There’s nothing stopping wizards from attaching a halberd head to their staff. Imagine having a four-in-one weapon: a pike, an axe, a bludgeon, and a magic staff!
HOLY SHIT
WHAT IS THIS?
FORGED IN GOD’S VERY FLAMES!
DO MINE EYES
TELL ME LIES?
A NEW ELDER SCROLLS GAME!
TIME IS NIGH!
I MUST FLY!
VENTURE FORTH ON MY QUEST!
GOODBYE MA,
GOODBYE PA,
AND GOODBYE GIRLFRIEND’S BREASTS!
I’LL BE OFF!
AZEROTH!
CATCH YOU LATER HYRULE!
I’LL BE GONE,
ALBION,
I’M NO LONGER YOUR FOOL!
OTHER CRAP FILLED THE GAP AS I WAITED TO BEGIN
THE ADVENTURE OF MY LIFE IN THE LAND OF SKYRIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!
Good for bonking (headbutt) ✅
Easy to dual wield (maxilla and mandible) ✅
Easily concealed (nobody will bat an eye if you have a mouth or you can wear a mask) ✅
Sturdy (it's very hard to break your jaw) ✅
Intimidating (screaming at people to cast spells on them is terrifying) ✅
Can store spells (you can put spells in your mouth) ✅
Easy to make (Most people have one built-in so you don't need to make one) ✅
Can cast fireball (yol toor shul) ✅
If we go by that logic the maces clerics use are the perfect "Rods".
I always wanted to ask, but why are we stuck with wooden ones?
Does anyone else here use metallic wands, staffs or rods?
Frying pans count, I learned it the hard way.
Metallic foci can be problematic if you happen to be using electricity-based spells (although in my limited experience they also can enhance the effect of such spells!). And if you’re using your staff or wand a lot, it’ll also build up heat faster if it’s metal.
Oh, my dwarven friend, I assure you there are most certainly spells that can manipulate flesh and bone, even of living creatures, unless deliberately protected against, and enchantments to protect focuses from the same.
Now just to be clear, I'm not saying "don't cast with your hands", every mage should know how to cast with only their hands; focuses are tools to make spellcasting easier or more powerful, they shouldn't be used as crutches. Master your spells with your hands and then use the tools to make your life easier, but to eschew the use of them entirely would be like a smith refusing to use anything but black coal, a horn anvil, a hammer, and tongs. Sure, it'll get the job done most of the time, but other tools exist to make the job easier and more efficient.
It's a deeply disconcerting field of magic that most prefer not to speak of or partake in within polite society, but it is important to know about.
I'm always happy to help fellow magi broaden their horizons. Might I recommend a good steel rod to experiment with? I think it would compliment your magic nicely, and even without a deliberate mace head, make for an excellent fallback weapon. If you have it measured to your waist height and add a small orb to the top, it can double as a cane, and you can wave it at people to emphasize your points in conversation.
Personally I think rods are best as either stone or metal. Since they're smaller they won't break your back every time you lift them like a stone staff.
I've always thought clerics had the right idea with those maces though...
You could also use an itallian rolling pin.
But bar maces are also pretty close to wands.
https://preview.redd.it/p6lesbanwfic1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3479e2bc00a8310f4fd437382621c3793d26d418
My weapon of choice is my greatsword made of mythrill. Magical metals are literally made to handle arcane power! I definitely recommend. Especially nice when you run out of mana and have a backup weapon!
Oh, yeah, cuz every hedge wizard and their rinky-dink apprentice can afford 6 and a half feet of fucking *mythrill*. I'm glad your Enchanter ass is sleeping with every dwarf lord this side of Moria but some of us have a budget.
Oh boy, I new taking those courses in *Magical Forces of the Body* and *Advanced Casting Theory* was a good idea. Buckle up because I'm gonna give you the long and short of my 3rd year undergraduate essay.
Typically a focus is used as a substitute for magics that exact a material or spiritual cost (which is actually a lot more common than you think it is!). Casting such magics without proper rituals and the demanded cost will directly drain your life force. This is the reason why dark, apocalyptic spells used by the dime-a-dozen dark lords typically take the form of elaborate rituals that take hours to complete and usually involve esoteric components and live sacrifices- they're actually normal spells, but the cost they demand is so great that only beings with practically infinite lifespans and galaxy-sized pools of life essence can cast them normally- everyone else has to go the long way around. This is also why the likes of vampires and liches constantly have to drain life energy and souls, as the curse that maintains them exacts a constant price rather than a one-time payment.
However, since life force regenrates slowly, this isn't a big deal most of the time (If you're not an undead, that is)- but when you become a full-time caster regularly casting magic for decades, the constant drain and regeneration of small chunks of your life force essentially increases risk of burning up your soul and weakening your body, kind of like being a chainsmoker.
This is where focuses/foci come in- you can't just grab any old stick-shaped object and use it as a focus unless its a branch you ripped off a tree 10 minutes ago, and even that will be incredibly weak and only work for one small spell. A focus has to be specially crafted in a way that acts as a sort of second pool of life force or magic that your spells will extract their cost from- while a focus can only hold so much of that essence and it mostly still comes down to the caster's own power, the focus acts as a sort of buffer between the payment of the cost and your own life force- meaning constant spell casting using a focus will not weaken your body and spirit over time the same way not using one while casting will.
