About wands: How touching...

[Scharlata]

Hi, fellow spell trigger item users

When you use a wand (not with UMD but normally) and the spell stored in your wand has a range of "Touch", how would you argue it works according to the DMG, page 245?

Let's give you an example to ponder...

What exactly does Pooni the sorceress/cleric of justice have to do when she wavers her spell trigger activated wand of Cure Light Wounds at a ghul to cause damage? The Cure spell has a range of "Touch". The DMG mentions "... and point [the wand] in the general direction of the target or area".

1.) Does she have to active the wand first and (in the same round [see Touch spells]) try to hit the ghul with a melee touch attack using the WAND and therefore losing the Cure spell if she does not hit the ghoul because she cannot "hold the charge"?

2.) Does she have to active the wand first and (in the same round [see Touch spells]) try to hit the ghul with a melee touch attack using her HAND and therefore not losing the Cure spell if she does not hit the ghoul because she can "hold the charge"?

3.) Does she have to try to hit the ghul first with a melee touch attack, then (after hitting the ghul) spell trigger activate the wand expending one charge? If she doesn't hit, she doesn't expend the charge? Is she considered "armed" trying to hit the ghoul with her hand (without Improved Unarmed Strike) when still not spell trigger activated the wand? Can she "hold the charge" if she misses the ghul?

Scratching my head...

Kind regards

 

[Hypersmurf]

2.) Does she have to active the wand first and (in the same round [see Touch spells]) try to hit the ghul with a melee touch attack using her HAND and therefore not losing the Cure spell if she does not hit the ghoul because she can "hold the charge"?

That would be my vote.

-Hyp.

 

[HellHound]

My vote is number 2 also,

But I've also played games with interpretation number 1.

 

[The Souljourner]

Definitely #2. Spells in wands function exactly as if you cast them, so the whole holding a charge and you making a touch attack would still be the same. In fact, I would rule that you *cannot* use the wand to make the touch attack, since spells don't normally work that way.

-The Souljourner

 

[dcollins]

By the rules as written, it's basically #2.

However, as DM for flavor purposes I would treat the touch-spell wand as an extension of the caster's hand for this purpose.

 

[Scharlata]

Thank you all very much.

I'd opted for interpretation #2 as DM, too, but my players insisted to ask the boards. Now I can stop scratching my head. Thanx for clarifying the rules jungle.

Kind regards