Sorry to burst your bubble, but it was in Nethack and Antient Domains of Mystery (both very old DOS games, mind you). It is a good idea that hasn't been used in a very long time. But how much damage can you do with a staff? Something like Staff Expertise would be better, greatly improving your Recuperation Time, and Damage. In the above two games, you had levels of expertise in all weapon classes, but they rose with practice, not skill points.
Staffs are good in that they do decent damage for little attribute requirement. If there are going to be weapon expertise skills, they need one for every class of weapon.
