Post/Author/DateTime	Post
seebo 01-20-05, 11:32 AM	Hello, One of my players is thinking about using a wand to act as a trap against intruders. They want to set the wand against a door so that if it is forced it will possibly break the wand. My question is what kind of result happens from breaking a wand? Is it different depending on the wand. Right now he has a wand of burning hands and a wand of detect secret doors. I am running a 3.5 campaign. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks
Ringrose 01-20-05, 11:46 AM	I believe the wand would just fizzle...I would hate to think Magic Items would explode when destroyed...yikes...dont roll that 1 on a save against a fireball or your armor may not just be damaged/destroyed...it will exploded about your body... ...From the RAW...I believe the only magical Item that explodes on destruction is one with retributive strike quality...and that needs to be broken by the wielder on purpose... Items Surviving after a Saving Throw: Unless the descriptive text for the spell specifies otherwise, all items carried or worn by a creature are assumed to survive a magical attack. If a creature rolls a natural 1 on its saving throw against the effect, however, an exposed item is harmed (if the attack can harm objects). Refer to Table: Items Affected by Magical Attacks. Determine which four objects carried or worn by the creature are most likely to be affected and roll randomly among them. The randomly determined item must make a saving throw against the attack form and take whatever damage the attack deal. If an item is not carried or worn and is not magical, it does not get a saving throw. It simply is dealt the appropriate damage. Table: Items Affected by Magical Attacks Order Item 1st Shield 2nd Armor 3rd Magic helmet, hat, or headband 4th Item in hand (including weapon, wand, or the like) 5th Magic cloak 6th Stowed or sheathed weapon 7th Magic bracers 8th Magic clothing 9th Magic jewelry (including rings) 10th Anything else
Darastin 01-20-05, 11:48 AM	Well, wands don't explode if that's what your player is thinking. You'll just ruin the wand. Maybe there was a novel in which a broken wand did indeed explode (might be one of the Drizzt series; there's something stirring in my memory...) but this is in no way supported by the rules. Just my two €-cents; Darastin
seebo 01-20-05, 02:33 PM	Thanks folks Maybe that is why I really can't find anything. The player was indicating that in 2nd ed it would deal 1d4 pts of dmg per charges left (or something like that ), that was a Wand of Magic Missiles but I thought it should all be the same.
cwslyclgh 01-20-05, 11:21 PM	nope wands didn't blow up when broken in2e either (nor in 1e)... only certian staves (staff of the Magi, staff of Power, staff of wizardry) have EVER exploded when they are broken.
seebo 01-20-05, 11:42 PM	Guess he was just trying to get something to happen. Thanks for all the help folks
Vharuck 01-21-05, 01:33 AM	I believe the book was The Alabaster Staff, a good read btw, and it wasn't a wand but an artifact-level rod.