D&D 5E Using a quarterstaff one handed?

[Leatherhead]

Thing is, the quarterstaff does the same damage as a spear. It's just weird to me that poking someone with a blunt stick (even if it is metal shod or some-such) does the same damage as poking them with a spear.

Well, a spear is just a sharp stick.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

In 5e a quarterstaff is a versatile weapon.

I have no problem with this from a mechanics/balance perspective.

I just can't picture or see how this would work. How the heck do you attack with a quarterstaff one handed in any consistent/effective manner?

I'm not trying to be pedantic, and from a power perspective it's not just fine it's likely under-powered - Can anyone help me visualize how this would look?

In our game we flat-out houseruled that the Quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon rather than versatile.

If that is a bit extreme, then treat it like so many other weapons in D&D: the name is not the same as our real-life object. A "5e Quarterstaff" isn't 6-7 ft of thick wood. Its any stick between about 3 ft to 5 ft ish.
Think singlestick/jo staff/bartitsu style.

I've never seen any convincing evidence of an actual quarterstaff being able to be wielded effectively on one hand. Even Gandalf doesn't seem to be actually taking orcs down with his, but rather using it as a distraction.

 

[JonnyP71]

It's a victim of multiple weapons being combined into one for simplicity's sake.

In reality, a proper Quarterstaff was indeed a 2-handed weapon - 6-8 feet long

The one handed variants are those used in mainly Japanese martial arts, the Jo and the Hanbo - they can be described as being staves, but neither comes close to the size and weight of a true quarterstaff.

D&D sort of meshes the two together to create a fictional in-between thing, in an effort to give the weapon some sort of niche.


(edit - serves me right for not reading the later pages of the thread, Cap'n Kobold beat me to it by an hour )

 

[thethain]

To the point of "That person isn't using it as a simple weapon" that has zero meaning in 5e. A person is proficient or not in a weapon. There is no double, triple training in weapons like in 2e. A wizard using a staff is just as good at fighting with it as a fighter is. The fighter just knows how to make more attacks, and likely has more strength to put behind the swing. But the proficiency bonus to hit is the exact same.

I think the real issue is when comparing it to a club, people think of a club as closer to a mace, when a club is a light weapon. Basically in 5e, its just a bit more than a handle.

Also I think its absurd to assume that just because you are holding a shield, the hand is completely incapable of assisting with the other hand in combat. Obviously you are going to be using two hands on the weapon at all times, but it can brace for moments when momentum or such need to be adjusted. The shield is strapped to your arm and will not fall off from a momentary adjustment. Even bracing or moving the weapon with the shield itself is fine.

 

[Iry]

This is obviously a spear, but there is no reason you could not use a quarterstaff like this:

[video=youtube_share;tAtbzV8CTV0]https://youtu.be/tAtbzV8CTV0?t=103[/video]

 

[Satyrn]

I don't like it one-handed myself, since it completely replaces the mace, and for some reason I hate the image of a cleric or druid with a staff and shield, with the sort of hatred most reserve for gnomes and paladins.

I see [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION] is doing a bangup job of turning his one voice into a cacophony.

 

[Mort]

I see [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION] is doing a bangup job of turning his one voice into a cacophony.

FWIW, I've gone from being somewhat down on paladins to thinking the 5e Paladin is great, both thematically and mechanically.

I'm actually disappointed no one in my group picked one for the current campaign.

Sent from my SM-G930V using EN World mobile app

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

This is obviously a spear, but there is no reason you could not use a quarterstaff like this:

[video=youtube_share;tAtbzV8CTV0]https://youtu.be/tAtbzV8CTV0?t=103[/video]

Well, a real quarterstaff would be too heavy. But you could use a lighter, thinner stick as long as you stuck to jabbing rather than trying to swing it with the leverage of only a single hand.

Of course poking people with the blunt end of a stick wielded one-handed isn't going to do much damage, and will be ineffective against most armour. So you might be better off putting a point on the end of that stick to make it dangerous.

You can't get a very sharp point on just wood, and it tends to splinter if it hits anything remotely solid. So you'd be better off using a metal point on the end of the stick.

. . .

 

[LapBandit]

At my table quarterstaff is a two handed weapon, eliminates all sorts of shenanigans.