Finisher

Version 0.15: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A long and sharp scythe, specially modified for combat purposes.

the +5 scythe "Finisher"

+5 scythe

Speed brand
+3 STR

Desirability

A speed brand on a two-handed weapon might sound appealing at first, but this weapon is actually not as good as it might at first seem. Firstly, it requires nearly maxed polearms skill to be effective. Secondly, a +8 bardiche of freezing will actually have better raw damage output, even before considering the effect of monster AC. By the time the player would be able to use this artefact effectively, they would quite likely have already found a good bardiche to enchant, which would ultimately be a better weapon. In short, it is not a bad weapon, but the player is likely to always have access to something better.