Two-handed sword
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| |
|---|---|
| Name | two-handed sword |
| Appearance | two-handed sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d12 (1-12) |
| Damage vs. large | 3d6 (3-18) |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Weapon skill | two-handed sword |
| Size | two-handed |
| Base price | 50 zm (+10/positive enchant) |
| Weight | 150 |
| Material | iron |
A two-handed sword is a type of weapon that appears in NetHack. It is a melee weapon that is naturally two-handed and uses the two-handed sword skill. It is made of iron.
Generation
Barbarians have a 1⁄2 chance of starting the game with a +0 two-handed sword as their primary weapon.[1][3]
Two-handed swords make up 11⁄500 (2.2%) of all weapons that are randomly generated on the ground, in general shops or as death drops. Used armor dealerships and antique weapons outlets can also stock two-handed swords.
One of the weapons guarded by the ghost on the Rogue level has a roughly 1⁄2 chance of being a two-handed sword, with an enchantment ranging from -1 to +3 and a 3⁄4 chance of being cursed.[4]
Some monsters can be generated with two-handed swords:
- Giant humanoids other than ettins have a roughly 1⁄10 chance of generating with a two-handed sword.
- A strong humanoid monster that has a weapon attack, the ability to wield weapons and no other ruleset governing its monster starting inventory has a chance of generating with a two-handed sword, unless they are being generated on the Rogue level:[5] 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.
- Croesus is always generated with a two-handed sword.[6]
- Player monsters that are not monks and are created on the Astral Plane have an effective 11⁄291 chance (~3.78%) of generating with a two-handed sword as their initial weapon before role-based replacements are applied.[8][9]
- Barbarians have a 1⁄4 chance of forcing a two-handed sword as their primary weapon, bringing their effective odds up to ~27.84%.[10]
Description
A two-handed sword deals 1d12 damage versus small monsters and 3d6 versus large monsters. As a two-handed weapon, the hero gains a 3⁄2 damage bonus from their strength when attacking with a two-handed sword in melee, and has a chance of performing a shattering blow that destroys the target's weapon and may cause them to flee.[11][12]
In terms of monster weapon preference, monsters that are not wearing a shield will prefer a two-handed sword to a battle-axe, and will prefer a dwarvish mattock or better to the two-handed sword.[13][14]
Strategy
Two-handed swords are solid early game weapons for their high damage rolls, and are best utilized by high-strength characters even in weak roles such as the Tourist—they are also heavy, prevent the use of shields, can become a nuisance when cursed, and are generally an unpopular choice to use past the mid-game. The #tip command can be used to get curse removal items out of a carried bag, but most players will still prefer a one-handed and/or curse-resistant weapon to avoid this issue entirely.
Other players may be willing to take the risk for the ability to reliably inflict high damage without the use of artifact weapons, although the ability to perform two-weapon combat still has the advantage of each hit applying bonuses outside of strength separately: while each of those hits will have a weaker damage bonus from strength, they will also both apply blessed damage, silver damage and enhancements from rings of increase damage.
History
The two-handed sword first appears in Hack 1.21 and Hack for PDP-11, which are based on Jay Fenlason's Hack, and is included in the initial weapon list for Hack 1.0.
From Hack 1.0 to NetHack 3.0.10, including some variants based on these versions, a two-handed sword can be named Orcrist, giving it a bonus d10 damage against orcs—prior to Hack 1.0.2, naming Orcrist is not restricted to this weapon alone. In versions up to NetHack 2.3e, it is also possible to have multiple "Orcrists" by naming two-handed swords this way—NetHack 3.0.0 makes artifacts unique and once-per-game
From NetHack 3.0.0 to NetHack 3.0.10, Orcrist's base item is a two-handed sword: NetHack 3.1.0 changes Orcrist's base item to an elven broadsword.
NetHack 5.0.0 increases the hero's strength bonus for two-handed weapons via commit 60c19568.
Origin
A two-handed sword naturally refers to any sword designed for use with two hands, rather than one: this permits the wielder to use a heavier weapon and strike with greater force, but restricts their mobility and makes the use of an offhand weapon impossible. Such swords have longer grips designed solely to accommodate two-handed use, distinguishing them physically from their one-handed cousins; others were designed to be usable with either one or two hands, often referred to as "hand-and-a-half swords" or "bastard swords".
