Strength based Staff-expert

[Umbranus]

How would you go about building a strength based staff wielder?
My first idea is to make him ranger (for TWF) and give him the quarterstaff master feat so he can change between using it as a double weapon and a one-handed weapon. As a nice side-effect he would qualify for weapon specialization (quarterstaff).

Instead of taking quarterstaff master as a feat I could see me dipping Staff-Magus for it. That costs some hp (2 if 1st level, 1 later on)and a point of BAB but gives me some versatility by having spellcasting.

Additional feats: Power attack, weapon focus (quarterstaff), weapon specialization (quarterstaff).

An alternative way would be to go monk. It IS a monk weapon after all. TWF is not needed because of flurry, but this build seems much more MAD.

This is a hypothetical build because, most of the time, the quarterstaff is seen as a weak weapon choice. I, sadly, have no game to play it in at the moment.

How would you do this?

[Rory]

I've seen a straight rogue twirl a "Staff of Death" quite nicely. She is a STR based rogue that went with the Gang Up feat, so gets to sneak attack quite often. She is level 9 and sporting attacks of 6d6+10 (roughly). The group gave the name to her quarterstaff (above).

I think an Arcane Duelist bard could rock a quarterstaff fairly decently with all the static damage bonuses to both attacks. The level 5 ability to enchant the staff for half price seems quite nice. I haven't seen this version in play though.

A War Priest should be a nice chassis too, with ever increasing quartstaff dice and swift action buffing.

With a caster, enchanting one end of the quarterstaff with Spell Storing could be an efficient method of laying down detrimental buffs.

[blackbloodtroll]

Weird idea, but what about Warpriest?

It has been working well for my Club user.

[Imbicatus]

Warpriest is a good start for it, as it has Full BAB, Scaling damage, and you still have the option for Staff Master and Specialization.

Wood Oracle is nice too, with Wood Bond giving you a bonus to hit to make up for not being full BAB, access to Shillelagh to boost damage, and Full Spellcasting

Ranger works if you want to go the base TWF route, as does Two Weapon Warrior Fighter. The problem with these is that they don't have a way to increase the quarterstaff's lousy damage like the Oracle and Warpriest can.

[blackbloodtroll]

I suggest a Undine Weaponshaft Quarterstaff, so you can have an Adamantine Quarterstaff, or other metallic Special Material.

[Skaldi the Tallest]

I've been mulling over a human Unarmed Fighter using Dragon Style and Dragon Ferocity with Martial Versatility to apply them to the staff.

I do like the idea of the Undine Weaponshaft a heck of a lot.

[Imbicatus]

Skaldi the Tallest wrote:

I've been mulling over a human Unarmed Fighter using Dragon Style and Dragon Ferocity with Martial Versatility to apply them to the staff.

I do like the idea of the Undine Weaponshaft a heck of a lot.

It's a good idea, but I don't think Martial Versatility will work on Dragon Style. Dragon Style specifies Unarmed Strike damage, you don't have the option to choose Dragon Style(x) like you can with the example weapon focus.

I think a GM may allow it on a home game because the Staff is generally a bad weapon, but I wouldn't expect it to work for most games.

[Umbranus]

For warpriest I'm waiting for the final version. In the playtest version I somehow didn't find whatever its called they get instead of domains to use. They all seemed very meh.
I'm not into builds that have to use up rounds they could be dealing damage to buff up. In short fights that last only 3-4 rounds I don't want to spend 1/3 or 1/4 of the fight activating some power that possible isn't even good enough to make up for the lost damage.

And with the wood oracle I'm wary because it is a competence bonus you get. For melee they are not as common as for ranged builds but still.

@Dragon style: It's always a good feat for melees. Being able to charge through difficult terrain can work wonders.

[EvilPaladin]

Perhaps the Brawler ACG could be of some use. You can TWF with it, don't need the minimum dex requirement for it, get the feats for free, only need to use one end, get 3:1PA adjustment, and have plenty of bonus feats [in addition to some flexible ones].

Magus is pretty good too with the Staff Magus, but it would probably be better off either going with a Frostbite or TrueStrike+Trip build instead of the typical Taser build.

Paladin wouldn't really be best at TWFing[they can, but its feat heavy in a feat-lite class], but smite makes almost any weapon worth using, so that could have some potential.