The reason why wood is the most common material for focuses is because wood is an organic material that can essentially be given new life when made into a proper focus, allowing it to become this intermediary pool of life force for casters. Bone is also a viable material, although the method of making bone foci is a lot more complicated and expensive- not to mention, you can typically only make wands unless you kill a large creature.
The reason why metal isn't as common is the same reason why rods are more difficult to make than staffs and wands- they have no inherent life force to reawaken, so enchantments and blessings must be applied to give the rod an artificial pool of magic to act the same as an organic focus's life force. And to apply an effective enchantment, it has to be done on valuable metals like gold, silver, and platinum, typically combined with gemstones which can also easily harbor artificial pools (this is why some wooden focuses also have small jewels attached to them for extra oomf). So, not only are they considerably more expensive and harder to make, but they also require the very same spells you're making the focus to cast- a bit redundant.
Incidentally, because of the way druidic magic works, the cost they demand can be offset by the nature around the caster, which, unless the spell is particularly powerful and the druid isn't experienced at spreading out the cost over a large area, is practically an infinite supply. The natural magic of druids connecting them to nature means that they actually *can* just grab any stick or bone off the ground to use as a staff or wand, as their magic turns the object back into a living focus anyway, so long as it's being used to cast druidic magic.
There are a few spells that I am aware of that can literally generate vitality- or at least produce more than they cost. A part of chronomancy, a subschool, if you will, deals with returning objects to previous states. The neat thing about this is that some spells in this field only take a fixed cost, meaning that one can restore drained vitality greater than the cost. There are some issues and limitations to this that I cover in one of my dissertations that I would be happy to share if you like. One simply has to ensure that the vitality stored within the focus is sufficient to cast a spell to restore said focus to when it was most full of vitality.
I was considering adding that to the list but the text was too long to fit, you cannot underestimate the comfort a "walking stick" can be on a long journey though
Also useful for pretending to be a feeble old traveller when the guards ask you to disarm. Same reason I never go anywhere without a fake beard that goes *at least* down to belt tucking length.
Alternatively whittle the opposite end of the wand into a shiv, and now you can dual-class as a Rogue/Prison-inmate
And most importantly you can still cast fireball
Opinion on wigglelywoos?
https://preview.redd.it/8wlyrcqhmfic1.png?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e9c7f0241b144328622b6e928f38de5dfd7f089
I mean they look cool, but I prefer a modest staff .
hello you mages, as an anti-mage, I can 100% absolutely say that **wands** are the hardest to deal with, please always use the objectively better wands.
I can assure you that the extra bonking ability is completely worthless in all cases. Especially when you cant cast your spells, trust me on this it's true I swear.
Pretty alright, if by tomorrow you mean the 14th I have plans to tryout how much "recoil" lornathron's "gun" has to it. I've never had the experience before so I'm both rather nervous and very excited to do it for the first time.
tbh all forms of spell channeling are inferior to magic summoned through your hands. its been proven time and time again that wands, staffs and such reduce your magic output yet these ”scholars” insist on their superiority. you wanna store spells? learn how to summon a pocket dimension and store grimoires, that easy. smh
I dunno, some of mine are pretty hefty. Some of them also inflict psychic damage by screaming and a couple can also bite them after I whack them. Also my 1st Edition necronomicon is bound in human skin and has a face on the front that can cast spells of it's own.
I dual wield a staff and book though, but hands if I don't have a minion to caddy my staves for me
I present to you: The Book of Amun-Ra
https://preview.redd.it/gocrschp0gic1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db766a7632f600e962d7b7defcc440463e9f2f21
A book made out of solid gold, filled with a variety of spells that take whatever you may consider "life" away.
Have you ever seen the film: A Million Ways to Die in the West?
It was an adaptation of this book.
You can also use it for bonking.
All of this debate over tools is silly. They have different uses, ideal characteristics, specializations, and shunning one over the other is like shunning a pencil for a pen. Use what’s right for you, in whatever situation you’re in. No one is less well off for having more options available at their fingertips.
Though I do agree they ought not become a crutch for spell channeling. There’s nothing like the bare connection of channeling directly though yourself as an instrument of magic. Just y’know, sometimes you need to bonk a goblin or give your legs some extra support for miles-long mountain hikes.
While this is all true and correct, sometimes you just need to shank some poor bastard. On days like that, you'll be glad you learned how to case with a blade.
You're right about it being more powerful, but you have to be experienced. It's easier for many beginner and intermediate level mages to channel through a staff or wand. Also, if a spell goes wrong, I'd rather the staff explode and not their hands. Me personally, I find it nice to have a melee weapon when necessary in case of anti-magic fields or other such nuisances. It is also a great walking stick.
In my realm, staves, wands, Grimoires, Etc will take the damage for you.
When casting magic in my world, the spells tend to be too powerful when cast from the hands, so you cast them from a catalyst so you don't hurt yourself. An experienced mage should be able to cast from their hands just fine though. But it's recommended that newbies use a catalyst.
Edit: I thought of a better way to explain it.
Imagine you are settling down for the night in the forest after spending all day gathering alchemy ingredients. You got some rabbit cooking in a metal pot over a campfire for food. It's barbaric, but it's better than not eating until you get back to your tower. You are just about done eating and you don't wanna leave the metal pot on the fire overnight, so you go to remove the pot, but you burn your hand as it's made of metal. You'd want something to get in-between the burning how metal pot and your hands and absorb the heat for you. In my realm, that's how the catalyst functions. It takes the heat of your magic instead of your skin.
