In a recent facebook exchange, it was decided that a good name for a magical quarterstaff would be Thonk! That could have been where it all ended, but I decided to write up Thonk for Ragnarok: Age of Wolves, the upcoming Ragnarok: The Great Winter and for Runequest!

Note: The Header Image is from Amanda Kahl's terrific Age of Night web-comic, which you can find online here! Or in special Dead Tree format here!

Anyway here goes with Thonk, three ways:

Thonk - Magical Staff

Description: Crafted by the galdrmadr Skuli Hound for his apprentice, the Trollborn sorcerer known as Rurik the Grey, Thonk has yett to go to its intended owner, who is currently serving as mage to the renowned hero Hela Halftroll in her attempts to loot the tombs of restless draugar in the Barrowlands. When Rurik returns, Skuli hopes that the adventurous young mage will settle down and do him a favor or two in exchange for Thonk.

Thonk is a heavy staff, as one might expect of a weapon and implement meant for trollish hands, but it is no crudely hacked tree limb. Split from the hardened heart of a fire-killed ash, its smoky grey wood is tough and close-grained, and redolent with the remembrance of fire. Capped with heavy bronze finials, it is capable of stout blows in the hands of any wielder, but the runes embossed in the  strengthening bands that run along the lenght of the staff confer its considerable magical properties.

Ragnarok: Age of Wolves Version:

Thonk

Weapon Stats: Class 3, +1 to hit, -1 OK

Equip to one of your Named Characters, altering their Base To Hit and Outright Kill values as noted above

Special: Magical Abilities:

- In the hands of a mage, Thonk may strike in melee and, instead of doing damage as noted above, knock its target back one square (1 inch) where it falls prone. 

- If Thonk's wielder is a mage, he gains the ability to summon a Fire Elemental, as if he knows the spell.

R:ItB:  this weapon is an artifact worth 2 Victory Points if it is carried from the Barrowlands before the end of the game.

Ragnarok: The Great Winter Version:

Thonk

Thonk functions as a two-handed club in games terms, with the following Attributes:

- It grants Reach 1, does +4 Damage (2 of which are magical damage), has the Damage types: Stun, Crushing, but may not be thrown.

- It has the Weapon Quality: Balanced, allowing its wielder to attack first in cases of Initiative ties or attacks with the same Reach.

- If the wielder attunes Thonk (by permanently dedicating a Fate Point to the Attunement), the quarterstaff confers the ability to summon and command a fire elemental. The elemental grows in power along with the wielder. Dedicatiing one Fate Point allows the Thonk to summon a Rank 1 Fire Elemental. Further Fate Points so Dedicated increases the Rank of the elemental to a Maximuum of Rank 3. Summoning and commanding the elemental works in all ways as the spell.

Runequest Version:

Thonk

Thonk is a magical Quarterstaff, Sacred to no god or cult, but bearing the runes for Darkness, Fire, and Magic, and possesses the following stats and properties:

- Thonk has a permanent Bludgeon 2 spell effect, doing +2 Damage, and adding +10% to hit.

- Thonk contains a level 3 Fire elemental, which may be summoned and controlled by the wielder as if she had the Sorcery spell Conjure/ Dismiss Salamander 3. Unless the wielder is a sorcerer, she cannot magically Manipulate the spell as a sorcerer could.