About wands (half charge problem)

[yuki_sc]

Hi there.
I'm Japanese pathfinder player/gamemaster who has started this game since 2010.

Now, I am running a campaign (lv5 - 6) using official scenario.

Yesterday, the following problem occurred.

As you know, this pathfinder rulebook says that a wand has 50 charges. However, my player, who is cleric, said that he wanted to get half (=25) or 13 (quarter) charges wands (cure minor wounds).

I thought that this half charges wand was too convenient for him and said NO.

However...

Pros) This book says that (only) a wand has 50 charges exist.

Cons (He says) It is rare to use 50 charges in the session. You should admit this immediately. You may ignore this description because this is OUR game.

So...

1) Is it acceptable to pass these half/quarter charges wands?
2) If Yes, How should I compute the value of these?

Thanks a lot for reading?

[Phasics]

You can give out wands with less than 50 charges as loot they are priced at charges left/50 x full price

no by RAW you can't make a wand with less than 50 charges unless you house rule it

[VRMH]

You can't make a wand with less than 50 charges. But you can buy or sell them. For every spent charge, a wand loses 1/50th of its value (becoming worthless when drained completely).

It's up to the GM if such wands would be fore sale though. But random treasures quite often have wands without all 50 charges left in them.

[stringburka]

You can't make wands with less than 50 charges. You MIGHT be able to get them in a shop, but it's not assumed to always be available (since they're also far cheaper per shot than potions and scrolls).

[snejjj]

I'd say, if he creates those Wands himself, he has to create the 50 charges variant. (He can keep the remaining charges for the next session with that character, doesn't he?)

On the other hand, you could simply drop some half-used wands (thus with only half the charges left) in the treasure, your party finds. I'd simply calculate them as value=((normal price)/(normal uses))*(uses left)

[Midnight_Angel]

Officially, wands are only sold new, with 50 charges.

A freshly created wand has 50 charges.
A used wand may have any number of charges, from 0 to 49.
Used wands are found as part of treasure, some groups sell them.
So, by logic, some merchants probably have used wands (with less than 50 charges) and might sell them.
Value would be (original price / 50) x number of charges.
However, the merchant might ask for a slightly higher price.

BUT

You cannot go and craft such a wand. You cannot commission it. You would have to take what is available.

So, you should roll randomly
- what kind of used wands are available (your choice of %)
- how many charges a specific wand has.

If your player does not like what he finds... well, that's bad luck for him.

*looks around wide-eyed* So many ninjas...

[Phasics]

Midnight_Angel wrote:

*looks around wide-eyed* So many ninjas...

our work here is done

NINJA VANISH !

[uriel222]

I think what the OP is talking about isn't wands with >50 left, but wands with >50 total charges.

In other words, his player wants a wand that's cheaper, but needs recharging more often.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't exist as RAW, and it would seem to be difficult to price correctly for a home game (how much value do you place on total charges, versus spell level?).

[Phasics]

you can't recharge wands only staffs and they're a lot more expensive

[uriel222]

...

Carry on then.

:)

[blackbloodtroll]

I think Ultimate Equipment has cheaper Staves.

[Matthew Downie]

We have a houserule that says you can buy / craft a wand with fewer than 50 charges, but you have to pay for it as though it had 5 extra charges.

So in this system, a wand of 20 charges would cost half as much as a wand of 50 charges. A wand of 5 charges would cost 20% as much as a wand of 50.

It seems to work pretty well in balance terms.

[BltzKrg242]

Just divide total cost of the end product by the percentage of 50 charges he wants. No big deal...