An ornate staff often carried by magic users, and used as focusing implement for casting spells. Often decorated with gems, crystals and metal bands; or is carved from gnarled wood with knobbly/curly projections at the end. Sometimes both.
Common variants:
Straight, mostly unadorned staff with a socket on one end with an inlaid crystalline orb or shard. These can be made out wood or metal. e.g. DQ3's Mage, Dela Delon
More elaborate versions of the above also exist.
Some variants have the orb visibly floating above the socket in a gravity-defying manner.
Wooden staff with a curled 'C-shaped' crook, inlaid with a large gem or crystalline orb attached to the lower end of the crook.
Some variants have the gem or crystal floating in the middle of space instead with no visible attachments. e.g. Megumin, Roxy Migurdia
Wooden staff with a large-sized zigzag 'S' or 'Z' or 'L'-shaped crook, with a small number of bandage or fabric wrappings running along some parts of the crook and/or main body. e.g. Negi Springfield, Caster Cu Chulainn
This variant tend not to have gems or crystals.
Wooden staff with a rough, gnarly appearance, with a prominent knob (curled or burled) or one end.
This shape of staff tends to be associated with certain fantasy wizards (i.e. LotR and/or D&D inspired). The knobblier the staff, the better. e.g. Gandalf the Grey
Some variants may have the knob curling outward and downwards into a shape resembling a socket.
A gem or crystalline orb may be inlaid in this 'socket', or found visibly floating above it.
Smooth, sometimes gnarled wooden staff, with a cage-like lattice structure on one end. e.g. Gandalf the White
Tends to be made out of white ash or holly wood. May sometimes have an inlaid gem or crystal inside the lattice.
The white ones tend to be associated with Lord of the Rings (movie or movie-inspired) Wizards and Elven elders.
Tag mage_staff for examples of magical staves described above.
Avoid tagging mage_staff if the staff's 'head' is not visible or out of frame. Try not to "canon tag" just because the character is canonically known to wield a magical staff.
Generally what defines a mage staff (compared to other staves) is its shape on one end (the 'head'). So if the 'head' is not visible, the staff will resemble an ordinary staff or the pole section of a pole weapon, as there is insufficient detail to discern it as a "mage staff".
Avoid tagging mage_staff if the "stick" can be more accurately described as a wand, scepter or crosier.
