Khopesh
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | khopesh |
| Appearance | sickle-sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6 |
| Damage type | slashing |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | short sword |
| Secondary skill | axe |
| Primary attribute | strength |
| Magical item? | no |
| Properties | (none) |
| Base size | small |
| Base price | 40 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Default weight | 30 |
| Base material | copper |
A khopesh is a type of weapon that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. The khopesh is a small melee weapon that is two-handed for a medium-size wielder, and uses the higher between the hero's axe and short sword skills. It has a base material of copper, and appears as a sickle-sword when unidentified.
Generation
Barbarians, Kensei, Knights, Samurai, and Valkyries start the game with knowledge of the khopesh.
The khopesh is not randomly generated, though it can be wished for or found in bones. Fire Brand and Frost Brand can be generated or wished for in khopesh form if the hero is a Wizard, and Wizard heroes can reshape either artifact into a khopesh by dipping the artifact of the matching element into a forge or fountain respectively—this reshaping requires the hero to either have a khopesh in their inventory or be at least Skilled in short swords.
Neferet the Green has a chance of summoning and firing khopeshes when casting the arrow rain monster spell.
Two bronze khopeshes are each randomly placed on the Troubadour quest goal level during level creation.
Some monsters can be generated with a khopesh:
- Caillea Eladrin that are generated during the waxing and waning crescent moon phases have a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a pair of silver khopeshes.
- Mariliths that are created in the Mordor Ruins Quest and placed in areas outside of the forest, ford or fields during level creation are always generated with a khopesh as one of their six weapons.
- The blue-eyed fox has a 1⁄16 chance of generating with a filth-encrusted and dire-poisoned khopesh.
- A soldier mummy has a 1⁄10 chance of generating with a khopesh.
- Jrt Netjer always generate with a pair of blessed khopeshes, with one being mercurial and anarchic while the other is silver and holy.
Description
The khopesh inflicts slashing damage, with 1d8 against small monsters and 1d6 against large ones (the inverse of the normal short sword item). A khopesh can be poisoned by dipping it in an appropriate potion. A hero that wields a khopesh while they are at Skilled or better in short swords gains the "hew", "bleed" and "create opening" expert traits.
In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters will favor a khopesh over the bec de corbin (if they can use polearms in melee) and long saw, and will prefer a wakizashi or better to the khopesh.
Origin
The khopesh (also vocalized "khepesh") is an Egyptian sickle-shaped sword that evolved from the epsilon axe or similar crescent-shaped axes that were used in Western Asian warfare, as well as curved and/or crescent-shaped swords. The word may have been derived from "leg", specifically as in "leg of beef", because of their similarity in shape: the hieroglyph for ḫpš ('leg') is found as early as during the time of the Coffin Texts (the First Intermediate Period), though the 196 BC Rosetta Stone references it as the "sword" determinative in a hieroglyph block, with the spelled letters of "kh", "p", and "sh".
The khopesh style of sword originated during the Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC), and was introduced to Lower Egypt via settlers during the Hyksos rule of the Second Intermediate Period (1782-1550 BC): the earliest known depiction of a khopesh is from the Stele of the Vultures, depicting King Eannatum of Lagash wielding the weapon; this would date the khopesh to at least 2500 BC. The weapon became more common within Egypt in the New Kingdom era, and is often depicted with various pharaohs in statues and murals as a symbol of power and conquest; some have been found in royal graves, such as the two examples found with Tutankhamun.
A typical khopesh is 50–60 cm (20–24 in) in length, though smaller examples also exist, and the blade is only sharpened on the outside portion of the curved end—examples have been found with dull edges, most likely indicating they were of ceremonial purpose. Ancient Egyptian soldiers carried the khopesh with various weapons such as axes, spears, maces, daggers, bows, and war chariots; the height of its use in warfare was during the New Kingdom Dynasties (c. 1570-1069 BC), and it then fell out of use around 1300 BC.
