Mustrum Ridcully has a
staff like all wizards (two actually, if you count the
faculty). He seldom keeps it
charged: "Anything that can't be dealt with by a couple of whacks from six feet of oak is probably
impervious to magic as well". His pointy hat is customised, having struts that can be extended and extra cloth rolled up which can make it into a tent, as well as a lot of little pockets, a spirit stove, three days worth of iron rations and a small bottle of
potent alcohol in the tip. A
caution - the small bottle you find in his hat might be wow-wow sauce, which should be kept away from open flames as it can quite easily
immolate a small cottage.
Despite not apparently understanding anything done in the High Energy Magic building he takes a keen interest in all the goings on there. Computer technicians everywhere will note with glum resignation that even on a medieval world on the back of four elephants standing on a turtle swimming through space you always get the CEO poking into what's going on.
Though he sounds like a fearful oik he is actually very intelligent - He just prefers to have everyone explain things to him. He never changes his mind about anything, and he almost deliberately misunderstands things, so that it takes several minutes to explain new concepts to him. Anything people are still trying to explain after two minutes is obviously important, whereas if they give up before then it probably didn't matter. Like Granny Weatherwax he beleives that the rules he lays down for others do not apply to himself, and so he manages to run the Unseen University by doing what he likes. Because what he likes has nothing to do with anyone else the university can spin along happily, being largely run by The Bursar when his mind is occupying the same reality as his body.