History Main / MagicStaff

* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': This is the WeaponOfChoice for Dragon's Lair mages because they can double as a MartialArtsStaff. They're mercenaries after all, not academic researchers. One way of killing monsters is just as good as another.

* Pang Tong and Zhang Jiao's WeaponOfChoice in ''VideoGame/{{Dynasty Warriors}}'' and Aya in ''VideoGame/{{Samurai Warriors}}'': all of them have seemingly magical powers, often using spell-like abilities for their Charge attacks (in the fist five games, Zhang Jiao's staff could even shoot flames as part of the final combo string).

* Spellcasters in all of the ''VideoGame/ShiningSeries'', both {{Black Mage}}s and {{White Mage}}s, wield staves as their WeaponOfChoice.

* in ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'', Skeletor's WeaponOfChoice is his Havoc Staff, which in [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 the original series]] seems to be an AmplifierArtifact for his magic, as well as containing a small CrystalBall in the back of the ram's skull at the head of the staff, which Skeletor uses to scry on people. Evil-Lyn also wields a magic staff with a crystal ball. In [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2021 the 2021 series]], Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and the Sorceress all carry magic staffs that act as a TransformationTrinket for their respective SentientCosmicForce.

** The [[VideoGame/DotHackR1Games first revision]] of The World had Wavemaster as its primary (and the only seen in the game proper) mage class, and had them using staves.
** The [[VideoGame/DotHackGU second revision]] split Wavemasters into Harvest Clerics (healers) and Shadow Warlocks (damagers). Harvest Clerics retained staves, while Shadow Warlocks got {{Spell Book}}s instead.

*** Lilka Eleniak normally fights with an [[ParasolPain umbrella]], but all of her tools are various rods. She starts with Flame Rod, and later gains Freeze Rod and Change Rod. The former two fire projectiles, while the latter can change healing gems into blocks to stand on.
*** Tim Rhymeless is a user of SummonMagic, who uses a staff as his weapon.
** ''VideoGame/WildArms4'': Among various tools found in dungeons, there is Wonder Staff. By itself it's just a club, but when lit on fire or imbued with light, it can fire projectiles of this element to solve puzzles.

* On ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'', Skeletor's WeaponOfChoice is his Havoc Staff, which seems to be an AmplifierArtifact for his magic, as well as containing a small CrystalBall in the back of the ram's skull at the head of the staff, which Skeletor uses to scry on people.

* Mages form the ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' series in general mostly opt for rods, that are slightly shorter than usual staves, yet far too big for {{Magic Wand}}s.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', witches staves are seen on occasion, most notably in the hands of Eda and Lilith. Eda describes witches staves as having magic "imbedded into them" and each one is topped with a palisman, an animated staturette that acts as a familiar. Eda also explains that they are awarded from magic schools, but she is implied to have made hers independently from the branch of an ancient tree. The staves themselves also seem to have little if any power, being more of a unique perch for the palismans, which actually DO have power.
** The staves of [[spoiler: Emperor Belos]] and [[spoiler: the Golden Guard]] are unique in that they seem to be mechanical and lack a palisman.
** WordOfGod is that staves are carved from the wood of a magic tree, which is also implied to be a finite resource that is slowly dwindling.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', Nico Minoru wields the Staff of One, which is said to "make [[DimensionLord Dread Dormammu]] tremble". It hides in her body and she needs to shred her own blood to summon it. It allows her to cast any spell she wants, but only once -- if she tries to use the same spell again, the results will be completely random (it happens rarely, once summoning a flock of flamingos and once teleporting her into the middle of the desert). On several occasions, as Nico has endured a lot of horrible pain, the staff transforms into a more powerful form. It is later revealed that the Staff of One is actually a prison for a very powerful mage called the One whom Nico's ancestor defeated (though she was no hero — she was simply a more effective villain than the One). All of the annoying and painful elements of wielding the Staff of One are actually the One's means of getting what little payback he can on the people keeping him trapped and exploiting his power.

The SimpleStaff is quite versatile and coincidentally happens to resemble a really big MagicWand, so it's no surprise that WizardsAndWitches who want to add that extra kick to their spells, or who've decide they're tired of being a SquishyWizard and want to be able to fight [[KungFuWizard physically]], often pick up a Magic Staff.

A Magic Staff is a MagicWand which is large and substantial enough to be a viable melee weapon. In that sense, it is a MagicWand first and a melee-weapon second. The magical SimpleStaff version is probably the most common and most deadly in physical combat, but [[CarryABigStick canes, clubs and mace-like rods]] are also viable versions of a Magic Staff, should their shapes be taken advantage of. Sometimes [[MagicItems the staff itself is magic]], though other times it's just a MagicFocusObject with little inherent ability of its own. Often a Magic Staff acts as a weapon to be used when a character's BlackMagic is exhausted or otherwise not working. For a Magic Staff which is often used in melee combat or FullContactMagic, the staff is usually much more modestly-sized and decorated than the staff of a mage that isn't taking advantage of the Magic Staff's melee-abilities.

A subtrope of both MagicWand and SimpleStaff. Related to the BoomStick. Often paired with RobeAndWizardHat as part of the gear for a WizardClassic.

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', the staff is the preferred tool of wizards, and a major plot point in ''Literature/EqualRites'' and ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}''. In ''Literature/SoulMusic'', Archancellor Ridcully recommends a staff because even if you run out of magic, you've still got [[SimpleStaff six foot of]] [[MundaneUtility solid bog-oak]] at your disposal. Works nine times out of ten.

* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series includes Tarma and Kethry short stories. In one of those, one of Kethry's classmates at the mage school they attended stole their teacher's staff, convinced that it was a powerful MagicStaff that could propel her to instant mastery. She broke it and fled the school after finally figuring out that it was just a SimpleStaff - the only thing special about it was that it was just the right length to help him with his limp.

* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': This is the WeaponOfChoice for Dragon's Lair mages because they can double as a SimpleStaff. They're mercenaries after all, not academic researchers. One way of killing monsters is just as good as another.

* In ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'', the Staff Mastery skill tree gives bonuses to magic and [[ManaMeter mana regeneration]] when wielding staves (in addition to the bonuses in [[SimpleStaff bashing monsters on the head]]).

** In ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' staves are avilable to the hero/heroine as equippable weapons. While they mainly use it as SimpleStaff, some of its special techniques involve magic, like shooting [[BubbleGun bubbles]] at the enemy.

* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' uses both this trope and SimpleStaff. Staff weapons can be [[RandomlyGeneratedLoot created]] with either physical attack bonuses or serve as a StatStick with spell bonuses.

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': Jessica's a mage by default, after all, so she is good with magic staves.

* Pang Tong and Zhang Jiao's WeaponOfChoice in ''VideoGame/{{Dynasty Warriors}}'' and Aya in ''VideoGame/{{Samurai Warriors}}''.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': An odd example come as a type of force weapon, rare weapons designed to channel a psychic's potential and release it in melee. While swords tend to be just as common, force staves tend to be elaborately decorated and may also confer other bonuses, such as acting as a psychic focus. Because psychic power is treated in a way that means it kind-of-is, kind-of-isn't magic, the trope stays in full effect.

* In all versions of The World, the centerpiece of ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//]]'', staves are standard equipment for Wavemasters and Harvest Clerics.

* The Harvest Cleric class uses these in ''VideoGame/DotHackGU''.

* All over the place in ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey''. Not only are they used by the game's various magic users, but MagiTek devices often have ones built in that swing like pendulums to generate magic energy. The real stand out, though, is Grandstaff, a MageTower designed to act like a massive broadcast antenna for magic instead of radio waves, making it a MagicStaff turned UpToEleven.

* Both [[VisualNovel/{{Kanon}} Sayuri Kurata]] and [[VisualNovel/{{AIR}} Kano Kirishima]] use a magic wand or staff in the 2D fighting game ''VideoGame/EternalFighterZero''. Sayuri's wand is more of a MagicalGirl type wand, with [[MorphWeapon transforming powers]]. Kano's is modeled after the staffs used in fantasy role-playing games, fitting alongside her various tiers of elemental magic and her unique [[{{Mana}} MP gauge]].

* Enchanted staffs are just one of the weapons Pit can use in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. They're this game's equivalents to {{SniperRifle}}s as they shoot long-ranged lasers and not suited in melee combat.

* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': All the staves/rods/canes/scepters/etc. give a boost to the Spirit stat, which is used to attack with, and defend against, magic, but also the Attack stat, which governs physical attack damage.

** The symbol of office for the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Supreme Patriarch]] of the [[WizardingSchool Imperial Colleges of Magic]] is the Staff of Volans, an AmplifierArtifact that was crafted (and named) for the first Patriarch soon after the Colleges' founding.

** ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' has Myuria Tionysus using staves, and explicitly names them so for the first time in the series. Sarah Jerand, meanwhilem uses weapons that are technically called [[BladeOnAStick spears]], but they are so ornate and, and Sarah herself is a SquishyWizard, so they end up being magic staves in all but name.

** In ''VideoGame/SwordOfMana'' the heroine ("Helena" in the manga) wields one of these. She's the more magic-oriented of all the playable characters.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'' has Annie equip rods. The only way she uses it outside of basic attacks is [[SwordPlant planting it into the ground]] when calling upon her magic circles. Notably, in story, when she goes for a kill, she opts for a knife instead.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'': Mikleo's weapon is a rod, which he apparently chose [[HeightAngst because of his short stature]]. Other party members note that for a [[ElementalEmbodiment seraph]] like him the main criteria for a weapon is its elemental affinity. Since rods, apparently, represent Earth, that has an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors advantage]] over Miklo's Water element, it actually ''hampers'' his power. Still, he sticks with rods as a training exercise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' shows that the staff Rafiki Carrie’s is a part of his place as Royal Mjuzi, who’s something of a spiritual advisor to the Lion kings. During training, apprentice Mjuzis must search for their bakura staff on their own. It’s also used to communicate with the Great Lions of the Past, and the gourds often contain things used for healing, like the tuliza for Kion. Makini kept losing staffs until the trip to the Tree of Life when she needed hers to read the path markers.

* "The Staff in the Stone" by Creator/GarthNix: A wizard's staff is a capacitator of sorts for magic energy, which the wizard can feed into the staff at their leisure and draw on in times of need. This makes them tempting prizes for unscrupulous mages, who can "absorb" others' staves into their own and gain their power, and who can intuitively sense an unowned staff in the region. Crafting a staff is one of the final projects of a prospective wizard.

* Pearl of ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'' has a staff enchanted to shoot out...bubbles.

* Despite having a huge cast of magic-users, pretty much the only ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' character that uses a staff is Mima, and she disappeared after the ContinuityReboot. Although that... ''thing'' [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Flandre]] has may also count.

* The Orbal Staff in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZero'' is a high-tech version of this, due to the setting's MagicFromTechnology angle.