Boomerang

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Boomerang
Launcher	Throwing
Base damage	6
Base delay (%)	13 (130%)
Min delay	7 at skill 12

A curved, flat, throwing baton designed to return to its user. “The weapon, thrown at 20 or 30 yards distance, twirled round in the air with astonishing velocity, and alighting on the right arm of one of his opponents, actually rebounded to a distance not less than 70 or 80 yards, leaving a horrible contusion behind, and exciting universal admiration.” -The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 23 December 1804

Boomerangs are a type of Throwing weapon. More damaging than stones, but less so than javelins, they are capable of inflicting respectable damage in the hands of a skilled user. Boomerangs are the largest throwing weapon that small races can use.

Boomerangs' design grants them the innate returning property. They may also have the following brands:

• Silver
• Dispersal

Regular boomerangs have a 5% chance of mulching (breaking) when thrown. Boomerangs of dispersal will always mulch.

Strategy

Boomerangs are useful finds early in the game when characters can use them to soften up dangerous enemies like adders, ogres, or jellies. They also have the advantage of always returning to your inventory when thrown (if they still exist), meaning you won't ever have to worry about picking up spent ammunition mid-battle, or losing ammunition behind impassable terrain. Silver boomerangs boast improved damage (especially against monsters weak to silver), while boomerangs of dispersal can be a godsend when fleeing powerful melee threats.

Unless you plan to specialize in throwing weapons later, you'll probably want to drop boomerangs eventually in favor of a more effective ranged attack. Several ranks in Throwing can give them the umph they need, though javelins are stronger.

Boomerangs of dispersal only activate if they deal damage in the first place, which may be difficult for unskilled users to achieve against high-AC opponents.

Mundane	Magical	Silver

History

• Boomerangs were introduced in 0.24, where they replaced tomahawks.