
first mill that was before him, and, striking his lance into
the sail, the wind swung it about with such fury, that it broke
his lance into shivers, carrying him and his horse after it,
and finally tumbled him a good way off from it on the field in
evil plight.
Cervantes Saavedra ]
