Giantkiller

)   Giantkiller
Base item	axe
Damage vs. small	1d6 x2
Damage vs. large	1d4 x2
To-hit bonus	+5
Bonus versus	giants
Weapon skill	axe
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	neutral
When carried	(none)
When wielded	(none)
When invoked	(none)
Base price	800 zm
Weight	60
Material	iron

Giantkiller, a neutral axe, replaces the long sword Giantslayer in SLASH'EM. It does double damage against giants of all types (monsters represented by H, except for titans and ettins), and has a 15% chance per hit to cancel said monsters.

Generation

Any randomly generated axe has a ¹⁄₂₀ chance of being converted to Giantslayer, as it is the only artifact axe. Since axes are very common items, this makes it one of the most frequently seen artifacts.

Strategy

This weapon is even more useless than its vanilla counterpart, since it has a much weaker base item. Giants are rarely dangerous enough to be a threat even in vanilla, and SLASH'EM does not introduce any new ones (save for the Largest Giant). Even if giants were a significant threat, this weapon is hardly more effective than a normal long sword against them - it's actually less effective at enchantments below +2.

Like any useless artifact, its presence serves to make wishing and sacrificing for a good artifact more difficult. Make sure to check any weapon shops before spending an early wish on an artifact.