Simple Q&A D&D 3.5 (by RAW) XXI

[Curmudgeon]

A 904

If your DM deems that a metamagic rod is not also usable as a weapon, retrieving one would follow the "Retrieve a stored item" rules, and would provoke attacks of opportunity when you used a move action to retrieve it. If your DM decides that a metamagic rod can be used as a weapon, you could draw one as a move action (or as a free action in combination with moving your speed or less), and this would not provoke attacks of opportunity. The difference is entirely from whether the rod is in the "weapon" or "stored item" category, because weapons are treated differently than other items in the D&D combat rules.

Physical Description

Rods weigh approximately 5 pounds.

They range from 2 feet to 3 feet long and are usually made of iron or some other metal. (Many, as noted in their descriptions, can function as light maces or clubs due to their sturdy construction.)

There is no construction information in the Dungeon Master's Guide for metamagic rods, so each individual DM gets to decide if metamagic rods can also be used as weapons ─ or not.

A 907 No.

There is a strict limit of 1 swift action per turn, and there is no substitution allowed to turn any other action into a swift action.