Staffs and charges

[Grimar]

i dont really know the rules for staffs and charges... i can't find them in the dmg either. how much does it cost to recharge a staff, and how do you do it??

[Rob-hin]

Staffs and wands can not be recharged. You'll have to buy new ones, simple as that.

[The Great Hairy]

No, that's not true. A wizard or sorcerer who can cast the spell contained in the staff or wand, at the appropriate level, can recharge the item by casting the spell into it. You still have to pay for material components, of course.

Cheers,
TGHO

[melancolly]

its not to clear IMO , when i was aproached by a player to recharge an item , i decided to charge a very high price in GOLD

[The Great Hairy]

No, it's not clear. Recharging is not discussed in the SRD as far as I can see, however since creating magical items is covered in reasonable detail, it is possible to see that recharging can be based off those rules.

Of course, some individual items specifically state that recharging is not possible (some rods, for example).

Cheers,
TGHO

[Mr.Waesel]

There's a minor artifact in MoF that can recharge items. Other than that there's no way.

[Grimar]

[QUOTE=Mr.Waesel]There's a minor artifact in MoF that can recharge items. Other than that there's no way.[/QUOTE]

so you mean that it is not possible to cast spells into staffs\wands to recharge?

[Mr.Waesel]

AFAIK, yes.

[Rob-hin]

I agree.

Perhaps our hairy friend is thinking about an staff that can hold spells as it's ability? (can't think of it's name right now)

I'd say, just buy the another wand with the same possibilities if it's possible.

[Darfuria]

Well the way it's played in my campaign is certain items can be recharged, such wands as walls of force can simply be recharged by absorbing a wall of force (as stated in the spell description) where as some like the Staff of the Magi, in some situations items can just have "enchant an item" cast the spell "limited wish" "permanency" cast upon them.

of course some items can never be recharged, although you could get a wizard to research a spell called "Summon Energy" which is the standard way of getting a staff/wand etc. recharged.

Tend to pay about 100gp per charge to recharge a staff of striking though.

[The Great Hairy]

Hmmm, I can't think of any rule which states that it is not possible. Mr.Waesel? Rob-hin? Can you point out a specific rule which states that it can't be done?

Now I've always played and GMed that it could be done - so this may be a hang over from 1st and 2nd Ed, but I'm nostrilated if I can find any rule in 3rd ed that says "no".

Cheers,
TGHO

[Rob-hin]

You can't recharge a scroll, so why would it be possible to recharge a staff or wand.
When it's empty it's empty and you need to craft a new one. Or recraft the old one, this is sort of a recharging but you simply just craft it again.

But as with most things in d&d it can be house rules (perhaps my rule is a house rule) but I believe this is the official take on it.

I can't find any rules in the DMG though... but I do think I've read it somewhere once... sometime... somewhere.

[Darfuria]

Ahhh indeed but to create a scroll one must go and get special ingredients such as squid ink and various things chosen by the DM & player relating to the scroll. Then the scroll is made in a certain method (I will post an example in a minute). Where as wands and staffs are created by high quality materials. Enchant an item is cast upon them, then a spell (or multiples of the same spell) , sometimes a contingency, and then a permanacy, repeat.

In the DM's guide any wands/staffs etc. that can't be recharged say they can't under the item description.

And even if the ones that don't state that they can, and the DM doesn't allow it, where does it say that the player isn't allowed to create a way of recharging such items?

[The Great Hairy]

A spell on a scroll is a single shot item, like a potion. You can copy the spell into your spell book (if appropriate) or you can cast the spell from the scroll. Once the spell is cast, it's gone from the scroll entirely.

This is quite different from staffs, rods and wands, which are charged items. I've had GMs rule that if the last charge of the item is used, the item disappears/breaks/crumbles to dust/whatever is appropriate and can no longer be recharged, but I've never had a GM (nor have I myself) rule that a staff/rod/wand can not be recharged unless is specifically states under the item description that it can not be (and some of them do state this).

Several magical items, like the Scarab of Protection, also state that they can not be recharged.

This seems to imply to me that other objects can be recharged. <Shrug> that's how I've been playing/GMing it away.

Cheers,
TGHO

[Rob-hin]

Sounds logical then!

Guess I'v been doing it somewhat wrong in the past.

[Mr.Waesel]

[QUOTE=The Great Hairy]Hmmm, I can't think of any rule which states that it is not possible. Mr.Waesel? Rob-hin? Can you point out a specific rule which states that it can't be done?[/QUOTE]

I'm operating under the argument that it doesn't say anywhere it can, and while staffs are the staple of fantasy, charges and recharging aren't so they would need their own rules.

[The Great Hairy]

[QUOTE=Mr.Waesel]I'm operating under the argument that it doesn't say anywhere it can, and[/QUOTE]

However it does specifically state under some items that it can't be done - so the implication is that for general items it can be done. Although the rules to do so are not supplied, which means that the GM either has to modify the creation rules, or create recharging rules from scratch.


[QUOTE=Mr.Waesel]while staffs are the staple of fantasy, charges and recharging aren't so they would need their own rules.[/QUOTE]

<Shrug> DnD has a lot of stuff in it which isn't generally found throughout fantasy.

Cheers,
TGHO