History Main / SimpleStaff

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': There was a Jedi Master who used a SimpleStaff (somewhat like Yoda) with which he could ''block [[LaserBlade Light Sabers]]'' (admittedly, by using [[FunctionalMagic The Force]]).

* The default WeaponOfChoice for the default Protestant Blessed in ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' is a simple stick, ''always'' referred to as being made of hickory. For a game where customizing the PlayerCharacter with realistic equipment, strengths, and weaknesses was such a big draw, the repeated reference to whackin' the walkin' dead in the head with a SimpleStaff got tiresome.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has Wrackstaffs, the {{BFS}} equivalent of the SimpleStaff. They also have the regular kind, for when you cannot afford a Wrackstaff... or make it clear to everyone that you're an Exalted, as most Artifact weapons are too heavy for normal humans to use properly.

* Venom from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is an assassin who kills people with a ''pool cue''. Not so much a SimpleStaff as an unconventional spear.

** Jade uses a staff in a few of her attacks starting with ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and it later becomes her weapon fighting style in Deception.
** Raiden uses one for his Weapon style in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]''

** SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' has ChineseGirl Litchi Faye Ling using a much simpler staff, but not-so-very-simple, since the staff can levitate and smack people around on something of ''telekinesis''.

In Eastern media, the staff is often a Kung Fu weapon, used with much grace and skill (and choreography). Combined with the distance afforded by its long reach, martial artist monks have long been able to smack around roomfuls of {{Mook}}s completely untouched. As Western audiences rightly recognize [[RuleOfCool the awesomeness of this]], it's spreading to Western media as well. The most famous user of the staff in Eastern media is Sun Wukong from the seminal ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', and thus most staff-users reference Wukong in some way, especially through his not-so-simple staff, the TelescopingStaff, a related trope. In Japan, staff fighting is a recognised combat sport called UsefulNotes/{{Kendo}}, a non-lethal variant of Japanese sword-fighting.

* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': Staffs are the signature weapon of the trader class. Made of ebony and tipped with brass caps, they are used both for self-defense and as narrative tools; carvings and inscriptions on the caps tell the life story of the wielder. If a trader is exiled from the fold, the caps of their staff must remain unadorned.

* ''Literature/CircleVerse'': Staffs are the signature weapon of the trader class. Made of ebony and tipped with brass caps, they are used both for self-defense and as narrative tools; carvings and inscriptions on the caps tell the life story of the wielder. If a trader is exiled from the fold, the caps of their staff must remain unadorned.

* Another Leafmen weapon of choice in ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'', both Little John and [[BadassPreacher Friar Tuck]] are shown to be proficient in combat with a quarterstaff.

* Master Oogway's staff in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', which is passed onto Master Shifu after his death.

* Ever since his appearance in the original ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', Sun Wukong (also known in the Japanese translation as Son Goku) has used a magical collapsible staff called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi_Jingu_Bang Ruyi Jingu Bang]] (or "Nyoi Kinko Bou" to most Japanese speakers/anime fans). It appeared as via the Japanese "Nyoi Bou" reading in some adaptations like ''Franchise/DragonBall'', which the dub called a "Power Pole".
* This trope appears in Robert A. Heinlein's ''Literature/SixthColumn'', written back in the early 1940s. In that novel, the "priest's staves" were in reality AppliedPhlebotinum, both weapons and tools. They took the form of an ornately carved and gilded staff (that hid the controls in its gilding) surmounted by a cube of six colors (that concealed the generators/projectors) A backpack hidden under their clothing hid the power source.
* There was a Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Jedi Master who used a SimpleStaff (somewhat like Yoda) with which he could ''block [[LaserBlade Light Sabers]]'' (admittedly, by using [[FunctionalMagic The Force]]).
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'',

