3.19 "New Ground" Episode Guide

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Staff Weapons

Summary

Staff Armed
Staff Firing

Common Tau'ri name: Staff, Staff Weapon

The Staff Weapon is a two-handed weapon, presumably of Goa'uld origin, used extensively by the Jaffa. The weapon fires an energy plasma blast that is very destructive. The blast causes severe burns to the skin and is deadly if it hits a vital part of the body, such as the chest, by shocking the organs within. It tends not to cause a great deal of external bleeding, as the wound is quickly cauterized by the heat of the blast. However, there may be bleeding beneath the surface burn.

The Staff Weapon is also effective against structures. It is used to blast holes in walls, blast locks apart, and is even at times effective against spacecraft, provided a shot can be landed. The energy wave appears to dissipate with distance. Beyond 60-70 yards, it cannot be aimed with perfect accuracy.

The Staff Weapon has a trigger switch on top of the rear section that is pushed once to arm the weapon; arming is indicated by the four-piece, clamshell-like tip opening slightly and the emission of a small energy discharge. When the trigger is pressed again, the weapon fires. The Staff Weapon can be fired repeatedly after a short recharge time. It is powered by a small vial of liquid naquadah. The Staff Weapon is less accurate than such Earth weapons as the P-90, and more unwieldy to carry, but it does not run out of ammunition, as the naquadah lasts many years.

Although the SGC has captured many Staff Weapons, SGC personnel do not use them, with the exception of Teal'c. He used the Staff Weapon extensively in his early years with the Tau'ri, but now seems equally comfortable with Earth machine guns.

Staff Cannon

Staff Cannon

The Staff Cannon is a larger, tripod-mounted version of the Staff Weapon. It emits greater energy per shot. It is used effectively against craft as well as people, mostly in defensive emplacements or in siege situations in which mobility is not required. Unlike the Staff Weapon, the Cannon is not intended to be moved or carried while being fired.

Sodan Variant of Staff Weapon

Sodan Staff

Sodan warriors carry a smaller version of the Staff Weapon. It has the same capability, at least for short range fighting, but is lighter and less awkward and thus is easier to carry. Sodan warriors in fact tend to carry them on their backs.

Staff Weapon Specs From MGM DVDs

These specifications were not shown in episodes, but were published by MGM as an insert into some DVD packaging. They are provided for interest, but can't be considered 'canon' for the show.

Height: 2m Diameter: 25mm Mass: 4.5kg Range: Can be fired accurately up to 40m, with blast causing thermal shock and first or second degree burns. Less precise within maximum range of 70m where minor burns and injuries can be received.

Stargate References

Teal'c Turns on Apophis

The Staff Weapon has played a role in many Stargate episodes. Here are a few highlights.

Earth encountered its first Staff Weapon on the very first trip of Earth humans through the Stargate. During an altercation with Ra's Jaffa, Daniel Jackson stepped in front of a Staff Weapon blast meant for Jack O'Neill and was fatally wounded. He was brought back to life in a sarcophagus (Stargate: The Movie).

A year later, when Apophis and his Jaffa came through the gate to an unsuspecting SGC, they used Staff Weapons to wipe out the military personnel guarding the gate room (1.01 "Children of the Gods Part 1"). As First Prime to Apophis, Teal'c carried a Staff Weapon when O'Neill, Daniel, and Carter encountered him for the first time. In a major display of trust, Teal'c threw his Staff Weapon to O'Neill to use against his own Jaffa comrades. Using the Staffs, O'Neill and Teal'c killed the Jaffa guards and blasted a hole through the wall so that everyone could escape. On their run back to the gate, they fired the weapons at attacking Death Gliders, but to no effect (1.02 "Children of the Gods Part 2").

Soon after, Teal'c's Staff Weapon played a role in a significant moment of team bonding when O'Neill urged a reluctant Daniel Jackson to blast and disable Thor's Hammer with it. Daniel did so, freeing Teal'c but destroying the Hammer and a chance for his wife to be freed of Amaunet (1.10 "Thor's Hammer).

Staff Weapon Wound
Liquid Naquadah Power
Teal'c Kills Sha're

In an alternate reality, a General Jack O'Neill was killed by a Staff Cannon fired by an angry Teal'c. This bought some time for Daniel to escape that SCG and make his way back to his own reality, although not before Teal'c shot him in the arm. Daniel's wound provided a close-up glimpse of the serious burns caused by the weapon (1.20 "There But For The Grace Of God").

While defending the entrance to the control room aboard one of Apophis's motherships bound for Earth, Daniel was so badly wounded by a staff blast that both he and O'Neill believed it would be fatal. Daniel convinced O'Neill to leave him behind. Daniel managed to drag himself to the sarcophagus on board the ship and heal himself, after which he made his way back to the SGC (2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2").

