Simple Staff: Difference between revisions

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Behold, the staff. Essentially nothing more than a long wooden [[Drop the Hammer|club]], it is one of the simplest weapons known to man, yet frequently referred to as the deadliest melee weapon ever created. It can be easily improvised from a number of ordinary farming and cleaning tools -- suchtools—such as plows, rakes, or mops -- thatmops—that are readily found anywhere. [[Technical Pacifist|Those who frown upon spilling blood]] can confiscate various polearms and snap off the pointy end(s) to suit their tastes. Even convenient tree branches can serve in a pinch.

Many instead double as [[Staff of Authority|symbols of station]], and thus feature elaborate headpieces -- ofheadpieces—of which the wisest choices are sturdy and heavy enough to serve in a fight. Some clever individuals have made staves out of hollow metal pieces that can collapse into a concealable weapon.

In the West, a full-length fighting staff is called a quarterstaff. Contrary to [[Dan Browned|general opinion]] or [[Hollywood History|many movies]], in the medieval age a staff was not held in the middle, but wielded in a similar way to a spear. In Japan, it is called a ''bo'', with a smaller version called a ''jo''. The Japanese also have ''hanbo'' -- short—short staves that Westerners would call rods. A Filipino fighting art called ''Arnis'' (''Eskrima'' or ''Kali'', dependent on which island in the country) also makes use of these short rods.

Staves also tend to be the favorite of particularly old and weary characters in need of a walking stick -- orstick—or those who wish to appear older and wearier than they really are. As such, it is a favorite among [[Old Master|Old Masters]]s and certain kinds of wizard. In the latter case, the "simple" staff probably also doubles as a [[Magic Wand]], thus becoming the hybrid melee and magical weapon, the [[Magic Staff]]. Staves work great for teachers because a) they don't look impressive, and thus when they kick your ass it's a demonstration of the user's skill, and b) staves provide ample opportunity for hard whacks to the shins or head -- painfulhead—painful, but not fatal, blows -- thusblows—thus perfect for discipline.

In Eastern media, the staff is often a Kung Fu weapon, used with much grace and skill (and choreography). Combined with the distance afforded by its long reach, martial artist monks have long been able to smack around roomfuls of [[Mook|Mooks]]s completely untouched. As Western audiences rightly recognize [[Rule of Cool|the awesomeness of this]], it's spreading to Western media as well. The most famous user of the staff in Eastern media is Son Wukong from the seminal ''[[Journey to the West]]'', and thus most staff-users reference Wukong in some way.

* Staves in the world of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' don't tend to count, but Raising Heart's staff form is Nanoha's melee weapon of choice -- unlesschoice—unless she's reached the point of using its final form, which can produce a [[Blade on a Stick|spear-head]].

* There was a ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Expanded Universe]] Jedi Master who used a [[Simple Staff]] (somewhat like Yoda) with which he could ''block [[Laser Blade|Light Sabers]]'' (admittedly, by using [[Functional Magic|The Force]]).

* Just about every RPG, be it tabletop or online, have staffs as one of the most common weapons carrid by spellcasters. In some games they count as [[Magic Wand|Magic Wands]]s, while in others they just give stat and damage boosts. Either way, staffs aren't usually very good melee weapons, although exceptions do exist.

* The default [[Weapon of Choice]] for the default Protestant Blessed in ''[[Deadlands]]'' is a simple stick, ''always'' referred to as being made of hickory. For a game where customizing the [[Player Character]] with realistic equipment, strengths, and weaknesses was such a big draw, the repeated reference to whackin' the walkin' dead in the head with a [[Simple Staff]] got tiresome.

* ''[[Exalted]]'' has Wrackstaffs, the [[BFS]] equivalent of the [[Simple Staff]].

* Venom from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' is an assassin who kills people with a ''pool cue''. Not so much a [[Simple Staff]] as an unconventional spear.

* ''[[Breath of Fire II]]'' has [[Catgirl|Katt]], a staff-wielding [[Cute Bruiser]] who also ended up playing the [[Black Magician Girl]] -- despite—despite starting as a fighter, she expressed interest in learning magic... and towards the end of the game, she suddenly got some of the most powerful attack spells in the game and enough MP to use them.

** The difference between a walking cane (or a snapped-off broomstick) and a hanbo is effectively nil. Hanbo are 35.4 inches in length (90  cm) in the modern tradition, about the distance from a man's ankle to hip.