Enchanted Wands
Most who think of magic in the world know of a few basic tools and products of magical nature. Some of these tools function as magical effects stored in a medium, to be released later; these are typically in the form of potions, scrolls, and wands. When it comes to these three items, the complexity of wands are what tend to have them be associated with the wielders of magic more than the function, regardless of the reality. So what, exactly, is a wand? How does it differ from a potion or scroll?
Basic Description
Physically a wand is generally designed to be a specific shape, a rod of material roughly just slightly longer than span of a hand in length and the thickness of a little finger. It must be brandished, and a command given to the wand; the command delivery is varied, as a wand can be designed to respond to a verbal command, a motion command, or a thought command (in terms of difficulty setting the enchantment). The wand's enchantment is exhausted after a number of uses, the number usually coinciding with the complexity and power of the effect; the more complex or powerful, the less uses can be instilled into it. Due to the wand's effect being linked to a command, anyone who knows the command can use a wand so long as it has a charge remaining. A wand cannot be recharged, per se, but due to the method by which it is created it is possible for an intact wand to have the same enchantments laid on it again so long as someone is aware of how it was made in the first place.Enchantment
Almost any effect can be put into a wand, but it functions best with expressions of magic which have a variable target in mind. Most wands are created with combat applications in mind, such as generating exploding balls of flame or bolts of electricity between the end of the wand and a distance directly along the body of the wand. However, non-combat applications have also been successful; wands exist which can move items which they are pointed at, or when placed against an object repair superficial damage or wear. Dwarves have been known to design wands which shape stone into tunnels or smooth out a block of stone for construction, for times when there is not enough time or artisans able to do those tasks. Elves have designed wands which are useful to close wounds in the flesh, or entice plants to grow and blossom.It should bear notice these objects exist, but they are not nearly as commonplace as might be suggested. This is due to a considerable amount of effort required by the crafter, who must both shape the wand from raw materials, invest it with a portion of magical power, and then finally define how that power is called forth and expresses itself. Crafting a singular wand can take several weeks for even a simple enchantment, and may take months for complex designs.
Limitations
For the most part, a wand has a few general limitations in design. As noted above, it works best when a target of some type is intended for the spell. The 'target' is a vague term by necessity, as it can target an indicated person within an effective range of the wand, an object to which the end of the wand is touched, or a point in space a distance from the tip of the wand. Furthermore, the design of the enchantment defines exactly what happens when the wand is targeted at something and the command given; it could be any effect so long as it targets. There are two distinct limitations, then.First, and most obviously, an effect which does not target cannot be instilled within a wand. An effect of creating a wall of stone out of the ground is not something which can be done with a wand, though one could point the wand and move a piece of earth or a stone with the proper enchantment. If a spell targets a group of individual objects, such as a dozen eggs or three guardsmen, it cannot be instilled into a wand. Some wands may be designed to emit an effect in a burst of energy, but in that case the target is usually a point of origin for the effect instead of 'everything within the area affected'. Thus, there are some ways around the letter of this limitation, but invariably the spirit remains; you will need some other means than a wand to target multiple objects with the same invocation.
Secondly, less obviously, once an enchantment has been devised for a wand and the basic work begun to prepare the vessel for the magical energy there can be no alteration to the effect a wand will have when invoked. If a wand is designed to generate a burst of flame twenty feet from the point of the wand, it cannot readily be altered to instead generate a burst of flowers twenty feet from the point of the wand. This might seem obvious, but included in this limitation is something much more surprising to those who are not fully aware of the meaning. The same wand may generate a burst of flame twenty feet from the point of the wand, but it cannot create the same burst ten inches from the point of the wand. For this purpose, most wands would be designed with a more fluid targeting range, necessitating a bit more work on the part of the crafter. This limitation and the need to work around it is why it often takes so long to properly design the enchantment to be placed into the wand, so as to prevent incidents where the effect would actively be detrimental to the user.
Manufacturing process
While the physical wand can be made by many means, the actual enchantment is done inside an arcane laboratory (or sufficient analogue). The process also varies wildly depending on the individual who crafted it, but with wands what matters is more the end result than the method by which you arrive at it.
Item type
Magical
Rarity
Uncommon
Raw materials & Components
Almost any material can be used to make a wand, so long as it can hold the proper shape. Once the physical object is made, several components are needed to properly instill the enchantment into the wand; these components are very much reliant on what the enchantment is meant to do.
Tools
Whatever material the wand is made of determines the tools needed to make the physical object; as this varies widely, it is often viewed as a secondary necessity. The primary required tools are what are usually found inside an arcane laboratory.
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