Skull sceptre

Skull sceptre
File:Skull sceptre.png
Released							4 July 2006 (Update)
Members							No
Quest item							No
Properties
Tradeable							No
Equipable							Yes
Stackable							No
Noteable							No
Options							Wield, Invoke, Divine, Drop
Worn options							Invoke, Divine
Examine							A fragile magical Sceptre.
Values
Value							1 coin
High alch							0 coins
Low alch							0 coins
Weight							1.814 kg
Advanced data
Item ID							9013

The skull sceptre is obtained by combining monsters drops from within the Stronghold of Security, as explained below. It can be used to teleport to the entrance of the Stronghold in Barbarian Village, and members can use it to autocast Arceuus combat spells. Note that the sceptre can only be used to autocast combat spells from the Arceuus spellbook and not other spellbooks. Unlike the imbued version, this version cannot autocast crumble undead.

The sceptre is one of the few teleport items available to free-to-play players. This makes it highly desired among these players, though they are advised to imbue it, as explained below.

It may be used up to level 20 Wilderness.

Combat stats

Attack bonuses
+0	-1	+7	+10	+0
Defence bonuses
+2	+3	+1	+4	+0
Other bonuses				Slot
+3	+0	+0%	+0	List

Combat style		Attack type	Weapon style	Attack speed	Range	Experience	Level boost
	Bash	Crush	Accurate	5 ticks (3.0s)	1 tile		+3 Attack
	Pound	Crush	Aggressive				+3 Strength
	Focus	Crush	Defensive				+3 Defence
	Spell	Magic	Defensive Autocast	5 ticks (3.0s)	10 tiles		None
	Spell	Magic	Autocast				None

Autocasting options

Using the Sceptre

The sceptre has 2 right-click options:

• Invoke: Teleports the player to Stronghold of Security entrance, consumes one charge.
• Divine: Shows the amount of charges the player has left.

When all charges have been consumed, a non-imbued sceptre will self-destruct. To prevent this, the sceptre can be imbued as explained below.

The sceptre initially holds 10 charges, but when a player completes different tiers of the Varrock Diary it can contain 14, 18, 22, and 26 charges respectively after each tier. The maximum number of charges carries over to free-to-play worlds, even if the player loses membership.

Creating the Sceptre

Where to find the pieces

Each piece has a roughly 3% chance of being dropped by the following monsters:

• The right skull half is dropped by minotaurs on the first level.
• The bottom of sceptre is dropped by flesh crawlers on the second level.
• The top of sceptre is dropped by catablepon on the third level.
• The left skull half is dropped by ankou on the fourth level.

Assembly

1. Use the left skull half on the right skull half to create the strange skull.
2. Use the top of sceptre on the bottom of sceptre to create a runed sceptre.
3. Use the strange skull on the runed sceptre to create the skull sceptre.

Upon creation, the sceptre will gain the maximum number of charges unlocked by the player's level of completion of the Varrock Diary. Note that players are required to create a skull sceptre as part of the Varrock Hard Diary.

Requirements

Members		Ticks	1 (0.6s)

Materials

Item		Quantity	Cost
	Strange skull	1	N/A
	Runed sceptre	1	N/A
Total cost			0
File:Skull sceptre.png	Skull sceptre	1	N/A

Products

Failed to find products with those materials - ensure they are spelled correctly. (ERR: no results from SMW)

Imbuing and recharging

Main article: Skull sceptre (i)

Players with the RuneScape Authenticator enabled on their account can imbue the sceptre by taking it to Solztun near the Cradle of Life together with either fancy, fighting or fancier boots (equipped or in your inventory), he will then turn it into a skull sceptre (i). While imbued, it will not break upon depleting all its charges.

Warning: Should players disable the Authenticator, the sceptre will revert to a regular skull sceptre.

The imbued skull sceptre can be recharged with sceptre pieces or bone fragments (bone fragments are tradable). Each bone fragment gives one charge. The amount of charges that a sceptre piece gives can be seen in the table below. It is the same as the amount of bone fragments that would be obtained by using a chisel on the sceptre piece.

