Reroute -> Best wands for your arsenal

[Xervous]

In the course of a silly venture to spend a theoretical epic character's WBL I've found myself with a delightful avenue of contemplation; there's a decent smattering of wands that function quite well on into high levels as well as a handful of methods and tools for keeping numerous wands closer at hand than a move equivalent action of searching through one's Handy Haversack.

A pair of wandbracers yields 10 stowed wands (Limiting this to two hands for sanity and simplicity) and I recall a... bracelet or something that could stow 4 or so wands to be treated as if held at the cost of 1 charge when it absorbs the wand. Pending confirmation on the latter item I'll put the counter at 14 wands for now... but this could reasonably go up to 20 or more if there's practical options I haven't found.

Between (partially charged if applicable) Dorjes, wands, and eternal wands. What are peoples' opinions on the best things to arm this epic wandslinger with?

Current Slot Count for Consideration: 20
10: Wand Bracers
4: Unconfirmed bracelet
3: wand chambers in elvencraft longbow runestaff
2: Buckler wand chamber
1: Animated shield

Going off the text of dungeonscape you need 6in or so of haft/handle to fit a wand chamber in so all the hidden blades could conceivably be ruled out for smaller characters. I have no doubts that we could manage 100+ wand slots if we wanted but the problem would then be what to fill them with. 20 Feels to be a reasonable number to start with to direct this over to figuring out the wands themselves.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Don't forget weapon wand chambers. Add one each to all of your braid blades, boot blades, sleeve blades, knee blades, gauntlets, armor spikes, animated shield (used to bash, so it's a weapon), shield spikes, horned helm, tail scythe (if applicable), each end of the quarterstaff and the longbow portions of your elvencraft longbow, bow blade, bayonet, and the close fighting blades you've added to every one of those weapons.

[Hiro Quester]

An Efficient quiver has three chambers, one of which holds up to 20 objects the same size and shape as an arrow. I (and my DM) interpret a wand to qualify.

The quiver enables the wearer to produce any item she wishes, as if from a regular quiver or scabbard.

QuickDraw feat makes drawing a sword or arrow a free action. So QuickDraw makes obtaining any particular one of those 20 wands a free action.

You then do need to be able to drop wands as a free action to draw another. But that can't be solved by having an unseen servant collect everything you drop and return it to its proper place. Or just picking things up later.

Edit: make one of those wands a wand of heroics. Use it to grant yourself the QuickDraw feat. 10 min/level duration, though.

[mabriss lethe]

let's not forget Gauntlets! You can wear a pair and pop a chamber in each.

[Hiro Quester]

Glove of the Master Strategist: Works like a glove of storing (but cheaper), so free action retrieval/storage of a wand. Plus it also allows you to use true strike 1/day for a ranged touch attack wand.

[Hiro Quester]

For the wand list, do they need to be on the sorc/wiz list, or will you have UMD enough to use other class's spells in wands?

Off the top of my head, there are some awesome bard spells you could use on a wand, for instance.

Shock and awe (used when you have surprise, enemy is -10 initiative),
stay the hand (someone attacking you makes a will save to avoid deciding not to do that), etc.

[Xervous]

For the wand list, do they need to be on the sorc/wiz list, or will you have UMD enough to use other class's spells in wands?

Off the top of my head, there are some awesome bard spells you could use on a wand, for instance.

Shock and awe (used when you have surprise, enemy is -10 initiative),
stay the hand (someone attacking you makes a will save to avoid deciding not to do that), etc.

The characters concerned will most definitely be hitting the DC 20 UMD on 1s. I'm talking every list, dorjes too.


Generally I'd like to avoid save dependent spells because the wands will have piss poor DCs. We're talking more utility stuff here.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Wands of lesser vigor, FTW?

Also, isn't there a low level spell that allows you to reroll your save to negate a status ailment? [edit] Resurgence, from C.Divine. Great spell for wanding, especially if you have saving throw buffs available.

