If you choose a staff as an arcane focus, are you allowed to use it as a quarterstaff?
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Devious serpent folk devoid of compassion, yuan-ti manipulate other creatures by arousing their doubts, evoking their fears, and elevating and crushing their hopes. From remote temples in jungles, swamps, and deserts, the yuan-ti plot to supplant and dominate all other races and to make themselves gods.
It is up to the DM, but, even though focus and quarterstaff are different types of items, nothing in the rules says that a quarterstaff can't fulfil both purposes.
Our wizard had an ornate crystal set into her staff that she used as an arcane focus. I think the Arcane Focus is left purposefully vague to allow for flavour like this.
Just remember though, if someone disarms you, steals your staff or otherwise gets it away from your person, you can't use it to cast spells. A quarterstaff is much easier to remove than an amulet, for example.
Arcane focuses are expensive. They are not just "a stick" - they are carved into arcane shapes, or set with crystals, or wound with expensive wire, or something else. Do you really want to whack that dirty goblin with your nice wand?
I rule that wands are too fragile to use as weapons but arcane staves are. However, after you have hit someone a couple of times, the carvings are warped or the gems have fallen out or some other damage has occurred that makes the item unusable as an arcane focus.
"an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such."
So under either set or rules a Arcane Focus staff can be used as a quarterstaff in combat. I'd argue a Rod should be a club, though I agree Greenstone_Walker about wands not being weapons... just not anything else.
My warlock has a staff she uses as an arcane focus. Technically she is proficient in quarterstaff, but she's never actually used the staff in combat yet because it's her least powerful attack. However, when she hits Level 3 and takes Pact of the Blade, my DM said I can flavour it by having my pact weapon in the form of blades that appear out of my staff, turning it into a polearm.
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Hi, I had a question I wanted to ask.
If you choose a staff as an arcane focus, are you allowed to use it as a quarterstaff?
Devious serpent folk devoid of compassion, yuan-ti manipulate other creatures by arousing their doubts, evoking their fears, and elevating and crushing their hopes. From remote temples in jungles, swamps, and deserts, the yuan-ti plot to supplant and dominate all other races and to make themselves gods.
It is up to the DM, but, even though focus and quarterstaff are different types of items, nothing in the rules says that a quarterstaff can't fulfil both purposes.
I must assume so. Just look at the number of magic staves that state that they can be used as magical quarterstaves.
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Our wizard had an ornate crystal set into her staff that she used as an arcane focus. I think the Arcane Focus is left purposefully vague to allow for flavour like this.
Just remember though, if someone disarms you, steals your staff or otherwise gets it away from your person, you can't use it to cast spells. A quarterstaff is much easier to remove than an amulet, for example.
Arcane focuses are expensive. They are not just "a stick" - they are carved into arcane shapes, or set with crystals, or wound with expensive wire, or something else. Do you really want to whack that dirty goblin with your nice wand?
I rule that wands are too fragile to use as weapons but arcane staves are. However, after you have hit someone a couple of times, the carvings are warped or the gems have fallen out or some other damage has occurred that makes the item unusable as an arcane focus.
The DMG is explicit: https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/dmg/treasure#MagicItemCategories
"Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff."
In addition the Basic Rules and PHB say: https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/equipment#ImprovisedWeapons
"an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such."
So under either set or rules a Arcane Focus staff can be used as a quarterstaff in combat. I'd argue a Rod should be a club, though I agree Greenstone_Walker about wands not being weapons... just not anything else.
My warlock has a staff she uses as an arcane focus. Technically she is proficient in quarterstaff, but she's never actually used the staff in combat yet because it's her least powerful attack. However, when she hits Level 3 and takes Pact of the Blade, my DM said I can flavour it by having my pact weapon in the form of blades that appear out of my staff, turning it into a polearm.