* Apropos in ''Literature/SirAproposOfNothing'' uses a number of weapons, but none so often as his staff, which he has because of a lame leg.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** Mat Cauthon uses a staff as his WeaponOfChoice before switching to a BladeOnAStick. He was trained by his father and is good enough with it that early in the series, he beats down two expert swordsmen in a demonstration bout. At once. While convalescing from a serious curse/illness. (The instructor of those swordsmen then reminds the class that the greatest swordsman in history was only ever beaten once... by a farmer with a quarterstaff.)
** TheDragon Ishamael wields a black staff in his fight with Rand at the end of ''The Great Hunt''. Since he's drawing directly on [[TheDarkSide the power]] of [[TheAntiGod the Dark One]], he can ''stab'' Rand with it, dealing him his first WoundThatWillNotHeal. Rand still wins the duel.
** Moiraine carries an ornate staff when traveling and often gestures with it when channeling the One Power. This causes Egwene to mistake it for a MagicStaff, but Moiraine explains that it just helps her concentrate.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Arstan Whitebeard demonstrates his OldSoldier nature by casually defeating an [[GiantMook enormous]] and experienced mercenary who is armed with a sword, while Arstan himself uses only a quarterstaff.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': "Oh me liddle stick o' wood, me liddle stick o' wood/ Whacks here'n'there'n'everywhere, no weapon's half so good ..."
* In Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'', an Irish Partisan defeats an English Noble in a duel, armed only with a staff. Afterwards, he advises his friend to "...get a bloody great piece of wood, and hit him over and over until he dies."
* Neatly subverted in ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'': Jon-Tom's weapon appears to be a simple staff until he presses a button on the top, at which point a foot-long blade shoots out of the other end.
* In the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' a new order of warrior monks is formed that uses quarterstaffs as their weapons. The reasons are mainly political. The order is to be used to fight in the streets of Alexandria against street gangs and religious fanatics. If they use swords then it will look like soldiers slaughtering unarmed civilians. However, if they use staffs then it is just another street brawl between club-wielding religious factions which is a daily occurrence in Alexandria. When the riots begin, the street mobs are massacred by ranks of highly disciplined and highly trained staff wielders.

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Royal guards tell Gandalf that he must leave behind all weapons if he wishes to meet the king, but Gandalf counters, "You wouldn't deny an old man his walking stick, would you?". Of course, his walking stick is actually a MagicStaff, which he uses to break Grí­ma Wormtongue's spell over the king. Though what he actually appears to do with it is to magically darken the room and simply knock Wormtongue out, so he can speak to the King directly. In the book, Théoden isn't under an actual magical spell, but simply under the thumb of a twisted advisor who exploits his fears and uses subtle poisons to make him feel weak and powerless.
* For order-mages in the ''[[Literature/SagaOfRecluce Recluce Saga]]'', staves aren't simply the weapon of choice, they're the only possible weapon. Bladed implements like swords, knives, and the like (basically, anything designed with death and destruction in mind) cause pain and discomfort in an order mage since these things are linked with chaos magic. The staff is inherently non-lethal in nature and can be used defensively more or less indefinitely. For this reason, most order-mages wind up carrying a staff (or in one case, a truncheon). While the staff can be used to injure or kill as well (and does have the noted pain-inducing effects in the order-mage wielding it), it is not specifically designed for this purpose, and is thus comparatively safe to use, whereas some order-mages feel ill just ''holding'' a sword.
* ''Literature/RazorlandTrilogy'': During ''Horde'', Tegan adopts a staff as her signature weapon, since she isn't permitted to travel in Company D without knowing how to fight.
* Dueling canes in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' are in essence staves about the length of an arming sword, often with a crossguard thrown in. Since Allomancy makes metal weapons impractical among they nobility, this is a fairly popular weapon.
* In the novels of Tamora Pierce's ''Literature/CircleVerse'', staffs are the signature weapon of the trader class. Made of ebony and tipped with brass caps, they are used both for self-defense and as narrative tools; carvings and inscriptions on the caps tell the life story of the wielder. If a trader is exiled from the fold, the caps of their staff must remain unadorned.

* ''Literature/{{Edgedancer}}'' (a novella of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Lift's Shardweapon first [[MorphWeapon manifests]] as a metal rod since she's never used a blade in her life, she only needs it to [[spoiler:parry another shardblade]], and the Spren that manifests it really doesn't want to be used to stab people.
* In ''The Impossible Virgin'', a Literature/ModestyBlaise novel, Modesty and Willie have a workout session early on where they use quarter-staffs and discuss the fact that they're unlikely ever to have occasion to use them in a real fight. The final showdown with the villains happens in a situation that precludes the use of guns, so the villains are armed with knives, and Modesty and Willie are armed with quarter-staffs improvised out of stretcher poles.
* In Arthur C. Clarke's ''The Trigger'', the secret service train in staffs to be used as non-lethal weapons when within the area where gunpowder will spontaneously explode.

* In the novels of [[Creator/TamoraPierce]]'s ''Literature/CircleVerse'', staffs are the signature weapon of the trader class. Made of ebony and tipped with brass caps, they are used both for self-defense and as narrative tools; carvings and inscriptions on the caps tell the life story of the wielder. If a trader is exiled from the fold, the caps of their staff must remain unadorned.

* In the novels of ''Creator/TamoraPierce'''s ''Literature/CircleVerse'', staffs are the signature weapon of the trader class. Made of ebony and tipped with brass caps, they are used both for self-defense and as narrative tools; carvings and inscriptions on the caps tell the life story of the wielder. If a trader is exiled from the fold, the caps of their staff must remain unadorned.