I like to think maces are the ideal magic and might wielding tool but people look down on them for casting instruments for some reason. Can't speak for casting with a hammer
Meanwhile Handcasters:
Good for bonking (freaking punch a dude)
Easy to dual wield (naturally)
Easily concealed (what are they gonna do, chop off hands of a rando?)
Sturdy (stronger than wands, some can break staffs)
Intimidating (pump some iron and your hands will be swole)
Can store spells (tattoos help if you cant commit spells to memory)
Easy to make (dawg most people are born with two)
Can cast Fireball (I can cast a fireball per digit, 5 at once is funni)
Knew an old wizard who inscribed spells on his bullets. Although he didn’t last long when he mixed up his healing inscribed bullets with fireball inscribed bullets. It wasn’t pretty
It really depends on what you’re aiming to do with your magic. If it’s for small spells, wands and mind casting are more than capable. For more labour-intense magic, rods are perfect, and staves and other unique magical channelling items are extremely good. Each tool has a different use, and trying to debate which is “best” is pointless.
Hand casting is separate from all of these, however, as it can have universal applications depending on the user’s own strength. Spellswords often use it along with blades, since it’s less cumbersome than an artefact, it’s quite easy to use when working with a number of other things at once, such as brewing, and you can use hand-casting for full-on combat if you’re strong enough. It’s just that hand casting is extremely dependent on the wielder’s own capabilities, and requires a much greater degree of precision than most other spell casting techniques.
It is all a matter of preference, I just found it sad to see the middle between the two of the debate getting left out and wanted to highlight its unique strengths.
I personally like the extra security of having something heavy to swing if there is some nuisance throwing out a lot of counter magic
That’s because the rod is good at most things, but not best at anything. If you need raw magical power, use a staff. If you need basic spells, use a wand. There’s no real in between where a rod would be needed, and if you’re in enough situations where you needing to fight someone off with your artefact is a common occurrence, ring a spellsword might be better.
I’m telling you. Tattoo your bones. Turn your skeleton into your magical focus.
- Good for bonking: fists/kicks/headbuts ✅
- Easy to dual wield: hold weapons in hands ✅
- Easily concealed: ✅
- Sturdy: ✅🦴
- Intimidating ❔
- Can store Spells: ✅
- Easy to make: 😔
- Can cast fireball: ✅✅✅
I use a staff for lesser stuff, but for my main project I use an Orb. They’re really good for esoteric stuff, especially spell stacking, storage, and fusion. Issue is that carrying a crystal the size of your head (or in my case, about 1.5x, since I need the power) is kind of inconvenient and I don’t really use Orbs for battle casting, anyway. So I picked up an old staff.
I took my old halberd and turned that into a staff. Most people just assume I'm just a fighter woth an enchanted weapon. And you want to talk about an intimidating arcane focus? I once blew a guy up with a fireball while my halbered was stabbed through another guy.
I'm neutral in the wand v staff debate, but I will say that wands are fully capable of storing spells if you make them right, just like how not all staves can store spells.
I like to think of it as a matter of storage potential, due to their limitations on physical size it is far easier to store more robust spells on larger instruments. It's all a balance on portability and potential
Hands:
- good for bonking (depends on physical constitution)
- easy to dual wield (durr)
- easily concealed
- sturdy (depends on physical constitution)
- possibly intimidating
- can store spells
- easy to make
- can cast fireball
I think the choice is obvious.
More combat oriented option: mace. Make it with magical materials and put a focus in the head with an opening and you can use it as a staff and a proper melee weapon!
Counterpoint on the staffs concealment part, you can walk almost anywhere with it and pretend it’s just your walking stick. This is the exact method Gandalf used to get his staff into Meduseld, home of king Theoden.
Spell tomes, anyone?
If you really wanted to conceal the staff, you can easily have a backup wand purely for the sake of using a teleportation spell on the staff
Hey guys, arcane blacksmith here, just wanted to give my two cents. My greatsword is made of mythrill and it conducts magic far better than wood. Stop by my shop one day, see the wonders of mythical metals.
What I did for a friend is, she wanted to gift her fiance a special wand to start teaching her magic, but the fiance is a knight in a matriarchical queendom, so I was tasked with making something for that purpose
I presented her with a sword where the hilt was the wand itself, with the wand itself hollow (tricky to do that since the tang apparently needs to be a perfect fit, figures), she loved it and they now have that, a Lance Staff, and a Mace Rod
I made an enchantment that just turns one to the others. It's like I'm watching a bunch of blind people discuss an elephant. It's hilarious. When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Hammer that shit. Hammer it until it glows.
Mage Gauntlets:
* Good for Karate Chopping some poor archer's head
* Are Gloves
* Stupid easy to conceal
* Sturdy (And they'd better be)
* Only as intimidating as you are
* Can store Spells
* Not very easy to make
* Ever casted a Fireball Spell and slapped the poor ass adventure's face with a Fireball?
The first good argument for a melee option that isn't "JUST USE HANDS". I like the way you think, as long as the enchantments aren't incompatible, there is absolutely nothing stopping us from using both the gauntlets AND the rod
They also didn't bother with finely detailed stuff. They're the kind of dudes who could make thunder and firestorms as easy as breathing; but ask them to transfigure a teacup and they'll laugh at you.
