Katana
) 
| |
|---|---|
| Name | katana |
| Appearance | samurai sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d10 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d12 |
| To-hit bonus | +1 |
| Weapon skill | long sword |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 80 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 40 |
| Material | iron |
A katana is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed weapon that uses the long sword skill. It is made of iron, and appears as a samurai sword when unidentified.
A Samurai wielding a katana has a chance of performing a shattering blow, destroying a monster's wielded weapon.
The katana is the base item for the artifact Snickersnee.
Contents
Generation
All Samurai start the game with a +0 katana.[1]
1⁄250 of all randomly generated weapons will be katana.
Player monsters, including those generated on the Astral Plane, have a 1⁄290 chance of being generated with a katana as their initial weapon before role-based replacements.[2] Samurai have a 1⁄2 chance of forcing a katana in place of their initial weapon.[3]
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
As part of commit 20cbadcf - which strengthens quest leaders and makes it so that killing them no longer makes the game unwinnable - the Samurai quest leader Lord Sato generates with a +4 katana.Strategy
The primary differences between a katana and a long sword are the +1 bonus to hit, the katana's d10 damage to small monsters (as opposed to d8 for a long sword), and the inability to convert a katana into Excalibur by dipping. The katana is also the most damaging non-artifact weapon to use the long sword weapon skill, and is often sought after as an off-hand weapon for twoweapon combat.
Average damage calculation
The average damage calculations in the following table do not include bonuses from weapon skills, strength, or from using a blessed weapon against undead or demons.
| Weapon | Small monsters | Large monsters |
|---|---|---|
| +0 katana | 
|
|
| +7 katana | 
|
|
History
The katana first appears in NetHack 1.3d. From this version to NetHack 2.3e, the now-defunct Ninja role starts with a katana.[4]
In NetHack 2.2a and 2.3e, Snickersnee can be created by naming any katana.
Origin
The katana is the name used for a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and a long grip to accommodate two hands. The term originates in the early 8th century CE and refers to single-edged swords in general, with the ones used by lower-ranking samurai and the like known as uchigatana (打刀). Despite the katana's modern reputation as a superb weapon, it was reserved for close combat, and only became commonplace as a weapon during the portion of the 16th-century Sengoku period where tactics changed and began to favor group battles by large groups of mobilized foot soldiers - the quality of steel in Japan was also relatively poor at the time of the katana's initial exportation.
The statline for the katana, including the +1 to-hit bonus, is derived from Dungeons & Dragons.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack and notdNetHack, the katana gains a 50% strength-based bonus to odamage when wielded without a shield or offhand weapon.
Maids have a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a katana if the player character is a Samurai, and a 7⁄10 chance otherwise. dNetHack also introduces Kiku-ichimonji, an artifact katana that replaces Snickersnee (which is changed to a knife) as the Samurai's first sacrifice gift.
A blessed +3 katana named Sasuke's Blade can be found in the hidden westernmost room of the Fire Temple within the Chaos Temple Quest.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, extraplanar merchants have a chance of generating with a katana.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the katana has a base object material of steel. Ronin that appear on the Samurai quest have a 3⁄4 chance of generating with a katana.
A katana can be created at a forge by combining two long swords, and a katana can be combined with a two-handed sword to create a tsurugi.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, Nightingale is an artifact katana that is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for the revived Ninja role. Kiku-ichimonji retains its role from dNetHack as the Samurai's first sacrifice gift, and Snickersnee is still present.
Encyclopedia entry
The katana is a long, single-edged samurai sword with a
slightly curved blade. Its long handle is designed to allow
it to be wielded with either one or two hands.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 134
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 155: 1⁄2 to get a random weapon - the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in objects.c, and uses normal generation odds
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 232
- ↑ u_init.c in NetHack 2.3e, line 184
