Quarter Staff skill

General Information

Historically staff weapons are associated primarily with martial forms of combat. The lack of a curved metal upon which to cut or impale a foe and the fairly forgiving weight of most wooden weapons makes staff weapons a favorite of many martial forms for training purposes. The ubiquitous stick is perhaps the earliest example of armed combat. The early discovery of bronze-working, for all practical purposes, made staff weapons an obsolete tool of war in human prehistory.

Luckily, within Dragonrealms the staff presents a viable (if not ideal) weapon class. Stave weapons in Dragonrealms are divided into two categories: quarter staffs and short staffs. Quarter staffs represent the heavier of the staff weapons. Examples of quarter staff weapons include the quarter staff and bo stick. Many types of spears and halberds also double as quarter staff weapons.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• More powerful than short staff
• Excellent for parrying

Disadvantages

• Powerful templates tend to be very heavy
• Higher roundtime
• Difficult to store most quarter staff weapons inside any standard container

Guild-Specific Abilities

• Barbarians can Whirlwind with any pole or melee weapon. This will attack all targets within range of their chosen weapon (melee or pole), including hidden targets. Hidden targets will be pulled from hiding if hit by whirlwind. WHIRL can also be used on one's self or another to free the target from webbing. Requirements: 350 in the weapon skill, 30 agility, 30 reflex.
• Barbarians and Paladins can parry ranged weapons inside the range of the weapon they are holding.

Recommended Weapons

• lightened bo stick -- Good for new players
• leaf-blade spear with an oaken haft -- 45 stone, Pike/QS swappable from festival merchant
• ox-tongue spear with a stout iron-studded haft -- 55 stone, Pike/QS swappable
• eighteen hand glaive with a white witchclaw haft -- 60 stone, Halberd/QS swappable
• partisan with a broad woodgrain-steel blade -- 65 stone, Halberd/QS swappable