Artifact Question

[Taqwus]

The Soulstone of the Wolves is great fun in battle, because the free wolves -- which appear in fairly large numbers along the sides of the battlefield, including inside the enemy fortress if there is one -- can distract the enemy and thus save your own troops in addition to any damage they due to flanks and rear.

The Chalice is one of only two ways for removing afflictions on any lifeless commanders, the other being Gift of Health; most lifeless units aren't eligible for the other means, such as immortality and returning from the dead (Call God). This is particularly useful for somebody like R'lyeh who expects more feebleminds than usual...

The Alchemist's Stone gives a 50% income boost to alchemy with no limit on how much you benefit from it in a single turn, IIRC. For certain nations and strategies, this may matter a lot; e.g. (Dead) Ermor has few taxpayers and disproportionately needs alchemy, while Machaka is an obvious candidate for massing Fever Fetishes on cheap Mound Kings.

For a necromancer aspiring to create a Tartarian Factory, the Sceptre of Dark Regency gives +3 Death in a single slot for 40 death gems.


For objects with nasty side-effects, Kurgi and the Banefire Sceptre (which is just lovely in terms of how much damage it does) both summon Horrors with some frequency. The Forbidden Light is probably much worse. Some have a risk of own-goaling, like the Stone Sword and the Sword of Many Colors (neither should be wielded without MR boosters).

There are items whose value might be dubious; the Gloves of the Gladiator might count, as they occupy two weapon slots and, IIRC, the multiple attacks work in such a way that they can only be used on a single target per turn. The Stymphalian Wings -can- be a mixed blessing, in that it provides trampling which prevents the use of a possibly far more effective weapon attack on smaller monsters. Sty Wings probably shouldn't be given to a Tartarian, for instance, because at that point you can almost certainly afford a better weapon.