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View Full Version : Spells to get in wand form?



Cuddly
2008-05-24, 04:10 AM
I've got a wizard//factototum, and I'm looking for spells to put in wands. So far I have knock and demoncall (+10 profane bonus to know: arcana, planes, or religion).

Dhavaer
2008-05-24, 04:28 AM
Enervation is nice; no save, multiple castings are useful and it doesn't scale.

mostlyharmful
2008-05-24, 05:25 AM
Grease, ray of frost/acid splash and ray of enfeeblement are all favorites of mine to wand. Also Arcane mark just for graphitti kicks:smallwink:

Ecalsneerg
2008-05-24, 05:36 AM
Grease, ray of frost/acid splash and ray of enfeeblement are all favorites of mine to wand. Also Arcane mark just for graphitti kicks:smallwink:

I can see those young punk apprentices Arcane Marking up the walls of the rival wizard's school...

The Corinthian
2008-05-24, 05:43 AM
They are expensive, but high CL (7 or 9) Magic Missile wands are a very useful backup I've always found, and Dimension Door is good as well. Basically doesn't scale, multiple castings are, once in a long while, VERY useful and you never know when you'll need it. Also, 50 charges should last you long. Invisibility or Mage armor are good combat buffs for any monks or rogues in your party, and Entangle (Also Web) is very useful even if when the enemy saves.

Tempest Fennac
2008-05-24, 06:23 AM
mostlyharmful, why would you recommend Acid Spash and Ray of Frost? I can understand the others, but those 2 spells seem a bit pointless. Would the Orb of Whatever (especialy Force) spells be good choices for Wands?

mostlyharmful
2008-05-24, 06:31 AM
mostlyharmful, why would you recommend Acid Spash and Ray of Frost? I can understand the others, but those 2 spells seem a bit pointless. Would the Orb of Whatever (especialy Force) spells be good choices for Wands?

To give to a UMDing rogue buddy. translating all sneak attack to elemental damage for a low low price. Oh, and Acid Splash is Non-SR Touch attack damage and acid resistance is the rarist kind (hence ray of frost for the few that are). It means they can't use Itterative attacks but rogues don't get those until relatively high levels and it's tough to get itterative ranged SA.

Tempest Fennac
2008-05-24, 06:39 AM
Thanks for telling me (I can see why that would be useful). Divine Power would probably be agood choice for Rogues as well if they are primarily designed to deliver melee SAs.

mostlyharmful
2008-05-24, 07:20 AM
Thanks for telling me (I can see why that would be useful). Divine Power would probably be agood choice for Rogues as well if they are primarily designed to deliver melee SAs.

Spells at that level are best for the most part as party provided buffs until you reach reasonable levels. The cost of a level 3 or 4 wand means it should be a last resort/ boss fight level of use item, not something to rely on.

For a low level rogue the diference between +3/4 and full BAB isn't huge, for a one-shot attack a wand of true strike (also a favorite) makes a heck of a bigger difference.

Once a party cleric is casting 4th+ spells they should have access to Extend spell (Meta or Rod) and CL boosts which can push Round per level buffs into the range of multiple encounter buffs. Wandtastic spells should be as little concerned with level and saves as possible since pumping them in wands costs a fortune (hence the uberness of staves in the hands of a UMD-focussed PC)

SamTheCleric
2008-05-24, 07:25 AM
A wand of Knock never fails to be useful. Same goes for a wand of Find Traps. Both things a rogue/trapmonkey could do... but there's always a chance he rolls low.

Ned the undead
2008-05-24, 10:41 AM
Icelance is good.
Make a ranged touch attack with a +4 bonus to deal 6D6 and they make a fortitude save to avoid being stunned fo 1D4 rounds.
EDIT: Also Whirling Blade is very fun.

Chronos
2008-05-24, 11:16 AM
...and it's tough to get itterative ranged SA.Even in core-only, you can do it with a wand of Produce Flame, with a boosted caster level. A CL 6 wand would cost the same as a standard (minimum CL) wand of a level 2 spell, and give you enough for two rounds worth of full-attack. Of interest to many rogues, it's also a thrown attack, so it gets the halfling attack roll bonus, too. I've heard of a snowball spell, too, which I think is the same thing, except cold and on the wizard's list.

