Hey guys I have completed the beginner box adventure and had a blast in the process but a few questions have come up

(1) Hit point gain per level - is it Hit Die + Con Mod every level?

(2) Ranged Touch attack - if the wizard rolls and misses : can he cast it again until he hits or once rolled for even if it misses is it considered used for the day

(3) Scrolls/wands - do they automatically hit? What is the reflex save in relation to?

thanks for any help!!

Hey guys I have completed the beginner box adventure and had a blast in the process but a few questions have come up

(1) Hit point gain per level - is it Hit Die + Con Mod every level?

(2) Ranged Touch attack - if the wizard rolls and misses : can he cast it again until he hits or once rolled for even if it misses is it considered used for the day

(3) Scrolls/wands - do they automatically hit? What is the reflex save in relation to?

thanks for any help!!

I'd be glad to help!

Hitpoints are hit die + CON each level, yes. At some tables you roll this number, and at others you might take half of the hit die each level barring first and add your CON. It depends on the GM. Does that make sense?

As for the Ranged Touch attack, any ability with uses/day counts as spent whether it hits or not (spells, items, and class abilities).

As for scrolls and wands, they use the exact same rules for the spell they're related to. If there's a reflex save DC for say, a scroll of burning hands, it'd work as the spell does. In this case, those that roll their save halve the damage from the spell. The spell rules should be in your Hero's Handbook!

1) Yes
2) If it misses it is used up. This is not the case for melee touch attacks.
3) Treat it as the spell. Thus a wand of magic missile auto hits and a wand of ray of enfeeblement needs a ranged touch attack. Saves depend on the spell and have DC's equivalent to the minimum stat and level required to cast the spell. Therefore a wand of sleep would have a will save DC of 11 (10 base +1 for a first level spell) whereas a wand of fireball will have a reflex save DC of 14 (10 base +3 because it's a level 3 spell and +1 because fireball needs a minimum Intelligence of 13 to cast)

Generally speaking wands are not great as offensive weapons because the DC's are low. Where they excel is as defensive and utility items where caster level and saves are not a factor. Wands of cure light wounds are also great.

Thank you so much for the info and fast response!

3) Scrolls are a bit different than wands.

You can only use them if you could normally cast the spell (wizard doesn't have to have learned magic missile to use a wand of it, just that MM is a wizard spell; a cleric cannot use that wand because MM is not a cleric spell).

Wands are normally (though GM can change this; it affects the price) cast with the lowest possible caster level. So level 1 spells have CL 1, level 2 spells are CL 3, and so on. Scrolls use the reader's CL.

So a wand of Mage Armor is CL 1 and gives you +4 armor for 1 hour. A scroll of Mage Armor read by a level 5 Wizard is CL 5 and gives you the armor for 5 hours. Same with save DCs. A wand of sleep may just be DC 11, but a 5th level wizard reading a scroll of sleep will use a DC of 15.

Also scrolls are single use items while wands have up to 50 charges (price of a wand is for full charges, you can buy and sell lesser charges; a 1st level wand is 750g with 50 charges but only 375g with 25 charges).

You can only use them if you could normally cast the spell (wizard doesn't have to have learned magic missile to use a wand of it, just that MM is a wizard spell; a cleric cannot use that wand because MM is not a cleric spell).

However, you can get around this by using the "Use Magical Device" skill, which can allow you to use items like scrolls and wands. UMD is a skill that, as a beginner, I overlooked the usefulness of for a very long time.

Wands are normally (though GM can change this; it affects the price) cast with the lowest possible caster level. So level 1 spells have CL 1, level 2 spells are CL 3, and so on. Scrolls use the reader's CL.

No, scrolls use the CREATOR'S caster level. You're thinking of staves--staves use the wielder's caster level.

MurphysParadox wrote:

Wands are normally (though GM can change this; it affects the price) cast with the lowest possible caster level. So level 1 spells have CL 1, level 2 spells are CL 3, and so on. Scrolls use the reader's CL.

No, scrolls use the CREATOR'S caster level. You're thinking of staves--staves use the wielder's caster level.

And most of the time, for scroll found as treasure, that is the minimum caster level needed to cast the spell. There can, of course, be exceptions, but unless otherwise stated, you should assume a scroll is of the minimum possible Caster Level (1 for a 1st-level scroll, 3 for a 2nd-level scroll, etc.).

MurphysParadox wrote:

Wands are normally (though GM can change this; it affects the price) cast with the lowest possible caster level. So level 1 spells have CL 1, level 2 spells are CL 3, and so on. Scrolls use the reader's CL.

No, scrolls use the CREATOR'S caster level. You're thinking of staves--staves use the wielder's caster level.

Curses! Yes, I meant "writer's". Though I suppose more specifically it uses the CL chosen by the writer at the time of writing as it CL is factored into cost, so even a level 18 wizard can choose to write a scroll of CL 1 Magic Missile.

Thanks for the correction; been working with staff rules a lot lately (wizard player o' mine is infatuated with them).