When was the Hither-Thither Staff introduced in D&D

dungeons-and-dragonshistory-of-gamingmagic-items

In the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, one of the magic items the characters come across over the course of the film is a Hither-Thither Staff. This wasn't invented for the film; it exists in D&D 5e online resources, but the thing that immediately caught my attention was the way it was portrayed in the film: to put it simply, the movie version is basically a Portal Gun reskinned as a magic staff.

This makes me wonder. How long has this item been a part of D&D? Was it introduced before or after October 2007, when Portal was released, and if before, did the item's description or abilities change significantly after Portal came out?

Best Answer

The Hither-Thither Staff was created for the movie.

The Hither-Thither Staff was published on D&D Beyond as part of the marketing hype for the movie in the article Honor Among Thieves Legendary Items, which states:

The items in this collection were created for the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Each one can tilt the balance of power in any D&D game, so use these items with caution.

[...]

Hither-Thither Staff

Staff, Legendary


This walking stick has a brilliant gemstone fitted at the top...

So it was created after October 2007, with the article being published and movie being released both on March 31, 2023.