Rocket (SLASH'EM)
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | rocket |
| Appearance | rocket |
| Damage vs. small | 1d45 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d60 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | firearms |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 450 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 200 |
| Material | iron |
- For the ammunition in dNetHack and its derivatives, see rocket (dNetHack).
A rocket is a type of weapon that appears in SLASH'EM and SlashTHEM. The rocket is a projectile that uses the firearms skill and is designed as ammunition for rocket launchers. It is made of iron.
Generation
Rockets are generated differently depending on the variant.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, rockets are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
Yendorian Army captains have a 1⁄2 chance of being generated with a rocket launcher and 3–7 rockets as ammo.[1]
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, rockets are very rare and make up 1⁄1000 of weapons randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops.
Weapons outlets, used armor dealerships and gun stores can also stock bullets. Gun stores have a 1⁄100 chance of generating a stack of rockets on each square.
In addition to generation details for monsters SLASH'EM, Grandpa Tank Breaker is always generated with a rocket launcher and 3–12 rockets as ammo.
Description
As firearms ammunition, rockets must be fired or "thrown" from an appropriate launcher (i.e. a rocket launcher) to deal their actual base damage–d45 damage against small monsters and d60 against large ones–and properly-fired rockets will always explode whether or not they hit their target, dealing 3d8 fire damage to any monsters caught in the explosion. A rocket that is fired upward or downward will explode on that square.[2]
Strategy
The excessive weight of both the rocket and its launcher renders the weapon almost completely useless for any practical applications in SLASH'EM: at 750 aum, the launcher alone takes up the mass majority of a strong hero's carrying capacity, even with no other inventory, and just a single rocket adds 200 aum, so just carrying the launcher and a few rockets will ensure that the hero is at minimum burdened (if not worse).
In SlashTHEM, the maximum carrying capacity for the hero is 4000 aum, usually only reached by polymorph into a nymphs: while in theory this can make the prospect of utilizing the rocket launcher feasible, most nymphs are not especially ideal as long-term polymorph forms—also, a rocket launcher on its own takes up just under 1⁄5 of the maximum carrying capacity, with a set of six rockets bumping that weight to nearly half of that total before accounting for any other inventory present.
In either case, the rocket launcher also has a base rate of fire of -5 that renders multishot nearly impossible for the launcher without an incredibly high enchantment: even with Expert skill in firearms, a +15 rocket launcher only fires two rockets with a 1⁄8 probability. Furthermore, the rocket launcher is hampered by its -4 to-hit penalty and inability to wear a shield while operating one, and the damage per turn from rockets is considerably lower than much lighter one-handed rapid-fire weapons, such as assault rifles and submachine guns.
Origin
In military terminology, a rocket is a self-propelled, unguided or guided, weapon-system powered by a rocket engine. Rockets differ from missiles primarily by lacking an active guidance system; early missiles became known as "guided rockets" or "guided missiles". Some rockets were developed as unguided systems and later upgraded to guided versions, like the GMLRS, and these generally retain the term "rocket" instead of becoming "missiles"; many multiple rocket launcher systems fall into the latter category. Rockets or missiles that travel underwater, like the VA-111 Shkval, are known as "torpedoes", whatever their propulsion system.
Though used primarily as medium- and long-range artillery systems, historically rockets have also seen considerable use as air-to-surface weapons, some use as air-to-air weapons, and even (in a few cases) as surface-to-air devices. Examples of modern surface-to-surface rocket systems include the Soviet BM-27 Uragan and the American M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.
