Snickersnee

)   Snickersnee   (No tile)
Base item	katana
Damage vs. small	1d10 +1d8 (2–18)
Damage vs. large	1d12 +1d8 (2–20)
To-hit bonus	+1
Bonus versus	(any)
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful (Samurai)
When carried	(none)
When wielded	(none)
When invoked	(none)
Base price	1200 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Snickersnee is an artifact that appears in NetHack. It is lawful-aligned, and its base item is a katana.

Generation

A katana randomly generated on the ground or as a death drop has a base ¹⁄₂₀ chance of being made into an artifact, which will always be Snickersnee if it has not yet been generated. Snickersnee is the first guaranteed sacrifice gift for Samurai, and lawful heroes may receive it as a sacrifice gift.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit d87cadaf and commit c2c797fa, artifact balance is substantially reworked: artifacts have 2 additional internal stats—the minimum sacrifice value required to obtain them by sacrificing (which is usually just the difficulty rating of the monster sacrificed), and a flat number added to the weapon's enchantment when it is either randomly generated or gifted.

Snickersnee requires a sacrifice of at least 8 value, and will not have anything added to its enchantment when randomly generated or given as a sacrifice gift.

Description

While wielded, Snickersnee deals an extra +1d8 damage to all monsters.

Strategy

Snickersnee is a serviceable artifact weapon, if generally unremarkable: it has marginally lower damage on average compared to Excalibur, with a better base item in comparison but no additional properties. While outclassed by many artifact weapons, Snickersnee is still decent as a first artifact weapon for Samurai, who can twoweapon it with the starting katana, and for many lawful heroes it can tide them over until they can dip for Excalibur or transition to another artifact weapon.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit e8212743, non-Knights have a ¹⁄₃₀ chance of transforming a long sword into Excalibur by dipping, making Snickersnee more of a priority in the early game if the Samurai can find an altar. Excalibur is still a possibility if a Samurai obtains a long sword and have a means of securing high luck for crowning: both crowning and dipping for it will prove far riskier compared to previous versions, especially with changes to sacrifice mechanics via the commits discussed above, and it is unlikely that a Samurai will obtain the weapon before Sokoban.

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 monster	Large monster
+0 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}=\bold{10}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}=\bold{11}$
+7 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}+7=\bold{17}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+\frac{1+8}{2}+7=\bold{18}$

History

Snickersnee first appears in NetHack 2.2a—in this version and NetHack 2.3e, any katana can be named Snickersnee, and it has a +d5 damage bonus against all monsters. In NetHack 3.0.0, artifacts are made unique, and Snickersnee is given its modern traits.

Origin

Snickersnee is derived from The Mikado, a popular 19th century comic opera set in Japan. Its name is actually an archaic English word for "large knife", deriving from a Dutch phrase meaning to stab or cut; the word originally described a style of knife-fighting (analogous to cut and thrust in English), and later came to refer to the knives used in such fights.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Snickersnee has a flat +8 damage bonus due to universal artifact weapon changes, making it significantly more powerful than in NetHack 3.4.3. Additionally, since artifacts can be twoweaponed, a Samurai who finds a long sword can get easy access to both Excalibur and Snickersnee, which makes for a formidable combination well into the late game.

Damage calculations

Weapon	Small monster	Large monster
+0 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+8=\bold{13.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+8=\bold{14.5}$
+7 Snickersnee	$\frac{1+10}{2}+8+7=\bold{20.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+8+7=\bold{21.5}$

SporkHack

In SporkHack, Snickersnee has +1d5 to-hit, and also benefits from general to-hit calculation changes.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Snickersnee is much different from NetHack. It is an intelligent Samurai-favoring artifact knife with doubled base dice (i.e. 2d5 versus small monsters and 2d3 versus large monsters), and has +1d3 to-hit and +1d10 damage versus all monsters. Snickersnee cannot be gifted at all, but is nameable by Tourists who have either finished their quest or reached experience level 19—Kiku-ichimonji replaces Snickersnee as the Samurai's first gift. Both Tourists and Samurai can twoweapon Snickersnee in the off-hand, but will suffer a -20 to-hit penalty unless they are Skilled in two-weapon combat.

Snickersnee has a chance of beheading its target similar to Vorpal Blade, which functions much differently as a mechanic in dNetHack, and also shares Vorpal Blade's exploding dice: If any of its base weapon damage dice roll their maximum damage value, a bonus roll is made with the same-size die (i.e. 1d5 or 1d3) with a flat +1 bonus applied, and the result is added to its damage - if that die then rolls its maximum value, another such roll is made, and so on until the die rolls stop "exploding". There is also a +1 damage bonus per base dice (+2 damage in total), even if neither die explodes. This can result in absurdly high-damage strikes with Snickersnee (at least in theory), independent of the high-damage "vorpal blows" that the artifact is already capable of.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Snickersnee has +1d5 to-hit in addition to its damage bonuses from NetHack, and grants stun resistance while wielded.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, Kiku-ichimonji replaces Snickersnee as the first sacrifice gift for Samurai, and is adapted partly from dNetHack. Snickersnee can still be gifted and generated, but is not associated with any particular role and is otherwise unchanged from SLASH'EM.

Snickersnee is one of the many artifacts that can be requested from Duri at The Forge if it has not generated during a game.

Encyclopedia entry

Ah, never shall I forget the cry,
or the shriek that shrieked he,
As I gnashed my teeth, and from my sheath
I drew my Snickersnee!
--Koko, Lord high executioner of Titipu

[ The Mikado, by Sir W.S. Gilbert ]