Runestaves

you cant cast when you have both of your hands occupied can you?

yeah that actually needs to be a rule somewhere…. because there is no difference in using it as a wand compared to when its being used as a weapon as far as the rules are written

@ John I had totally forgotten there were staves that contained spells, your points are salient and correct, i have no argument with them.

I was trying to address the idea of runestaff being the equivalent of using a wand. I agree that the idea of taking a talent to use them in that fashion is a bit excessive, I would personally prefer to see something along the lines of “Runestaves when used as weapons must be wielded as a normal quarterstaff, however when using the Runestaff to cast spells, you only need to hold it in one hand. you may swap between using a runestaff as weapon and to assist spell casting as a trivial action.

this discussion makes me think of two additional things, one a rune staff is a great example of a another hybrid thing (weapon and wand) and that the rules that apply to shield should apply similarly to a rune staff.

and do wands count as a free hand or does a caster that uses a wand have to have an empty hand and a wand wielding hand?

I would propose that to cast the spells that are in the staff, that it be possible even without Quick Hands. It seems harsh to force a talent to use a magical item specifically created to be used that way.

Now if they want to wield the staff as a weapon and cast their normal spells, then yes, Quick Hands could be needed. Or you can rule and say wielding the Runestave provides the necessary somatic components.

John

Dude you can hold a stick one handed and not swing it…

I’m just saying….

want to use it as a weapon AND a wand… well quick hands or spend speed 2 actions

intent really doesnt count for much when there isnt a shred of rules to support the intent

and do wands count as a free hand or does a caster that uses a wand have to have an empty hand and a wand wielding hand?

Yep, that was the intent…
Which was the intent?

Dude you can hold a stick one handed and not swing it…

I’m just saying….

want to use it as a weapon AND a wand… well quick hands or spend speed 2 actionsA runestaff is a two-handed weapon. So you can either caster through it like a wand or you can’t cast at all with it like any other two-handed weapon.