Magic wands: Failed roll?

[jasonthelamb]

Just an odd question, when someone casts a spell from a wand and fails the roll, is the charge used or the spell just doesn't fire? Seems a little over powered if the charge isn't burnt because the party could just buy wands of cure X wounds and take 20s outside of combat.

So, just wondering if anyone here houserule stuff, or what?

[Blakmane]

from the SRD, under use magic device:

Use a Wand, Staff, or Other Spell Trigger Item: Normally, to use a wand, you must have the wand's spell on your class spell list. This use of the skill allows you to use a wand as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. Failing the roll does not expend a charge.

Using a cure X wounds wand out of combat is an absolute staple of any adventuring party that does not have a cure-capable caster.

Note that you cannot take 20, because if you fail with a roll of 1 you cannot activate that wand again for the rest of the day:

Retry?

Yes, but if you ever roll a natural 1 while attempting to activate an item and you fail, then you can't try to activate that item again for 24 hours.

Note the 'and you fail' part: if you have a UMD high enough to pass the check on a 1, this doesn't apply and you can use the item with no chance of failure.