Another good choice for wands are the low-level spells that remove status afflictions. You can get both Lesser Restoration and Slow Poison as first-level spells (though they still need a CL of 2), which brings the price down. It's the same principle as wanting scrolls for the higher-level things (like Restoration and Raise Dead), except that wands are cheaper per-charge, and the low-level afflictions come up more often. If eternal wands are an option, they're especially good for those spells, since you're unlikely to need it more than twice a day.

Dannoth
2008-05-24, 12:11 PM
Any Teleportation/Portal spells.

Animefunkmaster
2008-05-24, 12:33 PM
Lessor Vigor of the Deity, SpC

Tempest Fennac
2008-05-24, 12:38 PM
Chronos, I think the snowball spell you mentioned is called Snillock's Snowball (it's mentioned on page 5 of http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Spells-SorcererWizard.pdf ).

mabriss lethe
2008-05-24, 12:56 PM
Shadow Conjuration.

One wand that can do....nearly anything. Somewhat expensive, but really worth having.

Cuddly
2008-05-24, 01:57 PM
I already have a wand of acid splash. I use it in conjunction with my 55 inspiration points. Good dex and nerveskitter let me strike first in combat, most of the time. My decent hide and move silent *sometimes* lets me get another sneak attack off, usually with Xorn Movement.

A wand of dimension door sounds useful. I think I'll also get a wand of unseen servant.

Falrin
2008-05-24, 02:18 PM
Acid splash (good against locks, ropes, ...)
Ghost Sound (always handy with some creative thinking)
Prestidigation

Protection from Evil (mostly for the 'trump evil enchantments')
SM I (Find and disarm traps, get CL 2 for some extra time)
Detect Undead (break in two and laugh)
Silent image (Very good. Try to stick to images you don't have to interact with)
Expeditious Retreat
Enlarge (Large fighters are good fighters) *snickers, I had to say 'good fighters' without resorting to alignments*

Resist energy
See invisible
Rope Trick (CL 8)


Mentioning: CLW or Lesser vigor.

In general, try to stick to no safe buffs.

CockroachTeaParty
2008-05-24, 03:39 PM
I must say that in a recent game I was playing the party wizard, and I had ran out of spells by the time we made it to a fight against a green dragon. The dragon mostly stayed in the sky, strafing us with breath weapons on occasion. With nothing else to do, I unloaded a wand of magic missile (CL 5) that we had recently found, and in the end I wound up doing the most damage to the creature. Every round I hit for a little over 11 damage, while the rest of the party often had trouble breaking the dragon's AC with javelins and bows. Not too shabby. I still don't think I would buy one with my own gold, however, but I was certainly glad we had found it.

Chronicled
2008-05-24, 04:00 PM
Icelance is good.
Make a ranged touch attack with a +4 bonus to deal 6D6 and they make a fortitude save to avoid being stunned fo 1D4 rounds.

It's just a ranged attack, not a ranged touch. Hence the +4 bonus to hit.

Edit: Still a good spell, though.

Curmudgeon
2008-05-24, 05:29 PM
If you're fighting in wet conditions (swamps, moats, streams, rivers, lakes) you should get a wand of Control Water. It's priced as a 4th level wand, which it has to be, even though it's a 6th level spell for you. This is a big win for you before you hit Wizard 11, and still economically advantageous after that. If you're being pursued on a river, you can drop an enemy boat into a hole that they can't get out of for more than an hour. Or just simply lower a swamp so you can walk across instead of wade.

Cuddly
2008-05-24, 05:45 PM
I must say that in a recent game I was playing the party wizard, and I had ran out of spells by the time we made it to a fight against a green dragon. The dragon mostly stayed in the sky, strafing us with breath weapons on occasion. With nothing else to do, I unloaded a wand of magic missile (CL 5) that we had recently found, and in the end I wound up doing the most damage to the creature. Every round I hit for a little over 11 damage, while the rest of the party often had trouble breaking the dragon's AC with javelins and bows. Not too shabby. I still don't think I would buy one with my own gold, however, but I was certainly glad we had found it.

I've got to ask- how big was the dragon? Most of them have pretty frightful SR. I don't want to wand anything with a spell that has SR: yes.


If you're fighting in wet conditions (swamps, moats, streams, rivers, lakes) you should get a wand of Control Water. It's priced as a 4th level wand, which it has to be, even though it's a 6th level spell for you. This is a big win for you before you hit Wizard 11, and still economically advantageous after that. If you're being pursued on a river, you can drop an enemy boat into a hole that they can't get out of for more than an hour. Or just simply lower a swamp so you can walk across instead of wade.