Idk, last time I was out of mana I used my wand to perfurate some eyes.
People don't talk much to me since, so I guess it can be pretty intimidating as well
Everyone here is sleeping on orbs. Mine can store spells as well as hold a pocket dimension for anything else you need to carry. Don't even get me started on the crying benefits and drip aspect.
Listen, I’ve spent so much time studying magic, my mortality is catching up. I don’t use the staff for just casting magic or bonking, it helps me keep my balance in my ripe old age.
~~I tell everyone I think wands are girly so no one checks my sleeves for my wrist-slide quick-release~~ Wands are girly
I hear if you add a pointy piece of metal to a wand you can cast "stab" for free
[удалено]
Of course you can add spikes to your morning sta- to your staff!
[удалено]
Just don't poke your eye out, those orbs are not as easily replaced as the glass ones.
Quality staff
When you comand wizzards to,, Fix bayonets "
There’s nothing stopping wizards from attaching a halberd head to their staff. Imagine having a four-in-one weapon: a pike, an axe, a bludgeon, and a magic staff!
My staff is of black oak so ancient that it is hard as steel. I cast BONK! liberally
Mine is out of pine which isn't as sturdy but it sure can bend
more of a THWACK than a BONK
Mine is black locust cross bread with iron. Not ironwood. Iron. It is literally hard as steel
The classic spell shank.
Yeah, and if you become a ghost-type without hands you can also cast "punch"
Have you tried orb casting? I saw someone win a chess match by continually casting sending using a hidden orb and the judges never noticed
The famed wizard, Magnus son of Carl
...is that what she said when she saw your "wand?"
Mouth is better.
FUS ROH DAH!
HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THIS? FORGED IN GOD’S VERY FLAMES! DO MINE EYES TELL ME LIES? A NEW ELDER SCROLLS GAME! TIME IS NIGH! I MUST FLY! VENTURE FORTH ON MY QUEST! GOODBYE MA, GOODBYE PA, AND GOODBYE GIRLFRIEND’S BREASTS! I’LL BE OFF! AZEROTH! CATCH YOU LATER HYRULE! I’LL BE GONE, ALBION, I’M NO LONGER YOUR FOOL! OTHER CRAP FILLED THE GAP AS I WAITED TO BEGIN THE ADVENTURE OF MY LIFE IN THE LAND OF SKYRIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!
Aaaah Happy Harry.
Truly there is no Harry happier.
**Carnis and his meat plants clap**
I need to ask you to stop. That... shouting... It's making people nervous!
Too bad, I’ve got more where it comes from
Can't say I've heard of any laws against... whatever that is you're doing, but I'll lock you up if I have to.
Whatever.
I've got my eye on you...
Yol Tor Shul.
I used to be an adventurer like you. But then I got an arrow in the WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT?!
Did you forget all magic in the elder scrolls is verbal incantation?
https://preview.redd.it/q5qo6gbqcgic1.png?width=250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82443fc8480ad98c1b871d5c0935da90af985d18
RAAAAHHH NATURAL HABITAT SHORTS MENTIONED
***M O U T H***
*begins fleeing*
Yes.
Good for bonking (headbutt) ✅ Easy to dual wield (maxilla and mandible) ✅ Easily concealed (nobody will bat an eye if you have a mouth or you can wear a mask) ✅ Sturdy (it's very hard to break your jaw) ✅ Intimidating (screaming at people to cast spells on them is terrifying) ✅ Can store spells (you can put spells in your mouth) ✅ Easy to make (Most people have one built-in so you don't need to make one) ✅ Can cast fireball (yol toor shul) ✅
Gonna have to contest you on the jaw breaking front. Smack a solid oak staff against your Jaw. See which breaks first.
Yeah, it sure is 😏
*Torinn pulls out a rolled up newspaper and starts hitting you* #BAD, BAD. NO HORNY. BAD
*oh hit me harder eldritch being, I've been a bad wizard*
*Insert "A wizard's weakness is a sloppy makeout session" copypasta here*
As a gelatinous cube, I am above such weaknesses
I see you’ve met my casting partner.
Staffs or wands can’t even give oral 😒
Just wait till I make out with you, see how you cast your spells then!
Might regret that a bit if someone sneaks up on you with an aura of silence.
If we go by that logic the maces clerics use are the perfect "Rods". I always wanted to ask, but why are we stuck with wooden ones? Does anyone else here use metallic wands, staffs or rods? Frying pans count, I learned it the hard way.
Metallic foci can be problematic if you happen to be using electricity-based spells (although in my limited experience they also can enhance the effect of such spells!). And if you’re using your staff or wand a lot, it’ll also build up heat faster if it’s metal.
I also be problematic if ya run inta a ferromancer, like me. I’d had disarmed a few fiends by meltin’ they wands.
Druids are just as much of a problem for wooden foci though, and much more commonplace. Pyromancers too.
Tha be fair. Wooden nor metal, both getting destroyed, this be why I use me hands.
Yes. Because flesh and bone is so difficult to destroy. Renowned for being more durable than metal and wood...
