why do we expect the trolley to kill anyone? some of those guys can be bitten by dragons and survive, they'll surely stop the trolley or be able to rip out of the rope on tipe
or the rogue can just undo the knots really fast
this post was submitted on 20 May 2026
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Let the people die.
The staff of the Magi explodes when its destroyed in a 30' radius.
The people are dead either way, the staff can be saved.
I think the Retributive Strike has to be an intentional action by the attuned wielder. I don't think damage from external sources triggers it, even if it breaks the staff.
Love the one party member in the middle who's just smiling and living their best life.
He knows he's only got a few more moments to live, and he's going to enjoy those moments.
That’s the rogue. They’ve already slipped their bonds but are waiting until the trolley is blocking the mage’s path to the rod so they can steal it.
IIRC, When a staff of the magi snaps, it explodes. So the party will die either way. You're just gonna have to decide whether you want a shiny item or not :P
I have spare the dying prepared, we’re good.
Fireball.
How is th--
Fireball.
Don't staves of the magi explode spectacularly when destroyed?
That party might be done for either way.
That is, in fact, the joke.
But you can't destroy artifacts/magic items and I don't see the Trolley being attuned to the staff and able to use the Retributive Strike Action.
You CAN destroy magic items. And this one has special rules for being broken, none of which mention having to be attuned to trigger it.
And this one has special rules for being broken, none of which mention having to be attuned to trigger it.
"Retributive Strike" is a magic property (just like 'Power Strike' and its Spell List). You can't activate or benefit from magic properties on non-attuned Magic Items/Artifact.
So if you break the Staff of Magi without using that Action, well it becomes just a broken Staff.
Also thanks for teaching me that one can indeed can break magic items, that non-destructible nature only applies to Artifacts.
It can be argued that you are not benefiting from the magic property in this instance, but instead suffering from it - in which case, it is valid for it to explode when run over.
If you try to use it as a bomb without attuning it, then it will fail.
Depends on what spells I have prepared
Cast Wall of Force in front of the trolley destroying the trolley, and saving everyone. Then I take the staff.
Trick question, the lever was actually an immovable rod with a cap glued over the button.
*Sovereign Glued over the button
What would Sheldor do?
It depends. Did I learn Gentle Repose, and is that staff worth more than 2,500 gp?
It depends because official magic item prices are vague and bad, but Sane Magic Item Pricing has items that go up to 165,000gp and considers the staff of the magi too powerful to price.
It's an artifact level magic item. It's worth considerably more than 2500 gp. Probably closer to 100,000-200,000 gp