Quarterstaff Questions

[Isk]

Hey, I have some questions concerning quarterstaffs:

1. The PhB shows the quarterstaff as versatile, so you can use it in one hand with a shield?
2. Druid/Mage implements can be staffs, are staffs quarterstaffs? If not, what would be the rules for hitting someone with your staff? (I'm thinking Shillelagh here)
3. The polearm master feat applies to quarterstaffs. So I can hit someone when they enter melee with me despite the quarterstaff not being reach, and me using a shield with my quarterstaff?

If this has been covered under some errata can you direct me where to find it?

What I'm really after is a level 1+ nature cleric/level 5 fighter (battlemaster). I'd use heavy armor, shield and a quarterstaff (with shillelagh on the quarterstaff). I'd have 2 attacks per round, plus bonus action with the butt end of the staff, plus superiority dice damage... and if someone enters melee with me I can use my reaction to hit them.

[Douche]

Hey, I have some questions concerning quarterstaffs:

1. The PhB shows the quarterstaff as versatile, so you can use it in one hand with a shield?
2. Druid/Mage implements can be staffs, are staffs quarterstaffs? If not, what would be the rules for hitting someone with your staff? (I'm thinking Shillelagh here)
3. The polearm master feat applies to quarterstaffs. So I can hit someone when they enter melee with me despite the quarterstaff not being reach, and me using a shield with my quarterstaff?

If this has been covered under some errata can you direct me where to find it?

What I'm really after is a level 1+ nature cleric/level 5 fighter (battlemaster). I'd use heavy armor, shield and a quarterstaff (with shillelagh on the quarterstaff). I'd have 2 attacks per round, plus bonus action with the butt end of the staff, plus superiority dice damage... and if someone enters melee with me I can use my reaction to hit them.

1- actually it means that it shows great versatility. You can use it as a walking stick, a fishing pole, to whack people upside the head... the possibilities are endless!
2- Only if you cut it into 4 pieces, unfortunately.
3- I dunno man.

[RickAllison]

Hey, I have some questions concerning quarterstaffs:

1. The PhB shows the quarterstaff as versatile, so you can use it in one hand with a shield?
2. Druid/Mage implements can be staffs, are staffs quarterstaffs? If not, what would be the rules for hitting someone with your staff? (I'm thinking Shillelagh here)
3. The polearm master feat applies to quarterstaffs. So I can hit someone when they enter melee with me despite the quarterstaff not being reach, and me using a shield with my quarterstaff?

If this has been covered under some errata can you direct me where to find it?

What I'm really after is a level 1+ nature cleric/level 5 fighter (battlemaster). I'd use heavy armor, shield and a quarterstaff (with shillelagh on the quarterstaff). I'd have 2 attacks per round, plus bonus action with the butt end of the staff, plus superiority dice damage... and if someone enters melee with me I can use my reaction to hit them.

1) Yes.
2) A quarterstaff could not be used as a druidic focus, but the 5 gp staff could be wielded and used with Shillelagh as one. The first part is only so you can't get the same benefits for a tenth of the cost.
3) Yes. It is not about the reach in terms of squares but as the way that it's wielded that makes it out-reach other weapons of that class.

[Slipperychicken]

1. Yes, you can use a quarterstaff in one hand and a shield in the other
2. I don't think so, but it makes sense. I know my DM would allow me to do that. It wouldn't hurt to ask your DM.
3. Yes. With polearm master and a quarterstaff, you can make an attack of opportunity when an enemy enters your reach.


If you just want a shillelagh quarterstaff fighter, there are a few ways to do it.
-Druid dip, like you noted
-Nature Cleric dip (pick shillelagh as one of the cantrips)
-Take the feat Magic Initiate, pick druid as the class and shillelagh as a cantrip
-Three levels of Warlock, pick tome pact, take shillelagh as a cantrip (gets the spell keyed to charisma IIRC)


As a battlemaster looking to get lots of attacks, you may be interested in the Riposte maneuver. That lets you hit an enemy who misses you in melee, which should hopefully be pretty often due to your good AC. Also it doesn't rely on the strength or dex-based battlemaster save DC, which I imagine won't be as high since your attacks will key off wisdom.

