I recently got theWand of magic missilesin my campaign, I`m puzzled how to properly use it.
Firstly:
It says: "While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges" & "You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend."
So it seems I can raise the level even above my current maximum level of spells, correct?
F.e.: Me, a 5th level wizard only has access to 3rd level spells, but technically I could use all of the wands charges in one shot and basically trigger a level 7 lvl spell of magic missiles... correct?
Secondly:
How do you count damage?
Strangely my dndbeyond sheet shows the damage (effect) always to be 1d4+1 (even at higher levels).
But from my understanding since level 1 already has 3 darts it should actually be: 3d4 + 3 no??
For example:
1st lvl magic missile: 3d4 + 3 (3 rolls)
2nd lvl (4 darts): 4d4 + 4 (4rolls)
3rd lvl (5darts): 5d4 + 5 (5 rolls) etc.
Is that correct?
And lastly. In case my previous calculation is correct - Do you actually roll separate rolls or perhaps use only one roll that is applied to all of the darts?
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated!
P.S. Seems like an awesome item if it works like I think.
My plan is to always use the "second to max" level and leave one charge left so that I don`t have to roll the d20 on the wand and simply get back 1d6+1 charges each day.
Each dart does 1d4+1 force damage (roll once for each use of the wand, all the generated darts do that amount of damage each).
The number of darts depends on the level of the spell: 3 at first level, +1 for each higher spell slot level.
Yes you could use all 7 charges if you have them available to cast the spell at 7th level, giving you 9 darts in a single use.
Note that at 1st level you get 3 darts, casting at 2nd level only gets you one additional dart; so not as much damage as using it on multiple turns (but maybe you can do more damage with some other action on subsequent turns).
The item is agnostic of your character level, so it can cast at whatever level it says.
The reason it is listed as 1d4+1 is that is the damage of each dart, which can be sent to independent targets (i.e., it's not one dart with 3d4+3 damage).
The official ruling on this spell is that you roll one die and apply it to all darts. This tends to feel quite silly so most people roll all the dice. d4s are incredibly underwhelming to roll so it's mostly up to you unless your DM is a stickler.
Fun hint: If you have a familiar, it can use the wand as an action and save your action for other things.
Note that at 1st level you get 3 darts, casting at 2nd level only gets you one additional dart; so not as much damage as using it on multiple turns (but maybe you can do more damage with some other action on subsequent turns).
Yeah I know, but at level 5 I have better options then to play a (1d4+1)x3 once per round...
But as a one shot - powerful spell (level 6/7) it seems a great use of an action, even if only once per long rest.
The official ruling on this spell is that you roll one die and apply it to all darts. This tends to feel quite silly so most people roll all the dice. d4s are incredibly underwhelming to roll so it's mostly up to you unless your DM is a stickler.
Fun hint: If you have a familiar, it can use the wand as an action and save your action for other things.
LOL! Can imagine why. Quite a bad dmg output for using a 7th level spell and rolling a 1 (25 % of the time) so it would be a 1x9 + 9 = 18dmg... 7th lvl spell... My L1 Chromatic orb can do more, heck even cantrip can do 2x12 dmg :D But with separate rolls this seems more fair.
Well I do have an owl, but the wand might break in case the familiar gets destroyed while in the air. And I already use the owl for Dragon`s breath, my DM would kill me if I gave it the wand as well :D But the good thing is, Dragon`s breath is a Bonus action, so it might be nice to use the wand (doesn`t consume a spell) and then also use BA Dragon`s breath right away in round 1...
I recently got theWand of magic missilesin my campaign, I`m puzzled how to properly use it.
Firstly:
It says: "While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges" & "You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend."
So it seems I can raise the level even above my current maximum level of spells, correct?
F.e.: Me, a 5th level wizard only has access to 3rd level spells, but technically I could use all of the wands charges in one shot and basically trigger a level 7 lvl spell of magic missiles... correct?
Secondly:
How do you count damage?
Strangely my dndbeyond sheet shows the damage (effect) always to be 1d4+1 (even at higher levels).
But from my understanding since level 1 already has 3 darts it should actually be: 3d4 + 3 no??
For example:
1st lvl magic missile: 3d4 + 3 (3 rolls)
2nd lvl (4 darts): 4d4 + 4 (4rolls)
3rd lvl (5darts): 5d4 + 5 (5 rolls) etc.
Is that correct?
And lastly. In case my previous calculation is correct - Do you actually roll separate rolls or perhaps use only one roll that is applied to all of the darts?
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated!
P.S. Seems like an awesome item if it works like I think.
My plan is to always use the "second to max" level and leave one charge left so that I don`t have to roll the d20 on the wand and simply get back 1d6+1 charges each day.
Magic Missile is an utterly unique spell in such a way that here is no legal way to roll its damage in general, which is why you're confused about its amount. DDB defaults to using a method a man named Jeremy Crawford has tweeted he does it at his table.
So suppose you cast Magic Missile with 3 darts. There are 3 possible situations:
All missiles hit 1 target. The standard damage rules mean that you must roll 3d4+3, same way you roll damage for anything else in the game.
You spread the missiles out across 3 targets. Per the rule linked above, you must roll 1d4+1 damage, and then every target takes that amount.
You spread the missiles out across 2 targets: 2 missiles hit let's say Adam, and 1 missile hits Bob. The rule above applies, but Magic Missile, unlike every other spell in the game, deals a different amount of damage to each target. All of the following are now illegal:
You can't roll 2d4+2 for Adam and 1d4+1 for Bob, because you must roll damage once for all of them.
