arti-006e4.txt Update 1 for Slash'EM 0.0.6E4F8 Compiled for NetHack 3.2.2 by Kevin Hugo. Updated for NetHack 3.3.1 by Dylan O'Donnell Augmented for Slash'EM 0.0.6E4 by Darshan Shaligram ARTIFACT ITEM GENER ALN +HIT +DAM ATTACK DEFEND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Demonbane long sword aborw L +5 x2 demons Excalibur long sword bcdw LK! +5 +10 lev,search Firewall athame borw LF +4 +4 fire fire Grayswandir silver saber borw L +5 x2 hallu H Spear Light silver spear borw L! +5 +10 undead Key of Law skeleton key b w L! Nighthorn unicorn horn b w L +0 x2 refl Quick Blade elv short swd borw L +9 +2 Reaper halberd borw LY2 +5 +20 Skullcrusher club borw LC +3 +10 Snickersnee katana borw LS +0 +8 Sunsword long sword aborw L +5 x2 undead Sd of Justice long sword borw LY +5 +12 align C Eter Flame magic candle bq w LF! cold, warn Cr St Edward helm telepathy bq w LY! magic, spell O Detection crystal ball bq w LA! magic, spell S Might mace bq w LC! +3 +5 align magic S Van Helsing wooden stake bq w LU! +5 +12 magic Storm Whistle magic whistle bq w LI! fire, warn M Mirr Merlin mirror bq w LK! magic Mitre Holiness helm brilliance bq w LP! fire, undead T Muramasa tsurugi bq w LS! +0 x2 bisect luck Cleaver battle axe b orw NB +3 +6 Deluder CoDispl b orw NW2 stealth, luck Disrupter mace b orw NP +5 +30 undead Eye Beholder eyeball b w N gaze G Defense GoDex b orw NM phys Giantkiller axe b orw N +5 x2 giants Key of Neu skeleton key b w N! Luckblade short sword b orw N +5 +5 luck Magicbane athame b orw NW +3 +4 magic magic, curse Mirrorbright shield of ref. b orw NH hallu Mjollnir heavy hammer b orw NV +5 +24 elec Sd of Balance silver sht swd b orw N +2 +5 align Vorpal Blade long sword bcorw N +5 +1 behead Whisperfeet speed boots b orw NT stlth, luck H Ahriman luckstone b q w NB! luck stealth S Aesculapius quarterstaff b q w NH! +3 x2 lev regen Eyes Overworld lenses b q w NM! magic PYEC credit card b q w NT! magic, spell Orb of Fate crystal ball b q w NV! luck spell, phys Eye Aethiopica amulet of ESP b q w NW! magic, spell Bat from Hell baseball bat b orw CRo +3 +20 Deathsword two-handed swd b orw CB2 +5 +14 human Deep Freeze athame b orw CI +5 +5 cold cold Doomblade orc short swd b orw C +0 +10 Elfrist orcish spear b orw C +5 +15 elf Grimtooth orcish dagger b orw C +2 +6 Hand of Vecna severed hand b w C regen phys cold Hellfire crossbow b orw C +5 +7 fire fire Houchou spoon b orw C instkil Key of Chaos skeleton key b w C! Orcrist elv broadsword bnorw C +5 x2 orcs Plague droven bow b orw C +5 +7 poison poison Thiefbane long sword b w C +5 +1 all @ Serp's Tongue dagger b orw CN +2 x2 poison Sting elv dagger bnorw C +5 x2 orcs web warn Stormbringer runesword bcorw C ! +5 +2 lev lev G Dag Glaurg great dagger b q w CN! +8 +4 lev align magic L Diana bow b q w CRa! +5 reflect M Key Thievery skeleton key b q w CRo! warn, phys Dragonbane broadsword borw +5 x2 dragons Fire Brand long sword borw +5 x2 fire fire Frost Brand long sword borw +5 x2 cold cold Ogresmasher war hammer borw +5 x2 ogres Trollsbane morning star borw +5 x2 trolls W of Perseus bag of holding borw Werebane silver saber borw +5 x2 were Bell Opening silver bell g Can Invocation candelabrum g Book Dead papyrus spbook g Amulet Yendor amulet Yendor g Artifacts are listed above by alignment, then alphabetically with the Quest Artifacts listed later. The name of each ARTIFACT may have been abbreviated to fit in the table above; see below for the official name. Artifacts are special instances of ordinary objects, and have all of the behaviors and properties of the ordinary ITEM in addition to those granted by the particular artifact. All artifacts cost 100 times the value of the ordinary object they are based upon. The GENER field specifies all of the possible ways that a particular artifact may be generated. Each artifact can only be generated _once_ per game -- it cannot be generated again, even if the player never found the artifact, if the artifact is stolen, or if the artifact is destroyed. Note that in some cases, an ordinary object may be converted into an artifact, but no artifact will be converted into another artifact. The meaning of the letters are as follows: a Humanoid angelic species have a 5% chance of being generated with a blessed, rustproof Demonbane or Sunsword; 100% chance for Archons, Planetars and Solars. b All artifacts on the current level are saved when a character dies and creates a bones file. If a new character visits the same level and loads the bones file, the same artifacts will be created, except under the following conditions. If the artifact was already created in the new player's game or is the new player's Quest Artifact, then the artifact reverts to its ordinary object. The game artifacts (Bell of Opening, Candelabrum of Invocation, Book of the Dead, and Amulet of Yendor) will revert into ordinary objects (cursed bell, pile of used candles, cursed spellbook of blank paper, and cursed fake amulet of Yendor, respectively). c If you pray and your god is very pleased, you may be crowned and get a good artifact. If a lawful character is wielding an ordinary long sword when crowned, it becomes Excalibur. Neutrals get Vorpal Blade, regardless of what they are wielding (if already wielding it, it goes "snicker-snack!"), although Wizards will get a spellbook of finger of death in preference. Chaotics get Stormbringer, regardless of what they are wielding. You can only be crowned once. If you receive a weapon artifact this way and were restricted in its weapon class to unskilled, the restriction is removed so you may advance to basic skill. d If you #dip a single ordinary long sword in a fountain, are at least experience level 5, and Excalibur doesn't already exist in your game, then there is a 1/6 chance of something special happening to your long sword. If you are lawful, the long sword is converted into the blessed, rustless, uncorroded, damageproof Excalibur and you exercise your wisdom. If you are neutral or chaotic, your long sword is cursed, loses its rustproofing, may