Small wizard with a staff?

[jaw6]

Can a small wizard use a staff? Per "Weapon Size" on PHB 220, small creatures can't use two-handed weapons. I'm inclined to allow it, just downgrade the weapon die size to 1d6.

 

[themightybiggun]

That seems right, he just needs a staff with the "small" keyword.

 

[Particle_Man]

I would say yes as an implement, but no as a weapon.

i mean if 10 foot pole was an implement, I wouldn't be able to use it as a weapon but I could cast spells through it.

Heck the small wizard could hold the staff erect on the ground, have the magic energy shoot up his arm, up the staff, and shoot out from the top of the staff at the bad guys. Swinging the staff like Robin Hood and Little John on the Bridge is not necessary.

 

[Stogoe]

I would say yes as an implement, but no as a weapon.

i mean if 10 foot pole was an implement, I wouldn't be able to use it as a weapon but I could cast spells through it.

Heck the small wizard could hold the staff erect on the ground, have the magic energy shoot up his arm, up the staff, and shoot out from the top of the staff at the bad guys. Swinging the staff like Robin Hood and Little John on the Bridge is not necessary.

I agree; halflings lose out on swinging their staff as a weapon, but they can still channel magic through it.

 

[timbannock]

I agree; halflings lose out on swinging their staff as a weapon, but they can still channel magic through it.

Are you implying a staff sized for a halfling is impossible?

 

[Danceofmasks]

Customer service ruled that implements must be wielded.
Staves count as quarterstaves, and since they must be wielded, they require two hands.
There are no small quarterstaves.

Halflings cannot use staves.

 

[Andur]

Just throw Small on the Staff and be done with it if you want to use it as a weapon.

As far as an implement goes, they do not follow the same rules a weapon. In fact under Staffs on pg 240 it defines a staff as:

A staff is a shaft of wood as tall or slightly taller than you are, sometimes crowned with a decorative crystal or some other arcane fetish. Fashioned either as a quarterstaff or a walking staff, it is... Unlike other implements, a staff also functions as a melee weapon...

So a halfling can use a staff as an implement, just can't use it as a melee weapon.

And Dance, it is Staffs, not Staves, in D&D...

 

[Danceofmasks]

Hey, it's not my ruling.
Take it up with customer service.
Really, some of their rulings may be tiresome (and IMO ridiculous and outright wrong), but until errata comes out, they're the most official we can get.

 

[Andur]

The ruling does not contradict the RAW. A Staff which is an implement does not have to be wielded as a melee weapon. It can be wielded as just an implement. Staff the implement is not a two handed implement, the only qualifier for staffs is that you must be a member of a class that can use a staff as an implement.

As long as the halfling doesn't try to use the staff in melee, they can use it as an implement all day long, in fact RAW, regardless of size, a halfling could use a Colossus Staff as an implement without penalty (though I doubt they'll be moving around much), a halfling cannot use ANY staff as a weapon.

Implement != weapon, each have specific rules for use. A Holy Symbol doesn't even need to be wielded, just held or worn. What you can't do with any Wizard or Warlock implement is hold one in your offhand and utilize its powers, you must actually wield it, which basically means you only get the benefit of one implement at a time.

 

[Particle_Man]

What you can't do with any Wizard or Warlock implement is hold one in your offhand and utilize its powers, you must actually wield it, which basically means you only get the benefit of one implement at a time.

Where does that off hand stuff come from?

A two weapon ranger can wield a weapon in each hand, including his off hand.

A two implement wizard can wield an implement in each hand, including her off hand.