Balsa wand
| Balsa wand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weapon information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Precise dimensions | 1/12 x 1/12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Material | unidentifiable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 1/9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thaums/sec | 2 stable / 3 talisman / 5 max | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hands | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commands | zap | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melee type | Mace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Judge data | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speed | 10 Extremely fast | 
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| Maximum damage | 1 Extremely low | 
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| Average damage | 1 Extremely low |
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The balsa wand aka wand of eternal light is an artifact that can be zapped to turn an item into a permalight.
Usage
Can be zapped at an item to make that item permanently produce a faint light.
An item can be zapped multiple times to make it produce more light.
A permalight is a nickname for items that have at least 5 consecutive successful zaps from balsa wands (less for the rare items that are created producing light). Such items produces quite a bit of light as reported by bright.
- Failure
A failed zap removes some of the light from an item.
It also applies molten light to your body, causing damage over time for a total of about 1500 HP over a few minutes. If you zap again before this effect wears off and fail once more, the damage massively increases.
You can of course try to zap items which had its light removed by a failed zap like any other item that produces no light.
- Skills
It was believed for years that you need upwards of a 450 bonus in magic.items.held.wand to reliably zap balsa wands with few failures. A bonus of 300 has proven sufficient to succeed on 90% of attempts.
Long Description
The wand is a soft piece of balsa, about a foot long and an inch in diameter. A thin groove spirals around it from one end to the other. It glows an intense octarine.
Appraises As
The balsa wand is an inch long and an inch wide. It is made of some unidentifiable material and could be used as a weapon of type mace.
Acquisition
Balsa wands are generally hard to find and expensive to purchase. Their cost is variable, and depends on the number of charges that they come with.
The following table gives the parameters that make up the price of balsa wands in npc shops.
For example, a balsa wand with 3 charges would cost &&&&&&&&&&+90500 A$226.25 + &&&&&&&&&&+30000 A$75 * 3 = &&&&&&&&&+180500 A$451.25
| Location | Base cost | Per charge cost | 1 charge | 2 charges | 3 charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobliet's | &&&&&&&&&&+90500 A$226.25 | &&&&&&&&&&+30000 A$75 | &&&&&&&&&+120500 A$301.25 | &&&&&&&&&+150500 A$376.25 | &&&&&&&&&+180500 A$451.25 |
| Champion Way | &&&&&&&&&&+90500 188Rh 65s | &&&&&&&&&&+30000 62Rh 60s | &&&&&&&&&+120500 251Rh 5s | &&&&&&&&&+150500 313Rh 65s | &&&&&&&&&+180500 376Rh 5s |
- Hobliet the Unnecessary's Linear Tools Shop in the Magical Supplies Emporium on Sator Square in Ankh-Morpork.
- The artifacts shop on Champion Way in the northeast of Bes Pelargic.
- Friends of the McSweeney family get a 25% discount on the regular prices.
