I have done that in my campaigns. For example, there's been a skull with rose quartz in the eye sockets that cast magic missiles like a wand (it had charges) or a holy symbol that cast cure light wounds. Remember, if you're the GM, you can make any alterations that you see fit instead of what's standard, just to add a different flavor to your games. Wands are just easier to store than a variety of magical knickknacks that act like wands.
are there any alternatives to slender wooden sticks? why cant i have why cant i have a ring of cure light wands or a glove of burning hands wan that becomes useless after 50 charges? just an example. is there an alternative?
Those would be custom items, and it's up to the GM if they allow it. The custom item costs table prices items like that as the same as the equivalent wand, but those are all explicit guidelines and the GM is supposed to decided if the end result is appropriately costed going by the table or if the item is over/underpriced. Ask your GM what they are OK with.
The thing I would personally be leery of as a GM is that allowing a 50 charge spell trigger wand lets you create CLW "wands" with Craft Ring or Craft Wondrous Items(as if that feat needs any more of a boost), and you can avoid the action economy issues that happen when you need to draw a wand.
Snowblind raises a big point, and is one that can be solved by increasing the cost. You want a Ring with a set amount of charges instead of a Wand? Not many people are going to carry that around, nor is it really a standardized item type; that means the price is gonna go up.
I'd include a 50-100% mark-up if it's a non-standardized item, similar to making an item function as slotless, so as to discourage people from encroaching on the crafting feat territory. This is a similar rule if you planned to, for example, create Gauntlets of Giant Strength instead of a Belt of Giant Strength.
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As long as it was purely a flavor thing, I'd let person crafting their "wand" make it out of just about anything. If they started getting cute and making sword wands or something I'd rein them in. So long as it is functionally no more useful than a "slender wooden stick," more power to 'em.
All I'd require is that they have both crafting feats + access to whatever spells they need.
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I always thought the artwork for the cover of Pixaud's Practical Grimoire from TORG made for an awesome wand.
As long as it was purely a flavor thing, I'd let person crafting their "wand" make it out of just about anything. If they started getting cute and making sword wands or something I'd rein them in. So long as it is functionally no more useful than a "slender wooden stick," more power to 'em.
I'd go with that, under the idea that it follows the same general mechanics and role: an item you pull out of your pocket (instead of wear), do jazz hands with, and then magic comes out.
If you pull out a backmassager of cure light wounds, I would not care. Lipstick that lets you "kiss it all better". A magical paint brush that you use to write 'cured' on their face.
It is when it is on rings and such, whcih can be kept on hand, avoid the action of drawing it, where we begin to have problems. Also the 'try not to mix up crafting feats' advisory, of course.
I'll echo the others that said it has to have some limitation (not the clusterf~%~ LazarX wants but..). It either has to have the same action economy cost or it has to take up a slot OR it has to cost double (not +50%, but double as in a no slot item). One of those three. And definitely Craft Wand to make them rather than Craft Wondrous (it really is bloated for a crafting feat). Maybe both for a more restrictive DM.
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I've always assumed that wand prices are what they are because they are "slotless" (which means they actually cost 2x the price of the identical item that takes up a slot). There IS an opportunity cost to having something in a slot: now you can't have something ELSE in that slot. Wands don't have that cost, so you pay 2x the price that you would pay for an item with that cost.
If a person builds an item that exactly duplicates a wand but takes up a slot, it should cost half the price. You want a Headband of Magic Missiles, fine, go ahead and craft it and it only costs half the price of a wand of Magic Missiles, but it takes your head slot and now you won't be able to wear that AND wear a Headband of Vast Intellect at the same time.
What I wouldn't do is allow slotless wands that you wear without occupying a slot. No button of Magic Missiles that you sew onto your shirt - if it's on your shirt, it becomes a chest slot item and you cannot add a second button-wand to that shirt because your chest slot is already occupied. If it's a charm of Magic Missiles dangling from a bracelet, then it takes your wrist slot and you cannot add a second charm-wand to that bracelet because your wrist slot is occupied by the first one. Etc.
(now, for real fun, let's get some wand tattoos!)