lose an enchantment, and you abuse your wisdom. g This artifact is an essential part of the game, and can only be obtained by killing (or stealing it from) the appropriate Nemesis. These items are specially protected from being destroyed. They also do not count toward the number of artifacts that have been generated. n An ordinary item can be converted into this artifact by #naming it. The item must be singular, not already an artifact, of the same type as the new artifact, and the new artifact must not already exist. Answer that you want to #name a single item, and provide the short name of the artifact (i.e. "Sting" instead of "elven dagger named Sting"). o This item may be given as a gift from your god when #offering corpses. You must sacrifice a fresh corpse at a co-aligned altar, be in good standing with your god, and at least experience level 3. You will only get artifacts that are of your alignment or none, and some classes get certain artifacts as their first gift (if available). Orcs will never receive elven weapons, or vice versa. Your first gift will always be co-aligned. The chance that you will be given a gift depends on the number of artifacts already created in the game and how many of them were gifts; the chance is 1/(10+(2*artifacts*gifts). If you receive a weapon artifact this way and were restricted in its weapon class to unskilled, the restriction is removed so you may advance to basic skill. r This artifact may be randomly generated in place of a regular item (1/20 chance for each weapon). In particular, antique weapons outlets appear to frequently carry artifacts because a large number of weapons are randomly generated there. The player-monsters on the Astral Plane also have a 50% chance that the weapon they are generated will be upgraded to one of these random artifacts. q This is a Quest Artifact. If you are of the same class as the artifact, you can only obtain it by completing your Quest. Otherwise, if you are of the same alignment, it can only be obtained by bones levels or wishing. If you are neither the same class nor the same alignment, you cannot pick it up, wield it, or wear it. w This artifact can be wished for. You may specify either the short name of the artifact (e.g. "Magicbane") or the long name ("athame named Magicbane"); capitalization does not matter. You cannot wish for game artifacts or your own Quest Artifact; there are also limitations on wishing for other classes' Quest Artifacts based on your class and alignment (see "q" above). The chance of getting an artifact from each wish depends on the number of artifacts already created in the game: ARTIFACTS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 n CHANCE 100% 100% 2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 2/n+1 The first letter of the ALN column indicates the alignment of the artifact (Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic), if any. When playing a class which can have multiple alignments, the alignment of the Quest Artifact will be adjusted to match the character's starting alignment. A second letter specifies the class aligned to the artifact; alignments of these artifacts will also be adjusted if necessary. It also indicates which Quest Artifact belongs to each class, and for artifacts available as sacrifice gifts denotes that the artifact is a guaranteed gift for that class. A number appended after the second letter indicates that this will be the nth guaranteed gift - if there is no number appended to the second letter, then this is the guaranteed first gift. Intelligent artifacts are indicated with a ! symbol. All these conditions are considered each time you attempt to wish for, pick up, or wield an artifact: * If the artifact is intelligent, then in order to touch the artifact safely, you must have the same alignment as the artifact, must be of the same class (or no class is specified), must be at least nominally aligned, and must not be in the form of something the artifact specially attacks. Otherwise, you will be blasted by the artifact's power, sustain 8d10 damage (6d10 if you have magic-resistance), and abuse your wisdom. If you are of the wrong class and have at least one of the other conditions above, then the artifact will furthermore "evade your grasp!" and you will not be able to use it at all. * If the artifact is not intelligent, then you have only a 1/4 chance of being blasted if you have a different alignment from the artifact, have transgressed, or are in the form of something the artifact specially attacks; damage is 8d6 (6d6 if you have magic-resistance). In any case, you will be able to use the artifact. The +HIT column specifies any bonuses when calculating to-hit, and +DAM lists any bonuses or multiplier to damage. For some artifacts, these adjustments only apply when hitting a specific type of monster. See weap-331.txt to find out how these values are used in weapons calculations. Additional damage due to level drain, bisecting, or beheading are not included in the table above, but are listed in the weapon descriptions below. Note that the chance of certain weapon artifact effects are based on your to-hit die roll. This means that if you always hit a monster, the effect occurs with the published percentage; however, if you only hit a monster 1 in 20, then every hit you make causes the effect. The ATTACK and DEFEND fields list a brief summary of the offensive and defensive effects of each artifact; see the sections below for full descriptions of each artifact's abilities. The effects of the Bell of Opening, Candelabrum of Invocation, and Book of the Dead are documented in tool-331.txt. The powers of the Amulet of Yendor are listed in amul-331.txt. Base weapon damage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Data obtained from Cristan Szmajda's auto-generated spoiler for Slash'EM 0.0.6E4F5] Artifact weapons add their damage bonuses to the base damage of their weapon type. For convenience, the base damages for all artifact weapon types are listed here. This is NOT an