Simple Staff: Difference between revisions

[[File:robinhoodmanintights_7999robinhoodmanintights 7999.png|link=Robin Hood: Men in Tights|rightframe]]

{{quote|''"Simple wooden staff''<br />

''Made from life, protecting life,''<br />

''Stronger than cold steel."''|Flavor Text from the ''[[Magic: theThe Gathering]]'' card [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id{{=}}22320 Silkenfist Fighter]}}

A sub-trope of [[Weapon of Choice]], and often a prime example of [[Simple Yet Awesome]].

Behold, the staff. Essentially nothing more than a long wooden [[Drop the Hammer|club]], it is one of the simplest weapons known to man, yet frequently referred to as the deadliest melee weapon ever created. It can be easily improvised from a number of ordinary farming and cleaning tools -- suchtools—such as plows, rakes, or mops -- thatmops—that are readily found anywhere. [[Technical Pacifist|Those who frown upon spilling blood]] can confiscate various polearms and snap off the pointy end(s) to suit their tastes. Even convenient tree branches can serve in a pinch.

Many instead double as [[Staff of Authority|symbols of station]], and thus feature elaborate headpieces -- ofheadpieces—of which the wisest choices are sturdy and heavy enough to serve in a fight. Some clever individuals have made staves out of hollow metal pieces that can collapse into a concealable weapon.

In the West, a full-length fighting staff is called a quarterstaff. Contrary to [[Dan Browned|general opinion]] or [[Hollywood History|many movies]], in the medieval age a staff was not held in the middle, but wielded in a similar way to a spear. In Japan, it is called a ''bo'', with a smaller version called a ''jo''. The Japanese also have ''hanbo'' -- short—short staves that Westerners would call rods. A Filipino fighting art called ''Arnis'' (''Eskrima'' or ''Kali'', dependent on which island in the country) also makes use of these short rods.

Staves tend to be the [[Weapon of Choice]] among monks and others who, for moral and/or ethical reasons, refuse to take a life, but for various reasons find themselves desiring a weapon. Anyone else interested in practicing combat skills is more interested in lethality, and so affix various pointy ends to their poles, making these implements a [[Blade Onon a Stick|different kind of weapon entirely]]. Of course, some people take a middle path and conceal various nasty surprises in their staves.

Staves also tend to be the favorite of particularly old and weary characters in need of a walking stick -- orstick—or those who wish to appear older and wearier than they really are. As such, it is a favorite among [[Old Master|Old Masters]]s and certain kinds of wizard. In the latter case, the "simple" staff probably also doubles as a [[Magic Wand]], thus becoming the hybrid melee and magical weapon, the [[Magic Staff]]. Staves work great for teachers because a) they don't look impressive, and thus when they kick your ass it's a demonstration of the user's skill, and b) staves provide ample opportunity for hard whacks to the shins or head -- painfulhead—painful, but not fatal, blows -- thusblows—thus perfect for discipline.

In Eastern media, the staff is often a Kung Fu weapon, used with much grace and skill (and choreography). Combined with the distance afforded by its long reach, martial artist monks have long been able to smack around roomfuls of [[Mook|Mooks]]s completely untouched. As Western audiences rightly recognize [[Rule of Cool|the awesomeness of this]], it's spreading to Western media as well. The most famous user of the staff in Eastern media is Son Wukong from the seminal ''[[Journey to Thethe West]]'', and thus most staff-users reference Wukong in some way.

When the fighters don't actually care as much about the injuries they inflict, or actively try to cause lots of injuries, perhaps the staff really ''is'' just a [[Carry a Big Stick|long club]]. Or a [[Blade Onon a Stick|spear]] without a spearhead.

* Staves in the world of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' don't tend to count, but Raising Heart's staff form is Nanoha's melee weapon of choice -- unlesschoice—unless she's reached the point of using its final form, which can produce a [[Blade Onon a Stick|spear-head]].

* Kento from ''[[Ronin Warriors]]'' wields one.

* Gold in the ''[[Pokémon (Animeanime)|Pokémon]] Adventures'' manga had a pool cue that he uses for calling out his [[Mons]].

* Shu from ''[[Now and Then, Here Andand There]]'' utilizes a long stick as a staff of sorts; the weapon is mainly used as a contrast against the other characters' weapons, where all of the other ''children'' are wielding knives and guns. Although he isn't very skilled per se (he mainly just recklessly uses the same [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_:Men (kendo) |move]] over and over), it is meant to highlight his pacifism.

* Fasalina from ''[[Gun X Sword (Anime)|Gun X Sword]]'' wields... uh... a very long pole-dancer stick. Either to beat the crap out of her opponents, or to control her mecha. And even her mecha comes with it.

