The Rod of Wonder is carried over from the Wand of Wonder from 2nd edition – a chaotic mess of potential, both good and bad.
Due to some of the ways wands and rods were clarified in 3rd edition, the “wand” had to be left behind, but luckily the “wonder” part was kept. Despite the fact that “rod of wonder” doesn’t sound quite as nice as “wand of wonder”, it’s what it does that makes it a great item.
The Rod
As for a description of the rod, this is about all you get:
A rod of wonder is a strange and unpredictable device that randomly generates any number of weird effects each time it is used.
Not a whole lot, eh?
Then, of course, is the chart of random effects (which would be silly for me to replicate here – just follow the link above if you don’t have a DMG).
The Devil’s In The Details
Unfortunately, there’s only 22 possible effects with the standard DMG chart, which gives you about 4.5% chance of any given one happening. Personally, that doesn’t seem as “chaotic” as the rod’s feel implies.
In addition to that, the chart itself leaves a number of questions to be asked. For example, take this effect:
Darkness, 30-ft.-diameter hemisphere, centered 30 ft. away from rod.
That’s the entire effect. One might assume that it’s in the same direction as the target, but there’s really nothing that clarifies that. Since there’s no real concept of facing in the d20 combat system, you can’t really say “in front of you” since we don’t always know where that is during a combat round. And you also don’t need to be directly facing someone to target them, especially if the effect isn’t a ray.
While in some senses this is in line with how chaotic the rod is, the flavor of an item shouldn’t stop game play while the DM & PC try to determine what the hell an effect really is.
Most of the other effects specify either the “target” or the wielder. This would likely assume that with each use of the rod that you’re specifying a target for negative effects and sometimes random effects happen to you too. How about this one:
Turn ethereal any nonliving object of up to 1,000 lb. mass and up to 30 cu. ft. in size.
At no point will you actively be targeting non-living objects with the rod. Does this mean you use the rod, the effect is determined and then you get to target a non-living object that satisfies the criteria? It’s rather counter-intuitive to do so, but it’s the only way this effect will ever be useful.
Custom Rod Charts
I’ve seen a number of custom rod effects charts. Most of them, however, were from 2nd edition. I introduced a rod of wonder into a campaign a while ago and started modifying and adding items to the chart. Some of them were very specific to the party, but overall it was a very random mix of effects.
You can download the document here: Rod of Wonder Random Effects Chart
There are 37 effects on the chart, bringing the chance of getting any single one to less than 3%. In addition to that, a number of them give you a 50% chance of it effecting the wielder or target – further adding chaos to the chart.
Some of my favorites from the list:
- An Apparatus of Kwalish (description on pg 247 of the DMG) is summoned to the location of the wielder and with him inside. Any creatures occupying the squares the Apparatus of Kwalish now inhabits is pushed back to empty squares. The wielder understands fully how to operate the Apparatus of Kwalish and is able to attack and move each round. It lasts for 2d4 minutes or until destroyed.
- Target immediately polymorphs into a random race (use the reincarnation chart on pg 270 in the PHB) for 2d4 weeks. If the target polymorphs into its own race, there is no effect.
- Up to 1d6 “sticks†(staffs, bows, arrows, bolts, loose fauna, etc.) within a 30’ diameter of the caster are animated (either randomly by the DM or centered on the wielder) as a “Sticks to Snakes†spell. Any appropriate “sticks†from 1’ – 2’ animate into small vipers. Larger “sticks†from 3’ – 6’ animate into medium constrictors (see page 279 in the MM) All snakes will last for 1d6 rounds and will attack the wielder’s target automatically. If no target was specified, they will attack the wielder. The wielder does not have any control over the snakes after they are summoned. If killed or otherwise destroyed (even via magical means such as disintegration) and at spell end, the snakes revert to their previous items unharmed in the square the snake was last. If the item is in the possession of a character, the character receives a DC 13 Will save to negate the effect for each stick.
The good thing about the rod is that it’s so chaotic by nature that there’s really no limit to the effects you add as long as you’re adding both “good” and “bad” effects to ensure it’s effective power is kept consistent.
Sure It’s Goofy, But Is It Good?
Many characters won’t want anything to do with a Rod of Wonder. You never know what’s going to happen and it could just as easily be a negative experience as a positive one. Plus, party members may be mad if negative effects befall them. But in the hands of the right PC, it may be a great fit.
And let’s face it, the Rod of Wonder is one of the cheapest rods you can get for only 12,000gp.
If it’s not a good fit for one of your PCs, it may be just the sort of item to give to an aloof NPC. And depending on how you DM your games, it doesn’t always have to be purely random either. It could very well be a useful way to make certain plot devices happen.
Don’t forget the important thing about rods – anyone can use them. This means the PC or NPC that you hope to wield the rod need not be a spell caster at all – just brave (foolish?) enough to use it.
How Powerful Is The Rod of Wonder?
The requirements to build a rod of wonder are:
- Create Rod item creation feat (duh!)
- Caster Level 10
- Access to the confusion spell
- The creator must be chaotic
In my opinion, these requirements along the market value of 12,000gp seem remarkably low when you compare it to the potential power of the rod of wonder (using only the default effects chart). Granted, there are potential negatives to the rod, but in the confines of that magical item is a great amount of arcane potential.
You have effects like the aforementioned “turn non-living object ethereal” which doesn’t mention a duration at all. We can only assume that either
- It’s permanent or
- We use the same duration as the 9th level spell Etherealness
Either way, if we’re using a 9th level spell as a basis or we’re permanently turning a massive object ethereal, then this is clearly a VERY powerful item. With this effect, you could turn a Clay or Flesh Golem or virtually any form of undead ethereal – completely removing it from a fight.
To Use Or Not To Use
I think rods of wonder are a lot of fun. But again, they’re not something most people will use. The potential for disaster is real and some of the effects are somewhat ambiguous. If you’re a DM considering introducing one of these into your campaign, give the effects a good read through to make sure you know what you’re getting into.
In addition to that, don’t be afraid to add your own effects and change things around. Sometimes by just adding some effects that tie the item to the party, you can make the item more than just a chaotic mess of effects and give it a lot of personality.
Enjoy the chaos!