Recharging magic items??

[Agentrock]

Are there rules for recharging a wand or staff that has used charges? If so, where?

The rules tend to lean on the direction that once a wand/staff is created then it has a fixed number of charges, which will be used up, and then the item is worthless once completely drained.

Thanks for any help or clarifications or house rules!

 

[hong]

Are there rules for recharging a wand or staff that has used charges?

No.

 

[Hypersmurf]

No.

Isn't there some minor artifact in Faerun that does it?

-Hyp.

 

[9lives]

I think that you would just use the DMG and recast the spells into the Staff. I may be incorrect though.

 

[ARandomGod]

Are there rules for recharging a wand or staff that has used charges? If so, where?

The rules tend to lean on the direction that once a wand/staff is created then it has a fixed number of charges, which will be used up, and then the item is worthless once completely drained.

Thanks for any help or clarifications or house rules!

Theres isn't any. Yes, charged items are now synonymous with disposible items, they are worthless once drained.

There are a number of house rules.

One thing I'll point out is that making an item with a limitless number of charges (according to the magic item creation section in the SRD) is pretty cheap.

After ignoring that, however... it's important to realize that the reason that charged items are so cheap per charge compared to one use items is that you're buying in bulk. And therefore allowing recharging to be done at one charge increments for the same price as in 50 charge incriments is unbalanced (according to the method used to "balance" the two).

Therefore you should make a way to recharge in bulk if you're having recharging. I personally like crafting of items with 75 charges instead of 50, for twice the cost... then allowing recharging at fifty charges at a time for full cost. The xtra 25 charges allow for you to never run down dangerously on charges.

Of course, it's cheaper to just have two wands/staves/whatever, and make a new one ("recharge a completely drained one at full price) when you run out. But sometime flavor is important (Especially with charged items where the charges aren't the entire point of the item).

 

[irdeggman]

Not in the core rules.

In Unearthed Arcana there is a House Rule on pg 158 for recharging magic items though.

 

[cordell]

IMHO, it is possible to "re-charge" some items, by the core rules, without any "stretch" of the rules.

From 3.5 SRD: "For an item that’s worthless when its charges run out (which is the case for almost all charged items), the value of the partially used item is proportional to the number of charges left".

Also from 3.5 SRD: "A creator can add new magical abilities to a magic item with no restrictions. The cost to do this is the same as if the item was not magical. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal to that of a +2 vorpal sword minus the cost of a +1 sword"

So, a Wand of Magic Missile with 50 charges is valued at 750gp (assume caster level 1 for simplicity).

The same wand with 20 charges is valued at 300gp. Therefore, to "add a new magical ability" - add 30 charges to this wand - you simply do some subtraction. It is a difference of 450gp in market value, which means 18xp and 225 gold pieces.

Or, am I completely off my rocker?

(PS I think it's all stated the same way in 3.0, too, but I don't have the materials handy, to check.)

Edited: math error!

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Cordell, adding a new magical ability to an item is not the same as recharging a wand.

However, Sean K Reynolds once commented on this issue. The main points were that you need to be careful to 1) not allow any price reduction for recharging as opposed to crafting a new wand, and 2) impose a "minimum charges" value on recharging items, so the user can't recharge 1 charge here, and 1 charge there. I don't recall what number he suggested, though. Perhaps 10 or 20 charges at a time?

 

[Droid101]

Maybe a little off topic, but what about a broken magic item? If you sunder my wand (or magic sword) what's the rules on repairing it? Do you have to make it again from scratch?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Maybe a little off topic, but what about a broken magic item? If you sunder my wand (or magic sword) what's the rules on repairing it? Do you have to make it again from scratch?

From the feat Craft Magic Arms and Armor:

You can also mend a broken magic weapon, suit of armor, or shield if it is one that you could make. Doing so costs half the XP, half the raw materials, and half the time it would take to craft that item in the first place.