| Shanezi |
Historically considered by many countries to be the top dueling weapon with advantages over all others and used as a military weapon as well, so why not in Pathfinder? Just read Paradoxes of Defence by George Silver 1599, or Joseph Swetnam ‘TheSchoole of Defence’ 1617, or English Master of Defence by By ZACH. WYLDE 1711 to see the esteem the quarterstaff held for the English and you are left wondering at the Walking Stick that Pathfinder (and many editions of D&D before that) dares call a quarterstaff. The proper length of a Quarterstaff was between 8 and 9 feet while a Longstaff, also used, was 12 feet long... not a 5 foot broom handle. So for my campaign I plan to make some changes, and these changes necessitate more changes... so here they are.
Light Staff (walking stick) One-handed simple weapon
1d4/1d4 1d6/1d6 x2 4lbs Double, Monk, Blocking
Must be used in two hands to gain the Double and Blocking
abilities.
Quarterstaff Two-handed Martial weapon
1d6/1d6 1d8/1d8 x2 8lbs Double, Monk, Blocking, Reach
Provides a +1 shield bonus. Can be used in Quarterstaff mode
as a Reach weapon or in Halfstaff mode as a Double weapon,
switching between modes is a free action.
Long Staff Two-handed Martial weapon
1d8 1d10 x2 12lbs Reach, Monk
May be used in melee against adjacent foes but with a -2
attack penalty and with one step lower damage. Takes a move action
to change the grip.
Bo Staff One-handed Exotic weapon
1d6/1d6 1d8/1d8 x2 3lbs Blocking, Double, Monk, Trip, Disarm
Provides a +1 shield bonus. Must be used in two hands to gain
the Blocking and Double abilities.
Feat Quarterstaff Master Prereqs unchanged
Gain a(n)(additional) +1 shield bonus with any staff.
Quarterstaff may be used one-handed.
Long Staff attack penalty in melee reduced to -1.
All staves give the wielder a +2 on Acrobatics checks to jump or
for balance.
May take Weapon Specialization without fighter levels.
These bonuses do not apply to Polearms used as a staff (I'll get
to that)
Feat Tripping Staff add a +2 bonus to Trip attempts (with those prereqs? come on at least!)
Monks become proficient with all staves.
Those with proficiency in the following Reach weapons and Quartstaff may use the weapon in melee as a double weapon switching modes is a swift action: Long Spear, Bill, Glaive, Glaive-Guisarme, Guisarme, Hooked Lance, Horsechopper, Naginata, Ranseur, and Rhomphaia. Damage is as Quarterstaff on both ends(ie 1d8/1d8 for medium). Crit on blunt end is x2 on other end is unchanged as is damage type unchanged on business end.
Those with proficiency with the following Reach weapons and Long Staff may change their grip as a move action to strike in melee with a -2 attack penalty and one step lower dice damage: Bardiche, Bec de corbin, Lance, Lucernehammer, Tepoztopilli, and Tri-point double-edged sword.
That's it! Archetypes like Polearm master may need slight adjusting, but I believe this fixes the "king of all weapons" without over-powering it or eliminating the usefulness of other martial weapons.