Staff

Enchantment
Enchants a magic staff – see Magic Staffs (p. 13) for details. Though many
magic items must be in the form of a wand or staff, they do not have to have
this spell on them. Many mages use various Limiting enchantments so
that others can’t use their staffs – but this is not automatic.

Energy Cost: 30.
Prerequisite: Enchant.

Item
Any rod-shaped piece of organic material (wood, bone, ivory, etc.) up to
6 feet long. May be decorated with other materials, like gems and pre-
cious metals. A small staff is often called a “rod,” and a very short and
slender one, a “wand.”

Magic Staffs
A “magic staff” is any wand or staff imbued with the power to extend your reach for the purpose of casting spells (see Staff, p. 70). It gives three main benefits:
• Touching a subject with your staff lets you cast spells on that subject at no distance penalty. This is useful in situations where you must cast a spell on a subject you cannot touch with your hand (e.g., a healing spell on someone trapped under rubble). This also allows a wizard to tap a Powerstone set into his staff.
• Pointing with a staff reduces the range to a distant subject by the length of the staff. This is valuable for Regular spells, as a one-yard wand shaves -1 off distance penalties, while a two-yard quarterstaff eliminates -2! You can point as part of the ritual to cast a spell. Tell the GM you are pointing at the subject when you start concentrating. (This might warn an unwilling subject!)
• A staff can carry Melee spells. This gives them more reach, letting you strike and parry without putting your hand in harm’s way.

A magic staff can be any length up to two yards. A wand is Reach C, too light to do damage, and uses Knife or Main-Gauche skill. A long wand or short staff is Reach 1, functions as a baton in combat, and uses Shortsword or Smallsword skill. A full-length staff is Reach 2, counts as a quarterstaff in combat, and uses Staff or Two-Handed Sword skill. In most game worlds, a suitable ordinary item can be enchanted as a magic staff for $30, but it must be made from once-living materials (wood, bone, ivory, coral, etc.).

In some settings, magic staffs are more than mere aids, but the fundamental tool of magecraft! In these worlds, mages buy some or all of their Magery with gadget limitations (p. B116) – usually Breakable or Can Be Stolen. A mage who loses his staff may be nearly crippled.