arti-331.html Update version 1 for NetHack 3.3.1
Compiled for 3.2.2 by Kevin Hugo.
Updated for 3.3.1 by Dylan O'Donnell <psmith@spod-central.org>.
HTML Conversion by Kate Nepveu <knepveu@steelypips.org>.
| ARTIFACT | ITEM | GENER | ALN | +HIT | +DAM | ATTACK | DEFEND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAWFUL | |||||||
| Demonbane | long sword | aborw | L | +d5 | x2 | demons | |
| Excalibur | long sword | bcdw | LK! | +d5 | +d10 | lev, search | |
| Grayswandir | silver saber | borw | L | +d5 | x2 | silver | hallu |
| Snickersnee | katana | borw | LS | +0 | +d8 | ||
| Sunsword | long sword | aborw | L | +d5 | x2 | undead | |
| O Detection | crystal ball | bq w | LA! | magic, spell | |||
| S Might | mace | bq w | LC! | +d5 | x2 | align | magic |
| M Mirr Merlin | mirror | bq w | LK! | magic | |||
| Mitre Holiness | helm brilliance | bq w | LP! | fire, undead | |||
| T Muramasa | tsurugi | bq w | LS! | +0 | +d8 | bisect | luck |
| NEUTRAL | |||||||
| Cleaver | battle axe | b orw | NB | +d3 | +d6 | ||
| Giantslayer | long sword | b orw | N | +d5 | x2 | giants | |
| Magicbane | athame | b orw | NW | +d3 | +d4 | magic | magic, curse |
| Mjollnir | war hammer | b orw | NV | +d5 | +d24 | elec | |
| Vorpal Blade | long sword | bcorw | N | +d5 | +d1 | behead | |
| H Ahriman | luckstone | b q w | NB! | luck | stealth | ||
| S Aesculapius | quarterstaff | b q w | NH! | +0 | x2 | lev | 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 | |||
| CHAOTIC | |||||||
| Grimtooth | orcish dagger | b orw | C | +d2 | +d6 | ||
| Orcrist | elv broadsword | bnorw | C | +d5 | x2 | orcs | |
| Sting | elv dagger | bnorw | C | +d5 | x2 | orcs | warn, web |
| Stormbringer | runesword | bcorw | C ! | +d5 | +d2 | lev | lev |
| L Diana | bow | b q w | CRa! | reflect | |||
| M Key Thievery | skeleton key | b q w | CRo! | warn, phys | |||
| NON-ALIGNED | |||||||
| Dragonbane | broadsword | borw | +d5 | x2 | dragons | ||
| Fire Brand | long sword | borw | +d5 | x2 | fire | fire | |
| Frost Brand | long sword | borw | +d5 | x2 | cold | cold | |
| Ogresmasher | war hammer | borw | +d5 | x2 | ogres | ||
| Trollsbane | morning star | borw | +d5 | x2 | trolls | ||
| Werebane | silver saber | borw | +d5 | x2 | were | ||
| SPECIAL | |||||||
| 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. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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 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:
|
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 the guaranteed first gift for that class. Intelligent artifacts are indicated with a ! symbol. All three conditions are considered each time you attempt to wish for, pick up, or wield an artifact:
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.
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.html 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.html. The powers of the Amulet of Yendor are listed in amul-331.html.
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers <kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block <block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against demons (all & except
Death, Pestilence, Famine, the mail daemon, sandestins, and
djinni).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and +d10 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.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage to all monsters.
Confers hallucination resistance.
Silver damage against silver-hating creatures (a normal effect of
silver sabers).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d8 damage to all monsters.
Invoked
No effect.
Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Vorpal Blade.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 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), ghosts, and shades.
Prevents blinding from light-based sources.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
Confers magic resistance and telepathy.
Half damage when attacked by spells.
Invoked
Toggles invisibility on/off.
Carried
Confers magic resistance.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against monsters not of its
alignment.
Invoked
Toggles conflict on/off.
Carried
Confers magic resistance and telepathy.
Knights get double damage when: turning undead in any way; using a
spell of force bolt, magic missile, unskilled/basic cone of cold,
drain life, or finger of death; or using a wand of striking.