[Hiro Quester]

There is a discussion of good wand spells here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?124684-Good-spells-to-put-on-a-wand

Notable spells worth wanding:
Assay spell resistance
Entangle
Glibness
Glitterdust
Invisibility purge
Heroics
Alter self
Shock and awe
Enlarge person
Reduce person
Freedom of movement
Lesser restoration
Legend lore
Haste
Greater invisibility
See invisibility
Solid fog
Protection from arrows
Protection from energy
Silent image
Hallucinatory terrain
True strike
Protection from evil /good/chaos/law

[Bronk]

Here's the info for the bracers you were probably looking for (not four wands, 3 on each arm), and a rod that can blast with three wands at once, for a higher charge cost for each wand. You could use the bracers and hold a rod in each hand, if you wanted! You might want to combine that with 'belts of battle' (MIC) for additional standard actions to use them all, while you're at it.

Bracer of Wands: a pair of bracers, each of which can hold 3 wands. Loading a wand into the bracer costs one wand charge, but afterwards you can use the wand without holding it. (Dragon 291, 60000g)

Rod of Many Wands: A rod that can hold up to 3 wands... activating the rod activates all three wands at the same time but uses up three charges from each wand. (CM, 27000g)

[Uncle Pine]

These (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20011205a) might be relevant:

Awaken from Afar
Evocation
Level: Sor/Wiz 5, Clr 6, Drd 6
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One spell trigger activation item
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

An awaken from afar spell allows you to use a spell trigger item without actually touching the item. The item to be activated must be within the range of the awaken from afar spell, and it functions as though you yourself were triggering it from its current position. All other conditions, such as the requirement that you have the spell on your spell list or if the item's enchantment restricts its use to a particular race or individual, still apply. Both you and the item to be activated have to be on the same plane. The item cannot be in the possession of another creature at the time of activation, and it must be an item that you have previously triggered normally (in other words, without the aid of an awaken from afar spell.

Ring of Spell Triggering: This ring allows the wearer to continually utilize the effects of the spell awaken from afar.

Caster Level: 9th; Prerequisites: Forge Ring, awaken from afar; Market Price: 90,000 gp.

[Bronk]

These (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20011205a) might be relevant:

Hmm, so if you could quicken that spell, you'd already have an extra wand activation per round...

[Inevitability]

Don't warforged get a component that lets them wield extra wands?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Bracer of Wands: a pair of bracers, each of which can hold 3 wands. Loading a wand into the bracer costs one wand charge, but afterwards you can use the wand without holding it. (Dragon 291, 60000g)Dungeonscape has wand bracers with five wand slots on each arm. And they're, like, 300 gp. And they don't cost wand charges to use, either.

[Bronk]

Dungeonscape has wand bracers with five wand slots on each arm. And they're, like, 300 gp. And they don't cost wand charges to use, either.

Drawing the wand uses up your swift action though (you'd be out of luck for using a quickened 'awaken from afar'), putting it back in takes a full round, and you need your hand empty. Also, it looks like you end up with your hand covered in wires, although there doesn't seem to be mechanical downside to that (you'd think it would make it hard to put on gloves or hold a weapon). Otherwise, that's a good cheap option.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Drawing the wand uses up your swift action though (you'd be out of luck for using a quickened 'awaken from afar'), putting it back in takes a full round, and you need your hand empty. Also, it looks like you end up with your hand covered in wires, although there doesn't seem to be mechanical downside to that (you'd think it would make it hard to put on gloves or hold a weapon). Otherwise, that's a good cheap option.Anything you might want to use as a swift or immediate action, or that you might want to combo with such an action, insert into a wand chamber. It's not like you'll have any shortage of those, especially if you craft your own stuff.

[edit] Oh, and you can use a Quickened spell while drawing a wand from a wand bracer. Quickened spells are free actions, not swift actions.

[Uncle Pine]

Hmm, so if you could quicken that spell, you'd already have an extra wand activation per round...

The point is that with a ring of spell triggering you can activate any wand even if you don't have it on hand and doing so doesn't require any extra action. Since the purpose of the thread is to find out how many wands can be "wielded" at the same time, for 90,000 gp the answer becomes "all the wands that fit in a Medium radius around you (190 ft. radius at CL 9), provided that you previously activated them at least once".

[Xervous]

The point is that with a ring of spell triggering you can activate any wand even if you don't have it on hand and doing so doesn't require any extra action. Since the purpose of the thread is to find out how many wands can be "wielded" at the same time, for 90,000 gp the answer becomes "all the wands that fit in a Medium radius around you (190 ft. radius at CL 9), provided that you previously activated them at least once".

If we were to assume minimum size wands, 6in long 1/4in diameter shafts, a wand has a volume of .589 in^3
Being a simple 5ft cube, a square has 216,000 in^3. Thus we could fit 366,723 wands if they'd all mesh together perfectly.

