Wand question

[Jeremiziah]

If a module/scenario equips an evildoer with a wand of burning hands - with no further description - ought one to conclude that the wand does 5d4 damage with a successful activation? I would think so, based on Craft Wand needing CL5 as a prerequisite. I thought if we didn't have information stipulating that the wand was made less powerful than it could have been, we were to assume that the crafter made it as strong as he could.

Yes? No?

Grazi.

[Gauss]

No. Wands are assumed to be cast at minimum caster level and minimum saving throw DCs unless stated otherwise. Thus a wand of burning hands starts at caster level 1 unless stated otherwise. - Gauss

[Jeremiziah]

Good show, thanks Gauss.

[Gauss]

NP, the minimum caster level requirement on craft feats has no bearing on the items created by said feats. However, a related tidbit is that staves all have a minimum caster level of 8 or the minimum caster level of the highest spell, whichever is higher. - Gauss

[Rasmus Wagner]

One ought to assume that, yes, but not for the reasons you state. One ought to assume it, because melee-range 1d4 damage, save for half, is a terrible, terrible action to take in a fight. 5d4 is merely "very situational" in a low-level context.

[Jeremiziah]

Well, in this particular context, three first-level PCs were in the AoE, one of them had 1 HP, one of them had 3, and one of them had 8.

Either way, it resulted in the start of a TPK. Even the worst actions can be useful in some cases. This was one of those.

[Gauss]

Jeremiziah, if I understand it correctly...a creature was using a wand of burning hands vs a party of first level characters. The GM thought the wand had a minimum of 5d4 due to craft wand (it doesn't). Is this scenario about right?

Unless stated otherwise it would have been caster level 1 (1d4, ref DC11 1/2).

- Gauss

[Selgard]

1 hp? I hope that wasn't their maximum.

yeesh.

-S