Well, the title say all.
For the record I remember seeing in one of the previous editions of D&D (dont remember which) an Iron quarterstaff.
Also for the record the rules dont state that one must have a minimum Strenght to use any weapon, even a great sword.
With that said, how much damage an Iron Quarterstaff would do? My bet is 1d8 but I wish to know from you guys your opinion.
Bump
I don't know about the previous edition question, but if I were designing an iron quarterstaff, I'd rule it as a Martial weapon with the weight increased to 8lbs and the price increased to between 5 and 10gp. No other adjustment, but making it out of metal would mean you could use special materials like Adamantine or Cold Iron, etc. The reason I wouldn't increase the damage to 1d8/1d8 is that the Monk's Spade already exists as a double weapon weighing 12 lbs and capable of dealing bludgeoning damage. If that extra weight doesn't translate into extra damage, why would the quarterstaff's?
The Core Rulebook describes a quarterstaff as being made of wood and the special materials section specifically mentions that quarterstaffs can't be made of adamantine, cold iron, and mithral. For me, that always suggested that metal quarterstaffs weren't an option.
Later came the Staff of Mithral Might which is made of silver and mithral and acts like a +2/+2 quarterstaff, but I just considered that a special exception.
Ultimate Equipment added new metals like elysian bronze, fire-forged steel, and frost-forged steel which did not mention quarterstaffs as ineligible. So I was unclear on those materials.
Now there is the Undine Weaponshaft that apparently allows quarterstaffs to be made of mithral and adamantine despite the previous prohibitions.
I have to say that I'm confused about what materials a quarterstaff can be made of.
I'm a lot more clear regarding the damage, though. Changing materials doesn't alter the base damage of a weapon. An iron quarterstaff (assuming it can be made) would do the same damage as a wooden one.
According to the rules, yes, there is no iron quarterstaff, so it is not an option in-game under strict RAW. That being said, there is no logical reason I can think of 'in-universe' for making it impossible to make a 5ft pole made of iron. You can buy iron by the pound for 1sp, according to Ultimate Equipment, so why wouldn't you be able to buy several pounds of it and craft them into a quarterstaff? The labor involved in making it the right diameter and length for use as a comfortable weapon is why I recommended charging between 5 and 15gp. It made sense (to me) to price it similarly to a greatsword.
Also, yes, there is an Ironwood spell, but it doesn't actually turn the wood into metal. There is Transmute Metal to Wood, but nothing that does the reverse as far as I can tell. Polymorph Any Object could do it, but it seems ridiculous to require your players to wait until they can cast an 8th level spell in order to make themselves an iron quarterstaff that any level 1 Expert with a rank in Profession: Smith could do here on Earth.
According to the rules, yes, there is no iron quarterstaff, so it is not an option in-game under strict RAW. That being said, there is no logical reason I can think of 'in-universe' for making it impossible to make a 5ft pole made of iron. You can buy iron by the pound for 1sp, according to Ultimate Equipment, so why wouldn't you be able to buy several pounds of it and craft them into a quarterstaff?
You certainly can make a long bar of iron, but I question whether that bar would qualify as a quarterstaff. The bar would be very heavy and would lack the flexibility of wood, and would probably be better classified as some sort of mace.
Still, the Undine trick would seem to enable Adamantine quarterstaffs, which would generally be better than iron.
A quick Google search turns up some steel staves. About 5.5 feet long, either 1.5 or 2 inches diameter, weighing between 6 and 7.5 pounds. Steel is almost exactly the same wight as iron (less than 3% difference for cast iron vs. cast steel) so making it out of iron wouldn't change the weight much.
These real-life steel staves have actually been used as weapons, but more often as training devices - practice using the heavy one then when you use a real wooden one you should be fast and powerful.
If it's iron-age technology that works in the real world (it is) then it should work in Pathfinder.
But, it's not RAW.
However, I feel the RAI of the "staves can't be made of metal" line in their description was just to prevent weird alloys like mithral or adamantine from being used; it probably wasn't to try to say that it's impossible to make or use a metal staff.
