Wands are short, slender items made of wood that allow users to cast specific spells without expending a spell slot. They can be used once per day but can be overcharged to attempt to cast them again at great risk. Each wand holds a spell of a certain level, determined when the wand is created. There are no “Arcane” or “Divine” (or “Psychic”) wands, so if a spell appears on both the Cleric/Oracle and Sorcerer/Wizard spell list, both a Cleric and a Wizard can activate that spell.
In the Pathfinder RPG, wands are thin batons that contain a single spell of 4th level or lower. To cast a spell from a wand, it must be on the character’s spell list, as they are the one casting it. Casting a spell from a wand requires holding the wand in one hand and activating the item with a Cast a Spell activity using the normal number of actions for the spell.
Wands are generally good for low-level spells that you plan to cast frequently, like Cure Light Wounds. Wizards have very few options which can justify using magic items as a method of spamming spells. In Pathfinder, wands and staffs are just receptacles for spells with their charges. Activating a wand is more of a skill, as the wand is the one casting the spell. For example, a Rogue cannot cast spells.
In summary, wands are reusable magic items that allow users to cast specific spells without expending a spell slot. They are generally good for low-level spells that you plan to cast frequently, but Wizards have very few options to justify using them.
📹 Pathfinder (2e) Magic Part 10: Scrolls and Wands
The rules for using Scrolls and Wands in Pathfinder 2nd Edition. See the following videos for more information: Pathfinder Magic …
How do you cast a spell from a wand in pf2e?
In order to cast a spell from a wand, it is necessary to first hold the wand in one hand and then activate it by using the “Cast a Spell” activity. In order to cast a spell, it must first be included on the spell list. Furthermore, the spell attack roll and spell DC must be used as the only parameters for the casting of the spell.
Does wand type affect anything?
In Hogwarts Legacy, your wand is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect your character’s strength. You can start with a hand-me-down wand and customize it with style, wood, flexibility, length, and core. You can keep the chosen wand or customize it at Ollivanders. The wand’s selection matters, and there is no best wand in Hogwarts Legacy. The wand’s style, wood types, length, flexibility, and core are all important factors to consider when choosing a wand.
Does hex damage work on spells?
Hex 5e is a powerful spell that allows players to curse their enemies and gain an advantage in combat. It is a powerful spell that allows players to choose a creature within range and curse it. The most common effect of Hex is the reduction of the cursed creature’s ability to hit with attacks, but there are other effects as well, such as reducing the target’s ability to make ability checks or saving throws.
This guide provides an in-depth understanding of Hex 5e, its mechanics, limitations, strategies, and spell combinations. It is designed for both seasoned players and newcomers, providing insights to become a hex-slinging pro.
Hex 5e is a powerful spell that allows players to unleash hexes on their foes and enhance their own abilities and skills. With expert tips and tactics, players can harness the power of hexes to shape the battlefield and emerge victorious in their adventures. Grab your spellbook, gather your party, and join us in exploring the enchanting world of Hex in Dungeons and Dragons 5e.
Do wands provoke Pathfinder?
Wands are a spell trigger item that do not provoke attacks of opportunity when used, allowing players to sling various spells when surrounded by enemies. This is useful for healing from a head smash or attacking with a wand, as even small spells can be devastating if in the hands of a rogue or slayer. Activating a wand is a standard action, but it can be drawn as a swift action from a spring-loaded wrist sheathe or as part of a move action if the player has a BAB of +1 or higher and is keeping it in a bandolier.
Wands only go up to 4th level spells, but their variety of options allows casters to store situational or in-between fight spells or pre-buffs that last a long time. Casters can then use their actual spell slots to prep spells that don’t work well in wands due to higher caster levels or better casting stats.
Can you use a wand and cast a spell?
Magic wands have a rich history dating back to various traditions, including Zoroastrianism, early Hinduism, and the Ancient Greeks and Romans. These sensitive energy transmitters can be used for healing, enchanting objects, and casting spells. To charge a wand, one can transmit energy from themselves through the hands, use pyramid chargers for a strong charge, or use natural light sources like sun or moonlight. Protect the wand with a covering, such as cloth or a pouch, to prevent unwanted energy.
When self-charging the wand, be cautious of depleting oneself of energy, drawing energy towards the center of the body, upward from the feet and downward from the head. This ensures the wand remains charged and can be used for various purposes.
How do wands work in Pathfinder?
