An interesting question came up during character creation, and I couldn't find an answer, so I figured I'd ask:
Can a wand (or other item that similarly produces spell effects) be imbued with a class-ability altered version of a spell?
Example: An elemental bloodline(water) sorcerer makes a wand of fireball for his non-caster buddy to use. Could he use his bloodline arcana during wand creation so that the wand's fireballs do cold damage instead of fire?
A wand doesn't include many other characteristics of its creator. The ability score is fixed as the minimum to cast the spell and the caster level could be higher or lower than the creators - a 5th level wizard with craft wand could create a CL 1 wand of magic missile, or they could create it at CL 9 if they're willing to suck up a +5 DC on the spellcraft check. Or they could make it at any CL in between of course.
Why would the bloodline arcana be included when more basic characteristics like these aren't?
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Generally speaking, the alterations from race/class abilities are not included in magic item spell effects.
If you want a wand of fireballs that does cold damage, there are basically two RAW solutions:
1) Use the metamagic feat Elemental Spell (Cold) to replace the energy type with cold damage (effective spell level 4, minimum CL 7).
2) Develop a "coldball" spell using the CRB rules for Independent Research.
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A [spellcaster] can also research a spell independently, duplicating an existing spell or creating an entirely new one. The cost to research a new spell, and the time required, are left up to GM discretion, but it should probably take at least 1 week and cost at least 1,000 gp per level of the spell to be researched. This should also require a number of Spellcraft and Knowledge (arcana) checks.
As a variant, instead of a completely new spell, the GM may allow the research to cost less than 3,000 gp.
Can a wand (or other item that similarly produces spell effects) be imbued with a class-ability altered version of a spell?
I would tend to agree with the others for your example. Like avr said, most wands don't maintain traits of their creator. For instance, if you made a wand of fireballs on the Elemental Plane of Fire where such spells are empowered or count as +x caster level, it's probably just going to function normally everywhere else. I would say it is the same with your ability that converts spells you cast to cold versions.
Having said that, is it possible for there to be a wand of resist energy (cold) or a wand of fire shield that only does the heat version? Yes (usually that's restricted to potions, where the user doesn't make choices for the spell, unlike with scrolls, wands, etc.)
avr:
avr wrote:
...- a 5th level wizard with craft wand could create a CL 1 wand of magic missile, or they could create it at CL 9 if they're willing to suck up a +5 DC on the spellcraft check. Or they could make it at any CL in between of course.
For clarity's sake (just not to confuse any other readers), a wand is a spell-trigger item and the requirements for a spell-trigger item cannot be ignored. But yes, they could make it anywhere between CL 1 (minimum to cast) and CL 5 (their caster level).
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For potions, scrolls, and wands, the creator can set the caster level of an item at any number high enough to cast the stored spell but not higher than her own caster level. For other magic items, the caster level is determined by the item itself.
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The DC to create a magic item increases by 5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting its prerequisites.
Magic item creation is more academic... It seems to rely on the spells you know more than anything else.
Its rare to have some other trait, such as race, to be a requirement for crafting. An example is boots of elvenkind.
Having exotic prerequisites is something more fitting wondrous items than strait forward spells. Scrolls, potions, and wands are ways to get your spells. A narrow, cost effective way to get your spells.
I have an idea. Maybe you could combine craft wands with craft wondrous items. Wondrous items can have exotic prerequisites, but you want a wand that has an unusual effect. I'm not sure if it should be priced the same, as your special wands would be more rare than normal wands.
