Plutonium sword

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

A triple sword made of weird glowing metal. It irradiates those it strikes, causing a range of unpredictable effects — if they survive the impact of the blade itself, that is.

the +11 plutonium sword

+11 triple sword

Causes malmutate, extra damage, or polymorph on 20% of strikes
Causes magic contamination when unwielded
Chaotic
-50 stealth

Desirability

The plutonium sword combines high damage output with the occasional effect. The sword has a 2% chance to polymorph the target, which can occasionally turn a minor threat into something dangerous. A +9 triple sword with decent brand can outdamage this sword, though you'll have to find another triple sword to begin with.

If you need to unwield it, you can quaff potions of cancellation to safely reduce your magical contamination.

History

• In 0.20, the enchantment was reduced to +11.
• In 0.15, the enchantment was changed from +12, +16 to +14. Stealth penalty was increased to -50 from -20.
• In versions 0.14 and 0.15, it was a claymore instead of a triple sword.
• Prior to 0.12, this sword would curse itself when wielded and contaminated you lightly every turn you held it. Combined with the fact that it did not inflict Transmutation miscast effects, this made it extremely hazardous and much less desirable to use.