Staff Zaps

[hcobb]

The Staff spell enchants the target of the spell to be an "occult weapon" (ITL 18) that costs one fatigue to inflict a flare of magical energy. As with most other enchantments this spell has no impact on ordinary physical uses of the enchanted item. (Other than the immunity to critical failures of the Staff II+ (ITL 23), and the combination of physical attack and occult attack as a single action with Staff IV+ (ITL 30))

The staff zap is the use of a magic item and not the casting of a spell (ITL 148), that apparently functions as per the casting of special spell, and hence has the same modifiers as a thrown spell, other than range. (ITL 140). See the note about using any magic item (including the Dagger-Staff) in HTH at Hexagram #9, page 3.

Thrown Spells have the same to-hit penalties for target type as thrown weapons (ITL 115), save that they never hit any target the wizard did not intend to hit.

The net result of all of this is that the staff zap doesn't get facing bonuses (as thrown weapons do not, see map example at ITL 114) and spells do not (ITL 106). But it is subject to visibility and evasiveness to-hit mods of the target.

I take the "The wizard must be holding or wearing the staff for it to be useful" note at ITL 148 to indicate that a worn staff can function as a mana battery, but that the occult zap requires that the staff be held in hand and ready.