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Recently in a campaign our team picked up a mithril quarterstaff from a NPC.I know the rules specifically state that a quarterstaff cannot be made of mithril but an NPC apparently had it. Mithril would weight about 4x as much as wood, so I was wondering how would the stats differ since its made of mithril.
Thanks
So it's a metal staff as opposed to a wooden one. No biggie. I'd probably just increase the damage dice by one level. Weight is not going to be a big issue, it's mithril.
Recently in a campaign our team picked up a mithril quarterstaff from a NPC.I know the rules specifically state that a quarterstaff cannot be made of mithril but an NPC apparently had it. Mithril would weight about 4x as much as wood, so I was wondering how would the stats differ since its made of mithril.
How about asking your DM if/how the stats differ from a normal quarterstaff? Since he used it for an NPC, he should know :)
Hmm. I'd say the "mithral" part of that quarterstaff is most likely an error.
In any case, the combat stats in the adventure are exactly like they would be if a normal quarterstaff was used.
I'm a CoT player as well, and my character carries that same staff. I'm certain it's quite intentional, as magic silver (or mithral) weapons are required against
I'm guessing it's not that the whole staff is made of metal, but probably the finishes at the ends of the staff.
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I've looked into it a bit more. The NPC's weapon is listed as a +1 mithral quarterstaff 1d6. It's in the adventure path "Council of thieves", part 3 "What lies in dust". I'm just not satisfied by accepting that a mithral quarterstaff is no different than a wooden one.
Well here's a question? What would you consider to be the difference between me hitting you with a wooden baseball bat, as opposed to an aluminum baseball bat? Do you expect the aluminum baseball bat to do more damage? If so why, and if not, then why do you expect a mithril quarterstaff to do different damage because its made of metal?
Personally I don't think it's about what the weapon is made of that determines the damage, I think it's the shape of the weapon, at most different materials would impart a +1 to +2 to damage but they don't change the damage dice type. (for example in the 3.5 DMG they explained that any metal weapon instead made of bone dealt -2 damage, they didn't change die type at all). So maybe since it's made of mithral it deals 1d6+1 (at most) damage instead of 1d6. But I wouldn't expect it to suddenly deal 1d8. Honestly I don't really see a reason it should deal more damage at all, as in my above example, I think I'd do the same damage to your body with a wooden bat as an aluminum one.
Of course, citing historical quarterstaves, a good option would be to treat the weapon as a "Darkwood" Stave with mithril used to re-enforce the tips.
So the stats given in the adventure can probably be used "as is."
I think you have a lot of latitude to make it be whatever you want.
To me, you could easily handwave the mithral as just a special effect (plus better hardness and hit points) and otherwise treat it as a normal quarterstaff. Yeah, it really should be heavy, but whatever....
Or, you could rule it is heavy, bump up its damage one die and call it an exotic weapon.
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Mithral probably weights more than aluminium. For this argument I would think that the aluminium bat would do more damage as it would be heavier.I've looked into it a bit more. The NPC's weapon is listed as a +1 mithral quarterstaff 1d6. It's in the adventure path "Council of thieves", part 3 "What lies in dust". I'm just not satisfied by accepting that a mithral quarterstaff is no different than a wooden one.Well here's a question? What would you consider to be the difference between me hitting you with a wooden baseball bat, as opposed to an aluminum baseball bat? Do you expect the aluminum baseball bat to do more damage? If so why, and if not, then why do you expect a mithril quarterstaff to do different damage because its made of metal?
Personally I don't think it's about what the weapon is made of that determines the damage, I think it's the shape of the weapon, at most different materials would impart a +1 to +2 to damage but they don't change the damage dice type. (for example in the 3.5 DMG they explained that any metal weapon instead made of bone dealt -2 damage, they didn't change die type at all). So maybe since it's made of mithral it deals 1d6+1 damage instead of 1d6. But I wouldn't expect it to suddenly deal 1d8.
Actually aluminum bats are lighter as they are hollow, so you're saying you'd expect the wooden bat to deal more damage.
Keep in mind that a heavier object travels slower, so while you have more weight behind your blow that can be mitigated by a faster swing with a lighter weapon. Heavier =/= more damage in all situations.
Personally I don't think it's about what the weapon is made of that determines the damage, . So maybe since it's made of mithral it deals 1d6+1 (at most) damage instead of 1d6. But I wouldn't expect it to suddenly deal 1d8. Honestly I don't really see a reason it should deal more damage at all, as in my above example, I think I'd do the same damage to your body with a wooden bat as an aluminum one.
Isn't 1d6+1 the save average damage as 1d8? I might even argue that ameliorating the highs and lows of the damage is beneficial to the PC. That is 1d6+1 is usually better than 1d8. I would just go with 1d6 and assume it bypasses DR x/mithral.
(thanks for the citation, Lord Frye)
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As a DM of Council of Thieves:
That mithral quarterstaff does a 1d6 of damage and it counts as silver for bypassing damage reduction without the -1 damage penalty.
odd. I don't understand the damage difference.
My players subdued the npc in question and eventually let him go. (Paladin & other good PCs - two lawful, one chaotic)
They took the +1 mithral quarterstaff and had fun with it for a module.
Then he made a new arcane bond. No more magic on that staff! The PCs were really confused until they talked to a wizard friend of theirs who explained that it was an arcane bond, and since he made a new arcane bond, the original lost all its magic abilities.
If you are going strictly "by the book", mithril is a horrible choice for a weapon material, yet a great choice for armor material.
For my campaign, I houseruled that mithril weapons were 1 "step" easier to use than the steel equivalent. A two-handed mithril weapon could be used one-handed, a one-handed mithril weapon was considered a light weapon. Perhaps your DM would go for that.
That said, a mithril weapon should be HEAVIER than a wooden weapon, so it should be more cumbersome. I would assume the quarterstaff is hollow, and has the same weight/attack as a wooden version.
