RODS, STAFFS, & WANDS

     Rod of Chaos Unbound: The rods of chaos unbound are all too identifiable as magical devices. Averaging two feet in length and an inch in diameter, the rods are composed of the finest glass or crystal, and shed a garish "black light" from within. This striking appearance is deliberate, for it is meant as a grave warning: the power within, held so delicately in check, is that of Chaos itself.

     The magic is released simply by breaking the rod; exactly how is irrelevant. Upon impact, the DM rolls 1d10; this indicates the radius of effect in tens of feet. The DM may then be as arbitrary—and as imaginative—as he pleases in describing the effects of the device upon its surroundings. Note that there is only a 5% chance of the rod causing an outright fatality; the devices were designed to spread confusion and anarchy, not to deal in wholesale death and destruction. (For those DMs caught off guard, the wand of wonder item description in the DMG and the "Wild Surge Results" table in the Tome of Magic may provide handy inspiration.)

     The rods are often found in specially constructed tubes of treated sponge lining the interior of a thick leather tube. The tube provides a modicum of safety, but makes no guarantees; a single crack can be just as disastrous to the user as smashing the rod against a hated enemy.

     Staff of the Rainbow Rods: These magical staffs are actually two distinct devices: the staff itself, and the various crystal rods which compliment it. The staff has powers independent of the rods, but their absence robs it of its full potential, while the rods are totally useless without the staff.

     The staff is fashioned from oak, mahogany, or other hardwood, and measure four to five feet in length. They are about 2" in diameter on one end, tapering down to 1" on the other. There is a cylindrical slot at the wider end, about ½" in diameter and 9" deep. The staff is always bound with the finest steel, mithril, or adamantite.

     The various "rainbow rods" are fashioned of glassteel, and measure ½" in diameter and a foot in length, and are obviously intended to be placed in the slot of the staff. It is only when the rods are within the body of the staff that their charges can be expended. Each rod, when manufactured, contain five charges, all of the same type; the type may be identified by the color of the glowing spheres of magic visible within.

Color of Charge

Effect

red

as an 8 HD fireball

orange

as a magic missile spell of 7th level ability

yellow

as a slow spell of 9th level ability

green

as a cloudkill spell of 9th level ability

blue

as an 8 HD lightning bolt

purple

as a cone of cold spell of 9th level ability

     Discharge is by command word, and only one charge may be released per round. The rods can be recharged, even after being exhausted, but only with the same type of charge it originally held; any attempt to do otherwise will inflict the maximum damage possible upon the casting wizard.

     The staff alone has a measure of power even without the rods. Each has three of the magical powers listed below at the 7th level of ability, each useable once daily:

Roll (d10)

Power

1

detect good/evil

2

detect magic

3

light

4

knock

5

wizard lock

6

feather fall

7

levitate

8

know alignment

9

shield

10

comprehend languages

     Wand of Selective Disintegration: A wand of selective disintegration is exactly that: a wand whose charges can affect only a specific category of materials. Normal objects affected by these wands are completely and permanently destroyed, but magical items are entitled to a saving throw vs. disintegration, based on the most prevalent material in the item’s construction. (Magical bonuses, such as those of weapons, are also added to the saving throw.)

     The wands exist in three different varieties:

     Animal: these wands can affect only non-living animal tissues—never living creatures or corporeal undead. Affected materials include, but are not restricted to: leather goods, meats, dairy products, fish, parchment, feathers, furs, animal fats and oils, carcasses or carrion, bowstrings, dry bone, ivory, wool, silk, animal-based poisons, mummified remains, etc. The shaft of this wand is composed of bone, ivory, or horn.

     Plant: these wands can destroy only non-living plant matter, never living plants or plant-like beings, such as shambling mounds. Affected materials include, but are not restricted to: fruits, vegetables, wooden or wicker items, vegetable oils, spirits, plant-based toxins, nuts, plant resins, cork, charcoal, papyrus and linen rag paper, flax, cotton, turpentine, etc. Note that fruits on the vine, rooted vegetables and legumes, and other unharvested foodstuffs are not affected. The shaft of this wand is always of wood.

     Mineral: these wands are effective only against those objects composed of earthen materials which have been shaped, altered, or otherwise worked by intelligent beings. Affected objects include, but are not restricted to: jewels and jewelry, coins, stone statuary, pottery and ceramics, mud bricks, metal armors, millstones, ingots, masonry, nails, petroleum-based tars and pitches, etc. The effectiveness of this wand on uncut gems or mineral ores is subject to DM discretion. The shaft of this wand is made of forged iron or steel.

     The range of a wand is 100 feet, and each charge expended (maximum of three per use) increases the size of the wand’s cubical area of effect by 10’ on a side; e.g.: 1 charge generates a cube 10’ on a side, 2 charges, 20’, etc. Note that a wand can only possess 10-40 (10d4) charges when first created, and may never be recharged.