Book of Shadows

Effect

• Creates a protective shield, nullifying all types of damage in the current room for 10 seconds.
• (Added in Afterbirth †) This item belongs to the Bookworm set. Collecting three items from this set will transform Isaac into Bookworm.

Notes

• The Book of Shadows effect negates health loss from (Blood Donation Machine.png) Blood Donation Machines, (Devil Beggar.png) Devil Beggars, (Added in Repentance) (Hell Game.png) Hell Game and (Added in Repentance) (Confessional.png) Confessional.
  • Does not prevent damage from IV Bag.

Synergies

• (Added in Repentance) 4.5 Volt: With sufficient damage (18+ damage per second), the Book of Shadows can be kept active indefinitely. If combined with 9 Volt, Isaac only needs 12 DPS to achieve invulnerability.
• (Added in Repentance) Book of Virtues: Spawns shielded wisps in the middle ring. The wisps have 1 health, but will not be damaged by blocking projectiles, and can only be destroyed on contact with enemies. When Book of Shadows is active, wisps are immune to all damage, allowing for easy melee kills.
• Cube of Meat and most other orbitals: Highly effective with Book of Shadows, as Isaac can run into enemies with an active shield to deal massive amounts of damage.
• (Removed in Repentance) Razor Blade: Can be used at no cost while the Book of Shadows shield is present, allowing damage to be significantly increased for the room.

Interactions

• (Added in Repentance) Blood Oath: If the book is used just before the knife stabs Isaac, he will not lose any health, nor gain any stat upgrades associated with the item. An incredibly useful item to find in the Bloody Mary challenge.