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
No effect.
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), ghosts, and shades.
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.
Carried
Acts as luckstone.
Wielded
+d8 damage to all monsters.
5% chance (based on your to-hit roll) of extra damage:
Invoked
No effect.
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers <kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block <block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d3 to hit and +d6 damage to all monsters.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against giants, stone giants, hill
giants, fire giants, frost giants, storm giants, giant mummies,
giant zombies, Cyclops, and Lord Surtur. Note that it does not
affect ettins or titans.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d3 to hit and +d4 damage to all monsters.
May also probe, stun, scare, or purge (see
section below).
Confers magic resistance.
Protects inventory against 95% of curses.
Invoked
No effect.
Note: You can also engrave "Elbereth" with any non-cursed athame
and it won't dull the weapon.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and +d24 damage against monsters that are NOT shock-
resistant.
Can only be thrown when you have strength 25 (such as with
gauntlets of power) 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.
Invoked
No effect.
Note: Does NOT provide shock resistance!
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and +1 damage to all monsters.
Instantly kills Jabberwocks.
5% 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.
Invoked
No effect.
Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Snickersnee.
Carried
Confers stealth.
Does x2 damage if slung at monster.
Invoked
Toggles levitation on/off.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
x2 damage to all non-level-drain-resistant monsters (all except
undead, demons, were-creatures, and Death).
Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from non-level-drain-resistant monsters.
Confers hungerless regeneration and protection from level
drain.
Invoked
Heals half hp loss, cures sickness, unblinds and unslimes.
Carried
Confer magic resistance.
Worn
Confer X-ray vision (astral vision).
Invoked
Enlightenment.
Carried
Confers magic resistance and telepathy.
Half damage when attacked by spells.
Invoked
Charges objects like a scroll of charging with the same blessed/
cursed status. Only Tourists can perform blessed charging.
Carried
Confers warning and half spell damage.
Half damage when attacked physically.
Acts as a luckstone.
Invoked
Level teleport.
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.
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers <kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block <block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d2 to hit and +d6 damage to all monsters.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies,
and orc zombies).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies,
and orc zombies).
Confers the warning intrinsic, specifically attuned to orcs.
Cuts through all webs.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
Attacks tame and peaceful monsters without confirmation.
+d5 to hit and +d2 damage to all non-level-drain-resistant
monsters (all except undead, demons, were-creatures, and Death).
Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from non-level-drain-resistant monsters.
Protects from level drain.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
Confers telepathy.
Wielded
Confers reflection.
Invoked
Creates 7-16 uncursed arrows if uncursed, 7-21 blessed arrows if
blessed, 6-11 cursed arrows if cursed.
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.
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers <kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block <block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against dragons (all D).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT
fire-resistant.
Confers fire resistance.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT
cold-resistant.
Confers cold resistance.
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against ogres (all O).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against trolls (all T).
Invoked
No effect.
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 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).
Invoked
No effect.
* These artifacts are adjusted if necessary to match the starting alignment of a player of their class.
[Adapted from a spoiler courtesy of David Grabiner <grabiner@math.la.asu.edu>.]
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 d4 damage, and 40% of your hits (based on your to-hit die roll) have a magical effect.
| ENCHANT | NORMAL | PROBE | STUN | SCARE | SCARE + STUN | SCARE + PURGE | SCARE +ST+PG | AVE DMG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damage | 2d4 | 3d4 | 4d4 | 4d4 | 5d4 | 5d4 | 6d4 | -- |
| Ave dmg | 5 | 7.5 | 10 | 10 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 15 | -- |
| 0 | 60% | 0% | 20% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 10% | 7.75 |
| 1 | 60% | 2% | 18% | 1% | 9% | 1% | 9% | 8.65 |
| 2 | 60% | 4% | 16% | 2% | 8% | 2% | 8% | 9.55 |
| 3 | 60% | 9% | 21% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 10.075 |
| 4 | 60% | 12% | 18% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 10.975 |
| 5 | 60% | 15% | 15% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 11.875 |
| 6 | 60% | 21% | 14% | 3% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 12.525 |
| 7 | 60% | 24.5% | 10.5% | 3.5% | 1.5% | 0% | 0% | 13.425 |
| 8 | 60% | 28% | 7% | 4% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 14.325 |
| 9 | 60% | 36% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 15.100 |
| more | 60% | 40% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6.000+bonus |
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 d4 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). 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.
