Staves

Staves aid the caster as a focus for their casting. When you wield a staff, you gain advantage on spellcasting concentration checks. If the staff is made out of special materials, it may also be used as a power component for spellcasting. You can use your staff to increase your reach with melee touch spells by 5 feet. You can also use your staff as a quarterstaff or a club when wielding it with two hands, but they possess the fragile weapon quality as it is not designed to be as sturdy as a true melee weapon.

A staff can be wielded with only one bodily appendage that can manipulate items, typically a hand, but could also be a tentacle, a prehensile tail, or other similar body parts for other types of creatures. The hand wielding the staff can be used for the somatic component of casting a spell. You can wield more than one staff or with Wands, but their effects do not stack. You must choose which staff to use to cast a spell with, and apply the effects of the chosen staff.

Staff Construction

Staves can be made from special materials that can improve the casting of certain types of spells. A staff is constructed from two parts: a frame and up to three cores. Ordinary staves are made of various types of wood or metal with no unique cores. Special staves can be constructed with frames made not only from special types of wood or metal, but also from crystals and creature body parts (bones, claws, horns, large enough teeth) with differing effects. Special cores can be made out of the same types of materials plus a variety liquids and soft materials.

You can use the items listed in Table: Known Power Components under Power Components rules as base materials for your staff. Staff frames can only be made out of the items listed under "Raw Materials" and "Gems & Crystals". Cores can be made from any item in the table. Crafting your staff out of these materials grants its components' affinities, and allows you to use your staff as a power component.

Staff as a Power Component

A staff made out of power components can be used as a power component with affinities of each of its components, and is not consumed when used. The staff's final cost determines the limit of how much you can affect your spell when using it as a power component. Each time you use it as a power component, instead of being consumed, the staff's value is reduced by the value of the power components used. Once your staff's value reaches less than 100 gp, you can no longer use it as a power component. However, the staff's inner affinity recharges over time, at a rate of 100 gp per hour, up to its original value.

Physical Description

For a medium or small creature, a staff is a large object of 4 to 7 feet long and is 1 to 2 inches thick, weighing about 5 pounds, and has DV 2. In order to be wielded, the staff can be up to one size smaller than the wielder's size, and up to two sizes larger. A staff can be held in just one hand to use it as part of your spellcasting, but you must use both hands to use it as a weapon if it is larger than you. The material used as the staff's frame determines its break DC, hardness, and hit points. The staff's quality modifies its break DC and hit points as indicated under Table: Item Quality. A staff's size also modifies its DV (see Table: Size and Armor Class of Objects under Damaging Object) and hit points (half for every size smaller, double for every size larger).

To construct the staff's frame, you must use an amount of material to match its dimensions. For example, you need 5 lbs. of adamantine or gold to make a large staff's frame. If you are using a body part for the frame, the body part must be a whole object that fits the staff's size and be solid. The spine of a giant can be used for a large staff's frame, but not an eye or blood. For a larger staff, a giant's spine would not be big enough, but perhaps the tail of a colossal dragon is large enough. To use crystals or gemstones as a frame, you must use one whole piece that is the equivalent to 1,250 times the listed value.

To construct the staff's core, the material's dimensions do not matter as it will be alchemically distilled into its pure essence, and magically infused into the staff. All that you need is the amount listed under the "Value" column of Table: Known Power Components. Staves can have up to three different cores, allowing the staff to have additional affinities. Cores that affect the same affinities do not stack.

The final cost of the staff is determined by the cost of 5 lbs. of the frame's material (adjust for different sizes) plus the amount of material used for the cores. Since the cores are magically integrated into the frame, you are only limited by the amount of materials you have with you during the staff's crafting.

Staff Quality and Potency

To craft a staff of higher quality, you must have the matching proficiency in the Craft (staves) skill.

When you wield a staff, you can choose to apply its quality modifier as an enhancement bonus to your concentration checks in addition to your advantage. Potency runes can be applied to staves, and their enhancement bonus can be added to both your concentration checks and to your spell attack rolls. Property runes can also be applied to your staff.

Table: Staff Quality and Runes

Quality	Max Potency	Max Properties
Standard	+1	None
Expert	+2	1
Master	+3	2
Legendary	+5	3
Epic/Mythic	Unlimited	Unlimited

Staff Properties

The quality of your staff determines up to how many properties and their quality that can be added to it. In addition to the staff-specific properties below, you can apply properties for magic melee weapons.

Standard Properties

Returning

Price gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th

Description
As a simple action, the owner of a returning staff can mentally command it to fly into her hand as long as it is within 60 ft. The owner must have one appendage free that can hold the staff, and must have an unobstructed line of sight between her and the staff. The staff's movement provokes attack of opportunities as a creature when flying through threatened squares on its way to its owner.

Construction Requirements
Feat Craft Staff; Spells telekinesis; Cost gp

Seeking

Price gp; Aura strong divination; CL 12th

Description
Spells cast with a seeking staff that require a range attack roll ignore any miss chances that would otherwise apply, such as from concealment. The wielder still has to target the spell at the right square. Spells mistakenly targeted into an empty space, for example, do not veer and hit invisible enemies, even if they are nearby.

Construction Requirements
Feat Craft Staff; Spells true seeing; Cost gp

Expert Properties

Designating, Lesser

Price gp; Aura moderate enchantment; CL 7th

Description
Each time a spell is cast with a staff with this property hits a creature, its magic designates the target. Allies gain a +2 morale bonus on melee attack and melee damage rolls against the designated target for 1 round. Multiple spells cast at the same target do not increase the bonuses or their duration.

Construction Requirements
Feat Craft Staff; Spells retrieve item; Cost gp

Master Properties

Apparating

Price gp; Aura strong conjuration; CL 10th

Description
As a simple action, you can summon an apparating staff into a free appendage that can hold it from any location as long as it is on the same plane. The staff must be in your possession for 24 straight hours before the staff is tied to you. If another creature gains possession of it for 24 hours, then they are considered as its owner and you can no longer command the staff to apparate into your possession.

Construction Requirements
Feat Craft Staff; Spells instant enemy; Cost gp

Legendary Properties

Animated

Price gp; Aura strong transmutation; CL 15th

Description
As a standard action, an animated staff can be loosed to animate on its own. It floats in the air up to 10 ft. away from its owner. The staff is considered wielded or attended by the activating character for all spellcasting. While dancing, the staff's owner can cast spells originating from its square instead of the owner's position. The animated staff accompanies the activating character everywhere, whether she moves by physical or magical means. If the activating character has an unoccupied hand, she can grasp it while in the same square with it as a free action; when so retrieved, the staff can’t dance again for 4 rounds.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Staff; Spells animate objects; Cost gp

Designating, Greater

Price gp; Aura moderate enchantment; CL 12th

Description
Each time a spell is cast with a staff with this property hits a creature, its magic designates the target. Allies gain a +4 morale bonus on melee attack and +6 melee damage rolls against the designated target for 1 round. Multiple spells cast at the same target do not increase the bonuses or their duration.

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Staff; Spells instant enemy; Cost gp

Spellspeed

Price gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th

Description
One per round, the wielder of a Spellspeed staff may take one extra act, but can only use it to cast a spell. (This benefit is not cumulative with similar effects, such as a haste spell.)

Construction Requirements
Feats Craft Staff; Spells haste; Cost gp