Wakizashi (dNetHack)
| ) | |
|---|---|
| Name | wakizashi |
| Appearance | samurai short sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d8 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6 |
| Damage type | piercing, slashing |
| To-hit bonus | +1 |
| Weapon skill | short sword |
| Primary attribute | strength |
| Magical item? | no |
| Properties | (none) |
| Base size | small |
| Base price | 40 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Default weight | 30 |
| Base material | iron |
- For the item known as a "wakizashi" in NetHack, see short sword.
A wakizashi is a type of weapon that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, and is a distinct weapon from the short sword of NetHack. It is a small melee weapon, making it one-handed for a medium-size wielder, and uses the short sword skill. It has a base material of iron, and appears as a samurai short sword when unidentified.
Generation
Male Samurai start the game with a +0 wakizashi as their secondary melee weapon. Barbarians, Kensei, Knights, Samurai women, and Valkyries start the game with knowledge of the wakizashi.
Wakizashi are not randomly generated, though they can be wished for or found in bones.
A wakizashi is generated on the Samurai quest home level, where it is placed among the full complement of samurai equipment within the chest inside the eastern storeroom of the Taro Clan's castle during level creation.
Yuki-onna Madpeople that started the game as female will have a +2 mithril rakuyo wakizashi generated among their belongings in the quest box on the goal level of the Madperson quest during level creation.
Some monsters can be generated with a wakizashi:
- Male tengu are generated with a wakizashi if they are created on the Samurai quest, or else with a 1⁄20 chance if they are created on other levels.
- Lord Sato is always generated with a blessed +4 wakizashi.
- Maids have a 1⁄2 chance of generating with a wakizashi if the hero is a Samurai.
- Deminymphs that get a "samurai" undead hunter kit will have a roughly 1⁄2 chance of generating with an equipment set that includes a rakuyo wakizashi with an enchantment ranging from +0 to +3 and a chance of being made into an artifact.
- 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 wakizashi as one of their six weapons.
- The blue-eyed fox has a 1⁄16 chance of generating with a filth-encrusted and dire-poisoned wakizashi.
- A gray fungal tower generated on the Kensei quest for lawful incantifier Kensei will have a roughly 1⁄2 chance of a wakizashi being placed among the items on its square.
- Male player monster samurai are always generated with a wakizashi.
Description
The wakizashi deals piercing and slashing damage, with 1d8 against small monsters and 1d6 against large ones (the inverse of the normal short sword item), and has a +1 to-hit bonus. A wakizashi can be poisoned by dipping it in an appropriate potion. Wakizashis are considered a valid weapon type for use by lawful yuki-onna Kensei. A hero that wields a wakizashi while they are at Skilled or better in short swords gains the "focus fire", "create opening" and "second" expert traits.
In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters will favor the wakizashi over the khopesh, and will prefer a dwarvish short sword or better to the wakizashi.
Origin
The wakizashi is a short type of sword from feudal Japan. Due to sumptuary laws and arms regulation, commoners (i.e. non-samurai) were not allowed to wear swords beyond a certain length; as a result, the wakizashi was a commoner's weapon. For samurai, however, a long katana together with a wakizashi was considered an indication of their elevated social status. Transliterated, the term means "side-inserted sword", referring to how the small, handy weapon could be worn at one's side, analogous to the modern term "sidearm".
Encyclopedia entry
The wakizashi retains its encyclopedia entry from NetHack:
A wakizashi was used as a samurai's weapon when the katana
was unavailable. When entering a building, a samurai would
leave his katana on a rack near the entrance. However, the
wakizashi would be worn at all times, and therefore, it made
a sidearm for the samurai (similar to a soldier's use of a
pistol). The samurai would have worn it from the time they
awoke to the time they went to sleep. In earlier periods,
and especially during times of civil wars, a tanto was worn
in place of a wakizashi.
