TEXT: Staves and Wands
  Staves and Wands
  A wand can be as essential to a mage as
  lock picks are to a thief, or a rifles scope
  is to a marksman. A mage can perform
  well  without  one,  but  a  wand  can
  definitely
   
  increase
   a  
  wizard’s
  effectiveness. It can act as a battery for
  storing WKM and spells, a focus to help
  with spell casting, and a weapon, if the
  mage  so  chooses.  A  wand  is  not
  necessary,  but  a  mage  may  find  one
  indispensable once they have used one.
  Creating a Wand
  The creation of a wand can be a time
  consuming  process.  It  literally  takes
  blood, sweat, and tears from the mage
  and can take up to a year. And that is if
  everything goes right. Any mistakes or
  miscalculations  can  actually  set  the
  process back quite a while, if not destroy
  the  wand  (usually  with  explosive
  results). But once the mage has created a
  wand,  they  generally  swear  by  them.
  Traditionally, a wand is a rod or stick
  that is personally enchanted by a mage
  to assist with magical doings. However,
  a generous GM may allow a mage player
  to  experiment  with  different  shaped
  items. Once the proper item has been
  selected, the proper spells must be cast
  into and onto it to enchant it. Again, a
  generous GM may allow a player to skip
  this phase, or have the player play it out
  until  they  feel  the  player  has  fully
  prepared  the  wand  for  enchantment.
  Once the Create Wand spell is cast, the
  player has a wand.
  Wand Bonuses
  Besides the spells inherent in a wand,
  there  are many other advantages  to  a
  mage possessing a wand. A wand acts as
  a focus to aid a mage in spell casting. It
  grants  a  +10%  bonus  to  base  spell
  casting.  Whether  the  mage  points  the
  wand, taps it on something, or just holds
  it in one hand, it adds the bonus. It also
  reduces the spells fumble range to near
  impossible. Unless a player rolls a 99 or
  100, they will not fumble a spell-casting
  roll.  One  of  the  biggest  benefits  to
  having a wand is the fact that it can act
  as a WKM storage battery. By casting
  WKM into it, the wand can store up to
  double  the  WKM  the  mage  has  at
  maximum. 
  Example- Brunhilda the Dark has 255
  WKM points. She casts the proper spells
  to fill the wand with WKM points. At the
  most,  the  wand  will  have  510  WKM
  points in it.
  The  wand  can  also  have  a  self-
  generating WKM creator cast into it so it
  creates its own WKM independent of the
  mage having to cast into it.
  Another benefit is the wand can act like
  a WKM divining rod when looking for
  WKM  rich  areas.  A  wand  can  be
  programmed to vibrate, glow blue, sing,
  yodel, or any other response the mage
  wants to program into it when the wand
  is introduced into a magic rich area. It
  can  be  stopped  once  the  mage
  acknowledges it. An acknowledgement
  is also a mage’s personal choice.
  Example- Lindsay Ritchie has her wand
  set up to vibrate whenever she enters a
  WKM rich area. To acknowledge it, she
  has to give it one quick shake. As she
  steps into the stone circle at Stonehenge,
  the  collapsed  wand  begins  to  vibrate
  loudly.  She  takes  it  out  quickly  and
  shakes  it,  grinning  sheepishly  at  the
  gathered  tourists  who  are  wondering
  what  the  loud  vibrating  was.  “Cell
  phone” she explains.
  
  Wand Levels
  Mages  can  distinguish  between  each
  other by comparing wands. While this
  leads many none mages to make jokes
  about wand size and such, mages find
  the  practice  very  useful.  A mage  can
  disguise what level they are from non-
  mages, but it is impossible to hide it
  from other mages. And while a mage can
  make their wand look like anything else,
  another mage will always know what it
  for what it is. Merlin was one of the
  most  powerful  wizards  ever  to  have
  lived. His staff appeared to be a gnarled
  old walking staff, six foot long. But to
  Morgan LeFey its real form of a sturdy
  six-foot wand half white gold and half
  diamond was readily apparent. Bureau
  issue  sunglasses  will  also  reveal  a
  wand’s true form as will a spell of true
  seeing. 
  A first level mage normally has a foot
  long wooden dowel. As they progress in
  level and power, the wand grows and
  transforms into more precious materials.
