Wands as weapons?

[Mithra Man]

Hi there!  I was interested in giving the mages in my game more weapon options to play with when they did not have many spell points.  I think these wands could be handy at low levels especially.  I'm sure this has been thought about by people much more versed in the FC rules than I am so I will throw my idea out here.   

Wands – a weapon in the hands of a mage, it does a single-target attack treated like a level 0 spell for the purposes of spell points.   The Spellcasting result is treated as the attack result.  The spell effect depends upon the caster but wands have an affinity to air, fire, ice, earth or force types depending on how they were created. 

Wand -   1d6 lethal, threat 20, Close range (50 ft.), qualities: magic,  S/1h, Hard 1, Comp 20W, Weight: 1 lb, Era: Ancient, Cost: 100s

Appropriate Feats

WAND BASICS – Wave and point, how hard can it be?
Prerequisite: Wand proficiency, Mage
Benefit:  You add your charisma modifier to the wand’s damage.

WAND MASTERY – It’s all about keeping your enemies at bay.
Prerequisite:  Wand Basics
Benefit:  The range of your attacks is doubled.

WAND SUPREMACY - Watch where you point that wand – it’s loaded!
Prerequisite: Wand Mastery
Benefit: Now your wand is capable of more powerful attacks and may do 2d6 plus your charisma modifier in damage.

Comments welcomed.  Thanks for your time.

[Sletchman]

I like the concept, but I think the feats are a little bit on the weak side.

It's also possible that for an effectively unlimited weapon its a little bit good, but that's probably setting dependant too.

Whats the magic quality do?  Just the bit you put about needing a spellcasting check to cast?

[Wolverine]

I will admit I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but aren't wands normally used to channel a wizards magic? By that logic, they are more likely to be a part of a spell-casting kit than a separate weapon.

That said, you could have a selection of separately purchasable wands that provide minor bonuses to spellcasting, like the items on Table 4.6. Alternately, a player could make a wand as a Magic Item was mimics the ability you mentioned.

[Mister Andersen]

In the Potterverse, you can't cast magic without a wand, and a wand's oomph comes from the magic dohickey -- phoenix feather, unicorm hair, etc etc -- threaded through the wand's core. A damaged wand will miss- or back-fire.

As such, in FantasyCraft terms a wand would be equivalent to a mage's kit and they should in theory be capable of accepting various upgrades as well as charms and essences

[Antilles]

In the Potterverse, you can't cast magic without a wand, and a wand's oomph comes from the magic dohickey -- phoenix feather, unicorm hair, etc etc -- threaded through the wand's core. A damaged wand will miss- or back-fire.

As such, in FantasyCraft terms a wand would be equivalent to a mage's kit and they should in theory be capable of accepting various upgrades as well as charms and essences

Not quite true... As taken from howstuffworks' 'How Harry Potter's Wand works' section:

(click to show/hide)

Wands are essential to almost all magic, but there are some notable exceptions. For example, animagi, or wizards who can change themselves into animals, can do so without their wands. The same is true for metamorphmagi, or wizards who can change their appearance. Most witches and wizards can cast some spells without using their wands, and very powerful wizards, like Albus Dumbledore, can sometimes perform great magical feats without them.

Well, I guess you could still call them the mage's kit, and say those wizards are using a base class/expert class that grants the 'always has kit' benefit...

[ludomastro]

I you are going for an unlimited weapon, I would probably let it do 1d3 with an effect as determined by the caster but NOT let it do a different damage.  (i.e. Not force or fire as they have secondary effects.)

Personally, I would not use a feat tree because I think the wand is more kit than weapon but, hey, this is Fantasy Craft(tm) - Your dungeon, your dragon, your way(tm).  So, knock yourself out.

[astyanax]

How about changing the damage to 1d4 stress?

Stress damage reflects the will of the caster (CHA bonus) channeled through an arcane medium.  It ignores DR and forces Will saves to avoid shaken statuses.

I favor lowering the damage to 1d4 since "d12s and d20s should be reserved only for the most soul-crushing experiences."  I like to think of wands as supplementary weapons, so 2d6 stress damage with all the feats seems a bit much.  Other weapons feats are powerful since characters that rely on them don't have alternate modes of attack.  Also, consider that a mage could use a wand twice a round and force two Will saves- the chances of shaking up an opponent aren't really that bad.

Plus, it won't actually kill the opponent- that's what the mage's other spells are for.

As for wand affinity, maybe tacking on an additional +1 for opponents of the opposite alignment would reflect a slow sapping of their will to fight?

[ludomastro]

The downside is that a standard character would have two chances per round to fail a damage save and be taken out because a guy waved a stick at them?  (sarcasm added, please excuse me)

Sorry, not buying it.  However, since I am in the middle of creating my own campaign world, I am probably a bit biased.  I will withdraw from this thread as I doubt I will add more value.