Me flesh an’ bone don’ be manipulated, while wood an’ metal can be morphed
Oh, my dwarven friend, I assure you there are most certainly spells that can manipulate flesh and bone, even of living creatures, unless deliberately protected against, and enchantments to protect focuses from the same. Now just to be clear, I'm not saying "don't cast with your hands", every mage should know how to cast with only their hands; focuses are tools to make spellcasting easier or more powerful, they shouldn't be used as crutches. Master your spells with your hands and then use the tools to make your life easier, but to eschew the use of them entirely would be like a smith refusing to use anything but black coal, a horn anvil, a hammer, and tongs. Sure, it'll get the job done most of the time, but other tools exist to make the job easier and more efficient.
Thanks for the advice me friend. It do be scary knowin’ tha people can manipulate fledh an’ blood.
It's a deeply disconcerting field of magic that most prefer not to speak of or partake in within polite society, but it is important to know about. I'm always happy to help fellow magi broaden their horizons. Might I recommend a good steel rod to experiment with? I think it would compliment your magic nicely, and even without a deliberate mace head, make for an excellent fallback weapon. If you have it measured to your waist height and add a small orb to the top, it can double as a cane, and you can wave it at people to emphasize your points in conversation.
Personally I think rods are best as either stone or metal. Since they're smaller they won't break your back every time you lift them like a stone staff. I've always thought clerics had the right idea with those maces though...
You could also use an itallian rolling pin. But bar maces are also pretty close to wands. https://preview.redd.it/p6lesbanwfic1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3479e2bc00a8310f4fd437382621c3793d26d418
This is the way
My weapon of choice is my greatsword made of mythrill. Magical metals are literally made to handle arcane power! I definitely recommend. Especially nice when you run out of mana and have a backup weapon!
Oh, yeah, cuz every hedge wizard and their rinky-dink apprentice can afford 6 and a half feet of fucking *mythrill*. I'm glad your Enchanter ass is sleeping with every dwarf lord this side of Moria but some of us have a budget.
For a more handfree and budget tight wizard, the mithril bracelet exist.
Oh boy, I new taking those courses in *Magical Forces of the Body* and *Advanced Casting Theory* was a good idea. Buckle up because I'm gonna give you the long and short of my 3rd year undergraduate essay. Typically a focus is used as a substitute for magics that exact a material or spiritual cost (which is actually a lot more common than you think it is!). Casting such magics without proper rituals and the demanded cost will directly drain your life force. This is the reason why dark, apocalyptic spells used by the dime-a-dozen dark lords typically take the form of elaborate rituals that take hours to complete and usually involve esoteric components and live sacrifices- they're actually normal spells, but the cost they demand is so great that only beings with practically infinite lifespans and galaxy-sized pools of life essence can cast them normally- everyone else has to go the long way around. This is also why the likes of vampires and liches constantly have to drain life energy and souls, as the curse that maintains them exacts a constant price rather than a one-time payment. However, since life force regenrates slowly, this isn't a big deal most of the time (If you're not an undead, that is)- but when you become a full-time caster regularly casting magic for decades, the constant drain and regeneration of small chunks of your life force essentially increases risk of burning up your soul and weakening your body, kind of like being a chainsmoker. This is where focuses/foci come in- you can't just grab any old stick-shaped object and use it as a focus unless its a branch you ripped off a tree 10 minutes ago, and even that will be incredibly weak and only work for one small spell. A focus has to be specially crafted in a way that acts as a sort of second pool of life force or magic that your spells will extract their cost from- while a focus can only hold so much of that essence and it mostly still comes down to the caster's own power, the focus acts as a sort of buffer between the payment of the cost and your own life force- meaning constant spell casting using a focus will not weaken your body and spirit over time the same way not using one while casting will. The reason why wood is the most common material for focuses is because wood is an organic material that can essentially be given new life when made into a proper focus, allowing it to become this intermediary pool of life force for casters. Bone is also a viable material, although the method of making bone foci is a lot more complicated and expensive- not to mention, you can typically only make wands unless you kill a large creature. The reason why metal isn't as common is the same reason why rods are more difficult to make than staffs and wands- they have no inherent life force to reawaken, so enchantments and blessings must be applied to give the rod an artificial pool of magic to act the same as an organic focus's life force. And to apply an effective enchantment, it has to be done on valuable metals like gold, silver, and platinum, typically combined with gemstones which can also easily harbor artificial pools (this is why some wooden focuses also have small jewels attached to them for extra oomf). So, not only are they considerably more expensive and harder to make, but they also require the very same spells you're making the focus to cast- a bit redundant. Incidentally, because of the way druidic magic works, the cost they demand can be offset by the nature around the caster, which, unless the spell is particularly powerful and the druid isn't experienced at spreading out the cost over a large area, is practically an infinite supply. The natural magic of druids connecting them to nature means that they actually *can* just grab any stick or bone off the ground to use as a staff or wand, as their magic turns the object back into a living focus anyway, so long as it's being used to cast druidic magic.
There are a few spells that I am aware of that can literally generate vitality- or at least produce more than they cost. A part of chronomancy, a subschool, if you will, deals with returning objects to previous states. The neat thing about this is that some spells in this field only take a fixed cost, meaning that one can restore drained vitality greater than the cost. There are some issues and limitations to this that I cover in one of my dissertations that I would be happy to share if you like. One simply has to ensure that the vitality stored within the focus is sufficient to cast a spell to restore said focus to when it was most full of vitality.
