| Moon Sickle ( ( ) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Item Type | Weapon |
| Artifact? | Yes |
| Weight | 70s |
| Danger Level | N/A |
| Material | Adamantium |
The scythe of corruption "Moon Sickle" is a guaranteed artifact polearm-class two-handed weapon.
Moon Sickle has reasonably powerful stats for a two-hander ((+6, 10d4+6) [+2, +2]) but lacks special offensive/defensive powers. Instead, it provides several negative effects on the PC:
- It is autocursing.
- It contains the Essence of Chaos and Corruption. However, unlike other such items, it does not corrupt the PC while carried/wielded. Instead, the PC will be corrupted by 2-6 points whenever they deal damage in melee with this weapon.
- Secondary effects of the Chaos Essence are still applied:
- Dipping Moon Sickle in any potion will turn the latter in a potion of raw chaos (with a small chance of spilling the liquid for minor corruption). This makes holy water useless for dealing with its autocursing property; additionally, Moon Sickle can only be blessed by using the level 40 Wizard class power.
- Sacrificing Moon Sickle will shift the PC's alignment to lawful.
In its unidentified form it always appears as the ancient scythe.
Desirability[]
While the physical stats of Moon Sickle make it reasonable for early-to-mid game (and especially more dangerous locations such as Darkforge), issues with constant corruption significantly reduce the long-term potential of the weapon.
The melee corruption can heal Chaos Knights with the level 6 class power, but only for 1 HP per hit, and even at C- Alignment with 1 Appearance it has a chance to not corrupt enough to trigger this.
Despite having a lot of drawbacks as a weapon, Moon Sickle is a useful item. The ability to create potions of raw chaos without getting the PC gradually corrupted by carrying Chaos Essence items is quite useful for players familiar with item polymorphing techniques. A guaranteed early game artifact can also be used to obtain a large sum of gold, piety or satisfy the demented ratling.
Guaranteed/Common sources[]
It can found on one of the levels in the Caverns of Chaos between Dwarftown and the wall of flames. An unnamed stone golem will always be generated on top of it and will not move from the location until the PC is spotted.
Greater Identify information[]
-------- uncursed scythe of corruption "Moon Sickle" (+6, 10d4+6) [+2, +2]------- It is an artifact. When wielded it modifies DV by +2 and PV by +2. When used in melee combat it grants a +6 bonus to hit and causes 10d4+6 points of damage. When used as a missile it grants a +0 bonus to hit and causes 1d4 points of damage. It is a permanently cursed item.