Misused: Simple Staff

To-do list

Move wicks to Simple Staff to the tropes listed on the disambig when applicable. Delete Zero-Context Example and anything that doesn't fit an existing trope.

Thread OP

Currently, Simple Staff has a somewhat vague definition, that can be boiled down to "stick-like melee weapon". However, it's frequently misused in place of Magic Staff. The wick check as follows:

38,(6)% (29/75) of wicks describe a staff that's used for melee combat
8% (6/75) of wicks describe other stick-like melee weapon
28% (21/75) of wicks are misused Magic Staff examples
16% (12/75) of wicks are unidentifiable ZCEs^note
9,(3)% (7/75) of wicks are unclear/vague

Additionally, at least 31 of 166 Main/ wicks (~18,6%) are misused, and actually refer to Magic Staff.

The main problem with the current definition is that it describes any stick used in melee as an example of this trope. Take, for example, the line "many double as symbols of status and thus feature elaborate headpieces". However, actual combat staves are not just clubs, and they should not have any headpieces, as it would mess with the balance. Meanwhile, most Magic Staves do have massive headpieces that are often used to hit the enemy with, should the staff be used in melee, adding to the confusion. Additionally, the page also mentions eskrima/kali sticks, that are also very different from staves.

In light of the above, I think that the reason for misuse is that the trope's definition is too wide. It just invites to shoehorn here any stick that's ever used to hit someone. In my opinion, it should be redefined to cover only staves used for martial arts. A good, albeit by no means universal, rule of thumb would be looking if the weapon has a defined top and bottom, as martial arts staves usually lack them. A rename may also be considered, given how the second paragraph contradicts the name with the line "not all staves need be so simple", and some examples include combinable and other hi-tech staves.

Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 27th 2022 at 8:46:34 AM

Berrenta How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love

How sweet it is

#101: Aug 28th 2022 at 8:37:13 PM

How are we doing Boom Stick and X on a Stick?

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kundoo from the land of Mordor where the shadows lie Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?

#102: Aug 29th 2022 at 12:51:15 AM

The Walking Dead S 05 E 12 Conquer page is among the wicks, but it's empty.

BTW, only 150 wicks left.

Yeah, I wanted to ask about Boom Stick too. It says it's a subtrope of Simple Staff, but obviously Simple Staff can't have subtropes now.

Edited by kundoo on Aug 29th 2022 at 12:53:43 PM

You didn't see anything.

kundoo from the land of Mordor where the shadows lie Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?

#103: Aug 29th 2022 at 4:51:29 AM

Well, anyway, it's dewicked. I wasn't sure what to do with Ambiguity Index and Boom Stick wicks, so I didn't touch them.

You didn't see anything.

Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016

Just stoic wisdom.

#104: Aug 29th 2022 at 6:34:28 AM

Ambiguity stays as-is; it documents this TRS result.

Also I kinda just went ahead and removed Boom Stick, haha. Welp.

Edited by Yindee on Aug 29th 2022 at 9:35:05 AM

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themayorofsimpleton Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him from Elsewhere (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Abstaining

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#105: Aug 29th 2022 at 6:37:15 AM

Something happened with Recap.The Walking Dead S 05 E 12 Conquer—it's blank and yet it's showing a wick.

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Acebrock He/Him from So-Cal Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: My elf kissing days are over

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#106: Aug 29th 2022 at 6:52:06 AM

Known bug. If there's no links remaining on a page after editing, it'll still show on the related pages. I sent said page to the cutlist, which should have been done in the first place, instead of blanking it.

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themayorofsimpleton Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him from Elsewhere (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Abstaining

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#107: Aug 29th 2022 at 7:00:31 AM

Sooo...are we good to close, or no?

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Berrenta How sweet it is from Texas Since: Apr, 2015 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love

How sweet it is

#108: Aug 29th 2022 at 7:03:30 AM

Placing wick check here for record keeping before cutting that page.

Namespace: Main

Magic staff - Implicit misuse (6)

Following entries do not attribute the trope to any specific character, but rather to broad archetypes, even though these archetypes are more commonly associated with other weaponry.