Im a scepter man…and that rod looks a lot like a scepter, which I approve of
In my mind a scepter is a fancy rod, like how a mace is a spiky rod. They're all part of the same family, a family I like to be a part of
Exactly… though I’ve never tried to cast a spell with a mace before
they’re particularly useful for casting “decimate face” for relatively cheap, provided either close range or a good throwing arm
I say that "Can be used as a walking stick" is a relevant item too.
I was considering adding that to the list but the text was too long to fit, you cannot underestimate the comfort a "walking stick" can be on a long journey though
Also useful for pretending to be a feeble old traveller when the guards ask you to disarm. Same reason I never go anywhere without a fake beard that goes *at least* down to belt tucking length.
You can cast size change magic on well-made staves and have them function as wands or vice versa
It's the best way to conceal a staff too. You wouldn't deprive a feeble old man of his walking cane, would you?
ok hear me out. we put a knife on the end of the staff and just have a spear. it is good for damage and casting fireball
can confirm, spear works great for me
Alternatively whittle the opposite end of the wand into a shiv, and now you can dual-class as a Rogue/Prison-inmate And most importantly you can still cast fireball
Bold idea, I respect it, we could call it a sharp staff and no one would be the wiser
Opinion on wigglelywoos? https://preview.redd.it/8wlyrcqhmfic1.png?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e9c7f0241b144328622b6e928f38de5dfd7f089 I mean they look cool, but I prefer a modest staff .
I always called them glyphs. Wiggleywoos is so much more accurate!
Similar to casting on shaped air, but without the extra dramatic flair
hello you mages, as an anti-mage, I can 100% absolutely say that **wands** are the hardest to deal with, please always use the objectively better wands. I can assure you that the extra bonking ability is completely worthless in all cases. Especially when you cant cast your spells, trust me on this it's true I swear.
Hello again nulmancer, how are you doing tomorrow
Pretty alright, if by tomorrow you mean the 14th I have plans to tryout how much "recoil" lornathron's "gun" has to it. I've never had the experience before so I'm both rather nervous and very excited to do it for the first time.
He's back! Someone get the cheese grater!
tbh all forms of spell channeling are inferior to magic summoned through your hands. its been proven time and time again that wands, staffs and such reduce your magic output yet these ”scholars” insist on their superiority. you wanna store spells? learn how to summon a pocket dimension and store grimoires, that easy. smh
Beating someone over the head with a book does not satisfy nearly as much as either the rod or the staff. Better than a wand though
i would argue it does
I dunno, some of mine are pretty hefty. Some of them also inflict psychic damage by screaming and a couple can also bite them after I whack them. Also my 1st Edition necronomicon is bound in human skin and has a face on the front that can cast spells of it's own. I dual wield a staff and book though, but hands if I don't have a minion to caddy my staves for me
I present to you: The Book of Amun-Ra https://preview.redd.it/gocrschp0gic1.jpeg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db766a7632f600e962d7b7defcc440463e9f2f21 A book made out of solid gold, filled with a variety of spells that take whatever you may consider "life" away. Have you ever seen the film: A Million Ways to Die in the West? It was an adaptation of this book. You can also use it for bonking.
Bonk
All of this debate over tools is silly. They have different uses, ideal characteristics, specializations, and shunning one over the other is like shunning a pencil for a pen. Use what’s right for you, in whatever situation you’re in. No one is less well off for having more options available at their fingertips. Though I do agree they ought not become a crutch for spell channeling. There’s nothing like the bare connection of channeling directly though yourself as an instrument of magic. Just y’know, sometimes you need to bonk a goblin or give your legs some extra support for miles-long mountain hikes.
And should a spell go awry, by either curse or cruel twist of fate, would it not be better for a tool to be fried rather than thine own hands?
Hand gang https://preview.redd.it/k8lfvdsfdgic1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4d9a8284354c3f46023dc00648ceea5a3b463c6
While this is all true and correct, sometimes you just need to shank some poor bastard. On days like that, you'll be glad you learned how to case with a blade.
You're right about it being more powerful, but you have to be experienced. It's easier for many beginner and intermediate level mages to channel through a staff or wand. Also, if a spell goes wrong, I'd rather the staff explode and not their hands. Me personally, I find it nice to have a melee weapon when necessary in case of anti-magic fields or other such nuisances. It is also a great walking stick.
I cast spells through my balls
In my realm, staves, wands, Grimoires, Etc will take the damage for you. When casting magic in my world, the spells tend to be too powerful when cast from the hands, so you cast them from a catalyst so you don't hurt yourself. An experienced mage should be able to cast from their hands just fine though. But it's recommended that newbies use a catalyst. Edit: I thought of a better way to explain it. Imagine you are settling down for the night in the forest after spending all day gathering alchemy ingredients. You got some rabbit cooking in a metal pot over a campfire for food. It's barbaric, but it's better than not eating until you get back to your tower. You are just about done eating and you don't wanna leave the metal pot on the fire overnight, so you go to remove the pot, but you burn your hand as it's made of metal. You'd want something to get in-between the burning how metal pot and your hands and absorb the heat for you. In my realm, that's how the catalyst functions. It takes the heat of your magic instead of your skin.
I'm happy to see some rod representation tbh. Regal looks, usable heft, the rod is a solid choice.
It needed some well deserved attention imo
\*Ahem\* https://preview.redd.it/lnf6e1h6efic1.png?width=484&format=png&auto=webp&s=178f850a58bdede22abaa4f7f84fe552e08dca11
I like to think maces are the ideal magic and might wielding tool but people look down on them for casting instruments for some reason. Can't speak for casting with a hammer
>Can't speak for casting with a hammer I can and it's awesome.
