Pen

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Pen

General

Category

Household

Encumbrance

0.1

Equipped

One-handed

Slot attached

N/A

Skill

N/A

Properties

Max condition

2

Performance

Damage

0.1–0.1

Range

0.61–0.8

Attack speed

N/A

Knockback

0.3

Knockdown

0

Technical

Item ID

Base.Pen
Base.RedPen
Base.BluePen

The pen is a writing implement and improvised weapon.

Usage

Writing

A pen can be used with journals, empty notebooks and a sheet of paper, and doodles to write notes that can be left in the world and read by other players on multiplayer servers. Both the in-game map and found maps (regular and annotated) can be further annotated with a pen, adding symbols and text in the color of the pen used (blue, black, or red).

Weapon

The pen is an improvised weapon and is not associated with a weapon skill, but attacks like a short blade, including the special execution move. Pens have a very low durability so will usually exhaust all of its durability; making it useless as a weapon. It can be used as a discardable stealth-kill weapon, as they are very common, it can be picked up, used to stealth kill a zombie then discarded. However, as the pen has a very low range, this can be dangerous.

Condition

Pens have a maximum condition of 2. Its rate of degradation is influenced by the maintenance skill. The chance of losing durability can be simplified to the following formula: 1 in (1 + maintenanceMod × 2). Where "maintenanceMod" is calculated using the maintenance skill.
Below is an example of the chance of losing durability at varying levels of the maintenance skill.

For how this is calculated, see: Condition

Maintenance skill	Durability lower chance
0	1/1 (100%)
2	1/3 (33%)
4	1/5 (20%)
6	1/7 (14%)
8	1/9 (11%)
10	1/11 (9%)

Crafting

Formerly, the pen or pencil could be used with a sheet of paper, which were then consumed to create a doodle, or with an empty notebook which were then consumed to make 20 journals, but this has been removed in build 28.

Distribution

The loot distributions can be found in the table(s) below.

Pen distribution Show / Hide

Effective chance calculations are based off of default loot settings, and median zombie density. The higher the density of zombies in an area, the higher the effective chance of an item spawning. Chance is also influenced by the lucky and unlucky traits.

Containers

Building/Room	Container	Effective chance
Bag_Satchel	Bag_Satchel	5.21%
Bag_Schoolbag	Bag_Schoolbag	5.21%
Bag_WorkerBag	Bag_WorkerBag	5.21%
Briefcase	Briefcase	5.21%
Suitcase	Suitcase	5.21%
all	Outfit_OfficeWorker	5.21%
all	Outfit_OfficeWorkerSkirt	5.21%
all	Outfit_Police	5.21%
all	Outfit_PoliceState	5.21%
all	Outfit_Ranger	5.21%
all	counter	19.27%
all	desk	19.27%
all	filingcabinet	19.27%
all	inventoryfemale	1.01%
all	inventorymale	1.01%
all	locker	19.27%
all	officedrawers	19.27%
all	other	5.21%
all	shelves	19.27%
all	sidetable	6.29%
artstore	counter	19.27%
artstore	shelves	23.28%
artstore	shelves	41.14%
bedroom	crate	0.89%
bedroom	desk	19.27%
bedroom	sidetable	19.27%
bookstore	counter	23.28%
classroom	counter	19.27%
classroom	desk	19.27%
classroom	metal_shelves	19.27%
classroom	shelves	19.27%
closet	crate	0.89%
closet	crate	19.27%
empty	crate	19.27%
garagestorage	crate	0.89%
garagestorage	crate	19.27%
generalstore	shelves	19.27%
generalstorestorage	shelves	19.27%
gigamart	shelves	19.27%
hall	counter	19.27%
hall	locker	19.27%
jewelrystore	counter	19.27%
kitchen	counter	19.27%
kitchen	shelves	19.27%
library	counter	19.27%
livingroom	counter	19.27%
livingroom	overhead	19.27%
livingroom	shelves	19.27%
livingroom	sidetable	19.27%
livingroom	wardrobe	19.27%
lobby	counter	19.27%
motelroomoccupied	sidetable	1.61%
office	counter	19.27%
office	crate	19.27%
office	desk	19.27%
office	metal_shelves	23.28%
office	metal_shelves	41.14%
office	shelves	19.27%
officestorage	crate	19.27%
officestorage	metal_shelves	23.28%
officestorage	metal_shelves	41.14%
plazastore1	counter	19.27%
policestorage	counter	19.27%
post	counter	23.28%
post	counter	41.14%
schoolstorage	metal_shelves	19.27%
storageunit	crate	0.89%
storageunit	crate	19.27%
storageunit	metal_shelves	0.89%
storageunit	metal_shelves	19.27%

Vehicles

Type	Container	Effective chance
Ambulance	Glove Box	19.27%
Carpenter	Glove Box	19.27%
Construction Worker	Glove Box	19.27%
Distillery	Glove Box	19.27%
Doctor	Glove Box	19.27%
Electrician	Glove Box	19.27%
Farmer	Glove Box	19.27%
Fire	Glove Box	19.27%
Fisherman	Glove Box	19.27%
Fossoil	Glove Box	19.27%
All	Glove Box	19.27%
Golf	Glove Box	19.27%
Heralds	Glove Box	19.27%
Hunter	Glove Box	19.27%
Mass Gen Fac	Glove Box	19.27%
McCoy	Glove Box	19.27%
Metal Welder	Glove Box	19.27%
Painter	Glove Box	19.27%
Police	Glove Box	41.14%
Postal	Glove Box	19.27%
Radio	Glove Box	19.27%
Ranger	Glove Box	19.27%
Spiffo	Glove Box	19.27%
Survivalist	Glove Box	19.27%
Taxi	Glove Box	19.27%
Transit	Glove Box	19.27%

