Lochaber axe

Trunk-only: This article pertains to a feature of Crawl which is being tested. It will likely change before the next release, and may even be removed entirely.

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This brutal weapon, long thought lost to history, combines the extended reach of a polearm with the cleaving sharpness of an axe.

the +5 lochaber axe

+5 lochaber axe (modified bardiche; 19 damage, -7 accuracy, base delay 20)
Cleaves all targets within two tiles
Uses the higher of Axes or Polearms skill

Desirability

The lochaber axe combines reaching and cleaving for an extremely impressive supercleave. However, the stipulations make it less effective than it may seem. It has no damage brand, meaning it suffers in comparison to other two-handers. It requires a lot of skill to practically use, swinging slower and even less accurately than a base bardiche. It is also a two-hander in the first place, which many characters wouldn't want to use (and kobolds / spriggans, unable to use). So outside of extremely crowded situations, it's more of a flashy weapon than a general purpose one.

History

• The lochaber axe was reintroduced in 0.29 as an unrand artefact, with the same base stats as a pre-reaching bardiche.
• In 0.4, lochaber axes were renamed into bardiches.
• This weapon was introduced in 0.1.