You can't roll 1d4+1 damage and have Adam take it twice and Bob take it once - there's no rules support for that whatsoever.
You can't roll 2d4+2 damage and have Adam take it once and have Bob take half of that - there's no rules support for that whatsoever.
So as you can see, there's literally no valid solution. Most DMs fall into one of two camps: you treat Magic Missile like a solo target spell (meaning you roll for each dart separately) or you treat it like an AOE spell (so you roll for one dart and then every dart deals that much damage). The two homebrews have wildly different interactions with a number of other game rules, a popular example of which is Evocation Wizards applying bonus damage to the spell. Jeremy Crawford is in the AOE camp, so DDB uses that method: you will only ever see 1d4+1 damage listed, because you're expected to multiply whatever you roll by the number of darts that hit a given target. Note that the AOE camp is method 3.2 above, while the solo target camp is method 3.1. No-one uses 3.3 in practice - I only included it to emphasize that no solution enjoys genuine rules support.
Just ask your DM how they want to handle the spell.
Hello lads,
I recently got the Wand of magic missiles in my campaign, I`m puzzled how to properly use it.
Firstly:
It says: "While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges" & "You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend."
So it seems I can raise the level even above my current maximum level of spells, correct?
F.e.: Me, a 5th level wizard only has access to 3rd level spells, but technically I could use all of the wands charges in one shot and basically trigger a level 7 lvl spell of magic missiles... correct?
Secondly:
How do you count damage?
Strangely my dndbeyond sheet shows the damage (effect) always to be 1d4+1 (even at higher levels).
But from my understanding since level 1 already has 3 darts it should actually be: 3d4 + 3 no??
For example:
1st lvl magic missile: 3d4 + 3 (3 rolls)
2nd lvl (4 darts): 4d4 + 4 (4rolls)
3rd lvl (5darts): 5d4 + 5 (5 rolls) etc.
Is that correct?
And lastly. In case my previous calculation is correct - Do you actually roll separate rolls or perhaps use only one roll that is applied to all of the darts?
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated!
P.S. Seems like an awesome item if it works like I think.
My plan is to always use the "second to max" level and leave one charge left so that I don`t have to roll the d20 on the wand and simply get back 1d6+1 charges each day.
Each dart does 1d4+1 force damage (roll once for each use of the wand, all the generated darts do that amount of damage each).
The number of darts depends on the level of the spell: 3 at first level, +1 for each higher spell slot level.
Yes you could use all 7 charges if you have them available to cast the spell at 7th level, giving you 9 darts in a single use.
Note that at 1st level you get 3 darts, casting at 2nd level only gets you one additional dart; so not as much damage as using it on multiple turns (but maybe you can do more damage with some other action on subsequent turns).
Correct, correct, and it's complicated.
The item is agnostic of your character level, so it can cast at whatever level it says.
The reason it is listed as 1d4+1 is that is the damage of each dart, which can be sent to independent targets (i.e., it's not one dart with 3d4+3 damage).
The official ruling on this spell is that you roll one die and apply it to all darts. This tends to feel quite silly so most people roll all the dice. d4s are incredibly underwhelming to roll so it's mostly up to you unless your DM is a stickler.
Fun hint: If you have a familiar, it can use the wand as an action and save your action for other things.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Yeah I know, but at level 5 I have better options then to play a (1d4+1)x3 once per round...
But as a one shot - powerful spell (level 6/7) it seems a great use of an action, even if only once per long rest.
LOL! Can imagine why. Quite a bad dmg output for using a 7th level spell and rolling a 1 (25 % of the time) so it would be a 1x9 + 9 = 18dmg... 7th lvl spell... My L1 Chromatic orb can do more, heck even cantrip can do 2x12 dmg :D But with separate rolls this seems more fair.
Well I do have an owl, but the wand might break in case the familiar gets destroyed while in the air. And I already use the owl for Dragon`s breath, my DM would kill me if I gave it the wand as well :D But the good thing is, Dragon`s breath is a Bonus action, so it might be nice to use the wand (doesn`t consume a spell) and then also use BA Dragon`s breath right away in round 1...
Thank you for bringing that up!
Magic Missile is an utterly unique spell in such a way that here is no legal way to roll its damage in general, which is why you're confused about its amount. DDB defaults to using a method a man named Jeremy Crawford has tweeted he does it at his table.
If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a wizard casts fireball or a cleric casts flame strike, the spell's damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.
So suppose you cast Magic Missile with 3 darts. There are 3 possible situations:
So as you can see, there's literally no valid solution. Most DMs fall into one of two camps: you treat Magic Missile like a solo target spell (meaning you roll for each dart separately) or you treat it like an AOE spell (so you roll for one dart and then every dart deals that much damage). The two homebrews have wildly different interactions with a number of other game rules, a popular example of which is Evocation Wizards applying bonus damage to the spell. Jeremy Crawford is in the AOE camp, so DDB uses that method: you will only ever see 1d4+1 damage listed, because you're expected to multiply whatever you roll by the number of darts that hit a given target. Note that the AOE camp is method 3.2 above, while the solo target camp is method 3.1. No-one uses 3.3 in practice - I only included it to emphasize that no solution enjoys genuine rules support.
Just ask your DM how they want to handle the spell.
Heh, this is so unnecessarily confusing. But you explained it well.
Thank you quindraco!