Cast Calculus - [The Chick, a Squishy Wizard, uses a Simple Staff. Used in a table]
- Not a misuse per se, but combination of Squishy Wizard and a big stick brings only Magic Staff to mind.
Console RPG Cliches1to 24 - ...the main female character will always use a rod or a staff of some sort
- Again, not a misuse by itself, but the intent of the list's author is clear. See also White Magician Girl.
Good Weapon, Evil Weapon - Staves: Usually good, unless topped by a skull or jewel from which magical/laser beams are shot.
- Not a misuse by itself, but the following implies that the weapon is wielded by a mage.
The Medic - In fantasy settings, they don't usually wear any armor, and tend to use staves as often as hammers or maces.
- This one is just plain wrong. In traditional DnD-like setting staves typically are monk's weapon, while clerics use maces. In eastern settings, distinction between these two weapon types is even clearer, and White Mages tend to use Magic Staves.
Throw the Book at Them - Also an alternative melee Weapon Of Choice for the Squishy Wizard, White Mage, Black Mage, and other magical or scholarly types if the writer decides that a Simple Staff is too fearsome.
- It clearly describes the user of this weapon type as mages four times in row, clearly having Magic Staff in mind.
White Magician Girl - Although classic for the look, their Weapon Of Choice is not always a Simple Staff or Magic Staff.
- This is, perhaps, the line that's at least partly responsible for the misuse. Simple Staff is primarily a physical weapon, while these characters tend to be almost pure mages. Not to mention that the page image's caption also mentions a Simple Staff, which is wrong.

Magic staff - Explicit misuse (25)

Following entries attribute the trope to characters, who actually use Magic Staves.

All Swords Are the Same: ...the weapon's appearance changes depending on which character equips them ... Ivan's Simple Staff looks like his Orphan's Plot Trinket
- In Golden Sun staves can be equipped only by Squishy Wizard characters. Names of equippable rods include "Magic Rod" and "Witch's Wand"
An Adventurer Is You - Evie is a Master-of-One Jack. She can be a Nuker who uses a staff, or a scythe
- The game's character page (first folder) reveals that the character in question is a mage.
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence - ...she simply ascended to Heaven from a tower in the Etrurian capital, Aquleia. Said place became the Tower of the Saint and the placeholder of her spell book, Aureola, alongside the Saint's Staff.
- According to the Fire Emblem fan wiki, the staff is used only for healing, and never for attack.
Cats Are Mean - Mike, Yoriko's kitty staff. Actually a sealed Demon King whose head looks like a kitty's.
- Cute Witch is potholed under the wielder's name. Her fighting style, judging from gameplay footage, doesn't contain any martial arts moves.
Computer Voice - The voice of Raising Heart, the first Device we encounter in Lyrical Nanoha
- Raising Heart is a sentient staff used by a Magical Girl Warrior primarly to fire Wave Motion Guns. It's sometimes used for melee combat, but not primarily.
Dissonant Laughter - Gandalf laughs heartily during his Big Damn Heroes moment as he casually beats the terrified Uruk-Hai with his staff.
- Is a mage, not a martial artist.
Evil Weapon - Mike, Yoriko's staff in Arcana Heart which is a sealed Demon King in reality and is more likely to use Yoriko as a bludgeoning device than the other way around.
- See "Cats Are Mean" above.
Flaming Sword - The Bonus Boss Flandre Scarlet has a gigantic flaming rod, that's swung around as a sword.
- The staff is never used as a melee weapon. The aforementioned attack is named Lævateinn, which is either a sword, or a magic wand in the source material. However, this name isn't attributed to the staff itself.
Flare Gun - The Torch staff, usable by only staff wielders, functions like the Torch item
- Again, in Fire Emblem staves can't be used for melee.
Flying Weapon - Exdeath from Dissidia Final Fantasy may carry his sword in his hand but when attacking he will always move it with magic. Vaan can also do this with a Simple Staff instead.
- Staves in Final Fantasy XII are primarily a mage's weapon, including the Staff of the Magi that Vaan has here.
Grievous Harm with a Body - In Arcana Heart, Yoriko does not attack with staff, her staff attacks with her.
- Again, see "Cats Are Mean" above.
Magic Wand - Staves in Rappelz increase the power of one's spells, but are generally fairly mediocre weapons in and of themselves.
- Both tropes are misunderstood. The description fits Magic Staff more.
Multi-Melee Master - Firion, as he appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy, carries not only a sword and a small shield, but also an axe, a staff...
- In Final Fantasy II staves are the best choise for mages, as they has the lowest penalty to magic stats. Most of their names (Mage's Staff, Wizard's Staff) invoke Magic Staves, too.
Our Archons Are Different - The Archon Hestus is briefly mentioned by Uriel as having been one of the Hellguard's leaders and presumably an archangel himself in the fight against the demons on Earth and wielder of the Rod of Arafel, a weapon of immense holy power, before his death in battle.
- The rod on the fan wiki. In the battle it's used by the enemy primarily to fire projectiles.
Powers in the First Episode - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Similarly, while the main character first realizes her powers as a mage by activating Raising Heart's staff form...
- See "Computer Voice". Nanoha is a mage first and foremost.
Revolvers Are Just Better - In Lyrical Nanoha, Devices can get "cartridge systems" that allow them to fire powerful bursts of magic. The titular character's staff...
- See "Computer Voice".
Ring of Power - The ring that Evangeline gives Negi in Negima! Magister Negi Magi as a gift from master to student, which serves as a more compact Magic Wand compared to his Simple Staff...
- Negi is a mage. The staff is used to channel his power.
Royal Rapier - Estelle from Tales of Vesperia can wield these as well as staves.
- Estelle's weapons are short rods, and she uses them in the same manner as said rapiers. She uses fencing moves, not martial arts techniques.
She's a Man in Japan - The German localization of Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals sports Artea as a girl. Maybe the translators were put off by the fact that s/he can put on some equipment that was otherwise exclusive to the two actual girls in the party, like most of the staffs in the game or robes...
- Staves are primarily weapon of the character Selan. In both her artwork and sprite◊ (top row, second image) she uses what is clearly a Magic Staff. One of the avilable staves is named "Holy Staff", with a "Holy Energy" special attack.
Summoning Ritual - ...Mike, the Demon King got summoned in the form of a kitty-staff...
- See "Cats Are Mean".
Swiss-Army Weapon - The Devices of Lyrical Nanoha have different forms to suit the needs of the mage or knight. The Devices of the two leads have the most. Nanoha has a staff that reconfigures into a blaster
- See "Computer Voice".
Sword and Gun - ...mage teacher in Negima! Magister Negi Magi. While most mages are shown using staves or wands...
- Mention of Magic Wands implies that the author was describing a Magic Staff. Also see "Ring of Power" for a staff-using mage in the same series.
Sword Sparks - ...Best seen in the opening of the second season, where Nanoha's staff...
- See "Computer Voice". While the staff is used in melee combat here, it's not its primarily use.
Talking Weapon - Yoriko's staff, Mike...
- See "Cats Are Mean".
Weapon Of Choice - Schierke, the group's caster, focuses her magic through a Simple Staff.

