Zealot's sword

Version 0.23: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A sword made of one huge piece of crystal. Legend says it was the Shining One's gift to a worshipper. This blade is notorious for inducing bloodthirsty rage in both the wielder and all of his or her mortal followers.

the +10 zealot's sword

+10 eudemon blade

Holy wrath brand
+3 EV
rN+
Forces berserk on 5% of attacks
Berserks all friendly monsters in LoS when you go berserk

Desirability

The zealot's sword can be very useful if you can manage the berserkitis. Clarity is the best means of doing so, but it's hard to come by without being an Ashenzari worshipper. (However, Ashenzari worshippers should note that this sword cannot be cursed because it's holy.)

If you happen to have much skill in Summonings or have any other sources of generating allies (the Shining One's angelic reinforcements, for instance), you may find this weapon even more desirable, as going berserk will berserk your allies as well. This will vastly increase their combat performance, and they'll likely stay berserk long after you've returned to normal.

History

Prior to 0.20, this was known as the Sword of Jihad.

Prior to 0.19, this sword had a -50 Stealth penalty.

Prior to 0.18, the forced berserk happened on 3% of attacks.

Prior to 0.15, the sword had a +12, +10 enchantment bonus. Stealth penalty was -20 instead of -50.

Prior to 0.14, it did not allow you to berserk allies, but provided +20 MR.