Nightingale

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)   Nightingale   (No tile)
Base item katana
Damage vs. small 1d10 +3 +(1d5 * 6) (10% chance)
Damage vs. large 1d12 +3 +(1d5 * 6) (10% chance)
To-hit bonus +2
Bonus versus (any)
Weapon skill long sword
Size one-handed
Affiliation
When carried

(none)

When wielded

(none)

When invoked
Base price 2000 zm
Weight 40
Material iron

Nightingale is an artifact weapon that appears in SlashTHEM. It is chaotic-aligned, and its base item is a katana.

Generation

Nightingale is the guaranteed first sacrifice gift for Ninjas.

Description

Nightingale deals +3 damage against all monsters, with a 110 chance of dealing an extra 1d5 * 6 damage every attack. While the average damage of +6d5 vs +1d5 * 6 is the same (18), the damage output distribution is conceptually different as you will only get values of 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30.

When invoked, Nightingale toggles invisibility.

Strategy

Although Nightingale's potential for damage is high, the 110 chance makes its output "spiky" and somewhat unreliable. With that in mind, the average damage is still on par with that of other artifact weapons like Excalibur, and the additional to-hit bonus and invisibility toggle can make Nightingale quite the powerful early- or mid-game weapon.

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.

Bonus Damage Proc
\frac{6+12+18+24+30}{5}*10%=\bold{1.8}
Weapon Small monsters Large monsters
+0 Nightingale \frac{1+10}{2}+3+1.8=\bold{10.3} \frac{1+12}{2}+3+1.8=\bold{11.3}
+7 Nightingale \frac{1+10}{2}+3+1.8+7=\bold{17.3} \frac{1+12}{2}+3+1.8+7=\bold{18.3}

Messages

The night blade howls as it slices through <monster>.
Nightingale's extra damage effect has triggered.