Mace of Variability

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A large mace said to have appeared when Xom grew bored with the predictability of more ordinary instruments of chaos. Striking an enemy with this weapon will occasionally unleash arcs of chaos upon any creatures nearby, leaving the wielder unharmed.

the Mace of Variability

+7 great mace
Chaos brand
20% chance to cast Chain of Chaos on hit
Color changes each turn in console mode

Mechanics

On 20% of attacks that hit, but do not kill the enemy, Chain of Chaos is cast with the following parameters:

Spell power: 74 + 1d75
Base damage: 3d(5 + power/6) (minimum 3d17, maximum 3d25)

The Chain of Chaos can "arc" to other enemies near the target.

Desirability

The Mace of Variability, like any weapon of chaos, is naturally risky to use. You can always haste or berserk the enemy you're fighting, which can make any situation much more dangerous.

If you don't care about being consistent, it can be a strong and/or fun weapon to use. Chain of Chaos has a ~92% chance to hurt (or otherwise hinder) enemies it hits, and chaos itself has a ~90% chance to do so.

History

• Prior to 0.22, it did not cast Chain of Chaos. Instead, its enchantment was variable, ranging from -4 to +16, with a 20% chance to increase by 1 and a 20% chance to decrease by 1 for every turn wielded.
• This is one of the original five artefacts in the game (the others being the Wrath of Trog, the Scythe of Curses, the Singing Sword, and the Glaive of Prune). It has evolved somewhat through the years, changing from a mace to a great mace, gaining a chaos brand, and having its variable enchantment replaced with a chain of chaos effect.