arti-322.txt  Final version 2 for NetHack 3.2.2
Compiled by Kevin Hugo <hugo@cae.wisc.edu>.

ARTIFACT       ITEM            GENER  ALN  +HIT  +DAM  ATTACK    DEFEND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~
Demonbane      long sword      aborw  L     +5    x2   demons
Excalibur      long sword       bcdw  L !   +5  +d10             lev, search
Grayswandir    silver saber     borw  L     +5    x2   silver    hallu
Ogresmasher    war hammer       borw  L     +5    x2   ogres
Snickersnee    katana           borw  LS    +0   +d8
Sunsword       long sword      aborw  L     +5    x2   undead
Werebane       silver saber     borw  L     +5    x2   were
O Detection    crystal ball     bq w  LA!                        magic, spell
S Might        mace             bq w  LC!   +5    x2   non-law   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

Cleaver        battle axe      b orw  NB    +3   +d6
Dragonbane     broadsword      b orw  N     +5    x2   dragons
Fire Brand     long sword      b orw  N     +5    x2   fire      fire
Frost Brand    long sword      b orw  N     +5    x2   cold      cold
Giantslayer    long sword      b orw  N     +5    x2   giants
Magicbane      athame          b orw  NW    +3   +d4   magic     magic, curse
Mjollnir       war hammer      b orw  NV    +5  +d24   elec
Vorpal Blade   long sword      bcorw  N     +5   +d1   behead
H Ahriman      luckstone       b q w  NB!              luck      stealth
S Aesculapius  quarterstaff    b q w  NH!   +0    x2   lev       lev, regen
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

Grimtooth      orcish dagger   b orw  C     +2   +d6
Orcrist        elv broadsword  bnorw  CE    +5    x2   orcs
Sting          elv dagger      bnorw  C     +5    x2   orcs      warn, web
Stormbringer   runesword       bcorw  C !   +5   +d2   lev       lev
Trollsbane     morning star    b orw  C     +5    x2   trolls
P Westernesse  crystal ball    b q w  CE!                        regen, spell
M Key Thievery skeleton key    b q w  CR!                        warn, phys

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 25 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  Angelic species have a 5% chance of being generated with a blessed,
    rustproof Demonbane or Sunsword.
 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!").  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, rustproof Excalibur and you exercise your
    wisdom.  If you are neutral or choatic, 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, and some classes
    get certain artifacts as their first gift.  The chance that you will
    be given a gift depends on the number of artifacts already created in
    the game:
        ARTIFACTS   0     1     2     3     4     5     6         n
        CHANCE     1/10  1/12  1/18  1/28  1/42  1/60  1/82  1/(10+2n*n)
    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, it can only appear on the floor of a bones level,
    but you can't pick it up or use 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 class' 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%  100%  2/3  2/4  2/5  2/6  2/n

The first letter of the ALN column indicates the alignment of the artifact
(Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic).  When playing a priest, the alignment of
the Mitre of Holiness will be adjusted to match the character's starting
alignment.  A second letter specifies the class aligned to the artifact;
it also indicates which quest artifact belongs to each class.  Excalibur
belongs to Knights only if you are playing a knight.  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 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 not have transgressed,
    and must not be polymorphed into something the artifact specially
    attacks.  Otherwise, you will be blasted by the artifact's power,
    sustain 4d10 damage (2d10 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 as the artifact,
    have transgressed, or are polymorphed into something the artifact
    specially attacks; damage is 4d4 (2d4 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-322.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-322.txt.  The powers of the Amulet of Yendor are listed in
amul-322.txt.


Lawful artifacts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Wayers
<kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block
<block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]

Demonbane
  (lawful long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against demons (all & except Death,
    Pestilence, Famine, the mail daemon, and djinni).
  Invoked
    No effect.

Excalibur
  (lawful long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 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.

Grayswandir
  (lawful silver saber)
  Carried
    No effect.
  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).
  Invoked
    No effect.

Ogresmasher
  (lawful war hammer)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against ogres (all O).
  Invoked
    No effect.

Snickersnee
  (lawful katana)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +d8 damage to all monsters.
  Invoked
    No effect.
  Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Vorpal Blade.

Sunsword
  (lawful long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  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), ghosts, and shades.
    Prevents blinding.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Werebane
  (lawful silver saber)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 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.

