Returning weapons in ADOM are weapons and missiles (very rarely items of other types) that have a chance to return to the PC after (s)he shoots/throws them at the monster. Such weapons may be identified by the following line which appears in the item description (displayed after reading a scroll of great identify or casting Greater Identify):
This weapons returns when thrown.
Basics[]
There are several checks associated with the behavior of returning weapons. Firstly, after a successful hit on a target monster the weapon may not return to the PC at all and will be left on a floor tile which the monster in question resides. Such situation is virtually identical to the behavior of normal ammunition.
If a check is passed and thrown weapon returned to the PC there is a chance for him/her to fail in catching the weapon. In this case, it will drop on the floor at the PC's location. The PC will then have to pick it up (which uses a whole game turn) and put it in his/her missile slot (takes a game turn unless the PC is using a stack of returning weapons and some of them are still left in the missile slot).
Finally, if the PC passes the second check (some data shows that it is based on the PC's Dexterity score), (s)he will successfully catch the weapon and automatically place it in the missile slot without wasting any turns.
List of returning weapons[]
Weapons[]
- Trident of the Red Rooster
- Rune-covered trident
- Hammer of the gods
- Rolf's Companion
- Silence of the Dead
Missiles[]
- Boomerang
- Drakish scurgar of returning
- Dagger of returning
- Spear of returning
- Thunderstroke (as of v. 1.2.0)
- True Aim (as of v. 1.2.0)
- Sonic Boom
- Devilbane
It is worth noting that all listed missiles of returning are unique items and not simply suffixed items. Thus, they can be wished for but cannot have additional prefixes/suffixes. Boomerangs, on the other hand, may have them; it is theoretically possible to find penetrating boomerangs or boomerangs of slaying (or even combined version) which are relatively powerful weapons.
Other[]
- Black torc (is an undead-slayer)
Advanced[]
Items in the missile slot do not confer intrinsics or other special abilities on the PC (except for Sonic Boom) and while using returning artifacts may be a powerful form of attack (especially tridents which both slay undead and demons), using them in melee is typically more reliable.
If the returning weapons does not hit anything in its path it will always return. This is normally useless, but makes such weapons an easy way to cross D:49.