# The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa

)   The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa   

Base item

great dagger

Damage vs. small

1d6 +4 + level drain

Damage vs. large

1d7 +4 + level drain

To-hit bonus

+2 +8

Bonus versus

cross-aligned

Weapon skill

dagger

Size

one-handed

Affiliation

chaoticNecromancerintelligent

When carried

magic resistance

When wielded

When invoked

energy boost

Base price

50000 zm

Weight

20

Material

Iron

In SLASH'EM, The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa is the Necromancer quest artifact. Its attack can drain life, indicated by the message "The Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa draws the life from (target)!" When carried, it grants magic resistance. It can be invoked to boost energy, similar to the Mitre of Holiness.

Strategy
As a weapon, the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa is weaker than many chaotic artifacts, including the Necromancer's first guaranteed sacrifice gift, Serpent's Tongue. For comparison, a +7 Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa will do, on average vs. non-chaotics, 3.5 base + 4 cross-aligned bonus + 7 enchantment bonus = 14.5 damage vs. small and 15 damage vs. large foes plus level drain, and only 10.5/11 vs. chaotic foes; a +7 Serpent's Tongue will do (2.5 base + 7 enchantment bonus) x 2 = 19 vs. small and 18 vs. large regardless of alignment, PLUS an additional ~10 average damage and 10% instakill versus non-poison resistant foes. While the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa may be marginally stronger if you haven't found any scrolls of enchant weapon, most Necromancers who are able to defeat Maugneshaagar will have better options for fighting. Its key benefits are the magic resistance it grants and the energy boost it provides. Because of these, it is a popular wish for chaotic spellcasters in SLASH'EM, as chaotic spellcasters can't make use of the Mitre of Holiness or the Eye of the Aethiopica (unless obtained from the Wizard Quest) for energy regeneration and the Master Key of Thievery's coveted half physical damage extrinsic can be supplied by the Hand of Vecna.
Since most Necromancers don't cast many spells in the early game, this item is generally obtained around the time that a necromancer is switching from playing as a tank to playing as a spellcaster. Given the low max power that Necromancers attain (compared with Priests or Wizards), you will find yourself frequently relying on the power recharge function. It is therefore helpful to know the optimum invocation schedule to maximize this benefit.