Oblivion:Wabbajack

This article is about the artifact. For the book, see SI:Wabbajack.

Daedric Artifact: Wabbajack (000228F0) (lore page)
Type	Staff
Editor ID	DAWabbajack01
Statistics
Health	100
		Health	100
Weight	10	Value	1330
Enchantment
Wabbajack for 10 seconds
Charge/Cost = Uses		3000/300=10

Wabbajack

The Daedric artifact Wabbajack is a staff given as a reward for completing Sheogorath's Daedric quest. It transforms any non-NPC creature into another random creature for 10 seconds. It is highly unpredictable, as any gift from the Madgod would be. Only one creature may be Wabbajacked at any time (but you can repeatedly Wabbajack the same creature if you wish).

Only a limited number of creatures will be created by Wabbajack, all equally likely: Daedroth, Deer, Goblin Skirmisher, Ogre, Rat, Sheep, Skeleton Champion, or Troll. Using Wabbajack to hurt an opponent is of limited value. The newly created creature is always at full health and cleared of any effects active on the original creature (damage over time, soul trap, poison etc.); after the 10 seconds the original creature reappears at full health (even if it was injured before being Wabbajacked). Therefore, if you are not careful, the only result of Wabbajacking may be to fully heal your opponent and/or drain your own resources.

If a creature is fatally wounded while Wabbajacked, it will transform back into its original form and die. If Wabbajack is used on a summoned creature and the summon spell runs out before the Wabbajack effect, the summon will remain in its new form until the effect ends, whereupon it turns back into its original shape and vanishes instantly.

See also the book Wabbajack for a small story behind this item.

Related Quests

• Sheogorath: Fulfill an apocalyptic prophecy to satisfy Sheogorath's morbid sense of humor.

Notes

• Wabbajacked creatures are not associated with you. You will not gain a Bounty or Infamy points for any damage or death inflicted by the creature. This non-association also extends to control. Transforming a summoned Daedroth into another Daedroth may appear to do nothing, but NPCs will immediately be hostile to the Wabbajacked version, since the transformed creature is considered "wild".
• You can use the effect above to kill guards and NPCs without repercussions. Simply transform a non-hostile creature, such as a horse or creature you summon, next to the NPC you wish to kill. If the ensuing fight does not kill the NPC, repeat this process until it does.
• Wabbajack is also useful for dealing with creatures which present a serious problem due to the character being played. Some characters simply cannot effectively kill Will-o-the-Wisps, and therefore a Daedroth is preferable. Likewise, the agility of mountain lions can pose an insurmountable problem to those using ranged attacks.
• Wabbajack's effectiveness increases as the game progresses, because it becomes easy to kill leveled enemies by transforming them into non-leveled opponents that can be quickly dispatched. This doesn't work if the new creature is an ogre as ogres are leveled creatures and will have approximately the same amount of health as the creature did before transformation.
• Using this on a non-hostile creature (other than a sheep, deer, or creature you have summoned yourself) is considered assault, and any witnesses may report the crime, or attack you if they are friendly with that creature.
• Very few creatures are immune. Two examples are: Shadowmere and Llevana's Tunnel Rat. Mehrunes Dagon doesn't appear to be changed in physical appearance, but has a stats change instead. Any other essential (i.e., unkillable) creatures will also be immune. Horses are immune while being ridden. Jyggalag, Umaril the Unfeathered, and the Gatekeeper are also immune.
• It is not possible to create any custom spells or enchantments with this effect.
• When the affected creature regains its original form, a completely new instance of the creature is spawned. For example, when a Lich is transformed back, its staff will be completely charged and it may be a totally different staff than the one it was wielding prior to transformation.
• The Wabbajack effect is subject to both reflection and spell absorption. A reflected spell obviously has no effect on you, as the staff works only on creatures, though the charge is wasted. Innate reflection and spell absorption (Xivilai, goblin shamans, liches) only pose a problem until the creature is transformed. The Wabbajacked creature loses all attributes of its original, including spell absorption, which makes it easier to kill, because all spells will hit.
• Any summoned creatures will be dispelled immediately when the summoner is transformed.
• If the soul of a creature affected by Wabbajack is trapped, it will be the soul of the transformed creature, not the original.
• The staff's name is a probable reference to the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky", which is a nonsensical poem describing an unpredictable creature.

Bugs

• All mind-affecting spells affecting any actor in the area will be dispelled when another creature is Wabbajacked. This includes spell effects like Turn Undead. Using Wabbajack on an enemy will cancel the demoralize effect on all creatures in the area prematurely. ^?