Namespace: Characters

Martial arts staff (19/50)

Battle Arena Toshinden - More specifically he wields a Jodo-style short staff.
Big Hero 6: Civilians - Uses a cane-shaped branch to fight, and he's quite skilled with it.
Child of the Storm: Other Heroes and Allies - He uses an extendable bo staff in combat.
Chop Chop Ninja - His weapon of choice is an extendable quarterstaff.
Digimon Adventure Main Digimon - Angemon's Angel Rod, a golden staff he occasionally uses with other techniques and more frequently to club enemies down.
Distorted Reality - Teo has one made from a metal pole that he says he knows how to use, but doesn't get the chance to display his skill with it.
Dungeons & Dragons (1983) - Her javelin is a staff that can adjust its length and which can be put back together if it breaks.
Injustice: One Earth Regime - In the first game he wields two electrified eskrima sticks that can combine into a not-so-Simple Staff.
Lugaru - Apparently, all members of the King's guard carry staffs as their main weapon.
- The weapons in question are bo staves. Also ZCE.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - His Weapon Of Choice is a four-foot jō staff.
Re:CREATORS - Bifurcated Weapon: He fights with a Simple Staff that can split into three-segment nunchaku.
Shadow Raiders - He uses a collapsible quarterstaff.
Slay the Spire - Carries a long staff with some sort of carved eye at the tip. Most of her attacks involve her hitting enemies with the staff.
Soul Eater: Troubled Souls - Vladingham Family - Her weapon form. She also exhibits a degree of autotomy while in that, being able to extend and contract her staff’s length and return to Remus’s hand.
Stick War - They eschew their Swordwrath heritage for a powerful quarterstaff in general close combat, retaining their swords for more stealthy, decisive, poisoned strikes.
Strife MOBA - His main weapon, and main ranged ability.
Sword Art Online - Aincrad - His weapon is a bladeless pole arm.
The Surge - The MG Gorgon rigs use the MG Negotiator, a powered version of this trope that's essentially an elognated stun baton.
This Bites!: Straw Hat Pirates - Before obtaining the Clima-Tact, Nami's only method of defense was bojutsu with a three-piece staff.

ZCE (9/50)

Afro Samurai - Brother 4 and Brother 6.
Ashes of the Past: Ash Ketchum and Team - Simple Staff/Magic Staff: Sir Aaron's, and now Ash's, basic Weapon Of Choice. Combining it with Lugia and Ho-Oh's feathers turns it into his Key Stone.
Equestria: Across the Multiverse - In possession of one.
Mixels - Doubles as a walking stick for him.
One Piece: Parallel Works - Wields one as part of her weapon.
Rise Of The Magic Girls Original Roleplays
Sonic the Comic – Online! Heroes - his Weapon Of Choice.
The Story of Saiunkoku
- Commented-out
We Are All Pokémon Trainers: Independent Villains - His main melee weapon is a staff.

