Artifact

An artifact is a rare and unique object. Most players sacrifice to their god because gods sometimes provide artifacts as gifts. Some NetHack players like to wish for artifacts, although it has been argued that a Barbarian pretending to know the correct spelling of the Eye of the Aethiopica is somewhat out-of-style.

The, the English definite article, is placed before the name of any artifact. For example, the blessed +2 Magicbane or the Orb of Fate. True to grammar, there can only be one of each artifact; if one that has already been generated (or your own quest artifact) is loaded in a bones level, it is converted into its base item type.

Shopkeepers like to rip off adventurers who buy or sell artifacts. They charge four times normal price for them, but only pay a fourth of the normal selling price for them. Thus, one should use a pet to steal any artifacts generated in shops, and never sell them unless desperate for cash.

List of artifacts

See Source:artilist.h or the article for each artifact for more details.

Artifact name	Base item type	Alignment	Special properties	Obtaining
Bell of Opening	bell (silver bell)	unaligned	Invocation ritual. Detect secret doors & traps. Opening.	Obtained by killing quest nemesis.
Book of the Dead	spellbook (papyrus spellbook)	unaligned	Invocation ritual. Tame undead. Raise the dead.	Obtained by killing the Wizard of Yendor.
Candelabrum of Invocation	candelabrum	unaligned	Invocation ritual.	Obtained by killing Vlad the Impaler.
Cleaver	battle-axe (two-headed axe)	neutral	+d3 to-hit & +d6 damage.	First sacrifice gift for Barbarians.
Demonbane	long sword	lawful	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to major demons.	May be given to a new angelic being.
Dragonbane	broadsword	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to dragons.
Excalibur	long sword	lawful	+d5 to-hit & +d10 damage. Drain resistance. Searching. Hostile demon princes. Monster tracking. Intelligent.	May be produced for lawful adventurers at fountains. Lawful crowning gift.
The Eye of the Aethiopica	amulet of ESP (random amulet)	neutral	Magic resistance. Energy regeneration. Half spell damage. Branchport. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Wizards.
The Eyes of the Overworld	pair of lenses	neutral	Astral vision. Protection against blindness & gazes. Enlightenment. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Monks.
Fire Brand	long sword	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to non-fire-resistant monsters. Fire resistance.
Frost Brand	long sword	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to non-cold-resistant monsters. cold resistance.
Giantslayer	long sword	neutral	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to giants.
Grayswandir	silver saber	lawful	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage. Protection against hallucination.
Grimtooth	orcish dagger (crude dagger)	chaotic	+d2 to-hit & +d6 damage.
The Heart of Ahriman	luckstone	neutral	Stealth. Levitation. +d5 to-hit & x2 damage. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Cavepeople.
The Longbow of Diana	bow	chaotic	+d5 to-hit. Telepathy. Reflection. Create arrows. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Rangers.
The Magic Mirror of Merlin	mirror (looking glass)	lawful	Magic resistance. Telepathy. x2 to some spell damage. Rumors. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Knights.
Magicbane	athame	neutral	+d3 to-hit. Special damage. Magic resistance. Protects against cursing.	First sacrifice gift for Wizards.
The Master Key of Thievery	skeleton key (key)	chaotic	Warning. Half physical damage. Teleport control. Rumors. Untraps. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Rogues.
The Mitre of Holiness	helm of brilliance (random helmet)	lawful	Fire resistance. Half damage from undead & demons. Energy boost. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Priests.
Mjollnir	war hammer	neutral	+d5 to-hit & +d24 damage to non-shock-resistant monsters. Can return when thrown.	First sacrifice gift for Valkyries.
Ogresmasher	war hammer	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to ogres.
The Orb of Detection	crystal ball (glass orb)	lawful	Magic resistance. Half spell damage. Telepathy. Invisibility. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Archeologists.
The Orb of Fate	crystal ball (glass orb)	neutral	Half physical damage. Half spell damage. Warning. Luck. Level teleport. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Valkeries.
Orcrist	elven broadsword (runed broadsword)	chaotic	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to orcs.	May be produced by naming an ordinary elven broadsword Orcrist.
The Platinum Yendorian Express Card	credit card	neutral	Magic resistance. Half spell damage. Telepathy. Charging. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Tourists.
The Sceptre of Might	mace	lawful	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to cross-aligned monsters. Magic resistance. Conflict. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Cavepeople.
Snickersnee	katana (samurai sword)	lawful	+d8 damage.	First sacrifice gift for Samurai.
The Staff of Aesculapius	quarterstaff (staff)	neutral	x2 damage & level drain to non-drain-resistant monsters. Hungerless regeneration. Drain resistance. Healing, curses sickness, blindness, & sliming. Intelligent.	Quest artifact of Healers.
Sting	elven dagger (runed dagger)	chaotic	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to orcs. Warning of orcs. Cuts through webs.	May be produced by naming an ordinary elven dagger Sting.
Stormbringer	runesword	chaotic	+d5 to-hit, +d2 damage & level drain to non-drain-resistant monsters. Drain resistance. Bloodthirsty. Intelligent.	Chaotic crowning gift.
Sunsword	long sword	lawful	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to undead. Light. Protection from light-based blinding.	May be given to a new angelic being.
Trollsbane	morning star	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to trolls.
The Tsurugi of Muramasa	tsurugi (long samurai sword)	lawful	+d8 damage. 5% chance of extra damage, including possible beheading. Luck. Intelligent.	Quest artifact for Samurai.
Vorpal Blade	long sword	neutral	+d5 to-hit & +1 damage. 5% chance of beheading. Instantly kills jabberwocks.	Neutral crowning gift.
Werebane	silver saber	unaligned	+d5 to-hit & x2 damage to werecreatures.

See also

• Artifact weapon
• Quest artifact
• Artifact blast
• Artifact YANIs
• SLASH'EM Artifacts

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