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View Full Version : $3.5$ Supa-Chargin' Yo' Wandz



Deth Muncher
2009-10-05, 07:33 PM
The other thread on wands made me wonder, is there any way to overcharge your wand? I mean, for example:

Bob the Fighter has taken MASSIVE DAMAGE, and is now at 1HP. He draws a wand of CLW. That piddly little thing isn't going to do a damn bit of good, since Big T is coming after him next round. Is there any way to coax more than one charge out of a wand at once to get more goodness?

I realize that if this exists, it'd be pretty freaking broken (like, oh, I'll just deplete all 50 charges of my wand of Scorching Ray), but that's an extreme example. Like, in the first example, is there a way to get, oh, 2 charges out at once, healing 2d8+10?

Flickerdart
2009-10-05, 07:35 PM
No, but there are Artificer builds that revolve around dual wielding wands for massive damage.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-05, 07:36 PM
I don't think there is by standard...but there is a feat that lets you dual wield wands, at the price of burning two charges per cast on your offhand wand.

I think that'd make a good guideline if you opted to make a house rule for overcharging wands. Doubling cost for linear benefit. Also, I'd probably add some sort of splody option to ensure it only gets used in emergencies. IE, roll a die for each charge used. Any matching pair results in a tragic explosion. Determine size of die by how lethal you want this to be.

Tanaric
2009-10-05, 07:37 PM
The cold has frozen my brain to the point where I can't remember the name, but there's an item that contains up to three wands at once. You can activate them all at once as a full-round action, if memory serves.

Deth Muncher
2009-10-05, 07:40 PM
The cold has frozen my brain to the point where I can't remember the name, but there's an item that contains up to three wands at once. You can activate them all at once as a full-round action, if memory serves.

Rod of Many Wands, CMage.

Bayar
2009-10-06, 01:43 AM
No, but there are Artificer builds that revolve around dual wielding wands for massive damage.

Actually, the artificier revolves around putting metamagic into wands, effectively supa-chargin' the wandz. The dual wand wielder thing is an added boost.

sambo.
2009-10-06, 02:29 AM
i've wondered if an Archmage with the Arcane Fire thingy doober and a high enough skill level in Use Magic Device could "overload" the wand, expending all remaining charges in one massive blast of arcane fire, destroying the wand in the process.

eg: lets say 45 charges remain in a Caster Level 5 Wand of <Who Cares>

45x5=225d6 +Xd6 or would it be 225d6+45Xd6 (where X is your Archmage level)?


possible? or is any DM worth his salt going to say NO to that one?

Cyclocone
2009-10-06, 02:30 AM
There is a pair of epic feats that lets you full attack with a staff/wand, essentially activating the wand as many times per round as you could attack with a weapon.

The name escapes me though.

Sophismata
2009-10-06, 02:35 AM
Following the dual-wielded wand example, you could rule something along the lines of:

1 use, 1 charge
2 uses cost 3 charges
3 uses cost 6 charges
4 uses cost 12 charges
5 uses cost 24 charges
6 uses cost 48 charges

And so on...

You'd get issues with the direct damage spells (even then), but the cost should theoretically offset the bonuses.

sambo.
2009-10-06, 02:43 AM
Following the dual-wielded wand example, you could rule something along the lines of:

1 use, 1 charge
2 uses cost 3 charges
3 uses cost 6 charges
4 uses cost 12 charges
5 uses cost 24 charges
6 uses cost 48 charges

And so on...

You'd get issues with the direct damage spells (even then), but the cost should theoretically offset the bonuses.

hmm, so then it would be 30d6+xd6 then.....

not worth it.

Cyclocone
2009-10-06, 02:49 AM
Found it:Wand Expertise. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20030314a)


Wand Expertise [Epic]

You can activate wands with the speed that an archer fires arrows.

Prerequisites: Craft Wand, Master Wand, Quicken Spell, Spellcraft 25 ranks.

Benefits: You may activate a wand in place of an attack instead of as a standard action. As a full-round action, you could thus make as many wand activations as you could normally make ranged attacks. For instance, if your base attack bonus is +11, you could activate a wand three times as a full-round action. If you also had the Rapid Shot feat, you could activate the wand four times as a full-round action.

Each activation after the first costs one additional charge from the wand, cumulative. Thus, the second activation in a round costs 2 extra charges, the third activation 3 extra charges, and so forth.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-06, 07:50 AM
hmm, so then it would be 30d6+xd6 then.....

not worth it.

I dunno...I'd pack a CL 9 wand of magic missile for "Oh god, this encounter needs to end now" moments. 30d4+30 damage, pretty much divided however you choose, and pretty hard to avoid.

Think of it this way...it's cheaper than a true rez.

Kaldrin
2009-10-06, 07:52 AM
I don't get the extra charge costs for these things (dual wield, wand expertise)... that's like saying for precise shot or point blank shot the archer should use two arrows.

I'd probably use the CL of the wand as a guide post and say that for ever level above that the character is (I think it's ECL that is the total, right?) he or she can draw that many more charges out of the wand at no penalty. After all, once they're gone the wand becomes useless (or you'll have a whole pile of wands with one charge left waiting to be recharged).

shadow_archmagi
2009-10-06, 08:01 AM
I don't get the extra charge costs for these things (dual wield, wand expertise)... that's like saying for precise shot or point blank shot the archer should use two arrows.


The difference is that if you're using two wands, you're dealing double damage using a fighting style that was already more than competitive with other methods. Think of it as, I dunno, power leaks caused by damage from the surplus thautamurgical radiation buildup because you were firing them more often or something. The wand version of overheating.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-06, 08:04 AM
Well, it provides a tradeoff...using one charge at a time is standard, and plenty powerful. If it didn't exist, people would use as many charges as possible all the time.

It's also thematically appropriate for magic. Cost usually increases exponentially for a linear benefit.

Mr. Mud
2009-10-06, 08:09 AM
Following the dual-wielded wand example, you could rule something along the lines of:

1 use, 1 charge
2 uses cost 3 charges
3 uses cost 6 charges
4 uses cost 12 charges
5 uses cost 24 charges
6 uses cost 48 charges

And so on...

You'd get issues with the direct damage spells (even then), but the cost should theoretically offset the bonuses.

Seems a bit too pricey. I mean, it should be rather expensive, but 48 seems a bit too high. Maybe something like X - Use Magic Device check, where X is related to how many charges you want to use, and the Level of the Spell? More easily spammable, maybe, but still gives a different alternative.

Eloel
2009-10-06, 08:13 AM
I myself would rule it to be the square of however many charges you're trying to get.
1-1
2-4
3-9
4-16
5-25
6-36
7-49

So, basically, you can use 7 charges at once from a wand, and still let it be a magical stick.

Thespianus
2009-10-06, 09:39 AM
What a coincidence. Want to know how to get more than once charge from a wand in a round? ;)

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127318

Might require some preparation, though. :)