Thaumaturge's Wands (3.5e Equipment)

Author: Zhenra-Khal (talk) Date Created: 7/7/2017 Status: Complete Editing: Mechanical changes in Talk please.

Rate this article Your rating for this article: Favor Like Neutral Dislike Oppose Submit | Cancel Discuss this article

Thaumaturge's Wands

Thaumaturge's Wand

Price:	See Below
Body Slot:	Held
Caster Level:	Varies
Aura:	Varies
Activation:	Normally Standard
Weight:	1lb

A bit of a foreword: This is based off of the Thaumcraft mod for Minecraft, which I do not own and am merely adapting one of the features of for D&D 3.5e. All credit goes to the original authors.

These special wands differ greatly from traditional wands. Ordinary wands have a set number of charges and only have a single spell attached. Thaumaturge's wands are, instead, created from a Wand Core (Which determines max number of charges), a pair of Wand Caps (Which determines how many charges are spent) and an interchangeable Wand Focus (Which is like a magic lens that contains the spell that the wand casts).

Crafting a Thaumaturge's Wand requires the Craft (Artifice) skill. Each piece of a wand - The Core and the Caps, as well as any Foci - Is crafted separately, then requiring a final check (DC 15) to unite the components into the final wand.

Each Wand contains an amount of magical energy within it, called Vis. Vis (A word that means "Force" or "Power") is a measurement of energy equal to 1/10th of a spell level. When you use the wand, you expend Vis from the wand based on the spell level of the spell focus you're using - If you were using an ordinary Thaumaturge's Wand to cast Fireball (A level 3 spell), for example, it would consume 30 Vis.

However, some wands aren't as efficient as others, and some are more efficient than average. A less efficient wand might cost 12 Vis per spell level instead of 10, and a more efficient wand might cost 8 Vis per spell level instead of 10. In most cases, this is determined by the material of the Wand Caps used to create the wand.

When created, Thaumaturge's Wands are empty vessels and must be charged before they can be used; See below ("Recharging a Wand") for details.

One of the wand's caps has a small dial with slots in it - Usually six slots. Each slot can hold a single Wand Focus, allowing you to switch which Focus you're currently using by merely turning the dial (A swift action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity). Taking a focus out of the slot and putting a different one in is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Having a second dial on the other end does nothing, as the energy of the wand only flows in one direction.

The market value for a Thaumaturge's Wand, Scepter or Staff is equal to the total combined cost of the components - Core and Caps - Plus 20%. Thus an Iron-capped Wooden Staff would cost 240gp, while a Mithral-capped Silverwood staff would cost 9,360gp.

Wand Cores

Wand Cores are almost always made of wood, crystal or bone. Cores determine the total amount of Vis the wand can contain.

Wooden Wand Core: Carved from a branch or other basic wood source, this is the worst of the Wand Cores. It can hold up to 25 Vis at a time, and the base cost is 50gp and has a craft DC of 10.

Bone Wand Core: Made from an arm or leg bone, while somewhat unsettling, this type of Wand Core can hold up to 50 Vis, and costs 150gp. The DC to craft one is 15.

Crystal Wand Core: Made from mundane crystal, these fragile cores can hold up to 75 Vis, and cost around 300gp. Making one has a DC of 20.

Deep Crystal Wand Core: Cut from psionic crystal, Deep Crystal wand cores are much like their mundane counterparts, but better. They can hold 100 Vis, cost 600gp and have a crafting DC of 25.

Darkwood Wand Core: Made from magical Darkwood, these wand cores can hold 150 Vis and cost 1,200gp. They have DC of 30 to craft.

Silverwood Wand Core: Silverwood is created when a Darkwood tree is grown in soil treated with an alchemical mixture of quicksilver and unicorn blood and supplied with a constant flow of low-power magical energy. The resulting wood is flexible and has a smooth, soft feeling to it, with a pale silvery color. Silverwood cores can hold up to 200 vis, and will regain 1 Vis each minute. These cores cost 2,400gp each and have a crafting DC of 35.

Witchwood Wand Core: Witchwood is a rare tree infused with a connection to magic. They grow like normal oak trees, with sweet-smelling violet wood, cinnamon-colored bark (Through the cracks in which the violet wood can often be seen), and leaves of pure white. Wand Cores made of Witchwood can siphon magic from other sources, specifically Strain casters - While held, the Witchwood applies one point of Strain to the caster each round, gaining 1 spell level worth of Vis in the process. They also absorb ambient magical energy, regaining 1 Vis each minute. A Witchwood Wand Core costs 4,950 GP, holds up to 250 Vis, and has a crafting DC of 40.

Wand Caps

Wand caps, which come in sets of two, are metallic caps that go on the ends of the wand Core. They effect the efficiency of the magical energy that passes through them.

