Sooner or Later
Delayed Blast Spells and Related Effects
Had an idea for an item. Blast spells that don’t begin until triggered are, in published spells, I think only phoenix aura (discounting things like rune of warding which are esoteric and also not themselves blast spells), but it’s an interesting niche to play around with.
Wand of Bestial Spines
Base Cost 40,000gp: 20 charges 4th level effect. Apparent Value: 40gp.
This thin wand of ebony narrows to a point. The wielder can expend one charge from the wand to attempt to transform a living target of man-size or less within 90’. The target must make an Implements saving throw. If the save succeeds, it resists the transformation. If the save fails the target is transformed, body and mind, into a porcupine (SPD 120’/ 60’ swim, AC 2, HD 1/2, #AT 1, Dmg 1d3). The transformed target will have the same number of hit points that it had in its original form, but otherwise the transformation is total, including intelligence, behavioral traits, and mentality. The target’s carried and worn equipment, if any, will merge into its new form. The transformation lasts for 6 turns, or until the target dies or is dispelled. When the transformation ends due to duration or the target’s death (but not when dispelled) the porcupine’s spines explode out of the body. All creatures within a 20’ diameter suffer 4d6 extraordinary piercing damage, with a successful Blast saving throw preventing half.
It’s not relevant at all when creating items, but this same kind of spell with a perpetual duration component and a blast spell that goes off when the first part of the spell ends is pretty neat as a thing to cast. I don’t think it’s appropriate for someone with a wand to decide when perpetual effects created by the wand end, given how we treat them as their own thing unrelated to the item. Perpetual effects from non-consumable items, of course, continue until the item has been used enough times to push them out of the queue, so they likewise can’t quite be ended at will without a bit of setup. We’ve also used ‘duration does not begin until triggered’ at the same x2.75 cost in the Treasure Tome, on death and movement effects in addition to blasts.
On a separate note, this item has a pretty cheap save-or-disable transmogrification spell, then pads the cost back up to a reasonable level for such an effect by adding a blast on the backend. Range is 90’ to match the wand of bestial flight and wand of bestial rage in the Treasure Tome.