Spineseeker

)   Spineseeker
Base item	stiletto
Damage vs. small	1d3 +5 +1d5 (20% chance)
Damage vs. large	1d2 +5 +1d5 (20% chance)
To-hit bonus	+5
Bonus versus	(any)
Weapon skill	knife
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	chaotic
When carried	(none)
When wielded	(none)
When invoked	(none)
Base price	1500 zm
Weight	5
Material	iron

Spineseeker is an artifact weapon that appears in SlashTHEM. It is chaotic-aligned, and its base item is a stiletto. It deals a flat extra 5 damage against all monsters, with a 20% chance of dealing an extra 1d5 damage and stunning the target for 1d5 rounds. A successful proc is indicated by the message "The gleaming blade cuts into <monster>'s <spine>".

Strategy

While the overall damage of Spineseeker is fairly low, the 20% chance of stunning the target is pretty high which means there is a chance you can permanently freeze an enemy while you pummel it to death. This all makes it a pretty attractive off-hand weapon for #two-weaponing.

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.

Weapon	Small monsters	Large monsters
+0 Spineseeker	$\frac{1+3}{2}+5+\frac{1+5}{2}*20%=\bold{7.6}$	$\frac{1+2}{2}+5+\frac{1+5}{2}*20%=\bold{7.1}$
+7 Spineseeker	$\frac{1+3}{2}+5+\frac{1+5}{2}*20%+7=\bold{14.6}$	$\frac{1+2}{2}+5+\frac{1+5}{2}*20%+7=\bold{14.1}$