Trident

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Name	trident
Appearance	trident
Damage vs. small	1d6+1 (2-7)
Damage vs. large	3d4 (3-12)
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	trident
Size	one-handed
Base price	5 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	25
Material	iron

A trident is a kind of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a one-handed melee weapon that uses the trident skill, and is made of iron.

Generation

Tridents make up ¹⁄₁₂₅ (0.8%) 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 tridents.

Some monsters can be generated with tridents.

• Salamanders have an effective ²⁄₂₁ chance (~9.52%) of generating with a trident.
• Horned devils have a ³⁄₄ chance of generating with a trident.
• Player monsters that are not monks and are created on the Astral Plane have an effective ⁴⁄₂₉₁ chance (~1.37%) of generating with a trident as their initial weapon before role-based replacements are applied.

Description=

A trident inflicts piercing damage, and deals 1d6+1 damage versus small monsters and 3d4 against large ones. Tridents have a +4 to-hit bonus against swimming monsters that currently occupy water squares, and have a secondary +2 to-hit bonus against any snake monster or sea monster that can swim but is not currently in water.

In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters will prefer a trident to a long sword, and will prefer a crysknife or better to the trident.

A hero eating a trident while while polymorphed into a metallivore produces YAFM and exercises wisdom.

Strategy

Though tridents are not typically sought out due to their relative rarity, they are a solid option for two weapon combat as the most damaging weapon against large monsters that can be used in the off-hand: they average one more point of damage versus large monsters compared to a long sword or katana, and are also comparable to sabers and crysknives in terms of damage output. However, players will usually obtain the aforementioned items and/or another viable off-hand weapon before encountering a trident.

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 monsters	Large monsters
+0 trident	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1=\mathbf{𝟒}\mathbf{.}\mathbf{𝟓}$	$\frac{3+12}{2}=\mathbf{𝟕}\mathbf{.}\mathbf{𝟓}$
+7 trident	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+7=\mathbf{𝟏}\mathbf{𝟏}\mathbf{.}\mathbf{𝟓}$	$\frac{3+12}{2}+7=\mathbf{𝟏}\mathbf{𝟒}\mathbf{.}\mathbf{𝟓}$

History

The trident first appears in NetHack 1.3d.

Origin

A real world trident

Tridents have origins dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, and have been used for both fishing and combat historically and in modern times; in warfare, tridents were favored for their long reach and ability to disarm and dismount horse-riding combatants. A trident is the divine instrument of the Greek god Poseidon, as indicated by the encyclopedia entry - this can explain the to-hit bonus against sea monsters and swimmers, as does its uses in fishing. The trident also sees use often in heraldry and military emblems.

The word "trident" originates from the Latin tridentis (lit. "three teeth"), referring to its trio of smooth tines: tridents designed primarily for fishing usually have barbed tines. This is part of the basis for the 3 dice used to calculate damage versus large monsters; the trident is also explicitly noted as a "spearish" weapon by the code, hence its position in the list of objects and its hit dice versus small monsters.

In Dungeons & Dragons, tridents deal 1d8 base damage versus opponents, but have a lower critical hit multiplier than the long spear, which has the same hitdie. This results in tridents having lower average damage compared to long spears, though tridents have the advantage of allowing the use of a shield or an off-hand weapon.

Messages

That was pure chewing satisfaction!

You ate a trident while in the form of a metallivore.

Four out of five dentists agree.

As above, while hallucinating.

Variants

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, merfolk heroes in any role that would start with a spear will start with a trident instead.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, there are three artifact tridents:

• Nodensfork (unaligned shell trident)
• Poseidon's Trident (chaotic Healer-favoring trident)
• The Fires of Heaven (lawful silver trident)

EvilHack

In EvilHack, tortle Barbarians start the game with a +0 trident in place of their two-handed weapon.

Angelslayer is an unaligned artifact trident.

A trident can be created at a forge by combining a scimitar and a spear.

SlashTHEM

In SlashTHEM, Poseidon's Treasure is an artifact trident that acts as the Diver's first sacrifice gift.

Hack'EM

In Hack'EM, in addition to EvilHack details, tortle Undead Slayers start with silver tridents instead of silver spears.

Encyclopedia entry

Poseido(o)n, lord of the seas and father of rivers and fountains, was the son of Chronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. His rank of ruler of the waves he received by lot at the Council Meeting of the Gods, at which Zeus took the upper world for himself and gave dominion over the lower world to Hades.
Poseidon is associated in many ways with horses and thus is the god of horses. He taught men how to ride and manage the animal he invented and is looked upon as the originator and guardian deity of horse races.
His symbol is the familiar trident or three-pronged spear with which he can split rocks, cause or quell storms, and shake the earth, a power which makes him the god of earthquakes as well. Physically, he is shown as a strong and powerful ruler, every inch a king.

[ The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox Wilson ]