Deadwood staff

The deadwood staff is an artifact in Heroes of Might and Magic IV, and appears only in the Half-Dead campaign. It was owned by the vampire Malvich, but a God of Death wanted to use it to wipe out all living things on Axeoth.

Lore

The deadwood staff was a powerful necromantic artifact in the possession of the vampire Malvich. It had the power to kill any creature, whether living or dead. When he acquired it, he realized that the head was missing. Knowing that the missing part would make the staff even more powerful, he spent almost seven hundred years looking for it, without success.

A God of Death from the Plane of Death wanted to use the deadwood staff to unleash a dark magic known as the "Unholy Breath", slaying every living thing on Axeoth. He told his servant Kalibarr to get the staff, and Kalibarr sent Gauldoth to kill Malvich and take the staff.

Gauldoth didn't want to kill Malvich, as the vampire was a useful ally for Nekross. He tried to convince Malvich to give up the staff, but the vampire refused. In the end, Gauldoth killed Malvich and brought the staff back to Kalibarr. When Kalibarr traveled to the Plane of Death to deliver the staff to his master, Gauldoth decided to sneak after him and learn what was going on.

He hid and watched as the god gave Kalibarr the skull of a creature Gauldoth didn't recognize - the missing headpiece. The god told his servant to forge the headpiece to the staff during the next alignment of the planets. This would give him the power to unleash the Unholy Breath. "When their living flesh melts into a putrid ooze, then they will know oblivion!"

Gauldoth returned to Axeoth and decided to stop Kalibarr. He killed Kalibarr in battle, preventing him from unleashing the power of the staff.

Gameplay

The deadwood staff appears in the Life and Death scenario, and is wielded by Malvich. It is a two-handed weapon and lets the hero cast the Hand of Death spell.

It has 12 spell points and regenerates 4 spell points per round. The spell costs 12 spell points, so the hero can cast the spell every three rounds.