[PnP] pnp Digest, Vol 127, Issue 4 - Wands and Staves

[Bryan Tallant]

David,

Interesting and useful ideas.  I have always required (based on the
"Creation of Magic Items" article in the Heroes magazine) that to be able to
make staves and wands that are able to use the rulebook descriptions of them
that the materials be rare and hard to obtain.  Example: the heartwood of
the most ancient tree in such and such forest--which is guarded by a bunch
of 'things you'd rather not face', or a singular tree on a very high and
dangerous mountain precipice.  Same thing for any jewels used.  Making it
completely out of items tied to the magic imbued into the staff or wand
would make it even more powerful.

-Bryan

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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Staffs and wands (David Sanders)
> 
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> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 26 May 2016 13:34:21 -0700
> From: David Sanders <dasandersx at comcast.net>
> To: pnp at list.powersandperils.org
> Subject: [PnP] Staffs and wands
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> 
> How to Make a Wand or Staff
> By David A. Sanders
> 
> Wands and staffs are exceptionally useful objects for a Magic Using
> character.  They allow the mage to use more mana points than his Energy
> Level (EnL) allows. They allow the mage to cast spells thru them at very
little
> 'personal? mana cost.  They also allow the mage more success due to Magic
> Experience Level (MEL) being subtracted from the die roll.
> 
> The question, however, is?how do you make a wand or staff?  And what skill
> set must one have in order to make a credible wand?  What spells must be
> used?  This is not directly addressed in the v2 rules.
> 
> For the actual simple physical creation, I simply propose that skill as a
Jeweler
> combined with Carpenter (Woodworker subskill) is necessary to make a
> credible wand or staff.
> 
> Starting wizards have a choice between armorer and Jeweler skills.  Most
> wizards I have seen prefer the Armorer skill over the Jeweler skill.  This
tells
> me Players see a large advantage in that skill over the Jeweler skill.  I
suggest
> that the work of an Armorer might not lend itself to skill in carving or
> mounting of objects onto a staff, but a Jeweler would be able to attach
thin
> metal banding, precious metals, and jewels.  However, is that really
> sufficient?
> 
> Since most wands are made of wood, I propose that the ?Carpenter? skill
> with ?woodworker? specialty suffice as a minimum jointly used with the
> Jeweler skill.  Another option would be a less expensive Artist skill used
along
> with the Carpenter skill.  The Jeweler skill is an expensive skill and,
per the
> rules, uses the ?basic attributes?as for the Artist?.  The rule for
> Woodworkers is that if they are also artists, their work can be considered
> more valuable/exceptional (higher value for created items).  Per the Laws
of
> Magic, items that are valuable make more suitable magic items.  A simple
> stick of little value might be still able to be used as a wand, but will
it really
> hold the power of a beautifully made article?
> 
> So?what kind of wood?  Which Law of Magic applies to changing a carved
> stick into a powerful magic item?  Words of Power could be engraved onto
> the wood.  Perhaps the name of some Higher Power (such as Enki ?Lord of
> Magical Knowledge) need be cleverly woven into the carving.  I doubt the
> kind of wood matters much unless the wand is also imbued with additional
> Ensorcellments to allow employment of a magic power.  A wood tied to a
> spell or attribute per the Natural Magic section would be ideal.  And, of
> course, the rarer it is, the more powerful might be its potential.
> 
> What spells are used to create the item?  I propose that a ?simple?
> Ensorcellment spell using the ?Mana Storage? option be the only magic
> necessary for a basic wand or staff.
> 
> One problem I see is that the rules for Mana Storage and the description
of
> wands given in Book Four don?t quite tie together.  What magic would be
> used to make the MEL be the controlling attribute for making the mana
> storage value?  A Mana Storage device can hold (EL+1)*10 mana.  At EL4
this
> works out to 50 mana.  The Wand described in Book Four can hold MEL*5
> mana while the Staff can improve the volume of mana to MEL*8.  For a
> MEL9/EL4 Wand, this would be 45 mana, and for the staff 72 mana (a not
> inconsiderable amount).
> 
> While using the Mana Storage Ensorcellment option might be about
> equivalent for wands, this does downgrade a staff somewhat.  One option
> would be to simply declare that a staff used for this purpose is ?more
> inclined? toward this use and provide a simple, but separate, mana storage
> amount.  Perhaps instead of the Rulebook increase a different value of
> (EL+3)*10 could be used for staffs.
> 
> Keep something in mind.  When a Mana Storage device of any kind is
> created, the initial full mana amount must be placed into the object by
the
> mage.  If you only have one staff, for instance, and no other mana storage
> available, high mana capacity objects might be very difficult to make.
> Per Book Four, when a staff is used, the MEL is subtracted from the
success
> roll?increasing the chance of success!  For a wand, it is unclear but I
believe
> the intent was to use the (usually) lower EL value. Now, what spell or
action
> would account for this?
> 
> I further propose that to make the wand or staff more efficient in
success,
> that the mage give up some actual EnL?equal to the casting cost of the
> Permanent Magic spell used(but not the storage mana), probably by using
> some of his lifeblood.  Magic has cost?and this cost might take the mage
> some time to recover (using the rules for recovery of EnL).
> 
> Why?  Perhaps by bleeding and using this to prepare the wand or staff, the
> mage imbues it with his MEL and/or EL in such a way that the object can
then
> use that MEL and EL.  Something has to be the cause of the increased
success
> of these items.  In keeping with the spirit of the Book Four descriptions
of
> wand and staff, Wands would deduct the EL from the success roll and Staffs
> would subtract the full MEL.
> 
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