Stormbringer

)   Stormbringer
Base item	runesword
Damage vs. small	2d4 +1d2+1d8 (4-18)
Damage vs. large	1d6+1 +1d2+1d8 (4-17)
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	not drain resistant
Weapon skill	broadsword
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	chaotic intelligent
When carried	(none)
When wielded	bloodthirsty drain resistance
When invoked	(none)
Base price	8000 zm
Weight	40
Material	iron

Stormbringer is a chaotic artifact, as well as the only runesword normally generated in the game. It is considered a broadsword for skill purposes. It drains life from monsters it attacks ("The black blade draws the life from <monster>!"), healing you for a few hit points per attack. It is bloodthirsty, attacking peaceful monsters and pets without confirmation if you attempt to move onto their square. ("Your bloodthirsty blade attacks!")

The damage and to-hit bonuses are applied only against creatures not resistant to level drain.

Stormbringer is a great melee weapon for Chaotic Rangers. As soon as you get it, you can dump your Sting. A +7 Stormbringer will easily clear out hordes of monsters in places like Fort Ludios or the Astral Plane. It will also be an important weapon in Gehennom where projectiles can't be reliably used if the area isn't mapped out.

It's generally preferable to not have pets if you're using Stormbringer, as even a careful player may accidentally attack a pet with it. If you wish to have both Stormbringer and a pet, be sure the pet has a high enough health to withstand being hit accidentally, and also keep its tameness up to ensure it doesn't go feral. In addition, it is suggested that you wield something else when dealing with peaceful creatures such as aligned priests or shopkeepers.

Elvish priests and elvish rangers can arrange for their first sacrifice gift to be Stormbringer: Since the first one will always be co-aligned and does not hate your race, only Sting and Orcrist compete with Stormbringer, both of which can be #named. In rare cases, if Stormbringer has already been generated by random chance, this will preclude sacrifice gifts altogether. A helm of opposite alignment can remedy the situation.

Encyclopedia description

       There were sounds in the distance, incongruent with the
       sounds of even this nameless, timeless sea: thin sounds,
       agonized and terrible, for all that they remained remote -
       yet the ship followed them, as if drawn by them; they grew
       louder - pain and despair were there, but terror was
       predominant.
       Elric had heard such sounds echoing from his cousin Yyrkoon's
       sardonically named 'Pleasure Chambers' in the days before he
       had fled the responsibilities of ruling all that remained of
       the old Melnibonean Empire.  These were the voices of men
       whose very souls were under siege; men to whom death meant
       not mere extinction, but a continuation of existence, forever
       in thrall to some cruel and supernatural master.  He had
       heard men cry so when his salvation and his nemesis, his
       great black battle-blade Stormbringer, drank their souls.
               [ The Lands Beyond the World, by Michael Moorcock ]

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