Reposting here from Reddit, as I want an answer but also want to support using Lemmy going forward.
As the title. The text for Fused Staff says this:
When the item is in staff form, you can Cast the Spells from the staff and benefit from any other abilities the staff grants.
And (for example) the description for the Staff of Evocation says this:
While wielding the staff, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks to identify evocation magic.
So I guess the question is, are you considered to be wielding the staff while it's fused and so get the passive bonuses in weapon form? Or do they only apply when you switch it to staff form?
I haven’t looked at the feat before but I would say no, because:
“When the item is in staff form, you can Cast the Spells from the staff and benefit from any other abilities the staff grants.”
The fact that they called out “when in staff form” you can use “any other abilities” implies that you can’t use them when it’s not in staff form.
I don’t think it’d be game-breaking to allow the passives in any form but it doesn’t seem to be RAW.
That makes sense to me, and I had seen the part about being in staff form. I just wasn't sure if the fusion meant that you were wielding the staff even in weapon form.
Thanks!