* ''[[Film/StarWars Star Wars]]''

* Prince Akeem from ''Film/ComingToAmerica'' (played by Eddie Murphy) is seen [[ChekhovsSkill training in staff-fighting]] at the beginning of the film. So, later when he's working in Queens at a fast-food restaurant and [[Creator/SamuelLJackson a thug]] tries to rob the place with a shotgun while he's mopping, he unscrews the handle and beats him down.
* In the original ''Film/TheBeastmaster'' movie Seth and Tal use these while posing as simple travelers.
* Used in ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' as Little John's preferred weapon. He duels Robin with them, but the staffs are so cheaply made that they keep breaking, eventually resorting to just hitting each other on the knuckles.
* In ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'', Dick Van Dyke's character waxes lyrical about "Me Old Bamboo", though the song itself contrasts the old bamboo with other similar implements, including (by name) walking sticks, poles, and quarterstaves. It's not entirely clear how the bamboo is different, though it is apparently capable of making people applaud, cheer, and/or go daft.

* Becoming greatly outnumbered by several dozen rogue agent Smiths, Neo improvises a staff from a steel pole pulled from its concrete anchor in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', walloping Smiths like baseballs and keeping those Smiths at bay until twice as many arrive to pull the fight to a weak stalemate.
* Rey's weapon of choice for much of ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. Likewise with [[BlindWeaponmaster Chirrut]] in ''Film/RogueOne''
* Jaylah wields one in ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'', though it can also be converted into a sniper rifle.
* In ''Film/BeyondSherwoodForest'', the quarterstaff is the weapon of choice for both Little John and Marian. In fact, the adult Marian's first scene shows her practising with a quarterstaff against a training dummy.
* In all three ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Rings]]'' films, [[BigGood Gandalf]] carries a staff. It's technically a magical staff, but he [[MundaneUtility tends to use it more as a weapon]] than as a method of casting spells.

* In the ''Series/{{Beastmaster}}'' series, this is Dar's preferred weapon.
* Averted in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Giles wants to train Buffy on the quarterstaff. Buffy is not impressed: "Giles, 20th Century? I'm not going to be fighting Friar Tuck." Giles insists, claiming that it will take "countless hours of rigorous training" to master. They face off and Buffy makes short work of Giles, knocking him flat on the ground.

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'''s sidekick, Gabrielle, fights with a quarterstaff.

* Ben from ''Series/{{Lost}}'' prefers a telescopic baton (a homage to ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'', whose writer also writes for Lost), but he's not above using a gun if it's handy.

* Andromeda features the Force Lance. Among its ''[[SwissArmyWeapon many]]'' features is the ability to expand into a full-length staff.
* Ryouga Hakua/[=AbaRed=] from ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' has a staff with a Tyrannosaurus head, which not only functions as a staff, but the head can munch and eat his enemies. He's still a good guy though.
* Auggie's walking staff in ''Series/{{Covert Affairs}}''.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''
** Sara Lance aka The Canary uses a staff that can disconnect to form batons as her primary weapon (though was shown to be skilled with other weapons as well). She also twice uses an improvised staff, firstly taking the wooden door frame and later a metal pipe, to fight someone who'd attacked her and Oliver when they were out of costume.
** When Laurel Lance becomes the Black Canary she also uses a staff, specifically to honor her sister...and learns she sucks at it. So she switches to DualTonfas, which she is quite good at instead. Specifically she uses the [=PR24=] side-handle baton, perhaps to honor her father who is an SCPD captain.
** [[ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} Slade Wilson]], while preferring swords, also showed a fondness for the escrima sticks variant to use while training on the island, and taught Oliver how to fight using them, though Oliver himself mostly sticks to archery or using his bow as a club.

** As the popular song reminds us, ''A Wizard's Staff Has a Knob on the End''. So they're not quite "simple" staves.

%%What game is this?* Monkey, being based on [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]], wields a staff that's a bit less simple than others, as it's collapsible and shoots plasma blasts.

* ''Manga/{{Gamaran}}'': the series has a couple of sadly misbegotten staff users in the same team of the Muhou School: the first, Tagosaku Yamashita, tries to attack Iori with his personal bo staff (has a spiral pattern and edged ends) but is quickly stopped and killed. Subverted by his master Maniwa, who is a bojutsu practitioner but employs a spear with the same movements.

* In ''Fanfic/SenkiZesshouSymphogearWXDUnlimited'', [[Literature/{{Worm}} Taylor Hebert]] uses the [[Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear Relic]] [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Ryugi Jingi Bang]]. You get three guesses what her WeaponOfChoice is.

