Elven broadsword

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) Elven broadsword.png
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 type of one-handed melee weapon in NetHack. It uses the broadsword skill. Like other elven weapons they are made of wood, which is naturally immune to rust and corrosion, but can still burn and rot.

The elven broadsword is the base item for Orcrist, which can also be created by naming a normal elven broadsword Orcrist.

Generation

Elven broadswords make up about 0.4% of randomly generated weapons (on the floor, as death drops, or in shops).

All non-undead elves have a 1 in 3 chance of being generated with an elven broadsword in their starting inventory.[1]

Strategy

Elven broadswords are a solid choice for #twoweaponing, particularly due to their higher damage average against small monsters compared to normal broadswords. They also outdamage the long sword - another common two-weaponing candidate - in that regard (6 versus the long sword's 4.5); however, the long sword has a better damage average against large monsters (6.5 compared to 4.5).

The elven broadsword is also a good candidate for chaotics when training for Stormbringer, and it can also be used to make Stormbringer much more likely to appear as a sacrifice gift by naming Orcrist.

Average damage calculation

We assume the player is skilled in broadsword (the highest possible skill level for the weapon with any playable class), 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}

References