The Hurt Locker: Staff of the Archmagi

A classic icon of Dungeons and Dragon is the “Staff of the Magi,” a mage’s best friend. Without further-ado – the “Staff of the Archmagi” a Dungeon Fantasy artifact knockoff for today’s Hurt Locker:

Staff of the Archmagi

Suggested Origins: Cosmic or Magical (always wizardry).

This powerful mage tool is much coveted by wizards everywhere. A large jewel encrusted staff with inlaid runes of the finest silver. Those it’s usually a tool of wizardry, it can still be used as any staff can.

• Archmage’s Grasp: In addition to acting as a wizard’s staff, the wielder uses standard Range penalties (p. B550) rather than the -1/yard that is typical of most spells as long as it’s held.
• Innate Spells: The Staff contains powerful magic that anyone who holds it can use. Should they actually know the spell at a higher level (all spells are cast at skill 20) he can cast it with the help of the staff as if his Magery were three higher (thus granting a +3 bonus) and it gives him five points of FP per casting for free. Finally, subtract six from the FP cost required for any (this includes the reduction for high skill) of the following spells: Apportation, Armor, Create Door, Create Fire, Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Enlarge, Fire Cloud, Fireball, Invisibility, Light, Lightning, Lockmaster, Magelock, Planar Summons, Plane Shift, Rain of Ice Daggers, and Spider Silk.
• Magical Absorption: The staff (as long as it’s held) provides Magic Resistance 5 with the Improved and Switchable modifiers.If a spell fails (i.e., you resisted it), the staff’s reserve (i.e., how many FP it can hold as a Power Item) refills the same number of points the base spell would have cost. If a magical ability was used, you regain a number of FP equal to 1/5 the abilities total cost. Excess points bleed away at a rate of 1 FP per second. If you absorb more than twice the FP pool the staff explodes as per a retributive strike! Luckily, wielders know how much energy is within the staff – but not how much a given spell might charge it, thus it’s risky to keep absorbing if it’s full and getting fuller.
• Retributive Strike: As a last ditch effort, the Staff may broken intentionally (this is more a act of will than a physical act), which releases all FP currently stored in the staff. This causes 1d of crushing explosive damage per point of energy currently within the item. Anyone in the wielder’s hex takes full damage, it also affects everything within (2 x total dice of damage) yard radius. Damage dice is divided by the total number of yards away a particular target is. This damage is considered both magical and fire if that matters. When the staff is broken intentionally this way, the GM should roll 3d, on a 9 or less the wielder goes to another plane of existence (the GM decides where!), while on a 10 or more he takes full damage like anyone else caught in the blast! Optionally, the GM may lot a weilder decide where he’s going on a natural roll of 3 or 4, and treat the explosion as a Contact Explosion (see p. B415) if he rolls a natural 18 meaning he takes maximum damage!
• Staff Quality: The Staff counts as a very fine-quality (-2 to breakage) silver-coated quarterstaff if used as a weapon. It has DR 4, HP 12 if someone tries to intentionally destroy it (which does not cause a Retributive Strike).

Weight: 5 lb.

Variations
As the tool for wizards, the GM may wish to keep it as is or tone it down some (reduce the base skill level to 15 or the number of FP reduced). Optionally, he may create a “Wand of the Archmagi” or even a “Sword of the Archmagi” if that works better for his campaign. He might also decide that it’s not good enough to bear the name “archmagi” and increase the skill level/magery bonus given by the staff or increase it’s FP pool as a Power Item.