I would totally allow it.
Thanks for the info guys, but I have asked for the opinion based on a 3.5 weapon called Iron-shod Quarterstaff, that is not entirely made of metal and does 1d8 of damage.
My goal is to present the idea for my GM so that I could buy one for my necromancer.
I wish a metal quarterstaff to make use of combos involving electric condutivity (hope I wrote it right)
I do not know why the shod quarterstaff never made it into PF. It is something that I was sad about when I found out.
I agree. Having one end shod in cold iron and the other in mithral would make a quarterstaff much more versatile.
I would let it be a exotic double weapon 1d8/1d8 x3. Pehaps give it the blocking quality.
Thanks for the info guys, but I have asked for the opinion based on a 3.5 weapon called Iron-shod Quarterstaff, that is not entirely made of metal and does 1d8 of damage.
My goal is to present the idea for my GM so that I could buy one for my necromancer.
I wish a metal quarterstaff to make use of combos involving electric condutivity (hope I wrote it right)
Is it like using shocking grasp with the staff? There are no rules govening metal weapons and conduitivity.
There is already a weapon for a heavy metal rod used as a weapon. It's a mace.
But a mace looks completely different, isnt a double weapon, and isn't a monk weapon.
But a mace looks completely different, isnt a double weapon, and isn't a monk weapon.
A mace typically had a weighted head, but doesn't always (that's why many of the magic rods also work as maces.)
Monk weapons are (typically) fast, nimble weapons. I'm not sure a six-foot metal rod would qualify for that. (Likewise, I doubt the viability of trying to fight with both ends of said metal rod. On the other hand, the Dire Flail is in the rulebook, and I'm not sure fighting with one of those is actually physically possible.)
I think that having a 'iron shod' quarterstaff with metal rings around the ends for reinforcement is a perfectly appropriate way to do things like have a cold iron or adamantine quarterstaff for the purposes of beating Damage Reduction.
But I definitely think that making a wooden weapon out of metal is not a good reason to start hunting for better damage dice.
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Do you have any idea how heavy something like that would be?Well, the title say all.
For the record I remember seeing in one of the previous editions of D&D (dont remember which) an Iron quarterstaff.
Also for the record the rules dont state that one must have a minimum Strenght to use any weapon, even a great sword.
With that said, how much damage an Iron Quarterstaff would do? My bet is 1d8 but I wish to know from you guys your opinion.
Little over 13 lbs for 1 inch diameter and 60 inches long of solid cast iron. Could be hollowed out a little to reduce weight
The iron staff is a martial arts staple in Chinese martial arts movies.
So is a spear but it's not a monk weapon in Pathfinder. (Unless you're playing at my table.)
For the record my character is a Female Necromancer with arcane bound on her staff.
(Likewise, I doubt the viability of trying to fight with both ends of said metal rod. On the other hand, the Dire Flail is in the rulebook, and I'm not sure fighting with one of those is actually physically possible.)
The strictly RAW compatible ways to represent a 5 foot metal rod as a weapon are probably as either an improvised weapon or as a Large sized mace.
Informally, a rock bar (= sturdy 5 foot metal rod) weighed about 15-20lb IIRC*. While realistically speaking that was a heck of a lot of inertia even in strong hands, unrealistically speaking, that's about what they charge you for an orc double axe or a dwarven chain flail, and you're allowed to attack with both ends of those. Those are worse, even, since all the weight is at the ends.
Super informally, Amiri wields something that looks like it should be a hundred pounds.
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There is nothing really preventing you from making the quarterstaff from other materials, but the problem is that it isn't quarterstaff anymore. Staff is usually light and balanced weapon easy to use and carry. If it was made from iron, it wouldn't be quarterstaff anymore, but an iron bar. That's why the rules mention that making quarterstaff from other materials isn't possible. Some materials like mithral or silver might be doable due to their light nature, but this is houserule territory.