  Only one base material change can take
  place  between  wand  lengthenings.  A
  wand  expands  in  one-foot  increments
  from one foot up to six foot, going all
  the  way  to  six  foot  before  a  base
  transformation  can  take  place.
  Regardless of the base material of the
  wand, it will always be of a comfortable
  weight and feel to the mage. And it will
  be keyed to only work for the mage.
  Example-  Presto the  Magnificent  is  a
  first level mage. His wand is a one-foot
  wooden  dowel.  When  he  advances  to
  second level, his wand will be two foot
  long. When he reaches sixth level, his
  wand will shrink back down to one foot,
  but  will  undergo  a  base  material
  transformation.  Depending  on  which
  system the GM uses, his wand will either
  become a one-foot stone wand or a one-
  foot ash wand. And the process will start
  over again until his wand grows back to
  six foot.
  Provided are two different guidelines for
  base  material  transformations.  One  is
  simplified and takes a mage out to level
  30, while the second guideline is more
  detailed and takes a mage out to level
  127.  GM’s  are  advised  to  choose  the
  system carefully and use them, as you
  will. Subtract, add to, substitute, fold,
  bend, spindle, and mutilate them, as you
  need. And as always, feel free to modify
  these guidelines to fit your campaign.
  Simplified Base Material Chart
  Using the  Simplified  Chart,  the  mage
  can choose what type of material their
  wand is made of as long as it falls into
  their level. A third level mage could have
  a  willow  wand  or  an  oak  wand.  A
  fourteenth level mage could have a steel
  wand or an iron wand. It’s all personal
  choice. But as you can see, it limits the
  mage  to  only  30th  level.  It  remains
  realistic, but can be confusing when you
  get into the metals level. Some players
  might try to argue that Aluminum is a
  precious metal since it is recyclable. If
  you  decide  to  go  with  the  simplified
  method, make sure that it is annotated on
  the player’s character sheet and that both
  GM and player agree on what material
  constitutes what level. 
  Level 1-6
  Wood 1’-6’
  Level 7-12
  Stone 1’-6’
  Level 13-18
  Metal 1’-6’
  Level 19- 24
  Precious Metal 1’-
  6’
  Level 25-30
  Gem 1’-6’
  
  The second method is more detailed and
  provides more stringent limits on what
  level a mage is and what material their
  staff is made of at what level. It provides
  the ability to take a mage out to level
  127 and is slightly more realistic than
  the simplified method.
  Detailed Base Material Chart
  Level 1-6
  Willow 1’-6’
  Level 7-12
  Birch 1’-6’
  Level 13-18
  Ash 1’-6’
  Level 19-24
  Oak 1’-6’
  Level 25-30
  Granite 1’-6’
  Level 31-36
  Quartz 1’-6’
  Level 37-42
  Marble 1’-6’
  Level 43-48
  Aluminum 1’-6’
  Level 49-54
  Steel 1’-6’
  Level 55-60
  Iron 1’-6’
  Level 61-66
  Copper 1’-6’
  Level 67-72
  Bronze 1’-6’
  Level 73-78
  Silver 1’-6’
  Level 79-85
  Gold 1’-6’
  Level 86-91
  Platinum 1’-6’
  Level 92-97
  Hematite 1’-6’
  Level 98- 103
  Ruby 1’-6’
  Level 104- 109
  Sapphire 1’-6’
  Level 110- 115
  Emerald 1’-6’
  Level 116- 121
  Diamond 1’-6’
  Level 122-127
  Mercury 1’-6’
  As you can see, the detailed method is
  more refined and limiting as far as what
  material  a  mage  can  choose  for  their
  wand. But it does provide definite limits
  as to what material a mage can use at
  what level. For game play, this means
  you can tell a player what kind of staff a
  mage has and they will have a decent
  idea what level mage they are dealing
  with.
  Example- Angel Fisher, a 9th level mage
  with a 3 foot long birch staff sees a man
  with  a  4  foot  long  silver  staff.  She
  instantly knows that he is a 76th level
  mage. She hopes her team isn’t asked to
  take him down. It would be messy.
  Spell List
  The spell list for wands as actually quite
  lengthy and has many good spells that
  makes having a wand very useful. Most
  of  them  are  activated  by  the  mage
  holding the wand, but some are activated
  when certain preprogrammed responses
  take place.
