Elven sickle
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | elven sickle |
| Appearance | runed sickle |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d3 |
| Damage type | slashing |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | farm implements |
| Primary attribute | strength |
| Magical item? | no |
| Properties | (none) |
| Base size | small |
| Base price | 4 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Default weight | 5 |
| Base material | wood |
An elven sickle is a type of weapon that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack, and notnotdNetHack. The elven sickle is a small and stackable weapon that is similar to a regular sickle: it can either be thrown or wielded in melee (where it is one-handed for a medium-sized wielder), and uses the farm implements skill. It has a base material of wood and appears as a runed sickle when unidentified.
The elven sickle is the base item for the artifact Sickle Moon, which is a silver elven sickle. The Rod of the Elvish Lords is an artifact that can take on the form of an elven sickle when invoked.
Generation
Elven Binders start each game with an uncursed and burnt +0 elven sickle.
Elven sickles are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
A treesinger with access to a tree and a mithril smith with access to a forge are capable of smithing an elven sickle made of wood or mithril (respectively) for a hero paying to request the service.
The arrow rain monster spell has a base 1⁄33 chance of generating up to 16 uncursed +0 elven sickles and firing them at the target, and those weapons will also have the excoriating object property if the spell is cast by the Suzerain or the Voice-In-Screams.
Hellish seals that contain a Jrt Netjer may generate elven sickles inside.
Elven sickles with high enchantments and object properties can be generated in the magic item vaults that appear within the Avatar of Lolth's lair during level creation if it appears as the second Abyss level.
Some monsters can be generated with elven sickles:
- Alabaster elves have a 2⁄3 chance of being generated with a huge metal elven sickle, and otherwise have a 2⁄3 chance (effectively 2⁄9 total) of being given a metal elven sickle paired with a large metal elven dagger.
- Desert seers have an effective 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a metal elven sickle that is paired with another weapon, with an equal probability for each paired weapon: a second metal elven sickle, a metal elven spear, a metal elven short sword, or a metal viperwhip.
- Puppet-Emperor Xeleth and Puppet-Empress Xedalli are each generated with a cursed +5 golden elven sickle that has the "wrathful" and "elf-lord weapon" object properties.
- Noviere Eladrin have a roughly 1⁄2 chance of being generated with an elven sickle.
- Poltergeists created by rage-walkers have a 1⁄8 chance of being generated wielding a cursed iron elven sickle that has a minimum enchantment of +3.
Description
An elven sickle inflicts slashing damage, dealing 1d6 damage to small monsters and 1d3 damage to large monsters. An elven sickle can be coated in poison by dipping it in an appropriate potion. As farm implements, they have +6 to-hit and double damage against plant monsters. A hero that wields an elven sickle while Skilled or better in farm implements gains the "bleed" and "bladesong" expert traits.
In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters will favor the elven sickle over the stiletto, and will prefer a pick-axe or better to the elven sickle—they will not actively throw elven sickles like the hero is capable of doing.
Origin
A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook, or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock. Since the beginning of the Iron Age, hundreds of region-specific variants of the sickle have evolved, initially made of iron and later steel. This great diversity of sickle types across many cultures can be divided into smooth or serrated blades, both of which can be used for cutting either green grass or mature cereals using slightly different techniques.
Like other farming tools, the sickle can be used as an improvised bladed weapon. Examples include the Japanese kusarigama and kama, the Chinese "chicken sickles", and the makraka of the Zande people of north central Africa. Paulus Hector Mair, the author of a German Renaissance combat manual also has a chapter about fighting with sickles. It is also particularly prevalent in the martial arts of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines; in Indonesia, the native sickle known as celurit or clurit is commonly associated with the Madurese people, and is used both for fighting and as a domestic tool.
Encyclopedia entry
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously
curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or
cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock
(either freshly cut or dried as hay).
The inside of the blade's curve is sharp, so that the user
can either draw or swing it against the base of the crop,
catching the stems in the curve and slicing them at the same
time. The material to be cut may be held in a bunch in the
other hand (for example when reaping), held in place by a
wooden stick, or left free.
