Text version:
Magic-averse Staff (Wondrous item)
Weapon (Quarterstaff), Rare (requires attunement)
This weapon, with its unassuming appearance, stands as a silent testament to resilience and serves as a steadfast companion for those who choose to tread less travelled paths.
- Weightless. This weapon has the Light and Finesse property, as the wood it’s carved from is very sturdy, but also unusually light.
- Pierce Magic. Attacks made with this weapon bypass the Armor Class bonus derived from magical sources, such as magical armour or the Shield spell.
- Arcane Scourge. If you hit a celestial, a fiend, or a creature that has the Spellcasting trait with this weapon, you roll one additional damage die.
- Spell Breaker. A creature hit by this weapon has disadvantage on Constitution saving throws that it makes to maintain its concentration on a spell.
- Fizzle Magic. The staff has three charges. While wielding this staff, you can expend one charge to cast Counterspell (only if you are one of the targets of the spell, or you are included in the area of effect of the spell) or two charges to cast Antimagic Field (no material components needed). Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. The staff regains all charges daily at dusk.
Cursed. While attuned to this item, you cannot cast spells or be attuned to other magical items. If this curse is broken, the wood from which this quarterstaff is carved rots away, resulting in the destruction of the item.
Super cool idea. The only suggestion I have is to reconsider the Pierce Magic trait, as it might be confusing or difficult to determine (e.g., does +2 armor count as magical? Does this staff bypass the entire AC, or just the +2? etc).
Maybe instead, you could have a +3 to hit any targets who are concentrating on a spell, or a +3 to hit someone targeted by a spell. Or something in that vein.
And/or: any creature that attempts to cast a spell within range of the weapon provokes an attack of opportunity, maybe with a bonus to hit?
Overall, super cool item.
Pierce magic is supposed to only bypass the +2 bonus (which is the “magical” part; the rest of the AC comes from the armor itself), but I see where the confusion stems from.
The bonus to hit vs concentrating characters is great, but it would only work on spellcasters, whereas pierce magic was meant to work vs martial characters as well. The point was to depict the weapon as a broader “anti-magic staff” compared to a more restrictive “anti-spellcaster staff”, but I’ll think about changing the wording or altering the trait itself to a more comprehensible one.
Thanks for the suggestion!
TBF, the +2 armor not only is magical per canon, but even the sub-question is answered in the ability summary: “Attacks made with this weapon bypass the Armor Class bonus derived from magical sources, such as magical armour or the Shield spell” 🤓 So, yes and yes.
I say this first, because I really like your second point, when applied to this concept and would actually love to see it appended to it. “If the target is concentrating on, or the target of a conservation spell, add Prof to damage dealt.”, or similar. Really
hammershillelagh the point home that it’s a wushu mage bane legend. 🤘🏽Lastly, you might even alter the third point to be truly silly and grant an AoO even if the wielder doesn’t have a reaction to spend, but it causes Disadvantage on the PC’s next use of the item.