Navigating the Slay The Spire Cursed Tome event requires balancing your current health pool against high-impact relic rewards. Appearing exclusively during Act 2, this encounter forces you to decide whether bleeding HP is worth securing one of three powerful game-altering books. Mismanaging the dialogue options can cost you heavily without giving you any compensation, while taking the book introduces an unremovable curse into your deck.
Understanding the math, the potential relics, and character synergies ensures you never walk away from this altar at a loss. Here is how to evaluate the risks and master the forbidden pages.
Event Breakdown and Dialogue Choices
When you trigger the event, you face a series of interactive choices that drain your health progressively. The encounter doesn't give you the reward upfront; instead, it tests your willingness to commit resources deeper into the mystery.
- [Read]: Choosing to read forces you through sequential steps where you lose 1 HP, then 2 HP, then 3 HP.
- [Take]: This option claims the book. It costs 10 HP on standard difficulties or 15 HP on Ascension 15 and higher. In exchange, you receive a random book relic and the Necronomicurse card.
- [Stop] / [Leave]: You can halt the process at any time by paying cumulative damage up to that point, walking away without a relic if you choose to stop early or leaving outright for no penalty if you decline immediately.
The main trap involves stopping too late. If you choose to read through the initial phases and back out before taking the book, you still take cumulative damage points without gaining any benefit. Decide before clicking whether you intend to commit the full HP cost to get a relic.
The Three Possible Relic Rewards
When you pay the health price to take the book, the game randomly assigns one of three unique event relics. Each shifts your run's strategy in a distinct direction.
Necronomicon
The first Attack you play each turn that costs 2 or more energy is played twice. Alongside this combat bonus, you add the Necronomicurse to your deck permanently. This curse cannot be removed at shops or holy fountains; if played or discarded in combat, it returns directly to your hand.
Necronomicon shines with heavy hitters like the Ironclad's Immolate or Bludgeon, the Silent's Finisher or Eviscerate, and the Defect's high-cost spells. Doubling a high-damage output can trivialize Act 2 and Act 3 elite fights, provided your deck has the energy management to support 2-cost cards.
Enchiridion
At the start of every combat, a random Power card is added to your hand, and its energy cost drops to 0 for that turn. Because it is a power, playing it removes it from your hand for the remainder of that specific fight while granting its buff.
This relic requires zero deck synergy to be effective. Free powers accelerate your setup speed, trigger card draw, and pad your block or damage numbers without draining your active energy pool. It represents the safest pull if your deck lacks heavy 2-cost attacks.
Nilry's Codex
At the end of each turn, you choose one of three random cards to shuffle directly into your draw pile. This shines during long boss battles or hallway fights where scaling matters.
While it introduces RNG into your card pool, it allows you to generate defensive options, extra attacks, or status manipulation tools that wouldn't normally fit your character archetype. It rewards players who can manipulate their draw mechanics effectively.
When Should You Take the Book?
Weighing the HP cost against your current status requires looking at three core factors: your remaining health, your current Act 2 path, and your deck's dependence on 2-cost attacks.
If you enter the event below 25 health on higher ascensions, taking the book is often a run-ending gamble. Act 2 features aggressive enemies like Birds, Slavers, and Chosen, meaning raw survival takes priority over greedy scaling. Conversely, if you carry regeneration relics, reliable self-heal cards like Reaper, or sit near full health, the 10 to 15 HP tax is a bargain for a strong passive bonus.
Check your deck composition before committing. If you run a tight, low-curve deck with mostly 0-cost or 1-cost cards, Necronomicon loses most of its value, leaving you weighed down by an unremovable curse for minimal gain. In that scenario, walking away or stopping early saves your health pool.
To dive deeper into game mechanics, check out the official Slay the Spire Wiki or join discussions on the Steam Community Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you remove the Necronomicurse?
No. Unlike standard curses, the Necronomicurse cannot be removed at shops, through peace pipe relics, or via event nodes like the Spiralling Shrine. It stays in your collection for the remainder of the run.
Is the book reward predetermined?
Yes. The specific book you receive is locked the moment you enter the Act or encounter the event node. Saving and quitting will not reroll the outcome of the book.
What happens if you lose the Necronomicon?
Certain rare interactions or mods might alter relics, but under normal game rules, losing the book does not clear the Necronomicurse from your deck.
Does the Necronomicon duplicate X-cost cards?
X-cost cards like Whirlwind or Hemokinesis evaluate their cost based on the energy spent when played. If you pump 2 or more energy into an X-cost card, the Necronomicon triggers and repeats the effect using the same energy investment.