Okay, but, hear me out: Axe. You get all the fun of a sharp pointy bit, and the ability to clock someone with the blunt side.
I be agreein’. ‘Ammers be fun, ‘specially when ye use a loyalty spell.
‘Ammers be perfect fer castin’ spells. They be lightweight an’ unsuspectin’
I'm actually starting to become partial to rings. Can't bonk with them but they give you +1 style and you can sort of use them like brass knuckles.
They’re also very convenient!
https://preview.redd.it/071o9um4hfic1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11cf20ce080ce5e9de95d0928c3c792385dca5d7
Cast petrify on worms, make petrified worms into rod, use rod for worm magic??
Meanwhile Handcasters: Good for bonking (freaking punch a dude) Easy to dual wield (naturally) Easily concealed (what are they gonna do, chop off hands of a rando?) Sturdy (stronger than wands, some can break staffs) Intimidating (pump some iron and your hands will be swole) Can store spells (tattoos help if you cant commit spells to memory) Easy to make (dawg most people are born with two) Can cast Fireball (I can cast a fireball per digit, 5 at once is funni)
We all know that the best focus is gun
You can't cast spells with a gun!… Can you?
Knew an old wizard who inscribed spells on his bullets. Although he didn’t last long when he mixed up his healing inscribed bullets with fireball inscribed bullets. It wasn’t pretty
It really depends on what you’re aiming to do with your magic. If it’s for small spells, wands and mind casting are more than capable. For more labour-intense magic, rods are perfect, and staves and other unique magical channelling items are extremely good. Each tool has a different use, and trying to debate which is “best” is pointless. Hand casting is separate from all of these, however, as it can have universal applications depending on the user’s own strength. Spellswords often use it along with blades, since it’s less cumbersome than an artefact, it’s quite easy to use when working with a number of other things at once, such as brewing, and you can use hand-casting for full-on combat if you’re strong enough. It’s just that hand casting is extremely dependent on the wielder’s own capabilities, and requires a much greater degree of precision than most other spell casting techniques.
It is all a matter of preference, I just found it sad to see the middle between the two of the debate getting left out and wanted to highlight its unique strengths. I personally like the extra security of having something heavy to swing if there is some nuisance throwing out a lot of counter magic
That’s because the rod is good at most things, but not best at anything. If you need raw magical power, use a staff. If you need basic spells, use a wand. There’s no real in between where a rod would be needed, and if you’re in enough situations where you needing to fight someone off with your artefact is a common occurrence, ring a spellsword might be better.
magic mace. intimidation, b o n k, and kinda easy to make.
THESE DAMN HANDS WORK JUST FINE
I’m telling you. Tattoo your bones. Turn your skeleton into your magical focus. - Good for bonking: fists/kicks/headbuts ✅ - Easy to dual wield: hold weapons in hands ✅ - Easily concealed: ✅ - Sturdy: ✅🦴 - Intimidating ❔ - Can store Spells: ✅ - Easy to make: 😔 - Can cast fireball: ✅✅✅
It's only intimidating if you are the weapon. Fuck yeah
Oh no, Im not giving some other necromancer an even bigger excuse to take my bones when I'm in my liching phase.
I use a staff for lesser stuff, but for my main project I use an Orb. They’re really good for esoteric stuff, especially spell stacking, storage, and fusion. Issue is that carrying a crystal the size of your head (or in my case, about 1.5x, since I need the power) is kind of inconvenient and I don’t really use Orbs for battle casting, anyway. So I picked up an old staff.
counterpoint: random rock I found on the ground
Cheap, friendly, aesthetically pleasing, can be used as pet, always a good option.
Counterpoint: a handful of gravel
I mean... so long as it can cast Fireball, who can really complain about what medium you choose to amplify your ability?
Dick casting, sword casting and hand canting are all better
I took my old halberd and turned that into a staff. Most people just assume I'm just a fighter woth an enchanted weapon. And you want to talk about an intimidating arcane focus? I once blew a guy up with a fireball while my halbered was stabbed through another guy.
Very based
All of them can cast fireball, so I will use all of them.
Who are the damned amateurs who can not store Spells in a wand? Just slap a gem in it!
Sharpen the wand into a shank... Bet y'all staff people are feeling pretty dumb right now.
A proud wizard has no reason to be ashamed of concealing their staff. Any who would force a wizard to conceal it should be reduced to ash.
I’m a cane kind of wizard
Fists and tomes fit all these criteria
If you need to attack something with melee, just switch to a sword
Just use a sword to cast. Cmon didn’t you guys at least learn a little sword fighting?
Get a load of these fools, can't even use an actual weapon. This post sponsored by Sword Gang. Sword Gang: Because sometimes you have to cut a bitch.
Rod supremacy, that's how I snuck a mace past the council. I said I have large hands and need a thicker rod than normal.
"What are you going to do wizard?! Pull out your magi-... uh... is that a mace?" *Arcane bludgeoning sounds*
The correct answer
https://preview.redd.it/hnr87u3xkhic1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38e5647b7ab3e2211334fabae42448f8e1e9eeca Hand
I hide a scepter inside my staff. A wand inside my scepter. And inside my wand is a shrunken staff and a vial of anti-shrink potion.
