Utility Wands for a Warlock

[Yogibear41]

Hello all glad to see the site back up and running! :smallsmile:

Anyway, im looking for some good wands to grab on my warlock that will give him so added utility, mostly looking for 1st level spell wands as my funds are limited atm.

I know lesser vigor is a great one, and am thinking of enlarge person for our melee/tank, but any other suggestions would be great.

[BowStreetRunner]

Detect Secret Doors (Bard 1, Knowledge 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1)
Identify (Bard 1, Magic 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 1)
Lesser Restoration (Paladin 1)

[Snowbluff]

Guidance of the Avatar, Knock, Glitterdust.

[nedz]

Web can be funny, if you have Spiderwalk.

[BowStreetRunner]

...mostly looking for 1st level spell wands as my funds are limited atm...

Well, keeping the OP in mind...


Guidance of the Avatar, Knock, Glitterdust.

As far as I am aware, Guidance of the Avatar and Glitterdust are both level 2, so might be something for the OP's wish list when he gets more cash.

Knock is L1 for Telflammar Shadowlord 1, Trapsmith 1, and Thayan Slaver 1, depending on the resources available. With exotic arcane classes like these it can be harder to find someone to craft a wand, unlike divine classes where an archivist can usually do it. A warlock of at least 12th level (when he gets imbue item) might be the best bet.


Web can be funny, if you have Spiderwalk.

Web is also 2nd level. Although I do like the synergy with the Spiderwalk invocation here.

[HalfQuart]

Well, if you do much overland travel, Lay of the Land (SpC) is a great first level Ranger spell for a wand.

Note that for Ranger, Paladin, and probably lots of other classes that get spells at level 4, caster level is half of class level: 2. So wands are 2 (caster level) x 1 (spell level) x 750gp = 1,500gp. And not your usual 750gp.

[TypoNinja]

If somebody else isnt taking care of it, out of combat heals.

Wands of Vigor. Lesser Vigor is a 1st level spell that will do 11HP of healing over 11 rounds. More reliable than a wand of cure light doing 1d8+1.

[Yogibear41]

Detect Secret Doors (Bard 1, Knowledge 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1)
Identify (Bard 1, Magic 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 1)
Lesser Restoration (Paladin 1)

Would a wand of identify be extremely expensive do to the fact that it has an expensive material component? Unless of course a cloistered cleric made.
The wizard in our party has an artificers monocle I believe is what its called which he can use to identify stuff when he casts detect magic, but otherwise that would be a great idea.

Lesser Restoration is also a good idea, Detect Secret Doors is cool too but we have a rogue in the party and I wouldn't want to step on anybodies toes, but it would be cool as a back up and would probably save time on search checks.

[Yogibear41]

If somebody else isnt taking care of it, out of combat heals.

Wands of Vigor. Lesser Vigor is a 1st level spell that will do 11HP of healing over 11 rounds. More reliable than a wand of cure light doing 1d8+1.

As things stand now we basically have no healer at all, this is the first item on my list. :smallsmile:

Our main tanks a half-troll so fast healing helps lol

[BowStreetRunner]

If somebody else isnt taking care of it, out of combat heals.

Wands of Vigor. Lesser Vigor is a 1st level spell that will do 11HP of healing over 11 rounds. More reliable than a wand of cure light doing 1d8+1.

Of course, if the entire party shares the same deity, a CL 5 Faith Healing wand heals 13 hp.

[TypoNinja]

Of course, if the entire party shares the same deity, a CL 5 Faith Healing wand heals 13 hp.

Cost of a wand is spell level x caster level x 375, a CL 5 wand would be 1x5x375 instead of 1x1x375. Or, 1875 GP for a 13hp heal vs 375 for a 11HP heal. Not even close to worth it.

Even at CL 1 its still 9 points vs 11 for the same price.

Somebody can feel free to correct me if they know of a better spell, but I'm pretty sure Lesser Vigor is the most effective out of combat heal, assuming you get enough time to make use of it of course.

The warlock/cleric thurge gets to turn its elderitch blast into healing, which gives you effectively unlimited heals, but lacking a divine version of Precocious Apprentice, probably inst worth the levels you'd spend on meeting its prerequisites.

[Thiyr]

The wizard in our party has an artificers monocle I believe is what its called which he can use to identify stuff when he casts detect magic, but otherwise that would be a great idea.

Even better for a warlock, considering their second level class ability is just detect magic at will. Why waste spell slots?

As far as good wands, keep an eye on those wondefully dirt-cheap cantrip wands. Never huge, but could be nifty.

While the effect isn't as large as it could get, Ray of Enfeeblement is a useful thing to keep on hand. That said, that's something a bit better for the wizard to cover. Know Greatest Enemy (Pal/blackguard 1) could be useful to work with if you need to prioritize targets often. Similarly, Omen of Peril (druid 1) could be a useful thing to have, if not as a wand then a scroll. Slow Burn might have potential as a low-level fire resist. Snakes Swiftness is good if you've got melee that can bring the hurt better than you can with your
EB. Silverbeard, purely because its silly (Seriously! beard for everyone!). Though a sacred bonus to AC is amusing as well. Lightfoot would be good if you ever get caught needing to avoid AoOs as well.

