1465

## An Arcane Wonder: ***Wands of Casting***

Up to one fateful fall day in **1465** **DR,** the Sword Coast and Western Heartlands had been reasonably calm. Perhaps it was that they still carried plenty to think about. Just three years prior, the Stonehearth Marquisate had formed the Commonwealth of Light, allegedly with two Spellplague survivors that had been shunted to Abeir. Even in a world of magic, that would be unbelievable if... just one year prior to that, Stonehearth hadn't come one cannon shot shy of blowing the floating city of *Shade* from the sky.

The artillery of the Stonehearth Arms had few equals in the *imaginations* of Faerûn, much less the memory. Perhaps that's was why peace reigned in the central Sword Coast. It was in this collective moment of quiet reflection that the Mageweave Barony introduced something to the visitors of the *Exposition:* the *Wand of Casting*.

In one short demonstration, an unremarkable wizard picked up the wand and used it to open a door. Then he used it to create sparkling lights, then he used it to create a fireball. And then a lightning bolt. And then he used it to heal the burn he'd just given himself. A wand of five different spells would've been impressive all its own, but this was something *completely different*. This was a *Wand of Casting*.

The device provided the power to activate any spell already known and memorized by the user. As long as the wand had power, the user could cast that spell as often as they wanted *through the wand*.

### **The Wildfire of Words...**

The news was huge across the Marquisate. People were asking the price and when it would be available. Elsewhere...?

The courts of Tethyr and Cormyr were already "a step" behind Stonehearth. Now they were...? A dozen steps? A score of steps? The release shook Toril more than the mana potions of 1378.

It was another boon to caster classes that could use it, but more than that, it was a boon to the Commonwealth. Only Stonehearth's trusted partners could purchase such a device, elevating this arcane technology to a major talking point in politics and trade through the Lords' Alliance (much less places on the periphery).

## **The Game Changer**

The wand had no inherent programmed spells, but allowed trained arcane casters – *both Weave and Primal* – to cast whatever spells they know through it. There were two key points with the main demo models:

* The power of the wand itself regulates the power of the cast spells. To be able to cast a level-2 spell, it has to be a level-2 wand.
* The recharge rate is one cast per round for most versions of the wand.

Basic models of the wand could be produced inexpensively, especially for the quasi-magic version, and it was estimated this would become a trademark device within the Commonwealth.

### **Special Features**

One Spell, Multiple Levels: A slightly more complicated build allowed lower-level spells to be cast at higher level. Similar to the common caster practice, such a wand had similar restrictions: to be able to cast a level-1 spell as a level-2, the wand has to be a level-2 device.

There were a myriad of power methods: from mythallar-powered (which maxed at level-5), to the signature arcane crystals (which maxed at level-6), to permanently enchanted in the way that Primal specialists could perform, be they primal or weave-based. There was already a wide-range of models, with expense varying on durability, style, and level powers – with the power expected to go up in the "near future."

There was an Enhanced X model that worked with the attuned user to be a memory assist, allowing "X" number of additional cantrips to be memorized and cast exclusively through the wand. The Enhanced X memory-assist was expected to grow in number and level of spell "soon."

*This marked the public birth of "Wandism" in arcane casting*.

The concept itself was unprecedented, but the variety was just as staggering. It was noted that even though there was still some "coming soon" to the options, what was available right now – *at the debut* – marked the *Wand of Casting* debuted as a mature arcane technology. This led to open speculation that Stonehearth, or the Mageweave Houses (or both) had been using it behind the scenes for quite some already. That was tacitly, but not explicitly, confirmed.

#### **Traditional Weave Casters**

The wands work for non-Stonehearth casters, allowing a caster to cast any memorized spell.

For Weave casters, oddly, the wand will allow cantrips to be cast at higher level – up to the maximum level of the wand.

#### **Combat Tested, Battle Proven…**

The unveiling came about three months after soldiers of the Stonehearth Arms were issued individual wands *as sidearms*. The outside world wasn’t sure if every soldier had been trained to be a caster, but the new military-grade metallic wands replaced other dedicated wands, including the “truth wands” utilized by soldiers on sheriff duty.

These were, in fact, Wands of Casting, but the military grade version was rapid-fire (allowing three attacks per round in game terms). Magic missile, fireball and lightning were all regularly cast, as well as mage hand, light and repair spells.

## An Arcane Wonder: ***Arcanophones***

These arcane devices allowed sound to travel to paired devices. It was a step to activate the trinket, then once activated, to enable communication. This was a sound portal, allowing speech to travel through both ways.

Expensive but not outrageous, these devices could be afforded by working-class families. The devices could then sound warnings, pipe in music, or allow folk to talk to each other even though they were separated by great distances.

Similar to the Wands of Casting, these devices were first tested on the Stonehearth Arms. The soldiers had the devices embedded into their helmets, allowing the voice of the Commanding Officer to issue orders in realtime response to changing battlefield situations.