Staff and IQ

[Shostak]

But the mana capability is a function of a higher IQ version of the spell. I'd argue that being able to tap into it is tied to IQ.

[Skarg]

Interesting RAW question.

It looks to me like it's up to the GM's reading of the rules (or as always, their ruling of how they want it to work in their game).

The only thing that looks literally explicit is the limit on increasing the mana stat using XP, which does say, "By spending 200 XP, the wizard may add 1 to the mana of the staff, up to a limit equal to the wizard’s current IQ stat".

The main questions though would be whether you can use the staff mana, or the arcane attacks, if your IQ's temporarily too low for the spell. As I find the whole thing rather a parade of new abilities, (and because it seems interesting and fun to me, and Confusion on a wizard tends to be a rare thing to pull off anyway) I'd tend to want to rule that they all don't work if your IQ falls lower than the spell level for them.

[FireHorse]

Originally Posted by Shostak

But the mana capability is a function of a higher IQ version of the spell.

Yes, but while the effects of Confusion will temporarily prevent the casting of new high-IQ spells, it also says the victim "can re-energize spells already cast". So if Confusion doesn't cancel existing high-IQ spells, even when they require upkeep, there's no reason it would cancel the Staff spell that made the Wizard's walking stick a Staff — especially when it doesn't even require upkeep to function.

For the duration of that IQ loss, the Staff is no different from a Powerstone. And you don't need to be capable of making one just to use it.

[Steve Plambeck]

Originally Posted by Shostak

But the mana capability is a function of a higher IQ version of the spell. I'd argue that being able to tap into it is tied to IQ.

If I'm playing by the RAW, I would rule that the higher IQ was indeed necessary to attach the Mana stat to the Staff, and once created that's just how that Staff works. So the Mana capacity of the Staff would remain at X even when the wizard's IQ fell below X. The dilemma for the PC would come if they lost or broke that Staff before their IQ had returned to normal. In that case they wouldn't be able to make a new Staff with a Mana capacity above their IQ level at the time.

In reality I'm not planning on using the new Staff rules as written, if at all, so I wouldn't have to worry about that anyway, or at least not for the same reasons. My preference would be to say every Staff comes with a Mana capacity, and it's the skill (or experience) of the wizard that determines how much Mana they can focus into the thing.