Now I've got a picture of some epic character flying around with rings of wands orbiting him... certainly would look awesome.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

You can use dorjes as weapons via a feat, and I think you can do the same with wands, so add a wand chamber to your wand so you can fire spells while you fire spells.

[Bronk]

Anything you might want to use as a swift or immediate action, or that you might want to combo with such an action, insert into a wand chamber. It's not like you'll have any shortage of those, especially if you craft your own stuff.

[edit] Oh, and you can use a Quickened spell while drawing a wand from a wand bracer. Quickened spells are free actions, not swift actions.

Quickened spells are swift actions:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#swiftActions

(When did these srd sites start including non core rules? Is that recent?)

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Quickened spells are swift actions:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#swiftActions

(When did these srd sites start including non core rules? Is that recent?)IIRC, the errata makes no mention of amending Quickened spells to swift actions, nor do the most recent printings of the PHB. Nothing else can change the definition of Quickened spells.


Now I've got a picture of some epic character flying around with rings of wands orbiting him... certainly would look awesome.You mean like this?


https://youtu.be/GzUW-eg8m5c?t=70

[Bronk]

IIRC, the errata makes no mention of amending Quickened spells to swift actions, nor do the most recent printings of the PHB. Nothing else can change the definition of Quickened spells.

I take the other view. There's an open debate going on about it now though (that started after someone didn't like the answer they got over on the 3.5 Q&A thread) over here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472213-Quicken-Spell-Free-or-Swift-action

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I take the other view. There's an open debate going on about it now though (that started after someone didn't like the answer they got over on the 3.5 Q&A thread) over here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472213-Quicken-Spell-Free-or-Swift-actionThere is no "other view." The RC is not errata, nor is it a PHB reprint. As such, it has no authority to override anything therein as primary source. And even if it did, the PHB reprint keeps the old wording, overriding anything the RC has to say about it.

[Hecuba]

RE Wands:
Get an Acid-Substituted (or Sonic, if you can) Wand of Blistering Radiance. Remember, the spell is spherical: you may have to wait a bit, but it is amazing how many issues you can solve by reducing things (ex: traps, walls, ceilings, floors) to glowing piles if goo.


There is no "other view." The RC is not errata, nor is it a PHB reprint. As such, it has no authority to override anything therein as primary source.

By the wording of WotC's primary source rules, this is absolutely technically correct: there is nothing actually printed that establishes the Rules Compendium as the primary source for anything that it is not the original source of, thus it does not override anything in other books.

I do not recommend playing according to such a ruling, as WotC was monumentally bad about adhering to their primary source rules. Short of deliberate RAW exercises, attempting to hold to them can result in only two ends:

Either you ignore things like the Rules Compendium entirely (in which case, it is more straightforward to just say you're not using it)
or you cherry pick the rules you want and try to rationalize it (in which case, just choose what rules are in force at the table and forgo the mental gymnastics).


And even if it did, the PHB reprint keeps the old wording, overriding anything the RC has to say about it.
This, however, technically is not correct. While it would be a far more reasonable and usable rule, there isn't actually any rule giving precedence for a later publication date. As point of fact, if the earlier publication gave the original rules on the subject and no other matters of precedence applied, it would be the primary source and thus take precedence over later revisions of the rules.

The reprint of the PHB takes precedence over a lot of things because the PHB is given rather broad and explicit precedence: the fact that it was reprinted does not technically matter at all.

[Uncle Pine]

Now I've got a picture of some epic character flying around with rings of wands orbiting him... certainly would look awesome.


You mean like this?


https://youtu.be/GzUW-eg8m5c?t=70

I was thinking more about something like this (big image, sorry):
http://www.pickardfarm.com/index_files/Wood_Pile12.jpg
Except you replace every piece of firewood with like 10 wands.

EDIT: Also remember that we don't have a mere 5 cubic foot of wand: we have 28,730,912 cubic ft. of wands (or a sphere with radius 190 ft.). I can already imagine the title of the next thread: "How do I travel with 28,730,912 cubic ft. of wands?".

[FocusWolf413]

You need more wands than fingers? Easy. Chop off the fingers.

[daremetoidareyo]

Don't warforged get a component that lets them wield extra wands?

wandbonding from city of stormreach p115 allows you to use a spell slot to replace a charge.