[Millstone85]

Regarding your second question, the DMG states on page 140 that
Unless a staff's description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff.though that is in the context of magic items.

[Coffee_Dragon]

Actually my group houseruled quarterstaffs to be two-handed instead of versatile (but still compatible with for instance monk bonus attacks). If it's short enough that using it one-handed makes any sense, then it's a club.

[JackPhoenix]

While the druidic/arcane focus staff isn't specificaly equated to a quarterstaff anywhere in the rules, I think it would be common DM ruling. Barring that, you can use it as an improvised weapon: due to being very similar to an existing weapon (quarterstaff), it should use the same proficiency and stats.

I think the difference is that focus staves are carved, decorated by tying stuff at one end, crystal (or skull, or stuffed animal) tipped or such thing, while quarterstaff is a simple wooden (or bamboo) stick

[RickAllison]

While the druidic/arcane focus staff isn't specificaly equated to a quarterstaff anywhere in the rules, I think it would be common DM ruling. Barring that, you can use it as an improvised weapon: due to being very similar to an existing weapon (quarterstaff), it should use the same proficiency and stats.

I think the difference is that focus staves are carved, decorated by tying stuff at one end, crystal (or skull, or stuffed animal) tipped or such thing, while quarterstaff is a simple wooden (or bamboo) stick

Magic focus staves also seem to be made of more expensive and powerful wood, like yew. Hence the 10X mark-up in price!

[georgie_leech]

Actually my group houseruled quarterstaffs to be two-handed instead of versatile (but still compatible with for instance monk bonus attacks). If it's short enough that using it one-handed makes any sense, then it's a club.

Do note that makes it more difficult for any prospective Gandalf's to use their namesake's preferred style of fighting, and while common sense applies it messes with a couple monk features. There are actually several ways of using a short staff (4-5 feet) one handed. It just that it doesn't resemble what one does with a club at all.

[Hrugner]

Apparently, if you have polearm master, you can hit someone with the other side of the quarterstaff while wielding it one handed as well.

[RickAllison]

Apparently, if you have polearm master, you can hit someone with the other side of the quarterstaff while wielding it one handed as well.

That does make some sense. If you want it to be less unwieldy, you grab it higher on the staff so the moment is less.

[Coffee_Dragon]

That does make some sense. If you want it to be less unwieldy, you grab it higher on the staff so the moment is less.

I'm not sure I see how that makes sense. The way I figure, if you want to deliver force with a quarterstaff, you grab one end with one hand, put your other hand maybe two feet apart, and then swing the staff hoping to hit someone with the other end. Take one hand out of the picture and you're just not going to be able to efficiently impart momentum to the staff - at least not in a way that takes advantage of the fact that it is a staff and not a spear or an awkwardly shaped club.

But then the bonus attack of Polearm Master never made sense to me generally. If you're fighting with a halberd, from what I've read, you either hold it level and thrust, or you lift it up and then let it chop down. If you're not fighting in an infantry formation and have no allies around you, I guess you could also try to swing it sideways. But in no case should you ever come up with the notion that you could increase your fighting efficiency by occasionally turning the weapon right around to try to tap your enemy with the back end.

[Tanarii]

But then the bonus attack of Polearm Master never made sense to me generally. If you're fighting with a halberd, from what I've read, you either hold it level and thrust, or you lift it up and then let it chop down. If you're not fighting in an infantry formation and have no allies around you, I guess you could also try to swing it sideways. But in no case should you ever come up with the notion that you could increase your fighting efficiency by occasionally turning the weapon right around to try to tap your enemy with the back end.European Polearms are generally designed for ranked unit warfare. Polearm Master makes much more sense as a feat if you think of it as an pseudo-oriental fighting style. ie martial arts movies.

That's why I prefer to use it with a Glaive. At least that somewhat vaguely resembles a naginata in form. I have no how naginata and chinese versions were used IRL, but I know they're all about whirling, chopping, doubling-up & butt-smashing in my movie-inspired imagination. :)

[mer.c]

Hmm, interesting point. Butt-end attacks with Pike/Halberd/Glaive/1hQuarterstaff all seem various levels of nuts to me, with 2H staff being the only one that seemed plausible. But now that you mention it, thinking of it as a naginata makes a lot of sense.

