Dirge

)   Dirge
Base item	long sword
Damage vs. small	1d8 x2
Damage vs. large	1d12 x2
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	not poison resistant
Weapon skill	long sword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	chaotic
When carried	(none)
When wielded	drain resistance
When invoked	(none)
Base price	3000 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Dirge is an intelligent knight-favoring chaotic long sword. It is given to chaotic knights who sacrifice a member of their own race on a chaotic altar while wielding a long sword. It can also be given normally to any chaotic character.

As an artifact, it has +5 to-hit and is permanently poisoned. It deals an extra 1d6 like normal poisoning, but also doubles the base and enchantment damage against non-poison resistant monsters. Dirge is mediocre against poison-resistant monsters, but deals incredible amounts of damage versus monsters that don't resist poison.

Fully enchanted, to non-poison resistant creatures it deals almost as much damage as Grayws

Average damage calculation

The average damage calculations in the following table do not include bonuses from weapon skills, strength, or from using a blessed weapon against undead or demons. It also does not include the 10% chance to instantly kill non-poison resistant monsters.

Weapon	Poison-resistant		Not poison-resistant
	Small monster	Large monster	Small monster	Large monster
+0 Dirge	$\frac{1+8}{2}=\bold{4.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}=\bold{6.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+8}{2} \right )\times 2+3.5=\bold{12.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+12}{2} \right )\times 2+3.5=\bold{16.5}$
+7 Dirge	$\frac{1+8}{2}+7=\bold{11.5}$	$\frac{1+12}{2}+7=\bold{13.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+8}{2}+7\right )\times 2+3.5=\bold{26.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+12}{2}+7\right )\times 2+3.5=\bold{30.5}$