art1-340.html Last edited 2003-02-11 for NetHack 3.4.0
Compiled for 3.2.2 by Kevin Hugo.
Updated for 3.4.0 by Dylan O'Donnell <psmith@spod-central.org>.
HTML Conversion by Kate Nepveu <knepveu@steelypips.org>.
| ARTIFACT | ITEM | COST | GENER | ALN | +HIT | +DAM | ATTACK | DEFEND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAWFUL | ||||||||
| Demonbane | long sword | $2500 | aborw | L | +d5 | x2 | demons | |
| Excalibur | long sword | 4000 | bcdw | L ! | +d5 | +d10 | lev, search | |
| Grayswandir | silver saber | 8000 | borw | L | +d5 | x2 | silver | hallu |
| Snickersnee | katana | 1200 | borw | LS | +0 | +d8 | ||
| Sunsword | long sword | 1500 | aborw | L | +d5 | x2 | undead | |
| O Detection | crystal ball | 2500 | bq w | LA! | mgc, spell | |||
| S Might | mace | 2500 | bq w | LC! | +d5 | x2 | align | mgc |
| M Mirr Merlin | mirror | 1500 | bq w | LK! | mgc | |||
| Mitre Holiness | helm brilliance | 2000 | bq w | LP! | undead, fire | |||
| T Muramasa | tsurugi | 4500 | bq w | LS! | +0 | +d8 | bisect | luck |
| NEUTRAL | ||||||||
| Cleaver | battle axe | 1500 | b orw | NB | +d3 | +d6 | ||
| Giantslayer | long sword | 200 | b orw | N | +d5 | x2 | giants | |
| Magicbane | athame | 3500 | b orw | NW | +d3 | +d4 | magic | mgc, curse |
| Mjollnir | war hammer | 4000 | b orw | NV | +d5 | +d24 | elec | |
| Vorpal Blade | long sword | 4000 | bcorw | N | +d5 | +d1 | behead | |
| H Ahriman | luckstone | 2500 | b q w | NB! | +5 | x2 | luck | stealth |
| S Aesculapius | quarterstaff | 5000 | b q w | NH! | +0 | x2 | lev | lev, regen |
| Eyes Overworld | lenses | 2500 | b q w | NM! | mgc | |||
| PYEC | credit card | 7000 | b q w | NT! | mgc, spell | |||
| Orb of Fate | crystal ball | 3500 | b q w | NV! | luck | spell, phys | ||
| Eye Aethiopica | amulet of ESP | 4000 | b q w | NW! | mgc, spell | |||
| CHAOTIC | ||||||||
| Grimtooth | orcish dagger | 300 | b orw | C | +d2 | +d6 | ||
| Orcrist | elv broadsword | 2000 | bnorw | C | +d5 | x2 | orcs | |
| Sting | elv dagger | 800 | bnorw | C | +d5 | x2 | orcs | warn, web |
| Stormbringer | runesword | 8000 | bcorw | C ! | +d5 | +d2 | lev | lev |
| L Diana | bow | 4000 | b q w | CRa! | +d5 | 0 | reflect | |
| M Key Thievery | skeleton key | 3500 | b q w | CRo! | warn, phys | |||
| NON-ALIGNED | ||||||||
| Dragonbane | broadsword | 500 | borw | +d5 | x2 | dragons | ||
| Fire Brand | long sword | 3000 | borw | +d5 | x2 | fire | fire | |
| Frost Brand | long sword | 3000 | borw | +d5 | x2 | cold | cold | |
| Ogresmasher | war hammer | 200 | borw | +d5 | x2 | ogres | ||
| Trollsbane | morning star | 200 | borw | +d5 | x2 | trolls | ||
| Werebane | silver saber | 1500 | borw | +d5 | x2 | were | ||
| SPECIAL | ||||||||
| Bell Opening | silver bell | 5000 | g | |||||
| Can Invocation | candelabrum | 5000 | g | |||||
| Book Dead | papyrus spbook | 10000 | g | |||||
| Amulet Yendor | amulet Yendor | 30000 | 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; they are however considerably more valuable, as indicated by the COST field.
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% 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 Unique Items (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, though Wizards and Monks may instead receive a spellbook of finger of death or restore ability respectively. 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!"). 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 Unique Item 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 (non-cursed, and erodeproof if applicable) 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 be 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). Your first gift will always be co-aligned. Orcs will never receive elven weapons, or vice versa. 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 Unique Items 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.
Intelligent artifacts furthermore have an 80% chance of resisting being cursed by "malignant aura"-type curses.
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-340.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-340.html. The powers of the Amulet of Yendor are listed in amul-340.html.
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Waijers and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida.]
Carried
No effect.
Wielded
+d5 to hit and x2 damage only against demons (all & except
Death, Pestilence, Famine, the mail daemon, sandestins, and
djinn).
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.
Even eyeless monsters will be able to locate 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.
Acts as a light source.
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 and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida.]
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 art2-340.html).
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.
+d5 to hit if thrown or slung at a monster; x2 damage if slung.
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 (except from cream or
venom) and unslimes.
Carried
Confer magic resistance.
Worn
Confer X-ray vision (astral vision).
Prevent stunning effect of Archons' radiant gaze.
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 and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida.]
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.
+d5 to hit when firing arrows against all monsters.
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 and "damages" by Henri Block and Hisashi Yoshida.]
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.
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.
Corrections and clarifications provided by Bruce Cox, Kieron Dunbar, Rob Ellwood, Harold Hill, Jaakko Rajakallio, Pat Rankin, and Darshan Shaligram.