Weapon of X-Slaying: Difference between revisions

There may be some overlap with [[Achilles Heel]]; in such cases, consider the weapon's effectiveness against things that ''aren't'' the [[Nigh Invulnerable]] critter.

 

 

Compare [[The Hunter]], who is a ''person'' dedicated to slaying a specific enemy type.

* The magic item lists in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' have a lot of these - "sword +2, giant slayer", "arrow of slaying", etc.

** Third Edition generalized these with the "bane" effect (+2 to hit and +2d6 damage against specified enemy).

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' has a lance called Horseslayer which is [[Anti-Cavalry|highly effective against cavalry]]. There are also the Axereaver, Swordreaver and Lancereaver weapons, which reverse the [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors|weapon triangle]] by being effective against the weapon referred to in their name.

** In Radiant Dawn, Micaiah gets the character-exclusive Thani, light magic of [[Heavily Armored Mook]] slaying.

* ''[[Angband]]'' has a set of Slay X properties (Evil, Orc, Demon, Undead, Troll, Giant, Animal, and Dragon), which can be found in various combinations on ego and artifact weapons.

* ''[[ADOM]]'' followed a similar model to ''Angband''; the possible values of X in this case included ''humanoids'' (which category included some bosses and most elite mooks).

* ''[[Runescape]]'' has several examples, including Silverlight (and its upgraded form, Darklight) for slaying demons; Balmung, the Battleaxe of Dagannoth Slaying; the Ivandis Flail, used for killing Vyrewatch vampyres; and the brackish blade and brine sabre, which are super-effective against crabs for some reason.

* ''[[Shining Force]]'' has a variety of specialized weapons that are strong against specific types of enemies -- the Mermanbuster is strong against sea creatures, the Jagged Flash is strong against flying enemies, the Elf Slayer is good against robots, and so on.

* ''[[The Legend of Dragoon]]'' has two ancient weapons forged to defeat Dragons and Dragoons: one of them was the [[Laser Blade|Dragon Buster]] sword, capable of piercing the Dragoon armor. Unlike most video game examples, it's your ''enemy'' that wields it, handicapping you during your battles against him.

* In ''[[Legend of Mana]]'', weapon upgrades can bestow ''or remove'' this effect.

* ''[[Ever Quest]]'' has a "Bane" effect which increases damage towards a particular species of monsters.

* ''Crossfire'' adventure game has slaying weapons, and when a deity blesses someone's weapon, it usually acquires the slaying property vs. the kind of creatures this deity doesn't like.

* Most games in the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' franchise have an assortment of these, doing higher damage against the designated enemy (e.g. weapons with "metal" at the start of the name usually do extra damage when they hit a [[Metal Slime]], while the dragonsbane does extra damage to dragons).

* In ''[[Drakensang]]'', dwarves have the Wyrmslayer Ax (a small hatchet with a very big blade) and also the Dragonslayer Axe, the Dragon-Crushing hammer, the Dragon-Piercer crossbow and the [[Overly Long Gag|Dragon Spear]] (as in a trident made for skewering dragons). Yes, before you ask, dwarves hate dragons, and even have something like seven different words to define the death of a dragon.

* Wuuthrad, the legendary battleaxe of the Nordic king Ysgramor, deals more damage to elf races. This applies even if it's being wielded by an elf.