Iron Wand Caps: Made from ordinary iron like what you'd use to make a cooking pot, these are the first wand caps available. Wand Foci attached to an iron-capped wand use up 20% more Vis than normal (Which generally means 12 per spell level rather than 10 per spell level). A set of iron wand caps costs 50gp and has a Craft (Artifice) DC of 10.

Masterwork Steel Wand Caps: More refined and better-shaped than ordinary iron wand caps, these cost 100gp and only suffer a 10% Vis cost increase. They have a DC of 10.

Gold Wand Caps: Soft and malleable, gold is at least non-resistant to magic. Gold-capped wands don't suffer an increase in Vis cost, but also don't reduce Vis cost. A set of gold wand caps costs 150gp and has a crafting DC of 15.

Silver Wand Caps: Silver-capped wands are fairly efficient - Granting a 10% Vis decrease (Meaning the Foci uses up 9 per spell level rather than 10). In addition, spells cast from Foci attached to a silver-capped wand have a +5 on caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of creatures who have damage reduction that is overcome by Silver weapons, such as lycanthropes. Silver wand caps cost 300gp and have a crafting DC of 20.

Mithral Wand Caps: As efficient as it is magical, Mithral wand caps grant the wand 20% efficiency (Meaning the cost is 8 Vis per spell level rather than 10). Mithral wand caps cost 600gp and have a DC of 25.

Cold Iron Wand Caps: While using a metal like Cold Iron as a wand cap seems counter-intuitive due to the metal's antimagic properties, it's actually not such a bad idea. Cold Iron wand caps cause the wand to suffer in efficiency - Indeed, increasing Vis costs by 10%. However, Cold-Iron-capped wands have a special effect on creatures who possess damage reduction overcome by Cold Iron. Against such creatures, spell cast from a Focus attached to a Cold-Iron-capped wand treat the creature's Spell Resistance and Spell Dampening (If any) as if they were 10 lower than they actually are. A set of Cold Iron wand caps costs 1,200gp and has a crafting DC of 30.

Adamantine Wand Caps: A staple of seasoned adventurers, it should surprise no one that someone would attempt making wand caps from Adamantine. Adamantine Wand Caps use 10% less Vis than normal. Spells cast from Foci attached to an Adamantine-capped wand ignore hardness less than 20 + the spell's level. Against creatures who have damage reduction overcome by Adamantine, said spells also treat the creature's Spell Resistance and Spell Dampening (If any) as if they were 10 lower than they actually are. Adamantine wand caps cost 2,400gp and have a craft DC of 35.

Ensorcelled Aurum Wand Caps: Made from Ensorcelled Aurum, these wand caps are highly desirable, as not only do they grant a 30% Vis discount, but they increase the caster level of any spell cast through them by 1. However, this comes at a suitable price, costing 7,500gp for a set of wand caps and having a crafting DC of 45.

Scepters and Staffs

While wands are the most basic items here, there are other variants. By using 2 wand cores and a set of wand caps, one can make a Scepter, which is a foot-long rod about an inch across and deals damage as a club. Scepters can hold twice as much Vis as a Wand. The DC to unite the components is 20.

You can also make a Staff using three wand cores and 2 wand caps. It acts as a quarterstaff in addition to holding three times the Vis as the corresponding wand. The DC to unite the components is 25.

If you possess the appropriate feats and a desire to do so, Thaumaturge's Wands can be enchanted as normal Wands in addition to their normal properties. Likewise, Thaumaturge's Scepters can be enchanted as Rods, and Thaumaturge's Staffs can be enchanted as Staffs. These additional properties seldom interfere with the object's normal abilities.

Wand Foci

Crystalline lenses with runes etched into them, Wand Foci contain spells in the form of latent energy matrices. When magical energy is pushed through the matrix, it comes out as the spell on the other side.

Making a Wand Focus requires a Craft (Artifice) check, just like making the other components. The DC is equal to 10 + twice the spell's level, and market value is equal to the spell's level x the spell's caster level x 1,000gp. Specific Wand Foci, detailed below, have other DCs. Any Wand Foci can be enchanted as a Spellcasting Implement and subsequently receive Spell Power Enhancements, but these only affect the spell within that particular Focus.

Wand Focus: Mages Mace: This focus is heavier than most others, shaped like a miniature mace head. When activated, the mace head expands, humming quietly. This allows the wand to turn into a Simple, Light bludgeoning weapon that overcomes damage reduction as if it were magic, as well as whatever material the wand Caps are made of. It deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage (For a Medium creature) on a successful hit with a 20/x3 critical profile, and has the Clouting special effect, meaning the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 19), or be knocked back 10 feet, simply falling prone if such movement is impossible. If the target fails the first save, they must make a second Fort save or be stunned for 1 round. When attached to a Scepter, the weapon is instead a one-handed weapon that deals damage as per a Club one size larger than normal, with a x3 cricial multiplier, and the save DC is increased to 21. When attached to a Staff, the weapon is instead a two-handed weapon that deals damage as per a quarterstaff two sizes larger than normal, with a x4 critical multiplier, and the DC is increased to 23.

