Swords as staffs: Decoration or what?

[RobW]

Is making your staff from a sword (or other weapon) just a decorative flourish, or does it affect staff damage?

The Staff spell p 18 says it is just decoration: "Regardless of what the staff looks like – rod, wand, quarterstaff, etc. – it is an occult weapon which does one die of damage (adjacent hex only) when the wizard points with it"

But on p 148 "The Wizard's Staff" says a sword as a staff has the advantage of being a "deadly weapon, can be enhanced by staff-strike power".

This is a little confusing to me. I think I would rule you could strike with a sword-staff either as a sword or a staff. But the bit about "enhanced by staff-strike power" suggests something else and makes me wonder what the intended rule is.

[hcobb]

IQ 14 wizard with sword skill (4 slots!) and Staff of Power gets the mundane and the occult attacks each turn.

[JohnPaulB]

ITL P148

Most staves are wood, but bone, ivory, silver, and combinations are allowable, and gem decorations are common for wealthy wizards.

Sword (must be silver, or it’s just a club). Advantages: deadly weapon, can be enhanced by staff-strike power. Disadvantage: of less use unless you have Sword training.

You cannot have a “staff” in the form of a ring, shoe, false tooth, or whatever; the symbolism is all wrong.

[The Wyzard]

Oh, boo. I liked the idea of a ring that was a staff.

Still.

Sword-staves are cool.

[Shadekeep]

Sounds like a silver-tipped spear or halberd could be a staff, then. Though two-handing a staff is pretty impractical, since it could get in the way of spellcasting.

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

Sounds like a silver-tipped spear or halberd could be a staff, then. Though two-handing a staff is pretty impractical, since it could get in the way of spellcasting.

One would think so, though technically the staff spell says staffs never impair spellcasting.

[hcobb]

Doesn't the staff have to be made out of all one substance?

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by Skarg

One would think so, though technically the staff spell says staffs never impair spellcasting.

Might not make a difference then, unless the rule about needing to make gestures to cast spells at certain levels still holds. Those might require at least one hand free. But any two-handed polearm can be held in one hand, it's only the actual wielding that requires two, so potentially still not an issue. In fact, I would venture that the rules allow a two-handed polearm to be a staff, because they allow a quarterstaff, which is a two-handed weapon. Again, just the silver requirement would need to be honoured.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Doesn't the staff have to be made out of all one substance?

Is that explicit in the rules? It does say "piece of wood", and then later allows a silver sword. Those are technically homogenous, though I suspect gems and other ornamentation would be allowed. If it's not spelled out in the rules, it may be inferred as implicit, depending on one's reading.

[hcobb]

ITL page 148 "Most staves are wood, but bone, ivory, silver, and combinations are allowable, and gem decorations are common for wealthy wizards."

How many powerstones can you put on your staff? Does this count as touching them?