Not useful, but I'm curious how you'd make a wand of Beget Bogun, now.

[BowStreetRunner]

The warlock/cleric thurge gets to turn its elderitch blast into healing, which gives you effectively unlimited heals, but lacking a divine version of Precocious Apprentice, probably inst worth the levels you'd spend on meeting its prerequisites.

I've played an Eldritch Disciple before. I'd hover above the battlefield with Fell Flight and use Healing Blast combined with Eldritch Spear, a Greater Chasuble of Fell Power, and several sources of additional turn attempts. While there are lots of ways to do more healing, the idea of staying out of reach while being able to throw healing or damage at range had considerable appeal.

[TypoNinja]

I've played an Eldritch Disciple before. I'd hover above the battlefield with Fell Flight and use Healing Blast combined with Eldritch Spear, a Greater Chasuble of Fell Power, and several sources of additional turn attempts. While there are lots of ways to do more healing, the idea of staying out of reach while being able to throw healing or damage at range had considerable appeal.

I like the idea, in fact in one game where I'm a Mystic Thurge I'm starting to think Elderitch Disciple would have been a pretty decent choice based on how its unfolding. I just don't like giving up three levels for it. If I could be had for just a one level dip it'd be much more appealing.

[nedz]

Well you have a couple of choices

Cleric 3/Warlock 2/Eldritch Disciple 10: -3 Cleric levels, -3 Invocation levels
Cleric 4/Warlock 1/Eldritch Disciple 10: -2 Cleric levels, -4 Invocation levels

[Darrin]

1st Level Wands

Offense:

Blade of Blood (PHBII, Dsk/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, +1d6 damage, or sacrifice 5 HP for +3d6 damage.

Blades of Fire (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, two weapons touched get +1d8 fire damage for 1 round.

Color Spray (Core, Sor/Wiz 1). At low levels, can end encounters just by itself. At mid- to higher levels, essentially a save vs. stun, but it's a Will save, so occasionally useful even against big ugly nasties (for example: Purple Worm has a Will save +4, so this wand has a 30% chance of stunning it for a round).

Fetid Breath (Ghostwalk Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20030607a), Sor/Wiz 1): This is similar to stinking cloud, but in the form of a 10' cone. Unfortunately, Fort save negates, and the DC 11 means nearly everything and their dog will be able to shrug this off, but if you do manage to run into some cannonfodder that you know has a weak Fort save, this might be worth a try.

Hail of Stone (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): 1d4 untyped damage in a 5' radius, no save, no SR. Magic missile does +1 more damage, but is SR: Yes.

Instant of Power (Forge of War, Brd/Dru/Rgr 1): Immediate action, give any ally a +4 enhancement bonus on their next attack, save, or damage roll.

Kaupaer's Quickblast (Kaupaer's Quick Book (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050112a), Sor/Wiz 1): Free/immediate/swift action (not sure which, 3.0 spell), autohits with either cold, electricity, or fire damage. Great way to quickly light something on fire (webs, incendiary slime, oil, etc.).

Rot of Ages (Dragon Magic, Dru/Sor/Wiz 1): Target creature is sickened, although Fort save negates (DC 11). Even if the target saves, however, there's an additional effect: for 2 rounds, anything the target attacks is considered to have concealment (20% miss chance).

Defense:

Feather Fall (Core, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Make the monk cry ("Slow fall? You call that a class feature?"). If you want to use this spell immediately, make sure you carry it in a wand chamber.

Instant Diversion (Races of the Dragon, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, lesser version of mirror image, creates only one duplicate but that's still a 50% miss chance in a pinch.

Invisibility, Swift (Spell Compendium, Brd 1): I love that you can use this *after* you attack. Note: costs 1500 GP, not 750 GP, because minimum CL = 2 for 1st level bard spells.

Nerveskitter (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): Never get caught flat-footed again. As with feather fall, if you want to activate this immediately, you'll want to carry it in a wand chamber.

Battlefield Control:

Benign Transposition (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): Two willing targets swap positions, keep your meatbags up front and your REMFs in the back.

Blockade (Complete Scoundrel, Dru/Rgr/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, creates 5' block of wood for creating choke points or blocking narrow passages/doors. Also provides an ample supply of "I've got wood" jokes.

Entangle (Core, Dru/Rgr 1): Bread-and-butter debuffer. If there aren't any plants nearby, cast spore field (Complete Scoundrel) first or switch to impeding stones (Cityscape).

Faerie Fire (Core, Dru 1): Negates invisibility and concealment (but not magical darkness). Great spell to follow up with obscuring mist or the various fog spells: you get concealment, but your target doesn't. If you don't want to buy a whole wand, pick up a few pouches of Torch Bug Paste (25 GP each, Complete Scoundrel) for a similar effect.

