Rod of force
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | rod of force (lit) |
| Appearance | rod |
| Damage vs. small | 2d8 + (2*enchantment) |
| Damage vs. large | 2d12 + (2*enchantment) |
| To-hit bonus | +1 |
| Weapon skill | long sword |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 1000 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | iron |
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | rod of force (unlit) |
| Appearance | rod |
| Damage vs. small | 1d2 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d2 |
| To-hit bonus | +1 |
| Weapon skill | bare hands |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 1000 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 10 |
| Material | iron |
A rod of force is a type of tool that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack. It is a small chargeable weapon-tool that is one-handed for a medium-sized hero, and it has different effects and use different combat skills depending on if the weapon is currently lit or unlit. The rod of force has a base material of iron, and appears as a "rod" with its material appended when unidentified.
The rod of force is the base item for the artifact The Epitaph of Wongas.
Generation
Chaotic incantifier Kensei start each game with a blessed +1 rod of force.
Rods of force are not randomly generated and cannot be wished for, though they can be found in bones.
The inverted ziggurat map inclusions on the Neutral Quest that do not have an altar will contain a chest buried in the central square of the room with a rod of force inside. The library structures on the Sum of All have a 1⁄4 chance of containing a rod of force that has a 2⁄3 chance of being made of glass, and will otherwise be made of silver.
Normally-created rods of force are generated with 100,000 to 149,999 turns of power.
Description
Rods of force behave somewhat similarly to lightsabers and are compatible with the Makashi lightsaber form, but do not use focus gems. Applying a rod of force will light it if it is currently unlit, or turns it off if it is currently lit, and a cursed rod that is unlit has a 1⁄2 chance of failing to light when applied. Monsters can light rods of force to use them as weapons.
A hero wielding an unlit rod of force uses the bare hands or martial arts skills when attacking with it. A hero wielding a lit rod of force uses the long sword skill when attacking with it, and will use the two-handed sword skill if that skill is higher than the hero's long sword skill and they are not wearing a shield or performing two-weapon combat. A lit and wielded rod of force gains a doubled damage bonus from the hero's strength if they are not wearing a shield or performing two-weapon combat. A hero that wields a lit rod of force with Expert level in the applicable weapon skill gains the "graze" expert trait.
A rod of force has a maximum of 150,000 turns worth of total charge, and landing hits with a rod of force will drain 100 turns of light per hit. A hero can zap the rod in a given direction to drain 10,000 turns of charge for an effect identical to a zapped wand of striking, destroying drawbridges and iron bars hit by the bolt—a hero hit by a zap from a rod of force will be sent hurtling. This latter effect also uses and trains the wand power skill.
Rods of force can damage the armor of targets that it hits unless that armor grants magic resistance or nullifies magic completely, though lethal strikes will still penetrate such armor—armor that is immune to damage from a rod of force will also protect a layer or armor worn underneath it from damage by a non-lethal strike.
Charging a rod of force with an uncursed source adds 75,000 turns of charge up to the maximum, while a blessed source will always set its charge to the maximum, and a cursed source will completely drain it (shutting it off if it is currently lit).
Energy absorption
The rod of force has several self-charging properties and other related effects:
- While wielded, a rod of force can absorb bolts fired from the force bolt spell or a zapped wand of striking, protecting the wielder and charging itself. Each bolt absorbed grants an additional 10,000 turns of light up to the weapon's maximum.
- If the hero uses a wielded and unlit rod of force to attack a monster that is an angel of any kind (i.e. a lawful angel, neutral angel or chaotic angel with the minion flag) or a monster that can clerically cast monster spells, then the rod has a 1⁄10 chance of inflicting a "misotheistic" effect—the monster is stunned, cancelled and afflicted with doubt, and the rod's charges are set to the maximum of 150,000 turns. Otherwise, the monster's spell-casting cooldown is set to 1d13 turns, and the rod is charged by that number of turns multiplied by 100.
- If the hero uses a wielded and unlit rod of force to attack a monster that can cast spells by means other than clerical magic, their spell-casting cooldown is set to 1d4 turns, and the rod is charged by that number of turns multiplied by 100.
- While this will not normally occur in regular play, there are analogous effects applied against a hero hit by an unlit rod of force.
- If the hero is of a role that casts using their wisdom score, or is currently polymorphed into an angel that is vulnerable to the "misotheism" effect detailed above, and they are hit by an unlit rod of force in melee, they lose up to 400 points of energy and will become doubtful and stunned for 650 turns. Otherwise, the hero will lose (1d13)*10 energy.
- If the hero is of a role that does not cast using their wisdom score and they are hit by an unlit rod of force in melee, they lose (1d4)*10 points of energy.
Origin
The rod of force is based on the "wand of force", which is a lightsaber-like item that appears in the 1982 Dungeons & Dragons adventure module "The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun" for the Greyhawk setting and the 1st edition Advanced ruleset.
