Weapons as staves

phiwum · 09-16-2020, 10:47 PM

ITL148 says a wizard's "staff" can be a dagger or sword, for instance. I wonder what people think about this.

There are two reasons I don't like this. First, it just sounds wrong to have a commonplace weapon as a staff. Just as the symbolism of a shoe as a staff is "wrong", so is (to me) the image of a sword or dagger as a staff, even if the shape is roughly right.

Second, and maybe more important, the whole idea of character creation is striking a balance, that few choices are obviously right. But to me, the choice of a dagger as a staff is just too obviously the best choice (as Henry will attest). It's a cheaper weapon talent than sword and a dagger is very useful, particularly if a wizard ends up in HTH. That's a dangerous position for most wizards, since it's too late to cast spells if you're already in the fray. (Right? Can't cast spells in HTH at all?) Having a dagger always in hand is a great advantage. (And, as Henry has also pointed out, Staff II makes it unbreakable and undroppable.)

I don't like it when one choice is obviously superior. A wizard seems like a fool to use anything but a dagger as a staff. Even without spending IQ on the knife talent, he'll do fairly well in HTH, since the -4 DX penalty for being untrained is a wash with the +4 DX benefit of attacking a prone figure.

I'm kinda leaning to ruling out daggers or swords as staves. My only concern is that there are only two obvious choices left: an actual staff or a wand. (Or perhaps a quill stylus?) Maybe I'd go so far as to allow quarterstaves, since, you know, they are staves.

Any other opinions? What am I missing?

Thanks.

09-16-2020, 10:47 PM	#1
phiwum Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Boston area	Weapons as staves ITL148 says a wizard's "staff" can be a dagger or sword, for instance. I wonder what people think about this. There are two reasons I don't like this. First, it just sounds wrong to have a commonplace weapon as a staff. Just as the symbolism of a shoe as a staff is "wrong", so is (to me) the image of a sword or dagger as a staff, even if the shape is roughly right. Second, and maybe more important, the whole idea of character creation is striking a balance, that few choices are obviously right. But to me, the choice of a dagger as a staff is just too obviously the best choice (as Henry will attest). It's a cheaper weapon talent than sword and a dagger is very useful, particularly if a wizard ends up in HTH. That's a dangerous position for most wizards, since it's too late to cast spells if you're already in the fray. (Right? Can't cast spells in HTH at all?) Having a dagger always in hand is a great advantage. (And, as Henry has also pointed out, Staff II makes it unbreakable and undroppable.) I don't like it when one choice is obviously superior. A wizard seems like a fool to use anything but a dagger as a staff. Even without spending IQ on the knife talent, he'll do fairly well in HTH, since the -4 DX penalty for being untrained is a wash with the +4 DX benefit of attacking a prone figure. I'm kinda leaning to ruling out daggers or swords as staves. My only concern is that there are only two obvious choices left: an actual staff or a wand. (Or perhaps a quill stylus?) Maybe I'd go so far as to allow quarterstaves, since, you know, they are staves. Any other opinions? What am I missing? Thanks.