Staves

[tleilaxu]

What I don't like about Staff rules for 3e is that (besides rechargable ones like Staff of Power and Staff of the Magi) they are little more than big wands that can fire off more than one spell.

I think it would be better if staffs instead gave x/at will /day /week /month powers or bonuses to spell DC, ability scores, or other abilities.

Whaddaya all thing?

 

[Kyramus]

staves can also be used in melee. They aren't just overly large wands that don't do anything.

 

[darkbard]

yeah, i'll have to agree that staves are somewhat lame for the cost. maybe something like x uses/week free of charge and then charges expended after x uses? or maybe a staff burns charges but "re-charges" itself at a rate of x per week? i dunno.

 

[tleilaxu]

what kind of a shoddy wizard must resort to banging stuff with his magic staff?

 

[Ravellion]

I agree. Which is why I just design my own "staves" (they actually more resemble wondrous items by the core rules) which have x/day activations, or even continuous. The Magic Item pricing is quite accurate when determining pricing for spell effects, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Rav

 

[Oni]

Couldn't you make a staff of that nature using craft rod and/or the craft wonderous item feats, depending on what you want it to do.

 

[tleilaxu]

Couldn't you make a staff of that nature using craft rod and/or the craft wonderous item feats, depending on what you want it to do.

but then what would i have to complain about? of course you could change it, but do 3e rules really reflect the way you've seen staves used in fantasy?

in 3e they're just magic bazookas with limited ammo

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Actually, you CAN make staffs that are usuable so many times per day.

I don't have my books any more (they got auctioned off), but I seem to recall that in the "designing magic items section" (the rules of thumb, not the paragraphs), there's talk about how to do it. It seems to be designed for wands, but still...

It needs a little DM input, but I think it's possible.

 

[RodneyThompson]

If you are looking for new ideas for staves, I'd keep an eye on The Game Mechanics' website. They're about to release Swords of Our Fathers, which is a new look at magical swords, and their next release after that is a book on making staves a more integrated part of your campaign.

http://www.thegamemechanics.com

It's the company run by ex-WotC staffers JD Wiker, Stan!, and Rich Redman.

 

[tleilaxu]

oh come on... there's gotta be more interest in the staff than this!