Staff of the dead

The staff of the dead is a one-handed staff that requires 75 Magic and 75 Attack to wield. It is dropped by K'ril Tsutsaroth, and counts as a Zamorakian item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the desert Bandit camp. It is one of the few items that boosts the player's magic damage, boosting it by 15%.

When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 12.5% (1/8) chance that the staff will negate the rune cost for that spell. The staff can be substituted for a Slayer's staff for casting Magic Dart (and is more accurate than a Slayer's staff), and can autocast Flames of Zamorak and Crumble Undead.

The staff is notable for its offensive melee stats, which are unusually high for a Magic weapon. Its stats are comparable to the dragon longsword; the longsword has 3+ better stab bonuses, but the staff has +1 better slash and strength bonus in addition to the magic damage boost, accuracy, and a faster attack speed.

The staff of the dead offers an attack speed of 4 when using melee, which is the same as weapons such as the abyssal whip. However, when using magic spells, it offers an attack speed of 5, which is the same as all spells, except for the trident of the seas or swamp.

Special attack
The staff has a special attack, Power of Death, that halves all Melee damage of your opponent(s) (all opponents that hit you in the time of the special attack) for one minute at a cost of 100% special attack energy. This effect stacks with the PvP damage reduction effect of the Protect from Melee prayer, but is lost if the staff is unequipped.

The special attack cannot be used in the Duel Arena if magic is disabled.

Upgrading
Players with level 59 Crafting can attach a magic fang to the staff using a chisel, creating a toxic staff of the dead. This enhances its magic attack bonus by +8, and has the ability to infect a target with venom. However, taking advantage of these benefits requires using Zulrah's scales to charge the staff. Targets can only be infected with venom while using a magic attack, but using both melee and magic attacks will consume Zulrah's scales.

Alternatively, players can use Saradomin's light on the staff of the dead to create the staff of light, which inherits the effects of the staff of the dead. This process is irreversible. The only differences between the two staves is that the staff of light is able to autocast Saradomin Strike instead of Flames of Zamorak, and it counts as both a Zamorakian and a Saradominist item while in the God Wars Dungeon and in the Desert Bandit Camp.

Dropping monsters

 * }

Trivia

 * Necrovarus appears to wield the staff.
 * The Staff of the dead is one of four unique boss drops that are not dropped by the respective bodyguards (excluding hilts), the others being Steam battlestaff, Saradomin's light and Armadyl crossbow.