The Orb of Detection
  (lawful Archeologist crystal ball)
  Carried
    Confers magic resistance, ESP, 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
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against non-lawful monsters.
  Invoked
    Toggles conflict on/off.

The Magic Mirror of Merlin
  (lawful Knight mirror)
  Carried
    Confers magic resistance, ESP, and telepathy.
    Knights get double damage when turning undead in any way; using a
    spell of fireball, force bolt, magic missile, cone of cold, or
    finger of death; or using a wand of striking.
  Wielded
    Speaks to you (not currently implemented).
  Invoked
    No effect.

The Mitre of Holiness
  (lawful* Priest helm of brilliance)
  Carried
    Confers fire resistance.
  Worn
    Attack bonus 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.
    Priests get half damage from undead.
    Increase in intelligence and wisdom (normal helm effects).
  Invoked
    Boost in spell energy.
  *Note: When playing a priest, the alignment of the Mitre will be
   adjusted to match the character's starting alignment.

The Tsurugi of Muramasa
  (lawful Samurai tsurugi)
  Carried
    Acts as luckstone.
  Wielded
    +d8 damage to all monsters.
    5% 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.
  Invoked
    No effect.


Neutral artifacts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted from the spoilers "artifacts" by Boudewijn Wayers
<kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block
<block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]

Cleaver
  (neutral battle axe)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +3 to hit and +d6 damage to all monsters.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Dragonbane
  (neutral broadsword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against dragons (all D).
  Invoked
    No effect.

Fire Brand
  (neutral long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT fire-resistant.
    Confers fire resistance.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Frost Brand
  (neutral long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage against monsters that are NOT cold-resistant.
    Confers cold resistance.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Giantslayer
  (neutral long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against giants, stone giants, hill
    giants, fire giants, frost giants, giant mummies, giant zombies,
    Cyclops, and Lord Surtur.  Note that it does not affect ettins or
    titans.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Magicbane
  (neutral athame)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +3 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 noncursed athame and
    it won't dull the weapon.

Mjollnir
  (neutral war hammer)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 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!

Vorpal Blade
  (neutral long sword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 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, noncorporeal,
    or swallowing you.  Worms must be hit on their head segment.
  Invoked
    No effect.
  Note: Do not confuse this artifact with Snickersnee.

The Heart of Ahriman
  (neutral Barbarian luckstone)
  Carried
    Confers stealth.
  Invoked
    Toggles levitation on/off.

The Staff of Aesculapius
  (neutral Healer quarterstaff)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    x2 damage to all monsters.
    Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from monsters.  Undead, demons, were-
    creatures, and Death are immune to this attack.
    Confers hungerless regeneration and protection from level drain.
  Invoked
    Healing.

The Platinum Yendorian Express Card
  (neutral Tourist credit card)
  Carried
    Confers magic resistance, ESP, 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.

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 ESP and telepathy (normal amulet effects).
  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 Wayers
<kroisos@win.tue.nl> and "damages" by Henri Block
<block@klaava.helsinki.fi> and Hisashi Yoshida <hisa@ae.keio.ac.jp>.]

Grimtooth
  (chaotic orcish dagger)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +2 to hit and +d6 damage to all monsters.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Orcrist
  (chaotic elven broadsword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies, orc
    zombies, and the Goblin King).
  Invoked
    No effect.

Sting
  (chaotic elven dagger)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against orcs (all o, orc mummies, orc
    zombies, and the Goblin King).
    Confers the warning intrinsic.
    Cuts through all webs.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Stormbringer
  (chaotic runesword)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    Attacks tame and peacefull monsters without confirmation.
    +5 to hit and +d2 damage to all monsters.
    Drains levels (1 to 8 hp) from monsters.  Undead, demons, were-
    creatures, and Death are immune to this attack.
    Protects from level drain.
  Invoked
    No effect.

Trollsbane
  (chaotic morning star)
  Carried
    No effect.
  Wielded
    +5 to hit and x2 damage only against trolls (all T).
  Invoked
    No effect.

The Palantir of Westernesse
  (chaotic Elf crystal ball)
  Carried
    Confers hungerless regeneration, ESP, and telepathy.
    Half damage when attacked by spells.
  Invoked
    Taming.

The Master Key of Thievery
  (chaotic Rogue skeleton key)
  Carried
    Confers warning and teleport control.
    Half damage when attacked physically.
  Wielded
    Speaks to you (not currently implemented).
  Invoked
    Untraps boxes and doors with 100% success.