* When {{spoiler|Kuu Fei}} makes a Pactio with Negi in the ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima (Manga)|Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' manga, her artifact is a replica of the [[Journey to Thethe West|Ruyi Jingu Bang]].

* Husky in ''[[Plus Anima (Manga)|Plus +Anima]]''. He occasionalyoccasionally fights with it (he's good), but it's used more as a punishing staff.

* As mentioned in the ''[[Journey to Thethe West]]'' example below, Son Goku of [[DragonballDragon Ball]] wields the Nyoi-Bo. A magical staff that grows and shrinks as the user's will. (Known as the "Power Pole" in the dub.) However, it fades from use in [[Dragonball Z]]. Also, Kamesennin (Master Roshi) has a staff of his own, he never seems to really use it for anything though.

* Nami from ''[[One Piece]]'' uses a simple staff at the beginning but later replaces it with the Clima Tact in Alabasta

* In ''[[Naruto (Manga)|Naruto]]'', Chouza Akimichi uses a staff in combat, and it changes size with him whenever he goes into [[Attack of the 50 -Foot Whatever]] mode. [[Chinese Girl|Tenten]] is also a staff fighter, albeit mainly in filler and video games.

* Gambit of ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' used an [[Unobtainium|adamantium]] staff, often collapsablecollapsible.

** ''[[The Batman (Animation)|The Batman]]'' version of Dick Grayson uses it as well.

* Agent 355 wields an expandable baton as a (somewhat) non-lethal alternative to her pistol in ''[[Y: theThe Last Man]]''.

* ''[[The Mighty Thor|Volstagg]]'': Volstagg used a staff in the older stories, before eventually switching to a [[An Axe to Grind|axe]].

* [[Batgirl|Stephanie BrownsBrown's]] collapsablecollapsible "boomstick".

* Prince Akeem from ''[[Coming to America]]'' (played by Eddie Murphy) is seen [[Chekhov's Skill|training in staff-fighting]] in the beginning of the film. So, later when he's working in Queens at a fast-food restaurant and [[Samuel L. Jackson|a thug]] tries to rob the place with a shotgun while he's mopping, he unscrews the handle and beats him down.

* In [[The Beastmaster|the original ''Beastmaster'' movie]], Seth and Tal use these while posing as simple travelers.

* Used in ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'', where the staves tend to break.

* Ever since his appearance in the original ''[[Journey to Thethe West]]'', Sun Wukong (also known in the Japanese translation as Son Goku) has used a magical collapsible staff called [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi_Jingu_Bang:Ruyi Jingu Bang|Jingu Bang]]. It appeared as ''nyoi-bo'' in ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'', which the dub called a "Power Pole".

* This trope also appears in [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Sixth Column (novel)|Sixth Column]]'', written back in the early 1940s. In that novel, the "priest's staves" were in reality [[Applied Phlebotinum]], both weapons and tools. They took the form of a ornately carved and gilded staff (that hid the controls in its gilding) surmounted by a cube of six colors (that concealed the generators/projectors) A backpack hidden under their clothing hid the power source.

* There was a ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Expanded Universe]] Jedi Master who used a [[Simple Staff]] (somewhat like Yoda) with which he could ''block [[Laser Blade|Light Sabers]]'' (admittedly, by using [[Functional Magic|The Force]]).

* Ridcully from the ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' novels actually favours using his [[Magic Staff]] in this manner if needed. As he figures, if it's something that can resist getting hit with two metres of solid oak, magic probably won't work either.

* Mat Cauthon from the ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' books uses a staff as his favourite weapon, and is good enough with it that early in the series, he beat down two expert swordsmen in a demonstration bout. [[Badass|At once]]. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|While convalescing from a serious curse/illness]]. (The instructor of those swordsmen then reminded the class that the [[Wheel of Time]]'s greatest swordsman in history was only ever beaten... by a farmer with a quarterstaff.)

** Later on, he upgrades to a [[Blade Onon a Stick|polearm]], but is still prone to using the haft as a staff against multiple opponents.

*** That's exactly how one uses a [[Blade Onon a Stick|polearm]] when not in formation.

* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire (Literature)|A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', Arstan Whitebeard demonstrates his [[Badass Grandpa]] nature by fighting off armed attackers using only his staff.

* In Neal Stephenson's ''[[The Baroque Cycle]]'', an Irish Partisan defeats an English Noble in a duel, armed only with a staff. Afterwards, he advises his friend to "...get a bloody great piece of wood, and hit him over and over until he dies."

* Neatly subverted in ''[[Spellsinger]]'': Jon-Tom's weapon appears to be a simple staff until he presses a button on the top, at which point a foot-long blade shoots out of the other end.