exhaustive list of the base damage for all weapons! See Cristan Szmajda's auto-generated spoiler for that. Skill Weapon To-hit Small Large ABCFHI KMNPRaRo STUVWY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- axe axe +0 d6 d4 -Esb-- s-s-s - -b-Ess battle-axe +0 d8+d4 d6+2d4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bow bow -bE--- b--bE - Ebb--E dark elven bow arrow +0 d6 d6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- broadsword broadsword +0 2d4 1+d6 -s---- s---- s sb-s-b elv. broadsd. +0 d6+d4 1+d6 runesword +0 2d4 1+d6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- club baseball bat +0 d8 d6 ssE-s- b-sE- s --s-s- club +0 d6 d3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- crossbow crossbow ------ s--bE E -bE--s crossbow bolt +0 1+d4 1+d6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dagger athame +2 d4 d3 bbbEsE b-E-E E bEEEEs dagger +2 d4 d3 elven dagger +2 d5 d3 great dagger +2 d6 d7 orc. dagger +2 d3 d3 wood. stake +0 d6 d6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Skill Weapon To-hit Small Large ABCFHI KMNPRaRo STUVWY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hammer heavy hammer +0 d6 d6 -Esb-- b--Eb b -bsE-b war hammer +0 1+d4 d4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- long sword katana +1 d10 d12 -s-s-s E--s- s EbsE-s long sword +0 d8 d12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mace mace +0 1+d6 d6 -sEbb- s-bE- s -bs-b- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- morning str morning star +0 2d4 1+d6 -sb--- s--Eb b -bs--- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- polearms halberd +0 d10 2d6 --s-bb s-sss b sbsssE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- quarterstf. quarterstaff +0 d6 d6 sbEsEs -bEEb - bbsbEs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- saber silver saber +0 d8 d8 Eb-sb- s---- s bs-b-s ---------------------------------------------------------------------- short sword elv. short swd. +0 d8 d8 bs-Es- s---b E EE-sbE orc. short swd. +0 d5 d8 short sword +0 d6 d8 sil. short swd. +0 d6 d8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- spear orcish spear +0 d5 d8 -sE-bb sbbss b bbEsbb silver spear +0 d6 d8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2-hand swd. tsurugi +2 d16 d8+2d6 -E---- s---- b Eb-E-- two-handed swd +0 d12 3d6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- unic. horn unicorn horn +0 d12 d12 s-bsEs ---s- - -ss--b ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Skill Weapon To-hit Small Large ABCFHI KMNPRaRo STUVWY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lawful artifacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida .] Demonbane (lawful long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against demons (all & except Death, Pestilence, Famine, the mail daemon, sandestins, and djinni). 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the demon. "Demonbane shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Demonbane roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The demon may resist cancellation. Excalibur (lawful Knight long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and +10 damage to all monsters. Confers level drain resistance and automatic searching. Manual and automatic searching is more likely to succeed. Monsters will be able to find you. Demon princes will be generated hostile. Firewall (lawful* athame) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Flame Mages. Wielded +4 to hit and +4 damage to monsters that are NOT fire-resistant. Confers fire resistance. Note: You can also engrave "Elbereth" with any non-cursed athame and it won't dull the weapon. Grayswandir (lawful silver saber) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage to all monsters. Confers hallucination resistance. Silver damage against silver-hating creatures (a normal effect of silver sabers). Holy Spear of Light (lawful silver spear) Carried Illuminates an area of two-squares radius around you. Wielded +5 to hit and +10 damage only against undead. See Sunsword for the list of undead monsters. Invoked "The Holy Spear of Light shines brightly for an instant!" if you're not blind. "The Holy Spear of Light grows warm for a second!" if you're blind. Illuminates an area of 12 squares radius around you (compare this to a blessed ?oLight, which illuminates a 9-square radius). Undead and demons in your line of sight within a 9-square radius will sustain damage. Susceptible monsters will have their hit points divided by (10 - distu2 / 10), where distu2 is the square of the distance between you and the monster. However, this damage will never actually kill the monster (a minimum hp of 1 is ensured). Note that high-level monsters may resist this damage altogether. " burns in the radiance!" if you can see the monster "You hear cry(ies) of intense pain!" if you can't. If you are yourself playing a vampire or are polymorphed into an undead monster, your hit points will be divided by 100 (with no minimum cutoff of 1hp). The Key of Law (lawful skeleton key) Obtained from Nightmare on the Lawful Quest. Carried No effect. Can unlock doors/chests without breaking. Nighthorn (lawful unicorn horn) Obtained by killing Nightmare on the Lawful Quest, provided you do not stone or digest Nightmare. Is always generated cursed and +0. Wielded Confers reflection. x2 damage to all monsters. Quick Blade (lawful elven short sword) Wielded +9 to hit and +2 damage to all monsters. Reaper (lawful halberd) Guaranteed second sacrifice gift for Yeomen Applied +5 to hit and +20 damage to all monsters. Wielded If you're riding, +5 to hit and +20 damage to all monsters. else you do only d2 damage (as with all polearms). Skullcrusher (lawful* club) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Cavemen. Wielded +3 to hit and +10 damage to all monsters. Snickersnee (lawful katana) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Samurai. Wielded +8 damage to all monsters. Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Vorpal Blade. Sunsword (lawful long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against undead. Undead include all liches (L), all mummies (M), all vampires (V) and vampire bats, all wraiths/wights (W), all zombies (Z), Frankenstein's Monster, ghosts, shades and shadows. Prevents blinding from light-based sources. Sword of Justice (lawful long sword) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Yeomen. Wielded +5 to hit and +12 damage only to monsters not of its alignment. The Candle of Eternal Flame (lawful* Flame Mage magic candle) Carried Confers warning, teleport control and cold resistance. Invoked Summons a (tame) fire elemental. The Crown of Saint Edward (lawful Yeoman helm of telepathy) Carried Confers magic resistance. Half damage when attacked by spells. Worn Confers telepathy (normal effect of helms of telepathy). The Orb of Detection (lawful* Archeologist crystal ball) Carried Confers magic resistance and telepathy. Half damage when attacked by spells. Invoked Toggles invisibility on/off. The Sceptre of Might (lawful* Caveman mace) Carried Confers magic resistance. Wielded +3 to hit and +5 damage only against monsters not of its alignment. Note that this is significantly inferior to vanilla NetHack's Sceptre of Might. Invoked Toggles conflict on/off. The Stake of Van Helsing (lawful* Undead Slayer wooden stake) Carried Confers magic resistance. Wielded +5 to hit and +12 damage to all monsters. If you're fighting a vampire: 10% chance of instantly killing the vampire. "You plunge your stake into the heart of ". If not an instakill, still does 2 + d6 extra damage. "You drive your stake into ." Interestingly, vampire bats are also considered vampires. Note that this same extra damage also applies for: 1. An undead slayer wielding any wooden stake, regardless of dagger skill. 2. Any player wielding a wooden stake and expert in the dagger skill. If you're wielding a wooden stake other than the Stake of Van Helsing against a vampire, are not an undead slayer and are not a dagger expert, you'll still do d6 extra damage to the vampire. The Storm Whistle (lawful* Ice Mage magic whistle) Carried Confers warning, teleport control and fire resistance. Invoked Summons a (tame) water elemental. The Magic Mirror of Merlin (lawful Knight mirror) Carried Confers magic resistance and telepathy. Knights get double damage when: turning undead in any way; using a spell of force bolt, magic missile, cone of cold, fireball, lightning, poison blast, acid stream or drain life; or using a wand of striking or draining. Applied or wielded Speaks to you (gives random rumour, from the true file if blessed, the false file if cursed, or either if uncursed). The Mitre of Holiness (lawful* Priest helm of brilliance) Carried Confers fire resistance. Worn Priests take half damage from undead and demons. Undead include all liches (L), all mummies (M), all vampires (V) and vampire bats, all wraiths/wights (W), all zombies/ghouls (Z), Frankenstein's Monster, ghosts, shades and shadows. Demons are all & except Death, Pestilence, Famine, the mail daemon, djinn, and sandestins. Increase in intelligence and wisdom (normal helm effects). Invoked Boost in spell energy. The Tsurugi of Muramasa (lawful Samurai tsurugi) Carried Acts as a luckstone. Wielded x2 damage to all monsters. 10% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of extra damage: Monsters engulfing you are instantly killed. Damage is doubled against big monsters. All other monsters are instantly killed. Note that this is a 5% chance in vanilla NetHack and the Tsurugi has a damage bonus of +d8 (instead of x2) in NetHack 3.3.1. Neutral artifacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida .] Cleaver (neutral* battle axe) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Barbarians. Wielded +3 to hit and +6 damage to all monsters. Deluder (neutral* cloak of displacement) Guaranteed second sacrifice gift for Wizards. Carried Acts as a luckstone. Worn Confers stealth. Disrupter (neutral* mace) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Priests. Wielded +5 to hit and +30 damage to undead. The Eye of the Beholder (neutral eyeball) Obtained by killing the Beholder in the Neutral Quest, provided you do not stone, digest or disintegrate the Beholder. Always generated cursed. Eaten Does 150-199 hp damage ("You feel a burning inside!") Invoked If your luck < -9 "The Eye turns on you!" and you die, whether in your normal form or polymorphed. else, "The Eye looks around with its icy gaze!" All monsters (except undead) in the Eye's line of sight have their hit points reduced to 1/3rd their current values. " screams in agony!" for each monster, even those that you wouldn't expect to scream. -3 to alignment and -3 to luck. The Gauntlets of Defense (neutral* gauntlets of dexterity) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Monks. Worn Half damage when attacked physically. Increases dexterity by its enchantment (normal effect of gauntlets of dexterity). Invoked Toggles invisibility on/off. Giantkiller (neutral axe) This is a straight replacement for NetHack 3.3.1's Giantslayer. Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against giants, stone giants, hill giants, fire giants, frost giants, storm giants, giant mummies, troll mummies, giant zombies, the Largest Giant, Cyclops, and Lord Surtur. Note that it does not do its extra damage to ettins and titans. 