The medieval longsword is a classic example of a two-handed sword, and likely the closest type to the tile used for two-handed swords in NetHack—the "long" part of the medieval longsword's name refers to its longer grip, rather than the length of the blade as used when distinguishing between long swords and short swords. As armor became heavier in the late Middle Ages, two-handed longswords displaced the one-handed knightly sword in combat and later evolved into even heavier weapons: the most notable was the German zweihänder, a two-handed sword that weighed over four pounds and measured nearly five feet long, and their most distinctive features include their Parierhaken–parrying hooks positioned at the end of the blade's ricasso (the un-sharpened portion)–and rings on the hilt that are designed to protect the wielder's hands. These weapons eventually became so long and heavy that their use came to resemble that of a polearm more than a sword.
When firearms made metal armor obsolete in battle, large swords designed to penetrate armor also fell out of use. However, two-handed swords continue to see ceremonial use in military parades to this day, particularly in Europe. These parade weapons are frequently far heavier than any combat-made weapon, with some weighing over ten pounds: though the weight of items in NetHack is often arbitrary and real-world estimates vary, it seems that two-handed swords may be based on these ceremonial weapons, as two-handed swords intended for use in combat generally weigh only 1.5-2x as much as their one-handed cousins rather than nearly four times as much.
Variants
SLASH'EM
SLASH'EM adds Deathsword, an artifact two-handed sword that is the second guaranteed sacrifice gift for Barbarians.
SporkHack
In SporkHack, successfully untrapping a land mine trap may generate a two-handed sword instead of a land mine item—this is a dual pun on claymore swords and claymore mines.
SporkHack adds Lifestealer, an artifact two-handed sword that functions similarly to Stormbringer and is wielded by Vlad the Impaler: a comment in the code indicates that the choice of base item was deliberate to try and deter players from using the artifact themselves, as two-handed weapons were still considered unpopular at the time of its addition.
UnNetHack
UnNetHack adds Thiefbane, an artifact two-handed sword carried by the black market proprietor One-eyed Sam.
dNetHack
dNetHack adds some artifact two-handed swords:
- Atlantean Royal Sword (neutral, Barbarian-favoring two-handed sword; first gift for Barbarians that start with a two-handed sword)
- Sol Valtiva (chaotic and fire giant-favoring obsidian two-handed sword)
- Genocide (lawful, large and intelligent two-handed sword)
- Doomscreamer (chaotic, intelligent two-handed sword)
- The Sword of Onoel (lawful, large and intelligent two-handed sword)
Aurumach Rilmani always generate with a gold two-handed sword enchanted to at least +4, and wandering githyanki pirates are generated with a two-handed sword.
xNetHack
In xNetHack, the Valkyrie quest artifact is Sol Valtiva, a chaotic artifact two-handed sword made of mithril that is the signature weapon of Lord Surtur.
notdNetHack
In notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, Dantalion is generated with an artifact two-handed sword called The Dread of Dantalion when summoned by an Illithanachronounbinder.
EvilHack
EvilHack adds The Sword of Kas, an artifact two-handed sword that is wielded by Kas, and also adds Lifestealer from SporkHack.
SlashTHEM
In addition to SLASH'EM details, SlashTHEM adds two other artifact two-handed swords:
- Graywand, a neutral two-handed sword
- The Sword of Svyatogor, a lawful two-handed sword and the Warrior quest artifact
Hack'EM
Hack'EM adds Deathsword, with its implementation being very different from SLASH'EM, and also adds Lifestealer as it is implemented in EvilHack.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 55: first starting inventory for Barbarian
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 648-L651
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 665-L670: odds of a starting inventory being chosen; uses if (rn2(100) >= 50) rather than rn2(2)[2]
- ↑ src/extralev.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 316-L321
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 540-L542
- ↑ src/makemon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1376-L1377
- ↑ include/objects.h in NetHack 5.0.0, line 174-L392
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 150: 1⁄2 to get a random weapon—the designated range of objects covers weapons from the spear to the bullwhip inclusively in objects.h, and uses normal generation odds[7]
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 199: monks will always have no melee weapon
- ↑ src/mplayer.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 164-L168
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 966-L1011
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1467-L1469
- ↑ src/weapon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 693
- ↑ src/weapon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 733-L736
