Shield
A shield is a form of armor that appears in NetHack, and is one of seven armor slots available to the hero and certain monsters.
Description
Wearing a shield requires hands, and is incompatible with wielding a two-handed weapon or performing two weapon combat; wearing a shield also prevents the hero from dealing staggering blows, and prevents a Monk from receiving a to-hit bonus for martial arts. While the shield is not designed to be used as a weapon, there is code that specifies feedback for hitting a monster with a shield.[1]
Wearing any shield reduces the hero's spellcasting success rate - the small shield has the lowest reduction.
Any monster with hands that can wear armor and is not wielding a two-handed weapon can wear a shield.[2]
If the hero or a monster is subject to a blast of disintegration and they do not have reflection, any shield they are wearing will be destroyed first without affecting them or their worn body armor.
List of shields
| Shield | Unidentified Description | Cost | Weight | AC | Material | Special properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small shield | small shield | 3 | 30 | 1 | wood | Lower spellcasting penalty than other shields. |
| Elven shield | blue and green shield | 7 | 40 | 2 | wood | Can be enchanted to +7. |
| Orcish shield | red-eyed shield | 7 | 50 | 1 | iron | |
| Uruk-hai shield | white-handed shield | 7 | 50 | 1 | iron | |
| Large shield | large shield | 10 | 100 | 2 | iron | |
| Dwarvish roundshield | large round shield | 10 | 100 | 2 | iron | |
| Shield of reflection | polished silver shield | 50 | 50 | 2 | silver | Provides reflection. |
Strategy
Any shield that is non-cursed is safe to try on. In the early game, obtaining armor class is a priority, and most shields are useful to that end: the starting +3 small shield of a Valkyrie is a significant advantage over other roles, to the point that a non-Valkyrie hero who finds Valkyrie bones often benefits from wearing the shield, even if it is cursed. Monks have more than a few advantages from not wearing shields, including better to-hit and staggering blows.
In the mid-game, the relative value of armor class declines enough that most players in roles that can two-weapon (including Valkyries) will gladly give up a few points of AC from their shield for the damage increase - spellcasters focused on constant combat or utility spells may also forgo shields as well.
Popular shield choices from the mid-game to the ascension run are:
- shield of reflection -- reflection is an important extrinsic property
- small shield -- minimal spellcasting hindrance
- elven shield -- has a niche use for its ability to be safely enchanted to +7
Heroes who keep a strong pet often give them a shield of reflection.
History
The shield is available as a form of protection as early as Hack 1.21, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and it is formally made into an armor slot in Hack 1.0.
Variants
Many variants add new types of shield, and some also make it possible to actively utilize shields in combat.
