Staff (Weapon)

Korriban infographic, created by Sir Pet.

The Staff is the only legal Double-Ended weapon in Belegarth. The staff has a number of very specific rules - in particular, both ends must have at least 18" of cylindrical padding, and both ends must have stabbing tips. A staff is always considered a Class 1 Weapon, regardless of length.

Although the staff is fairly popular with new fighters, particularly from young realms, they are very rarely seen on the national field due to the fact that they are generally considered the least effective of all melee weapon styles. Many traditional staff fighting techniques are difficult or impossible with a Belegarth staff due to safety restrictions. In the end, most fighters find that fighting with a staff has a debatable and small defensive advantage over fighting florentine at the cost of significantly worse offensive abilities.

It is legal to grab the striking surface of one's own weapon. However, doing so will cause the padding to degrade much more quickly, necessitating more frequent maintenance. Additionally, the diameter of the striking surface of a staff generally makes this impractical.

Rules

• 4.9.6. Double-ended weapons must conform to all of the following:
  • 4.9.6.1. Double-ended weapons must not be more than seven (7) feet long (2.13 m).
  • 4.9.6.2. Double-ended weapons must have a minimum of eighteen (18) inches (45.72 cm) in length of striking surface covering each end in a cylindrical fashion. Both striking surfaces of this weapon must follow Class 3 weapon standards for a double-ended weapon to be legal.
  • 4.9.6.3. Regardless of length, a double-ended weapon is a Class 1 weapon when swung and Class 3 when thrust.
  • 4.9.6.4. Double-ended weapons may have no more than one-third (1/3) its overall length as unpadded handle.