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Beggars are a group of randomly occurring NPCs in the game. There are a total of 8 types of beggars, each requesting different donations. Isaac can donate pennies, keys, hearts, or (except in Rebirth) bombs by simply walking into them. With each donation, the beggar has a chance to drop various pickups and trinkets. Sometimes, the beggar will drop an item and disappear. The rate of drops isn't influenced by luck.

Beggars can be destroyed by Bombbombs, causing them to drop a few pickups. (except in Repentance) If destroyed in ChestChest or Dark RoomDark Room they will drop an item, with the exception of the Shell Game who still drops pickups.

Normal Beggars, Devil Beggars, or more rarely Key Masters, Bomb Bums, Battery Bums, and Rotten Beggars can be spawned using XX - JudgementXX - Judgement.

Beggar[ | ]

Beggar

Beggars ask for PennyPennies. For every donation received, they have a chance to drop a random Red HeartHeart, BombBomb, KeyKey, card, or pedestal item. After spawning a pedestal item, the Beggar will disappear and can no longer be donated to.

When spawning a pedestal item, beggars have:

The hard-coded items can be spawned even if previously encountered during the same run.

Bombing a normal Beggar increases the chance for the Angel RoomAngel Room/Devil RoomDevil Room to open for the floor by 35%, and donating to a normal Beggar until it spawns an item increases the chance to get an Angel Room instead of a Devil Room for the floor.

Notes[ | ]

  • (in Repentance) The chance for paying out depends on whether the game is in hard mode or not.
    • On hard mode, the first time the Beggar pays out will always be after at least six donations, with a high chance of paying out at six. After the first payout, any subsequent payout will take at least three donations.
    • On other modes (Normal, Greed and Greedier), Beggars may pay out after any amount has been donated, it is unclear whether there is a limit, but it is very rare that they take six or more donations before paying out.
    • If the player has Collectible Lucky Foot iconLucky Foot, payouts are much more likely on each donation after the first payout. On Hard mode, the minimum amount of donations between each payout after the first is reduced to 2.

Devil Beggar[ | ]

Devil Beggar

Devil Beggars ask for Red HeartHearts. Each donation deals a half heart of damage to Isaac (a full heart on Chapter 4 and beyond). For each donation received, Devil Beggars have a chance to drop a card, pill, trinket, or an item from the Devil Beggar item pool. After spawning a pedestal item, the Devil Beggar will disappear and can no longer be donated to.

Notes[ | ]

  • Bombing a Devil Beggar increases the chance to get an Angel RoomAngel Room for the floor and donating to a Devil Beggar until they spawn an item decreases the chance to get an Angel Room for the floor.
  • (except in Repentance) Similar to a Blood Donation MachineBlood Donation Machine, Devil Beggars will take Eternal Hearts first, then Red Hearts. If Isaac only has half a Red Heart remaining, they will then take Black Hearts and Soul Hearts. It is possible to die in this manner.
    • (in Repentance) Devil Beggars ignore eternal hearts when taking hearts. Unless Isaac only has half a heart and an eternal heart, at that point the beggar will take the eternal heart instead of the half heart.
    • (in Repentance) The Devil Beggar will take the last Half Red Heart before Black Hearts and Soul Hearts.
  • The full hearts of damage on Chapter 4 and beyond can be mitigated by Collectible The Wafer iconThe Wafer, Collectible Cancer iconCancer, or Percs, which cuts it back down to 1/2 heart.
  • The donations activate damage effects, such asCollectible Celtic Cross iconCeltic Cross.
  • Activating Devil Beggars while using an item that grants invincibility, such as the Collectible Book of Shadows iconBook of Shadows or Rune of AlgizRune of Algiz, will not lower Isaac's health, but will still cause the beggar to spawn items. Collectible Holy Mantle iconHoly Mantle is ignored, though, so Character The Lost iconThe Lost will be killed instantly.
    • (except in Repentance) It is possible to exploit the invincibility frames after taking damage to donate twice for the price of one donation. (except in Rebirth)Blind RageBlind Rage doubles the invincibility frames, thus allowing to activate the Devil Beggar even more times in that period.
    • (in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Bone HeartBone Hearts will not be broken by donating to a Devil Beggar, and can drain multiple Bone Hearts without breaking them.
  • (in Repentance) Devil Beggars always drop two SpiderSpiders when killed by a bomb.
  • (in Repentance) The chance for paying out depends on whether the game is in hard mode or not.
    • On Hard mode, the first time the Devil Beggar pays out will always be after at least 6 donations, though it very rarely takes more than 6. After the first payout, any subsequent payout will take at least three donations.
    • On other modes (Normal, Greed and Greedier), Devil Beggars will pay out randomly between donations 1-7, with increasing odds and a guaranteed payout after 8 donations. The chances of getting subsequent payouts are slightly higher than the chances of getting the first.
    • If the player has Collectible Lucky Foot iconLucky Foot, payouts are much more likely on each donation after the first payout. On Hard mode, the minimum amount of donations between each payout after the first is reduced to 2.

