Might
Might is a status effect that adds +5 to strength and +1d10 to melee damage for its duration. There are four sources of might:
- Potions of might
- Berserking includes a might effect
- The Demonspawn mutation Powered by Pain can cause a might effect
- Chaotic Mirror may inflict might on the caster and the victim
Mechanics
The +1d10 damage is rolled separately from the effective enchantment roll (slaying + to-damage of your weapon), but the defender's AC reduction is still only applied to the total damage (i.e. it is not applied separately to the damage from the might effect). This means that as compared to +10 slaying, might gives a more consistent damage bonus that is also very slightly higher on average.
Tips & Tricks
Might is useful for dealing with monsters that are troublesome, but for which berserk or Haste would be overkill and/or unsafe - compared to those, might has no real drawbacks, so it's safe to use. Unfortunately, as it is only easily available through a potion or by going berserk, you may find yourself with a very limited number of uses per game.
Short Blades-users should be sure be bring along might before engaging in combat with extremely powerful foes. The extra damage adds up quickly when you're attacking with a quick blade.
Be careful with picking stuff up during might. You don't want to become Overloaded or Encumbered when the duration runs out.
Monster Version
This effect is usually far stronger for monsters: it multiplies their damage output by 1.5, instead of simply adding 1d10. For this reason, one should exercise extreme caution around monsters such as moths of wrath, deep troll shamans, Rupert, and Wiglaf.
History
Prior to 0.12, extending might through further quaffing of potions would inflict one point of magic contamination.