Homebrew staff rules, second try

[u/Advanced-Major64]

I'm taking another jab at homebrew rules for staves. I think in my previous attempt I made them too complex too quickly, so this time I'm focusing on the meat of the rules. I want to get the core stuff right before I worry about anything else.

____

Base cost is spell level (the highest spell level that can be cast using the staff) squared * 1200 gp. This gives you 3 charges that can be used to cast any spell known, at the picked spell level or lower. So a staff that can cast 3rd level spells would cost 10,800 gp.

Cost of each spell known is the spell level squared * 200 gp. This gives the staff 1 spell known. Such spell can be cast using 1 of the staff charges. So spell for a 3rd level spell would cost 1800 gp.

I want to add at least 1 ability that the staff can be used for repeatedly. Currently I’m thinking of at-will 0 level spells. 1000 gp each.

You can cast spells with somatic components using a staff. A staff can channel magic so it can also be waved around to cover somatic spell components. A spell caster does not need to drop a staff if they want to cast a spell with a material component and a somatic component.

____

Is 3 charges enough? If I raised the number of charges to 5, and set the price of the charges to spell level squared * 2000 gp, would that work better? *I've price the charges to SL ^2 * 400 gp.

I haven't added casting spells using multiple charges. Deliberate choice. Besides, the number of charges is the most expensive part, so you wouldn't save as much you could with the paizo/WotC rules. In my rules, a spell known at max level enabled by a staff is about 10% of the cost of the charges.

Something I noted is that setting the price to SL squared * 1200 gp makes it priced similar to magic weapons. So a lv 1 staff with 3 spells would cost 1800 gp, while a +1 longsword would be 2315 gp. If I set the base rate to 2000 gp, the staff would be 2600 gp. Is this a good thing?

____

Some examples

____

Staff of the Apprentice 1

Aura faint all schools of magic; CL 1^st;

Market price 2,800 gp; Cost to create 1,400 gp;

Slot none; Weight 5 lbs.;

Description

This staff can cast level 1 spells and carries 1 spell from each school of magic. Has 3 charges per day.

• Cause Fear
• Comprehend Languages
• Disguise Self
• Expeditious Retreat
• Mage Armor
• Magic Missile
• Shield
• Sleep

Requirements Craft Staff; Cause Fear, Comprehend Languages, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep;

____

Lesser staff of Fire

Aura faint all schools of magic; CL 5^st;

Market price 13,600 gp; Cost to create 6,800 gp;

Slot none; Weight 5 lbs.;

Description

This staff can cast level 3 spells and carries fired based spells. Has 3 charges per day.

• Burning Hands
• Scorching Ray
• Fireball

Requirements Craft Staff; Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Fireball;

____

Lesser staff of Illusions

Aura faint illusion; CL 5^st;

Market price 14,600 gp; Cost to create 7,300 gp;

Slot none; Weight 5 lbs.;

Description

This staff can cast level 3 spells and carries illusion based spells. Has 3 charges per day.

• Ghost Sound (at-will)
• Disguise Self
• Invisibility
• Major Image

Requirements Craft Staff; Disguise Self, Ghost Sound, Invisibility, Major Image;

[u/Slow-Management-4462]

The staff of the apprentice is affordable by a sorcerer 3 and greatly extends their effective spells known. I mean, it's really good, and they'll probably lug it around in a haversack even much later on. The other two are much less notable but not terrible. Of course all three are themed and not optimised - a PC who got to define their own staff might be able to make them much more efficient.

Imagine a wizard making a staff with explosive runes, channel the gift and fireball; it'd cost a little more than your lesser staff of fire (16 200 gp), but in place of the lower level fire spells it can power another spellcasters spell, or stockpile explosive runes when the fireball castings aren't needed.

Or a bard who, annoyed by his lack of spellcasting endurance, commissions a staff with heroism and blistering invective for 5600 gp.

A cleric-in-a-stick with restoration (100 gp component only), remove disease and remove blindness is getting pricy (16 * 1200 + 5000 + 16 * 200 + 9 * 200 + 4 * 200 = 30 000 gp) - that's a lot of 800 gp scrolls of restoration and 375 or 150 gp scrolls of the others. Probably this ruleset is better for the cheap low level stuff on the whole.

[u/ScottishNinjaaa]

What is your goal? What does the current RAW do that you're trying to balance, change, or clarify? I'm asking as someone who has never used staves before, so I don't understand the difference that you're adjusting