I love the change to Staves where they can be recharged, but I wanted to see a mechanic for Wands, too. My thinking goes along 2 routes:
1) Drop the # of charges to 10 and allow Wands to be recharged like staves
2) As long as there is a single charge left, the wand can be recharged by anyone who can craft the wand. It costs 1/2 the COST to craft the wand to recharge it (so 1/4 base price). If the spell requires a material component, it must also be provided (x50, as per item creation). Recharging takes 1 day per 1000gp of the COST to recharge (so 1/4 creation time).
Which option would you use, or is there another mechanic that would be better? Also, if PFRPG HAS a mechanic for recharging wands, please let me know. It's kinda hard to track all the changes :(
magic item compendium has some everlasting wands that are like 1/day-3/day for 0-3rd level spells, more expensive but for spells you cast all the time and remain useful to high level these could be a good option for you.
I had a campaign where I allowed wands to be recharged to full as long as they had at least 1 charge left. The cost was full price divided by number of charges needed to reach maximum (when they got someone else to recharge it, that is; nobody could craft items themselves). It worked pretty well; the players liked it, and it wasn't overly powerful.
Full price (half to make) per charge makes more sense to me.
Wands, unlike Staves, are really built on a per charge basis and are already the cheapest available. Halving that while adding a new ability to recharge them seems a bit much.
You do need to put a minimum on the number of charges though, whether they have to be made "full", or 10-20 minimum. Without that they are simply cheap scrolls.
You do need to put a minimum on the number of charges though, whether they have to be made "full", or 10-20 minimum. Without that they are simply cheap scrolls.
No AoO means single charge wands are actually better than cheap scrolls. I would probably charge my players the cost of a scroll plus pro-rated cost formula would be :
Cost of scroll + Number of charges * (Full price of wand - cost of scroll)/50This is also what I charge them for partially charged wands. I used to have a more complicated formula but this i s easier to calculate on the fly.
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I don't think it is fair or a good idea to lower the costs of Wands or allow them to recharge.
Agreed. With one proviso. I remember from 2nd Ed a spell that allowed you to recharge wands, rods and staves. Unimaginatively it was called Recharge. Can't remember the source, probably a Dragon Magazine. Something like that, or a Feat that allows you to recharge wands would work, IMO as it imposes an additional cost on the PC to get the benefit.
Monte Cook put some stuff called "wand wrap" in one of his books of Arcane Might. Basically it was a bit of magical braid that could be twisted around a wand and was filled with vanilla charges. When a wand was used with it, it would use the charges from the wand wrap first, so you could have a bunch of wands with very few charges left and swap the wrap between them to get whatever you needed.
The other solution, which I think is a little more elegant, is to combine a regular wand with an eternal wand. Basically, you have a wand that gives you 1 free zap a day, but also has a reservoir of 50 charges. The wand recharges by not using a free zap. The cost would be twice the price of a regular wand or eternal wand, but would be easily recharged with regular downtime.
I think recharging wands is a good idea but I would not want one for a bonded item.
Since Wands do not change caster level the idea of having my bonded item be a wand with level 5 dispel magic does not appeal to me. Now a staff with dispel magic could be a very handy item.
I think recharging wands is a good idea but I would not want one for a bonded item.
Since Wands do not change caster level the idea of having my bonded item be a wand with level 5 dispel magic does not appeal to me. Now a staff with dispel magic could be a very handy item.
The creater chooses to set the caster level, default is lowest. You can have a level 20 wand if you want to pay the extra to up the caster level and have a 20th caster level to make it that high.
That seems fair.
I still think much better items could be used as a bonded item.... like maybe a rod of quicken?
For "some" reason most GMs tend to make quickened rods pretty darn rare.
That seems fair.
I still think much better items could be used as a bonded item.... like maybe a rod of quicken?
For "some" reason most GMs tend to make quickened rods pretty darn rare.
well the thing is, if you want you can change your arcane bond. So at level 1 you can have a free masterwork weapon, at level 5 you can switch it to a wand, at level 11 you can switch it to a staff, and at level 15 you can switch it to your new quickening rod you just took off a lich. Or you can start and finish the game with one item, it's up to the caster really. I personally like a ring because a non-magical ring at low levels isn't getting sundered. I don't like the idea spending a feat on forge ring when I can only wear 2, and rings of telekinesis are just too much fun, esp. if you can add extra effects and make it a ring of wizardry, protection, and telekinesis, all at 50% higher cost mind you, but 75% is better than 100% and 3 in 1 is awesome.
I don't like the idea spending a feat on forge ring when I can only wear 2, and rings of telekinesis are just too much fun, esp. if you can add extra effects and make it a ring of wizardry, protection, and telekinesis, all at 50% higher cost mind you, but 75% is better than 100% and 3 in 1 is awesome.
Wait, I thought they dropped the price cut on the bound items.
When he switches do the old items loose magic properties?
If you can change your arcane bond what would keep a wizard from switching each level and making a slew of low cost magic items without ever taking an item creation feat?
When he switches do the old items loose magic properties?
If you can change your arcane bond what would keep a wizard from switching each level and making a slew of low cost magic items without ever taking an item creation feat?
you have to pay to switch, and the old arcane bond loses it's properties. but if it's just a masterwork weapon, or a used up wand, that's not really a big deal.
When he switches do the old items loose magic properties?
If you can change your arcane bond what would keep a wizard from switching each level and making a slew of low cost magic items without ever taking an item creation feat?
You can enchant the item as if you had the proper creation feats, as long as you qualify, so no charging a wand at level 1 or a staff at level 8. You still get the crafting benefit of half market price
You still get the crafting benefit of half market price
Right on, I was worried that they left the discount in there for a second. I already kinda hate the bound item option because it feels like a clear advantage over the familiar in a lot of situations.
You still get the crafting benefit of half market priceRight on, I was worried that they left the discount in there for a second. I already kinda hate the bound item option because it feels like a clear advantage over the familiar in a lot of situations.
I feel like if you're going to take a familiar take it all the way and get improved familiar. Esp. with a gish since your HP will be better and familiar HP is based on the master.
Arcane bond is a nice option too, but it's not overpowered. It doesn't do more than a scroll of the proper spell would, and you're crippled without it. An imp familiar can go invisible, steal the key to your cell, get your spellbook, and bring your equipment to you while you're in jail.
I feel like if you're going to take a familiar take it all the way and get improved familiar. Esp. with a gish since your HP will be better and familiar HP is based on the master.
Arcane bond is a nice option too, but it's not overpowered. It doesn't do more than a scroll of the proper spell would, and you're crippled without it. An imp familiar can go invisible, steal the key to your cell, get your spellbook, and bring your equipment to you while you're in jail.
I absolutely agree with you here. My main issue is that unless you stick with the wizard base class, your familiar doesn't advance with you. More importantly, the only way to fix this is non-core feats. The powers of the bound item, however, are only limited by caster level, which many of the PrCs give bonuses to.