Wands however use a Slot, the weapon slot. If you carry a sword and a shield, you can't use wands, which happen often to paladins for exsmple.
Out of combate you could do it easy, but that would be true with any other Sloth gear toó, you could remove your helm to out a helm of teleport, for example.
Yes, I agree. A Lotus of Cure Light Wounds sound nice, it's not a wand, has not Harry Potter ressonance, and doesn't change the slots, action economy, or prize
Wands however use a Slot, the weapon slot. If you carry a sword and a shield, you can't use wands, which happen often to paladins for exsmple.
Out of combate you could do it easy, but that would be true with any other Sloth gear toó, you could remove your helm to out a helm of teleport, for example.
Since when was a Wand a weapon? Do you see it in the Weapons table? Is it listed in the Fighter Weapon Groups? When I use it as a Weapon, wouldn't I get Improvisation penalties because it's actually a weapon?
I think you mean a Wand take a hand to use, and that makes sense. Because there's nothing stopping an Alchemist with a Vestigial Arm from wearing a Longsword, a Heavy Shield, and a Wand at the same time.
I'm on board with the idea that if you draw it like a wand, it takes up a hand slot like a wand, and is essentially useless for anything else like a wand (not a wand-sword for example) then it is a wand and could be crafted at regular price with the craft wand feat. The only reason to restrict it then is flavor, which can be valid if you really want your world to be wands.
Of course if you allow this, it should probably be fairly common. If wands are naturally better as charged item containers, then all sorts of things would be 'wandish' making realizing that someone has pulled out a potentially deadly weapon more difficult.
If you move away from alternate wands working just like wands though, you either have to change the price or make sure any benefits are matched up with equal detriments.
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*Raises hand*
Just to clarify, I'm pretty sure wands are slotless items - specifically, slotless items that must be held and manipulated in order to gain the benefit of having them. As far as price goes, wands specifically and intentionally have their own pricing format.
I'm also fairly certain it is not the case that a slotted magic item could have the same spells for half the price just because wands are 'slotless'. Wands are intended to be the cheapest form of spellcasting per-use, and should probably remain that way.
Finally, as a GM, I would also allow shaping it however you liked as long as it did not change the mechanical function (must be held, can't be used for other purposes, same action economy, etc). ^^
Darksol: yes, I mean it needs the same slot than a weapon does, not that you can attack with it.
A truly slotless ítem doesn't need to be held. Like a luck stone, for example. The wand doesn't need a slot to be stored, but it does to be used. You could also store several hats, but you need to out them on your head to use them, and you need to take the wand in your hand too
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Darksol: yes, I mean it needs the same slot than a weapon does, not that you can attack with it.
A truly slotless ítem doesn't need to be held. Like a luck stone, for example. The wand doesn't need a slot to be stored, but it does to be used. You could also store several hats, but you need to out them on your head to use them, and you need to take the wand in your hand too
Others, correct me if I'm wrong, but slotless items are not always just things you have on you and they work. They are any wondrous item that doesn't take up a worn slot on your body. Void dust, figurines of wonderous power, feather tokens, elixirs, pipes of haunting, boundary chalk, horn of Valhalla, etc. All slotless items, all require either being thrown/drunk/blown/otherwise manipulated.
Wow, you guys like to argue.
zainale, Rule Zero
If you want to have a holy symbol that casts CLW 50 times and have it be called a wand do so. The Healer will still need to pull it out and use it under the same rules as a wand. If its a non-slotted ring, well you are then altering the RAW and RAI. Now if you have to put the ring on the injured parties finger as part of the casting process I feel you are meeting the 'pulling out a wand and using it' requirement. Its somatic flavor and more importantly its YOUR game, said alterations will not be PFS compatible but if your not playing PFS who cares.
I fondly remember a 'hand of glory' sort of thing - a glove (which took up the hand slot) which cast spells like a wand. It was, on the other hand, rather expensive, so ...
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I routinely change wands to what I call "charms" and "trinkets". They're just small handheld things that do exactly what a wand does.