* Harry from ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' carries one of these. The magical community views it as something akin to walking in with an M249. The nonmagical community views it as walking in a club. It's a great, versatile focus ... and when someone needs a thwacking, a staff does the job. If memory serves, he also used it to motorcycle-joust against a Limolimousine. It was at least as awesome as you think it sounds.

** The Blackstaff carries one of these, as his title might suggest. It has a bunch of magic imbued in it, though, and appears from hammerspace[[Hammerspace]].

* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''{{'}}s sidekick, Gabrielle, fought with a quarterstaff.

* The Rangers of ''[[Babylon 5 (TV)|Babylon 5]]'' had the Minbari fighting pike for a primary melee weapon, which is essentially a collapsible staff that can extend so fast that one could be knocked out just by having an end of it hit you when telescoping.

* Ben from ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]'' prefers a telescopic baton (a homage to [[Y: theThe Last Man]], whose writer also writes for Lost), but he's not above using a gun if it's handy.

* Monks in the 3rd (and 3.5) Edition of ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' were able to use their faster unarmed attack bonus with certain weapons like the quarterstaff.

** Subverted in ''Basic [[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'', where the Magic-User is only permitted to use the dagger. This is only adjusted by [[House Rules]] or ''Rules Cyclopedia'', where the magic user may use the staff - but since it is a two-handed weapon, they will lose initiative when casting spells (where taking damage causes the spell to fizzle.)

* Just about every RPG, be it tabletop or online, have staffs as one of the most common weapons carridcarried by spellcasters. In some games they count as [[Magic Wand|Magic Wands]]s, while in others they just give stat and damage boosts. Either way, staffs aren't usually very good melee weapons, although exceptions do exist.

* In ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Tabletop Game)|Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'', the Children of Gaia had perfected a style of combat with a simple wooden staff that could nonlethally knock out even a werewolf in a single strike.

* The default [[Weapon of Choice]] for the default Protestant Blessed in ''[[Deadlands]]'' is a simple stick, ''always'' referred to as being made of hickory. For a game where customizing the [[Player Character]] with realistic equipment, strengths, and weaknesses was such a big draw, the repeated reference to whackin' the walkin' dead in the head with a [[Simple Staff]] got tiresome.

* ''[[Exalted (Tabletop Game)|Exalted]]'' has Wrackstaffs, the [[BFS]] equivalent of the [[Simple Staff]].

* They are present in ''[[Los Angeles 2035]]'' and are one of the best melee weapons due to the fact that they grant you one extra defense action for every two actions you get on a round.

* In ''[[Xenogears (Video Game)|Xenogears]]'', Elyhaum "Elly" van Houten used a pair of collapsable fighting rods in addition to various kicks and Ether attack spells.

** Kicking indeed. [[Special Attack|Coup]] [[Groin Attack|de]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|GrâceGrâce!]]

* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'': As befitting his high-corporate street-thug image, [[Evil Redheads|Reno]] of the [[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Turks]] fought with a collapsible metal rod with a built-in electric shocker.

* Venom from ''[[Guilty Gear (Video Game)|Guilty Gear]]'' is an assassin who kills people with a ''pool cue''. Not so much a [[Simple Staff]] as an unconventional spear.

** [[Spiritual Successor]] ''[[Blaz Blue (Video Game)|Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'' has [[Chinese Girl]] Litchi Faye Ling using a much simpler staff, but not-so-very-simple, since the staff can levitate and smack people around on something of ''telekinesis''.

* The main character from ''[[Suikoden I (Video Game)|Suikoden I]]'' used a bo staff as his primary weapon. Jowy, the [[Childhood Friend]] of [[The Hero]] in ''[[Suikoden II (Video Game)|Suikoden II]]'', uses a simple blue staff as his weapon of choice, whilst [[The Hero]] himself uses [[Dual Tonfas]]. Prince Freyjadour Falenas from ''[[Suikoden V (Video Game)|Suikoden V]]'' used a collapsible tri-sectioned staff.

* ''[[Breath of Fire II (Video Game)|Breath of Fire II]]'' has [[Catgirl|Katt]], a staff-wielding [[Cute Bruiser]] who also ended up playing the [[Black Magician Girl]] -- despite—despite starting as a fighter, she expressed interest in learning magic... and towards the end of the game, she suddenly got some of the most powerful attack spells in the game and enough MP to use them.

* Jade from ''[[Beyond Good and& Evil (Videovideo Gamegame)|Beyond Good and& Evil]]'' uses a staff as her primary weapon, in kung-fu style. Naturally, taking out enormous guards in [[Powered Armor]] with [[Drop the Hammer|Hammers With]] [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] is [[Rock Beats Laser|no problem for her]].