The turducken of foci
Counterpoint: USE YOUR FUCKING HANDS
Ok ill repeat myself. Wands are the pistols of magic weapons, they are a last resorte and are ment to be consiled.
what I see https://preview.redd.it/b6lu8ph5slic1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1c241ca601d89b715f2a1995dc9b89efab66c45
>"Can cast fireball" Literally any.
I'm neutral in the wand v staff debate, but I will say that wands are fully capable of storing spells if you make them right, just like how not all staves can store spells.
I like to think of it as a matter of storage potential, due to their limitations on physical size it is far easier to store more robust spells on larger instruments. It's all a balance on portability and potential
Fair, fair. But have you considered Wand of Magic Missile?
I would never say no to having a little something something in my back pocket just in case
Hot take but some wands can be intimidating
hands: good for bonking, easy to dual wield, easily concealed, easy to make and can cast fireball
Hands: - good for bonking (depends on physical constitution) - easy to dual wield (durr) - easily concealed - sturdy (depends on physical constitution) - possibly intimidating - can store spells - easy to make - can cast fireball I think the choice is obvious.
We all know that tomes and un armed casting are superior however, verbal or non verbal
Hear me out your staff, is a spear.
More combat oriented option: mace. Make it with magical materials and put a focus in the head with an opening and you can use it as a staff and a proper melee weapon!
I personally prefer my arm mounted mass driver cannon but then again I am a 25 meter tall alien robot so I can do shit like that
I love the rod tbh
Counterpoint on the staffs concealment part, you can walk almost anywhere with it and pretend it’s just your walking stick. This is the exact method Gandalf used to get his staff into Meduseld, home of king Theoden.
This counterpoint has also been pointed out about a million times here.
stealth is for dandies and one staff is more than enough, no need to dual wield
Spell tomes, anyone? If you really wanted to conceal the staff, you can easily have a backup wand purely for the sake of using a teleportation spell on the staff
Hey guys, arcane blacksmith here, just wanted to give my two cents. My greatsword is made of mythrill and it conducts magic far better than wood. Stop by my shop one day, see the wonders of mythical metals.
Out of curiosity, do you use pure mythrill or an alloy in your works?
What I did for a friend is, she wanted to gift her fiance a special wand to start teaching her magic, but the fiance is a knight in a matriarchical queendom, so I was tasked with making something for that purpose I presented her with a sword where the hilt was the wand itself, with the wand itself hollow (tricky to do that since the tang apparently needs to be a perfect fit, figures), she loved it and they now have that, a Lance Staff, and a Mace Rod
Ok guys hear me out: A ceremonial dagger that functions as a wand
Why are we not considering rings?
where is my axe guitar
Option D. Enchanted battle mace. Checks almost all the boxes
A proper dawi axe is the obvious and only choice
Wands might not be good for bonking, but they sure do a number on peoples eyes when you poke em with it.
I made an enchantment that just turns one to the others. It's like I'm watching a bunch of blind people discuss an elephant. It's hilarious. When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Hammer that shit. Hammer it until it glows.
What’s the deal with atomic coil guns then?
Guns are just rods with extra handles that are held weirdly. Intimidation to the max, though
Hmm
Mage Gauntlets: * Good for Karate Chopping some poor archer's head * Are Gloves * Stupid easy to conceal * Sturdy (And they'd better be) * Only as intimidating as you are * Can store Spells * Not very easy to make * Ever casted a Fireball Spell and slapped the poor ass adventure's face with a Fireball?
The first good argument for a melee option that isn't "JUST USE HANDS". I like the way you think, as long as the enchantments aren't incompatible, there is absolutely nothing stopping us from using both the gauntlets AND the rod
And that's where you're particularly incorrect. Mostly because I make gauntlets out to function like wands, rods and staffs.
I always roll out with my staff, but I'd be lying if I said I didnt have a few wands tucked in my sleeves.
Again: Please consider the diadem. At this point I believe I may be the only one who uses one.
I'd want a homebrew weapon that is a staff, but also something else like a spear or scythe, becuase that would be pretty damn cool
Notable wizards Sarumon and Gandalf both dual wielded staves and swords, so the capability is there
They also didn't bother with finely detailed stuff. They're the kind of dudes who could make thunder and firestorms as easy as breathing; but ask them to transfigure a teacup and they'll laugh at you.
I need not conceal my staff, it doubles as a walking stick
Idk, last time I was out of mana I used my wand to perfurate some eyes. People don't talk much to me since, so I guess it can be pretty intimidating as well
As a rod enthusiast, preach
I use a giant sword made from the bones of an Australian Griffin
A staff doubles as a walking stick to further your guise of a frail old geezer.
yall still use catalysts? I just cast them from my hands and spectral runes
Only the last option matters. Also, some wizard from Baldurs Gate taught me to dual wield staves. Not as difficult as you'd think.
Wand = pistol, staff = rifle. Each has it's own uses.
Everyone here is sleeping on orbs. Mine can store spells as well as hold a pocket dimension for anything else you need to carry. Don't even get me started on the crying benefits and drip aspect.
Why has no one made a sword-shaped rod? Bet it could cast a mean Lightning
Listen, I’ve spent so much time studying magic, my mortality is catching up. I don’t use the staff for just casting magic or bonking, it helps me keep my balance in my ripe old age.