Aklys

English

 • 中文（中国大陆）‎

)
Name	aklys
Appearance	thonged club
Damage vs. small	1d6
Damage vs. large	1d3
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	club
Size	one-handed
Base price	4 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	15
Material	iron

An aklys is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed weapon that uses the club skill, and is made of iron. It appears as a thonged club when unidentified.

Generation

The aklys makes up ¹⁄₁₂₅ (0.8%) of all weapons randomly generated on the ground, in general shops, or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapon outlets can also stock aklyses.

Humanoid monsters that can wield weapons and have a weapon attack, but no default monster starting inventory, can generate with an aklys unless they are created on the Rogue level: the base odds are ¹⁄₁₄ for normal monsters, ¹⁄₁₂ for a monster that is a lord or nasty, ¹⁄₁₀ for a monster that is either an overlord or else is both a lord and nasty, and ¹⁄₈ for a monster that is both nasty and an overlord.

Description

An aklys has the same hit dice as a club versus small and large monsters, but has half the weight of a club. Unlike a club, the aklys is tethered to the hero while wielded, allowing it to be used as a projectile weapon, and it gains a +2 to-hit bonus when thrown. A wielded aklys has a maximum thrown range of 4 squares and returns to the hero's hand ⁹⁹⁄₁₀₀ of the time when thrown. A hero will catch a tethered aklys ⁹⁹⁄₁₀₀ of the time if they are not impaired in some manner (e.g. blind, stunned, confused, etc.)—the remaining ¹⁄₁₀₀ of the time, it will either land at their feet or else hit them in the arm for damage, with an equal probability of each outcome.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (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 0bdf9830, intelligent monsters with weapon attacks can throw a wielded aklys in the same manner as the hero.

Strategy

Compared to a stack of a dozen daggers, one aklys is far lighter and can be reused until it fails to return—even then, in most cases it can be easily retrieved. The aklys also has higher base damage than a single dagger and a blessed or enchanted one is somewhat easier to find in the Gnomish Mines, although stacks of daggers can be multishot to do more damage. Conversely, the aklys has a limited range and must be wielded before throwing rather than quivered: if that aklys is not the hero's primary weapon, they must also use up actions to swap to it and then back as necessary. There is also the small chance of it backfiring and and landing at the hero's feet or striking them upon returning—though this does not deal much damage, the aklys will be unequipped as a result in either case, and it may also fail to return at all. Having a wielded aklys cursed is much worse, since the welding prevents throwing it and switching to a different weapon until it is uncursed.

For Cavemen and Priests, who cannot multishot daggers or most other desirable projectiles but can achieve Expert skill in clubs, an aklys is a worthwhile primary weapon for melee and ranged attacks alike—while other roles can utilize the aklys this way, they may opt to use it as a backup ranged weapon when their primary projectile runs out, and may carry fewer of those projectiles as a result. The aklys is also very good against sea monsters compared to weapons such as two-handed polearms since it lets heroes stay out of melee range more easily; however, the limited range can still be problematic, and there is a non-zero chance of losing it in the water.

The aklys is often associated with gnomes, who qualify for the generation cases discussed above and generate in large numbers in the early game, specifically in the Gnomish Mines. Those attempting a gnomish race-themed ascension often consider the aklys as the only acceptable racial melee weapon for this reason.

History

The aklys first appears in NetHack 1.3d, where it has a relative probability of ¹⁄₉₉ to generate, and is the second-heaviest item at three units after the two handed sword (which weighs four units). This "rarity" is shared with many objects, including even the katana, and remains unchanged until NetHack 3.4.3.

The ability to throw a wielded aklys and have it return to the hero's hand is introduced in NetHack 3.6.1.

Origin

The word "aklys" comes from the Latin aclys and Greek agkulis, and refers to a Roman missile weapon; it is uncertain whether the "proper" plural would be "aklyses" (going by general English rules) or "aclydes" (by Latin rules)—in any case, the aklys does not stack, so it is unclear what NetHack would use—the wiki opts to use the former for expediency.

There are two types of aklys: one resembles a javelin and measured approximately 2 m (79 in) in length, and was thrown using a leather strap (or amentum); the word was translated as "javelin" in English translations of Roman works such as the Aeneid. The second type of aklys is a small spiked mace or club attached to the wielder's arm by a strap of adjustable length, ensuring the weapon could be retrieved after it was thrown.

The aklys also appears in various fantasy games such as Dungeons & Dragons, where its stats are printed in Dragon Magazine Vol. 7, No. 2, as well as the 1985 Unearthed Arcana supplement by co-creator Gary Gygax. This aklys is directly patterned after the second, blunt type of aklys and serves as the basis for the weapon and its hit dice in NetHack.

Variants

Some variants of NetHack based on version 3.4.3 adopt the updated behavior for the aklys introduced in later versions of vanilla NetHack, while others leave it unchanged.

UnNetHack

In UnNetHack, heroes can throw a wielded aklys and have it return as in vanilla NetHack.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, heroes and monsters can apply an aklys to pound targets as with a polearm.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, the hero can throw a wielded aklys and have it return as in NetHack.

Encyclopedia entry

A short studded or spiked club attached to a cord allowing it to be drawn back to the wielder after having been thrown. It should not be confused with the atlatl, which is a device used to throw spears for longer distances.