[Mithra Man]

I like the concept, but I think the feats are a little bit on the weak side.

It's also possible that for an effectively unlimited weapon its a little bit good, but that's probably setting dependant too.

Whats the magic quality do?  Just the bit you put about needing a spellcasting check to cast?

Yes - I intended wands to be usable by folks who have the Gift or are Mages (basically anyone with spell points). 
My players have dished out the damage with multiple attacks and stances and as such, I did not see a problem with using 1d6 as a base.  My idea was to treat wands as a weapon in the hands of a mage that were slightly less effective than the zero-level damage spells found in FC.  Now looking at "Polar Ray 1" that has 1d6 at a range of 15 ft. line with a saving throw, I would revise it as such:

wand   1d6 subdual,   range 30 ft. , etc.               

So it would do magical stunning damage, gets reduced by the target's DR and they get to have a Fortitude save to resist the effects.  Not likely to be used against tough enemies but it's a start.

[Mithra Man]

How about changing the damage to 1d4 stress?

Stress damage reflects the will of the caster (CHA bonus) channeled through an arcane medium.  It ignores DR and forces Will saves to avoid shaken statuses.

I favor lowering the damage to 1d4 since "d12s and d20s should be reserved only for the most soul-crushing experiences."  I like to think of wands as supplementary weapons, so 2d6 stress damage with all the feats seems a bit much.  Other weapons feats are powerful since characters that rely on them don't have alternate modes of attack.  Also, consider that a mage could use a wand twice a round and force two Will saves- the chances of shaking up an opponent aren't really that bad.

Plus, it won't actually kill the opponent- that's what the mage's other spells are for.

As for wand affinity, maybe tacking on an additional +1 for opponents of the opposite alignment would reflect a slow sapping of their will to fight?

Thanks for the notion of stress, astyanax.     I would use that if the Lich King was pointing the wand at the onrushing hero, perhaps, but for the skinny young mage pointing the wand - it just is not so fearsome, I feel, to use that type.  I don't like rolling d4 for damage (just my personal quirk) so a d6 subdual attack might fit the bill.   

[Mithra Man]

I will admit I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but aren't wands normally used to channel a wizards magic? By that logic, they are more likely to be a part of a spell-casting kit than a separate weapon.

That said, you could have a selection of separately purchasable wands that provide minor bonuses to spellcasting, like the items on Table 4.6. Alternately, a player could make a wand as a Magic Item was mimics the ability you mentioned.

Thank you Wolverine for the comments.  I can see magical items, including wands, can hold spells so I could build a "Wand of Lightning" or similar.  I don't see how to factor in 0-level spells on the Table 4.32 - (Spell level x uses for Rep cost) so my notion was really only for the entry-level wand.   

[Sletchman]

My take on wands [bear in mind I've never read harry potter, or seen any movies, so if like others in this thread you want to capture something thats part of the series, I will probably be of no use to you].

Wand -   1d6 lethal, Range (30 ft.), qualities: magic,  S/1h, Hard 1, Comp 20W, Weight: 1 lb, Era: Ancient, Cost: 100s

Magic Quality: Attacks with this weapon are instead made using the wielders Spellcasting skill, and its error and threat are determined by the casters skill.  Their skill check must exceed their targets Defence score, and Spell Defence, if any.  Attacks with this weapon count as a spell cast, and as such may have additional effects dependant on Campaign Qualities, Player Feats and NPC Qualities.

Wand Basics
Prereqs: 3+ Ranks Spellcasting
Benefits: Wands now count as a mages pouch for you, further you gain a stance.
Wandstrike Stance [Stance]:  When in this stance you may add your charisma modifier to the damage inflicted by your wand attacks.  Further the attack from your wand doesn't count towards your spellcasting limit for the round.

Wand Mastery
Prereqs Wand Basics
Benefits: You may now use wands to target enemies at up to close range [50ft].  Also you gain a trick.
Wand Manipulation [Wand Attack Trick]: You may spend 1 spell point when attacking with a wand to change its damage type to Bang, Cold, Electricity, Fire or Flash.  Alternatively you may spend 2 spell points to change its damage type to Divine, Force, Stress or Sonic.  You must spend the spell points before making the attack, and if you fail all spell points are lost.

Wand Supremacy
Prereqs: Wand Mastery
Benefits: You may spend 1 spell point to increase your wand attacks damage to 3d6, you must decide if you are using this before you roll your spellcasting check, if you fail all spell points spent enhancing the attack are lost.  Finally when in your Wandstrike Stance you generate 1 spell point per round that must be used to enhance a wand attack, if this spellpoint is not spent by the end of the round it is lost.

[Mithra Man]

Brilliant job, Turnip666!     I like your take on this very well.

[Sletchman]

Brilliant job, Turnip666!     I like your take on this very well.

Thanks, I wasn't sure what you were going for in your game, so I hope it fits.

[Krensky]

They should also have to beat Spell Defense.