Staff of Striking question

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cbarchuk
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Staff of Striking question

Post by cbarchuk »

Hi there, one of my players received this item during a recent session. The issue is I have no idea how many charges it contains. Do I decide that myself? Also what kind of staff is it? The character that received it is a halfling cleric and halflings can't use weapons that are LARGE in size such as a quarter staff. Thanks for your help in advance. :)
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Metroknight
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Metroknight »

pg 139 says: A staff found in a treasure hoard will have 3d10 charges remaining. Spell effects generated by a staff operate at 8th level, or the lowest caster level the spell could be cast by, whichever is higher, unless otherwise stated. Staves are usable only by Magic-Users, except where noted.

Pg 140 has the specifics of the staff.
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Dimirag
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Dimirag »

Note that a Staff of Striking can be wielded by Clerics.

Regarding size: Magic Users can use Waling Staffs but no Quarterstaffs, so I dare to say that all magic staffs are walking staffs.
Last edited by Dimirag on Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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cbarchuk
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by cbarchuk »

Metroknight wrote: Sat Jun 02, 2018 4:55 pm pg 139 says: A staff found in a treasure hoard will have 3d10 charges remaining. Spell effects generated by a staff operate at 8th level, or the lowest caster level the spell could be cast by, whichever is higher, unless otherwise stated. Staves are usable only by Magic-Users, except where noted.

Pg 140 has the specifics of the staff.
Thanks!!! I feel pretty stupid that I missed that. Again thanks. :D
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Metroknight
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Metroknight »

Don't worry. We all miss stuff. You did the right thing and asked.
Dyl
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Dyl »

Metroknight wrote: Sat Jun 02, 2018 4:55 pm pg 139 says: A staff found in a treasure hoard will have 3d10 charges remaining. Spell effects generated by a staff operate at 8th level, or the lowest caster level the spell could be cast by, whichever is higher, unless otherwise stated. Staves are usable only by Magic-Users, except where noted.

Pg 140 has the specifics of the staff.
I'm looking for help to unpick the "Spell effects... " description for staffs. This post was the closest thing I could find.

What does it mean "operate at 8th level"? The spells listed in the rulebook max out at level 6 as do the character class tables.
I'm even more confused by the "lowest caster level" thing. A Magic User would cast level 6 spells from level 18 upwards. A Cleric would cast level 6 from 19th level. So where does a level 8 spell fit into all this?
Final question is probably sorted by understanding the first two but I cannot determine what the implication of 8th level spell effect or lowest caster level the spell .. "whichever is higher" means.
What's the intention of this?
Would I understand better if I had a look through that other famous brand of books around the third edition?
Dyl
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Dyl »

I've got the answer to this now. Thanks to SmootRK who posted in the Magic Weapons explanations forum post I made.
Essentially, the spell may have special range, duration options that depend on the level of the caster (8th level mentioned in the rules I'm looking at).
Thanks SmootRK.
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SmootRK
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by SmootRK »

Not a problem. These nuances can be difficult for anyone who is really fresh into these systems, even if these conventions have been around for decades now.

Unfortunately the term "Level" is used simultaneously in many ways.
Dungeon Level
Character Level
Spell Level
Caster Level

I am sure there are more instances of this
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Dyl
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Re: Staff of Striking question

Post by Dyl »

Yeah, that's exactly where I'm at you've perceived my position well. Little gaming experience from way back with the other rules and just wrapping my old brain round these concepts properly for the first time. I'm the GM in our group, so it's important to really get a handle on the details.
I had an issue with magic user and magic spell levels recently but it didn't transfer across to the spell effect level. I'll get there but I've certainly caught up now, thanks to you SmootRK.
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