Item		Default	Varrock Diary Completed
			Easy	Medium	Hard	Elite
	Left skull half	5	6	7	8	9
	Bottom of sceptre	3	4	5	6	7
	Top of sceptre	3	4	5	6	7
	Right skull half	3	4	5	6	7

Products

Failed to find products with those materials - ensure they are spelled correctly. (ERR: no results from SMW)

Comparison between other magic weapons

Magic weapons comparison table ()

Name		Level(s) required	Magic attack	Magic damage	Price	Notes
	Tumeken's shadow	85	+35	N/A	1,196,689,251	Requires 5 2 per charge of the built-in spell. Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 34 at 99 without any magic damage bonus. Has a passive effect which triples magic attack bonus and magic damage from the player's worn equipment. The magic damage increase is capped at a total of 100%. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
	Harmonised nightmare staff	82 50	+16	+15%	401,314,854	Can autocast standard spells only. Standard spells attack one tick faster, matching the speed of a powered staff. Otherwise possesses identical bonuses and benefits to the Nightmare staff.
	Volatile nightmare staff	82 50	+16	+15%	171,700,042	Can autocast both Ancient Magicks and standard spells. Has a special attack which consumes 55% of the player's special attack energy and deals a high amount of damage with 50% increased accuracy. This attack does not consume runes. Otherwise possesses identical bonuses and benefits to the Nightmare staff.
	Eldritch nightmare staff	82 50	+16	+15%	324,886,893	Can autocast both Ancient Magicks and standard spells. Has a special attack which consumes 55% of the player's special attack energy and deals a high amount of damage, restoring the player's prayer points by 50% of the damage dealt. This attack does not consume runes. Otherwise possesses identical bonuses and benefits to the Nightmare staff.
	Sanguinesti staff	82	+25	N/A	71,198,434	Slightly stronger than the trident of the swamp, with the same stats but able to hit one damage higher. Requires 3 per charge of the built-in spell. Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 32 at 99 . Has a 1 in 6 chance to heal the wielder by half the damage dealt. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
	Holy Sanguinesti staff
	Kodai wand	80	+28	+15%	118,433,874	Can autocast Ancient Magicks, Arceuus spells, and standard spells. Provides unlimited water runes while equipped. When a combat spell is cast with the wand, there is a 15% chance that the wand will negate the rune cost for that spell. Offers the second-highest magic attack bonus of a 1-handed staff.
	Trident of the swamp	78	+25	N/A	6,019,114	Has the same benefits as the Trident of the seas, but with +10 more magic attack bonus. Requires 5 1 1 and 1 Zulrah scale (instead of coins) per charge of the built-in spell, and can hold up to 2,500 charges. The enhanced version can hold up to 20,000 charges, but requires 10 kraken tentacles to create. Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 31 at 99 . Has 25% chance to inflict venom on the target. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
	Trident of the swamp (e)				11,464,437
	Purging staff	77 50	+37	+10%	54,842,639	Can autocast Arceuus spells. Untradeable; created from a tormented synapse with 74 Crafting. Has a passive effect that doubles the bonuses of demonbane spells. Currently offers the highest magic attack bonus and magic defence of any staff.
	Toxic staff of the dead	75	+25	+15%	14,663,228	Can autocast Flames of Zamorak, Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, Arceuus spells, and standard spells. Has the same benefits as the Staff of the dead, but with +8 more magic attack bonus. Requires Zulrah's scales to recharge (up to 11,000). Has 25% chance to inflict venom on an opponent.
	Staff of light	75	+17	+15%	9,024,799	Can autocast Saradomin Strike, Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, and standard spells. Counts as both a Saradomin AND Zamorak item in God Wars. Otherwise possesses identical bonuses and benefits to the Staff of the dead excluding ability to autocast Flames of Zamorak or Arceuus spells.
	Staff of balance	75	+17	+15%	25,922,132	Can autocast Claws of Guthix, Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, and standard spells. Otherwise possesses identical bonuses and benefits to the Staff of the dead excluding ability to autocast Flames of Zamorak or Arceuus spells.
	Staff of the dead	75	+17	+15%	8,704,918	Can autocast Flames of Zamorak, Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, Arceuus spells, and standard spells. Has a special attack that halves all melee damage the player takes for one minute, which stacks with the PvP damage reduction effect of the Protect from Melee prayer. This consumes 100% of the player's special attack. When a combat spell is cast with the staff, there is a 1/8 (12.5%) chance that the staff will negate the rune cost for that spell. Currently the strongest staff when used as a melee weapon, surpassing the Ancient staff and Iban's staff, and provides +17 magic defence. Counts as a Zamorakian item in God Wars.
	Trident of the seas	75	+15	N/A	39,942	Has its own built-in spell, requiring charges which cost 5 1 1 runes and 10 coins per cast. Can hold up to 2,500 charges. The enhanced version can hold up to 20,000 charges, but requires 10 kraken tentacles to create. Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 28 at 99 . Has a weapon speed of 4 (same as scimitars/whip), while all other forms of combat magic only have 5 (same as longswords). Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
