* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : Recharging the Staff of the Magi (1st Edition) Started at 04-08-04 06:54 PM by furgig Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=216964 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : furgig Date : 04-08-04 06:54 PM Thread Title : Recharging the Staff of the Magi (1st Edition) Forgive me if this isn't the right forum for posting this, but I'm in a first edition game, and have a staff of the magi in need of recharging. I'm not really sure what needs to be done, and I don't think my DM is really clear either. I can't find anything about how to recharge the staff in the players handbook or DMG. Does anyone in here know how to do it, or at least have some ideas how to manage it? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : beavis123 Date : 04-08-04 08:32 PM Thread Title : the voice of reason When I played 1e (a few years ago) I saw magical items as limited use items. When the charges ran out, it became non magical and it was discarded. You had to adventure to look for other wands, rods, and staves. Recharging a wand rod or staff, now that sounds like a video game!!! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : ScottyG Date : 04-08-04 08:33 PM The staff absorbs the energy of spells cast at the wielder. This is the only way to recharge the staff. If an opponent casts a spell at the staff holder, he has the option of absorbing it. If he does, that counts as his action for the round, but the spell is absorbed by the staff. If a 4th level spell is cast at the staff holder. The staff holder decides to absorb the spell. The staff is then recharged by 4 charges. Unless the staff holder has a friend casting a spell at him and telling him what spell it is prior to casting, he will not know what spell, or what level is being cast at him, and if he goes over the maximum charges the staff can hold, it will explode. Scott -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 4] Author : Wyrmbane Date : 04-08-04 08:33 PM You cast spells into it. Each spell level cast into the staff adds one charge, i.e. a 9th level spell adds 9 charges, a 3rd level spell adds 3, etc. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 5] Author : Stonebeard Date : 04-08-04 08:35 PM Thread Title : Re: the voice of reason I have to agree, particulary in this case as the staff of the Magi is a particulary powerful magic item. I don't believe there is a procedure for recharging such things in 1e. I think you're pulling this concept from another edition of D&D. Originally posted by beavis123 When I played 1e (a few years ago) I saw magical items as limited use items. When the charges ran out, it became non magical and it was discarded. You had to adventure to look for other wands, rods, and staves. Recharging a wand rod or staff, now that sounds like a video game!!! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 6] Author : ScottyG Date : 04-08-04 08:39 PM Not being able to recharge a rod, staff, or wand in 1E is the exception. Most can be recharged, but the staff of the magi has special procedures, only by absorbing spells cast at the wielder. Scott -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 7] Author : Stonebeard Date : 04-08-04 08:44 PM I stand corrected. The staff of the magi adds +2 to all saving throws versus magic. The staff can be used to absorb magic-user spell energy directed at its wielder, but if the staff absorbs energy beyond its charge limit it will explode just as if a "retributive strike" (see below) had been made. The spell levels of energy absorbed count only as recharging the staff, but they cannot be redirected immediately, so if absorption is desired, that is the only action possible by the staff wielder that round. Note also that the wielder has no idea of how many spell levels are cast at him, for the staff does not communicate this knowledge as does the rod of absorption. Therefore, absorbing spells can be risky. Absorption is the only way this staff can be recharged. -- 2nd paragraph under Staff of the Magi page 134 1e DMG Originally posted by Wyrmbane You cast spells into it. Each spell level cast into the staff adds one charge, i.e. a 9th level spell adds 9 charges, a 3rd level spell adds 3, etc. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 8] Author : ScottyG Date : 04-08-04 08:44 PM It is important to remember that only spells cast directly at the staff holder can be absorbed. The DM should announce that an opponent appears to be getting ready to cast a spell. Then, prior to initiative, the staff holder will decide if he wants to risk attempting to absorb the spell. If the opponent casts a spell at the staff holder, the spell is absorbed. The DM should keep a secret record of the charges in the staff. the staff holder should never know. If the staff reaches zero charges, it crumbles to dust, if it goes over 25, it explodes. Scott -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 9] Author : ScottyG Date : 04-08-04 08:46 PM Well, Stonebeard beat me to it. Scott -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 10] Author : Stonebeard Date : 04-08-04 08:49 PM I might be as old as the mountains and hills but when it comes to 1e stuff that's more of a help than a hindrance :) Originally posted by ScottyG Well, Stonebeard beat me to it. Scott -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 11] Author : Maerik the Mystic Date : 04-08-04 10:32 PM This is something we did in 1e and continue to do in 2e, at lower levels you have to pay or barter with someone ( wizard of high enough lvl) to do this ( which most of the time end's up into an adventure in it's self :dice: ) , but such spells as legend lore, limited wish can find out how many charges the staff is capable of totally holding, and how many are currently stored in it. ;) of course everthing is up to the DM, but when I stated my case ( and trust me our DM was a hard as:censored: ) the DM to my surprise ok'ed it. :OMG! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 12] Author : Algolei Date : 04-09-04 04:26 AM Originally posted by ScottyG It is important to remember that only spells cast directly at the staff holder can be absorbed. The DM should announce that an opponent appears to be getting ready to cast a spell. Then, prior to initiative, the staff holder will decide if he wants to risk attempting to absorb the spell. If the opponent casts a spell at the staff holder, the spell is absorbed. The DM should keep a secret record of the charges in the staff. the staff holder should never know. If the staff reaches zero charges, it crumbles to dust, if it goes over 25, it explodes. Scott We never bothered with recharging in actual combat. If our staff needed recharging, we just got somebody trustworthy to cast a specific spell at us, so we knew what level it was. ;) Of course, it helped having two spellcasters in the party. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 13] Author : Thailfi Date : 04-09-04 11:00 AM Retributive strikes are to be avoided AT ALL COSTS. First the mage rolls percentile dice. 50% of the time he is blasted into another plane of existence, the other 50% of the time he is forever destroyed. The lucky folks in the blast radius (bigger than a fireball if I remember correctly) take a paltry 8 points of damage per charge left in the staff. That means if it explodes due to over absorbing spells everyone takes 25 x 8 = 200 points of damage. The wonderful thing is that it is not supposed to be possible to discover how many charges a staff of the magi has using normal methods. In the few staffs possessed by one of our party members over 24 years we have used wishes and the answer any question card from a deck of many things to find out how many charges they have. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 14] Author : furgig Date : 04-09-04 01:12 PM Well, I don't know how many charges it has, but I do know how many I've used so far. Our party had two Staffs of the Magi, one Wand of Lightning, and one Rod of Ressurection. In our last campaign, our DM alluded to the fact that one staff, the wand, and the rod were all "humming, vibrating, and smoking". Hint Hint. I don't know what would have happened, but there was an open portal nearby, so the items were chucked in there. Most likely some other plane of existence got hammered with badness. But my staff remains, and I don't want to lose it. We'll see how generous my DM is for letting me have it recharged by the other mage in the party. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:21 AM.