Mage's Mace has a market value of 16,000gp and a crafting DC of 30. It costs 1 spell level per round when attached to a Wand, 2 spell levels per round when attached to a Scepter or 3 spell levels per round when attached to a Staff.

Using a Thaumaturge's Wand

Normally the procedure is the same as using an ordinary wand, being a Standard action to use a spell trigger item. Some wand Foci, such as Mage's Mace, are use-activated, but in any case, the act doesn't provoke attacks.

Recharging a Wand

One of the main principles with Thaumaturge's Wands are that they can be recharged. Sacrificing spell slots can recharge the wands - This requires and full-round action and uses up the spell slot for the day as if the spell was cast. Each spell level typically generates 10 Vis, except that this number is affected by the efficiency of the wand caps - For example, charging an iron-capped wand will generate 8 Vis per spell level (20% decrease), while a Mithral-capped wand would gain 12 Vis per spell level (20% increase). Remember that 0th-level spells actually count as 1/2 level, yielding 5 Vis base. When fractions are encounter, round up if the fraction was caused by an increase (Such as casting a spell with an Iron-capped Wand or recharging a Mithral-capped wand), or round down if the fraction was caused by a decrease (Such as casting a spell from a Mithral-capped Wand or recharging an Iron-capped Wand).

Other methods exist, such as charging them using other items, the life force of other creatures, or magic drawn straight from one of the fabled Aura Nodes.

Other Materials

Feel free to add in special materials for wand caps and cores; Just try to follow the existing trends of spelling and grammar, and remember - Metallic for wand caps, nonmetal for wand cores. You can also add in your own specific Wand Foci too. Thanks~

Other Items and Wand Foci

Other items that have directable charges, like staffs, rods, wands, and Rune Arms, but not things like Rune Orbs or Brooches of Shielding (Since their charges are internal rather than directable), can actually have a Wand Focus dial attached to them which Wand Foci can be slotted into. Making and attaching one to one of these items costs 50gp and adds said value to the item's market price. The Focus can then be activated using charges from the item in the same manner as if it were attached to a Thaumaturge's Wand; The only difference being that all normal items use charges rather than Vis (Normally), and none have an increase or decrease in efficiency, nor can they normally be recharged. You can of course use homebrew variants to change this, using Vis for all charged items in your world and implementing efficiency based on materials, but it's up to you.

Example: Artisan Hammer

Thaumaturge's Wands as Treasure

You may want to use these items as generated treasure; So here are some random loot tables for you.

Table: Item Type

d6 Result	Item
1-3	Wand
4-5	Scepter
6	Staff

Table: Wands

d% Result	Wand	Vis Capacity	Vis/Spell Level	Market Value
1-40	Iron-capped Wooden Wand	25 Vis	12 Vis/Spell Level	120gp
41-55	Steel-capped Bone Wand	50 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	300gp
56-65	Gold-capped Crystal Wand	75 Vis	10 Vis/Spell Level	540gp
66-75	Silver-capped Deep Crystal Wand	100 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	1,080gp
76-85	Cold Iron-capped Darkwood Wand	150 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	2,880gp
86-95	Adamantine-capped Darkwood Wand	150 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	4,320gp
96-100	Mithral-capped Silverwood Wand	200 Vis	8 Vis/Spell Level	3,600gp

Table: Scepters

d% Result	Scepter	Vis Capacity	Vis/Spell Level	Market Value
1-40	Iron-capped Wooden Scepter	50 Vis	12 Vis/Spell Level	180gp
41-55	Steel-capped Bone Scepter	100 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	480gp
56-65	Gold-capped Crystal Scepter	150 Vis	10 Vis/Spell Level	900gp
66-75	Silver-capped Deep Crystal Scepter	200 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	1,800gp
76-85	Cold Iron-capped Darkwood Scepter	300 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	4,320gp
86-95	Adamantine-capped Darkwood Scepter	300 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	5,760gp
96-100	Mithral-capped Silverwood Scepter	400 Vis	8 Vis/Spell Level	6,480gp

Table: Staffs

d% Result	Staff	Vis Capacity	Vis/Spell Level	Market Value
1-40	Iron-capped Wooden Staff	75 Vis	12 Vis/Spell Level	240gp
41-55	Steel-capped Bone Staff	150 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	660gp
56-65	Gold-capped Crystal Staff	225 Vis	10 Vis/Spell Level	1,260gp
66-75	Silver-capped Deep Crystal Staff	300 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	2,520gp
76-85	Cold Iron-capped Darkwood Staff	450 Vis	11 Vis/Spell Level	5,760gp
86-95	Adamantine-capped Darkwood Staff	450 Vis	9 Vis/Spell Level	7,200gp
96-100	Mithral-capped Silverwood Staff	600 Vis	8 Vis/Spell Level	9,360gp

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Equipment → Wondrous Items