Magic staff (12/50)

Crimson Spell - His Magic Staff also comes in handy when he fights alongside Vald and doesn’t have time for complex casting.
Dragon Ball Universe 6 - Much like Whis.
- Angel Attendant's staves can revive the dead. Also ZCE.
Fable - Wields a staff in combat.
- The character in question is a mage. Also ZCE.
First Sword Chronicles - Jason carries a shepherd's crook, and it is his primary means of casting spells
Hero Factory - His Skull Staff.
- The Skull Staff can control corrupted creatures. Also ZCE.
Kid Icarus: Protagonists and Allies - While Dark Pit uses a variety of weapons and is just as versatile as Pit in theory, one of the weapons shares his name—the Dark Pit Staff. Admittedly, in Uprising staffs are long-ranged weapons, so it makes him a Cold Sniper.
- As the author of the entry themself admits, in this game staves are equivalent to sniper rifles. Also may be an example of Boom Stick.
Marvel Comics: League Of Realms - Uses one to cast spells and hit enemies.
Marvel Universe Elders Of The Universe - A shepherd's staff, which represents his desire to guide and cultivate. /// His staff has a lion's head.
- The first example is Staff of Authority instead. Marvel Database on both characters doesn't mention physical combat in any way.
Pacificators - The staff was inherited from her grandmother. It is an old staff, obviously, and has a huge crack on the orb.
- The story is about people with Elemental Powers
Shining Resonance - Her Armonic Trumrod, the Dragon Tail Cudgel, is this, though not entirely "simple" since it's shaped like a trombone.
- The character is a witch. The staff is used, in part, to summon tornados.
The Legend of Dragoon - Armed with one in the battle. Not that he needs it.
- The character is a mage, who never uses any melee attacks. Also ZCE.
Wargroove - While she claims to prefer spears (or a good blaster), in-game Nuru fights using a staff/halberd.
- The character's special ability is to teleport units on the battlefield, visibly using the staff.

Other melee weapon (5/50)

Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road - He uses a flagpole with an eagle at the tip dubbed Old Glory as his signature weapon. It even earned him the nickname of "The Flag-Bearer" from the White Legs.
- It's used more as an unorthodox club.
Freedom City Play By Post DEF - Weapon Of Choice: Simple Staff. Foreshadow Dual-Wields a pair of Escrima sticks.
Killer Instinct 1 - Her kali sticks in the first game. They even double as Laser Blades when it comes to some of her moves.
Kousoku Sentai Turboranger - W-Stick. It's pretty short compared to the normal staves, though.
- It's more like a baton
Samurai Jack - Enemies - Mira's sword sheath doubles as a metal staff, which she uses when she needs to beat someone non-lethally.
- Sheath Strike

Unclear examples (5/50)

Dragon Quest V - He can wield many of the games staves, and they're implied to be his Weapon Of Choice. Official artwork usually depicts him wielding a simple wooden staff, and his endgame weapon will likely be the Dragon Staff
- Usable staves include "Staff of resurrection" and "Dragon staff", that can turn the user into a dragon. However, the Hero's melee stats are higher than magic ones.
Elfes et Nains - Sizra’s Weapon Of Choice is a staff that nonetheless carries a little trick in hidden blades at the top end.
- The character is a priest.
Fate Denied - Tomas, when not fighting hand to hand, uses the traditional weapon of the Matukai.
- The Matukai's signature weapon is a polearm named Wan-shen. However, it's unclear if this is true for this fanfic.
Halo (2022) - Pipe Pain: Mixed in with Simple Staff and Blade On A Stick, he arms himself with a long piece of pipe when his DMR isn't too effective against Elite shields. Managing to impale it easily and lift it up before discarding it.
- These tropes are probably mutually exclusive.
Sonic the Comic - They use staffs to fight Sonic.
- The characters do not seem to be martial artists of any kind, so it's unclear if they used staves in "proper" manner, or just as clubs.

