Familiar Replacement

[Oni]

I love the idea.

I think the wizard being able to call it to his hand would be cool. At lower levels this could act like a Mage Hand spell that only affects the staff. Maybe as a move equivalent action, maybe not.

At higher level the Instant Summons idea is cool. but I'd limit to maybe once a week or something.


Another idea, is perhaps it allows for spellfocus in one school when it is held. That would make it desirable enough that wizards would want to take the risk of using the staff, because it someways it is a weakness, even with it's high hardness a strong fighter and a great many monsters could reduce it to kindling without too much effort, and it can't seek safety like a familiar can (also see this as analogous to the granted alertness feat of a familiar).

The ability to store a limited number of spells might be interesting.

could be slightly cheaper to enchant it.

could give it some kind of retributive strike ability for that vengeful and desperate wizard.

maybe it could be used as a limited spellbook, or use spellmastery in some way.

maybe it could hold xp that could be used in place of material components (though I would make it at least a lengthy task to put them in the staff).

maybe it could be used to absorb a certain number of spell levels before it is destroyed (in which case the wizard would have to wait a year and a day to craft another one) this would be kind of a safety net for frail wizards but they wouldn't want to use it too often.

Anyway, just some brainstorming.

 

[Purzel]

. . . even with it's high hardness a strong fighter and a great many monsters could reduce it to kindling without too much effort, and it can't seek safety like a familiar can (also see this as analogous to the granted alertness feat of a familiar).

. . .

Anyway, just some brainstorming.

Thanks for the brainstorming. Speaking of hardness i'm playing with the idea to give the staff a hardness of 1/2 the wizard's hitpoints or 5, whichever is better. The staff's own hitpoints stay the same.

 

[thullgrim]

maybe a type 1 ability to increase the staffs hardness by 5. I thinks its a fairly reasonable Type 1.

I definitely think Spell Resistance is a type 4 or 5 ability.

Spell Focus seems reasonable as a 2 with GSF as a 3.

+1 caster level to XXX designation spells seems right to me as a high type 1 or average type 2 ability.

I definitely think some kind of progression for unlimited casting of a specific cantrip might be reasonable. For instance:
Type 1-->

Cantrip Casting
Benefit: The staffs owner may cast a cantrip chosen when the ability is acquired. Said cantrip may be cast 2/day.
Special: This ability may be chosen multiple times, each time with a different cantrip

Improved Spell Casting
Your staff allows you to cast a spell with greater effect
Benefit: +1 caster level to a spell with xxx designator or school of magic, for example [Fire], [Evil], [Mind Affecting], or Evocation, Abjuration, and so on.
Special: This ability may be selected multiple times. Each time it is selected either a new desigantion must be chose, or the ability applies to a previously selected designator (these woold stack)

Type 2-->
Cantrip Casting II
Prereq: Cantrip Casting
Benefit: As Cantrip Casting I but cantrip may be used 4/day

Type 3-->
Cantrip Casting III
Prereq: Cantrip Casting II
Benefit: As Cantrip Casting I but the cantrip may be cast an unlimited number of times per day.


ok there were a few thoughts...

Thullgrim

 

[Purzel]

One thing that needs some serious brainstorming

I'm not happy with the name "Wizard Staff". The word staff overlaps with the D&D magic item rules.

How would you name it? Does anybody know an alternative neat word for staff?

 

[thullgrim]

Arcane Focus?
By making term very unfocused the wizard could conceivably use any item, an elven wizard could use a long sword for instance, while a human wizard might use a staff or club, or hell a book or bell or whatever. The object must be as least as large as a dagger I would think, a wand or rod sized object would work as well. A witch might have a cauldron.


Thullgrim

edit: Missed a few words in my haste

 

[Ravellion]

I'd say use staff anyway. Perhaps "Bonded staff". if you don't use staff, then you should also take away the requirement of the masterwork quarterstaff I think. That said, I ran staff through a thesaurus... but I did not find many useful results.

Rav

 

[Quip]

Hehe, I was chatting with purzel before he posted here and I suggested a generic "focus" first thing. Maybe now he'll actually do it.

As a generic item, just replace "masterwork staff" with "masterwork item" or base value greater than 100 gold, incase you use a gem or something.

No more names for staff that aren't already game terms, except maybe cudgel and scepter, but those aren't very cool.


Oh and expect a sorcerer version of this idea to appear soon.

 

[Purzel]

Here are some ideas, that i dropped. Maybe they are the seed for better suggestions or for other minor abilities.

Raising the Armor Class of the staff:
I wanted to make the staff harder, but the "hardness" already does this better. No improved AC then.

Damage Resistance:
Well, the staff has hardness, which is more universal than DR. And anyways, DR is something creatures have, while the staff is just an item.

Arcane Mark:
Because this cantrip can't do much (or any) harm, i pondered about making it an unlimited ability of the staff. But that would end up with dungeon walls full of arcane graffiti: "Elminster was here". I replaced this with the spontaneous cantrip idea.

Magic Weapon/Ghosttouch:
I played with the idea, that the staff eventually becomes a +1 (later a +2) weapon on its own. But what i really wanted was, that the staff is so stuffed with magic, that it becomes able to hurt incorporeal creatures too (Ghosttouch weapon enchantment).
Dropped this, because it's not really useful for a non-fighter.

Powering Touch spells:
Every touch spell cast thru the staff could be powered up, like DC+1 or casterlevel+1. Or non-touch spells could be cast (and powered) thru the staff (i.e. a Charm Person). But this idea sounded way too powerful.

Help when dispelling:
+2 casterlevel when counterspelling (with Dispel Magic etc.) using the staff.

Free Feat:
Spell Penetration. Boring and stupid idea.

 

[Purzel]

Balance problem?

I discussed a problem with Quip. In my original rule idea i allow, that the staff is a masterwork weapon or better. So the wizard can have upto a +5 weapon as his personal staff and he could use the "Touch" ability to deliver his touches with a +5 bonus to hit.

Quip thinks, that this is very powerful and should be balanced. Against touch attacks only Dex and Deflection are useful, so enemy ACs are pretty low.

I think it's okay, because the staff has many disadvantages compared to a familar, it's only fair to give it this good ability.

 

[thullgrim]

I personally don't see it as a problem for the staff to be enchanted with a enhancement bonus, or for that matter other weapon enchantments. It hurts the wizard in a couple of ways. Other wizards will attempt to destroy his staff, I can see minions being ordered to sunder the weapon. Allowing the staff to be enchanted also means the wizard is putting alot of eggs in one basket. yeah it might be a big basket and hold a boat load of eggs but once the basket is dropped there ain't going to be any breakfast. I think its fine. Some of the weapon enchantments could be made available as staff ability with the equivalet + modifier equal to the Type of the ability. Spell Storing comes to mind.