Talk:Medicine Stick (3.5e Equipment)

Ratings

Blocked Rating

The bluez in the dungeon favors this article and rated it 4 of 4!

This rating refers to a substantially different version of the article, or concerns mentioned in it have already been addressed.Good because the Witch Doctor is good. Also to adress criticism: this is obviously a weapon heavily tied to the Witch Doctor class. Yes, it's just a quarterstaff with a spear end. But it's also one of the two foci for a Witch Doctor, and the distinctive sign that the one wielding it is a Witch Doctor. This is what it makes it special. Anyone can have a quarterstaff with a spear end, only a Witch Doctor can have a medicine stick. Also it's very appropriate for a low-level player, as the Witch Doctor class isn't a melee-oriented class, so I think that only a low-level character would really use it as a weapon, in a last attempt to save himself/herself when he/she doesn't have any spell left and the fighter is down.

	Eiji-kun dislikes this article and rated it 1 of 4.
	This is just a martial quarterstaff, x3 crit does not a feat make. If it were just that, it would be bland, but the lack of crafting/buying is unusual. It's not like it has any special powers.

	Undead Knave dislikes this article and rated it 1 of 4.
	I don't know why it can't be bought, but that's a minor complaint. More importantly, requiring an exotic weapon proficiency for a quarterstaff you can through is just stupid.

	Quey likes this article and rated it 3 of 4.
	Balanced, flavorful, and the rules make sense. Don't know why this weapon is so special, though (why can it not be purchased, exactly? what makes it different? can it be made, like a quarterstaff? sounds simple enough..).

A new spin

The author hasn't been on the wiki since 2010. I really like his witch doctor class, which had even some follow-ups in the form of feats. Having said that, this weapon lacks any impact (despite being a bludgeoning weapon), something that makes it worthy of being an actual exotic weapon (also the fact that it can't be bought, and so neither crafted, is strange). Reading the witch doctor class I noticed that he probably came up later with the idea of a custom exotic weapon, because on the class' article the medicine stick (or staff, as it is also referred to) isn't a weapon per se, just a stick that acts as a club or spear depending on which end is used. That would be right if this article didn't exist, but, unless we interpret that the class refers to someting else as a medicine stick and this article is just another weapon with the same name, as it is the witch doctor isn't even proficient in its own custom weapon.

I ask for permission to change the witch doctor class to give it proficiency with the medicine stick and to give the medicine stick a reason to be an exotic weapon in its own right, following the custom of adding special actions to exotic weapons. --The bluez in the dungeon (talk) 10:00, 7 February 2022 (UTC)