Staff of death

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Version 0.16: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Type Magical staves
Name staff of death
Icon Staff of death.png
This staff increases the power of necromantic spells cast by its wielder, and protects them from negative energy. If the wielder is skilled in both Evocations and Necromancy, they can inflict great pain on those living souls they strike.

A staff of death is a magical staff which aids in the casting of Necromancy. Equipping it will cause it to auto-identify. Any Necromancy spell cast while wielding a staff of death will gain a boost to spell power, usually causing it to deal more damage and/or last longer (the specific impact of this, if any, depends on the spell). Additionally, the wielder is protected from negative energy, gaining one rank of life protection.

The staff can also be used in combat, functioning as a +0 staff that may deal additional negative energy damage.

Negative Energy Damage: 0 to 1.25×(Evocations+Necromancy)
Chance to Activate on a Hit (1st Test): (Evocations+1)×6.66% per hit (100% likely at 15 Evocations)
Chance to Activate on a Hit (2nd Test): 12.5+(Necromancy×12.5)% chance

Further physical damage bonuses can be gained through training Fighting and Staves. The Staves skill also increases your accuracy and the speed at which you can attack, making it well worth gaining at least a few levels.

Staves of death, like other magical staves, can sometimes be cursed.

History

Prior to 0.8, the chance of a staff of death auto-identifying when wielded depended on the Necromancy skill of the wielder.