Wand of Corpsegrowth

Wand of Corpsegrowth – 1d4+2 Magical Implement

Ego- 6

The wand of corpsegrowth is a white and black wand that dribbles bright green slime out the tip. When the wand is flung, it fires a sticky string of green energy that deals 1d4+2 magical energy damage to the target. This requires a to-hit roll, modified by Intelligence. The Wand is considered a magical implement as a weapon; and is subject to all bonuses or defenses against magical implements.

The wand of corpsegrowth has an inner chamber that fills with its magical liquid over time. It takes about three days for it to fully refill, though once it is full it drips out the end. At the caster's mental command, the wand can be drizzled over a dead body. This body abosrbs the liquid and starts to change. It grows layers of muscle to extend over its frame. Air pockets fill its bones and gets them bigger, and its skin grows taut over its newfound size. The corpse goes up a category in size. Humans corpses grow roughly to the size of an ogre, ogres to giants. Several small corpses, like a pile of dead rats or a handful of dead dogs, can be sprinkled instead of a single corpse, which causes them to grow.

Corpses that are grown can be animated with the same turn undead spells as they could before. They treat themselves as the same type of undead, with +2 HD, -2 AC from being larger and slower, and +2 to damage with all attacks due to increased size and strength. Intelligent undead, such as a friendly vampire, get a saving throw to avoid this wand's effect if sprinkled with the fluid. Otherwise, it is treated as a mutation.

This wand does not have the powers over the dead, nor does it animate corpses. It merely acts as a powerful conduit to make corpses bigger. Ghouls fight holy wars over it, as the flesh it creates is just as good to eat, if a little gamey. Necromancers are the primary owners of this wand, and its ego is targeted to their kind. Anyone who does not possess at least one necromancer spell and doesn't meet the Ego requirements that tries to use this wand will be punished. Using this wand with an inferior ego has a 1 in 6 chance to cause all Turn Undead spells and actions to fail for the rest of the day. Secondly, the next time any undead attacks the holder of the wand, the wand will shoot its fluid onto that creature, making them larger and more powerful as they are attacking its unworthy holder.

The Sapphire Stick

The Sapphire Stick

Ego- 4; Magic Classes

Damage- N/A

The Sapphire Stick is a magic wand. Unlike most other magic items; it's Ego score is determined by magic using classes instead of martial ones; full casters get +1 to this Ego score per level, half casters get +1 every 2 levels, and non-casting classes get no Ego. The wand itself is a short, slightly curved wand made of a strange bright blue material. It hums with ambient magic, especially whenever it is flicked around or struck or knocked from the hand, etc.

The Sapphire Stick is a wand that channels the power of the Sacred Sapphire. Spells cast from the wand get +2 to their spell rolls, healing value, and reduce enemy saves by -2. The Sapphire Stick does not boost damage rolls from spells; it's magic is more based on protection and restoration.

The Ego score of this magic implement means it wants to serve a magic user of great power; but this can be suspended by a good hearted person. Often apprentice or weak magic users with good and pure hearts will find themselves with the stick, regardless of their skill in magic. Powerful magic users with evil intentions or selfish motivations will find the stick quickly abandoning them. Those who try to use the stick's magic to take an innocent life find the spell instantly fails and backfires on them instead; make a hard save or else the person turns into a sapphire crystalline statue frozen in place; a state which can only be ended by a powerful spell or the machinations of the frozen creatures over many years of plotting. This effect can also be done on a killing blow with a spell versus an enemy while wielding the stick instead of ending their life.

Wand & Staff Apperance Geneator

Here are some ways to make a random design or appearance for a magic wand or staff.

Wand & Staff Appearance Generator

Roll a Shaft, Handle, and Topper. For a staff, roll Shaft category twice instead of a Handle.

Shaft- d12

[1] Vertical grooves.

[2] Single continuous spiral carved into shaft, from top to bottom.

[3] Polished stones embedded in hexagonal slots.

[4] Dragon engraving circles all the way up.

[5] Unworked, pure material without smoothing.

[6] Single opal, swirling colors, embedded halfway up the shaft.

[7] Colorful painted rings, alternating up the staff.

[8] Several small charms hang down, tied with twine along the length.

[9] Leather straps nailed in to top and bottom, can be slung about your back like a holster.

[10] Splotched with darker stains.

[11] Metal studs along its length.

[12] Wrapped in fabric all the way down.

Handle- d12

[1] Engraved to imply the shaft is the horn of a unicorn or narwhal.

[2] Exotic animal fur for a grip.

[3] Made of an animal antler, mostly unworked except where it is joined to the shaft.

[4] Orb filled with colorful water as pommel.

[5] Wrapped in fabulous red dyed fabric.

[6] Clockwork music box built in. Turning the key plays a 4 note lullaby.

[7] Ergonomically designed. Shaft is curved.

[8] Has metal crossguard like a sword.

[9] Flowers engraved along base of shaft and bottom of the handle.

[10] Gold hilt-cap. Stamped with a face.

[11] Painted in bright and annoying colors.

[12] Extremely long, almost as long as shaft.

Topper- d20

[1] The head of some animal, like a wolf or owl.

[2] Wooden ball, polished to incredible shine.

[3] Tiny twig with impossibly still green leaf.