Key Master[ | ]

Key Master

Key Masters (also known as Key Bums) are rare and ask for KeyKey. For every donation received, they have a chance to drop a random ChestChest, an item from the Key Master item pool, or the Paper ClipPaper Clip. After spawning a pedestal item or the Paper ClipPaper Clip, the Key Master will disappear and can no longer be donated to.

Notes[ | ]

  • If found inside the Secret Room on Dark RoomDark Room or ChestChest, the chest payouts will contain items.
  • Possessing a Golden KeyGolden Key will not affect the Key Master in any way.

(except in Rebirth) Bomb Bum[ | ]

Bomb Bum

(except in Repentance) Bomb Bums ask for Bombbombs. For every donation received, they have a chance to drop 1-2 Bombs or an item from the Bomb Bum item pool. After spawning a pedestal item, the Bomb Bum will disappear.

(in Repentance) Bomb Bums ask for Bombbombs. For every donation received, they have a chance to drop 1-3 Pennypennies, a random Heart pickup, or an item from the Bomb Bum item pool. After spawning a pedestal item, the Bomb Bum will disappear.

Notes[ | ]

  • (except in Repentance) Bomb Bums are rarer than other beggars.
  • (except in Repentance) It is possible that the Bomb Bum will "pay out" by spawning a Troll Bomb underneath itself.
  • Possessing a Golden BombGolden Bomb will not affect the Bomb Bum in any way.
  • (in Repentance) Bomb Bums are immune to bombs, and will respond to an attempt to destroy them by spawning several troll bombs, similar to XVI - The TowerXVI - The Tower.
    • Bomb Bums can still be destroyed by the shockwave from Collectible Mama Mega! iconMama Mega! and Collectible Larynx iconLarynx, or by being walked into with the effect of Collectible Mega Mush iconMega Mush.
    • Having Safety ScissorsSafety Scissors allows Isaac to acquire infinite bombs by bombing the beggar repeatedly.
      • Can be abused further for infinite pickups with Collectible Sack Head iconSack Head.

(in Repentance) Battery Bum[ | ]

Battery Bum

Battery Bums ask for PennyPennies. Each coin donated has a chance to give 1 to 3 charges on Isaac's active item, these charges can go above the charge cap, being full up to a maximum of two full charges. On top of that, Battery Bums have chances to drop a Micro BatteryMicro Battery, a Lil' BatteryLil' Battery, a Watch BatteryWatch Battery, a AAA BatteryAAA Battery, or a pedestal item.

When spawning a pedestal item, the item is chosen from the Battery Bum item pool and the Battery Bum will disappear.

Has a chance to drop random pickups, a pill or a trinket when blown up. Bombing a Battery Bum also increases the chance for the Angel RoomAngel Room/Devil RoomDevil Room Room to open for the floor by 35%, a trait it shares with the normal Beggar and Rotten Beggar.

Notes[ | ]

  • This is the counterpart to the Electrifier in Antibirth.
  • When playing as Character Tainted Forgotten iconTainted Forgotten, to charge the held item Isaac must throw Tainted Forgotten at the Battery Bum. If Character Tainted Soul iconTainted Soul touches the Battery Bum, the item won't gain a charge.
  • Battery Bums pay out every 3-4 coins donated on Hard mode and every 1-4 pennies on every other mode.

Bugs[ | ]

Bug Bug! Touching a Battery Bum while it is giving Isaac's active item a charge will grant another charge. Multiple additional charges can be gained this way.
Bug Bug! Will not payout correctly when trying to gain charges as Character Bethany iconBethany.

(in Repentance) Rotten Beggar[ | ]

Rotten Beggar

Rotten Beggars ask for Pennycoins. Every third (rarely fourth) coin donated to them will either have them spawn Blue Flies, Blue Spiders, drop a Bone HeartBone Heart, a Rotten HeartRotten Heart, the Fish HeadFish Head, Fish TailFish Tail, Rotten PennyRotten Penny, or Bob's BladderBob's Bladder trinkets, a pedestal item, or fart. After spawning a pedestal item, the Beggar will disappear and can no longer be donated to.

When spawning a pedestal item, they are chosen from the Rotten Beggar item pool. The odds of them spawning an item appears to be extremely low (2x-3x more rare than other beggars).

Has a chance to drop Rotten HeartRotten Heart when blown up, as well as spawning small maggots. Bombing a Rotten Beggar also increases the chance for the Angel RoomAngel Room/Devil RoomDevil Room Room to open for the floor by 35%, a trait it shares with the normal Beggar and Battery Bum.

