Which spells do you usually imagine linked to an orb, staff or wand? (Tome optional)

[drothgery]

Probably due to spending far too much time playing console RPGs, I've always linked teleportation to orbs...

 

[Stone Dog]

I totally think of that in reverse. A wand is small and easy to aim at a target. A staff is designed to raise up and then slam into the ground, creating an effect.

The problem being is that the article supports the other way. At least that is how I'm reading it.

"The staff is best suited to powers that forcefully project powers from the wizard" just like blasting a Lightning Bolt from the caster to fry a corridor of orcs or a cone sweeping a cave in ice.

"The wand is a perennial favorite, as it is an ideal conduit for powers that create effects well away from the wizard’s physical position, effects which include explosions of fire, bursts of cold, and other long-range effects that can affect several enemies at once." Just like a fireball bursting at 200 yards or lightning coming down from the sky and hitting somebody a distance away or swarms of darts striking several targets in melee without damaging the allies.

Real wizards DO use wands. They aren't just for apprentices.

 

[reanjr]

The problem being is that the article supports the other way. At least that is how I'm reading it.

It does, but it really doesn't fit my perceptions of how magic works. Wands are Disney (and more recently Harry Potter) and street magician fare. I don't see any of these items as shooting a magical effect. That's what fingers and palms are for. Staffs always seemed to be channeling devices. On some occasions, one might aim the staff at something, but in the general case it is simply a power augmentor.

Most magic - in my opinion - is just fine without all these trappings, though.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I like whichever one boosts the DC the most!

Seriously, I think it's all flavor. It will get delineated further later. Look for orb sling attachments for staves in the new PH....

 

[D.Shaffer]

Answering the OP, I've always associated wands with animating, transporting, and rendering objects invisible. Why? No other reason that's what a stage magician is usually doing (or appearing to do). Also, stupid as it sounds, this is the way wands are used in Disney animation.

Would it help if I said that the moment someone mentioned using wands for glamor and illusions, the 'Bippity Boppity Boo' song started going through my head?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Looks like the article got a rewrite/edit. Tomes are no longer mentioned in the article as an implement used by wizards to bolster their casting.

 

[Malhost Zormaeril]

For me, staves bring to mind a wizard drawing a circle over his head with its tip, and as it travels, power gathers at the tip; then he brings it down, slamming the power into the ground and creating a large chasm from the point of impact to under the hapless target. And maybe flames come up from the fissure? Either that or just hurling the raw power like a staff sling; but never just pointing it like a rifle. To me, staves must be swung to accrue power.

Orbs I imagine for scrying, of course, but maybe also to absorb magical attacks, or dispelling and counterspelling... like a prism decomposing light into harmless components. Perhaps I'm influenced by the old Cerulean Mage from Athas, though.

Tomes for most complex spells. They ought to have all sorts of diagrams and summoning circles to grant power to the longer rituals. Summoning, animating, binding, most high-end sophisticated magic. The spell Binding assumes the participants are reading from their spellbooks through the ritual, so kind of like that.

Wands for... well, I don't know. I can't really picture a non-stage magician using a wand... Perhaps for telekinesis, opening doors, subtler stuff?

 

[gothmaugCC]

WANDS:
Forget all those harry potter wand waving losers. Most pathetic wizarding community i ever saw. You want to see some quality wand work, check out the movie "WILLOW", with Celindriel's wand. Now thats power.

STAVES
Gandalf or Sauramon in LOTR. Must I say more? Merlin perhaps?

TOMES:
Grab a copy of the Necronomicon for some good ole fashined portal magic. Think "Army of Darkness "with a more serious twist. Or the Book of the Dead from "The Mummy" and the "Mummy Returns". Of course the greatest use of a tome is in the intro sequence from the old Smurf's cartoon with Gargamel chanting "Ravage the land as never before, TOTAL destruction from mountain to shore!"
Damn well i guess that shows my age. Check the clip out if you never saw the Smurf's intro sequence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEwzYVbXfAk

ORBS:
The cube from Hellraiser comes to mind here. So does the Pallintirs from LOTR. Oh and of course the crystal eye from "Jason and the Argonauts".

 

[Celebrim]

Would it help if I said that the moment someone mentioned using wands for glamor and illusions, the 'Bippity Boppity Boo' song started going through my head?

Yes, actually it would.

Fairy god mother's with wands are serious business. Disney may cotton candy it up to get it past the censors, but the basic 'bump in the night' stories from Grim are probably my biggest inspiration as a DM. There are some adjustments you have to make for gaming purposes, but the fairy story is to me still the heart of Western fantasy.

 

[gothmaugCC]

Yes, actually it would.

Fairy god mother's with wands are serious business. Disney may cotton candy it up to get it past the censors, but the basic 'bump in the night' stories from Grim are probably my biggest inspiration as a DM. There are some adjustments you have to make for gaming purposes, but the fairy story is to me still the heart of Western fantasy.

Aye none of that "evil sorceress" bit from the disnified version. Give me the old grims version where there were 13 fairies and the one fairy whom the king insulted by not inviting her to his daughters celebration came anyhow and cursed the brat and the kingdom.

And all with just a flick of her wand....