We will use the "More Difficult Identification" variant rule DMG, pg136. While in the definsive stance granted by tunnel fighter, polearm master's opportunity attacks do not trigger Sentinel's ability to reduce a target's speed to zero The warlock invocation "Devil's Sight" does not allow you to see through magical darkness farther than 10ft. Or do something in between-at 1D6-depending on how it is made.- The Warlock Invocation "Repelling Blast" is banned. As a DM I wouldn't allow a short quarterstaff, and if I did, I might make it one handed and take it down to the level of a club. With the versatile instead of two-handed that you get in 5e, a shorter version that can be used one-handed is allowed, but I take umbrage with that because it's considered 1D8 and a club only gets 1D4, and a club can be shorter and is weighted differently. A creature wielding a quarterstaff in one hand can’t use it as a double weapon-only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. But you could make it 1D6/1D6 with the double weapon penalties.Ī quarterstaff is a double weapon. It's 1D8 in 5e and can't be used as a double weapon. And if you house rule that way it's very clear as far as length is concerned.
There's been lots of discussion about the way quarterstaffs are handled in 5e around the net, or regarding using earlier versions instead.Ī lot of people, myself included, prefer 3.5 & 4's way of handling it. Magically, there could be a reason why you would not want to damage rods and staffs that are not classed as weapons-they might be too easily damaged by combat and there could be a chance that they would be destroyed. I might allow a shorter character to wield a rod as a staff.īecause rods are so short for a Medium sized creature, you might want to rule that those can only be wielded one-handed. I think that the length issue may be an artifact of earlier editions. Now, a quarterstaff is called "versatile," so in 5e, you can dual-wield a one-handed quarter-staff. 5e has done away with the double weapon thing. In older versions, the longer length allowed it to be used as a double weapon. But because of the change in the way 5e works quarterstaffs, it's possible for a DM to rule it as allowable. A rod is only 2-3 feet, and a staff can be up to 4-9 feet tall.Īnything, like the Rod of the Pact Keeper, that is named as a rod, will actually be shorter than your standard staff (only 2-3 feet in length), and therefore should not be counted as a quarterstaff. Some staffs can act magically as rods, but not all rods are large enough to be a quarterstaff. 5e can be inconsistent as far as calling staffs out as being usable as quarterstaffs. Otherwise, logically, may actually be too short to be a quarterstaff. Mostly it's because it has the name "staff" in there. Unless otherwise noted, as in it's specifically called out as usable as a quarterstaff, it is not usable as a quarterstaff. Crawford, or some RAW or RAI to help build my case to the Dungeon Master or other players.
I realize it clearly states "At the DM's option", but I'm still curious to what the popular ruling may be, or if there is something around the web that may further support this argument.Īgain, I realize I may simply work this out with my DM, but it is always nice to have some form of backing to these sort of things, such as a Sage Advice, a Tweet from J.
However, even if not specified, can it be argued that a rod, if used as an improvised weapon, may be utilized as a quarterstaff?Īt the DM’s option, a character proficient with a weapon can use a similar objectĪs if it were that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus. This staff can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +2 Most magical staves or rods specifiy whether or not the weapon can act as a magical quarterstaff, such as the Staff of Power. In addition, you can regain one warlock spell The bonus is determinedīy the rod's rarity. The saving throw DCs of your warlock spells. While holding this rod, you gain a bonus to spell attack rolls and to Rod, uncommon (+1), rare (+2), or very rare (+3) (requires attunement Can a magical rod, more specifically, the Rod of the Pact Keeper, double as a quarterstaff?