Unlocked by: Rotten Beggar Defeat Mega Satan as Character Tainted Apollyon iconTainted Apollyon. Will be replaced with a Key Master if not unlocked.

Shell Game[ | ]

Shell Game

Shell Game beggars can sometimes be found in the ArcadeArcade; they also have a small chance to spawn elsewhere. After giving the beggar a coin by bumping into them, they will lift a skull, revealing a Penny, Bomb, Red Heart, or Key. The beggar will shuffle the skulls around and wait for Isaac to bump into 1 of the 3 shells. In return, the beggar will spawn either 2 of the pickups or an Attack FlyAttack Fly.

(in Repentance) If the pickup was a coin and Isaac wins, the beggar will spawn 2-3 coins.

Notes[ | ]

  • The shell chosen is irrelevant; possession of a Collectible Lucky Foot iconLucky Foot increases chances of winning.
  • Sometimes, the item under the skulls will be the Collectible Skatole iconSkatole item. If this item is received, the Shell Game beggar will disappear. This is the only collectible item they can drop.
    • If Collectible Skatole iconSkatole has already been acquired, other Shell Game beggars will never give a second Collectible Skatole iconSkatole and will remain unless destroyed.
    • If you wish to avoid a Collectible Skatole iconSkatole pickup (for example, you want to spend more coins before possibly acquiring Collectible Skatole iconSkatole), leave the room - this resets the Shell Game (though your previous coin is lost).
  • An Arcade with a Blood Donation MachineBlood Donation Machine and a Shell Game can provide Isaac with a large amount of resources. Donate the hearts that the beggar drops to the machine and use the coins to keep playing.
  • Item payouts are subjected to the same spawning chances as usual. BombBombs can be replaced with Troll BombTroll Bombs or Double BombDouble Bombs, Red HeartRed Hearts can be replaced with Half Red HeartHalf Red Hearts, Soul HeartSoul Hearts, Black HeartBlack Hearts, Eternal HeartEternal Hearts, or (in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Bone HeartBone Hearts, and PennyPennies can be replaced with NickelNickels or DimeDimes.
    • Under the effects of Collectible Humbleing Bundle iconHumbleing Bundle, bombs will be Double Bombs, Red Hearts will be Double Hearts, and Keys will be Key Rings.
  • (in Repentance) A "shellGame" item pool contains other items than just Collectible Skatole iconSkatole. However, the item pool is currently used only by the Collectible Bag of Crafting iconBag of Crafting, becoming likely to draw from when the Character Tainted ??? iconTainted ??? exclusive Poop NuggetPoop Nugget is included in the recipe.

(in Repentance) Hell Game[ | ]

Hell Game

Hell Game beggars work the same way as Shell Game beggars, except hearts are required to play. After paying the beggar by bumping into them, they will lift a skull, revealing a Black Heart, Blue Spider, Bomb, Item, Key, Penny or Tarot Card. The beggar will then shuffle the skulls around and wait for Isaac to bump into one of the skulls. In return, the beggar will spawn either a payout related to the item shown, or a SpiderSpider. After spawning an item pedestal, the Hell Game and the beggar will disappear.

Payouts[ | ]

  • Black Heart: the beggar will spawn one Black HeartBlack Heart.
  • Blue Spider: the beggar will spawn two Blue Spiders.
  • Bomb: the beggar will spawn two random BombBombs.
  • Item: the beggar will spawn the item shown and then disappear.
  • Key: the beggar will spawn two random KeyKeys.
  • Penny: the beggar will spawn 2-3 random Coins.
  • Tarot Card: the beggar will spawn one random Card or Rune, despite always showing a Tarot Card.

Notes[ | ]

  • The shell chosen is irrelevant; possession of a Collectible Lucky Foot iconLucky Foot increases chances of winning.
  • Due to the way the payouts work, the beggar may not always spawn the pickup shown in the shell. For example a regular bomb may be shown, but the beggar may spawn a Troll Bomb and a Double Bomb.
  • The item shown in each Hell Game will not change. This means that Isaac can't just leave the room if they see a bad item to avoid it being the reward.
  • Unlike the devil beggar, bombing a Hell Game beggar does not affect the chance for an angel room to appear. Like the devil beggar, however, it will spawn spiders.
  • Sigil of BaphometSigil of Baphomet: the invincibility after killing an enemy can be used to play for free. Since the Hell Game spawns a spider when Isaac loses, this can be used to get a free play after every loss.

Unlocked by: Hell Game Defeat Mega Satan as Character Tainted Azazel iconTainted Azazel.

Unlockable Achievements[ | ]

In-game Footage[ | ]


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