Brilliant!

Gorbash
2008-05-24, 06:01 PM
I've got to ask- how big was the dragon? Most of them have pretty frightful SR. I don't want to wand anything with a spell that has SR: yes.

Are you serious? At worst, you'll be passing their SR on 11 on a D20 roll (for example, Young Adult Black Dragon (cr 9) whom you'll be facing at lvl 7 has Sr 18). Not to mention Spell penetration feats, or Assay Spell Resistance...

Rakshasas have frightful SR. Dragons have frightful presence.

Cuddly
2008-05-24, 07:13 PM
Are you serious? At worst, you'll be passing their SR on 11 on a D20 roll (for example, Young Adult Black Dragon (cr 9) whom you'll be facing at lvl 7 has Sr 18). Not to mention Spell penetration feats, or Assay Spell Resistance...

Rakshasas have frightful SR. Dragons have frightful presence.

At level 7, you're only going to have a few level 4 spells, one of which could be Assay Spell Resistance. So you get to hit the dragon with maybe a couple sure-fire spells that crack SR.

Without the spell penetration feats, you're looking at a 50% failure rate for your spells. With one feat, you've got a 40% failure chance.

And you don't have that many spells at that level. Especially spells that can shut down the dragon in one hit, or no save just die spells.

Of course none of this matters vs. a wand, since shooting a dragon with a wand of magic missile of CL5 is only going to work 25% of the time.

SamTheCleric
2008-05-24, 07:18 PM
I've recently discovered that an Eternal Wand of Fly isn't a terrible investment. 2/day CL 5 fly...

FinalJustice
2008-05-24, 08:07 PM
Well, I personally always found having a wand of resilient sphere handy for my sorcerers, you never know when you have to take someone out of the harm's way.

A Wand of Assay Resistance might prove itself a worthy investment, for those who don't keep the spell on their spell-list. Not my case, really.

Cuddly
2008-05-24, 08:13 PM
I was thinking about that, but it's sort of pricy, and at at level 11, I can spend inspiration points to simply overcome spell resistance.

Ned the undead
2008-05-24, 08:19 PM
It's just a ranged attack, not a ranged touch. Hence the +4 bonus to hit.

Edit: Still a good spell, though.

Whoops. Must've misread it.

FinalJustice
2008-05-24, 08:24 PM
Wand of Heroics. A fighter feat for everyone in the party for half an hour is that good. Just 2nd level so it's not very expensive.

Wand of Nerveskitter might be good too, but buy yourself a Casting Glove too, or you'll have to walk with the stick at hand all the time.

Cuddly
2008-05-24, 08:30 PM
I get nerveskitter 3/day as an SLA. Wand of heroics looks like a solid choice, though.

What about a wand of some healing spell- lesser vigor or mass lesser vigor?

FinalJustice
2008-05-24, 08:39 PM
If your recipe includes fine-cheeses like Alter Self or Polymorph, a Wand of Scintillating Scales (or scrolls, maybe) can be useful to skyrocket your Touch AC.

And healing wands are a staple, load on lesser vigor or clw or a combination of both.

Ned the undead
2008-05-25, 12:14 PM
I can see those young punk apprentices Arcane Marking up the walls of the rival wizard's school...
I can see Dumbledore trying to get that stuff off the castle walls.
"HOGWARTS? SOUNDS LIKE A STD!"

Talya
2008-05-25, 01:08 PM
A wand of Knock never fails to be useful. Same goes for a wand of Find Traps. Both things a rogue/trapmonkey could do... but there's always a chance he rolls low.

Knock can do stuff skillmonkey open-lock types cannot. Knock doesn't actually require an accessible lock to pick...

SamTheCleric
2008-05-25, 01:42 PM
Knock can do stuff skillmonkey open-lock types cannot. Knock doesn't actually require an accessible lock to pick...

Its especially useful for standing 60' back from the door and making it explode open... :)

happyturtle
2008-05-25, 03:07 PM
When I realized our party was nearly always stopping because the cleric (me) had run out of healing, I bought a wand of CMW. In our last session, we played for four or five hours without having to stop to regain spells. It didn't just help in game--it also kept the players from getting distracted. Given the cat-herding that is usually necessary to keep everyone focused, it was well worth burning 2/3 of a wand in one session!