[soldersbushwack]

Is there some way of quickly doing Shillelagh twice?

It might be interesting to do two-weapon fighting with two Shillelaghed staves (with the Dual Wielder feat.)

Additionally you might be able to get those staffs to count as Druidic focuses or Arcane focuses.

[Coffee_Dragon]

European Polearms are generally designed for ranked unit warfare. Polearm Master makes much more sense as a feat if you think of it as an pseudo-oriental fighting style. ie martial arts movies.

This is more or less how I can try to justify the one-handed quarterstaff, like, you stick one end under your armpit to provide the needed leverage while you use the other arm to make a demoralizing jazz hand. I just have a hard time believing it would be a good idea, and maybe a system with pretenses of simulation should make that a monk ribbon or something.

I do like glaives and naginata. When internetting for pictures of naginata, it seems they are mostly held at the end when fighting (so that shifting your grip and attacking with the light and blunt butt end would just take valuable time out of hitting with the sharp and heavy front end), although there are also people posing and holding them near the middle (also, they were evidently the weapon of choice of scantily clad females). Some are depicted as so short they can hardly be said to belong to the same class of weapons as halberds, let alone pikes.

[Tanarii]

This is more or less how I can try to justify the one-handed quarterstaff, like, you stick one end under your armpit to provide the needed leverage while you use the other arm to make a demoralizing jazz hand. I just have a hard time believing it would be a good idea, and maybe a system with pretenses of simulation should make that a monk ribbon or something.Actual experience is a horrible thing when it comes to envisioning gaming. I can't really visualize one handed long staff fighting at all, having trained with one.

Something like Kilik's fighting style uses for his long range attacks in Soul Caliber? Huge sweeps holding on near the very end. Occasional super long thrusting motion, again holding it near the end. But his style counts on switching between one and two handed frequently. With a shield you'd be restricted to holding it at the end and swinging it around your head a lot. You'd be screwed the first time you actually hit something.

[djreynolds]

Hey, I have some questions concerning quarterstaffs:

1. The PhB shows the quarterstaff as versatile, so you can use it in one hand with a shield?
2. Druid/Mage implements can be staffs, are staffs quarterstaffs? If not, what would be the rules for hitting someone with your staff? (I'm thinking Shillelagh here)
3. The polearm master feat applies to quarterstaffs. So I can hit someone when they enter melee with me despite the quarterstaff not being reach, and me using a shield with my quarterstaff?

If this has been covered under some errata can you direct me where to find it?

What I'm really after is a level 1+ nature cleric/level 5 fighter (battlemaster). I'd use heavy armor, shield and a quarterstaff (with shillelagh on the quarterstaff). I'd have 2 attacks per round, plus bonus action with the butt end of the staff, plus superiority dice damage... and if someone enters melee with me I can use my reaction to hit them.

Yes, but selecting Hill Dwarf will be best because of the strength requirement of heavy armor, no reason to put a 15 in strength needed for plate. And +1 wisdom and dwarven toughness.

But I might go 1 further and say go nature cleric and paladin, the 13's needed in wis, str, and chr are only 1 point buy ins but at 11th level you could add improved divine smite to all of your attacks, including the 1d4 bonus attack. And get spells.

Remember your staff attacks will be treated as 1d6 for 1 handed staff attacks, so adding smite on top would be better than the battlemaster's extra attack at 11th level.

[Slipperychicken]

But then the bonus attack of Polearm Master never made sense to me generally. If you're fighting with a halberd, from what I've read, you either hold it level and thrust, or you lift it up and then let it chop down. If you're not fighting in an infantry formation and have no allies around you, I guess you could also try to swing it sideways. But in no case should you ever come up with the notion that you could increase your fighting efficiency by occasionally turning the weapon right around to try to tap your enemy with the back end.

Well, clearly, you'd have to be some kind of Polearm Master to pull off that kind of stunt.