Spellbook of finger of death

spellbook of +   finger of death
Appearance	random
Abundance	0.50%
Base price	700 zm
Weight	50
Turns to read	80
Ink to write	35–69
Spell type	attack
Level	7
Power cost	35 Pw
Direction	ray
Equivalent	wand of death

The finger of death is an exceptionally powerful attack spell, equivalent to the wand of death. It has a difficulty of 7 and is the strongest spell in its class, as well as in the game, as all other top-level spells have a difficulty of 6. The spellbook is most commonly received through wizard crowning, where it is given if the wizard does not already have one and is not wielding Vorpal Blade or Stormbringer (the spellbook received this way is always blessed). Zapping yourself directly with the spell is an instadeath, regardless of reflection or magic resistance, and a very bad idea.

Your skill in attack spells has no significant effect on finger of death other than increasing the spellcasting success rate.

Strategy

The finger of death is the most difficult and magic-intensive spell in the game, but this is to be expected given its extremely powerful effects. Since the spell is a ray, it can hit multiple enemies and bounce off walls, and can be reflected by reflection. Be extremely careful about casting it without reflection; if it bounces off a wall and hits you it will result in instadeath.

It is most useful for being able to instantly kill most of the monsters in the game, even the most powerful boss monsters, if they are not specifically resistant (notably, Death) or do not have reflection (for instance, Archons, which spawn with shields of reflection). They are also a good emergency spell if your HP is low but your magic reserves are still high. Minotaurs are probably the spell's most common targets.

In other games

The finger of death is also the ultimate spell in the old game Spellcast