Hall of Blades

Once upon a time, all the daggers and axes and polearms would gather at the time of night and dance the waltz, dreaming of battlefields void of man and beast. That time is no more, yet the weapons are still there. The Hall of Blades is a single level and can be found between Vault:3 and Vault:4.

These stairs lead to the Hall of Blades. The steps seem to have been beaten and chipped by assaults from the animated weapons therein.

The Hall of Blades is a single floor branch accessed from the Vaults: 3-4, filled with randomly branded dancing weapons and little else.

Layout

All versions of the Hall of Blades' floor plan are nearly identical, mostly differentiated by shifting its orientation 90 degrees or inverting the map. The hall is a single, large chamber with diamond-shaped pillars on each side and only one staircase back to the Vaults.

Useful Info

For the most part, the only enemies and loot you're going to find here are the many dancing weapons you'll encounter. Go slowly, as the open nature of the level makes it impossible to create bottlenecks, and the fast-moving attackers are very hard to outrun. Fortunately the floor is sparsely populated enough that you can face them one or two at a time.

The dancing weapons themselves are not too dangerous when handled cautiously; melee fighters with high AC, several resistances, and a shield can handle them one or two at a time with little concern, so long as you don't find a Distortion branded weapon that lands a lucky hit and sends you to the Abyss. Casters should use non-elemental spells that have high to-hit or are completely undodgeable, such as Mystic Blast or Airstrike. Elemental spells do minimal damage, making Fireball a less-than-ideal choice.

Be aware that unique monsters CAN spawn here.

MAP
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xxxcc......cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc.......ccxxx
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xxxc.......................................................1......cxxx
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xxxc.....................................................1.2.1....cxxx
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xxxc.......................................................1......cxxx
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xxxc.......cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc...cc.......ccxxx
xxxcc.....cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.cccc.....cccxxx
xxxccc[{(ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccxxx
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ENDMAP

The weapon represented by a '2' will be chosen among one of these types: quick blade, double sword, executioner's axe, eveningstar, bardiche, or lajatang. And it will have one of these brands: vorpal, flaming, freezing, electrocution, vampiricism, draining, or venom. The '[', '{', and '(' symbols are the stairs.