Namespace: Video Game

Martial arts staff (10/25)

CrossCode - Monkey King Lite: The boss, Son of the East, is an intelligent ape that wields a Simple Staff, rides on a cloud, wears a headband, and has an attack where he can clone himself.
DC Universe Online - Weapon Of Choice: Simple Staff / Blade On A Stick: These hardly have any ranged attacks, but their melee is the most varied and dynamic and can chain stuns while ending the combo with a Area of Effect knockback.
- Lumped together with spears, but otherwise correct. For reference.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse - The Power Pole accessory, which can only be obtained via wishing to Shenron. It becomes a Telescoping Staff if you use the Power Pole or Power Pole Combo skills.
EOE: Eve of Extinction - Morph Weapon: Simple Staff/Shock and Awe: The Rod. A blue bo-staff sort of thing, which also dealth lightning damage.
Edge (1993) - ...Enter Kikumaru Sakakibara, a martial artist with proficiency in the staff...
Shadow Force - ...Kai, The Hero from the ancient Iga Clan, who wields a rokushakubo in combat.
Street Fighter EX - ...Nanase, Hokuto's staff-wielding sister
Swordsman - Simple Staff: E'mei and Shaolin have this as their weapon. Though the Shaolin version consists of three parts and can be dis- and reassembled at will.
- The staff seems to have a defined top, but otherwise used in purely melee manner.
Tales of Arise - ..but in the hands of a player and with plenty of practice, he can run circles around enemies using his Simple Staff - while losing none of his spellcasting or healing power.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu - Pole/Wang
- Also ZCE.

ZCE (3/25)

Beyond the Beyond - Weapon Of Choice: Simple Staff: Annie, Edward, Tont.
Drakensang - Weapon Of Choice: The game mechanics strongly favor those who specialize, so every one of your characters is likely to have a weapon. Simple Staff: Staves.
Visions & Voices - Weapon Of Choice: ... Marlowe: Not-So-Simple Staff

Magic staff (9/25)

Arknights - ...Gavial, who is regularly pointed out for her habit of picking fights with enemy units and using her medic staff as a blunt instrument.
- It's a Gameplay and Story Segregation entry, that describes the character as a physical fighter, despite being a medic in gameplay. Still, her staff resembles a standard Magic Staff.
Dead In Vinland - Weapon Of Choice: A staff for Moira.
- The character is The Medic. Also ZCE.
Dinosaur Planet (Rare) ...Sabre wielding a sword while Krystal wields a staff.
- The game was retooled into Star Fox Adventures, where Krystal's Staff is described as a "Weapon of magical power", and can shoot fire and ice.
Dragon Ball Online - Carry a Big Stick/Simple Staff: Among the energy oriented classes, all members of the Namek Dragon Clan have staffs, Human Turtle Hermits can obtain rods, Grand Chef Majins have clubs.
- Dragon Clan characters use the staff to shoot various blasts from it. Turtle Hermit characters mostly fight hand-to-hand, but brandish the staff to apply buffs. Grand Chefs seem to have Edible Bludgeons, given that they appear to take a bite out of it in some of their skills.
Dungeon Defenders - Schizo Tech: In the same tavern you could have a Wizard's Apprentice that shoots bolts of magical death from a Simple Staff...
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor - Ariana fights by swinging around a staff and casting magic with it, before ditching it in favor of giant arms for her second phase.
- The boss doesn't use melee attacks at all.
Stick Ranger - ...Priest: A support class, who uses magic staves that hit all enemies within range, but deal relatively weak damage compared to most other classes' weapons. His main purpose is the buffing aura he provides to the rest of the party.
The Genius Of Sappheiros - Weapon Of Choice: Simple Staff: Used by various, strike element, good accuracy, have more emphasis on magical power rather than physical power.
The Reconstruction - Weapon Of Choice: Simple Staff: Qualstio, Santes
- Both are described as mages on the characters page. Also ZCE.

Other melee weapon (1/25)

Heartbound - If Lore doesn't pick up the wood cutting axe, his weapon defaults to a big stick.
- The weapon is just a stick. It doesn't seem that the weapon is displayed in fights, so how it's used is unknown.

Unclear examples (2/25)

Dragon Quest - Heroes Prefer Swords: Most of The Heroes are usually associated and depicted with swords and the like. Notably Averted with the main character of Dragon Quest V, who is depicted with a Simple Staff.
- Usable staves include "Staff of resurrection" and "Dragon staff", that can turn the user into a dragon. However, The Hero is more disposed to be a physical fighter.
Superhero City - Weapon Of Choice: Accompanying Virtual Paper Doll and Costume Porn, you can choose to equip your character avatar with certain types of weapons acquired in the avatar-costume store. In some cases the weapons count as your character's cape, meaning they get worn on your back; for the most part, however, costume pieces specifically identified as "weapons" get held in one hand or both, but if the weapon is held in only one hand, you can't choose which hand to hold said weapon in. Among the weapons you can equip on your avatar are swords, machetes, hammers, staves...
- It's described as a cosmetic item, so it's impossible to identify as either Simple or Magic Staff.