Wands

A wand is a thin baton that contains a single spell of 4th level or lower. Each wand has 50 charges when created, and each charge expended allows the user to use the wand’s spell one time. A wand that runs out of charges is just a stick. The cost of a wand is equal to the level of the spell x the creator’s caster level x 750 gp. If the wand has a material component cost, it is added to the base cost once for each charge (50 x material component cost). Table 15–15 gives sample prices for wands created at lowest possible caster level for each spellcasting class. Note that some spells appear at different levels for different casters. The level of such spells depends on the caster crafting the wand.

Physical Description: A typical wand is 6 inches to 12 inches long, about 1/4 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.

Activation: Wands use the spell trigger activation method, so casting a spell from a wand is usually a standard action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. (If the spell being cast, however, has a longer casting time than 1 action, it takes that long to cast the spell from a wand.) To activate a wand, a character must hold it in hand (or whatever passes for a hand, for nonhumanoid creatures) and point it in the general direction of the target or area. A wand may be used while grappling or while swallowed whole.

Special Qualities: Roll d%. A 01–30 result indicates that something (a design, inscription, or the like) provides some clue to the wand’s function, and 31–100 indicates no special qualities.

Table 15–15: Wand Costs

Spell Level Cleric Druid Wizard Sorcerer Bard Paladin Ranger
0 375 gp 375 gp 375 gp
1st 750 gp 750 gp 750 gp 1,500 gp
2nd 4,500 gp 6,000 gp 6,000 gp 4,500 gp
3rd 11,250 gp 13,500 gp 15,750 gp 11,250 gp
4th 21,000 gp 24,000 gp 30,000 gp 21,000 gp