Code

Code snippet! This section contains source code from Project ZomboidShow / Hide

Pen
Source: ProjectZomboid\media\scripts\items_weapons.txt

Retrieved: Build 41.78.16

item Pen
	{
	    DisplayCategory = Household,
		MaxRange	=	0.8,
		WeaponSprite	=	Pen,
		MinAngle	=	0.65,
		Type	=	Weapon,
		MinimumSwingTime	=	2,
		KnockBackOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		SwingAmountBeforeImpact	=	0.02,
		Categories	=	Improvised,
		ConditionLowerChanceOneIn	=	1,
		Weight	=	0.1,
		SplatNumber	=	1,
		PushBackMod	=	0.3,
		SubCategory	=	Stab,
		AimingMod	=	0.8,
		ConditionMax	=	2,
		MaxHitCount	=	1,
		IsAimedHandWeapon	=	TRUE,
		DoorDamage	=	0,
		SwingAnim	=	Stab,
		DisplayName	=	Pen,
		MinRange	=	0.61,
		SwingTime	=	2,
		KnockdownMod	=	0,
		SplatBloodOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		Icon	=	Pen,
		RunAnim	=	Run_Weapon2,
		IdleAnim	=	Idle_Weapon2,
		TreeDamage  =   0,
		EnduranceMod = 0.5,
		CriticalChance	=	0,
		MinDamage	=	0.1,
        MaxDamage	=	0.1,
		WeaponLength = 0.15,
		Tags = Write;Pen,
        BreakSound  =   PenBreak,
        HitFloorSound	= PenHit,
        ImpactSound	=	PenHit,
        DoorHitSound = PenHit,
		HitSound	=	PenHit,
		SwingSound = PenSwing,
	}

Red Pen
Source: ProjectZomboid\media\scripts\items_weapons.txt

Retrieved: Build 41.78.16

item RedPen
	{
	    DisplayCategory = Household,
		MaxRange	=	0.8,
		WeaponSprite	=	Pen,
		MinAngle	=	0.65,
		Type	=	Weapon,
		MinimumSwingTime	=	2,
		KnockBackOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		SwingAmountBeforeImpact	=	0.02,
		Categories	=	Improvised,
		ConditionLowerChanceOneIn	=	1,
		Weight	=	0.1,
		SplatNumber	=	1,
		PushBackMod	=	0.3,
		SubCategory	=	Stab,
		AimingMod	=	0.8,
		ConditionMax	=	2,
		MaxHitCount	=	1,
		IsAimedHandWeapon	=	TRUE,
		DoorDamage	=	0,
		SwingAnim	=	Stab,
		DisplayName	=	Red Pen,
		MinRange	=	0.61,
		SwingTime	=	2,
		KnockdownMod	=	0,
		SplatBloodOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		Icon	=	Pen,
		RunAnim	=	Run_Weapon2,
		IdleAnim	=	Idle_Weapon2,
		TreeDamage  =   0,
		EnduranceMod = 0.5,
		ColorRed = 220,
        ColorGreen = 10,
        ColorBlue = 10,
        CriticalChance	=	0,
        MinDamage	=	0.1,
        MaxDamage	=	0.1,
		WeaponLength = 0.15,
		Tags = Write;RedPen,
		BreakSound  =   PenBreak,
        HitFloorSound = PenHit,
        ImpactSound	=	PenHit,
        DoorHitSound = PenHit,
		HitSound	=	PenHit,
		SwingSound = PenSwing,
	}

Blue Pen
Source: ProjectZomboid\media\scripts\items_weapons.txt

Retrieved: Build 41.78.16

item BluePen
	{
	    DisplayCategory = Household,
		MaxRange	=	0.8,
		WeaponSprite	=	Pen,
		MinAngle	=	0.65,
		Type	=	Weapon,
		MinimumSwingTime	=	2,
		KnockBackOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		SwingAmountBeforeImpact	=	0.02,
		Categories	=	Improvised,
		ConditionLowerChanceOneIn	=	1,
		Weight	=	0.1,
		SplatNumber	=	1,
		PushBackMod	=	0.3,
		SubCategory	=	Stab,
		AimingMod	=	0.8,
		ConditionMax	=	2,
		MaxHitCount	=	1,
		IsAimedHandWeapon	=	TRUE,
		DoorDamage	=	0,
		SwingAnim	=	Stab,
		DisplayName	=	Blue Pen,
		MinRange	=	0.61,
		SwingTime	=	2,
		KnockdownMod	=	0,
		SplatBloodOnNoDeath	=	FALSE,
		Icon	=	Pen,
		RunAnim	=	Run_Weapon2,
		IdleAnim	=	Idle_Weapon2,
		TreeDamage  =   0,
		EnduranceMod = 0.5,
		ColorRed = 50,
        ColorGreen = 50,
        ColorBlue = 210,
        CriticalChance	=	0,
        MinDamage	=	0.1,
        MaxDamage	=	0.1,
		WeaponLength = 0.15,
		Tags = Write;BluePen,
        BreakSound  =   PenBreak,
        HitFloorSound	= PenHit,
        ImpactSound	=	PenHit,
        DoorHitSound = PenHit,
		HitSound	=	PenHit,
		SwingSound = PenSwing,
	}

See also

• Pencil
• Eraser