Draft:Defender

Omega 0.90.4

Defender)Base damage rating10Base hit bonus+12Normal attack typeThrustingHands1Weight50

Defender, also called the Holy Defender in the Duke's quest, is a one-handed weapon appearing as an estoc. It begins with +7 enchantment and blessing strength +7, grants 12 points of physical absorption while used, and weakens certain demons and spirits. Its holy attack can severely punish a chaotic wielder.

Generation

The Great Wyrm at the bottom of the Rampart Sewers carries Defender. Archangels and the LawBringer also begin with it. These fixed possessions copy the +7 enchantment and +7 blessing; ordinary carried-item drops can make the sword recoverable.

Defender is also eligible for random treasure, pawn-shop stock and acquirement, preserving its fixed properties. It has item level 7 and base value 3,000 Au. Julie's does not stock it; the ordinary estoc is a different item.

Protection and holy attacks

Wielding fully identifies Defender and adds its base hit rating, 12, to Protection. This improves Arm absorption, not Def hit avoidance; the +7 enchantment is not part of the protection bonus. Ordinary equipping grants that protection even if the sword is not blessed.

While positively blessed, a landed attack against a demon-special or spirit-melee creature sets that creature's hit rating to zero and doubles its action delay. Repeated qualifying hits double the delay again. The attack then deals ordinary physical damage; a zero monster hit rating does not prevent the hit test's natural-zero success.

If the player is chaotic when a blessed Defender's attack lands, it instead begins with 50 unstoppable damage to the player, removes 12 Protection, changes enchantment to its negative absolute value and makes the sword cursed at -1. The now-cursed sword does not apply the holy weakening, though the ordinary physical attack still follows.

Protection after backlash

The backlash does not mark the sword as unequipped. Later removing it subtracts 12 Protection again. Starting from no other Protection, normal equip gives +12, chaotic backlash returns the value to 0, and subsequent removal leaves -12. Negative absorption can increase ordinary HP damage. Repeated normal removal and re-equipping does not repair the missing 12 points.

The light curse itself can be neutralized by ordinary blessing or sufficient self-dispelling. Those operations do not automatically repair this separate Protection deficit. Check Arm after resolving the curse and changing equipment; do not assume the harmful consequences ended merely because the sword can be removed.

The Duke's quest

After surrendering the Goblin King's corpse, an Esquire is asked for a Holy Defender. Giving a Defender to the Duke consumes the sword, grants 1,000 experience and promotes the player to Knight. The check requires the item kind, not a particular blessing or enchantment and not proof that the Great Wyrm was killed.

The hand-in automatically finds the first matching accessible item, then searches the backpack only if necessary. There is no copy-selection prompt and no curse exemption. Store a sword you intend to keep outside carried inventory before presenting a spare; simply packing the preferred sword is not a reliable way to protect it.

Other uses

A thrown Defender retains its attack's alignment and target checks, while throwing a used copy first removes its equipment protection. A merely carried blessed spare thrown by a chaotic character can still cause backlash. Tunneling doubles base damage to a contribution of 20, but a thrusting-weapon mishap can damage it.

Disenchantment can remove its equipment protection and reset enchantment to zero without removing its holy or chaotic attack branches. The name alone therefore does not prove that the protection is still present.

Strategy

For a neutral or lawful character, the combination of one-handed use, strong accuracy and 12 absorption makes Defender useful well before its quest turn-in. Arrange a replacement or acquire a spare before seeking the Knight promotion. A mace of disruption is more decisive against spirit-melee creatures, but provides no corresponding absorption.

Avoid using a blessed Defender as a chaotic character, including as a thrown spare. Its negative Protection aftermath makes the risk larger than the initial 50 damage. The sword's protection also does not replace elemental immunities: fire, acid and other nonphysical damage ignore ordinary Arm.