Quarterstaff of the Pines

Weapon (quarterstaff), rare (requires attunement) This magical quarterstaff has 4 charges. As an action, you can speak the quarterstaff’s command word and swing it in the direction of a target. The target must make a DC 16 dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage. The staff regains 1d4 expended charges at dawn.

There was once a wise and powerful monk who presided as the grand master of a monastery hidden deep within a coniferous forest where the arts of peace were practiced. When that monastery was threatened by a band of orc raiders, the monk and his students had no choice but to fight in self-defense. Having no weapons within the monastery, the grand master leapt high into the air and plucked branches from the surrounding pine trees to distribute to his students. By infusing their Ki into the branches, the monk and his students created magical staves to fend off the orcs. A flurry of blows and a hail of pine needles sent the monsters fleeing, never to return.

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Quarterstaves are one of my favorite weapons to use in D&D, so I decided that one with a little more oomph deserved to be made. While brainstorming my mind drifted to the Deku Leaf, an item from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and its ability to send forth a gust of wind strong enough to push an enemy back. Though I enjoyed the concept from that game, I thought that swapping the controlling effect of a pushing gust of wind with the damaging effect of a hail of needles would be better suited for the monk, whose damaging capabilities generally require their targets to remain in range. As for the backstory, I simply tried to think of how such an item would be made in a fantasy world. A monk using his mastery of Ki to turn an element of nature around him into a weapon seemed to fit perfectly.

So concludes another entry of the Month of Magic! I thank you for stopping by and hope that you will return for more magic and lore another day.

-JP