Druidic Staff

[Vorput]

Hi all, I needed some ideas for a magical item I'm going to be giving to a character in my campaign.

She's a druid, and she has to go on a quest to get it- but that I all have figured out, essentially it's a gift to her from nature itself.

I had some questions abouts the staff itself though, what kind of powers should it have. The staff represents the balance inherent in nature, a balance that is swayed by neither good nor evil, law nor chaos, celestials nor fiends. (If any of you are familiar with the Wyre storyhour, think along those lines)

The druid (and the party she's in) just hit 5th level.

My question is what kind of staff would fit this balance-type theme, but not to be too overpowered for a druid of her level. However, also worth noting- is that i don't want this to be an item she tosses out after two levels either, it has a larger role to play in the campaign as a whole.

I do own weapons of legacy, and there's that whole the weapon becomes more powerful as you do idea, but we currently already have one legacy weapon in the campaign and its caused nothing but headaches.

So... any idea? Thx in advance.

 

[birdchili]

staff can "root" in natural ground at will.

staff can "grow" to some large size.

use as climbing aid, to cross chasms, to hold something to the ceiling, to force open a door, etc...

you'd need to figure out exactly how strong it was and how much strength it could exert while "growing".

this seems pretty simple, but could be used for lots of creative stuff.

EDIT: perhaps make it so every year the staff gets a new "ring" (ala real tree). new powers with more rings.

 

[MirrorMask]

I have always liked the idea that the staff has a permanancy spell of sheleighlie (sp?) on it, so it always does a D10. Also you could add that it holds a daylight spell within it, and can be used X amount of times per day, but must be repleneshed the next day by the sunlight itself.
OR
You could make it a permanancy spell of ironwood and make each end or just one end sharp as steel. Make it a masterwork weapon, since it was formed by the very nature of the world itself, so she gets bonuses for that. You could also make it keen weapon.

Just my two big fat coppers

 

[Corsair]

Step 1: Do not make it a staff. Staves are just glorified wands. Make it a rod.

Step 2: Any magical abilities, do not make them charged. What good is a neato weapon/item if it is just gonna die on you? X/day, X/week is the way to go.

Step 3: You can easily make it more powerful in the hands of a more powerful wielder. You don't need a Book of Legacy to tell you how to do that.

Good examples of rods which follow #1 and #2 are the Rod of Thunder and Lightning, Rod of the Python, etc. The Rod of Flame Extinguishing gives an alternate way to deal with uses per day, and might be worth looking into.

 

[Megatron]

IMC druids of the staff all carry staves born of the branches of one of the World Trees. It serves as a focus for all spells and as a symbol of authority. All staves are unique.
Example
the Staff of Annaoj:Touch attacks for casting spells can be channeled through the Staff, these also deal 1d8+1 bludgeoning damage, Spell-like-abilities: Touch of Fatigue, Pass without a trace, Faerie Fire. The Staff also functions as a +1 spell-storing club.

 

[arwink]

I agree with the suggestion to make it a rod.

Set a group of low-level powers appropriate for the PC's level, and describe it as a length of wood that is tipped with living leaves and other signs of being a healthy chunk of wood. It opperates in a cycle - every 28 days the leaves turn orange and die off, leaving a staff that resembles a tree in the heart of wood. Once the staff is completely dead, it must be planted in the earth under the light of the full moon, whereupon it replenishes itself and becomes living wood once more.

If the staff misses its planting during the full moon, then it's effectively powerless for a period of 28 days. It's powers are inherently linked to the power of the druid that wields it, so every couple of levels you can simply state that it regenerates with a few new powers that allow it to scale with the character.

 

[dutorn]

I have always liked the idea that the staff has a permanancy spell of sheleighlie (sp?) on it, so it always does a D10. Also you could add that it holds a daylight spell within it, and can be used X amount of times per day, but must be repleneshed the next day by the sunlight itself.

I think this idea could represent the balance by adding darkness to the list. Light once a day, recharged by light. Darkness once a day, recharged by darkness. Or whoever many times a day you want to put in there.

 

[MirrorMask]

I think this idea could represent the balance by adding darkness to the list. Light once a day, recharged by light. Darkness once a day, recharged by darkness. Or whoever many times a day you want to put in there.

That is a good one to add to it. Didn't think of that myself, but I like it

 

[Zappo]

My current BBEG has a staff of about a dozen evil druids. It used to be much larger, but most of them got killed when...

...oh, wait. Nevermind.

 

[Vorput]

Thx for all the ideas everyone, here's what I ended up coming up with (subject to "sprout" new powers in the future).



Tendril of the Green


The Tendril of the Green is a magical rod, created from the essence of the earth herself, as a gift to her servant Etheriel.

The Tendril is a club, resembling a tree branch. It functions as a +2 club. It’s two feet long, and weighs about 4 pounds. The Tendril is covered in bright green foliage and leaves. Over a 28 day cycle, this foliage goes through the full spectrum of a normal tree. Its leaves will slowly turn red, yellow, and orange, the colors of autumn- and eventually fall off, until the Tendril resembles a tree in the dead of winter. At this point, it loses all powers until planted into the ground for a full day and night, needing a day with at least some sunshine- and a night with a full moon.

While powered, the Tendril is capable of casting:

Know Direction at will
Daylight 1/day
Plant Growth 1/day
Speak with plants 1/day
Awaken 1/wk*

The rod also has the ability to root itself in natural ground at will. While rooted, it can be commanded to grow up to 60 feet in size, increasing to a 5 foot diameter while doing this- essentially mimicking a Quall’s feather token (tree), but with the desired height and appearance (i.e. oak tree, elm tree, etc.) being controllable. It takes 3 rounds to reach its max height (20 feet a round) and exerts pushing power equal to a creature with a strength score of 28.

The caster level is 9th, or the level of the Druid wielding it- whichever is higher.