Rods	-	Staves	-	Wands
-	-	Use of  Rods, Staves, and Wands	-	-
Explanations and  Descriptions of Magic Items	-	Magic Items	-	DMG

Rods are about 3’ long and as thick as your thumb.
<weight : 6>
<see below : add weight of case?>

Staves are about 5’ or 6‘ long and as thick as a young sapling, i.e. about an inch and a half at the
base, tapering to an inch at the tip, although they can be of nearly equal
diameter throughout, knurled, etc.
<weight : 10>

Wands are <1.5> long and slender.
<weight : 0, but see below>
    <bone or ivory case : 6>
    <box : x>
    <leather case : 3>

Rods and wands will usually be found in cases or similar storage places.
Staves stand sturdily alone.
In neither case is concealment precluded, of course.

Unless noted to the contrary, these items will have the following number
of charges each time the item is used, there is an expenditure of 1 charge
(the user will not necessarily be aware of the number of charges in an
item):
 
 

rods	50 charges minus 0 to 9 (d10-1)
staves	25 charges minus 0 to5 (d6-1)
wands	100 charges minus 0 to 19(d20-1)

Most of these items can be recharged by spell users of sufficiently high
level. This is discussed elsewhere under the heading FABRICATION OF
MAGIC ITEMS. Note that a rod, staff or wand completely drained will become
forever useless, crumbling to powder as its last charge is expended.
 

Question: In the DMG it says that rechargeable items can be recharged and yet it says elsewhere that once they are used up, they can’t be recharged.
Please clear this up for me.

Answer: Any items that are rechargeable have to have one charge
left in them to be recharged. To recharge them, you cast spells at them.
One major problem with such items is that one is never sure how many
charges they have.

Q. How do you recharge rods, staves and wands? 
A. The method of recharging rods etc. is 
not clearly stated, so it is up to the 
DM to devise a procedure 
which is sufficiently expensive/difficult/time-consuming 
to 
make the act of trying to obtain magic 
items by adventuring (the real idea of 
AD&D games) at least as attractive 
as charging up old ones.
    We suggest that an enchant an item 
spell (a 6th level M-U spell) 
would be needed, but that the use of 
it will be simpler than constructing a 
magic item from scratch. 
(Imagine #1)

USE of Rods, Staves, and Wands:

Any device of this nature which discharges some form of magic over a
distance (that is, the device does not require touch or contact with the
obiect or creature to be affected) must generally have a command word
spoken in order to cause the device to function. Thus, a wand of lightning,
for example, might require the utterance of the key word ”blitzen” in
order to discharge, or it might have a key phrase to cause it to function,
such as ”Watt and ampere, volt and ohm” (possibly even extending to:
” . . . let this discharge find its home!”). A wand of polymorphing, or
other similar device performing a like function, would require a key word
and the new form to be made by the power: “Xot’s the word, be a bird!”
or some such. Magical silence will most certainly prevent such devices
from functioning.

(See also USE OF MAGIC ITEMS, COMMAND WORDS.)

Q: Are rods permanent items, or do
they have charges?
A: Most rods have 40 + 1dl0 charges when
found (see the DMG, page 132). Certain
rods (like a rod of cancellation) have one
charge only.
(147.12)

Unless inapplicable or otherwise specified, staves function at the 8th level
of magic-use, i.e. their spell discharge is that of an 8th level of experience
magic-user with respect to range, duration, area of effect.

The magic functions of a staff generally require only 2 segments to discharge,
but the device must then build up power again, and this requires 8
segments.

Damage is nominally 8d6 with respect to fireballs, lightning bolts, etc.
 
 

Wands perform at 6th level of experience with respect to the damage they cause, range, duration, area of effect, etc. unless otherwise stated.

At your option 1 % of all wands are trapped to backfire.

Q: How is a wand, staff, or rod recharged?
A: The spell-caster first casts an enchant an
item spell (or its equivalent, if he isn?t a
magic-user), then recharges the item by
placing additional spells into it. You may
give a bonus to the item?s saving throw
(see the enchant an item spells description
in the Players Handbook, pages 83-84),
since wands, staves, and rods are already
enchanted to hold multiple spells.
The exact spell that is needed to recharge
the item will vary with the type of
item. A wand of fireballs, for example,
requires fireball spells. A wand of fire,
however, can create multiple effects; in
such cases, the spell required for recharging
is that which is the highest-level spell
effect that the item creates (a wall of fire
spell, in the wand of fire?s case). Some
items create effects that are unique; for
these, you will have to decide on a spell or
combination of spells that approximates
the item?s effect. For example, shatter or
spiritual hammer might be used to recharge
a staff of striking, as these effects
all involve magical force.
Author/designer Jon Pickens has ap
proached this problem by creating new
spells to fit some of these magical items.
The spells have been published in the
POLYHEDRON? Newszine, the bimonthly
newsletter of the RPGA? Network, which
is available only to members (see
POLYHEDRON? issues #22, 24-26, and 31).
(147.10)