Sling
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | sling |
| Appearance | sling |
| Damage vs. small | d2 |
| Damage vs. large | d2 |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | sling |
| Size | one-handed |
| Base price | 20 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 3 |
| Material | leather |
A sling is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed launcher designed for shooting rocks and other stones as ammunition, and uses the sling skill. It is made of leather.
Generation
Cave Dwellers start with a +2 sling and one stack each of rocks and flint stones to use as ammunition.[1]
Slings make up 1⁄25 (4%) of all weapons that are randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops—used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock slings.
Hobbits have a 1⁄3 chance of being generated with a sling and either rocks or flint stones as ammo.[2]
Description
A hero must use a sling by wielding it and then using t or f to shoot stones: attempting to use the sling in melee will simply deal a minimal 1d2 damage (or 1 if used against a thick-skinned monster). The enchantment of a sling contributes to the to-hit value that determines the accuracy of stones shot from that sling, but does not impact the damage they inflict—slung stones also have a chance of mulching upon hitting targets.
When using the firing or quiver command while wielding a sling, the game will prioritize rocks and other stones if the autoquiver option is enabled[3]—similarly, if the hero attempts to shoot or throw rocks and stones with no sling wielded, the game will similarly attempt to find a sling that is not identified as cursed for the hero to automatically wield.[4]
Strategy
While training the sling's skill beyond Basic is generally a waste of slots, players may wish to use one as a form of ranged attack early on—ammunition is thankfully plentiful but cannot be enchanted, although blessing them grants a luck-based chance of not mulching. Even so, their usefulness overall tapers off well before the mid-game stages.
Flint stones are the best projectiles for slinging by far due to their 1d6 damage (averaging 3.5), but are quite rare outside of bones, making them difficult to take advantage of multishot with. Rocks deal a lower 1d3 damage in comparison, but can be readily made and found everywhere, while worthless glass deals the same damage but weighs only 1 aum per piece to a single rock's 10.
Cave Dwellers that avoid using their starting flint stones until they have maximum luck can bless them and have them last for a significant portion of the game if they so choose, while Rangers can use a sling on less threatening monsters in the early game to preserve their arrows (or crossbow bolts, for gnomish Rangers) until they find a means of enchanting them and boosting their luck. However, these are both incredibly niche approaches, as Cavepeople can get incredible mileage out of an aklys, Rangers have better projectile options overall, and the average player will generally prefer using their better ammo or weapons over an early-game death.
History
The sling first appears in Hack 1.21, which is based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial item list for Hack 1.0.
In versions up to NetHack 2.3e, slings can be used to fire sling bullets.[5] Rocks do not exist in Hack 1.21, and are first included as objects in Hack 1.0.
In NetHack 3.0.0, the sling bullet is removed from the list of objects, and rocks effectively take over their role as sling ammo. NetHack 3.2.0 introduces the flint stone as additional ammo and moves both to the "Gems/Stones" section of the hero's inventory.
Origin
The sling is a widespread weapon dating back to Neolithic cultures (if not still-older ones), and was typically used for hunting and combat - it is incredibly inexpensive and easy to build and use, and was thus incredibly common among shepherds, hunters and other "common" folk. As a result, while man-made sling bullets and rocks used as sling ammunition are frequently salvaged during archeological expeditions, intact slings are much harder to find. Slinging is a tradition among the peoples of the Balearic Islands, who are known since classical times as proficient mercenaries.
Slinging as a sport is still practiced in the Balearic Islands and other areas in modern times, and the sling is also used as an improvised weapon for wildnerness survival, hurling incendiary devices such as Molotov cocktails and grenades with additional range, and other more hobby-oriented purposes. A skilled slinger can fire projectiles at distances upwards of 450 meters (1500 feet) at speeds over 250 miles per hour.[6]
Slings appear in all editions of Dungeons & Dragons as a common ranged weapon for clerics (Priest(esse)s in NetHack), who cannot use other non-blunt projectiles, due to being forbidden from shedding blood. Their corresponding sling bullets deal 1d4 base damage.[7] Dungeons & Dragons also has a rule that improvised stones do one size category less in damage, i.e. 1d3 instead of 1d4—this may be reflected by the lower damage in modern NetHack. Slings also appear in the third version of Rogue, with its corresponding rock dealing the same damage as in D&D.[8] The usefulness of slings in other media tends to vary, but it tends to be considered somewhat more useful than it is perceived as in NetHack.
Variants
Some NetHack variants opt to make slings more viable as a weapon for the hero.
SporkHack
In SporkHack, the base item of Giantslayer is changed to a sling that has +1d5 to-hit as before, deals +1d8 against giant humanoids and warns of them while wielded, and sets the wielder's strength to 18/** even if it occupies the alternate weapon slot.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, Giantslayer's base item is changed to a sling as in SporkHack. It has +1d5 to-hit, deals double damage against giants, and while wielded it warns of giants and also sets the wielder's strength to 18/**—like SporkHack, this can happen even if the artifact is in the alternate weapon slot.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, slings gain a strength-based bonus damage (with a maximum of +8 from 25 strength), and Cavemen gain a +1 bonus to multishot when using them.
The silver slingstone is introduced as ammo that can be used against silver-hating monsters, and can be found is small deposits within rock or in large amounts on a certain level in the Neutral Quest. Silver slingstones fired at 25 strength from a sling out-damage even +7 silver arrows—this has earned dNetHack's slings the nickname of "portable meteor launchers".
DynaHack
In DynaHack, slings gain a damage bonus based on enchantment and the hero's strength, making them much more viable as a ranged weapon.
EvilHack
EvilHack reintroduces sling bullets in version 0.7.1.
Cavepeople of all types start with a sling, flint stones and sling bullets. Giant heroes take extra damage from sling-fired projectiles.
The presence of sling bullets and the ability to forge them makes slings quite viable for other characters: Priests in particular are restricted from using any edged or piercing weapons, leaving slings as one of their few ranged options.
Hobbits have the same chance of generated with a sling as in NetHack, as do hobbit pickpockets, and both monsters generate with either sling bullets (1⁄3 chance) or flint stones (2⁄3 chance) as ammo. Player monster cavepeople will always generate with slings, along with flint stones and sling bullets to use as ammo.
SlashTHEM
SlashTHEM adds David's Sling, an artifact sling that has +5 to-hit and double damage, grants half physical damage while wielded, and instakills any giant humanoid that is hit by projectiles fired from it.
Hack'EM
Hack'EM adds David's Sling from SlashTHEM and significantly changes its properties: the sling grants +6 damage to projectiles that it fires, deals double damage against giants, and grants warning of giants in addition to half physical damage while wielded.
Encyclopedia entry
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and
drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward
the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone,
and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that
the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face
to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with
a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there
was no sword in the hand of David.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 70-L72
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 371-L374
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 409-L413
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 454-L464: game avoids "handing" the hero a known-cursed item to shoot with
- ↑ Hack 1.0.2 partl (objects.h, line 620), Andries Brouwer @ cwi.nl
- ↑ http://www.slinging.org/
- ↑ http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Sling
- ↑ http://rogue.rogueforge.net/vade-mecum/
