Eveningstar

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Eveningstar
Skill	Maces & Flails
Damage	15
Accuracy	-1
Base delay (%)	15
Min delay	7 at skill 16
Hands	1H
Size	Medium
Ranged?	No

The opposite of a morningstar. A balanced mace with a long shaft and a metal head covered in lethal spikes. “It is said to have been the favourite weapon of the Norman priest, who, objecting to the shedding of blood, had no scruple about the dashing out of brains.” -T. M. Allison, “The Flail and Kindred Tools (from a historical and literary standpoint)”, _Archaeologia Aeliana_, Third Series, vol. IV. 1908.

This weapon falls into the Maces & Flails category. It is a one handed weapon.

Not only is an eveningstar the opposite of a morningstar, it's also a superior weapon. They have the highest base damage of any one-handed weapon, around the level of demon whips for overall damage/turn. Unfortunately, they are quite rare.

Strategy

Compared to demon whips

The differences between eveningstars and demon whips are small. A +9 branded eveningstar is enough to win you the game, as is a +9 branded demon whip. Generally, the weapon you get first should be the one that you use. (The weapon you get first can benefit first from scrolls of enchant weapon).

There are cases where specific comparison is warranted. Against a 0 AC opponent, a +0 demon whip is roughly 2.6% stronger than a +0 eveningstar. The demon whip attacks faster, so it is penalized more by AC, and conversely benefits more from slaying and auxiliary attacks. Characters with lots of auxiliary attacks, like Vine Stalkers and monstrous Demonspawn will prefer a demon whip. Otherwise, it is mostly even, slightly favored towards the eveningstar. This analysis is independent of a character's strength or skill.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact
	Unrandarts
Sceptre of Torment
Sceptre of Asmodeus

History

• Prior to 0.23, the unrandart sceptre of Torment was a staff.
• Prior to 0.12, eveningstars had only 14 base damage.