Wand of Accuracy

[Xyrlove Woodsoul]

Given that using the Wand of Accuracy Class Feature is a free action, can the bonus be applied after the roll? What is the "rule of thumb" when it comes to adding attack bonuses granted by powers insofar as when you can add them before or after the roll?

 

[Mengu]

From the PHB FAQ:

25. Can I wait until the Dungeon Master has determined if I have hit or not to use my Wand of Accuracy class feature?

Yes, you can use this ability at any point during the resolution of the power.

 

[Trebor62]

Nothing in Wand of Accuracy mentions using it to turn a miss into a hit. Furthermore its tone seems to speaks of it as an attack roll that has not yet been rolled. It also does not have any trigger or interupts that would allow it to be applied to a missed attack.

Other powers are interupts that let you apply the bonus after the roll, such as Shield (2nd level Wizard Utility) which can then turn a hit into a miss against you.

There is another similiar power forget the name that even allows you to wait for the damage before deciding to use it to save you self.

Hope this helps, Good luck.

 

[keterys]

Interrupts can't actually happen on your turn. Free actions are far more... free... from such restrictions.

With the FAQ answer, wand of accuracy can - much like elven accuracy, also a free action - turn a miss into a hit.

 

[Trebor62]

I did not see Mengu reply. Its curtainly more fun than how I viewed wand of accuracy and will likely use it myself in my game if it comes up.

 

[Stalker0]

From the FAQ, it says you can.

And from a balance perspective, the wand is painfully painfully weak if you force the power before you know if its a miss. Allowing it...well its still considered the weakest of the 4 implements but not as weak.

 

[sfedi]

Free actions are WAY better than immediates. They can be used ANYTIME, after the attack is declared, after the attack is rolled, after the attack is known to be a hit ot a miss, after damage rolled, etc.

You can think of the Wand of Accuracy as a: "I have a +Dex bonus to all attacks I want until I hit thanks to that bonus".

 

[Nifft]

From the FAQ, it says you can.

And from a balance perspective, the wand is painfully painfully weak if you force the power before you know if its a miss. Allowing it...well its still considered the weakest of the 4 implements but not as weak.

Agreed.

IMHO the power reads more like you must use it before rolling any attacks, so the FAQ is modifying rather than clarifying -- but it's a good modification.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Anthraxus]

Our gaming group hadn't seen a FAQ entry on Wand of Accuracy, and they came down on the side of "Well, it doesn't say you can use the bonus *after* an attack roll, so we won't allow it"... and it has been a next-to-useless ability in all my 6 levels of wizard.

Good to hear!