* The Mystic/Oracle Job in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics (Video Game)|Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' mainly wields staffs, which are one of only three weapons providing a two square attack range, alongside the Dragoon's Polearms, and the Dancer's Carpet.

** Poles show up in ''[[Final Fantasy XII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy XII]]'', but calculate damage as the difference between the target's Magic Defense and the attacker's. As such, they are best used by characters whose gambits are set up around [[Squishy Wizard|magic use.]]

*** Poles are also a type of weapon in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics a 2 (Video Game)|Final Fantasy Tactics a 2A2]]'', equipped by Master Monks and Geomancers.

** Lezaford has this in his ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics a 2 (Video Game)|Final Fantasy Tactics a 2A2]]'' artwork, while Montblanc has a more plantyplant-decorated staff in his artwork.

* The later ''[[Wizardry (Video Game)|Wizardry]]'' games oddly feature both the bo and the quarterstaff-both have similar if not identical combat performance, but the bo can only be used by a very few classes such as the monk, while the quarterstaff is usable by pretty much anyone.

* ''[[Fatal Fury|]]'': Billy Kane]] and his three-sectioned cudgel-on-a-chain.

* In ''[[Halo (Video Gameseries)|Halo]]'', some of the Honor Guards are seen with staves, and in a cutscene they use them to beat down some Grunts that got to excited. Unfortunately, they're not used as weapons in actual gameplay.

* Ryu Hayabusa from ''[[Ninja Gaiden (Video Game)|Ninja Gaiden]]'' gets the Lunar staff in Black. Although less damaging than the Dragon Sword it is still reasonable powerful and has a large attack range and high speed making it one of the more potent weapons.

* Quarterstaves are Jaheira's weapon of choice in ''[[Baldur's Gate (Video Game)|Baldurs Gate]]''. Due to the restrictions of her Fighter/Druid build, they are also some of the ''only'' weapons she can wield. Fortunately there are powerful staves in ''Shadows of Amn'' and an [[Infinity+1 Sword|Infinity Plus One Staff]] in ''Throne of Baal''.

* The go-to weapon for mages in ''[[Dragon Age (Video Game)|Dragon Age]]: Origins''. They never miss.

** Predating the aforementioned Jade would be theThe Edenian warrior Jade from [[Mortal Kombat]], who utilizedutilizes a staff in a few of her attacks starting with ultimate''[[Mortal Kombat 3| Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3]]'' and later became her weapon fighting style in Deception.

* ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' has Old Glory, a flagpole tipped with a golden eagle. It's the signature weapon of [[Foil|Ulysses]] and is gained at the end of the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171212154432/http://www.goldcoincomics.com/ Theo] from ''[[Gold Coin Comics (Webcomic)|Gold Coin Comics]]'' always carries his trusty staff.

* The Air Nomad monks of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' invented staves with collapsablecollapsible glider-wings, designed to enhance the power of their [[Elemental Powers|airbending attacks and defenses]], and allow them to fly by manipulating air currents.

* Cheetara of ''[[Thundercats (Animation)|ThunderCats]]'' and ''[[Thundercats 2011 (Western Animation)|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' uses a [[Retractable Weapon|collapsible]] staff.

* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'': Donatello uses one as his [[Weapon of Choice]]. So did Splinter.

* [[Badass Normal|Robin]] from the animated ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]'' often uses a collapsable bo-staff, when he's not fighting with his bare hands or throwing bird-a-rangs.

* Richard Peeke, an English sailor captured by the Spaniards in the 17th century, was forced to fight 3three swordsmen with a quarterstaff. He killed one with his first blow and disarmed the other two.

* Most martial artists will tell you that if they could only ever learn two weapons, those would be the knife and the common stick. While [[Boring but Practical|it may be unimpressive, it's effective]] and remains one of few things that might actually come to hand if you ever needed it in real life. (A broomstick, cane, curtain rod....) Good luck finding youra prettyrandom [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]] laying around in a bar fight.

** Traditionally, there is no difference between bokken techniques and quarterstaff techniques in principle- both are attempts to emulate a sword with a length of wood. The quarterstaff is weildedwielded like a Zweihander.

** The difference between a walking cane (or a snapped-off broomstick) and a hanbo is effectively nil. Hanbo are 35.4 inches in length (90 &nbsp;cm) in the modern tradition, about the distance from a man's ankle to hip.

* The Irish have the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120329125423/http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AEmblem/Shillelagh.html shillelagh]. No, not the silly stubby cudgel that gets passed off as such to tourists, an actual stick. Ostensibly used for a walking stick, at least where British nationals could hear it given the British ban on Irish having weapons in the earlier history of [[The Troubles]], but there were several fighting styles developed using it as a weapon, with the "handle" end serving as an impromptu [[Drop the Hammer|hammer]] if need be.

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