I thought it was before when it stated that any staff counted as a Quarterstaff.
I believe you're referring to chapter 7 of the DMG, under the specific header for magic staffs, where it says "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." Yes?
I don't consider that to be a useful placement for players, and also, I think there's an argument to be made that it only applies to magic staffs. After all, why else would they put the rule here instead of in the description for the arcane focus or just the quarterstaff weapon? Magic staffs having abilities beyond that of regular staffs makes perfect sense.
I mean obviously it was meant to work the way you're saying. But it's good that they clarified it.
I mean, the fact is that a lot of DMs ruled against it out of some weird sense of "fairness". "You can't do 1d8 damage with a crystal, so why should I let you do 1d8 damage with a staff?! If it casts magic it's not a weapon!" Which is kinda exactly the wrong way to go. Hell, if an arcane caster using a rod wants to clonk somebody upside the face with it? Congratulations, your rod is effectively a club, take your lousy 1d4+ST and enjoy it. Decided to use a crystal or a skull or a crystal skull or your spellbook or such for your wizard's spell focus? Clearly you weren't interested in hitting people with your focus in the first place and you don't really care about 'fair' so why penalize people who want to Muscle Wizard with their staves?
I thought it was before when it stated that any staff counted as a Quarterstaff.
I believe you're referring to chapter 7 of the DMG, under the specific header for magic staffs, where it says "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." Yes?
I don't consider that to be a useful placement for players, and also, I think there's an argument to be made that it only applies to magic staffs. After all, why else would they put the rule here instead of in the description for the arcane focus or just the quarterstaff weapon? Magic staffs having abilities beyond that of regular staffs makes perfect sense.
I mean obviously it was meant to work the way you're saying. But it's good that they clarified it.
I was referring as much to the rules for improvised weapons which state if it’s close enough to a weapon to use the weapon’s stats.
I thought it was before when it stated that any staff counted as a Quarterstaff.
I believe you're referring to chapter 7 of the DMG, under the specific header for magic staffs, where it says "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." Yes?
I don't consider that to be a useful placement for players, and also, I think there's an argument to be made that it only applies to magic staffs. After all, why else would they put the rule here instead of in the description for the arcane focus or just the quarterstaff weapon? Magic staffs having abilities beyond that of regular staffs makes perfect sense.
I mean obviously it was meant to work the way you're saying. But it's good that they clarified it.
I was referring as much to the rules for improvised weapons which state if it’s close enough to a weapon to use the weapon’s stats.
Ah! Well, a quarterstaff needs to be 6 to 9 feet tall, according to Wikipedia. I'm not sure your average Wizard staff should qualify! (I'm being snarky. Point is, leaving it up to the DM when it's such a basic thing is kinda distasteful imo.)
You pretty much never need it, like Yurei said, but idk, sometimes you're fighting skeletons.
I killed an eldritch horror from beyond the stars once with my sorceress' dagger. It was a really small eldritch horror from beyond the stars, but still. That kill was super satisfying, little bastard was gnawing my undead ankles all smug because I didn't have close-quarters cantrips. HERE'S SHIV IN YOUR EYE, JACKASS.
...point being, sometimes a spellcaster's gotta resort to unusual measures. No reason to penalize them for it more than being-a-spellcaster already does. Is it really gonna break somebody's game for a wizard to deal 1d8+1 bonking damage with a sub-50% chance to hit? No, it is not. Hell, even if the wizard in question is swole as hecc for the role and rocking a +3 or higher Strength mod (or nicked some Ogre gauntlets), he gets one clonk with a d8 weapon. Quivering in their sabatons at such a display of martial prowess, fighters are not.
That's all. It was ambiguous before.
That's good. I always hated the ambiguity. Must have missed that in the document, good catch.
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I thought it was before when it stated that any staff counted as a Quarterstaff.
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I believe you're referring to chapter 7 of the DMG, under the specific header for magic staffs, where it says "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." Yes?
I don't consider that to be a useful placement for players, and also, I think there's an argument to be made that it only applies to magic staffs. After all, why else would they put the rule here instead of in the description for the arcane focus or just the quarterstaff weapon? Magic staffs having abilities beyond that of regular staffs makes perfect sense.
I mean obviously it was meant to work the way you're saying. But it's good that they clarified it.
I mean, the fact is that a lot of DMs ruled against it out of some weird sense of "fairness". "You can't do 1d8 damage with a crystal, so why should I let you do 1d8 damage with a staff?! If it casts magic it's not a weapon!" Which is kinda exactly the wrong way to go. Hell, if an arcane caster using a rod wants to clonk somebody upside the face with it? Congratulations, your rod is effectively a club, take your lousy 1d4+ST and enjoy it. Decided to use a crystal or a skull or a crystal skull or your spellbook or such for your wizard's spell focus? Clearly you weren't interested in hitting people with your focus in the first place and you don't really care about 'fair' so why penalize people who want to Muscle Wizard with their staves?
Please do not contact or message me.
Oh, yeah, I always allowed a rod to be used as a club too based on the rules for improvised weapons.
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I was referring as much to the rules for improvised weapons which state if it’s close enough to a weapon to use the weapon’s stats.
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Ah! Well, a quarterstaff needs to be 6 to 9 feet tall, according to Wikipedia. I'm not sure your average Wizard staff should qualify! (I'm being snarky. Point is, leaving it up to the DM when it's such a basic thing is kinda distasteful imo.)
You pretty much never need it, like Yurei said, but idk, sometimes you're fighting skeletons.
I killed an eldritch horror from beyond the stars once with my sorceress' dagger. It was a really small eldritch horror from beyond the stars, but still. That kill was super satisfying, little bastard was gnawing my undead ankles all smug because I didn't have close-quarters cantrips. HERE'S SHIV IN YOUR EYE, JACKASS.
...point being, sometimes a spellcaster's gotta resort to unusual measures. No reason to penalize them for it more than being-a-spellcaster already does. Is it really gonna break somebody's game for a wizard to deal 1d8+1 bonking damage with a sub-50% chance to hit? No, it is not. Hell, even if the wizard in question is swole as hecc for the role and rocking a +3 or higher Strength mod (or nicked some Ogre gauntlets), he gets one clonk with a d8 weapon. Quivering in their sabatons at such a display of martial prowess, fighters are not.
Please do not contact or message me.
Side note, I see no reason why a wizard couldn't bludgeon something to death with their collection of healing crystals.
It would be an Improvised Weapon after all.
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But that's not nearly as strong as a quarterstaff. You're losing a whole 1 average point of damage, I think! Horrible!
And you’re not proficient with it. *gasp* That’s it, crystals and orbs are trap choices.
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If your Wizard is particularly keen on whacking things with six feet of solid oak, Shillelagh (via Magic Initiate - Primal) may be attractive.