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the giant. "Giantkiller shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Giantkiller roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The giant may resist cancellation. The Key of Neutrality (neutral skeleton key) Obtained from the Beholder in the Neutral Quest. Carried No effect. Can unlock doors/chests without breaking. Luckblade (neutral short sword) Carried Acts as a luckstone Wielded +5 to hit and +5 damage to all monsters. Magicbane (neutral* athame) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Wizards. Carried No effect. Wielded +3 to hit and +4 damage to all monsters. May also probe, stun, scare, or purge. Confers magic resistance. Protects inventory against 95% of curses. Note: You can also engrave "Elbereth" with any non-cursed athame and it won't dull the weapon. Mirrorbright (neutral shield of reflection) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Healers. Worn Confers hallucination-resistance (and, of course, reflection). Mjollnir (neutral* heavy hammer) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Valkyries. Wielded +5 to hit and +24 damage against monsters that are NOT shock- resistant. Can only be thrown when you have strength 25 (such as with gauntlets of power and rings of gain strength) and you are wielding it. When thrown by Valkyries and you are not confused, stunned, blind, hallucinating, or fumbling, there is a 99% chance that the artifact will return to your hand. Can only be kicked one square. Note: Does NOT provide shock resistance! Sword of Balance (neutral silver short sword) Wielded +2 to hit and +5 damage to all lawful and chaotic monsters. Vorpal Blade (neutral long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and +1 damage to all monsters. Instantly kills jabberwocks (this does NOT include vorpal jabberwocks!) 10% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of instantly killing monsters by beheading. Monster must not be headless, amorphous, non-corporeal, or swallowing you. Worms must be hit on their head segment. Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Snickersnee. Whisperfeet (neutral speed boots) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Tourists. Carried Acts as a luckstone. Worn Confers stealth (and has the normal effect of speed boots). The Heart of Ahriman (neutral* Barbarian luckstone) Carried Confers stealth. Does x2 damage if slung at a monster. Invoked Toggles levitation on/off. The Staff of Aesculapius (neutral Healer quarterstaff) Wielded +3 to hit and x2 damage only to monsters that are not resistant to level drain. Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from monsters. Undead, demons, were- creatures, and Death are immune to this attack. Confers hungerless regeneration. Does NOT confer protection from level drain. Invoked Heals half hp loss, cures sickness, unblinds and unslimes. The Eyes of the Overworld (neutral* Monk lenses) Carried Confers magic resistance. Worn Confers X-ray vision (astral vision). Invoked Enlightenment. The Platinum Yendorian Express Card (neutral Tourist credit card) Carried Confers magic resistance and telepathy. Half damage when attacked by spells. Invoked 25% chance of charging an object like a scroll of charging with the same blessed/cursed status. Only Tourists can perform blessed charging. 75% chance of nothing happening. The Orb of Fate (neutral* Valkyrie crystal ball) Carried Confers warning and half spell damage. Half damage when attacked physically. Acts as a luckstone. Invoked Level teleport. The Eye of the Aethiopica (neutral* Wizard amulet of ESP) Carried Confers magic resistance and faster energy regeneration. Half damage when attacked by spells. Worn Confers telepathy (normal amulet effect). Invoked Creates a single-use portal to the closest level of any dungeon branch you have already visited. The jump occurs immediately, and won't occur if you have the Amulet or are teleporting to or from the endgame levels. Chaotic artifacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida .] Bat from Hell (chaotic baseball bat) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Rogues. Wielded +3 to hit and +20 damage to all monsters. Deathsword (chaotic* two-handed sword) Guaranteed second sacrifice gift for Barbarians. Wielded +5 to hit and +14 damage to all humans. Humans are all @ (except elves and Medusa) and all K (Keystone Kops). Deep Freeze (chaotic* athame) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Ice Mages. Wielded +5 to hit and +5 damage against monsters that are NOT cold-resistant. Confers cold resistance. Note: You can also engrave "Elbereth" with any non-cursed athame and it won't dull the weapon. Doomblade (chaotic orcish short sword) Wielded +10 damage to all monsters. 25% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of doing 5 * d4 additional damage: "You plunge the Doomblade deeply into !" Elfrist (chaotic orcish spear) Wielded +5 to hit and +15 damage only against elves. 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the elf. "Elfrist shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Elfrist roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The elf may resist cancellation. Grimtooth (chaotic orcish dagger) Wielded +2 to hit and +6 damage to all monsters. The Hand of Vecna (chaotic severed hand) Obtained by killing Vecna in the Chaotic Quest, provided you do not digest or disintegrate Vecna. Always generated cursed. Carried Confers cold resistance, hungerless regeneration and half physical damage. Wielded Confers level-drain resistance. Eaten Does 150-199 hp damage ("You feel the hand scrabbling around inside of you!") Invoked If luck < -9, does 5-24hp damage "The Hand claws you with its icy nails!" else "Creatures from the grave surround you!" 4-7 graveyard creatures are summoned. These will be tame. -3 to alignment and -3 to luck. Hellfire (chaotic crossbow) Wielded Confers fire resistance. +5 to hit and +7 damage per crossbow bolt to all monsters. Crossbow bolts fired from Hellfire will explode when they hit a monster, doing 2d6 fire damage. Houchou (chaotic spoon) Instakills any monster at which it is thrown (if it hits, that is). Houchou will itself be destroyed in the process (unless it misses), so choose your target well. The Key of Chaos (chaotic skeleton key) Obtained from Vecna on the Chaotic Quest. Carried No effect. Can unlock doors/chests without breaking. Orcrist (chaotic elven broadsword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies, and orc zombies). 