Jigidanak

Jigidanak (or Jigidanak Shield) is a Shield made of Kagonite. It is an ancient shield and imbued with magic.

Etymology

Jigidanak may be derived from the Giak words jigi (magic) + danak (shield).

In the gamebooks

A Jigidanak Shield can be obtained during the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands in The Dusk of Eternal Night. The player must start the battle by taking charge of the cavalry,, then fight Undead Drakkarim Nozodim, where they will find a Jigidanak Shield before fighting a Giant Boneghast. It is possible to miss Jigidanak (or worse, lose a roll of death) in the worst-case scenario of this path.

Jigidanak is a Shield and Special Item that adds +3 to the user's Combat Skill. As it is a shield, it cannot be wielded at the same time as a two-handed weapon unless the player has Grand Weaponmastery and has reached Sun Knight or higher.

Later in the book, Jigidanak can be used to strengthen the Starstrider's defenses. It is recommended to do so, unless the player obtains a Turquoise Pearl and an Illusion Crystal. In this case, giving the Illusion Crystal has the same effect as giving Jigidanak, but the player gets to keep Jigidanak for the Combat Skill bonus. (See Turquoise Pearl for all the routes through this part of the story.)

Kurzazuk, a magical Spear, can be obtained in a similar place as Jigidanak. It requires the player to send Blazer to lead the cavalry initially, then leading the next attack themselves. Kurzazuk outclasses Jigidanak (as it grants +3 Combat Skill and +4 Endurance when used it combat), it also does not have a roll of death in its path, and it likely faces one less combat encounter. However, Jigidanak stacks with a one-hand weapon (Kurzazuk does not) and it has a second chance if the initial fight (if fought) takes too long, whereas Kurzazuk does not. Kurzazuk also acts in the same way as Jigidanak in terms of strengthening the Starstrider's defenses. Both Jigidanak and Kurzazuk also grant a further +2 Combat Skill against a Dhax encounter inside the Crypt of Agarash.