	Trident of the seas (e)				6,704,657
	Slayer's staff (e)	75 55	+12	N/A	24,429	Can autocast Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, Arceuus spells, and the Wave and Surge spells. Has 2,500 charges and is recharged with a Slayer's enchantment. If used to cast Magic Dart on the player's Slayer task, max hit is 13 + (player's magic level / 6), rounded down, and uses 1 charge from the staff on a hit. Otherwise provides the same benefits as the Slayer's staff.
	Nightmare staff	72 50	+16	+15%	59,934,260	Can autocast both Ancient Magicks and standard spells.
	Ahrim's staff	70	+15	+5%	245,762	Can autocast Arceuus spells and standard spells. Can autocast Ancient Magicks if equipped with Ahrim the Blighted's equipment and the Amulet of the damned.
	Blue moon spear	75 70	+30	+5%	766,519	Can autocast Ancient Magicks, Arceuus spells, and standard spells. Gain the Frostweaver set effect when used with the Blue moon armour set.
	Ancient sceptre	70 60 50	+20	+5%	70,563	Can autocast Ancient Magicks, and enhances the effects of said spellbook by 10%. Also can autocast standard spells. Requires Secrets of the North completion in order to create by speaking to Eblis to combine an ancient staff with an ancient icon.
	Warped sceptre	62	+12	N/A	95,422	Requires 5 2 per charge of the built-in spell. Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level and can hit up to 24 at 99 without any magic damage bonus. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff.
	Accursed sceptre	70	+22	N/A	2,834,615	While charged, an additional 50% magic accuracy and damage boost is applied when attacking any NPC in the Wilderness. This effect will stack with a Slayer helmet or a Salve amulet and their variants, but not both simultaneously. Has a special attack which consumes 50% of the player's special attack energy and deals an attack with 50% increased damage and accuracy. Upon a successful hit, drains the target's Defence and Magic by 15%. Standard version: Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff. Autocast version: Can autocast Flames of Zamorak, standard spells and Ancient Magicks.
	Accursed sceptre (a)
	Master wand	60	+20	N/A	1,981,570	Can autocast Ancient Magicks, Arceuus spells, and standard spells. Requires 240 Telekinetic, 240 Alchemist, 2400 Enchantment and 240 Graveyard points, and a teacher wand equipped or in the player's inventory, to purchase from the Mage Training Arena. Thus it does not cost much besides the time and runes spent in the Mage Training Arena.
	Thammaron's sceptre	60	+15	N/A	2,701,949	While charged, an additional 50% magic accuracy and damage boost is applied when attacking any NPC in the Wilderness. This effect will stack with a Slayer helmet or a Salve amulet and their variants, but not both simultaneously. Standard version: Built-in spell damage scales with the player's Magic level. Because the spell is built-in, the player does not need to carry its runes in their inventory and can use Arceuus spellbook, Lunar spells, or Ancient Magicks while wielding this staff. Autocast version: Can autocast Flames of Zamorak, standard spells and Ancient Magicks.
	Thammaron's sceptre (a)
	God staves	60	+6	N/A	80,000	Required to cast god spells, but cannot be used to autocast them. Those who have 80 and the respective God cape can use the Charge spell, which increases the God spell's damage by 50%.
	Iban's staff	50	+10	N/A	200,000	Only staff able to cast Iban Blast. Can autocast Iban Blast and standard spells. Has 120 charges (2,500 if upgraded). One charge is used when casting Iban Blast on an NPC and two are used when casting it on another player. Iban Blast has a max hit of 25.
	Iban's staff (u)				400,000
	Ancient staff	50	+15	N/A	70,563	Can autocast both Ancient Magicks and standard spells.
	Slayer's staff	50 55	+12	N/A	22,743	Can autocast Magic Dart, Crumble Undead, Arceuus spells, and the Wave and Surge spells. Runes required to cast Magic Dart are very cheap compared to spells of a similar level. Maximum hit of Magic Dart is 10 + (player's magic level / 10), rounded down.
	Void knight mace	42 22	+8	N/A	Untradeable	Can autocast Claws of Guthix, Crumble Undead, and the Wave and Surge spells.
	Mystic smoke staff	40	+14	+10%	2,008,117	Can autocast standard spells. Provides unlimited fire and air runes. Grants a 10% accuracy and damage boost for combat spells on the standard spellbook.
	Smoke battlestaff	30	+12		1,891,413
	Salamanders	30 (Green)	N/A	N/A	137	Unique and versatile two-handed weapons that facilitate the use of all three combat styles. Cannot autocast spells, but instead have their own unique magic attack, similar to how powered staves have built-in spells. Damage done by salamanders is calculated by a unique formula using a hidden "magic damage bonus" unique to each lizard type.
		50 (Orange)			170
		60 (Red)			66
		70 (Black)			435
		80 (Tecu)			283,360
	Croziers	60	+10	N/A	8,966	Can autocast standard spells. Have a notable Prayer boost of +6.
File:Skull sceptre.png	Skull sceptre	1	+10	N/A	Untradeable	Can autocast Arceuus spells and standard spells. Additionally, the imbued version can autocast Crumble Undead.
File:Skull sceptre (i).png	Skull sceptre (i)
	Elemental staves	1 (Basic)	+10	N/A	1,346	Can autocast standard spells. Provide unlimited runes of their respective elements. Elemental staves (air, water, earth and fire) provide one type of rune. Combination staves (lava, mud, mist, dust, steam and smoke) provide two types of runes.
		30 (Battlestaff)	+12		8,983
		40 (Mystic staff)	+14		25,116

