Double sword

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

Name	Double sword
Skill	Long Blades
Damage	15
Accuracy	-1
Base delay (%)	15 (150%)
Min delay	7 at skill 16
Hands	1H
Size	Medium
Ranged?	No

A magical weapon with twin razor-sharp blades. According to legend, a knight once suggested the idea of a double-bladed sword to a master forger as a joke, but was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the forger capable of making such a sword, but that the weapon produced was extremely deadly.

This weapon falls into the Long Blades category. It is a one handed weapon.

Despite its ridiculous concept, the rare double sword is a desirable weapon for any Long Blades user looking to wear a shield. It has roughly the same stats as an eveningstar, though Long Blades scale with dexterity rather than strength.

Unlike the demon blade, the double sword is two-handed for Kobolds and Spriggans.

Strategy

Compared to demon blades

On most species, demon blades are mostly equivalent to double swords. If both weapons are at minimum delay, a +0 demon blade is +1% stronger than a +0 double sword against a 0 AC opponent. As the demon blade attacks faster, it is penalized more by AC, though it benefits more from slaying and auxiliary attacks.

Overall, the differences are too small to make an impact. A +9 demon blade is enough to win you the game, as is a +9 double sword. Generally, the sword you get first should be the sword that you use. (The sword you get first can benefit first from scrolls of enchant weapon).

For smaller species, the demon blade will usually come out ahead, because it does not use the shield slot.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact
Sword of Zonguldrok
Singing Sword
Maxwell's Thermic Engine

History

• Double swords had riposte and 14 base damage in 0.19, then back to 15 damage and no riposte in 0.28.
• Double swords were renamed to bastard swords in 0.14, then back to double swords in 0.16.