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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7164263" data-attributes="member: 12731">The reason I got thinking about this was the discussion regarding the Wand of Magic Missiles. The consensus seems to be that yes, it's powerful at early levels (no doubt about it), but it's particularly overwhelming because of its ability to spend <s>all</s> most of its charges at once.That is: at low levels a level 1 Magic Missile is good but not special. A level 7 Magic Missile, on the other hand, is an insta-win button.(There's a reason the Starter Set features a variant wand where you can't spend more than three charges at once)So.That got me thinking about Spell Points, since I remember how 3E made each additional spell level more expensive (i.e. 1, 3, 5... spell points).My idea was to have wand charges be spell points (each charge 1 SP), and have the blow-many-charges-at-once thing cost spell points instead. Obviously, the wand needs more charges a day.That way, shooting 1st level Magic Missiles would look more attractive, I thought.Imagine my surprise when I realized the 5th edition spell point system doesn't play along with this.If you use 5e spell points to fuel the wand, it actively encourages you to NOT spend your charges on 1st level uses.Imagine a Wand of Magic Missiles with 21 spell points instead of 7 charges, with the idea that 2nd level slots is the sweet spot (7x3=21). Use higher slots and you get fewer shots (than the original wand), use 1st level slots and you get more.But in 5e it doesn't work that way. With 21 spell points, yes you get seven blasts at second level. But you only gain 10 blasts at first, which isn't exactly a sweet deal.Hmmph.</blockquote>

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