Quarterstaff?

[Wolffenjugend]

How many feats and other stuff need to be spent to make the staff an effective weapon? I'm interested in it as a flavour thing, but I'd like to know if it's a complete waste of time or not (especially in regards to it being used as a double weapon). I'm thinking of using it for an 8th-lvl monk NPC.

 

[pawsplay]

For the monk, it's good, because in 3.5, it can be used as a Monk weapon. For other characters, you'll want Two Weapon Fighting. Other than that, you're looking at Weapon Focus, and eventually, Improved Critical (handy, since staves are never keen).

For a monk, you could eventually have a weapon that's +1 ki ghost touch on one side and +2 thundering on the other. For other characters, just go crazy with flaming holy/bane v. undead ghost touch weapons or whatever floats your boat.

If you have The Complete Warrior, there's a Feat that gives you +2 AC when fighting defensively with a quarterstaff.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Two-Weapon Fighting and Power Attack.

The first is when you can pull off a full attack, and the second is for when you can not.

The main advantage of the quarterstaff isn't it's utility in combat (which I am fond of), but in its generally harmless appearance. You can usually take them anywhere without guards even quirking an eyebrow at you.

 

[Zombie-a-GoGo]

The quarterstaff has great versatility in combat, I think. A Ftr could do worse than to choose a quarterstaff as his weapon of choice.

It's a double weapon for starters, good for trip attacks, the nre feat in the Complete Warrior mentioned above makes Expertise an even better choice when using it defensively; in addition, it's not too much of a stretch to talk your DM into letting you use it two-handed (like a club) when the situation demands it for a bangin' PA.

 

[Darklone]

Take one druid level. Shillelagh will make it worthwhile.

 

[Gaiden]

How many feats and other stuff need to be spent to make the staff an effective weapon? I'm interested in it as a flavour thing, but I'd like to know if it's a complete waste of time or not (especially in regards to it being used as a double weapon). I'm thinking of using it for an 8th-lvl monk NPC.

For damage, it is kind of a waste of time as the monk's unarmed damage is ALOT better. However, for special maneuvers it is invaluable - especially for disarming. The extra +4 to the check on top of the +4 from the feat makes disarms nearly automatic.

 

[Steverooo]

How many Feats? Zero!

A monk can use it as a monk weapon, and get their unarmed attack abilities with it!

Anyone can use it one-handed, or two-handed, for 1.5x STR Bonus. TWF isn't worth it, without the Feat, except against weak opponents at high levels (when you can afford to waste the BAB).

If used two-handed, Power Attack is nice. As mentioned, Shillelagh is even nicer! Maybe the GM will let the monk get one enchanted, thus?

For a monk, though, I don't believe TWF should be necessary... I'm sure HyperSmurf will be along, shortly, to correct me, if I'm wrong! ;-)

Oh yeah! And see if the GM will allow you a +2 Circumstance Bonus to Balance checks when using it as a balancing pole, too! (Mine did!)

 

[MerakSpielman]

(WARNING: Potentially pointless comparison to real life below)

I've never really understood the penalty for fighting using both ends of a quarterstaff. I've had training in a couple staff styles and I'm pretty confident when I say it's a lot easier to use both ends than it is to use just one end to fight. I try to picture what it would be like to just use one end, and frankly, I can't.

Maybe since I'm learning it via martial arts training I count as a monk, and I'm using my unarmed attack bonus plus flurry of blows.

 

[Kemrain]

(WARNING: Potentially pointless comparison to real life below)

I've never really understood the penalty for fighting using both ends of a quarterstaff. I've had training in a couple staff styles and I'm pretty confident when I say it's a lot easier to use both ends than it is to use just one end to fight. I try to picture what it would be like to just use one end, and frankly, I can't.

Maybe since I'm learning it via martial arts training I count as a monk, and I'm using my unarmed attack bonus plus flurry of blows.

Seriously, once you start looking at the world from a Monk's view, switching back to Fighter gets real hard. The only way I could see using a staff with one end is to use it with a Chinese-type style, wiedling it like a spear- or whipping it around your body like some crazy-light blunt two handed sword. However, if you do that, you get the 1.5x Str bonus to damage for using it 'two handed' because there's really no way to avoid that.

I've always been confused by the fact that staves only do 1d6 points of damage. If it's taken at one and and swung around, it picks up a lot of speed. I don't like the static 1.5x str to represent this, because even if you have a 10 strength, you can get that thing spinning up pretty damn hard. Oh well, such is balance.

- Kemrain the Rog 2, Monk 1.

 

[MerakSpielman]

I've always been confused by the fact that staves only do 1d6 points of damage.

Well, we all know the HP system doesn't translate very well to RL. In RL, any weapon can kill anybody with one hit. Based on the respective skill levels of the attacker and the defender it just sometimes takes a bit of luck. In RL, even a really great martial arts expert takes a young punk with a small knife seriously. There's no "I have 60 HP and that only does 1d3 so I'm perfectly safe" thought process.

A properly wielded staff can cave in skulls. There's a move in the form I know best specifically for doing just that. There are moves to hold the staff at one end like a "crazy-light blunt two handed sword." There are moves to block spears/javelins and supposidly, if you get really good, even arrows. There are stabbing moves that obviously crept in from a spear form sometime in the past. There are moves designed to cause massive damage to internal organs (after breaking a few ribs on the way). There are several simple combos that easily allow twelve attacks in 6 seconds, if you have some good speed going.

I'm not really that good at it yet, but I'm not going to have to learn special feats to take advantage of all this goodness - I just have to practice (like I'm ever going to need to fight with my staff in actual self defense, but that's not the point ).

Any weapon, in the hands of an expert, can kill in RL. Any weapon, in the hands of a rank amateur, can kill in RL. Neither of these two factors was accurately translated into D&D, nor do I think they can be.