Brilliance (artefact)

Version 0.32: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

This article is about the artefact. For the potion effect, see potion of brilliance. For the monster-only spell, see Aura of Brilliance.

Soon after their fall, Yredelemnul attempted to twist holy energy into a dark mockery of itself, turning it against its progenitors and weakening it against undead and demons. They found out too late that such a complete perversion was uncontrollable; the foul flame they produced destabilised or destroyed everything it was infused into, except for several demonic test subjects and one stolen holy weapon. A lesser, and more stable, version of the dark energy proved more workable, and became Yredelemnul's umbra. This is that weapon: an eveningstar with its light long fled, despite its name, and a shadow that repulses those its light used to comfort...

the +1 eveningstar Brilliance

+1 eveningstar

Foul Flame brand (does an additional 75% damage to holy beings, 25% to unholy beings, and 50% to all others, post-AC)
3 tile umbra
Evil

Desirability

Despite its low enchantment and lack of many properties, Brilliance is one of the best options for one-handed maces & flails. For most creatures, including ones that are natural and non-living, the damage bonus is equivalent to using a weapon of speed, and is less impacted by the target's AC. For undead and demonic creatures, this bonus is roughly equivalent to a weapon of flaming or freezing, but does not check any resistances. For holy creatures, this would be like using a weapon of holy wrath against them, if they were vulnerable to it, though this damage is less relevant due to very few holy creatures appearing in any given game.

Combine the good base weapon type with an incredible damage bonus, and you have a weapon that is competitive for all of a 3-rune game. For extended, where most monsters are unholy, a +9 eveningstar or demon whip of flaming/freezing/holy wrath may be a better option, but Brilliance is still a great general option for dealing damage.

History

• In 0.32, Brilliance was restored with a new brand and flavour.
• Prior to 0.19, Brilliance was a +1 eveningstar of holy wrath, that gave +5 AC, +5 INT, rN+, Stealth- and a 3 tile halo. The halo effect was moved onto Eos.
• Prior to 0.15, this was a mace known as the mace of Brilliance. It had See invisible but only a -20 stealth penalty (pre-halo).