* When Lucario uses [[BadWithTheBone Bone Rush]] in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, it looks like a cross between this and a [[Franchise/StarWars light]][[LaserBlade saber]].

* When [[spoiler: Kuu Fei]] makes a Pactio with Negi in the ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' manga, her artifact is a replica of the [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Ruyi Jingu Bang]].

* Husky in Manga/PlusAnima. He occasionally fights with it (he's good), but it's used more as a "Cooro punishing stick".

* This is Timmy Turner's weapon of choice in ''FanFic/BurningBlack'', due to his aversion to taking life. If it hadn't been destroyed, he'd still be using the wooden quarterstaff/training bo that Caleb gave him when he was ten. It pulled double duty as his MagicStaff for helping to direct his spells. Steps are being taken to return it to him.
* In Fanfic/TeenageJinchurikiShinobi:

%% * Artie Bristles from ''FanFic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic''.

* Monkey, being based on [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]], wields a staff that's a bit less simple than others, as it's collapsible and shoots plasma blasts.

* Franchise/FinalFantasy typically has their staves as the [[MagicStaff magical variety]] rather than martial but it does have a few exceptions.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'', some of the Honor Guards are seen with staves, and in a cutscene, they use them to beat down some Grunts that got too excited. Unfortunately, they're not used as weapons in actual gameplay.
* Eagle from ''StreetFighter'' uses escrima sticks in battle and got an expanded moveset for them once he migrated into VideoGame/CapcomVs territory. Rolento also uses a stick, although it is more of a command baton rather than a weapon. Falke from Street Fighter V also uses a staff that she uses as a medium to channel Psycho Power.

* ''VideoGame/DarkAgeofCamelot'' has the Friar, a hybrid healer-tank which specializes in the use of the quarterstaff. They also wear armored monastic robes, leading them to usually be mistaken for a SquishyWizard in PVP. HilarityEnsues whenever a stealther tries to backstab one.

* Koei's [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors various Warriors games]] have a number of characters that use staves as their weapon of choice. Of special note are Dynasty Warriors' Pang Tong who can momentarily surf on his staff through the air, and [[VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi Warriors Orochi 2's]] Sun Wukong, who can annihilate anything within seconds with his at max level.

** In both ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' and ''Vegas'', pool cues can be used as staff weapons.

* The aforementioned Wukong appear also in several MOBA games like ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' and ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}''. And yes, both cases, he comes with his staff as his main repertoire. His staff is also referenced in ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'', while Wukong himself doesn't appear in the game, there's an item called 'Monkey King Bar', which is obviously a reference to his staff. Eventually, this Wukong becomes PromotedToPlayable in ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'' and he's still carrying the staff, which becomes doubly ironic that he has his Monkey King Bar already, but still can buy a new one.

* VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo when a staff weapon appears it's either a Bo staff, a Quarter staff or a [[MundaneMadeAwesome flag-pole.]]
* Quarterstaves in ''Videogame/PillarsOfEternity''. The Weapon Focus talent (+6 accuracy) associated with them also supports Unarmed attacks, making quarterstaves the perfect secondary long-ranged melee option for Monks. The Greenstone Staff, one of the Soulbound items introduced in the first expansion, grants so many special powers in addition to great combat stats that it blurs the line between this and MagicStaff. The first expansion also introduces a new Monk companion Zahua who can make good use of it.

* VideoGame/{{Furi}}: The Chain, the first boss, wields a plain iron staff as his weapon.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Malack, cleric of Nergal, from ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' carried a staff on his person at all times. It was a magical artefact that contained many spells, including [[spoiler:several that benefitted him as a vampire, such as Protection from Daylight, and another that allowed him to speed up the vampirisation process in others]]. Ultimately, Roy broke it, but not before [[spoiler:the negative energy spirit in control of Durkon's body was able to reverse engineer the vampire-raising spell from it, which caused problems in the race to prevent his domination of the dwarven Council of Clans]].

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Sara Lance, The Canary, uses a staff that can disconnect to form batons as her primary weapon (though was shown to be skilled with other weapons as well). She also twice uses an improvised staff, firstly taking the wooden door frame and later a metal pipe, to fight someone who'd attacked her and Oliver when they were out of costume. Slade Wilson, while preferring swords, also showed a fondness for the escrima sticks variant to use while training on the island, and taught Oliver how to fight using them, though Oliver himself mostly sticks to archery or using his bow as a club.
** When Laurel becomes the Black Canary she also uses a staff, specifically to honor her sister...and learns she sucks at it. So she switches to DualTonfas, which she is quite good at instead.