D&D Introduction to Wandcraft, Pt. 2

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Artwork: Moptop400 on Deviantart

Wand Allegiance        

              Wands +1 do not establish bonds with their owners. Whether lost, stolen, given away, or sold, they accept any compatible spellcaster (see the previous article about compatibility). Wands never previously owned, such as those sold by wandmakers, readily accept anyone compatible as their first owners.

            Once bonds are established, wands +2 or better do not switch owners easily. Magic-users and wands cannot maintain more than one bond at the same time. Allegiance can change if a compatible spellcaster personally defeated a wand’s owner. This does not include friendly dueling or training, but genuine combat with or without wands (stealing one does not count). On the other hand, using a wand to disarm an opponent is acceptable (see the previous article about disarming options). If already in possession of a rated wand while defeating another owner, the victor must relinquish one of the two. Wands can be voluntarily loaned, bequeathed, or sold to another spellcaster, provided the latter is compatible.

            If previous owners are dead without having been defeated (such as having passed away of natural causes) or voluntarily rescinded their allegiances, then their orphaned wands may accept any compatible spellcaster. An orphan rated +3 requires a compatible spellcaster with at least half as much experience as its previous owner. A +4 orphan requires a compatible spellcaster with at least two-thirds of its previous owner’s experience.

            Wands still bearing a bond function only as +1 devices in anyone else’s hands, or not at all with incompatible bearers. Like magic swords imbued with an ego, sentient wands may dominate weak owners and force them to do their biddings (see Wands with an Attitude, later in this article). Wands "+0" do exist: they are considered apprentice wands with which students may be equipped while learning from a mentor or attending a school of magic.

From Apprentice Wand to Artifact

            Wands continually in the same owners’ possessions slowly increase their magic ratings. Wands +2 or better require a bond to improve. With AD&D Game mechanics, increase magic ratings +1 for every 3 experience levels owners earn after acquiring their wands. With D&D BECMI (B/X, Classic, and other OSR), wands increase their ratings +1 for every 5 new experience levels instead. These rates can be greatly improved if wands are owned by favored owners, which will be explained in the next article.

            Wands +4 do not improve their ratings any further. Rather, they become self-aware when owners attain their next experience threshold (+3 or +5 new experience levels depending on the game system, as explained above). Their base Intelligence amounts to d3+1 plus half their owners’ Intelligence attributes (rounded up). They can communicate with their owners empathically, and begin chanelling their owners’ alignments and personalities. Once they adopt an owner’s temperament, wands never change afterward; they forever retain the initial traits they acquired when becoming self-aware.

            Empathic wands earn an extra d2 Int (1–2 points) with every subsequent experience threshold their owners attain. When reaching 15 Intelligence, wands can speak (like a magic sword, +1 language per extra point of Int). When reaching 19 Intelligence (the maximum for wands), they become fully telepathic with a 24-mile range. Increase this range +24 miles with every subsequent experience threshold their owners attain. Telepathic wands perceive their surroundings through magic true sight (anything within line-of-sight, as the cleric or magic-user spell).

            At a DM’s option, a truly ancient wand could be considered an artifact, implying it survived many previous high-level owners. For example, after a wand’s telepathic range exceeds 100 miles, it could develop telekinesis (cast as a 9^th level magic-user), giving it the ability to levitate and move on its own. This ability improves with each new experience threshold (as if cast by a magic-user level 10, 11, 12, and so on). Whenever it has been self-aware for a century or more, such a wondrous wand could remember spells its owners have cast and use them to hide or defend itself. It would cast these spells at the best levels previous and current owners did, up to 9 levels worth of spells per century of awareness (9 first-level spells or 1 ninth-level spell, or any other combination thereof). By then, demigods might be looking for these fabulous devices.

            Wands stop improving when their bonds are broken, except for age-related abilities. Progression resumes when they find new owners. From the time self-awareness was achieved, they remember past owners, details of their shared existence, as well as defeated contenders. Telepathic wands should be actively looking for compatible archmages from whom they believe they could learn new, more powerful magic.

Wands with an Attitude

            As mentioned earlier, sentient wands possess willpower of their own. This is somewhat comparable to swords with an ego. You can use inspiration from original game mechanics in the 1^st Edition AD&D DMG pp. 166 (©1979-1983), the 2^nd Edition DMG pp. 186 (©1989) or pp. 247 (©1995), or the D&D Rules Cyclopedia pp. 245 (©1991)—and to heck with rest.

            By now, we already know a wand’s alignment, Intelligence, and its “plus” rating. Whether a sentient wand should inflict any damage upon someone with an offending alignment remains up to a DM. A simple way to determine a wand’s willpower is to roll 2d6+4 and add the wand’s Intelligence rating; increase its willpower +2d8 if the character attempting to wield it is partially or entirely incompatible and +2d8 if its owner attempts to switch allegiance to another wand.

            A character’s willpower is equal to the sum of its Intelligence and Charisma attributes; decrease the character’s willpower –2d4 if lightly wounded or –2d8 if heavily wounded (50% or more). Whoever has the highest willpower controls the other. When to check willpowers and how domination manifests itself is described in the various rulesets mentioned earlier. A dominant wand can decline to inflict damage (if any) upon an unlikely bearer, and dictate instead its wishes.

            A dominant wand may demand its bearer never use or so much as touch another of any kind. Powerful wands are jealous things that may want to destroy potential rivals seeking to earn their owners' favor. To make matters worse, a fully incompatible bearer would be unable to use a dominant wand at all, despite being under its domination. Such a wand could be treated as a cursed item that its bearer cannot get rid of without a spellcaster of sufficient level dispelling its hold. Life is so cruel.

Click Here for Pt. 3: Flick Wendigrint’s Dictionary of Wand Woods and Other Materials, Abridged.