D&D 5E Wand of Wonder?

[Blue]

What I've come up with is a wand that serves mostly as an enhanced arcane focus. It can do random good things for the spells you cast. It might raise the effective level by 1. It might grand disadvantage to the save. Etc.

But on occasion (average 1 time in 6), it has to rid itself of the excess magic and probability it's built up, and does so by creating a wand of wonder effect.

I thought it was a cool way of getting the item in there while still making it something that's usually useful, and potent enough that the wizard will want to use it despite the occasional weirdness.

I'm not sure I prefer that, from either side of the DM screen. It makes it "mostly reliable to boost what I WANT to do", so when you don't get what you want to do, it feels like a real negative. So the "Wonder" part becomes a curse.

 

[I'm A Banana]

What I've come up with is a wand that serves mostly as an enhanced arcane focus.

I think that maybe if your game isn't the kind that would enjoy the Wand of Wonder as it is, I'd second-guess using it at all. What would you hope it would add to your games? Because if "roll on a table and see what happens" isn't going to be much fun, it still won't be much fun when it's activated unintentionally, either!

 

[Mouseferatu]

I think that maybe if your game isn't the kind that would enjoy the Wand of Wonder as it is, I'd second-guess using it at all. What would you hope it would add to your games? Because if "roll on a table and see what happens" isn't going to be much fun, it still won't be much fun when it's activated unintentionally, either!

Here's the thing. It's not that my table wouldn't enjoy such things. (In fact, there are a player or two who would enjoy it too much, which is part of why I only want it to be an occasional effect.)

The problem is that none of the characters would have reason to use such a thing, and I don't want to put in an item that's only going to get used for OOC/meta-game reasons. This has always been about the IC/OOC divide for me, not about the actual mechanics or player preferences.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Here's the thing. It's not that my table wouldn't enjoy such things. (In fact, there are a player or two who would enjoy it too much, which is part of why I only want it to be an occasional effect.)

The problem is that none of the characters would have reason to use such a thing, and I don't want to put in an item that's only going to get used for OOC/meta-game reasons. This has always been about the IC/OOC divide for me, not about the actual mechanics or player preferences.

And the IC motivation of being willing to take the gamble to get some attack/incapacitation spell doesn't quite pass your sniff test?

 

[Endur]

in Ad&d, it was a wand anyone could use. and there were often combats where a character had nothng else they could do.

in contrast, 5e is designed so that you can always do something.

 

[Mouseferatu]

And the IC motivation of being willing to take the gamble to get some attack/incapacitation spell doesn't quite pass your sniff test?

It really doesn't, until/unless there's literally no other option--and the way 5E is designed, there's basically always another option.

(Plus--and this is a specific table issue--the player who I think will get the most fun out of this is also one who, if he had a "normal" WoW, would use it often enough to be disruptive. Making it something that only WoWs on occasion keeps it under control while still allowing him to have fun with it.)

 

[Mouseferatu]

It's probably also worth noting that, as some of you may have seem me mention in other threads, I prefer one or two major combats per adventuring day rather than the standard 6+. If a fight is not both meaningfully deadly and plot-significant, it probably either won't happen, or it'll be handwaved, more often than not. Which means there tend not to be obviously easy fights where a character might be more inclined to try something "playful" to see what happens. If there's combat at all, it's likely life-or-death.

I might feel differently about the WoW if I felt differently about when/how to use combat in my campaign, but there it is.

 

[Shiroiken]

Back in the day, Wand of Wonder was generally considered a Hail Mary play, and were often sold or traded if given the chance.

When I played a 2E game a few years ago, however, one player used one with regularity. I though he was nuts, but he pointed out the math. With the 2E Wand of Wonder, you had about 50% chance to do something useful, 30% chance to do nothing effective, and only a 20% chance for it to harm you or the party. Once you get out of death by fireball range, the Wand actually isn't as horrible of a choice as first appeared. I still don't think I would do it, as a player preference, but I no longer consider it (in 2E) to be insane.

I haven't read the Wand of Wonder in 5E, so I don't know if that math still plays out. Assuming it does, then I wouldn't consider it any worse than a Wild Mage. Although we did nearly have a TPK in our Out of the Abyss game at level 1 due to a Wild Mage's unintended Fireball...

 

[I'm A Banana]

It really doesn't, until/unless there's literally no other option--and the way 5E is designed, there's basically always another option.

(Plus--and this is a specific table issue--the player who I think will get the most fun out of this is also one who, if he had a "normal" WoW, would use it often enough to be disruptive. Making it something that only WoWs on occasion keeps it under control while still allowing him to have fun with it.)
...
It's probably also worth noting that, as some of you may have seem me mention in other threads, I prefer one or two major combats per adventuring day rather than the standard 6+. If a fight is not both meaningfully deadly and plot-significant, it probably either won't happen, or it'll be handwaved, more often than not. Which means there tend not to be obviously easy fights where a character might be more inclined to try something "playful" to see what happens. If there's combat at all, it's likely life-or-death.

I might feel differently about the WoW if I felt differently about when/how to use combat in my campaign, but there it is.

I can totally see how that could make effects like the Wand of Wonder (and the Chaos Sorcerer!) pretty unwelcome. Were I in your shoes, I'd probably just say, "Not in this game, folks!" and not worry too much about trying to round-hole that square peg. Seems like the design intent of those elements (wacky unpredictable crazy magic!) doesn't quite gel with the kind of game you're running, despite the players' comfort with it.

Alternately, if you'd like to dip a toe into the crazy side, maybe do an alternate table (for the WoW and maybe the chaos sorcerer, if someone's playing) full of cosmetic effects. Stuff like growing leaves or being the center of growing grass or turning blue or losing all your hair. Stuff that can screw with a social encounter perhaps, but nothing you're really tempted to use in combat. The players who like random weird stuff can get it ("The enemy commander suddenly has trouble speaking as sparrows erupt from his mouth"), but since there's zero chance of doing anything combat-useful they're encouraged to use it more to mess with minor NPCs when they're bored or to fail a Persuasion check HARD than they are to try and do something heroic with it.

 

[Dm12345me]

I DM for my kids, 9 & 6 year olds. We play a role playing and mystery solving heavy version of DD, they don’t have the attention for more than 4-5 rounds of combat despite my best efforts. They earned a Wand of Wonder recently and absolutely love it! The "I wonder what it’s going to do" aspect is perfect for them when combined with my role playing of the NPC’s. The first use, they needed to take care of pack of Ogre’s which were harassing their home town.

Rounds:

1) Rain - why’s it raining inside the cave? The fires getting smothered, it’s smokey.
2) Stun - ogres come out of cave coughing fits.
3) Darkness
4) Stone - in slow voice, I can’t move.
5) Fireball - it must be a fire dragon!
6) Lightening- I didn’t know fire dragons breathed lightning.

Then they got the idea to throw some alchemist fire followed by oil flasks. WW is great for kids.