Elven broadsword

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Name	elven broadsword
Appearance	runed broadsword
Damage vs. small	1d6+1d4
Damage vs. large	1d6+1
To-hit bonus	+0
Weapon skill	broadsword
Size	one-handed
Base price	10 zm (+10/positive enchant)
Weight	70
Material	wood

An elven broadsword is a kind of melee weapon. It is more effective than the regular broadsword against small monsters, and because of this an effective choice for #twoweapon; it deals an average of 6 damage versus small monsters, one of the most damaging single-handed weapons in the game, compared to a longsword's 4.5. Against large creatures, however, only 4.5, compared to longsword's 6.5.

Generation

• The simplest, easiest, and most effective way to get an Elven broadsword is to kill an elf. By the time the player considers switching to a broadsword (preparing for Stormbringer, or far less likely Orcrist), or to use it for #twoweapon, they'll no doubt have killed at least a dozen—this compounded by the fact that they tend to spawn in groups. The following creatures have a special chance of being spawned with an Elven broadsword, though there are other ways to attain one:
  • All elf creatures, such as Woodland-elf, Gray-elf, Elf-lord, etc, may be spawned with one in their starting inventory. Any given elf has a 1 in 3 chance of being spawned with an Elven broadsword.

Average damage calculation

We assume the player is skilled in broadsword (no class can actually attain expert skill in that weapon category), which gives a +1 damage bonus. A blessed weapon deals 1d4 extra damage against demons and undead. The worst case scenario is against a non-undead, non-demon, large monster. The best case scenario is against a undead, demon, small monster.

Weapon	Against regular small monsters	Against regular large monsters	Worst case scenario	Best case scenario
Blessed Elven broadsword +0	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1=\bold{7}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1=\bold{5.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1=\bold{5.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1=\bold{9.5}$
Blessed Elven broadsword +7	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1+7=\bold{14}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1+7=\bold{12.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1+7=\bold{12.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1+7=\bold{16.5}$
Blessed Elven broadsword +9	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1+9=\bold{16}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1+9=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+1+9=\bold{14.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+1+9=\bold{18.5}$

Due to their abundance, it may be worth considering attempting to enchant an Elven broadsword to +8 or +9, should one be polypiling for scrolls, keeping note never to destroy the final copy. Because of this, they make an interesting choice to consider as a second weapon, as despite the low chance, a +9 Elven broadsword can compare to certain lesser artifacts in raw damage for those forced into the broadsword slot.

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