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 has expert skill in broadsword, which gives a +2 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	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2=\bold{8}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2=\bold{6.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2=\bold{6.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2=\bold{10.5}$
Blessed Elven broadsword +7	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+7=\bold{15}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2+7=\bold{13.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2+7=\bold{13.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+7=\bold{17.5}$
Blessed Elven broadsword +9	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+9=\bold{17}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2+9=\bold{15.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+2+9=\bold{15.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+\frac{1+4}{2}+2+9=\bold{19.5}$

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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