D&D (2024) 2024 Magic Items, Crafting, Etc

See, this is the kind of thing I'm not particularly happy about. If this works like this, then every single rogue will have a weapon that does this because- well - it's just too good to not have. Double your attacks per round at the cost of a single minor magic item? Of course a rogue will take this.

To me, that's the definition of unbalanced. If a given option is so good that it becomes the default. That a character would be foolish not to have this.

This is something I'm likely going to have to think about long and hard.
Good that this is just wrong reading on power gamers' part.

Enspelled weapon just says: you cast the spell.
No "as a magic action" etc. Just a wrong rule interpretation.

And even if both are possible. Why would anyone chose the broken version?
 

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He shows the text in the video. And the item just says: you spend a charge and cast that spell. I attached screenshots.

If you want to rule differently, fine. But other items specify that they need a magic action to activate. Again. Shown in the screenshots.
Eh, I'm not sure. Casting a spell using a magic item uses a charge from the magic item rather than expending a spell slot. Using a magic item is listed as one of the ways of casting a spell without using spell slots (p235-236 PHB).

But nothing suggests that anything else about casting a spell has changed. There's still the time to cast, as well as the spell components, to consider. Using the staff to cast a spell does not say you need to use a Magic Action to activate the item (unlike magic items that have specific properties that you can activate by using a Magic Action). It just says you cast the spell. Using the magic item, then, appears to be a "free" action. The actual action used is determined by the spell itself.

Basically, the magic item allows you to "cast the spell", so you go to the section on casting spells to find out how you go about casting spells.

While I do believe this means there's no change in the casting time of the spell when done from a magic item, I'm not sure about the other components of casting the spell. In particular, the material component. My first guess would be that the magic item itself would act as the material component (assuming it's not consumed), sort of like a magic focus, but without further details from the DMG, I'm not sure.
 

Eh, I'm not sure. Casting a spell using a magic item uses a charge from the magic item rather than expending a spell slot. Using a magic item is listed as one of the ways of casting a spell without using spell slots (p235-236 PHB).

But nothing suggests that anything else about casting a spell has changed. There's still the time to cast, as well as the spell components, to consider. Using the staff to cast a spell does not say you need to use a Magic Action to activate the item (unlike magic items that have specific properties that you can activate by using a Magic Action). It just says you cast the spell. Using the magic item, then, appears to be a "free" action. The actual action used is determined by the spell itself.
Exactly.
Basically, the magic item allows you to "cast the spell", so you go to the section on casting spells to find out how you go about casting spells.

While I do believe this means there's no change in the casting time of the spell when done from a magic item, I'm not sure about the other components of casting the spell. In particular, the material component. My first guess would be that the magic item itself would act as the material component (assuming it's not consumed), sort of like a magic focus, but without further details from the DMG, I'm not sure.
 

Kobold Stew

Last Guy in the Airlock
Supporter
Think of shield, 6 casts of shield per day who wouldn’t take that?
Someone who didn't want to be holding a stick all the time.

So... most fighters, rangers, paladins, rogues and barbarians, many bards, clerics, and warlocks.

The other concern is concentration, if the item is doing the casting it’s doing the concentrating…and so now it lets you stack buffs and not worry about concentration loss nearly as much.
"You expend a charge to cast a spell" -- You're still the one casting it, and so you'd still need to concentrate.

The only ambiguity (which the DMG might actually address) that I see is what happens when there is a material component with a cost associated. I'd presume the caster needs to have that (or, alternately, that if the crafter had payed for six castings, then the wand doesn't recharge).
 


Kobold Stew

Last Guy in the Airlock
Supporter
The rules offer ways to add wand like effects to weapons, armor, and shields. But beyond that, can you hold a wand in the same hand as a shield? If it can work for a holy symbol it might work for a stick
I've only seen what's in PT's video, but weapons don't take abjuration spells, though staffs (er, staves) can take any school of magic. I don't know what the rules are for embedding spells into armor and shields. Did I miss that?

Holy symbol is a legacy holdover for clerics from (iirc) AD&D: they're not holding a holy symbol in their shield hand, they have painted their holy symbol on a shield. I don't think that's the same thing as what we're talking about.
 
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MarkB

Legend
He shows the text in the video. And the item just says: you spend a charge amd cast that spell. I attached screenshots.

If you want to rule differently, fine. But other items specify that they need a magic action to activate. Again. Shown in the screenshits.

So notice the difference?
They don't specify because it varies depending upon the spell. For a one-action spell it's a magic action, for a spell with a different casting time it isn't.
 



They don't specify because it varies depending upon the spell. For a one-action spell it's a magic action, for a spell with a different casting time it isn't.
And it is no item the thief can downgrade to a bonus action (most probably).

And it certainly does not reduce casting of 1 hour spells to one magic action as the video creator wants to make us believe...
 

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