Wands are a type of expendable item that enables users to cast spells. Wands are initially equipped with a specific number of charges, with each use resulting in the consumption of one charge. Once the wand’s charge is depleted, it is rendered inoperable. The utilization of a wand necessitates the fulfillment of the same prerequisites as the use of a scroll. The DC (difficulty class) for a Use Magic Device skill check is 20, irrespective of the level of the spell in question. Should a skill check fail, no charges are consumed.
Do spells persist after death Pathfinder?
A spell persists in its effect for the duration specified, with the requisite magical energy applied as fuel.
How do you stop a spell in Pathfinder?
Should the duration line conclude with the designation “(D),” the spell may be dismissed at the caster’s discretion, contingent upon their proximity to the spell’s area of effect and the ability to vocalize the requisite words of dismissal, which are typically a modified iteration of the spell’s verbal component.
Can spells be cast without a wand?
Wandless magic is the practice of performing magic without a wand, which can be challenging for beginners and can have unpredictable results. Witches and wizards accustomed to using wands can only reliably perform wandless magic if they possess great skill. However, in regions where wands were not used, wandless magic was considered the norm and using one was optional. Wands were used by witches and wizards to channel their magic, making their spells more accurate and potent.
Only the most powerful and disciplined wizards could perform wandless magic reliably. The wand was a European invention, and some cultures did not traditionally rely on such tools for magic. Native Americans had pre-European practices that did not require a wand, and African witches and wizards only adopted the wand in the 20th century.
How long can you hold a spell Pathfinder?
In this text, the concept of holding a charge is discussed, allowing the player to hold a charge indefinitely and continue making touch attacks round after round. The spell discharges if the player touches anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally. The spell dissipates when another spell is cast. The player can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, they can make a normal unarmed attack or attack with a natural weapon while holding a charge, provoking attacks of opportunity as normal.
If the attack hits, normal damage is dealt, and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, the player remains holding the charge. The text also mentions that in the same round as casting a touch spell, the player gains a melee touch attack as a free action, allowing them to use it when it’s not their turn to deliver an Attack of Opportunity.
Does wand damage affect spells?
It should be noted that the physical damage of a wand is not included in spells.
📹 Spells and Casting in Pathfinder2e – Ultimate Guide!
Here is my updated video on everything you need to know in order to play a caster well in pathfinder! It will cover itemization, spell …
CLARIFICATION: Mending can be used to repair wands if heightened to 3rd level. See the following articles for more information: Pathfinder Magic Part 11: Trick Magic Item: youtu.be/y8Fstzw8t8Y Pathfinder Crafting Part 1: youtu.be/639KP3ZWNG0 Pathfinder Crafting Examples Part 1: youtu.be/5stdWu1xzOU Pathfinder Crafting Part 2: youtu.be/FlwDkWDtPFo Pathfinder Crafting Examples Part 2: youtu.be/xxHMoDQr4V4 Pathfinder Crafting Part 3: youtu.be/Iy-t9zwvCMA ——————————————————————————————————– Want to help support the website? Get your name listed at the end of my articles by joining my Patreon : ▶️ patreon.com/HowItsPlayed/ Thank me with a cup of coffee! ▶️ ko-fi.com/HowItsPlayed
I think your line about no cost need to be provided for wands is incorrect. From CRB 597 – A spell cast from a wand doesn’t require physical material components, but you must replace any material component normally required to cast the spell with a somatic component. If the spell requires a focus, you must still have that focus to cast the spell from a wand, and if the spell has a cost, you must still pay that cost to cast the spell from a wand. so no material components required, but you DO have to pay a cost
what happen with class like Champions, Monks and Ranger that can have focus spell and they are trained in Divine spell (the first 2) and Primal spell (the Ranger), Do they can use scrolls and wands of their respective traditions? Also the Rogue is in that situation with minor magic but that more easy to asume that they can
I’m here to start the divine spell list crusade! I agree it’s the 2nd best list. It does have relatively few “good” spells, but those spells are BY FAR the best in the game. This gives surprising veratility to divine casters, since you simply stock up on the cream of the crop and are good for whatever is up ahead. The rest can be filled with weird utility stuff.
Awesome guide! One thing that I dont think got enough attention are Incapacitation spells, and spells that do counteract checks (such as Dispel Magic). All of these need to be upper slots, if not your absolute highest rank. I’ve seen a number of cases where a player excitedly whips out the perfect spell, only to deflate when they learn it’s useless at the rank they prepared it.
