Majin-Bo

Version 0.27: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A staff inhabited by a mighty demon, tricked and trapped in this form long ago. To survive, she now offers great arcane power in a terrible bargain: in exchange for a tiny portion of the caster's life essence, taken alongside the magic used every time its wielder casts a spell, she will occasionally redirect the life essence of creatures damaged by the spell to the caster.

the +6 Majin-Bo

+6 quarterstaff

Vampiricism brand
MP +6
Intelligence +6
Injures you each time you cast a spell
Vampiric spells (60% chance to recover 1d<damage> HP)

Desirability

The Majin-Bo is an extraordinarily powerful weapon in the hands of an experienced conjurer, making your spells as well as melee attacks vampiric. The +6 intelligence and MP let you cast a little more often and more reliably, and its respectable enchantment level allows you to recover health by crushing weaker foes by hand.

Unfortunately, it does have a few downsides. Unlike magical staves, the Majin-Bo is a two-handed weapon, preventing the use of shields. More importantly, you lose 1 HP for each MP you spend casting spells while wielding it (but it will not injure you further once you reach 1 HP). While the vampiric effects can make up for this in many cases, it can make any fight that gets out of hand significantly more dangerous. Additionally, vampiric spells only trigger on direct damage, so hex or transmutation specialists will see little benefit, and (as with all vampiric effects) creatures with negative energy resistance are immune. Still, one cannot deny the appeal of this weapon, particularly for hybrid characters with powerful attack spells.

History

• Prior to 0.26, Majin-Bo had Archmagi instead of spell vampirism.
• Prior to 0.18, the Majin-Bo never spoke occasionally.
• The Majin-Bo was added in 0.15.