Size of rods and wands?

[gadren]

So, I know way back in the 2e days, the size of rods and wands were very specific. In 3.x, not so much.

One of my players wants to craft a metamagic rod the size of a wand, so she can use it in her wand bracer. I don't see why not, but is there a RAW rule against it?
Likewise, could a character craft a wand that is large and sturdy enough to also be a club?

[nyjastul69]

They each have a size range associated with them.

From the srd on wands.

Physical Description
A typical wand is 6 inches to 12 inches long and about ¼ inch thick, and often weighs no more than 1 ounce. Most wands are wood, but some are bone. A rare few are metal, glass, or even ceramic, but these are quite exotic. Occasionally, a wand has a gem or some device at its tip, and most are decorated with carvings or runes. A typical wand has AC 7, 5 hit points, hardness 5, and a break DC of 16.

From the srd on rods.

Physical Description
Rods weigh approximately 5 pounds.
They range from 2 feet to 3 feet long and are usually made of iron or some other metal. (Many, as noted in their descriptions, can function as light maces or clubs due to their sturdy construction.)
These sturdy items have AC 9, 10 hit points, hardness 10, and a break DC of 27.

[Psyren]

You could use either of them as an improvised weapon (though its worth pointing out that some rods can in fact be used as maces.) Using a wand this way in Pathfinder would likely result in it having the Fragile property.

[Curmudgeon]

The longest wand is half the length of the shortest rod. But there's a much bigger difference in the heft: one ounce vs. 5 lbs. is a factor of 80. You're not going to do any damage with a one ounce twig.

[atemu1234]

Remember it's not the size of the wand it's... I'm so sorry.

[Uncle Pine]

Remember it's not the size of the wand it's...
The level and metamagic feats of the Artificer who's using it!

[Psyren]

I forget the 3.5 rule for this, but in Pathfinder, damage for improvised weapons is found by going to a weapon table and finding a similarly sized/constructed object there. I would say a wand isn't too far off from a Dan Bong on the Eastern Weapons table.

http://danbong.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/danbong-ebene1-204x204.jpg

I would then replace the monk property with the fragile propertly and we'd be good to go.

[gadren]

So, you're not supposed to be able to make rods smaller, like you can with weapons?

[NomGarret]

You could, however, sharpen it and make an improvised stiletto wand.

If you're worried about in-game combo problems, I would explain it as a miniaturization issue. The type of magic found in a rod typically requires a bigger housing. You can certainly try to overcome that (via spellcraft), but be aware of the potential of "overheating."

[Bronk]

There are rules somewhere for wands sized for giants, but I came up empty when I tried to find their location.