Fountain Pen
| Fountain Pen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Improvised Weapon |
| Skill | - |
| Damage | 0.1 |
| Range | 0.61-0.8 |
| Crit | 0% |
| Condition | 3 |
| Weight | 0.2 |
| Hands | One-handed |
| Location | Containers |
| Spawn ID | /additem Base.PenFancy
|
The Fountain Pen is a writing item that doubles as an improvised stabbing weapon. It sits in the Memento category, and it weighs almost nothing. It trains no weapon skill when used in a fight.
As a weapon it attacks like a short blade, including the stealth execution move. Its damage is tiny and its reach is very short. It breaks after only a handful of hits. The pen is found in homes, desks, pawnshops and keepsake boxes, and it turns up often on tool store shelves.
Combat
The Fountain Pen stabs like a knife. A pen strike from behind can trigger the execution move on an unaware zombie. That makes it a throwaway stealth tool rather than a real weapon. Pick one up, use it for one quiet kill, then drop it.
The reach is very short, so the survivor has to stand right next to the zombie. That is a real risk if the stab fails or another zombie is close. Normal swings do almost no damage, and a crit is not possible. Any knife or short blade does the same job far better and lasts much longer. The pen is best kept for an emergency, when nothing else is in reach.
Uses
The pen writes. It fills journals, empty notebooks and sheets of paper with notes. Those notes can be left in the world for other players to read on multiplayer servers. It also marks the in-game map and found maps with black symbols and text. The pen is a tool in the Make Blank ID recipe.
Used in Crafting
Any recipe that asks for a pen accepts it as the tool, such as Make Blank ID.
Repair
The Fountain Pen has only 3 condition. Each hit has a 1 in 2 chance of taking a point off, so a few strikes use it up. Hits with it give no Maintenance experience. A worn pen is best replaced with another one.
Locations
The Fountain Pen is a common find in the right places. Shelves in blacksmith and tool stores hold one about half the time. Living room dressers and side tables, bedroom desks and cigar box keepsakes are the next best spots. Pawnshop display cases hold them too. Zombies dressed in goth, classy or honor student outfits sometimes carry one. Attics, closets, daycares and survivor safehouses hold one only rarely.
The places where it spawns, with the rough chance per container. Each tab shows one kind of place.
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Wild West blacksmith | Shelves | 53.3% |
| Daycare | Metal shelves | 1% |
| Daycare | Shelves | 1% |
| Army storage | Counter | 0.8% |
| Control room | Counter | 0.8% |
| Storage unit | Other | 0.6% |
| Recreation | Shelves | 0.3% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Wild West tool store | Shelves | 53.3% |
| Pawn shop | Display case | 9% |
| Gift store | Shelves | 8.9% |
| Gift storage | Other | 3% |
| Gift store | Other | 3% |
| Toy store | Counter | 3% |
| Toy store | Other | 3% |
| Toy store | Shelves | 3% |
| Toystore storage | Other | 3% |
| Book store | Counter | 1% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | Dresser | 14.3% |
| Living room | Side table | 14.3% |
| Bedroom | Desk | 13% |
| Bedroom | Side table | 6.3% |
| Attic | Cardboard box | 1.8% |
| Attic | Crate | 1.8% |
| Attic | Other | 1.8% |
| Closet | Locker | 1.8% |
| Hall | Other | 1.8% |
| Living room | Locker | 1.8% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a bag or case | Cigar box keepsakes | 9.9% |
| Any building | Zombie wearing a goth outfit | 4.7% |
| Any building | Zombie wearing a classy outfit | 2.3% |
| Any building | Zombie wearing a honor student outfit | 2.3% |
| Any building | Zombie wearing a trader outfit | 0.2% |
| Inside a bag or case | Handbags and purses | 0.1% |
| Location | Container | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor safehouse | Cardboard box | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse | Crate | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse | Small box | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (late game) | Cardboard box | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (late game) | Crate | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (late game) | Small box | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (mid game) | Cardboard box | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (mid game) | Crate | 0.9% |
| Survivor safehouse (mid game) | Small box | 0.9% |
Notes
- The pen counts as a short blade for the stealth execution, which makes it a disposable silent kill.
- One or two hits can break it, so carry a spare if it is the only blade at hand.
- Any pen marks maps and writes notes; the fountain pen writes in black.
Template:ProjectZomboidWeaponTiles
All Improvised Weapons