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the orc. "Orcrist shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Orcrist roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The orc may resist cancellation. Plague (chaotic dark elven bow) Wielded Confers poison resistance. +5 to hit and +7 damage per arrow to all monsters. Automatically poisons arrows fired from it. Thiefbane (chaotic long sword) Generated in the possession of One-Eyed Sam in the Black Market. Wielded +5 to hit and +1 damage to all @s. 10% chance (based on the to-hit roll) of instantly killing the @ monster by beheading. 15% chance (based on the to-hit roll) of cancelling the @ monster. "Thiefbane shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Thiefbane roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The monster may resist cancellation. Serpent's Tongue (chaotic dagger) Guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Necromancers. Wielded +2 to hit and x2 damage to all monsters. Does extra damage to monsters that are not poison-resistant: 40% chance of 2 + d6 damage 30% chance of 4 + 2d6 damage 20% chance of 6 + 3d6 damage 10% chance of poison instakill. Does NOT provide poison-resistance! Sting (chaotic elven dagger) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies, and orc zombies). Confers the warning intrinsic, specifically attuned to orcs. You will see all orcs on your level as long as you wield Sting. Cuts through all webs. Stormbringer (chaotic runesword) Wielded Attacks tame and peaceful monsters without confirmation. +5 to hit and +2 damage to all monsters that are not level drain resistant. Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from monsters. Undead, demons, were- creatures, and Death are immune to this attack. Protects from level drain. The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa (chaotic Necromancer great dagger) Carried Confers magic resistance. Wielded +8 to hit and +4 damage to monsters not of its alignment. Drains levels from monsters that are not level-drain resistant and not of its alignment. Invoked Boost in spell energy. The Longbow of Diana (chaotic* Ranger bow) Carried Confers telepathy. Wielded Confers reflection. +5 to hit against all monsters. Invoked Creates 7-16 uncursed arrows if uncursed, 7-21 blessed arrows if blessed, 6-11 cursed arrows if cursed. The Master Key of Thievery (chaotic Rogue skeleton key) Carried Confers warning and teleport control. Half damage when attacked physically. Applied or wielded Speaks to you (gives random rumour, from the true file if blessed, the false file if cursed, or either if uncursed). Invoked Untraps boxes and doors with 100% success. Unaligned artifacts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida .] Dragonbane (unaligned broadsword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against dragons (all D). 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the dragon. "Dragonbane shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Dragonbane roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The dragon may resist cancellation. Fire Brand (unaligned long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT fire-resistant. Confers fire resistance. Frost Brand (unaligned long sword) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT cold-resistant. Confers cold resistance. Ogresmasher (unaligned war hammer) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against ogres (all O). 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the ogre. "Ogresmasher shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Ogresmasher roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The ogre may resist cancellation. Trollsbane (unaligned morning star) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against trolls (all T). Note that it does not do its special damage to troll mummies. 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the troll. "Trollsbane shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Trollsbane roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The troll may resist cancellation. Wallet of Perseus (unaligned bag of holding) Carried Reduces the weight of objects put in it as follows: If x is the combined weight of the (empty) Wallet and the normal weight of all the objects in it, the reduced weight will be as Curse Status of the Wallet of Perseus Weight Blessed (x + 5) / 6 Uncursed (x + 2) / 3 Cursed 4x Werebane (unaligned silver saber) Wielded +5 to hit and x2 damage only against were-creatures in both human and creature forms. Attacks of were-creatures will not transfer lycanthropy. Silver damage against silver-hating creatures (a normal effect of silver sabers). 15% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of cancelling the were-creature. "Werebane shines brilliantly!" if you can see or "Werebane roars deafeningly!" if you can't and "It strikes !" The were-creature may resist cancellation. * These artifacts are adjusted if necessary to match the starting alignment of a player of their class. Ranged weapons - shots fired per round ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How many shots does a missile launcher fire per round? Here's how to work it out: If you're not using a firearm, or are using a firearm in automatic mode: Calculate n as 1 + bonus shots for skill (+1 for skilled, +2 for expert) + 1 if firing non-cursed elven arrows (1 in 3 chance) + 1 if using a non-cursed elven bow (1 in 3 chance) + launcher enchantment / 3 (rounded up or down as appropriate) + 1 if you're a Ranger + 1 for Samurai firing ya from a yumi + 1 if you're an elf firing elven arrows from an elven bow, or an orc firing orcish arrows from an orcish bow. The number of shots fired is d(n) (random number from 1 to n) + 1 if you're using a bow and the missile flurry technique + (rate of fire of your launcher - 1) if your launcher has a nonzero bonus for rate of fire You will fire at least one shot per round. If you're using a firearm in single-shot mode, you will fire only one shot. If you're using a firearm in burst mode, you'll fire the normal number of projectiles / 3, rounded down to a minimum of 1. The 'normal' number is as calculated above. Note