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    Canonfire :: View topic - Recharging Wands (and Staves)
    Canonfire Forum Index -> Greyhawk- D&D 3.0e/3.5e/d20/Pathfinder
    Recharging Wands (and Staves)
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    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 09, 2003
    Posts: 1358
    From: Tennessee, between Ft. Campbell & APSU

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    Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:00 am  
    Recharging Wands (and Staves)

    What is the process in D&D 3.5 for recharging wands? Can wands be recharged in D&D 3.5? IIRC, I think all that was necessary was to cast the spell with all its prerequisites to add a charge (It's never actually occurred IMC).


    I've checked DMG pp. 211-212 (wands), 214-215 (charges), 243-245 (staffs), 245 (wands), 282-285 (crafting magic items), 287-288 (creating wands).
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    From: So. Cal

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    Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:55 pm  

    The "house rules" for recharging magic items may be found in Unearthed Arcana 3.5E at the bottom of p. 158.
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    GreySage

    Joined: Jul 26, 2010
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    From: LG Dyvers

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    Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:04 am  

    IIRC, 3.5e wands cannot be recharged. When all of their charges have been expended, they are simply non-magical sticks. New wands are very inexpensive to make - you basically just have to pay for the spells you put in them.

    Rods in 3.5e don't need to be recharged. They can simply be used only three times per day ad infinitum. Staves may be recharged at significant cost. Rings that use charges are usually recharged in the same manner as staves - by casting spells back into them. Empty potion vials and blank scroll pages may not be recharged. Razz

    SirXaris
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    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 09, 2003
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    From: Tennessee, between Ft. Campbell & APSU

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    Sat Apr 16, 2016 6:45 am  

    SirXaris wrote:
    IIRC, 3.5e wands cannot be recharged. When all of their charges have been expended, they are simply non-magical sticks. New wands are very inexpensive to make - you basically just have to pay for the spells you put in them...


    -The DMG doesn't actually say that they CAN'T be recharged, it simply doesn't say whether they can or not, and gives no guidance on how to do so if they can. It does have the quote that if a wand uses up its last charge, that it basically becomes a stick. ;) That's pretty much how it was in previous editions.

    Apparently, the same rule applies to staves, but a Staff of Power or a Staff of the Woodlands still works as a +2 Quarterstaff, though.

    Cebrion wrote:
    The "house rules" for recharging magic items may be found in Unearthed Arcana 3.5E at the bottom of p. 158.


    -Thanks. I really was just looking for some sort of precedence in the core rules, but this is a nice start. I'll have to modify it (I don't see the need for the 10 percent or 20 percent added penalty), but since it's already a "variant", I don't feel bad about changing it. ;)
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    Sat Apr 16, 2016 7:53 pm  

    Also, the rules for recharging magic items were very purposely removed from the 3E core rules. Don't ever go with an argument of, "The rules don't say I can't do this.", because no rules for something means you can't do it, period. The rules tell you what you can do within the confines of the game...unless the DM decides to add a new rule for something, which of course means you then can do it. Wink
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    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 09, 2003
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    From: Tennessee, between Ft. Campbell & APSU

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    Sun Apr 17, 2016 7:39 am  

    Cebrion wrote:
    ...unless the DM decides to add a new rule for something, which of course means you then can do it. Wink


    -I like to keep the changes to the rules at a minimium for the sake of newbies and because I just like sticking to a standard, if possible. My official list of options, variants, and outright changes in my home rules currently runs to 61 pages just for the PHB... Laughing
    Paladin

    Joined: Sep 07, 2011
    Posts: 833
    From: Houston Texas

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    Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:39 pm  

    jamesdglick wrote:
    Cebrion wrote:
    ...unless the DM decides to add a new rule for something, which of course means you then can do it. Wink


    -I like to keep the changes to the rules at a minimum for the sake of newbies and because I just like sticking to a standard, if possible. My official list of options, variants, and outright changes in my home rules currently runs to 61 pages just for the PHB... Laughing

    Aggree w/ Big C on "if its not written, it isn't there" stance....

    BUT this is one IMO was better as it was... 3.xx and latter became notorious for the dilution of things to make it easier... to me this robs the PC from the side trek for material components etc., and makes the items more like today's tech, a throwaway society... IMO So this ins one we home "rule".

    Like you, I maintain a list of "grey areas defined", homebrew mods/additions, but WOW 61 PAGES lol....our list is only 4 pages!!! Shocked Laughing
    Would be curious to see yours just to compare discrepancy resolutions and gaming styles if you'd care to share? Razz
    PM me....

    DLG
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 13, 2001
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    Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:35 pm  

    I HR that wands can be recharged--I just divide the fully-charged retail price by 50 (max number of charges) to get my "price per charge."

    For 1st level spells, this works out to 15 gp per charge.

    I also allow partially-charged wands to be purchased this way.

    Not every low-level party has an extra 750 gp laying around to splurge on a wand of CLW.

    Recharging a wand should take at least a day, more if it's a higher level spell.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 21, 2007
    Posts: 66
    From: two strange quarks short of a graviton....

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    Thu May 21, 2020 8:25 am  

    I am fond of recharging as a concept, but I disagree (conceptually) with the UA houserule that charging is more expensive than creation, especially since they contradict themselves in the text.

    Quote:
    First, pay 10% of the item’s base price (not including any
    costly material components or XP costs) as an up-front cost.
    This expense reflects the fact that recharging a charged item is
    more costly than simply constructing a new one.


    Quote:
    It’s faster and (usually) cheaper to recharge a charged item
    than to craft or buy a new one.


    So when I can be convinced to houserule it, then I shift the brunt of the cost into time and have them craft (or rent) usage of a charging architecture item (usually a pool according to my personal preferences). It slowly and carefully recharges a given type of item (djore/wand or drilbu/staff, usually - the former cheaper than the latter version)... slowly, so that the item doesn't explode.

    Since there are abilities that can replace expending charges with expending slots/points, I have the charger item to function off of that so that they can just fuel it with spell slots or power points... and it requires those abilities as prerequisites in order to craft it. But it can take a long time.

    Each charger can only hold a certain number of points/slots, can only transfer a certain number per day, and can only charge a certain number of items at a single time (depending on the model - better stats for higher quality/expensive models). The highest level effect of the item being charged determines how many points/slots per charge it takes to recharge a single charge. Thus items with higher level effects take longer to charge and lower level effects are faster. Your CLW wand might be done by the end of the day, but your Staff of Power is probably gonna take a week or three to fully recharge depending on the model of device.

    Some guilds offer the service at a discount or even for free to members of sufficient standing. I require it to be an architecture item (from SBG) for story and plot purposes. Sometimes I'll toss in an 'upkeep' cost to keep the device working at optimal capacities, that explains socially and economically why an owner would need to charge for usage at all once it is crafted.
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