Gyre and Gimble

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

Two quick blades joined by a chain. Swinging one compels the wielder to swing the other, as if they have minds of their own.

the +12 pair of quick blades "Gyre" and "Gimble"

+12 quick blade

Protection brand
Each swing attacks twice
Two-handed (except for Formicids)

Desirability

Gyre and Gimble are an unusual weapon - thematically two weapons, they are treated as a single two-handed weapon that happens to attack twice per command. With up to 6.6 attacks per turn, Gyre and Gimble take the strengths of Short Blades to an extreme - they are impacted more by 'flat' bonuses and enemy AC.

• Flat bonuses, like slaying, are amplified: dealing +1 damage/hit is twice as good if you attack twice as fast. Unfortunately, Gyre and Gimble, as protection weapons, are unable to benefit from flat damage brands like electrocution or pain.
  • Note that Gyre and Gimble can only perform 1 set of auxiliary attacks per swing. Having an aux attack with G&G is as effective as any ordinary quick blade, which is still good, just not twice-as-good.
• Conversely, enemy AC reduces damage by a flat amount. You'll tear through low-AC monsters, but high-AC threats will often shrug off the blows. You can get past this by stabbing opponents or with liberal use of might and/or berserk.

As Short Blades, Gyre and Gimble are great at stabbing. A reliable, renewable way to stab (Hexes, Mephitic Cloud, Uskayaw...) can turn G&G into a phenomenally deadly weapon; Confusing Touch works especially well.

These stratagems apply to all Short Blades, not just Gyre and Gimble. Their main advantage is doubled attack speed - more power in exchange for the shield slot. A well-branded, fully-enchanted quick blade with a shield may be the smarter choice. Formicids, of course, don't have to worry about losing their shield slot, but whether they'd prefer Gyre and Gimble over a heavy two-handed weapon is another question.

Trivia

Gyre and Gimble are a reference to the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carrol.

History

• In 0.31, Gyre and Gimble will make 4 attacks/swing (as quick blades now make 2 attacks/swing), but the attack delay will be higher. Also, the enchantment will be lowered from +12 to +8.
• Prior to 0.29, Gyre and Gimble had a +7 enchantment.
• Prior to 0.24, Gyre and Gimble had a +5 enchantment, the vorpal brand, and a -3 penalty to dexterity.
• Gyre and Gimble were added in 0.16.