Finisher

Version 0.25: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A long and exceedingly sharp scythe, capable of eviscerating in a single blow. Its extraordinary speed is the work of a mad wizard, who spent years refining it before discarding it in a fit of rage.

the +5 scythe "Finisher"

+5 scythe

Speed brand
(50 - HD)/200 chance to instantly kill target on successful attack

Desirability

Scythes are usually very poor two-handed weapons, with the base damage of a one-handed weapon but the attack speed of the slowest two-handed weapons. However, Finisher's speed brand essentially cancels out the poor attack speed, and the chance to instantly kill your target makes it quite an appealing weapon. The instakill chance translates to around a 1-in-4 chance to kill goblins and the like, ranging to about a 1-in-10 chance to kill orbs of fire.

Finisher doesn't stand out much later on in the game, where you can generally find a glaive or bardiche with a good brand and a much better ratio of damage to speed, but it's still a weapon worth considering if you find it early. Do what you can to improve your attack speed in tough fights -- a potion of haste or Okawaru's Finesse will let you try to instagib your opponents more often. You could also learn Spectral Weapon, as the evisceration property applies to the spectral copy's attacks as well.

History

• Prior to 0.23, Finisher did not have a chance to instantly kill, but did have +3 strength.
• Prior to 0.15, "Finisher" had a +3, +5 enchantment level.