that bows have a multishot bonus of 0 and crossbows have a multishot bonus of -1. Thus, a Ranger using the +7 Longbow of Diana and expert with bows will fire d( 1 + 2 (skill bonus) + 2 (launcher ench / 3 = 7 / 3) + 1 (Ranger class bonus for ranged weapons) ) = d6 arrows per round. Magicbane ~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from a spoiler courtesy of David Grabiner .] Magicbane has several special effects when wielded that make this artifact a very useful item. It resists 95% of curses thrown at you, gives magic resistance, and can engrave without dulling. As a weapon, it adds at least another +4 damage, and 40% of your hits (based on your to-hit die roll) have a magical effect. ENCHANT NORMAL PROBE STUN SCARE SCARE SCARE SCARE AV DMG +STUN +PURGE +ST+PG ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Damage 4+d4 4+2d4 4+3d4 4+3d4 4+4d4 4+4d4 4+5d4 -- Ave dmg 6.5 9 11.5 11.5 14 14 16.5 -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ +0 60% 0% 20% 0% 10% 0% 10% 9.250 +1 60% 2% 18% 1% 9% 1% 9% 10.150 +2 60% 4% 16% 2% 8% 2% 8% 11.050 +3 60% 9% 21% 1.5% 3.5% 1.5% 3.5% 11.575 +4 60% 12% 18% 2% 3% 2% 3% 12.475 +5 60% 15% 15% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 13.375 +6 60% 21% 14% 3% 2% 0% 0% 14.025 +7 60% 24.5% 10.5% 3.5% 1.5% 0% 0% 14.925 +8 60% 28% 7% 4% 1% 0% 0% 15.825 +9 60% 36% 4% 0% 0% 0% 0% 16.600 more 60% 40% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 7.5+en The above table describes the probability that each of the magical effects will occur. The ENCHANTment of Magicbane affects these probabilities; note that higher enchantments reduce the likelihood of the better effects. Even the NORMAL, non-magical damage that occurs 60% of the time has an extra +4 damage above that of a normal athame. If any magical attacks occur, an automatic extra d4 of damage is caused; the individual attacks have further effects as follows. The PROBE attack usually does nothing special beyond adding the d4 for the magical attack; there is a 1 in (4*enchantment) chance that the probe is insightful, giving the effect of a wand of probing. The probe attack never occurs at enchantment +0 or less. The STUN attack causes an additional d4 of damage and stuns the monster. If that monster is you, it is for 3 (more) turns. The SCARE attack scares the monster for 3 (more) turns; the monster may resist the attack. If you are attacked by Magicbane and aren't magic-resistant, you are paralyzed for 3 (more) turns. The defender will release any monsters it has grabbed. There is also an additional d4 damage. Finally, the PURGE attack causes another additional d4 damage and has the same effect as a wand of cancellation. If the monster has the ability to cast spells, the attack adds one to your current and maximum spell energy; the monster may resist. If you are hit with Magicbane and you don't have magic-resistance, you are cancelled and lose one current and maximum spell energy. In addition, any magical attack has a 1 in 12 chance of confusing the defender. The AVE DMG column in the table above summarizes the expected average damage for each enchantment level; it includes bonuses due to enchantment but not to weapon skills (athames are in the dagger class) and strength bonuses. The Damage row lists the amount of damage each type of attack causes; the average of each attack type is given in the Ave dmg row. Note that the damage is calculated for small monsters - Magicbane does slightly less damage to large monsters (0.5 less damage on average). For those source divers who are interested in how the above values were obtained, the following table may help: Enchant +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 more * Probes 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 * Stuns 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Scare roll 4 4 4 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 Purge roll 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Die roll 1 Pur Pur Pur Pur Pur Pur Sca Sca Sca * * Die roll 2 Pur Pur Pur Sca Sca Sca * * * * * Die roll 3 Sca Sca Sca * * * * * * * * Die roll 4 Sca Sca Sca * * * * * * * * Roll 5-8 * * * * * * * * * * * Roll 9-20 ----------- Normal, non-magical damage ------------- What is the best enchantment for Magicbane? If you simply want to cause the most damage, then the table indicates that you should enchant it as much as possible (safely to +7). Fortunately, your odds of magic-resistance, curse-resistance, and engraving do not depend upon the enchantment. However, if you want to maximize the best magical effects of this artifact, it should be enchanted to +2. Note that the only difference in the magical effects between the +0 and the +2 Magicbane is a 4% change between probing and stunning. Magicbane is generally not the best weapon for combat, although medium-level characters with good dagger skill and poor skills in other weapon may find it their best choice. Higher-level characters may want to wield it as their regular weapon to absorb curses while they are travelling through the dungeon, switching to something else to fight powerful monsters. Which artifact should I choose? