Orcish morning star
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | orcish morning star |
| Appearance | crude morning star |
| Damage vs. small | 2d4 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6+1 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | mace |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 10 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 120 |
| Material | iron |
An orcish morning star is a type of weapon that appears in EvilHack and Hack'EM. It is a one-handed melee weapon that uses the mace skill, which includes all morning stars, and has a base object material of iron. It appears as a crude morning star when unidentified.
Generation
Orcish morning stars make up 1⁄125 (0.8%) of all weapons randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapons outlets can also stock orcish morning stars.
Goblin-captains have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with an orcish morning star. Orcish sergeants have a roughly 1⁄2 chance of being generated with orcish morning stars.
An orcish morning star can be created at a forge by combining an orcish dagger and a mace.
Strategy
Unlike most orcish weapons and armor, orcish morning stars are no less effective than normal morning stars in terms of damage, and are a somewhat passable option for early characters. Even so, they are not likely to see use by most builds, much like regular morning stars in vanilla NetHack: morning stars are generally overlooked as weapons, and orcish morning stars cannot be actively forged from any material other than iron. Additionally, orcish morning stars will often appear well after a stronger weapon has been found.
Of note is that an early Priest that is not an elf or drow can easily make an orcish morning star if they wish by combining their starting mace with an orcish dagger, which is commonplace in the early game of EvilHack: Goblin Town always contains several orcs with orcish daggers and a guaranteed forge, and orcish Priests in particular will appreciate the upgrade.