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 high 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.
[Adapted from a spoiler courtesy of David Grabiner <grabiner@math.la.asu.edu>.]
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 are artifacts are not listed, because they are only effective against a small subset of monsters. The SKILL category of each artifact is listed, as well as the maximum skill level for each class (ABCHKMPRaRoSTVW): - means restricted to unskilled, b means basic skill, s means skilled, and E means expert. 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 damage range of each artifact against typical SMALL creatures, LARGE creatures, and major DEMONs. The damage calculations assume that the artifact is enchanted as shown, you have expert skill, and that the artifact's special attacks apply to the monster; the Longbow of Diana assumes that you are using normal +0 arrows fired at a rate of up to 4 a round (expert Ranger). Damage against major demons further assumes that the weapon is blessed and that the demon hates silver, is fire-resistant, and is drain-resistant. Finally, the table summarizes the average damage against major demons (DAVE), which are often the nastiest creatures in the dungeon. Magicbane's actual damage is slightly greater due to its special attacks, but it doesn't make a difference here.
| ARTIFACT | SKILL | ABCHKMPRaRoSTVW | SMALL | LARGE | DEMON | DAVE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2 Magicbane (MB) | Dagger | bbbsb--E E bEEE | 6-12 | 6-11 | 7-15 | 11.0 |
| +7 Staff Aesculapius | Quarterstaff | sbEE-bEb - bbbE | 19-36 | 19-36 | 11-19 | 15.0 |
| +7 Stormbringer (SB) | Broadsword | -s--s--- s sbs- | 13-27 | 13-26 | 12-20 | 16.0 |
| +7 Grimtooth | Dagger | bbbsb--E E bEEE | 11-18 | 11-18 | 12-22 | 17.0 |
| +7 Sunsword | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 10-17 | 10-21 | 11-25 | 18.0 |
| +7 Fire Brand | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 18-32 | 18-40 | 11-25 | 18.0 |
| +7 Vorpal Blade | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 11-18 | 11-22 | 12-26 | 19.0 |
| +7 Longbow Diana | Bow | -bs-b-bE - Eb-- | 3-32 | 3-32 | 4-48 | 20.0 |
| +7 Snickersnee | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 11-27 | 11-29 | 12-33 | 22.5 |
| +7 Excalibur (EX) | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 11-27 | 11-31 | 12-35 | 23.5 |
| +7 Cleaver | Axe | -Es-s--s - -bEs | 12-27 | 13-29 | 14-33 | 23.5 |
| +7 Sceptre of Might | Mace | -sEbs-E- s b-b | 20-30 | 18-28 | 19-32 | 25.5 |
| +7 Mjollnir (MJ) | Hammer | -Es-b-Eb b -bE- | 12-38 | 11-37 | 12-41 | 26.5 |
| +7 Tsurugi Muramasa | Two-hand swd | -E--s--- b EbE- | 11-32 | 13-37 | 14-41 | 27.5 |
| +7 Demonbane | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 10-17 | 10-21 | 19-44 | 31.5 |
| +7 Frost Brand (FB) | Long sword | -s--E--- s EbE- | 18-32 | 18-40 | 19-44 | 31.5 |
| +7 Grayswandir (GS) | Saber | Eb-bs--- s bsb- | 18-32 | 18-32 | 20-56 | 38.0 |
Six artifacts are particularly good all-purpose weapons and will be considered further. Magicbane (MB) has several magical effects (see section above) that make it a good weapon even though it doesn't cause much damage. It works best when enchanted at +2, as it loses its magical powers rapidly if you enchant it more. Magicbane is also good if you don't have magic resistance or are short of ways to remove curses. Stormbringer (SB) permanently drains levels from monsters -- although some species are resistant, including major demons -- and will attack tame or peaceful creatures without confirmation, so it's bad if you're trying to keep a pet. Excalibur (EX) is easy to get if you are lawful (dip a long sword in a fountain), has automatic searching, and is a somewhat effective weapon. Mjollnir (MJ) causes lightning damage, and when thrown by a Valkyrie with strength 25, will usually return to your hand. Being a hammer, it is good for classes who are restricted from blades. Frost Brand (FB) causes cold damage, which makes it an excellent all-around weapon. Although Fire Brand similarly causes fire damage, most major demons are fire-resistant. Finally, Grayswandir (GS) doubles most of its damage (working best when fully enchanted) and causes silver damage. Even though Grayswandir causes the most damage to major demons, Frost Brand is slightly better against ordinary large monsters.
