Star Rod (Paper Mario)

The Star Rod is a magical rod that can make wishes come true. Bowser steals the Star Rod from Star Haven at the beginning of Paper Mario. He uses it to grant all his evil wishes. Activating it, he easily defeats Mario by making himself invincible. Mario and his partners must save the seven Star Spirits to deactivate the Star Rod's power.

According to Russ T., who lives in Toad Town, ancient magic created this Star Rod long ago.

In the final two battles against Bowser, the Koopa King uses the star rod to make himself invincible or to recover HP. After freeing all of the Star Spirits, Mario can use the star beam to cancel out the Star Rod's effects when Bowser makes himself invincible.

Trivia

 * There is an item with a similar look and same name, the Star Rod, which appeared in the Kirby series.