Should staves work as magic weapons?

[urbanwolf]

I house rule them as being +1weapons or +1/+1 if it a quarterstaff unless it says otherwise like the Staff of the Woodlands.

I threw in a rule of 10% chance to shatter on a natural 1

I was also thinking of giving discounts of 10, 15 or even 25% on weapon enchants if they have synergy with the staff

Like placing flaming on a Staff or Fire or Defending on a Staff of Defense

the discount would be after adding the 1.5 multiplier for adding a new effect to a magic Item

So what do other DM's think
and how about players

[Morcleon]

I house rule them as being +1weapons or +1/+1 if it a quarterstaff unless it says otherwise like the Staff of the Woodlands.

Not too bad, I guess. A touch of backup, without being powerful.


I threw in a rule of 10% chance to shatter on a natural 1

...then why would you ever use it to attack? :smalleek:


I was also thinking of giving discounts of 10, 15 or even 25% on weapon enchants if they have synergy with the staff

Like placing flaming on a Staff or Fire or Defending on a Staff of Defense

the discount would be after adding the 1.5 multiplier for adding a new effect to a magic Item

So what do other DM's think
and how about players

Unless they're a gish (in which case they would probably be using better weapons), they probably won't get anything other than Defending. :smalltongue:

Also, I'm not entirely sure that there even would be a x1.5 multiplier for the weapon enchantments. They are separate "parts" of the same object, in the same way that you can have +5 full plate and a +5 gauntlet without a price increase.

[Silvanoshei]

I house rule them as being +1weapons or +1/+1 if it a quarterstaff unless it says otherwise like the Staff of the Woodlands.

I threw in a rule of 10% chance to shatter on a natural 1

I was also thinking of giving discounts of 10, 15 or even 25% on weapon enchants if they have synergy with the staff

Like placing flaming on a Staff or Fire or Defending on a Staff of Defense

the discount would be after adding the 1.5 multiplier for adding a new effect to a magic Item

So what do other DM's think
and how about players

That's not how they function. It can be added that a wizard using their staff to wack someone on the head in combat would end badly for the wizard, and the player who controls him. His friends would use their own "staves coughbaseballbatcough" on him for not casting a spell instead.

You can do it though, you are the DM. However I would not change the mechanics of staves.

[urbanwolf]

It was not a Wizard who started me on this strange fancy

It was a paladin, with a staff of healing,
After taking some ability damage the paladin withdrew, dropped his longsword and pulled out the healing staff the party had just found.
(as the party pack mule of course he was holding it)

After casting lesser restoration and getting rid of the damage he charges back into combat to save the day

Paladin: I charge the Dragon Wizard(it was a Redspawn Arcanist) and activate Smite evil. Die you treacherous swine.

Me: Okay what are you attacking him with?

Paladin: Uhhh my sword.

Me: But you dropped your sword to pull out the staff.

Paladin: oh right. Well can I pick my sword up?

Me: Of course, but it is a move action so you won't be able to charge this round.

Paladin: Well I don't want to waste another round, can I just hit him with the staff?


Me: Well it's not really a weapon

Dragon Shaman: Sure it is, it dose 1d6 damage.

Me: No it's more of a magic tool.

Dragon Shaman: So then it should have a magic bonus

Paladin: Sweet I charge the pig with glow stick of doom.

Me:...

Party:...

Paladin:... Soooo?

ME: Fine it will work as a +1 magic weapon.

and from there the adventure continues.

Unrelated to the why. We play with critical fumbles on a natural one
(sorta I roll percentiles most of the time you just miss, but sometimes you stab yourself, or the person you are flanking with, or get you sword stuck in a nearby table, or even just drop it)

I just though Shattering a staff would be cool. All those charges randomly casting spells targeting random nearby squares, but maybe I should drop it from 10% to 1%.

[HunterOfJello]

All magical staffs are of Masterwork quality, so it is worth noting that.

[Ashtagon]

I play by RAW on this.

The are masterwork quarterstaves by default.

If you want to enchant it as a weapon, you can, subject to the standard weapon enchantment rules.

I also rule that a magical "rod" is functionally equal to a light mace. Magic wands do not have any weapon potential.

[Curmudgeon]

All magical staffs are of Masterwork quality, so it is worth noting that.
Where is that rule from?

[urbanwolf]

Where is that rule from?

page 284 of the DMG in table 7-32

[Rogue Shadows]

Where is that rule from?

Everything magical is masterwork, it's just that this rarely matters.


...then why would you ever use it to attack?

Well, a 10% break chance on a natural 1 (which itself only happens 5% of the time) means that it's only likely to break .5% of the time, or in other words, 1 time in 200. That's fairly low, especially seeing as it's unlikely to get swung all that often.

[ericgrau]

Where is that rule from?
The table here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm
EDIT for ninja #2: The table is much more clear, with the specific words "Masterwork quarterstaff."

There is also at least one example of an existing magic staff that is also a weapon.

It's not totally clear, but I'd say it's fine. Even by RAW. I mean you're basically enchanting the same item twice, but in two different ways. It is a valid base for both enchantments.

[Curmudgeon]

Everything magical is masterwork, it's just that this rarely matters.
That's not a general rule; it's specific to magical weapons and armor. It doesn't apply to rings, wands, potions, amulets, cloaks, boots, vests, robes, wondrous items, ...

[ericgrau]

Quite specifically: "Items that are not weapons or armor may or may not be masterwork items."

That doesn't contradict the magic staff rules that say you need a masterwork quarterstaff though, as the magic staff is also a quarterstaff weapon. The magic staff rules are more of a clarification because you could easily interpret a magic staff as being some kind of special non-weapon staff.

[Axier]

Anyway, staves are by default, non-magical masterwork quarterstaves. They should be enchantable as weapons, but that would be a separate cost.

They are a masterwork weapon.

That sounds good to me.

[Psyren]

Staff Magus from Pathfinder can treat any stave as a magical quarterstaff; you could brew up a feat for 3.5 that does something similar if you wanted, or simply port the class in.

[Agent 451]

They are a masterwork weapon.

And as such they are legal targets of wand chambers and weapon crystals. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247572)

[Keld Denar]

There is a feat in DotU specifically for beating people with magical staves to a heightened effect. They gain a bonus based on the number of charges remaining, and if you hit with both ends, you can release the spell effect as a swift action. Eilserva School, I think.

Probably best if the staff is rechargable, especially if you are going to be enhancing both ends for melee purposes.

[andromax]

After casting lesser restoration and getting rid of the damage he charges back into combat to save the day

Just as a curiosity as this came up in a game of mine lately.. did you observe the 3 round casting time of lesser restoration? Kind of sucks during combat.

[urbanwolf]

Just as a curiosity as this came up in a game of mine lately.. did you observe the 3 round casting time of lesser restoration? Kind of sucks during combat.

I did not

but I will be now that I know