O'Neill dismantled a Staff Weapon to get to its green liquid naquadah power supply, which he used to boost the power of the SGC Stargate so that he could dial the Asgard galaxy. Even a small vial of the liquid made a large difference to the gate's power output (2.16 "The Fifth Race").

The Jaffa of Hathor used Staff Cannons mounted on turreted towers to fire on SGC personnel, killing some and slightly wounding Daniel with debris. These emplacements were taken out in a triumphant death glider flight by Teal'c and General Hammond (3.01 "Into The Fire Part 2").

To save Daniel from death at Amaunet's hand, Teal'c had to shoot her host Sha're in the chest with his Staff Weapon, which killed her. This was a poignant and ironic end to her life, since Teal'c had been one of the Jaffa who had taken her for Apophis in the first place. Teal'c showed great remorse, but Daniel, having already heard a message of forgiveness from Sha're, told Teal'c he had done the right thing (3.10 "Forever In A Day").

O'Neill was purposely wounded in the leg with a staff blast when the team was held prisoner on Netu. Martouf warned that even though the wound appeared cauterized, there could be bleeding beneath the surface, so Daniel used his bandana to apply pressure to the wound (3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2").

Teal'c Fires Blind
Rak'nor Fires
Teal'c Recuperates

Illustrating that Staff Weapons are not 100% reliable, Teal'c was injured when his Staff Weapon backfired as he fired in cramped conditions against the ground. His symbiote was badly injured, which in turn prevented it from curing his blindness caused by an enemy weapon. He later had to fire his weapon without being able to see well what he was firing at (3.19 "New Ground").

While advising rebel Jaffa in their war against the Goa'uld System Lords, O'Neill orchestrated a direct comparison between the Staff Weapon and Earth's P-90 automatic rifle. A Staff Weapon expert, Rak'nor, was able to hit a large log hanging stationary 60 to 70 yards away in two out of three tries. With the P-90, Carter was able to hit the log consistently, while it was swinging. She cut it in half after just a few seconds of automatic fire. Then, with a single shot, she hit the rope holding the log, severing it. The Jaffa were amazed by the capabilities of the weapon and of the female warrior. Carter noted the weapon could do the same thing at five times that range. O'Neill declared the Staff Weapon one of terror, the P-90 one of war (5.18 "The Warrior").

The SGC used a UAV to "paint" targets on two Staff Cannon emplacements that were blocking SG-1 and SG-3's their arrival on Latona, home of the Sentinel. One at a time, SGC missiles went through the gate, soared into the air, then descended again according to the guidance provided by the UAV. Both Staff Cannons were destroyed, allowing the mission to repair the Sentinel to proceed (5.20 "The Sentinel").

When SG-1 retreated through the Stargate into the SGC Gate room, Teal'c was hit in the abdomen with a staff blast fired by a pursuing Jaffa. When Fraiser began to treat him, he had no pulse. The shot hit Teal'c right in his symbiote pouch, and, since it was then empty of a larval Goa'uld, passed through and injured his spine and surrounding soft tissue. With the help of Tretonin, Teal'c had to endure normal physical therapy in order to recover physically. He had a harder time recovering emotionally, and was helped along there when he rescued Bra'tac and Rya'c and fought alongside them (7.04 "Orpheus").

The deadliness of the Staff Weapon was never so tragically clear as when Dr. Janet Fraiser was blasted in the chest by a Jaffa who shot her while she was treating a wounded soldier on P3X-666. Fraiser was killed instantly by the single blast to the chest, as Daniel watched in shock (7.18 "Heroes Part 2").

On his way to rescue Ishta, alone and greatly outnumbered by Jaffa, Teal'c lashed two Staff Weapons together so that he could fire in two opposite directions at once. The tactic was effective (8.09 "Sacrifices").

The SGC first encountered a new type of Staff Weapon, the Sodan variant, when the team visited the Sodan home planet. The Sodan attacked SG-1, and Mitchell was wounded in the side by one of their Staff Weapons. The weapons appear to be just as effective as the larger Jaffa model (9.08 "Babylon").

A Staff Cannon was used to protect Ba'al's mothership on P2M-903. The single gun held off SGC forces, preventing them from ascending the hill to rescue Teal'c, Ba'al's prisoner. Mitchell rushed the hill alone and took out the cannon and its operator, removing the threat (9.14 "Stronghold").

While pursuing Arkad alone, Teal'c was hit by several staff blasts fired by Arkad's Jaffa. Perhaps because he was wearing his Jaffa armor, the blasts were not immediately fatal. After fighting and defeating Arkad, Teal'c survived long enough to received treatment and recover at the SGC (10.17 "Talion").

Episodes

Related Characters

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--Michelle 21:19, 24 April 2007 (PDT)

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