My OOmphaz priest is using a crappy witch's stick (2-4 + sleep). Every time I find some bad-a$$ staff, its cursed, but I don't wait to see what that means (besides not getting it un-equipped). What do cursed items do to me? Anything?

1) It won't let you unequip it without temple intervention (and lots of $$$)

2) It drains your HP slightly (but HP is regenerated so quickly, it really doesn't matter).

There are staves later on in the game that are not cursed; the Staff of Summoning and the Staff of Wiles I think are non-cursed staves. I may be wrong on the last one, though. The Staff of Death is the best non-cursed staff in the game, especially after you recharge it in the Black Fire. (I wonder why it doesn't come with a Sacred Oath and a Curse as well? It uses Black Fire power, too. Makes the Mavin look like a dubious bargain, no?)

However: If you get Artifact of Fiends and Artifact of Stone, head to the Temple and bless the Witch's staff with Damage effect. You can make it quite a formidable weapon, and I don't think you can do that with the other staves. The "sleep" effect is very useful, even later in the game. It's hilarious to whack one of the demons with it and watch them go to slumberland! Heheh

-Sazerac

Early in the game cursed items are a pain. Later, when you have more hit points, a cursed staff can be one of the best weapons your magic users can equip.
Best always to save before trying out new staffs - will save you the fee of getting it uncursed!

Wyv