Sunsword

)   Sunsword   (No tile)
Base item	long sword
Damage vs. small	1d8 x2
Damage vs. large	1d12 x2
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	undead
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful
When carried	(none)
When wielded	light source blocks light-based blindness
When invoked	(none)
Base price	1500 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Sunsword is an artifact that appears in NetHack. It is lawful, and its base item is a long sword.

Generation

A long sword randomly generated on the ground or as a death drop has a base ¹⁄₂₀ chance of being made into an artifact, which has a ¹⁄₆ chance of being made into Sunsword, assuming no artifact long swords have been generated. Lawful heroes may be given Sunsword as a sacrifice gift.

Angelic beings that can wield weapons, i.e. the Aleax and Angel, always generate with an erodeproof long sword that has a ¹⁄₂₀ chance of being made into an artifact, which will be either Sunsword or Demonbane (assuming neither artifact has been generated), while angelic beings that are lords to their kind, i.e. Archons, will always have their sword made into either artifact if possible.

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 b1a5a9c3, Demonbane's base item is a changed to a mace, so any long sword made into an artifact has a ¹⁄₅ chance of being made into Sunsword, and angelic beings can no longer generate with Demonbane.

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.

Sunsword requires a sacrifice of at least 6 value, and will not have anything added to its enchantment when randomly generated or given as a sacrifice gift.

Description

While wielded, Sunsword emits light within a radius centered on the wield, and its range is dependent on its beatitude: 3 if blessed, 2 if uncursed, and 1 if cursed. As a weapon, Sunsword has +1d5 to-hit and does double damage against undead, prevents blindness from lights, and repels gremlins while dealing +1d8 damage when hitting them

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.

Sunsword can be invoked to create a blinding beam similar to that of an expensive camera—if the beam is shot up or down, this will permanently light up the area around the square the hero is standing on.

Strategy

Sunsword's use as a light source is generally considered as important as its damage bonus, though it is a viable choice in the absence of a better artifact weapon. Sunsword does hit a far wider range of monsters than most Bane-style artifacts: liches, shades and vampires are among the strongest (and most relevant) targets, and become much more common when passing through the Valley of the Dead and into Gehennom. Priests face many undead on their quest, making the double damage especially useful for them in theory.

However, since obtaining it as a sacrifice gift unrestricts the long sword skill, Excalibur becomes available and will almost always supersede Sunsword as the primary weapon. Heroes attempting genocideless conduct may still find Sunsword especially useful against liches.

As a light source

Blessed

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Uncursed

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Cursed

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x represents the squares lit by Sunsword.

History

Sunsword first appears in NetHack 3.0.0. From this version to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on these versions, the light range does not depend on beatitude and always has a radius of 2; a magic lamp is often preferred as a light source in these versions. Sunsword is also ineffective against shades, who are undead but heavily resist damage from non-silver weapons.

In NetHack 3.6.0, the effects of beatitude on the light radius is introduced, and Sunsword is adjusted so that its bonus damage against undead overrides shades' resistance to non-silver damage. The light's additional effects on gremlins are added in NetHack 3.6.2.

Messages

Sunsword begins to shine [dimly/brightly/brilliantly]!

You wielded Sunsword, and it is now giving off light.

Sunsword stops shining.

You unwielded Sunsword.

Sunsword shines [brighter/less brightly].

The beatitude status of Sunsword changed while it was wielded.

Light begins shining <nearby/in the distance>.

A monster wielded Sunsword and its light shone within your range of vision, with the range determining which phrase is used.

Suddenly, the only light left comes from Sunsword!

You were wielding Sunsword while either reading a scroll of light that was cursed, or reading any scroll of light while confused.

Variants

NetHack: The Next Generation

In NetHack: The Next Generation, Sunsword can be requested from Duri at The Forge for 7000zm.

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, Sunsword is easier to obtain, as lawful characters can also receive A minions as sacrifice gifts that are likely to be generated carrying it. Minion gifts are not affected by previous gifts as with artifacts - once a minion with Sunsword generates, it can be easily disarmed with a bullwhip.

Furthermore, Sunsword has a much wider use case due to the addition of far more dangerous undead, such as the spellcasting vampire mages and ghoul mages, the fast and hard-hitting gugs, and the regenerating and reviving troll mummies. Sunsword competes for its niche with the Holy Spear of Light, an artifact silver spear that also acts as a light source. The Holy Spear has a smaller bonus against undead, but its silver material grants bonus damage against major demons, and it can be invoked to permanently illuminate an area around the player and damage undead caught in the light burst—it is also always permanently lit, while Sunsword must be wielded to light up.

SLASH'EM also makes it possible to twoweapon artifacts, though Sunsword will only provide light if wielded in the primary hand.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Sunsword is a silvered long sword made of gold. The artifact uses (and trains) the higher of the two between your short sword and long sword skills, which makes it effective even for roles that are restricted in long swords.

Sunsword has +1 to-hit and deals double damage against demons as well as undead, and confers automatic searching and blindness resistance while wielded on top of acting as a light source. Sunsword ignores the target monster's equipped armor when calculating accuracy and DR, and deals full damage to insubstantial monsters such as shade and Sharab Kamerel - it also has a chance of stoning trolls and instakilling gremlins on hit.

FIQHack

In FIQHack, Sunsword blocks blindness, much like The Eyes of the Overworld. Its double damage is replaced by a +1d20 damage bonus.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, Sunsword is made of crystal gemstone, and its base item is chosen at random from one-handed swords, including the long sword.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, Sunsword is made of crystal, and has a chance of completely destroying any undead that it hits. Additionally, killing zombies while wielding Sunsword causes their corpses to evaporate, preventing their revival.

Sunsword can be combined with Demonbane at a forge to create the Hammer of the Gods, an artifact silver heavy war hammer that retains Sunsword's bonuses and warning versus undead along with its ability to emit light while wielded.

SlashTHEM

In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM adds The Forge from NetHack: The Next Generation, where Sunsword can be requested from Duri for 7000zm as before.

Encyclopedia entry

What you seek is a blade of light, a weapon for vengeance.

[ Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, by Bruce Cordell and James Wyatt ]