Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 paulstrait Oct 07, 2014 18:51:49	Does a staff of defense count as a magic weapon when used as a quarterstaff for the purposes of hitting creatures with resistance against non-magical bludgeoning damage?   Normally I would think the answer would be yes, but the entry doesn't indicate it gets bonuses like a +1 magic weapon would get, and, indeed, it doesn't even say that it can be used as a quarterstaff (although an NPC in the starter set presumably uses it like one)...
#2 Thank_Dog Oct 07, 2014 19:10:32	Given that it's a staff and not a quarterstaff and that it doesn't say it can hit like a magical weapon in its description and it's not even a +1 implement then I would say most emphatically, "No."
#3 paulstrait Oct 07, 2014 20:54:35	Well, in the starter set it is used by an NPC mage as a quarterstaff, but I can get behind the rest of the sentiment I think.
#4 lawrencehoy Oct 07, 2014 22:01:27	I would say "Yes!", unless the creature's abilities specify a minimum magical "+" is required to affect it.   Q. Is the staff magical? A. Yes   Q. Does the staff do bludgeoning damage? A. Yes   The ultimate question is: Q. Does the staff do "magical bludgeoning damage"? A. DM adjudication required.
#5 Novacat Oct 07, 2014 22:03:42	You would most certainly not get a +1 bonus to attack and damage unless the item specifically says so, but I would say it's not unreasonable to treat the damage as magical.
#6 Thank_Dog Oct 07, 2014 22:16:07	paulstrait wrote:
(Reply to #6) Novacat	Thank_Dog wrote:
#8 Thank_Dog Oct 07, 2014 22:18:29	Novacat wrote:
#9 lawrencehoy Oct 07, 2014 22:50:27	Thank_Dog wrote:
#10 Thank_Dog Oct 07, 2014 23:05:27	lawrencehoy wrote:
#11 Trance-Zg Oct 07, 2014 23:48:49	lawrencehoy wrote:
#12 paulstrait Oct 07, 2014 23:52:15	Thank_Dog wrote:
#13 Captain_Kobold Oct 08, 2014 1:19:30	The NPC who uses it: does their stat block say that it deals bludgeoning, magical damage, or just bludgeoning?
#14 lawrencehoy Oct 08, 2014 3:48:16	Captain_Kobold wrote:
#15 El_Condoro Oct 08, 2014 4:59:04	There is no 'magical' damage type on p196 PHB. Because it's a staff, I would go with bludgeoning but it's not specifically stated. In fact, the Spider Staff, which is directly above the Staff of Defense in the Lost Mine module has a whole paragraph on how it can be used as a weapon. The Staff of Defense is meant for, well, defense. Since it is made of glass (although 'as strong as oak'), if a player wanted to wield it (not mentioned in the description - says 'hold') they could expect to break it on a roll of 1 (my ruling, not RAW).
#16 Timborama Oct 08, 2014 6:42:23	It may not be a +1, +2, or +3 weapon, but I'd rule any magical weapon to count as a, well...magical weapon.   So simple, really!   But! I also see why others would rule otherwise, due to potential balance issues and the boon of actually have pure combat magical weapons (that give +x bonuses). But I doubt it'll come up too much, as long as I don't accidentally create whacky scenarios where someone wants to hit the Normal Weapon Damage Resistant/Immune monster with a Bag of Holding...
#17 lexlitner May 31, 2015 16:49:01	It acts as a Quarterstaff unless it says otherwise in the discription. DMG page 140. No +1, count as magical still a home game call as far as i can tell. No prereq as well since its not in the discription evidentally. Im thinking this is gonna be kinda broke in the hands of a monk.....
#18 shivafang May 31, 2015 17:00:28	One can argue for same with the daylight spear from HOTQ.  It doesn't give a +.  The spear, however, is at least a weapon so it is both a weapon and it is magical.   An improvised weapon is still a weapon for pretty much every rules purpose, so I would rule that the staff of defense or even something like a horn of blasting being used as an improvised weapon is considered magical for purposes of DR for the whopping 1d4 damage (although I use the quarterstaff rules for the staff of defense as I do for all staves)
#19 Rya.Reisender Jun 01, 2015 5:03:01	I'm a bit confused here, do +1 weapons deal magical damage? I mean they are certainly magical weapons but does that mean they deal magical damage? Does that mean you better keep a weaker non-enhanced weapon with you because it would be your only way to deal nonmagical damage?
#20 Cooperjera Jun 01, 2015 5:06:28	As leslitner said all staves can be used as a quarterstaff unless otherwise noted per DMG p 140.  In addition if you review the staves, DMG p 201 - p 205, you'll notice that some descriptions state that the staff acts as a magic quarterstaff, Staff of Charming; the staff acts as a magic quarterstaff with a bonus, Staff of Power; or the staff does not detail that is acts as weapon, Staff of Fire.  Therefore, I concluded that staves do not deal magic damage unless noted in the text of the description.   My players are used to 3.x D&D and thus we house ruled that all staves that are magical in some manner cause magic damage.  It is an error in game play to bring previous edition processes and features into the 5th edition game, but it is done very often.