Many wizards kinda just passed through and tell their apprentice to get the correct shape of crystal for you but not explaining anything.
Fig 1: Shard type staff, as the name suggests it crystal has a shard/diamond shape it is the best for casting controlled offensive spell making it the choice for many young wizards especially those who spammed fireball.
Fig 2: A orb staff, the crystal is a rounded ball shape and funnily enough is the most well rounded for casting multiple type of spells both offensive and defensive due to this it is both preferred for both apprentices and powerful mages.
Fig 3: An all wooden staff, no crystal to amplify your spell but it does also mean you're forced to learn mana control and actually learn how to cast spell without the damage buff also casting with it usually costs less mana perfect for apprentices or more defensive mage.
These 3 are by far the most common and the one I recommend for newer mages.
100%. It's a pivotal moment in a mage's development. All wizards should carve their first staffs, even discounting the sympathetic connection a mage has to a self-crafted staff
I mean some growth magic usually does the trick, though I heard that the resulting wood isn't ideal for a staff (because it gains trace amounts of magic resistance which of course impedes the flow ever so slightly).
For a first staff, this might still be ok, especially if it's only used for a more ceremonial purpose.
Apprentices don't get staffs! You damn people spoil then so they will think themselves full blown Wizards soon give them a wand or a rod maybe but not a full on staff. That's a symbol of office for crying out loud
Well put, I concur! Far too much is put on the “what” and not the “why”! Looking back, I was no “prodigy” and I see myself as fortunate to come from humble beginnings. In my time as an apprentice, I had an all wood staff. It taught me how to make do and to appreciate the gifts that I had. Of course I have had others over the eons, but you never really forget your first, do you? My apprentice had a wood staff as well and it served them well. It let them determine what they were comfortable with at their own pace.
If your apprentice is already more comfortable with mana control you should probably give them a bit more crystal to learn how to used spell with a magic amplifier or else they might exploded themselves trying to used staff with large crystal later on
This might be some shade to my apprentice but just get them the 3rd one mine lost 5 shards before I just got him the 3rd one it was expensive as all hell and he didn't even seem apologetic I just cut my losses with her and turned her into a living stone statue to hang my cloak up at night
Call me old fashioned but back in my day, an apprentice had to earn his orbs!
We didn't get foci handed to us for free! No sir! We would have to calculate our fireballs to the exact thaum, none of this new fangled fancy pants refracting light-in-a-ball nonsense!
Are we really lowering the standard of wizardry & allowing rabblrousing apprentices access to highly refined arcane technology before they can even feel how much energy to put in their cuppa to reheat the bloody tea?
I think not.
Remember my fellow wizards, power without control is no power at all
I concur, that's why I drop my apprentices outside a small relatively challenging (for their skill level) dungeon as a final test and for them to gather the materials for their staves or grimoire or wand. Everyone has their own preference for foci, I myself don't use one. Since reaching the akashic records I grafted some wings and a tail to focus it.
Either the apprentice dies during the dungeon, giving me decent stock for undead crafting. Or they succeed, come out of it with a better understanding of using magic that I could never teach (everyone is different and needs to develop themselves without being given the answer, something only experience can give them) them.
The shape and style of the staff is less important than the enchantments placed upon it. One of my colleagues has an apprentice who favors a simple wooden staff with no ornamentation. She is still quite skilled regardless, and I suspect she will carry that staff all her life.
For basic travel on foot, a wooden staff suffices for me, one that I can slip a crystal into if I need to cast certain longer termed light spells.
I recommend a small crystal for power boost so they can get the feel of what amplified magic is like. While still having to put in most the work themselves.
Staff should also have at least one memory Cristal in it so they can test out saving spells. But can't use it as a crutch.
Would go for one with lots of runes of protection to stop them getting themselves killed.
Can't tell you how many times I have had to unmealt an apprentice who didn't cast destructive magic far enough away.
Well a quality staff is first and formost, sturdy. Ots a multifunctional piece of equipment even before magic gets involved. So being of high quality and durability is a must.
Its a walking stick. its a poker for something just out of arms reach, or might be dangerous to a bare hand. Its a clubbing tool for when magic just isnt fast enough to stop that goblin from turning you into soup. Its a statement. Its a carrying rig for trinkets and minor herbs you find in your journey. And while its most important job is to store and focus mana, it can last eons if you properly care for it.
Others have better advice as to how to aquire a staff. Im just stating some requirements to think about when selecting or crafting a staff. I have several but my first is still my every day carry.
Personally my staff goes 'Ping' after every eighth bolt. Its a rather satisfying noise that lets me pace my mana infusion and maintain awareness of my magic stocks.
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u/Kilroy898 Op, Null, Orin, Niro, Aldin 6h ago
Don't buy him one. Make him go carve his own! An apprentices first staff should be crafted!