[4] Tip painted white. Glows in the dark.

[5] Very tip split in two prongs.

[6] Bead cord attached to end.

[7] Small length of chain wrapped around tip.

[8] Tiny carved house. An ant lives there.

[9] Opaque crystal of random color.

[10] Solidified orb of amber.

[11] Star stuck on end, like fairy godmother.

[12] Metal topper. Shaped like a finger.

[13] Shark bone fishhook.

[14] Raw ore splinter.

[15] Conductive. Occasional spark.

[16] Glass tip. Transparent.

[17] Tight spiral engraving.

[18] Metal ring few inches below apex.

[19] Tip cut off, sanded flat.

[20] Flickers soft, arcane light like an ember.

Magic Wands

I've never like the old fantasy tabletop RPG idea that fantasy wands are like guns or a specific spell saved up for later usage, also scrolls too- but that's a subject for another time. It seems kind of inconsistent. Ripping a page out of your hand written spellbook and casting it as a one time use scroll is really evocative, but not all games imply that's possible. Plus I'd rather my players hoard scrolls like the little bits of ancient and hidden lore that they are.

I'd like to imagine Wizards carry around wands as a general usage tool, not having just a wand of X on their belt. Call me a Harry Potter kid but I've always liked the personalizing and attachment Wizards might have towards wands. Anyone playing a Wizard with a wand in my game will have to give a description of it, at least a little decoration or the type of wood its made of.

 

If we go by the fluff that spells and magic are the power of willing made manifest, wands are essentially something similar but on a very small and weak scale. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, can pick up a magic wand and try to work a little magic with it. Children tend to have natural talent with it just from their creativity and imagination, but this talent tends to fall off as they get older.

Small Miracles

Wands can do any number of small, spontaneous things. Their effects do not tend to linger, depending on the power and skill of the person who is using it of course. You point a wand at a bolt of cloth, and wish for it to change color to a strawberry red.

Children or creative types who are untrained might make the whole thing a different color, and their unfocused mind might also create a scent of strawberry in the air. This change would last a few minutes. Regular people would probably only be able to create a few red stain-like splotches along the fabric, or maybe they complete the whole transformation but the moment they lower the wand and stop concentrating it fades back to normal. When a Wizard or a magical prodigy work the changing, it instead is a complete transformation. This change may even last for a few days. For very powerful Wizards, or those with powerful wands, the duration may be permanent.

Essentially, Wands are how you get cantrips in my game. From a gameplay perspective, I think cantrips and really minor spells like that are super cool but hard to balance. Giving people the ability to snap their fingers and make fire unlimited times per day is very fitting of a fire themed Wizard, but also kind of powerful. I don't want player characters to lack human weakness or break the setting over its head. For this reason, wands are how you cast your cantrips or prestidigitation like spells. This allows wands to be tied to a cost of wealth to create or buy a magic wand, plus wands can always break or be stolen.

 

Wands also get tired, they can't make unlimited magic per day. Making drinks bubbly or lighting candles will basically never tire it out, but any permanent working or changing of a large amount of stuff at once will. Assume 1d6 + user Cha modifier major effects the wand is willing to do per day. Wizards can do more interesting things with them.

Magic Wand Creation

Wands are made by carving wood from trees. It's not that simple though, as then everyone would have a wand, but the base ingredients are simple. Wands must be taken from a living tree, which has to be a 'special' tree. Like if local superstition keeps the tree up in the center of town because it looks like it has a face would be enough to make a tree significant. Obviously trees that talk or trees with magic creatures living in them also qualify, but if the tree is intelligent you have to get its permission.

Wands being created can only be worked by an Athame, or Wizard knife, and must be cut from the tree and carved using the Athame. From here on it is subjected to songs, dances, infusions of rare incenses, it may be soaked in a special brew or alcohol, rubbed with ash from other woods, and so on. Different cultures probably have different methods of creating magic wands, and they all work as long as the practices of one of them are followed correctly. Many wands are heavily decorated.

Due to all these steps and parts of the wand making process, the cost rapidly inflates and even professional wand makers, who by no means have to be Wizards to make them, can only create one or two a year. I'm leaning towards the cost being something like a good warhorse or similar, it's what the Magic User pinches and saves up for in town. Broken wands that aren't burnt or ritually desecrated by anti-magic rites can usually be repaired, and is much cheaper then buying a new one.

Wand Breaking Rules

If you get hit by a blunt weapon that deals 6 or more damage, roll a save vs magic to avoid your wand getting snapped. Only applies if it is not in your hand. If you take fall damage greater then 6 roll a Hazard save to avoid falling on it and snapping it that way.

If this seems overly cruel, just keep the wand in a case.

Wizard Wand Abilities

If you are holding a wand while casting a spell, you can add +1 ⚡ to it for the cost of one daily use. Additionally, you can deal 1 damage to a target for the cost of a daily use. The range is limited, about as far as you could poke them with a 10 foot pole, but could be useful to kill small poisonous animals or finish off low HP targets.

I don't feel these abilities are overly gamebreaking. The spellpower bonus is the bigger of the two and basically lets the Wizard act as though they are a level higher for a few spells a day, and the ability to kill a small poisonous bug or finish off a weakened target at a distance isn't bad either.