Wand, uncommon
This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast the magic missile spell from it. For 1 charge, you cast the 1st-level version of the spell. You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend.
The wand regains 1d6 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.
Notes: Damage, Combat
While setting the search filters for Damage and Force in "Magic Items", this item does not appear. Just wanted to point that out.
Does using a wand use up a spell slot?
Nope, the item has its own charges that it uses.
Magic item costs in the DMG are completely off, the wand of power in my campaign is worth about 5-6000 gold,
RAW, because the darts hit simultaneously, you roll once and apply it to each dart. So it's (1d4+1)x3 rather than 3d4+3 when casting it at 1st level, for example. So, the 1d8 from arcane firearm would work fantastically with this, because it would become (1d4+1d8+1)x3 and not 3d4+1d8+3. Unfortunately this isn't on the list of eligible items to be replicated with infusions, but if you come across one in your campaign it's a solid choice.
When you roll damage for a fireball, do you just roll 1d6 and multiply it by 8?
Fireball doesn't have multiple "glowing darts" that strike simultaneously. Magic Missile is a really unique spell in the way its damage rolls are supposed to be handled, and this has been confirmed by WotC. There is only one damage roll when you cast the spell, and that result is applied to each dart. So Magic Missile scales really well with damage bonuses.
if its a wand can it be used as a spellcasting focus?
RAW magic missile is one roll, so it would apply to all darts.
Ignoring the fact Arcane Firearm only applies to Artificer spells...
You roll once and each dart does the same damage... but each dart is a seperate source of damage. So if you roll a 3... they're all the same, so that's three seperate rolls of 3+1... but only one of those darts gets the d8 attached.
This is why magic missile is great at attempting to break concentration. Each dart is its own instance of damage.
could you re-flavor this to be a bow and give it to a ranger or rogue without it technically being homebrew?
Can someone wearing armour they are not proficient in use a wand of magic missiles?
Would Wand of Magic Missiles work with Empowered Evocation?
Yes. You still cast the spell unless the verbiage explicitly states otherwise. In this case, "For 1 charge, you cast the 1st-level version of the spell." All features that apply to spells you cast would affect the effect of this wand.
Is it made of wood or metal? Just in case I need to break it to save people.
Reflavoring is homebrew, but why exactly are you avoiding "technically" homebrew? You can just ask your DM if it isn't too OP.
It's hard to overstate how powerful of a magic item this is at lower levels. Giving this to a level 2 player will allow them to start punching significantly above their weight class. Even if they're careful to never let it run out of slots, being able to nail an enemy for 8d4+8 without an attack roll or saving throw every few days is super impactful.
My only concern with giving this to a rogue and telling them it's a bow would be the potential for disappointment when it doesn't allow them to get sneak attacks
Wouldn't it be 9d4+9 max damage?
Level 1 = three darts of 1d4+1 = total of 3d4+3. Use all remaining 6 charges at once at 1d4+1 per charge = 6d4+6
3d4+3+6d4+6= 9d4+9