i read the rules but i don't understand if i can put any spell or not in a staff?
mostly confused cause the feat says i can make a staff but then theres a list of made staves then says "it can hold 10 charges" but then some as the staff of charming only has 3
anyhow my question is how does a staff work then? does it come with preset spells or what or can i make a staff with my own spells on it.
Staff of charming has 10 charges same as any staff. It has 2 spells though.
To cast charm person it only uses 1 of those charges.
To cast charm monster uses 2 charges.
If you are creating your own staff any spells can go in it. Just use the following formula:
400 gp × the level of the highest-level spell × the level of the caster, plus 75% of the value of the next most costly ability (300 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster), plus 1/2 the value of any other abilities (200 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster). Staves are always fully charged (10 charges) when created.
Well this probably isn't the answer you want, but staves are a mess with the rules and are almost always overpriced for what they do. My suggestion, as a player whose favorite role to play is the arcane caster, is just avoid staves completely. They're bad, almost 100% of the time.
I hope somebody else can give you a more solid rules answer.
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I disagree CampinCarl9127, most printed staves don't have a combination of spells that interest me, but the price is reasonable.
The staves are a permanent item that allow you to use several different spells if properly charged and to apply your level, casting stat and feats to the spell you are casting, all great boons.
The problem of the staves is that generally we play fast paced AP where you rarely have the leisure to recharge them fully. Especially as you must recharge them when you prepare your spells, not at the end of the day if you have spell left.
A staff of charming allow someone to cast Charm monster 5 times in a day, minimum Cl 8 and cost 17.600 gp.
Let's compare with a item that allow us to cast Charm monster 1/time/day on command:
Spell level × caster level × 1,800/5
Spell level 4, CL 8, so
4*8*1,800/5= 11.520 gp
The staff cost a little more than 1.5 times the 1 use day item, can be used used multiple times in a day if needed, can cast Charm person, scale with your level and don't use body slots (you must held it in a hand when in use but it don't occupy it constantly, you can store it).
Let's see how it work for a staff of conjuration, 82,000 gp
it can cast Summon monster VI 3 times, I would say it is still reasonably close to a item that can be used once a day.
SL 6, CL 11. (note, the staff has a CL of 13, but the right CL should be 11, as, AFAIK, the highest spell level is 6)
6*11*1,800/5= 23.760 gp
Here it is almost 3.5 times the single use item, almost exactly the price of a item that can be used 3 times in a day.
But it has 5 more spells that you can use and all the bonuses depicted above.
To me it seem a great item, especially for classes that have a limited number of spell know. Simply it is a high level item or something that you should make by yourself to suit exactly your tastes.
Staff of charming has 10 charges same as any staff. It has 2 spells though.
To cast charm person it only uses 1 of those charges.
To cast charm monster uses 2 charges.
dragonhunterq is completely correct, but I'll expand on his explanation a bit. The description isn't telling you how many charges you have. It is telling you how many charges it costs to cast each spell. If your staff is fully charged then it has 10 charges and it costs 1 charge to cast Charm Person and 2 charges to cast Charm Monster.
So before recharging the staff you could:
• cast Charm Person 10 times or
• cast Charm Monster 5 times or
• cast Charm Person 4 times and Charm Monster 3 times, etc.