Doomblade
) Doomblade 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | orcish short sword |
| Damage vs. small | 1d5 +10 +(1d4 * 5) (25% chance) |
| Damage vs. large | 1d8 +10 +(1d4 * 5) (25% chance) |
| To-hit bonus | +0 |
| Bonus versus | (any) |
| Weapon skill | short sword |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
(none) |
| When wielded |
(none) |
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 1000 zm |
| Weight | 30 |
| Material | iron |
Doomblade is a chaotic artifact orcish short sword introduced in SLASH'EM and included in SpliceHack. It deals a flat extra 10 damage against all monsters, with a 25% chance of dealing an extra 1d4 * 5 damage (which is different than just 5d4) every attack. While the average damage of +5d4 vs +1d4 * 5 is the same (12.5 per proc, or 3.125 per attack), the damage output distribution of the latter is much "swingier": where a roll of 5d4 will cluster around 12.5, a roll of 1d4 * 5 will take a value of 5, 10, 15 or 20, all with equal probability. A successful proc of the extra damage is indicated by the message "You plunge the Doomblade deeply into <monster>"; however, it still deals extra damage to incorporeal or tiny monsters, despite what the message might seem to imply. You can still deal this extra damage even if wielding Doomblade as an offhand weapon (which is allowed for artifacts in SLASH'EM).
Strategy
One might consider this weapon the useful big brother to Grimtooth. Although it is somewhat rarely seen, given the multitude of artifacts in SLASH'EM, it is actually one of the best weapons in the game. On average, it will deal an extra 13 damage, which is better than Excalibur, Snickersnee, and the new Skullcrusher. Oftentimes, the extra damage is just the thing to finish off a difficult or well-armored monster, and it occurs frequently enough to be useful, as opposed to just being an occasional bonus. Even if one is unlucky with its random damage bonus, its standard damage bonus makes it a perfectly viable weapon, even in SLASH'EM's end game. Players who cannot effectively use the Bat from Hell due to being restricted in clubs may find this a worthwhile wish, as might those who want an extremely powerful artifact with which to #twoweapon.
Note that unlike most SLASH'EM artifacts with a flat to-damage bonus, Doomblade lacks a to-hit bonus. This makes using it while unskilled and/or at low XL somewhat more difficult; for high-level characters the difference is negligible.
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.
| Bonus Damage Proc |
|---|
|
| Weapon | Small monsters | Large monsters |
|---|---|---|
| +0 Doomblade | 
|
|
| +7 Doomblade | 
|
|
