PDA

View Full Version : Pathfinder Channel The Gift: Best utility wand of 3rd level?



Jack_Simth
2018-04-05, 07:08 AM
I was scrolling through spells on d20pfsrd.org, and stumbled across Channel The Gift (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/channel-the-gift):
Is it my imagination, or is this pretty much THE best spell to put into a utility wand for a prepared caster? Whenever out of combat, cast it on yourself, then cast the spell you actually wanted. A wizard or Cleric then can prepare exactly one copy of all utility spells they might need of 3rd level or lower, and one wand powers them all. Party needs four copies of Fly to get across a chasm? Wand, Fly, wand, Fly, wand, Fly, wand, Fly, go. More locked doors than you were hoping? Wand, Knock, Wand, Knock, Wand, Knock... Cleric didn't prepare enough copies of Lesser Restoration? Wand, Restore, Wand, Restore, Wand, Restore....

Some benefits:
It's on a lot of spell lists (bard 3, cleric/oracle 3, druid 3, ranger 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3), so most casters can activate it without issue.
Because you're the one casting the actual spell, it has your caster level rather than the wand's caster level.

Some drawbacks:
It takes the extra round (hence my listing it as a utility wand).
When you're using it for 2nd level or lower spells, you're mostly better off with specific wands or scrolls of the spells (a 3rd level wand charge works out to 225 gp market, while a 2nd level scroll works out to 150 gp market... but then you have to know how many of what you'll need in advance, as you can't use them for other things)

Thoughts?

Elkad
2018-04-05, 05:08 PM
Nice find!

Utility usage starts immediately, with your noted cost penalties for 1st/2nd level stuff. Full CL does offset that a bit though. A L2/CL8 wand is more expensive than the L3/cl5 Gift wand, so if you are L8 and need the full CL, it's just as good as the individual wand.

Re: Combat usage. My familiar could beat me with the wand every round, so I can recycle my single Fireball or Dispel Magic at full CL. Is that better than just giving my familiar a few wands of his own for action economy efficiency? Not when I first get access to 3rd level spells, but at higher levels, it could be.

With 1st level spells, Mnemonic Enhancer is actually better. If you need 3 extra Mage Armor spells (and have the time), a 4th level charge (at 420gp) is better than 675 (225*3). Of course it takes even longer. 10 minutes, plus memorization time to fill your new slots.

TiaC
2018-04-06, 02:02 AM
Arcane Concordance (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/arcane-concordance) might be better for some people. Cast from a wand, it extends five arcane buffs. That blows metamagic rods out of the water and frees up a ton of other slots.

Jack_Simth
2018-04-06, 06:37 AM
Arcane Concordance (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/arcane-concordance) might be better for some people. Cast from a wand, it extends five arcane buffs. That blows metamagic rods out of the water and frees up a ton of other slots.

The fact that it's bard only Changes the wand cost (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wands/) considerably. Markets at 15,750 gp.

And yes, it'll be better for some... but not for all (doesn't do anything for divine casters, for instance). And, of course, as a 3rd level spell, if you have a party Bard you could have the bard take Arcane Concordance as a spell known and use Channel The Gift on the bard; then the Arcane Concordance gets to use the Bard's full caster level. Which means they have a fair amount of synergy.

Elkad
2018-04-06, 07:46 AM
Arcane Concordance (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/arcane-concordance) might be better for some people. Cast from a wand, it extends five arcane buffs. That blows metamagic rods out of the water and frees up a ton of other slots.

Another nice one. Hits all the arcane casters, Extends up to 7 spells each (Bard3 is CL7, with the higher price of course). Great pre-buff-buff. Even if you buy the wand as the sole arcane caster in the party, it's worth it.