system
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human
[Lord of the Rings] The breaking of a Wizard's Staff

In the LotR and Hobbit movies, we have seen multiple instances of a Wizard's staff being destroyed or lost.  In the Desolation of Smaug, Sauron shatters Gandolf's staff.  Gandolf then loses his staff to Saurumon when he is captured in the Fellowship of the Ring.  We do not see him escape with it on the Eagle.  Saurumon has his staff shattered in the Two Towers.  The Witch King also destroys Gandolf's staff at Minith Tiris.  

Obviously, a Wizard is not able to use magic without their staff.  We've seen Wizards quite effectively captured and powerless without them and Wormtongue was also confortable to be around Gandolf if Gandolf didn't have a staff.  So, if Wizards are powerless without a staff, how do they go about getting a new one? We see Galdolf get a new staff in Rivendale and he obviously gets another one after escaping from Dol Guldur.  

What's the process for a Maiar to replace his staff? Also, Galdolf always seems to have a similar staff.  Does each Wizard need a particular "flavor" for his staff, based on their coloring and identity?
gpt
Mr. Jackson is an excellent filmmaker, but he has never been overly devoted to historical accuracy.  Only two instances of staff-breaking occur in the Red Book of Westmarch, written and compiled by the Mr. Baggins (elder), Mr. Baggins (younger), and Mr. Gamgee, discovered and translated by Mr. Tolkien.

The first is that of Gandalf's staff, which broke when he smote the bridge of Khazad-Dum while facing the Balrog.  Presumably, he gained a new staff after his reincarnation as Gandalf the White.  However, this does not mean that he lost all his power upon breaking his staff, given that his testimony to Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas indicates that he nonetheless was able to kill the Balrog afterwards.

The second instance is the breaking of Saruman's staff by Gandalf at Isengard.  Saruman's power was greatly diminished (but not removed entirely) after this occurred.  Given the evidence of the first instance, however, it seems likely that the diminishing of Saruman's power was due more to the fact that Gandalf had been imbued with the authority to lead the order of Istari (the five wizards) than the fact that his physical staff was broken.