A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement The Genius Guide to Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands

The Genius Guide to Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands by Owen K.C. Stephens is a role playing game supplement published by Rogue Genius Games (originally Super Genius Games) for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.

The supplement is available as a seven-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two thirds of a page are the front cover and one the Open Game License and Credits.

The opening paragraphs explain that this is the first supplement by the publisher to create a new class of magic items, and that this is an offshoot of the Loot 4 Less line, with some elements included in this, but with higher prices allowed.

What Are Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands? explains that these are a new magic item: the magic implement. Magic implements are handheld devices that assist spellcasters in their casting (other systems already have these types of items). Wyrd wands grant enhancement bonuses whilst rune staves grant bonuses to spell related effects. They can affect every spell cast by a wielder, not being just a spell in a can.

Why Magic Implements? says that wands and staves are iconic tools for spellcasters, but Pathfinder makes them little more than fantasy-themed pistols; a source of spells that can be used a number of times before running out of ammunition. In fiction, they serve a more general purpose. The items in this supplement enhance casters’ abilities, rather than replacing them. And, a secondary purpose is to make low and mid-level casters more interesting, because two casters with the same selection of spells but different implements will cast different spells to make use of their enhancements.

How Magic Implements Work explains that they have enhancement bonuses and sometimes extra abilities as well. It looks at how to implement bonus damage and how they function with metamagic. All magic implements must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus; rune staves can have many special abilities as long as the total bonus equivalent doesn’t exceed +10. Wands may only have one ability, up to +5.

The abilities are then described. These range from enhancements to spells in certain categories, such as summoning or certain types of damage, to improving Spellcraft checks, to helping allied casters, to changing the accuracy of spells and more. Each ability also has the requirements needed to add it.

A sidebar, That’s Not How Wands Work, says that some users will prefer to stay closer to the standard designs of wands and staves. In this case, the powers could be added to normal wands and staves, or given to another type of item.

Another sidebar, Behind the Counter: Pricing Magic Implements Enhancements and Abilities is based on the sidebars in the Loot 4 Less line that attempted to make Pathfinder magic item pricing more logical than it is. Behind the Counter: Pricing Lorebound does the same for a specific ability.

The Genius Guide to Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and is short enough that they aren’t really needed. Navigation is okay. The text maintains Super Genius Games’ old three-column landscape format and seemed to be free of errors. As well as the cover, there are a couple of black and white and one colour illustration, based on wands and staves, though they look like they may be stock. Presentation is okay.

This is an interesting way of making wands and staffs more than just spells in a can and, as mentioned, it’s something that other systems have done. Also as mentioned in the supplement, the options can be used for things other than wands and staffs, making the supplement more generally useful, and not just a source of material for specific items. The Genius Guide to Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands is a useful little supplement and it can be found by clicking here.