Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin.
Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. At the DM's option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.
An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate to the object). If a character uses a ranged weapon to make a melee attack, or throws a melee weapon that does not have the thrown property, it also deals 1d4 damage. An improvised thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.
So even if one of the game designers hadn’t said so, the rules for improvised weapons cover that.
A quarterstaff simple melee weapon is a heavy stick. It might be iron-shod, but probably not given that it only cost you 2 silver pieces.
A staff arcane focus and a wooden staff druidic focus both cost 5 gold pieces. They are not just heavy sticks. Maybe they are ornately carved, perhaps they contain special materials, maybe they are created by a long and complicated ritual - something to justify paying twenty-five times the cost of a heavy stick (which is an entire day of a crafter's time).
Sure, you can hit that zombie with your arcane focus, but do you really want to get decomposing zombie brain all over your expensive staff? Do you really want to risk breaking off a piece of carving or inlaid gem, making the item useless as a focus?
The same goes for that magic staff you have. Sure, you can swing that staff of frost around as a quarterstaff, but how is it going to function when it has been battered and bent out of shape because you keep smacking armoured people with it?
A quarterstaff simple melee weapon is a heavy stick. It might be iron-shod, but probably not given that it only cost you 2 silver pieces.
A staff arcane focus and a wooden staff druidic focus both cost 5 gold pieces. They are not just heavy sticks. Maybe they are ornately carved, perhaps they contain special materials, maybe they are created by a long and complicated ritual - something to justify paying twenty-five times the cost of a heavy stick (which is an entire day of a crafter's time).
Sure, you can hit that zombie with your arcane focus, but do you really want to get decomposing zombie brain all over your expensive staff? Do you really want to risk breaking off a piece of carving or inlaid gem, making the item useless as a focus?
The same goes for that magic staff you have. Sure, you can swing that staff of frost around as a quarterstaff, but how is it going to function when it has been battered and bent out of shape because you keep smacking armoured people with it?
All that is fluff and irrelevant. A staff (of any magcal variety - druid or wizard) by RAW counts for all purposes as a regular quarterstaff unless it specifically says it does not in the item description. There are very few that do not.
A quarterstaff simple melee weapon is a heavy stick. It might be iron-shod, but probably not given that it only cost you 2 silver pieces.
A staff arcane focus and a wooden staff druidic focus both cost 5 gold pieces. They are not just heavy sticks. Maybe they are ornately carved, perhaps they contain special materials, maybe they are created by a long and complicated ritual - something to justify paying twenty-five times the cost of a heavy stick (which is an entire day of a crafter's time).
Sure, you can hit that zombie with your arcane focus, but do you really want to get decomposing zombie brain all over your expensive staff? Do you really want to risk breaking off a piece of carving or inlaid gem, making the item useless as a focus?
The same goes for that magic staff you have. Sure, you can swing that staff of frost around as a quarterstaff, but how is it going to function when it has been battered and bent out of shape because you keep smacking armoured people with it?
All that is fluff and irrelevant. A staff (of any magcal variety - druid or wizard) by RAW counts for all purposes as a regular quarterstaff unless it specifically says it does not in the item description. There are very few that do not.
Where does it say that?
There is good reason why a staff might not count as a quarterstaff - if it's not designed to be that sturdy.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
DMG - "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff."
Futhermore, "a magic item is at least as durable as a regular item of its kind." So no, you cannot bend up your staff of frost by making melee attacks with it because it is magic.
Futhermore, "a magic item is at least as durable as a regular item of its kind." So no, you cannot bend up your staff of frost by making melee attacks with it because it is magic.
You're saying that this…
…is not going to get damaged when it hits metal and rock?
I'm saying all those delicate bits will break and the staff's magic might be degraded.
You can say what ever you want in the games that you are the dungeon master for. That is and always has been the perogative of the DM. However the rules as written says that they count as a quarterstaff for all purposes unless the item discription says that they do not. Funnily enough I had this very discussion with a friend irl that has just started running games. He was unhappy with letting me use Shillelagh on one and using it as a ranger. The sad thing about that was that I was deliberately trying to create a suboptimal but still interesting build as I knew he was concerned about how powerful my character builds can be.
Futhermore, "a magic item is at least as durable as a regular item of its kind." So no, you cannot bend up your staff of frost by making melee attacks with it because it is magic.
You're saying that this…
…is not going to get damaged when it hits metal and rock?
I'm saying all those delicate bits will break and the staff's magic might be degraded.
Hitting an ordinary, nonmagical quarterstaff against metal or rock is going to damage and eventually break it.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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Why do arcane staffs have quarterstaff properties and druidic staffs do not? Do wizards know where to get better wood for their staffs than druids?
A wooden staff is just a different type of staff, and therefore also counts as a quarterstaff.
Source: (https://mobile.twitter.com/GamerJosh/status/509454115861434368?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^509454576999612416|twgr^|twcon^s2_&ref_url=https://www.sageadvice.eu/focus-staff/)
In addition:
So even if one of the game designers hadn’t said so, the rules for improvised weapons cover that.
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A quarterstaff simple melee weapon is a heavy stick. It might be iron-shod, but probably not given that it only cost you 2 silver pieces.
A staff arcane focus and a wooden staff druidic focus both cost 5 gold pieces. They are not just heavy sticks. Maybe they are ornately carved, perhaps they contain special materials, maybe they are created by a long and complicated ritual - something to justify paying twenty-five times the cost of a heavy stick (which is an entire day of a crafter's time).
Sure, you can hit that zombie with your arcane focus, but do you really want to get decomposing zombie brain all over your expensive staff? Do you really want to risk breaking off a piece of carving or inlaid gem, making the item useless as a focus?
The same goes for that magic staff you have. Sure, you can swing that staff of frost around as a quarterstaff, but how is it going to function when it has been battered and bent out of shape because you keep smacking armoured people with it?
All that is fluff and irrelevant. A staff (of any magcal variety - druid or wizard) by RAW counts for all purposes as a regular quarterstaff unless it specifically says it does not in the item description. There are very few that do not.
Where does it say that?
There is good reason why a staff might not count as a quarterstaff - if it's not designed to be that sturdy.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
DMG - "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff."
Futhermore, "a magic item is at least as durable as a regular item of its kind." So no, you cannot bend up your staff of frost by making melee attacks with it because it is magic.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
As others have stated, you are incorrect, but here's a direct link to the source on both being valid quarterstaves.
You're saying that this…
…is not going to get damaged when it hits metal and rock?
I'm saying all those delicate bits will break and the staff's magic might be degraded.
You can say what ever you want in the games that you are the dungeon master for. That is and always has been the perogative of the DM. However the rules as written says that they count as a quarterstaff for all purposes unless the item discription says that they do not. Funnily enough I had this very discussion with a friend irl that has just started running games. He was unhappy with letting me use Shillelagh on one and using it as a ranger. The sad thing about that was that I was deliberately trying to create a suboptimal but still interesting build as I knew he was concerned about how powerful my character builds can be.
Maybe it's got a mini wall of force around it that delivers the force of the impact.
Maybe it does break but repairs itself.
Maybe you just don't swing with the fancy end.
The rules say what happens. You can say how it happens however you want.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
I finally understand what the OP was referring to!!
They meant on the character sheet!!
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Hitting an ordinary, nonmagical quarterstaff against metal or rock is going to damage and eventually break it.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.