Ice Slick (Frostburn, Clr 1): Grease for healbots, but with 4x the area (20' square).

Impeding Stones (Cityscape, Dru/Rgr 1): Better version of entangle, -2 penalty to attack and anyone in a 40' radius must make a Ref save/Balance check or fall prone, which means this is an even bigger version of grease/ice slick. Unlike entangle, you can use it anywhere there's a dirt/earth/stone floor.

Silent Image (Core, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Create fake pits/walls, great for messing with mindless creatures.

Spore Field (Complete Scoundrel, Dru 1): Creates difficult terrain, and save vs. sicken. Also, since fungi = plants, you can now cast entangle in places where there wasn't any vegetation before.

Wall of Smoke (Spell Compendium, Dru/Sor/Wiz 1). Provides concealment and Fort save vs. nausea. There's also a 0-level druid spell in Masters of the Wild, fire eyes, which may let you ignore the concealment from smoke (by RAW it doesn't work on magical fog, but smoke isn't the same as fog).

Utility:

Conjure Ice Beast I (Frostburn, Cle/Dru/Rgr 1): This gives you access to both summon monster and summon nature's ally lists. Ice beasts lose all SA/SQs, but they do get a new SA: cold aura, engulf, frigid touch, or frost breath. Only lasts 1 round, but that's long enough to "search for traps".

Ebon Eyes (Spell Compendium, Ass/Cle/Sor/Wiz 1): See normally in natural or magical darkness.

Lessor Vigor (Spell Compendium, Clr/Dru 1): Most effective out-of-combat healing in the game, 11 HP per charge, so 750 GP = 550 HP.

Grave Strike (Spell Compendium, Clr/Pal 1): Swift action, lets you sneak attack undead. Unfortunately, it's Range: Personal, so you can't cast it on the party rogues, they have to activate it themselves. If they don't have Truedeath Crystals, then consider buying a couple of Skull Talismans (Frostburn, similar to potions but no "range" restrictions).

Golem Strike (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, lets you sneak attack constructs. Same activation issues as grave strike. If the rogues are having trouble with constructs, look for some Golembane Scarabs.

Mount (Core, Sor/Wiz 1): Similar to summon monster/summon nature's ally, but duration is 2 hours. Use as trap testers, "wall of horses", or various horse-trading scams.

Ray of Resurgence (Lost Empires of Faerun, Clr 1): Removes Str damage and fatigue.

Delay Disease (Spell Compendium, Clr/Dru 1): Ignore the effects of a disease for 24 hours. Buys you some time for your healbot to refresh spells or find the friendly local neighborhood paladin.

Vine Strike (Spell Compendium, Dru/Rgr 1): Swift action, lets you sneak attack plants. Not really that important, since most plants tend to be slow/immobile and highly flammable. Same activation issues as grave strike.

Alternate Spell Lists

There are a few spells that appear on certain PrC spell lists at a spell level below where you'd normally find them on a cleric/druid/wizard spell list. Archivist or PrC spellcasters may be able to produce 1st level wands with these spells, but most DMs will probably not allow this. Otherwise, haste (from Dungeonscape's Trapsmith) becomes a 1st-level spell. Some examples:

Arcane Sight (Core/Dungeonscape, Trapsmith 1): Detect magic on steroids. As a 1st level spell, lasts 1 minute.

Cure Moderate Wounds (Core/Unapproachable East, Runescarred Berserker 1): Not quite as effective as lesser vigor, but pretty close... cures 10 HP per charge on average.

Darkvision (Core/Unapproachable East, Telflammar Shadowlord 1): Similar to ebon eyes, but lasts much longer (1 hour instead of 10 minutes).

Delay Poison (Core/Champions of Ruin, Shade Hunter 1): Immunity to poison for 1 hour. Ranger 1 offers this, but a 1st level wand crafted by a ranger costs 1500 GP, not 750 GP. Scaled Horror from Savage Species can also craft ranger wands, but can do so with a caster level of 1.

Dispel Magic (Core/Dungeonscape, Trapsmith 1): Yeah, like this spell couldn't ever possibly come in handy.

Gaseous Form (Core/Dungeonscape, Trapsmith 1). Great way to get out of a tight spot, slip under doors, etc. Lasts 2 minutes.

Haste (Core/Dungeonscape, Trapsmith 1). Offense, defense, utility, the whole shebang. Unfortunately, only lasts 1 round.

Invisibility (Core/Unapproachable East, Telflammar Shadowlord 1): Cheaper than swift invisibility, and lasts up to 1 minute.

Knock (Core/Unapproachable East, Telflammar Shadowlord 1): Go ahead, make the rogue feel useless.

See Invisibility (Core/Unapproachable East, Runescarred Berserker 1): And here we have the counter. Lasts 10 minutes.

Spider Climb (Core/FR Underdark/BoED, Prime Underdark Guide 1/Slayer of Domiel 1): Oh what a feeling... standing on the ceiling. Great for getting around pits/traps/obstacles. Lasts 10 minutes.