  SPELL
  COST
  TIME
  Prepare Wand
  40
  1h
  Create Wand
  60
  30d
  Charge
  10
  1m
  Dump
  20
  1m
  Tap
  2
  1m
  Autoheal
  35
  10m
  Autohaven
  65
  10m
  Weapon
  10
  1m
  Recharge
  40
  5m
  Light
  3 (2/hr)
  1m
  Self-Destruct
  40
  3m
  Heal
  10
  1m
  Blast
  10
  1m
  Hide
  5
  1m
  Autocast
  25
  5m
  Attune
  50
  30m
  Prepare  wand-  Prepares  a  properly
  selected item to be turned into a wand.
  Note- must be cast first, but only once
  per wand.
  Create wand- Turns the prepared item
  into a wand, ready to receive spells, cast
  spells and hold WKM. Also locks wand
  to mage only so no one else can use it.
  Charge- Transfers a specified amount of
  WKM (1-20 WKM) into the wand as
  usable  WKM. Can  also  be used  in  a
  WKM rich area to draw WKM into the
  wand from the area instead of the mage.
  
  Dump-  Transfers  all  of  a  mage’s
  remaining WKM into the wand as usable
  WKM. Limit to amount of WKM that a
  wand  can  hold  is  equal  to  double  a
  mage’s current WKM level.
  Tap- The mage can pull as much WKM
  as needed (and as is stored in the wand)
  to use for spell casting.
  Autoheal- Dumps all WKM, converting
  them into HPT, into the mage should she
  collapse, or on some other programmed
  response.
  Autohaven-  Sends  the  wizard  to  a
  preprogrammed  destination  not  more
  than  5  miles  away  after  a
  preprogrammed response.
  Weapon- Turns wand into a weapon (bo
  stick, club, staff, etc depending on the
  size  of  the  wand).  Wand  can  be
  increased in size for 3 WKM per foot up
  to six foot.
  Recharge- Installs the wand with a self-
  recharging  WKM  generator.  Once  the
  spell has been cast, it continues to work
  without a mage having to spend their
  own WKM. General Recharge is 2d20
  WKM per day.
  Light- A dim light is created at the tip of
  the staff. It feeds off the WKM stored in
  the wand and lights a 6’x6’x6’ area of
  total darkness. It is not warm and emits
  no heat. It is bright enough to read by.
  Self  Destruct-  Purely  a  ‘last  resort’
  measure, a mage can program their staff
  to  detonate.  The  WKM  stored  is
  converted to blast damage at a rate of 1
  WKM into 5 PBD. Wand is destroyed
  and a new one cannot be made for a
  year. Mage goes through a death shock
  of 25%.
  Heal-  Wand  can  convert  1d10  stored
  WKM  into  an  equal  amount  of  HPT
  used to heal someone. The WKM must
  come from the wand.
  Blast-  For  every  two  points  over  the
  initial cost, a ray with 1HPT damage is
  created. It has a maximum length of 50
  feet. The WKM to power the ray can
  come from the wand, the mage, the area,
  or all three.
  Hide- Mage can collapse wand into a
  four  to  six  inch  long  rod  for  easier
  transport.  Re-expanding  it  costs  no
  WKM and wand can be used for some
  spells while collapsed.
  Autocast- A wand can be programmed to
  cast a certain spell, dependant on certain,
  programmed  responses,  as  long  as
  enough WKM remains in the wand. The
  mage must cast the spell into the wand
  for the wand to be able to autocast it.
  The only limit to the number of spells a
  wand can hold is equal to the mage’s
  level.
  Attune- A mage can try to attune himself
  to use another mage’s  wand. There is
  automatically  a  –65%  chance  to  use
  another  mages  wand.  If  the  roll  is
  unsuccessful, all of the WKM explodes
  as  in  the  spell  Self  Destruct.  If  it
  succeeds, the mage has access to all of
  the stored spells and WKM in the wand.
  Conclusion
  As can be seen, there are not a lot of
  downsides  to  having  a  wand.  The
  benefits are tremendous as far as spell
  lists and item abilities go.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Bureau 13/Bureau 13 (d20)/Bureau 13 d20.-.Staves and Wands.pdf