Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Staff Master

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted keep it simple with a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons staff master character build. The comment section is filled with various takes on the concept and most of these incorporate magic with a strong dose of maneuvers but the simplest (and pound for pound best?) weapon in 5E D&D inspired them to explore an equally simplistic approach. The Staff Master character build takes things slow and steady so let’s get into it.

Behind the CBG — Staff Master

Every CBG we create considers the journey as much as the final outcome. We aim to present a guide suitable for any level of 5E D&D play whether you’re pursuing an epic campaign from start to finish, starting beyond 1st level or choosing a character for a one shot. Then we take those concepts and develop an NPC or creature version of the character build for DMs to incorporate into their games. All of this gets packaged up and laid out in a PDF you can find over at Dungeon Master’s Guild. We’ve got dozens of pay what you want products at DMG, many of them best sellers so if you want to check those out start with the Staff Master here.

All about the character story

Each CBG starts with a character concept sticking to a particular schtick, from the Mind Breaker’s psyche crushing smites to the Staff Master’s dedication to their chosen weapon. Sometimes puns and pop culture references instigate the creation of a CBG too. Showcasing the power of simplicity this Staff Master hits hard, fast and often with a handful of techniques to control the battlefield. This straightforward approach has an added benefit of leaving the character enough flexibility to develop other useful skills along the way.

For us it’s important to consider who these characters are as individuals and why they follow these particular paths. One special thing to note with this CBG is while we always aim to make the journey to 20th level as practical as possible — none of these characters “come online” after an awkward slog through many levels — the Staff Master earns the title at 8th level. Beyond this point they simply continue to double down on the techniques they’ve honed through ability score increases and making more use of incredibly strong class features.

We made a video exploring features and traits to enhance prowess with a quarterstaff and put them into practice to create a character who has stick and will travel. Very rarely do we stick with one class the entire time but as this character’s story developed we came to appreciate the straightforwardness of the fighter and especially our choice of Martial Archetype. This character is all about keeping things simple. The approach illustrates the flexibility of the fighter class in other areas because after all, fighters can fight.

Homespun Hero NPC for 5E D&D

Full disclosure — the NPCs and creatures we make in CBGs are some of my favorite bits of 5E D&D content to create. We step back and look at the character build to find the standout features that feel like signature abilities. The juice! From there we consider what sort of person or people would possess or gain these abilities and build a stat block around them. More often than not the section of a CBG For Dungeon Masters presents a generic creature.

Two ideas from the video stuck with me but there wasn’t room in the CBG to incorporate them both. I really liked the concept of the Staff Master as a fisher who uses their trusty fishing rod as their weapon of choice. It reminds me of Jonah Ray’s character Joppa from the 5E D&D Force Grey campaign. But I could not pass up the opportunity to include the fantastic visual of a tortle traveler roaming the realms on a cart pulled by a giant turtle. Only one other time before I’ve added a secondary stat block to a CBG along with the NPC creature version. The Sling Master’s Shire Reeve wouldn’t be the same without their Deputy Defender. For the Homespun Hero I tweaked the giant snapping turtle creature from Tomb of Annihilation to give this wandering Staff Master a fun companion on their journeys.

Have Stick, Will Travel. The homespun hero may not look very imposing but their simple appearance should not be underestimated. This tortle has traveled far and wide, seen incredible places, met unforgettable entities and overcome extraordinary challenges. How they’ll remember their encounter with adventurers is entirely in their hands. Oh, and they travel on a cart pulled by a giant turtle.

“Staff Mastery. When the tortle takes the Attack action and attacks with a quarterstaff it can use a bonus action to make a melee attack with the opposite end of the weapon. This attack uses the same ability modifier as the primary attack. The weapon’s damage die for this attack is a d4, and it deals bludgeoning damage. Other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from the tortle when they enter its reach. When the tortle hits a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature’s speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn. Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from the tortle even if they take the Disengage action before leaving its reach.”

If your next 5E D&D game needs a character who takes a methodical but effective approach to combat — whether you’re the DM or a player — check out the Staff Master Character Build Guide here.

*Featured image — Donatello is a fictional superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. He’s the one who wields a staff and with a dearth of tortle art from Wizards of the Coast it’s the next best thing. [Art by TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Donatello is his favorite of the Turtles.]

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