On the surface they seem pretty nice, but nobody ever mentions them in any of the posts of the best items or optimal builds.
Wondering what people think about them.
Who cares what is optimal? Play what is fun. I have made more than on PC with a staff.
I'm not suggesting that they be used because they are optimal. I am simply pointing out that they aren't mentioned when many, many other items are. The lack of mention makes me wonder if they are even used much.
I have never used a staff. I have looked at the staves dozens of times and every time I see one that I might be interested in it only has like one or two spells that I would actually use. They are good for what they do and are priced pretty reasonably, they just do not have the spells that I want.
I feel like they are nice.
I've used one of the Core staves, Evocation. It was found treasure that we kept. In previous editions I was not a big fan of cumbersome semi-melee expendable devices. The recharge feature has changed that.
I agree that the themed nature of the current offerings makes them hit and miss items. The Evo staff is nice since my wizard typically doesn't prep damaging spells ( Abjuror) having the ability to drop a damage blast is nice in some situations. I really think I'll be designing my own Magic Staff in the future, I just don't play that character enough to have made the development a priority.
In another game the PC bard has a Staff of Travel, that one is cool I must admit.
I have no idea why the Staves get left out of the "must have" equipment discussions. I'm not one who regularly haunts the caster threads, but it could be that a good bit of Cookie Cuttering has left them out. My opinion is that the right staff could back up the Gestalt Wizard arguments by letting them actually have the spells available that are constantly bandied about.
Whatever the case, using your own caster modifier, and being able to recharge makes Staves Sexy as equipment goes.
On the surface they seem pretty nice, but nobody ever mentions them in any of the posts of the best items or optimal builds.
Wondering what people think about them.
If...
Then...
Yes, they are worth having. Otherwise, no.
If you could charge them with more than 1 point a day, I would use them. As it stands though, they provide on average (assuming full tilt adventuring) between 0 and -1 spells per day, if you were to keep it charged. And you pay a high price for this ability as well. Really not my cup of tea.
If you could charge them with more than 1 point a day, I would use them. As it stands though, they provide on average (assuming full tilt adventuring) between 0 and -1 spells per day, if you were to keep it charged. And you pay a high price for this ability as well. Really not my cup of tea.
This is close to my own evaluation. But I would add that it's even worse than this. To recharge one charge per day requires using the highest level spell slot the staff can cast, so it the staff has a fourth level spell on it, it requires four fourth level spell slots to charge enough to cast it. I suppose if you have a lot of downtime in your campaigns this might be OK, but for any long-term campaign it really becomes a ten charge item that uses up charges fast and has far too high of a cost to recharge during an adventure.
As if that weren't enough of a knock on them, there are very, very few of the ones I've seen that have the spells I would want anyway. A custom staff might be OK, but even then the limited number of charges and high cost of recharging makes them very unattractive to me.
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Staves are like the rainy day backup when wands just don't cut it and you're out of spells.
I really like staves. They are extremely iconic and are also a fun symbol of power.
However, you aren't likely to see them as an essential part of many builds as they are basically spells in a bottle. There are very few builds that are dependent on specific spells, and those that are, are usually casters who can cast said spells normally. The staff, at best, would be redundant for such a character. And that, my friend, is why staves get the short end of the stick. ;P
A staff of wishes would be pretty useful. :D
A staff of wishes would be pretty useful. :D
A spell that has a costly material component that is put into the staff must pay for 50 uses of the spell. A staff of wishes would have its price increased by 1,250,000 if the wish took up one charge on use.
I think they are great, and I love the fact that they work like capacitors.
Keep in mind, that a LOT of the optimal builds are not worth that much. The reason is that they have so many assumptions, they no longer resemble campaign play.
If you're in a 100' radius octagon, and if you can't use extra-planar travel, and if you're teleported in, and if your opponent is rolled randomly, and if you have two rounds to prep, and if there's one fight a day...
THEN my build is TEH AWESOME!!!!
This isn't what I'm looking for. I find that the examples of actual play-testing are useful, and the rest doesn't tell me much that I don't already know.
A staff of wishes would be pretty useful. :DA spell that has a costly material component that is put into the staff must pay for 50 uses of the spell. A staff of wishes would have its price increased by 1,250,000 if the wish took up one charge on use.
Seriously?! That's.... wow.
Actually, going off of a wish staff...
5 wishes to increase a stat by +5 costs 125,000 that's 3,000,000 for every stat for every party member.
A staff with a wish taking up 2 charges per wish would cost 697,000 to make. You can wish 5 times at once every 10 days. But this takes 72 days to make, and 240 days to make all the wishes. So this is only for if your GM loves you :P
Actually, going off of a wish staff...
5 wishes to increase a stat by +5 costs 125,000 that's 3,000,000 for every stat for every party member.
A staff with a wish taking up 2 charges per wish would cost 697,000 to make. You can wish 5 times at once every 10 days. But this takes 72 days to make, and 240 days to make all the wishes. So this is only for if your GM loves you :P
Planeshift to the Astral Plane or Limbo or some other place with stopped time. Do your crafting and stuff, then plane shift back from your hyperbolic time chamber and then resume your adventure.
Just make them as wondrous items with x uses per day.
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If you could charge them with more than 1 point a day, I would use them. As it stands though, they provide on average (assuming full tilt adventuring) between 0 and -1 spells per day, if you were to keep it charged. And you pay a high price for this ability as well. Really not my cup of tea.
Might I humbly suggest you take a look at Krazy Kragnar's Magic Staff Emporium from Super Genius Games?
In addition to having 10 all new magic staves, each of the magic staves presented has three versions - a lesser, standard and greater version. There are also rules to upgrade from one version to the next, allowing the owner to keep the staff for his entire career, since the staff can grow in power as the owner does.
In addition, a new (and I think interesting and flavorfull) mechanic is introduced which allows the owner to recharge his staff at a faster than normal rate.
I'm a big fan of magic staves and this is kind of a 'love letter' to staves, if you will :)
Just make them as wondrous items with x uses per day.
It's the best way to make staffs. So very true.
The Dragon Ball Z RPG Forum is that way ------>Planeshift to the Astral Plane or Limbo or some other place with stopped time. Do your crafting and stuff, then plane shift back from your hyperbolic time chamber and then resume your adventure.Actually, going off of a wish staff...
5 wishes to increase a stat by +5 costs 125,000 that's 3,000,000 for every stat for every party member.
A staff with a wish taking up 2 charges per wish would cost 697,000 to make. You can wish 5 times at once every 10 days. But this takes 72 days to make, and 240 days to make all the wishes. So this is only for if your GM loves you :P
I'm glad someone got the joke. :P
Did you know there actually was a dragon ball Z rpg? I think it used the Fusizon system.
I've seen several systems floating around for it in online RPG programs like OpenRPG. I haven't seen one that was actually any good, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was one. :o
On a side note, a pun on fusion and "z" is a funny and appropriate name for a DBZ RPG system. XD
I like a magic staff but find them way to expensive. As GM I rarely see players ever buy one but if they find one they use it.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Staff of life recharges with heal (no expensive material component) and casts raise dead (without having to spend an expensive material component). If you find your party members dying frequently it can be a real money saver.
Staves can also be lots of fun for UMD-monkeys.