# Ya

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Name

ya

Appearance

bamboo arrow

Damage vs. small

1d7

Damage vs. large

1d7

To-hit bonus

+1

Weapon skill

bow

Size

one-handed

Base price

4 zm(+10/positive enchant)

Weight

1

Material

metal

The ya is a projectile weapon that appears in Nethack. It is a type of arrow designed for use with a yumi. Ya arrowheads are made of metal, and ya appear as bamboo arrows when unidentified.
Ya do the most base damage out of all arrows (1d7 versus 1d6 for normal arrows) and have a +1 bonus to hit. Samurai firing ya from a yumi gain a +1 multishot bonus.

Contents

1 Generation
2 Strategy
3 History
4 Origin
5 Encyclopedia entry

Generation
In addition to random generation, Samurai will always start the game with 26 to 45 ya.

Strategy
Ya are the only arrows to have a to-hit bonus and are inherently erodeproof, making them high-quality projectiles for most bow-wielding roles; Samurai are the most likely to get any use out of them, due to their multishot bonus.  While a solid option for other bow-wielding characters such as Rangers, they're only marginally better than the much more common elven arrows, so spending scrolls of enchant weapon on ya might be seen as wasteful unless a large stack is found.

History
Ya and yumi are introduced in NetHack 3.1.0. In previous versions, Samurai started with a standard bow and arrows.

Origin

Wikipedia has an article about:
Ya (arrow)

Ya are a real world arrow type used by Japanese archers, around 85-110 centimeters (33-43 inches) compared to the 75-90 centimeters (30-35 inches) of the 'standard' arrow. Their size is designed specifically for the very large yumi. The to-hit bonus may suggest ya with a bodkin point, a common medieval war-time arrow in many societies designed to penetrate armor (particularly chain or ring mail).

Encyclopedia entry

The arrow of choice of the samurai, ya are made of very straight bamboo, and are tipped with hardened steel.

 

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