Thousands of years before the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, a nameless Sith Lord created one of the most dangerous and overpowered objects the Star Wars universe has ever known: the Darkstaff. Introduced in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, this insidious and unpredictable sentient artifact existed to consume Force energy and bring death and destruction to anyone or anything it allowed to cross its path. The Darkstaff possessed an incredible amount of raw power, born with the ability to control the minds of many different lifeforms, reanimate the dead into zombies and mutate creatures into Sithspawn.
What’s more, the Darkstaff could manifest hyperspace wormholes and teleport itself and its passengers across time and space, among other disquieting faculties that would terrify even the bravest of Jedi Knights. The Darkstaff gained its strength by feeding on the Force and sucking in all of the light in its proximity, converting the stolen vitality from other Force artifacts and Force wielders to increase its already impressive might. If the weapon drew in enough energy, it could lay waste to whole planets, as it did to Oblis in the Cularin system.
This sinister tool of unending darkness could alter an individual’s state of mind to the point of driving them to madness. It could also prevent its victims from using Force healing and block whoever wielded it in battle from being disarmed by their foes. Furthermore, the staff even possessed the ability to cloak itself and its wielder in a blanket of shadows to mask their appearances. The amount of energy the Darkstaff could generate was nothing short of boundless.
Perhaps this is why so many Sith Lords foolishly craved its power, opening themselves up to be seduced by its alluring dark energy. Similar to the titular Ring in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Star Wars' Darkstaff was capable of independent thought and action. Many who sought out this fabled weapon did so believing they could command its energy, but ultimately, the Darkstaff was in control of them. It could only be found when it wished to be found, and only by those that the staff deemed worthy of finding it.
Most disturbingly, the Darkstaff leeched off the torment and agony of those it encountered, determined to devour as much Force energy as possible in an attempt to fulfill its bottomless greed. While the Darkstaff was immune to most capabilities of the Force and related energy attacks, including strikes from a lightsaber, this seemingly invincible weapon did have a surprisingly heartwarming limitation. If an individual selflessly gave up their life of their own volition, then the staff couldn't absorb their Force essence because their sacrifice was an act of compassion and love. Since the Darkstaff couldn't comprehend the existence of this phenomena, it couldn't find the means to combat it.
Star Wars theories contend that the creation of the Darkstaff was an unfortunate experiment that went awry. When its maker realized what they had created, they attempted to destroy the abomination, but regrettably, the staff overpowered its maker, killing them first. After countless years worth of death and destruction, including innumerable corrupted souls and the absolute decimation of an entire planet, the Darkstaff turned its attentions to consuming the Force essence of the Eye of the Sun. If this Force-charged artifact constructed by Jedi Masters ever came in direct contact with the Darkstaff, then the latter would acquire a vast amount of power -- enough to level the planet Cularin and the entire system.
Len Markus, a Force-sensitive criminal driven insane by the Darkstaff, assisted the weapon in its quest to find the Eye of the Sun and feed on its energy. In an act of voluntary self-sacrifice, an unknown Heroes of Cularin agent was fatally wounded by the Darkstaff, which granted them the ability to direct the Light Side of the Force into the weapon, canceling out its powers.
Sensing its imminent annihilation, the Darkstaff commanded Len Markus to flee from harm’s way. Still, the unidentified agent’s selfless show of love and bravery defeated the bloodthirsty Sith artifact once and for all. Although the Darkstaff met its demise on Cularin, ending its several thousand-year reign of terror, this vile weapon still lives on as a Star Wars legend, sending shivers down the spines of all those who know its name.