The Sceptre of Might

)   The Sceptre of Might   (No tile)
Base item	mace
Damage vs. small	1d6+1 ×2
Damage vs. large	1d6 ×2
To-hit bonus	+1d5
Bonus versus	cross-aligned
Weapon skill	mace
Size	one-handed
Affiliation	lawful Caveman intelligent
When carried	(none)
When wielded	magic resistance
When invoked	toggles conflict
Base price	2500 zm
Weight	30
Material	iron

The Sceptre of Might is the Caveperson quest artifact. It is the prize for completing the Caveman quest, and its default alignment is lawful. Its base item type is a mace.

Generation

For Cavepeople, The Sceptre of Might always generates blessed on the Caveman quest goal level, where it is always placed on the square of the Chromatic Dragon at level creation.

Description

While wielded, The Sceptre of Might has +d5 to-hit and deals double damage against monsters with a different alignment than the Sceptre, and also grants magic resistance. Invoking The Sceptre of Might toggles conflict on or off: conflict caused by the Sceptre does not cause the usual nutrition drain, and ends if the artifact leaves the hero's inventory.

Strategy

For optimized invocation, see Invoke#Optimum invocation schedule.

Thanks to its alignment-based double damage, The Sceptre of Might is one of the best weapons in the game versus cross-aligned monsters, and your quest artifact is always co-aligned. Since most monsters in the game are either neutral or chaotic, for lawful characters the Sceptre is a great weapon, comparable even with a similarly enchanted Grayswandir against most non-silver hating monsters. However, the Sceptre is a somewhat weaker artifact for neutral Cavepeople; this becomes particularly noticeable in Gehennom, where no lawful monsters generate. Erosion-proofing is recommended in either case, as quest artifacts are not generated damage-proof like sacrifice gifts; a backup source of magic resistance is also recommended, as the Wizard of Yendor can steal the Sceptre from you.

The magic resistance, damage bonuses and conflict toggle also make the Sceptre of Might a viable (though optional) artifact wish for Knights and lawful Priests that have an early one to spare.

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	Coaligned to the Sceptre		Cross-aligned to the Sceptre
	Small monster	Large monster	Small monster	Large monster
+0 Sceptre of Might	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1=\bold{4.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}=\bold{3.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+6}{2}+1 \right )\times{2}=\bold{9}$	$\left (\frac{1+6}{2} \right )\times{2}=\bold{7}$
+7 Sceptre of Might	$\frac{1+6}{2}+1+7=\bold{11.5}$	$\frac{1+6}{2}+7=\bold{10.5}$	$\left (\frac{1+6}{2}+1+7 \right )\times{2}=\bold{23}$	$\left (\frac{1+6}{2}+7 \right )\times{2}=\bold{21}$

History

The Sceptre of Might is introduced along with most of the other quest artifacts in NetHack 3.1.0. From this version to NetHack 3.1.3, its base item type is a quarterstaff - the Sceptre of Might is changed to its current base item in NetHack 3.2.0.

From NetHack 3.1.0 to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on those versions, The Sceptre of Might grants magic resistance while carried.

Messages

You feel like a rabble-rouser.

You invoked the Sceptre of Might and are now causing conflict.

You feel the tension decrease around you.

You invoked the Sceptre of Might (or it left your main inventory), and you are no longer causing conflict.

You feel a surge of power, but nothing happens.

You invoked the Sceptre, but you were already causing conflict by other means.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, The Sceptre of Might grants its magic resistance while carried as in NetHack 3.4.3 and previous versions, but its bonuses are significantly lowered to +3 to-hit and +5 bonus damage versus cross-aligned monsters, making it much weaker as a weapon. Artifact blasts also do far more damage, dealing 8d10 to a hero that is not lawful or a Caveperson (or 6d10 with magic resistance).

The Sceptre is still a solid artifact for its magic resistance and hunger-less conflict, but is heavily outclassed in terms of damage by other artifact weapons such as the Sword of Justice and The Stake of Van Helsing; The Crown of Saint Edward and the Magic Mirror of Merlin are also comparable candidates for lawful artifacts that grant magic resistance.

NetHack Fourk

In NetHack Fourk, The Sceptre of Might is replaced by the Big Stick as the quest artifact for Cavepeople: it grants magic resistance while wielded, has +d5 to-hit and +d12 damage against all monsters, and can be invoked for conflict akin to the Sceptre. The Sceptre of Might is made into the Priest quest artifact and changed accordingly.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, The Sceptre of Might is replaced by the Big Stick as in NetHack Fourk, and The Sceptre of Might is made into the Cleric quest artifact and changed accordingly.

EvilHack

In EvilHack, The Sceptre of Might has its base item type changed to a rod, which is made of gemstone and deals slightly more damage against large monsters (d8 versus a mace's d6), making the artifact a significantly better weapon.

If The Sceptre of Might is wished for by a non-Caveperson hero, there is a ¹⁄_x chance (where x is the amount of previous artifact wishes) of it being created successfully, and an effective ^x⁄_(x+1)² chance of a hostile Shaman Karnov generating adjacent to the character with the artifact in his possession.

Of note is that the Wizard of Yendor has a weapon attack in EvilHack, and will use the Sceptre against the hero should he steal it.

All of the above information also applies to Hack'EM.

Encyclopedia entry

This mace was created aeons ago in some unknown cave, and has been passed down from generation to generation of cave dwellers. It is a very mighty mace indeed, and in addition will protect anyone who wields it from magic missile attacks. When invoked, it causes conflict in the area around it.