The Tsurugi of Muramasa
) The Tsurugi of Muramasa 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | tsurugi |
| Damage vs. small | 1d16 +1d8 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d8+2d6 +1d8 |
| To-hit bonus | +2 |
| Bonus versus | (any) |
| Weapon skill | two-handed sword |
| Size | two-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
|
| When wielded |
|
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 4500 zm |
| Weight | 60 |
| Material | metal |
The Tsurugi of Muramasa is the Samurai quest artifact. It is the prize for completing the samurai quest. It is lawful for wishing purposes.
It is a tsurugi, a type of two-handed sword. It does 4-28 base damage, with a 5% chance of either instantly killing a small monster (or a monster engulfing you) by bisection, or doing double damage to large monsters.
Its disadvantage is being two-handed; if it becomes cursed in a fight you cannot cast spells, reach into your bag for holy water, or do anything else that requires the use of your hands. The Tsurugi is still safer than most two-handed weapons, because as an intelligent artifact it resists the curse items monster spell 80% of the time.
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. Also, they do not include the 5% chance of either instantly killing the target (if it is a small monster) or doing double the damage (if it is a large monster).
| Weapon | Small monsters | Large monsters |
|---|---|---|
| +0 Tsurugi of Muramasa | 
|
|
| +7 Tsurugi of Muramasa | 
|
|
A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:
"One thing most samurai will have to consider is two-weaponing vs the Tsurugi. As it is very easy to get Excalibur via dipping, it is worth noting that using Excalibur with the starting Katana does roughly the same amount of damage ( minus 5% bisection bonus ) as the Tsurugi. This benefit the player by not having to deal the detrimental aspects of the Tsurugi, and still doing very good damage. As such it may be beneficial to provide a damage calculation comparing the two options. "
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the Tsurugi of Muramasa has been considerably improved. As is true of any artifact weapon that simply does extra damage, the Tsurugi does +8 extra damage instead of +1d8. Moreover, the bisection effect activates 10% of the time, as opposed to 5%. However, the ability in SLASH'EM to dual-wield artifact weapons diminishes the Tsurugi's appeal considerably. Combining Excalibur and Snickersnee is an excellent option for Samurai, since both weapons are easily available to them, use the same weapon skill, and both have a flat damage bonus against all monsters. On average this will do much more damage than the Tsurugi, although it lacks the instakill chance against small monsters. A Samurai who can get his hands on one of the better lawful swords, such as Fire Brand, Frost Brand, Grayswandir, or the SLASH'EM-specific Sword of Justice can be even more powerful.
The following table summarizes the best-case scenario average damage for the Tsurugi of Muramasa versus two-weaponing the most powerful one-handed lawful swords. The following table does not include applicable strength or ring-based damage bonuses.
| Weapon(s) | Average damage vs. small | Average damage vs. large |
|---|---|---|
| Tsurugi of Muramasa | 28 + 10% instakill | 33 |
| Snickersnee + Excalibur | 49 | 52 |
| Snickersnee + Sword of Justice | 51 | 54 |
| Snickersnee + Fire Brand or Frost Brand | 51 | 56 |
| Snickersnee + Grayswandir | 61 | 62 |
| Excalibur + Sword of Justice | 52 | 56 |
| Excalibur + Fire Brand or Frost Brand | 52 | 58 |
| Excalibur + Grayswandir | 62 | 64 |
| Sword of Justice + Fire Brand or Frost Brand | 54 | 60 |
| Sword of Justice + Grayswandir | 64 | 66 |
| Fire Brand + Frost Brand | 53 | 61 |
| Fire Brand or Frost Brand + Grayswandir | 64 | 68 |
Note: Best case for all listed weapons assumes expert in the relevant skill (two-handed sword or two-weapon combat and long sword and/or saber), attacking an undead or demon with a blessed weapon, enchanted to +7, and the following additional restrictions apply to each weapon:
- Excalibur: none
- Snickersnee: none
- Sword of Justice: not lawfully aligned
- Fire Brand: not fire resistant
- Frost Brand: not cold resistant
- Grayswandir: silver-hating (only demons are both silver-hating and suffer blessed damage
Encyclopedia entry
This most ancient of swords has been passed down through the
leadership of the Samurai legions for hundreds of years. It
is said to grant luck to its wielder, but its main power is
terrible to behold. It has the capability to cut in half any
creature it is wielded against, instantly killing them.
