Staff

A staff is a simple wooden pole which may be used as a weapon or which may be enchanted to create a magical effect. Popular amongst magic-users, staves have appeared in, , , , , ,  on the SNES, , and , as well as in the  Savage Empire.

Description
Staves were prevalent in archaic Sosaria where they were were used primarily by wizards and clerics to enhance their capacity for magic. During the years of Exodus' assault, both arcane and divine spellcasters would find Yewen staves a necessary component for several spells, including such high magic as the dread invocation of the Evil One. Later, however, staves faded from use as ritual components, although they remained popular amongst Mages and  shepherds as a simple means of defense.

Effectiveness of the Weapon

 * In the SNES version of  and, staves have a damage of "6" and a reach of "3".
 * In  Ultima IX, a simple staff does between 1-9 points of damage, whilst gnarled staves specifically formulated for magical use do between 8-12 damage, and staves of Gargish make do between 30-40 points of damage.

Terran Staves
In the strange years of Minax's interference with Earth's timestream, wands or staves were necessary to enact any sort of magical spell, although during this motley of eras, magic could only be cast within the confines of  dungeons or towers. In this era, staves were not equipable as weapons, and could only be found amongst the holdings of slain wizards.

The Bladed Staff and the Dum-Dum

 * Main articles: Bladed Staff, Dum-Dum

Innovators interested in increasing the combative power of staves would attempt to enhance them in later years by combining them with other weapons, leading to such unique creations as the bladed staff, which added a curved  scimitar-like blade to one end of a normal fighting staff; and the  dum-dum, which had had both of its ends outfitted with  hammers.

Black Staves
The great Kotl civilization of the Eodon valley developed weapons known as black staves in the hopes of defending themselves from the menace of the Myrmidex, a slave race which had risen against them. Specially designed for combat against these ant-like monsters, black staves would glow with light when they detected the presence of Myrmedix warriors.

Ceremonial Staves
In addition to service as weapons and magical foci, some staves function as pieces of religious or spiritual regalia, such as Fellowship staves; which were topped with the societies emblematic trigaph; or the  Serpent Staff, which was used in  Ophidian culture by whomever held the office of the Great Hierophant.

Magical Staves
While many early staves filled a function as a basic magical conduit, later ages saw magical staves specifically created to enact certain magical effects. Among the earliest of such staves was the Yew staff developed by the magician Nicodemus during the gargoyle wars. This artifact was capable of holding up to ten different castings within it, which could be bound to it using the Enchant spell. Once charged, these spells could then be employed by anyone who held it.

Later on, during the early Age of Armageddon, highly potent magical weapons known as firedoom staves became popular, which could discharge massive bursts of explosive fire at their intended targets, while the last days of the Avatar saw the rise of unique instruments, such as the Staff of the Dead, which was designed specifically to combat the undead.