In the past I have had a bronzed turtle foot of slow, a quartz crystal of cure light wounds, a beaded talisman of charm person, a peyote button of endure elements, and a wand of magic missiles.
As for crafting feats, we just changed the title of the Craft Wands feat to "Craft Charms, Trinkets and Wands".
Others, correct me if I'm wrong, but slotless items are not always just things you have on you and they work. They are any wondrous item that doesn't take up a worn slot on your body. Void dust, figurines of wonderous power, feather tokens, elixirs, pipes of haunting, boundary chalk, horn of Valhalla, etc. All slotless items, all require either being thrown/drunk/blown/otherwise manipulated.Darksol: yes, I mean it needs the same slot than a weapon does, not that you can attack with it.
A truly slotless ítem doesn't need to be held. Like a luck stone, for example. The wand doesn't need a slot to be stored, but it does to be used. You could also store several hats, but you need to out them on your head to use them, and you need to take the wand in your hand too
Fair enough.
But then, a magic throwing knife is slotless too. That was my point, maybe badly expressed. It "uses" the same "slot" than a weapon.
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Others, correct me if I'm wrong, but slotless items are not always just things you have on you and they work. They are any wondrous item that doesn't take up a worn slot on your body. Void dust, figurines of wonderous power, feather tokens, elixirs, pipes of haunting, boundary chalk, horn of Valhalla, etc. All slotless items, all require either being thrown/drunk/blown/otherwise manipulated.Darksol: yes, I mean it needs the same slot than a weapon does, not that you can attack with it.
A truly slotless ítem doesn't need to be held. Like a luck stone, for example. The wand doesn't need a slot to be stored, but it does to be used. You could also store several hats, but you need to out them on your head to use them, and you need to take the wand in your hand tooFair enough.
But then, a magic throwing knife is slotless too. That was my point, maybe badly expressed. It "uses" the same "slot" than a weapon.
It's "slotless" in a dictionary sort of way, but the term as it applies to magical items in Pathfinder refers specifically to wonderous items that don't take up a body slot.
I've always assumed that wand prices are what they are because they are "slotless" (which means they actually cost 2x the price of the identical item that takes up a slot). There IS an opportunity cost to having something in a slot: now you can't have something ELSE in that slot. Wands don't have that cost, so you pay 2x the price that you would pay for an item with that cost.
If a person builds an item that exactly duplicates a wand but takes up a slot, it should cost half the price. You want a Headband of Magic Missiles, fine, go ahead and craft it and it only costs half the price of a wand of Magic Missiles, but it takes your head slot and now you won't be able to wear that AND wear a Headband of Vast Intellect at the same time.
What I wouldn't do is allow slotless wands that you wear without occupying a slot. No button of Magic Missiles that you sew onto your shirt - if it's on your shirt, it becomes a chest slot item and you cannot add a second button-wand to that shirt because your chest slot is already occupied. If it's a charm of Magic Missiles dangling from a bracelet, then it takes your wrist slot and you cannot add a second charm-wand to that bracelet because your wrist slot is occupied by the first one. Etc.
(now, for real fun, let's get some wand tattoos!)
In the Vigilante play test, Warlocks have a Talent called Tattoo Chamber which can function as a wand tattoo. At higher levels they can have more than one wand stored in the tattoo.
We once used a scrollbook of CLW. It was a bound set of scrolls of CLW, with 50 entries at wand pricing. Meta, it was a wand by another fluff. Mechanically, the character had a prohibition/fear/something against wands, but we all agreed the new fluff was OK.
/cevah
Ooo, I like that idea. That's a really neat visual concept, too.
I just really want my Rock of Cure Serious Wounds that I can bash someone over the head with and they are K.
I just really want my Rock of Cure Serious Wounds that I can bash someone over the head with and they are K.
Me and my husband were talking about a halfling with a sling and sling bullets of cure light wounds. :)
I just really want my Rock of Cure Serious Wounds that I can bash someone over the head with and they are K.
Why stop with just a rock?
Back in 2nd Ed, there were arrows of cure wounds. Never seemed right to shot an ally in the bum for the feel good.