Slayer[ACG] would work like ranger but with a more flexible attack and damage boost and some sneak attack to stack onto TWF[which should be ignoring prerequisites].

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Funny you should bring this all up - this was an idea I had myself: I designed (but have not played, and might never) a Weapon Master utterly dedicated to kicking ass with the humble quarterstaff, conceptually modeled on the Staff Adept from the computer game Battle Realms. His ability scores are comparatively balanced. He would eventually take the Tripping Twirl feat. I admit, I had contemplating compromising on the concept and becoming a master of the dire flail instead, but as I was composing a query to these very boards asking about the comparative merits of the two weapons, I found I'd answered my own question: The dire flail has slightly better damage and better aptitude for the disarm maneuver, but I can forgo that in the name of not needing to take a proficiency feat, saving that much more gold (every copper counts), being eligible to aspire to Tripping Twirl, and the ability to not fear anything that plays dirty tricks on metal (yes, dirty tricks on wood is still a problem, but the dire flail likely just faces both).

[Krodjin]

Weapon Adept Monk. You get lots of perks like weapon specialization, perfect strike, and weapon focus.

You lose out on 1.5x STR to damage, but you do get 3:1 ratio on Power Attack if you "flurry" by swinging the thing around like a baseball bat.

Alternatively a Nirmathas Irregular (Woodland Skirmisher) has access to "shillelagh" which lets him do 2d6 damage with each end when he uses it for TWF - which is like TWF with greatswords or earthbreakers. Not bad.

[LoneKnave]

Would that stack with lead blades?

[nate lange]

i'm a big fan of the weapon adept monk for this too... perfect strike is an underrated feat and while you can't get 1.5 Str on a flurry you're still saving the feats you would have had to spend for 2WF, the cost of enchanting both ends of the staff, and you don't take .5 Str on any of your attacks. i took quarterstaff master on my weapon adept (even though they already get specialization) which was pretty great- i would flurry with both hands (for 3:1 PA) then use a free action to let go with one hand... with the staff master feat he could still use it for AoOs but he also had a hand free for deflect arrows or crane wing (which had not yet been nerfed back then).

[Sub_Zero]

LoneKnave wrote:

Would that stack with lead blades?

probably, but from reading the text, it sounds like it only works on non-magical staff's. Which while good early on, would take a toll in later levels.

[MightyK]

Oracle of Wood!

Bonus Spells: shillelagh (2nd), barkskin (4th), minor creation (wood items only) (6th), thorn body (8th), tree stride (10th), ironwood (12th), transmute metal to wood (14th), changestaff (16th), wooden phalanx (18th).

Wood Bond (Ex): Your mystical bond with wood is such that your weapons become an extension of your body. You gain a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls when wielding a weapon made of or mostly consisting of wood (such as a bow, club, quarterstaff, or spear). This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every five levels thereafter.

Wooden Weapon (Su): You can create a wooden club, quarterstaff, longspear, shortspear, or spear that lasts for 1 minute for every oracle level you possess. This weapon is appropriate for your size. You are considered proficient with the weapon. The weapon disappears after 1 round if it leaves your grasp. At 3rd level, the weapon is considered masterwork. At 7th level, 15th level, and 19th level, the weapon gains a +1 enhancement bonus. At 11th level, the weapon gains the keen weapon property (or the equivalent increase to its critical threat range, if it is a bludgeoning weapon). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

Wood Armor (Su): You can conjure wooden armor around yourself, which grants you a +4 armor bonus. At 7th level, and every four levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +2. At 13th level, this armor grants you DR 5/slashing. You can use this armor for 1 hour per day per oracle level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-hour increments. The armor vanishes if you remove it.

And if you play to high levels... become a treant at level 13!

Tree Form (Sp): As a standard action, you can assume the form of a Large living or dead tree or shrub, as tree shape. At 9th level, you can assume the form of a Small or Medium plant creature, as plant shape I. At 11th level, you can assume the form of a Large plant creature, as plant shape II. At 13th level, you can assume the form of a Huge plant creature, as plant shape III. You can use this ability once per day, but the duration is 1 hour/level. You must be at least 3rd level to select this revelation.

"Huge plant: If the form you take is that of a Huge plant, you gain a +8 size bonus to your Strength, a -2 penalty to your Dexterity, a +4 size bonus to your Constitution, and a +6 natural armor bonus."