* Anything with long duration makes for a good wand spell. Energy Aegis is a good one. By the time you get it, you probably have some resistances, but reducing almost every energy by 5 all day long helps out a lot. As well, any utility spell you’ll use every day is worth it. Haste, invisibility, etc. Each wand is a slot you can use for a different spell. * When you can afford 10th level items, you need a Shadow Signet. Spells that target AC can be done against Reflex or Fortitude DC’s. By recalling knowledge you can make yourself significantly more accurate against most creatures. Sometimes by 20%. It doesn’t even cost an action!
That was a very good article overall! A few points I’d like to retor, tho: 1. I don’t think is a good ideia rating DPR comparing casters to Martials when all other characteristics were compared to Caster only. And Arcane is the only list that has perfect single, multi and chip damage. Well, as far as spell damage goes. 2. Your rating sysem is kinda off sometimes. Divine got a 4 at “Targeting” while Primal got an 3.5, while both of them score the same sum. The exact same occured with Arcane and Primal at the “Damage” part. 3. Also, the categories are somewhat missleading. Heal being it’s own category with no subcategory is weird. Regaining hit points is stronger but damage mitigation are potent too! Debuffs and buffs can do that very well. Of course, only healing is capable of raising downed allies. 4. And, I’m sorry: Arcane scoring lower than Occult on utility makes no sense… Arcane and Occult share a lot of utility staples but only one of them has access to walls of stone, fire, water, metal, ice and thorns. Other than that, GREAT JOB!
For 1st level dmg spells I think Sure Strike should get a mention, there aren’t a lot of big spellslot attack spells(and thunder sphere costs your entire turn/s) but if you get access to it as an Elemental Sorcerer with its focus spell or use it as a Bow Wizard with Bespell Strikes(perhaps with your GM allowing your Staff Nexus to be a Longbow with Sure Strike) it can be your go to attack strategy.
My suggestion to optimally play a caster is to make sure you’re never within the enemy’s melee range, or line of sight if they have ranged weapons. Because if you’re a wizard or a similarly resilient class, you’re going to lose all your hit points within a single round. But if your class gives you 8 or more hit points, inbuilt armor proficiencies, and the ability to heal yourself in mid-combat by large amounts. You just got assigned as the new designated tank, so good luck. >:3
Some cool Occult spells I picked out for my witch Rank 1 Sanctuary – touch only, but still useful, more so with reach spell Mystic Armor – another great wand spell, +1 to ac is good if you can use it Rank 2 Calm Emotions – just shuts down some encounters, has to be heightened False Vitality – good wand spell, bonus to HP can make a difference Invisibility – It’s invisibility Laughing Fit – Remove reactions even on successful save is good for fighter types Stupefy – Useful for hindering casters, making their spells fizzle Rank 3 Blindness – It’s like invisibility, but for you and your friends Gravity Well – That cliff can kill so many dudes
About sponcasters – it can’t be overstated how much of “elasticity now” they have in PF2, even in comparison with DnD3/PF1, especially at higher levels. 10lvl Sorcerer has their four 5th-rank spells, but also another 4 of lower level signature spells. Although without items they can’t address once-in-a-year situations with those “silver bullet” spells, they can very, very well prepare for most of the common scenarios. This makes it much less probable to find yourself in a situation where your spell slots are useless through the whole day, because you lack adequate options to use them for. You can say that signature spell is yet another top-level slot (with some caveats, of course). Put there something that scales great, fill the rest with some Sure Strikes, Blesses, Banes or other evergreens, and you have your repertoire. In PF1, without heightening and signature spells, most of your low-level spells were gradually becoming dead weight. Here your only problem is having too much of a choice during the battle That’s why whenever a new player wants to play a caster – for the sake of casting regular spells, not specific focus spells or using other class-specific features – I say they play Sorcerer. Or Cleric, if they want to heal, heal and heal, but otherwise – definitely a Sorcerer. Easy out of the box, but also great potential that is built upon gradually.
I’ve been perusal this again over the weekend as I was prepping for a final game of Malevolence earlier today (had to level a Druid) up to 6 and a potential in-person PFS game Saturday (not sure what I’ll play…may go martial) and an online PFS game next Saturday (Grapple Cleric 2). I’ve realized, as I’m learning PF2, I prefer prepared casters, as it give me more time/space to learn the spell lists. I’m also realizing I need to learn more about equipment & items in PF2. Especially scrolls for casters. I’m SURE I’ll watch this a few more times along my learning journey. 👍🏾👍🏾
I have never played a caster in PF2 and getting a little overwhelmed by all the spells. I have played DnD5 and Fireball there it good not only for it’s damage, but also for how easy it is to hit multiple enemies with. In DnD5 I usually made a caster based on which spells I really wanted to have on certain levels. I am trying to do the same here. I am looking for a AoE spell, preferably with a 20ft+ burst. Do you have suggestions?
