Spirit Wands [3.5]

[Jack_Simth]

The cleric went about the battlefield, healing all the wounded with a single wand he invoked over and over. After the three hundredth time the Cleric did this, the wizard asked "What's powering that thing?" "They are." replied the Cleric.

Spirit Wands
A Spirit Wand acts much like a regular wand, but require Craft Wondrous Item as well as Craft Wand. The big benefit, though, is that they don't use charges. Instead, they draw XP from the user (or the recipient, at the option of the invoker, if the recipient is a willing target for the spell) to power the spell. Each charge costs 2 xp * spell level * caster level, + 1/25th the GP cost of any focus component of the spell, + 1/5th the GP cost of any material component of the spell, plus any XP component of the spell. (0 level spells count as 1/2 a spell level for all purposes of calculations with Spirit Wands). Each Spirit Wand is valued at 1000*spell level * caster level gp (and thus has a cost to create of 500 * spell level * caster level gp, and 40 *spell level * caster level XP).

Thus, a Spirit Wand of Cure Minor Wounds (0th level Cleric spell) at caster level 1 costs 1 xp per use, and heals 1 hp per invocation, and would be valued at 500 gp. A Spirit Wand of Cure Light Wounds at caster level 1 costs 2 xp per use, and heals 1d8+1 damage per invocation, and would be valued at 1000 gp. A Spirit Wand of Bless Water would be valued at 1,000 gp, and would cost 7 xp each time you used it (2 xp for a 1st level spell, 5 xp for the 25 gp material component).



So, any thoughts as to the balance of such wands?

[Innis Cabal]

I'd never buy one of these. I rather burn through charges, which through some means can be renewed, then XP.

[Jack_Simth]

I'd never buy one of these. I rather burn through charges, which through some means can be renewed, then XP.

Isn't that similiar to "I'd never craft a wand", as Crafting burns XP (although notably less than these do)?

Burning XP, you get it back fairly quickly (especially if it leaves you a level behind), as long as you're not using them willy-nilly. Burning cash to buy wands of Cure Light (or similar), you're subject to the whims of the treasure tables.

[Innis Cabal]

No. This takes two crafting feats. And you keep paying XP for them. This is the wand that keeps on beating you.

[Jack_Simth]

No. This takes two crafting feats. And you keep paying XP for them. This is the wand that keeps on beating you.

You pay XP and GP, or a lot of GP, for each wand you Craft - and they eventually need to be replaced. Whether you spend it now or later, you're still spending XP on them (although the Spirit Wands do ultimately cost more - a Spirit Wand of Cure light wounds would potentially charge not the healer, but the healee).

Besides - almost everyone who picks up item crafting feats takes Craft Wondrous.

[AstralFire]

I'd never buy one of these. I rather burn through charges, which through some means can be renewed, then XP.

XP can be renewed more easily as long as you're willing to stay one level behind.

Anyway, they seem pretty good, and hew somewhat closer to standard fantasy wands than the D&D type. I like.

[Innis Cabal]

It can, but most people that arn't going to craft won't be willing to give up XP or delevel. Which is why neg levels are such a pain(aside from the mechanical things)

[Jack_Simth]

It can, but most people that arn't going to craft won't be willing to give up XP or delevel. Which is why neg levels are such a pain(aside from the mechanical things)

Basically, though, you're saying they're too weak, not too strong? Handy. Would it be better if it was just "craft wand" and base of 1 xp, rather than 2?

For comparison, crafting a Wand of Cure Light Wounds costs 30 xp and 375 gp - with 50 charges, that's 0.6 xp/charge, and 7.5 gp/charge (or 15 gp/charge, if you simply buy one).

These have a higher initial investment, but they don't "run out" - after creation, they don't need replacing, and it's a flat X xp per use.

[Innis Cabal]

I'm saying they are a deterent for players. Not that I don't like the idea or them in general, just...most(Read: Almost all) of people will take a wand they don't need to pay XP for ever, recharge the wands charges in various ways and never need to pay more then the original cost of the wand.

As they stand, they are....its like buying a car that stabs you in the leg when ever you drive.

[Jack_Simth]

I'm saying they are a deterent for players. Not that I don't like the idea or them in general, just...most(Read: Almost all) of people will take a wand they don't need to pay XP for ever, recharge the wands charges in various ways and never need to pay more then the original cost of the wand.

Can you name one of these ways you speak of for recharging a wand, that aren't a matter of DM fiat or don't involve spending resources on them?

As they stand, they are....its like buying a car that stabs you in the leg when ever you drive.

More like buying a car and paying for the gas to run it, as opposed to getting a bus pass with 50 trips on it, which you later need to buy again (but then, considering the price of gas nowadays....).

[Fizban]

Well I for one think it's awesome. It gets around the normal charge limit by taking a paltry amount of xp from the target, which works great if you need to throw some buffs or healing over a huge number of people. Your example says it all.