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Adapted from a spoiler courtesy of David Grabiner .] If you get an early wish and decide to use it for a weapon, or if you have accumulated several artifact weapons, which weapon you should wield depends highly on your class because of the class limits on weapon skills. ARTIFACT weapons that are worth keeping are listed in the table below. Some artifacts are not listed, because they are only effective against a small subset of monsters. The SKILL category of each artifact is listed. The maximum skills each class can reach in each artifact skill is listed in the section 'Base weapon damage'. Note that if you receive an artifact as a gift by crowning or sacrificing, any restriction on its weapon class will be removed and you will be able to advance to basic skill. The table also indicates the average damage of each artifact against typical SMALL creatures, LARGE creatures, large major DEMONs, ANGELs and the Endgame RIDERS (Death, Famine and Pestilence). The first three should help you choose the best weapon for the early game/Gehennom and the last two columns can identify the best weapons for the Endgame. The damage calculations assume that the artifact is enchanted as shown, you have a strength of 18, you have expert skill, and that the artifact's special attacks apply to the monster; the Longbow of Diana assumes that you are using blessed +0/+7 arrows fired at a rate of up to 6 a round (expert Ranger using the +7 Longbow). The average number of shots fired per round for a ranged weapon is mentioned in parentheses next to its name. For ranged weapons, the calculations assume every shot hits. Damage against major demons further assumes that the weapon (or missiles) is blessed and that the demon hates silver, is fire-resistant, is drain-resistant, is chaotically aligned and has an MR of 90 (to facilitate calculations for Magicbane). Weapons that have instakill abilities are better than their average damage indicates, since the instakill has not been factored in. For weapons that do different damage to the different Riders (for example, the Staff of Aesculapius does more damage to Famine and Pestilence than to Death), the damage under RIDERS is taken as the average of the average damages against the individual Riders (!) The artifacts are arranged by the damage they do to major demons. ARTIFACT SKILL SMALL LARGE DEMON ANGEL RIDERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ +2 Magicbane Dagger 15.0 14.5 11.7 11.5 8.5 +7 Firewall Dagger 17.5 17.0 15.5 17.5 13.5 +7 Staff Aesculapius Quarterstaff 29.5 29.5 17.0 29.5 24.5 +7 Great Dagger Gla Dagger 23.0 23.5 17.5 23.0 21.5 +7 Stormbringer Broadsword 22.5 22.0 18.0 22.5 20.3 +7 Quick Blade Short sword 17.5 17.5 20.0 17.5 17.5 +7 Fire Brand Long sword 27.0 31.0 20.0 27.0 15.5 +7 Deep Freeze Dagger 18.5 18.0 20.5 13.5 13.5 +7 Vorpal Blade Long sword 16.5 18.5 21.0 16.5 16.5 +7 Grimtooth Dagger 19.0 19.0 21.5 19.0 19.0 +7 Sceptre of Might Mace 20.5 19.5 22.0 15.5 20.5 +7 Hellfire (1.6) Crossbow 28.0 29.6 22.4 28.0 16.8 & blessed +0 bolts +7 Luckblade Short sword 19.5 20.5 23.0 19.5 19.5 +7 Serpent's Tongue Dagger 33.5 32.5 24.5 23.0 23.0 +7 Skullcrusher Club 24.5 23.0 25.5 24.5 24.5 +7 Longbow Diana(3.5) Bow 18.0 18.0 28.0 18.0 18.0 & blessed +0 arrows +7 Cleaver Axe 24.0 25.5 28.0 24.0 24.0 +7 Snickersnee Long sword 24.5 25.5 28.0 24.5 24.5 +7 H Spear of Light Spear 14.5 15.5 28.5 14.5 14.5 +7 Stake of Van H. Dagger 26.5 26.5 29.0 26.5 26.5 +7 Excalibur Long sword 25.5 27.5 30.0 25.5 25.5 +7 Doomblade Short sword 27.1 28.6 31.1 27.1 27.1 +7 Sword of Justice Long sword 27.5 29.5 32.0 15.5 27.5 +7 Demonbane Long sword 15.5 17.5 33.5 15.5 15.5 +7 Sword of Balance Short sword 19.5 20.5 33.5 19.5 14.5 +7 Frost Brand Long sword 27.0 31.0 33.5 15.5 15.5 +7 Nighthorn Unicorn horn 31.0 31.0 33.5 31.0 31.0 +7 Bat from Hell Club 35.5 34.5 37.0 35.5 35.5 +7 Grayswandir Saber 27.0 27.0 40.0 27.0 27.0 +7 Mjollnir Hammer 38.5 38.5 41.0 14.5 14.5 +7 Reaper Polearm 36.5 38.0 42.0 36.5 38.0 +7 Tsurugi Muramasa Two-hand swd 35.0 41.0 43.5 35.0 35.0 +7 Plague (3) Bow 47.0 47.0 45.0 36.5 36.5 & blessed +0 arrows +7 Longbow Diana(3.5) Bow 44.0 44.0 52.5 44.0 44.0 & blessed +7 arrows It's difficult to recommend weapons for Slash'EM, because there are simply so many good weapons. Look at the table and take your pick but bear in mind that 1. Magicbane, although it does little damage, is very useful in other ways and is definitely worth keeping. 2. Artifacts that give a damage bonus are usually much better than double-damage artifacts at low enchantments. Weapons like Mjollnir, the Bat from Hell and Reaper do lots of damage even at +0 and are great weapons for the early game (as the table shows, they don't lose out to the double-damage artifacts even in the late game, except for Mjollnir which is not much use on the Astral Plane). 3. Firearms will always outperform artifact weapons, so you should definitely consider them. (Firearms are no longer covered in detail in this spoiler; see Christian Cooper's firearms spoiler.) Calculating damage at other enchantments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The weapon comparison table rather arbitrarily assumes you have a +7 weapon, which may not be the case. For a +n (n != 7) artifact, you can calculate the damage done using the values in the table above as: 1. For melee weapons (other than Magicbane) If d is the damage indicated in the table, and the artifact is not a double-damage artifact, the average damage it will do at +n enchantment is: d + (n-7) If the artifact does double-damage, the average damage it will do at +n enchantment is d + 2 * (n-7) Using this approach may result in slightly overestimating the damage an artifact does when its enchantment is 0 and its attack bonus does not apply (the Staff of Aesculapius against demons, for instance), but the discrepancy will be quite small. For Magicbane, see the Magicbane section and add your strength and skill bonuses to the average damage values in that table. That table doesn't apply to high MR monsters, though. If the enchantment is negative, the calculation isn't simple. You can work out the damage done by looking at the weap-331 spoiler for vanilla NetHack. It doesn't cover some of the special cases in Slash'EM, but is useful anyway. 2. For missile launchers For missile launchers, enchantment affects the rate of fire, but not the damage per shot. Dividing the values in the table above by the average rate of fire at +7 will give the average damage per shot. Calculate the rate of fire at the enchantment you have and multiply by the average damage per shot to get the average damage. Acknowledgements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Corrections and clarifications provided by Bruce Cox, Christian Cooper, Kieron Dunbar, Rob Ellwood, David Goldfarb, Tina Hall, J. Ali Harlow, Pat Rankin, Kalle Sandstrom, and Robert Schneck.