Magicbane
~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted from a spoiler courtesy of David Grabiner
<grabiner@math.lsa.umich.edu>.]

Magicbane has several special effects when wielded that makes 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  PURGE  AVE DMG
    ~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~~~
    Damage    2d4     3d4    4d4   5d4    6d4     --
    Ave dmg   5.0     7.5   10.0  12.5   15.0     --
      +0      60%      0%    20%   10%    10%    7.750
      +1      60%      2%    18%   10%    10%    8.700
      +2      60%      4%    16%   10%    10%    9.650
      +3      60%      9%    21%    5%     5%   10.150
      +4      60%     12%    18%    5%     5%   11.075
      +5      60%     15%    15%    5%     5%   12.000
      +6      60%     21%    14%    5%     0%   12.600
      +7      60%     24.5%  10.5%  5%     0%   13.5125
      +8      60%     28%     7%    5%     0%   14.425
      +9      60%     36%     4%    0%     0%   15.100
     more     60%     40%     0%    0%     0%    6.000 + enchantment

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.

The PROBE attack causes an extra d4 of damage and prints a probing
message.  There is a further 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 yet another 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 d4 more damage and a
chance of stunning the monster.

Finally, the PURGE attack causes yet an additional d4 damage, has the
same effect as a wand of cancellation, and 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 I obtained those
values, 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 possibly (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 not the best weapon for combat.  You may want to wield it
as your regular weapon to absorb curses while you 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
<grabiner@math.lsa.umich.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 (ABCE HKPR
STVW): - 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.  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         ABCE HKPR STVW  SMALL  LARGE  DEMON DAVE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~ ~~~~
+2 Magicbane    (MB)  Dagger        bbbE sb-E bEEE   6-12   6-11   7-15 11.0
+7 Staff Aesculapius  Quarterstaff  sbE- E-E- bbbE  19-36  19-36  11-19 15.0
+7 Stormbringer (SB)  Broadsword    -s-E -s-s sbs-  13-27  13-26  12-20 16.0
+7 Grimtooth          Dagger        bbbE sb-E bEEE  11-18  11-18  12-22 17.0
+7 Sunsword           Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  10-17  10-21  11-25 18.0
+7 Fire Brand         Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  18-32  18-40  11-25 18.0
+7 Vorpal Blade       Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  11-18  11-22  12-26 19.0
+7 Snickersnee        Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  11-27  11-29  12-33 22.5
+7 Excalibur    (EX)  Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  11-27  11-31  12-35 23.5
+7 Cleaver            Axe           -Es- -s-- -bEs  12-27  13-29  14-33 23.5
+7 Sceptre of Might   Mace          -sE- bsEs -b-b  20-30  18-28  19-32 25.5
+7 Mjollnir     (MJ)  Hammer        -Es- -bEb -bE-  12-38  11-37  12-41 26.5
+7 Tsurugi Muramasa   Two-hand swd  -E-b -s-b EbE-  11-32  13-37  14-41 27.5
+7 Demonbane          Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  10-17  10-21  19-44 31.5
+7 Frost Brand  (FB)  Long sword    -s-s -E-s EbE-  18-32  18-40  19-44 31.5
+7 Grayswandir  (GS)  Saber         Eb-s 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
somwhat 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 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 it is a good choice
only if you can unrestrict 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 Aesclapius 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
    ~~~~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~
      A    -   -   E   b   -   -   GS            GS
      B    s   s   b   b   E   s   MJ            FB
      C    -   -   -   b   s   -   MJ/(FB)/(EX)  FB/GS/MJ
      E    s   s   s   E   -   E   MB/FB/GS      FB/GS
      H    -   -   b   s   -   -   SoA/MB/MJ/GS  SoA/(FB)/GS
      K    E   E   s   b   b   s   FB/MJ/EX      FB
      P    -   -   -   -   E   -   MJ/(FB)/(EX)  (FB)/MJ/GS
      R    s   s   s   E   b   s   MJ/SB/MB      FB/GS
      S    E   E   b   b   -   s   ToM/FB/EX     FB
      T    b   b   s   E   b   b   MJ/MB         GS/FB
      V    E   E   b   E   E   s   MJ            FB/MJ
      W    -   -   -   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.


Acknowledgements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan O'Donnell <dylanw@demon.net> provided many corrections.
Thanks again to David Grabiner <grabiner@math.lsa.umich.edu>.
