Gads, I go back far enough for it to still be called the Wand of Wonder, and I had a character that owned one. Lawdy lawd did we have fun with that thing.
It's best not to try and understand a rod of wonder. It's effects are largely up to the dungeon master.
Typically you aim the rod at someone and hope something bad happens to them. But that is not usually what happens.
Turn ethereal any nonliving object of up to 1,000 lbs. mass and up to 30 cubic ft. in size.
I'd say 60' is a good range for this one, but a little more is fine. It would probably affect their armor, or clothing, or fancy magical robes, or maybe even their weapon. It just depends on how nice the dungeon master is feeling. And, yeah, it could be forever; however, I'm not sure, but I don't think you can target things you can't see.
Reduce wielder two size categories (no save) for 1 day.
The standard size modifiers would apply. I don't think it stacks, otherwise you would be really tiny--microscopic even, but the odds are long against that even happening.
Invisibility covers rod wielder.
You just become invisible as per the description of invisibility in the Core Rulebook glossary. Could be permanent too--boy what a mess. Alternatively, you could use the item's caster level 10 to determine how long it lasts.
Enlarge person on target if within 60 ft. of rod (Fortitude DC 13 negates).
Sounds to me like a range limit of the effect, so if you you were to try and target someone 100' away it wouldn't work. However, it sounds like fun if they were only enlarged when near the rod. Could also be permanent.
Leaves grow from target if within 60 ft. of rod. These last 24 hours.
Again, sounds like a range limit, but...
10–40 gems, value 1 gp each, shoot forth in a 30-ft.-long stream. Each gem deals 1 point of damage to any creature in its path: roll 5d4 for the number of hits and divide them among the available targets.
I would definitely give you the gems if I were the dungeon master, and I'd write them myself on your chronicle sheet too.
But, beware, the list is only typical of what can come out of a rod of wonder. Anything can happen. >:D
That language is at least 36 years old and has changed very little through the decades.
88-90 10-40 gems of 1 g.p. base value shoot forth in a 3" long stream, each causing 1 h.p. of damage to any creature in path--roll 5d4 for number of hits
10-40 would be 1d4x10. 5d4 refers to how many of those 10-40 hit and do 1 hp of damage. Which means you could shoot out 10 gems then roll that 20 of them hit. Welcome to the good olde days.
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A fun rod of wonder-user is a gnome Spellscar Oracle with the Primal Mastery revelation and Master of Wonders . Basically you get 4 rolls to determine what happens. So much fun.
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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1) This has no distance and no save. Can I disarm people of their weapon? Can I target things I can't see? Does this last forever?
2) Does this stack with itself? What sort of size bonuses/penalties do you earn from it?
3) The user casts invisibility on himself
4) Do these effects both end when the target leaves the proximity of the rod?
5) PFS, do I get to keep the gp this generates?
Ultimately this is an "ask your GM" question.
1) That would apply to unattended items. All magical effects require line of sight and line of effect. Lasts forever.
2) Effects never stack with themselves. Apply standard size changing bonuses/penalties.
3) yes
4) Leaves are stationary for 24 hours.
5) I vaguely remember a Mike Brock post saying put it on a chronicle sheet, but until you can find that post the default is no you may not put it on the chronicle sheet.
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Just remember, you pick your target, *then* you roll to see what happens.
So in your first example, if you targeted a person, nothing would happen, if you had targeted a wall, it would turn ethereal.
I'm not getting this from my reading of the ability.
Can you explain why you think this is the case?
Hmm. It looks like this is no longer the case, and general consensus is that target designation is the last step of spell casting.
So you activate the rod and then you chose the target. But until the effect occurs, you still don't have any way to know what it is, so you still have to designate the target before you know what it is going to do.