In terms of being responsible, sure Divine is probably the second ‘best’ list. The problem with it is that it’s the list least fitting of the caster fantasy. It’s fricking great on a warpriest, cloistered clerics probably know what to expect. On a sorc or witch, it feels less good. Primal > Arcane > Divine > Occult imo. Ironically my favorite list to play is actually occult, it’s just more restrictive in terms of the expected caster tools than the other lists are.
There’s probably something to be said about the fact that Prepared Spellcasters like specific silver bullets wheras Spontaneous get more value out of toolbox utility spells that solve a bigger variety of problems. Classic examples of the latter might be Polymorph spells giving you a choice of movement/vision solutions. There’s still space for getting Silver Bullets on a Spontaneous caster for the reasons you state, but they’ll get more consistent use out of toolbox utility
So…something that was touched on several times but never gone into… “Why are the ‘good spells’ good?” This question is one I haven’t really seen anybody tackle, and I new players could find it very useful. Why would you pick rank 3 fireball over rank 3 crushing wave? Why fireball over lightning bolt? Why is Flammable Fumes good? Why is synesthesia good? Yeah, it gives a solid ac debuff, but in what situations does it give the debuff? What spells are effective against level +3 enemies, and why?
mini bangers that i like a lot: command is a lvl 1 will save or be forced to drop prone or do something else stupid. lose the path is pretty insane as a low level reaction. gentle breeze is a flat +2 to medicine checks in an area for 10 minutes, and it heals a bit summon fey lets you summon creatures that heal more than a heal spell and can still flank afterwards, if you have the actions to direct them. occult can summon actual heal users, too pocket library is insane for roleplay at heightened levels enlarge with reach melee is extremely powerful, especially heightened to 4. regenerate(iirc) is a 7th level spell that makes martials essentially unkillable for a minute kinda like a troll with no weaknesses
This was a good article, though I’m kinda disappointed there was no mention of any battlefield control spells during any part of this article. I’m coming from Treantmonk’s articles with D&D 5e and I know from that, battlefield control spells can be pretty powerful. When I was reading through Pathfinder 2e’s spells (I’ve read through the CRB, APG, and SOM), I noticed the battlefield control spells were definitely more restrictive than in D&D 5e but that’s because being able to move targets around, create difficult terrain, block their movement or make them immobilized, etc. is inherently a lot more powerful than in D&D 5e because of the action cost to move, stand up, etc. Maybe that’s what you meant by your “debuff: other” spells but it didn’t seem that way. I’d be curious to know your thoughts on spells like that as I haven’t gotten to play PF2e as of yet (though I will soon as a GM) so I don’t have firsthand experience with the game.
Asking here instead of Discord, for the engagement. 😜 So, as I listen to you talk about wands and staves VERY slowly/drunkenly 🤣you mention how they’re a great use a hand slot. I wonder if a staff is a good option for the Grapple Warpriest of Irori? Or, would you adjust that build to be better as a staff user? I feel like a Grapple Warpriest of Nethys may work well, except you’d lose Athletic Rush, which seems pretty critical for the build.
This is a really solid article. My only comment is that the Divine list can struggle a lot if your table cares at all about theme and narrative, and you play a goodly character. A ton of the damage spells are pretty clearly evil coded in theme. As someone that plays a cleric of Shlyn and hesitates to even use the fear spell because it feels pretty out of character for a Shelynite to do, the divine list can be pretty rough.
This is super nit-picky and pretentious in a way but hear me out… I think if you put the effort into editing yours points to be a little quicker paced, things like cutting all the larger pauses and ums your website would take off! Today’s audiences are super tik tok brain and quick fire points and info will keep audiences engaged more. Something I learned from my tutor at uni. I know the pathfinder community is often the community that enjoys sitting down with the topics they like and really feeling them but I think you’d really take off with a small change in style. Otherwise, article was great, I’ve been playing pf2e for a while now, enough to really sink teeth into the patterns and mechanics and your article was MEGA informative and enjoyable. Didn’t feel like a hot take style or popular opinion shifted to seem like your own unique thoughts. this was great and accurate AND most importantly pretty based in fact which is really cool to see.