Dagger-Staff

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by Skarg

I'm surprised you didn't mention the idea of throwing the dagger staff... then when someone picks it up they get blasted for 3d damage.

Indeed. FWIW, I'd not even allow such a tactic with a staff, with the rationale that the wizard actually wants the staff to be picked up, thereby negating the explosion that occurs when someone picks it up "against [the wizard's] will."

[hcobb]

Compare with ITL 155 "weapons must be ready before their power works", which staves explicitly violate in several mentions such as ITL 149 "However, if you put down the staff, the fifth ring will work"

I.e. a silver dagger with four enchantments only works for a warrior when wielded while a wizard could put Staff on it and these enchantments activate from the holster.

[MikMod]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Compare with ITL 155 "weapons must be ready before their power works", which staves explicitly violate in several mentions such as ITL 149 "However, if you put down the staff, the fifth ring will work"

I.e. a silver dagger with four enchantments only works for a warrior when wielded while a wizard could put Staff on it and these enchantments activate from the holster.

If those four enchantments were on a necklace, the warrior wouldn't need to 'wield' the jewellery would they?

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Compare with ITL 155 "weapons must be ready before their power works", which staves explicitly violate in several mentions such as ITL 149 "However, if you put down the staff, the fifth ring will work"

I.e. a silver dagger with four enchantments only works for a warrior when wielded while a wizard could put Staff on it and these enchantments activate from the holster.

The rule you quote does not support your position. There is nothing the the guidelines for staves that suggests that additional enchantments which would normally require one to have the item ready, such as giving it the powers of a Rod of Lightning, would be accessible if the staff is merely worn. The rule on ITL 148 that states that staves must be held or worn to be useful would only apply to the Staff spells, not other enchantments. From my perspective, this rule is a mistake anyway; letting wizards have access to a slung/worn staff's powers just seems wrong.

[Helborn]

I've always played that it requires contact with skin. That is still the understanding of "worn" that I use. Stick it in your belt but have it touching your skin. I know that RAW does not require it but I think it makes more sense.

[FireHorse]

ITL 148 does indeed say "The wizard must be holding or wearing the staff for it to be useful."

But ITL 18 says the Staff "is an occult weapon that does one die of damage (front hexes only) when the wizard points with it."

So if you must be holding (and pointing with) the Staff to use it for occult attacks, then it seems logical to assume that applies to any other kind of attack, like embedded Rod spells — and if that's the case, then the only way the Staff can still be "useful" (as ITL 148 says) while merely wearing the thing must be the only other thing a Staff does anyway, which is serving as a Mana battery.

So you can suck Mana out of it while it's strapped to your back, but you can't cast any spells through it. For that, it's gotta be in your hands.

Or so say I.

[hcobb]

Pointing is so Staff I. By Staff III you're zapping behind yourself and with Staff IV you can let the occult blast go while frozen.

[KevinJ]

You mean this?
https://youtu.be/W1bszeudJCE

[larsdangly]

I was going through the wizard cards in Decks of Destiny and noticed there is some official vindication for hhobb's frequent discussion of 'dagger staffs': One of the wizards we were sent does the same thing!

[hcobb]

Yes, see ITL 148 for other variants.

Question: Why use a wand when those two memory points in Knife lets you make three attacks per turn at DX+3, DX, and DX-4.