Recharging Wizard Items

Wizards, with their penchant for wands and rods, are more often called upon to recharge items than any other spellcaster. Indeed, a good many wizards spend an indecent proportion of their free time in magical item maintenance.

Before starting, the cautious wizard determines whether recharging is needed or not. Filling an item with more charges than it was meant to contain (over-charging) has disastrous consequences. More than one sorcerer's tower or mage's laboratory has been devastated by the explosion that results from applying too much magical energy. Extremely cautious wizards (some might say timid) won't even consider beginning until they have a full slate of protection spells on hand, just in case of an accident.

The first step in actually recharging an item is to prepare it to receive the spell. This requires the use of an enchant an item spell. This provides a channel to shape and hold the charge. No item can be charged if it has not been so prepared. Note that since the item is already enchanted, the casting only requires 12d4 hours to complete. All other requirements and restrictions of the spell still apply, except that the spell automatically succeeds.

Once the item is prepared, the wizard casts the necessary spells to create the charge. This may be as simple as a single common spell (magic missile to recharge a wand of magic missiles) or a combination of spells. For convenience, Appendix A lists the spells required for the more common chargeable items. If this combination requires an enchant an item spell, a second one must be cast; the first prepared the item and the second shapes the charge. Casting a second enchant an item is best done from a scroll, to negate the lengthy casting time (otherwise, it is 12d4 hours). Unlike other combined spells (in which each charge requires a separate casting of the spell or spells listed), the second enchant an item spell shapes all charging spells cast throughout its duration. Again, the spell is automatically successful.

When the charging spells are cast, no spell effect occurs. Charging a wand of fire does not result in a fiery blast. Instead, the magic is absorbed by the item. While the spell's casting time is unchanged, it takes 1d4 hours for the item to absorb all of the energy. Scintillating motes of light and color swirl around the item during this time.

At the end of the absorption process, the DM must secretly check to see if the process succeeded. A saving throw vs. magical fire must be rolled for the item (regardless of the spell cast). Every item being recharged gains a bonus to its saving throw since it is already a magical item. Other adjustments for the enchant an item spell do not apply. If the saving throw succeeds, the charge takes; otherwise the magic simply slips away. On an adjusted roll of 21 or greater the item actually gains 1d3 charges, as it absorbs residual energies in the area! Success or failure leaves no outward sign, and the DM should not reveal the results of this check.

Once the aura has faded away, it is safe for the wizard to apply a new charge. After 24 hours, the enchant an item used to prepare the object fades and no more charges can be applied until the device is prepared once more. An extremely fortunate character might be able to apply 24 spells in a single casting—at the very least six can be applied, and the average will be 11-13.

Unfortunately, no wizard, regardless of level, can memorize more than five spells of a given level. Since a wizard must gain a full night's sleep before rememorization can take place, most of the charging opportunity within a 24- hour period is wasted. Many wizards offset this inefficient situation by either employing multiple scrolls with the appropriate charging spells (which is somewhat wasteful, too) or having a wizardly companion sit in on the charging process. Two wizards can memorize twice the number of the appropriate spell(s), enabling them to more fully utilize the 24-hour charging period. This doubling up reduces the number of times enchant an item needs to be cast, saving countless hours.

Over-Charging

While charging an item may be tedious or even frustrating, it is not particularly dangerous. The greatest risk comes in accidentally overcharging the device. When this happens (and it happens only infrequently), the result is a sudden release of all of the stored magical energy therein—in the form of a tremendous explosion. The amount of damage done depends upon the type of item. Wands inflict 50 points of damage (1/2 hp per charge), rods cause 100 points of damage (2 hp per charge), staves cause 150 points of damage (6 points per charge), except for the staff of power, which causes damage as listed, while any other devices cause 8 points of damage per charge released. The blast affects all within a 30-foot radius, and other items within this area must have a saving throw vs. disintegration rolled for them. For characters, a saving throw vs. magic reduces the damage by half, although this will do little good in many instances. In all cases the item being charged is completely destroyed.

Clearly, over-charging is a fate to be avoided. Thus, most wizards make use of the identify spell to determine the relative strength of their charged items. It is a good practice to wait until the item detects as weak before beginning the lengthy business of recharging.

Example of Recharging

In her last outing with the rest of her companions, Ramona the Eloquent fired off 10 charges from her wand of paralyzation to pull the group's fat out of the fire—a fire giant's hearth, to be exact. Having managed to survive, the wizard wants to be sure her wand won't go dry on their next outing, so she sets about the business of recharging it. Consulting her references, she finds, as she suspected, that hold monster is the necessary charging spell. No other spell is required in combination.

Ramona has been paying careful attention to her wand use, so she knows that in addition to the last 10 charges, she has used her wand at least 12 other times. There are at least 22 charges to be replaced before there is any danger of over-charging. Nonetheless, the wizard removes all her other magical items from the work area, in part because they can interfere with the enchant an item spell, but also because it is prudent.

The day before she begins, Ramona eats well, sets up a cot in her workroom, gets lots of sleep, and then memorizes spells. At 12th level she can memorize four hold monster spells and the necessary enchant an item spell. She also has some hold monster scrolls but decides against using these.

The next day Ramona begins casting her enchant an item spell. The casting time result is 32 hours, which will take Ramona more than 3 full days to work through (a maximum of 8 hours casting each day for enchant an item). After the final 8 hours of casting enchant an item, Ramona immediately casts her first hold monster spell. Exhausted, she tells her apprentice to wake her as soon as the aura fades.

Two hours later, the apprentice rouses the wizard. Ramona casts her next hold monster spell and then sleeps. This process repeats until all four spells are cast. The charging takes a total of 13 hours.

For each spell that is cast, the DM secretly rolls an item saving throw, including a +3 bonus because the wand is a magical item. Thin wood (the wand's material in this case) has a saving throw of 11 vs. magical fire. The four adjusted saves are 11, 4, 19, and 21. Since the last roll is greater than 20, the DM rolls 1d3 and comes up with a 3. The wand actually gains 5 charges, one more than Ramona suspects.

Since Ramona must now gain a full night's restful sleep before she may again memorize any spells, and she has chosen not to use her scrolls, the 24-hour duration of the enchant an item spell will fade. Thus, to further recharge the wand, Ramona must repeat the entire process again, spending several days casting enchant an item.