Ah, the Rod of Wonder. The “magic item that creates unpredictable effects” been around in some form or another at least since AD&D’s Wand of Wonder. The current Pathfinder version is a 12,000gp, CL 10 doozy that can do just about everything from growing grass to shooting lightning. But the best part, and the key to the Rod’s appeal, is that nobody gets to pick just which of that “everything” will happen. Not the player, not the GM; it’s all down to the dice. Grab your nearest d%, roll, and compare to this chart (as seen in the Pathfinder core book) to see just how useful this thing would have been in your last encounter.
| d% | Wondrous effect |
|---|---|
| 01-05 | Target affected by slow for 10 rounds (Will DC 15 negates). |
| 06-10 | Faerie fire surrounds the target. |
| 11-15 | Deludes the wielder for 1 round into believing the rod functions as indicated by a second die roll (no save). |
| 16-20 | Gust of wind, but at windstorm force (Fortitude DC 14 negates). |
| 21-25 | Wielder learns the target’s surface thoughts (as with detect thoughts) for 1d4 rounds (no save). |
| 26-30 | Stinking cloud appears at 30-foot range (Fortitude DC 15 negates). |
| 31-33 | Heavy rain falls for 1 round in 60-foot radius centered on the rod wielder. |
| 34-36 | Summons an animal—a rhino (01—25 on d%), elephant (26—50), or mouse (51—100). |
| 37-46 | Lightning bolt (70 foot long, 5 foot wide), 6d6 points of damage (Reflex DC 15 half). |
| 47-49 | A stream of 600 large butterflies pours forth and flutters around for 2 rounds, blinding everyone within 25 foot (Reflex DC 14 negates). |
| 50-53 | Target is affected by enlarge person if within 60 feet of rod (Fortitude DC 13 negates). |
| 54-58 | Darkness, 30-foot-diameter hemisphere, centered 30 feet away from rod. |
| 59-52 | Grass grows in 160-square-foot area before the rod, or grass existing there grows to 10 times its normal size. |
| 63-65 | Any nonliving object of up to 1,000 pounds of mass and up to 30 cubic feet in size turns ethereal. |
| 66-69 | Reduce wielder two size categories (no save) for 1 day. |
| 70-79 | Fireball at target or 100 feet straight ahead, 6d6 points of damage (Reflex DC 15 half). |
| 80-84 | Invisibility covers the rod’s wielder. |
| 85-87 | Leaves grow from the target if within 60 feet of the rod. These last 24 hours. |
| 88-90 | 10—40 gems, value 1 gp each, shoot forth in a 30-foot-long stream. Each gem deals 1 point of damage to any creature in its path: roll 5d4 for the number of hits and divide them among the available targets. |
| 91-95 | Shimmering colors dance and play over a 40-foot-by-30-foot area in front of rod. Creatures therein are blinded for 1d6 rounds (Fortitude DC 15 negates). |
| 96-97 | Wielder (50% chance) or the target (50% chance) turns permanently blue, green, or purple (no save). |
| 98-100 | Flesh to stone (or stone to flesh if the target is stone already) if the target is within 60 feet (Fortitude DC 18 negates). |
Well, how useful was it? If your experience was anything like my level 3 barbarian’s (don’t ask) the answer was “not at all, but almost very; I should try again; oh no, the rhino is on fire now.” In fact, that’s almost always the answer. And that’s why, despite the cost and the potentially encounter-breaking effects, I encourage giving adventuring groups a Rod of Wonder as early as possible. Around 3rd or 4th level seems to be a sweet spot, where the good effects are powerful enough to tempt repeated uses, but the PCs are capable of handling the occasional flaming rhino.
Despite the Rod of Wonder’s questionable usefulness to PCs, it’s an invaluable tool for DMs. The number one goal of any gaming group is to have fun, right? The Rod lacks the terrible inherent risks of, say, a Deck of Many Things, but any time one is used, something memorable is going to happen. Grossly outnumbered and backed into a corner, the Wonder-wielder blasts the approaching undead horde with fireball, saving the day. Or maybe the wielder turns themselves permanently purple. Either way, it’s the kind of encounter that gets talked about for years. It makes planning easier, too. A dungeon that’s nothing more than a sequence of square, monster-filled rooms will still be varied and exciting when a Rod of Wonder is filling those rooms with butterflies and stinking clouds, or casting flesh to stone on the walls. And if a permanent Rod is wrong for your players for whatever reason, it can still liven up a session or two in the hands of an NPC. Bonus points if that NPC is too useful (fills a party skill gap), too important (will net them a nice reward once safely escorted home), or just too plain likable to be gotten rid of.
The Rod’s ability to add a new flavor of unpredictable excitement to a game is even something that can be adapted to systems and settings outside of Pathfinder and DnD. All it takes is some reskinning to fit the fluff—a malfunctioning alien device in a sci-fi setting, a properly functioning mad scientist’s invention for superheroes to deal with, or an ancient artifact wreaking havoc in a modern urban-fantasy metropolis. The various effects might have to be portrayed differently depending on the rule set, but it’s easy enough to match, say, lightning bolt to a high-powered rifle or fireball to a grenade. Environment-altering effects would only need to impose appropriate penalties or advantages (obscured vision or wet floors, for example), and many other possible results can be handled in a completely narrative fashion: size- and color-changing, leaves sprouting from characters, etc. Of course, any effect that could cause excessive difficulties for the rule set or setting can be replaced with something more appropriate.
Whether it’s used in its home systems of Pathfinder and DnD or in some other system via homebrewing, the Rod of Wonder is a great item because it captures the essence of tabletop RPGs. It embodies everything we love about our games: unexpected twists, the thrill of chance, and humor, all without too much risk. It’s useful for DMs while being fun for people on both sides of the screen. Try one out in your next game and watch the shenanigans unfold. And if you’re afraid of your players getting a little too out of hand, well, nothing says you can’t add a 1% chance of catastrophic self-destruction to the table of potential wonders. To quote my own experiences with the Rod: “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Thad Kanupp
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