Changes

Date	Changes
[[{{#explode:23 October 2024| |0}} {{#explode:23 October 2024| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:23 October 2024| |2}}]] (update)	The Skull Sceptre will no longer reset its autocast setting when switching to another weapon and back again.
[[{{#explode:16 June 2021| |0}} {{#explode:16 June 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 June 2021| |2}}]] (update | poll)	The skull sceptre can now autocast spells from the Arceuus spellbook.
[[{{#explode:28 April 2021| |0}} {{#explode:28 April 2021| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:28 April 2021| |2}}]] (update | poll)	The sceptre's magic attack bonus has been increased from +4 to +10. It was changed from a polestaff to a staff, but no spells could be autocast with it yet.
[[{{#explode:18 November 2020| |0}} {{#explode:18 November 2020| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:18 November 2020| |2}}]] (update | poll)	Bone fragments can now be used to charge the sceptre. The base number of charges you can hold on a completed Sceptre has been raised from 5 to 10. Each completed tier of the Varrock Achievement Diary increases the number of max charges to 14, 18, 22, and 26 respectively. Skull Sceptres are no longer destroyed when they are dropped or when you are killed with an unprotected one in your Inventory. Multiple can be owned. Unimbued Skull Sceptres all share the same charges, and when one shatters, the next is magically back at full charge. Imbuing one skull sceptre now imbues them all, same rule for unimbue. The "Destroy" option was replaced with a "Drop" option.
[[{{#explode:15 March 2018| |0}} {{#explode:15 March 2018| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:15 March 2018| |2}}]] (update)	The "Teleport" option while equipped was replaced with "Divine" and "Invoke" options.