Recharging wands in AD&D (1st ed)
Allan Christian Long
This may be a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway.
For some reason, I thought I read somewhere (as in
somewhere at least semi-official, like the DMG or Dragon magazine)
that in order to recharge a Wand of Fireballs, for example,
the user could cast a Fireball spell into the wand. (Although
if someone cast Fireball on the owner of the wand, the wand would
not absorb it. (Except in the case of Staff of the Magi, etc.))
However, I needed to find a reference for a friend of mine and I
couldn't. I scoured the DMG and couldn't find any info about
recharging items at all.
Could someone please tell me where such info may
be found (1st edition rules only)? Any pointers would be
greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately, I don't have enough free time to keep
up with this newsgroup, so please respond by email.
Thanks a lot.
- Tinwegul
aka
A. Chris Long, Jr. ac...@virginia.edu
Geoffrey Spear
the ones from the past 2 and a half years and I never saw that. (I am
sure I never read that in any AD&D Hardcover book, I have all of them
and I am sure I NEVER saw that rule)
I would think casting a fireball on a wand would destroy it, not recharge it!!
Geoffrey Spear
gs...@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon Summer Pre-College
Gregory Ruderman
I'm just posting this to the net, in case anyone else is looking for
similar information. In Dragon magazine there was a spell published called
Recharge an Item. I think it was 4th or probably 5th level. I can't remember
the specifics, but this was the general idea.
You roll a d6. On a 1-2, the spell estimates the number of charges left
as too low. on 3-4, just right, and on 5-6, too high. The spell then acts as
a funnel into the item, allowing the caster to cast the spells which recharge
magic. appropriate magic _is_ required. A fireball for a wand of fireballs,
hold person or monster for wand of paralyzation, etc. Each spell cast into the
wand replenishes one charge.
I wish i could be more specific, but that's the best i can do. For the
die-hards who really need the original text, start looking around Dragon #80 or
up.
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Doreen Devlin
>If it was anywhere, it was an OLD dragon Magazine, because I have all
>the ones from the past 2 and a half years and I never saw that. (I am
>sure I never read that in any AD&D Hardcover book, I have all of them
>and I am sure I NEVER saw that rule)
>
>I would think casting a fireball on a wand would destroy it, not recharge it!!
I think what they did was add a new spell that was to prepare the object
to receive the charge(s). I'll have to look and see, I'm _pretty_ sure
I have seen it... Just don't remember how far back it is.
>
>Geoffrey Spear
>gs...@andrew.cmu.edu
>Carnegie Mellon Summer Pre-College
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Gregory Ruderman
Sorry i can't be of more help, but look _way_ far back (#80 or so, like I posted
before.
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Geoffrey Spear
That probably wans't a good idea, because if you could recharge, say,
rings too (I never saw the spell, so I don't know if it works on just
wands or what...) and you got a ring of three wishes, you'd have a
pretty damn powerful character...
Chris Seabrook
I've always found that re-charging wands is a great tool for a DM. I use it as
a means of keeping the PC's poor, and setting up other adventures when they
can't afford what they want (most of the time).
I take a fairly simple view of magic item construction/re-charging. To make an
item in the first place require 'enchant an item' with all the associated time
and hassle, it requires the magic to be included in the item in the form of
scrolls and it requires some means of combining the scrolls with the prepared
item. I normally insist on wish or alter reality for this. For clerical stuff
I'd provabably require intervention from a major servant of the deity in
return for some siginificant sacrifice or quest.
To recharge is the same procedure as construction except if the item is not
fully drained than the 'enchant an item' is not required. I also vary the
number of charges you get from 1 spell depending on the level of the person
who wrote the scroll, so a fireball scroll from a 5th level type may only add
1 or 2 charges to a wand but one from a 9th level type would add 3 or 4.
This heavy use of spells for item construction serves as a good rationale as
to why the world is not flooded with items from every retired spellcaster and
the expense means that the PC's will only try and re-charge something which
they *REALLY* want.
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