Golden Idol (Event)

Golden Idol is an event found exclusively in Act 1. The player can claim the powerful Golden Idol for a price, or safely walk by.

Options

^{Numbers in parentheses are for Ascension 15 or higher.}

• [Take] Obtain Golden Idol. Trigger a trap, sending a huge boulder rolling towards the player.
  • The player must choose how to defend themselves.
    • [Outrun] Become Cursed - Injury
    • [Smash] Take damage equal to 25% (35%) of Max HP
    • [Hide] Lose 8% (10%) Max HP

• [Leave] Nothing happens

Dialogue

Encounter
You come across an inconspicuous pedestal with a shining gold idol sitting peacefully atop. It looks incredibly valuable.
You sure don't see any traps nearby.
Take
As you grab the Idol and stow it away, a giant boulder smashes through the ceiling into the ground next to you.
You realize that the floor is slanted downwards as the boulder starts to roll towards you.
Outrun
RUUUUUUUUUUN!
You barely leap into a side passageway as the boulder rushes by. Unfortunately it feels like you sprained something however.
Smash
You throw yourself at the boulder with everything you have. When the dust clears, you can make a safe way out.
Hide
SQUISH!
The boulder flattens you a little as it passes by, but otherwise you can get out of here.
Leave
If there was ever an obvious trap, this would be it.
You decide not to interfere with objects placed upon pedestals.

Strategy

The Golden Idol is used for Events in future Acts. It's also a strong Relic in its own right, granting 25% more Gold from battles. It's generally a good idea to [Take] it.

[Outrun] is mostly a poor choice. Curses (even ones that do nothing besides be a curse like Injury) make your deck quite a bit worse, especially in act 1 where your deck does not have many cards. The extra gold can make it easier to afford a remove at a shop, but then you effectively have one less remove throughout the run as well as the money spent.

[Smash] option is also often a bad choice. The damage hit often means either avoiding an Elite or taking an extra rest at a Rest Site instead of an upgrade, reducing the total strength your deck leaves act 1 with by quite a lot.

Sacrificing max HP via [Hide] is often the safest option. The max health penalty often does nothing immediately, and only starts to harm you later on in the run, by which point the extra gold from the Golden Idol has helped you become stronger.

Related

• Not to be confused with the event Golden Shrine.
• The Act 2 event Forgotten Altar will trade the Golden Idol for a Bloody Idol and avoid negative options.
• The Act 3 event The Moai Head will trade the Golden Idol for 333 gold.

Trivia

• The grinning golden statue protected by a rolling boulder trap is a reference to the opening scene of the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Update History

• Weekly Patch 40: Forethought
  • Events: Falling, Secret Portal, Knowing Skull, Golden Idol, and Scrap Ooze receive ambient BGM.
• Weekly Patch 7: Setting Up All the Things
  • Golden Idol Event options are slightly harsher. 20% -> 25% damage and 5% -> 8% Max HP loss.