The table below compares these six artifacts for each character CLASS. The EARLY GAME recommendation assumes that you will quickly reach maximum skill in the weapon and that the weapon is enchanted to +2, which might be expected from wishing or limited enchantment. The LATE GAME recommendation assumes that you are maximally skilled and that the weapon is enchanted as in the above table. If a weapon is listed with a slash, this means that several are comparable and the choice may depend on other factors. An artifact is listed in parentheses if its skill starts as restricted; you will usually want to obtain it or a weapon of its class as a divine gift in order to unrestrict the skill before using it.
The weapons listed include any weapon which could reasonably be the best for that class, as well as weapons which may be obtained without a wish and which are close in quality. Excalibur is a good weapon early in the game for lawful characters, because it does almost as much damage as Frost Brand and can be obtained without a wish; its lack of double damage makes it inferior later, as Frost Brand's damage and strength bonuses will be doubled. The Staff of Aesculapius and the Tsurugi of Muramasa, Quest Artifacts for Healers and Samurai, are powerful weapons; they have the disadvantage of requiring two hands, but both do more damage early in the game than any other available weapon. The Tsurugi becomes inferior late in the game, because its damage bonus is not doubled.
| CLASS | EX | FB | GS | MB | MJ | SB | EARLY GAME | LATE GAME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc | - | - | E | b | - | - | GS | GS |
| Bar | s | s | b | b | E | s | MJ | FB |
| Cav | - | - | - | b | s | - | MJ/(FB)/(EX) | (FB)/GS/MJ |
| Hea | - | - | b | s | - | - | SoA/MB/(MJ)/GS | SoA/(FB)/GS |
| Kni | E | E | s | b | b | s | FB/MJ/EX | FB |
| Mon | - | - | - | - | - | - | None | None |
| Pri | - | - | - | - | E | - | MJ/(FB)/(EX) | (FB)/MJ/(GS) |
| Ran | - | - | - | E | b | - | MB/LoD | MJ |
| Rog | s | s | s | E | b | s | MJ/SB/MB | FB/GS |
| Sam | E | E | b | b | - | s | ToM/FB/EX | FB |
| Tou | b | b | s | E | b | b | MJ/MB | GS/FB |
| Val | E | E | b | E | E | s | MJ/EX | FB/MJ |
| Wiz | - | - | - | E | - | - | MB | (FB)/(GS) |
It's interesting that Magicbane does so well early in the game; this is a side effect of the weapon skills. Even for those classes which don't have it listed, it's a good artifact to wish for because it serves other useful purposes (magic resistance, engraving, and curse resistance). It's a useful weapon to keep as your main weapon after you have killed the Wizard; you can switch to Frost Brand when a lot of nasties appear, because Magicbane takes a long time to kill them, and powerful creatures will resist Magicbane's special attacks.
Thanks again to David Grabiner <grabiner@math.la.asu.edu>.
Pat Rankin <rankin@eql.caltech.edu>
corrected artifact costs and their chances of being received from
wishes.
Bruce Cox <mathetes@tig.com.au>
corrected to-hit bonuses.
Kieron Dunbar <noreik@dimetrodon.demon.co.uk>
corrected the Mitre of Holiness.
Darshan Shaligram <darshans@aztec.soft.net>
corrected the Longbow of Diana, Magicbane, the Staff of
Aesculapius, and Stormbringer, and angels.
Rob Ellwood <rob.ellwood@shaw.ca>
corrected the behaviour of cross-aligned Quest Artifacts.