Arista, Wand of the Spire (Patreon)

Wand, artifact (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

This elegant silver and gold wand was crafted by the archmages that first arrived in Orostead centuries ago, well before the magical fallout of the Upheaval. It has been carefully used by only the extremely powerful or clever for generations. The wand has 7 charges for some of the following properties. It regains all expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge and are not a wizard, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand vanishes and returns to a secret vault within The Spire of Aristaeus, the legendary wizarding tower in Orostead.

Variant Properties. Some properties of this artifact are locked behind layers of dormant magic. As you grow stronger and reach certain milestones, these properties may become available to you. This wand can have up to 3 of the following properties active at a time. When you attune to Arista, you can choose to activate up to 3 of its variant properties whose prerequisites you meet. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can replace any of the activated properties with another one.

○ While holding the wand, you can use an action to cast one of the following spells from it, using your spell save DC: create or destroy water, floating disk, fog cloud, gaseous form, identify, or sanctuary. Once the wand has been used to cast a spell, it can't be used to cast that spell again until the next dawn.

○ While holding the wand, you can use an action to expend 1 of its charges to cast the magic missile spell. When you reach 9th level, this spell is cast at 2nd level instead, and is cast at 3rd level once you reach 13th.

○ (Prerequisite: 5th level) You gain a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DC. This bonus increases to +2 when you reach 9th level, and +3 when you reach 17th.

○ (Prerequisite: 5th-level wizard) While holding the wand, you can use an action to cast the unseen servant spell.

○ (Prerequisite: 9th level) While holding the wand, you can use an action to expend 2 of its charges to create one of the following effects, using your spell save DC:

Drilling Gust. You harness the ever-present winds of Lake Ils and tighten them into a magic, twisting spear. The spear flies from the wand and forms a line 60 feet long and 5 feet wide, piercing through any creature in the area. Each creature in the line must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d6 piercing damage and 3d6 cold damage and is pushed 15 feet away from you. If a creature fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also knocked prone. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage from the effect and isn't pushed.
Siphoning Vortex. You conjure the strange undercurrents of Lake Ils and create a magical whirlpool in a 15-foot-radius circle at a point on the ground you can see within 60 feet of you. Each creature in the area must succeed on a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage and is pulled up to 10 feet toward the point. If a creature fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also knocked prone and spends its action on its next turn coughing and sputtering water. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much bludgeoning damage and isn't pulled. The water spreads out across the ground, extinguishing unprotected flames in its area, and then it vanishes.

○ (Prerequisite: 9th-level wizard) While holding the wand, you can expend 3 of its charges to cast the banishment spell, using your spell save DC. In addition, you are always under the effects of the see invisibility spell.

○ (Prerequisite: 13th level) While holding the wand, you gain truesight out to a range of 10 feet.

○ (Prerequisite: 13th-level wizard) While holding the wand, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells, using your spell save DC: arcanist's magic aura (1 charge), dimension door (2 charges), etherealness (5 charges), fog cloud (4 charges; 1 mile-radius sphere that remains for the duration of the spell), guards and wards (4 charges), private sanctum (2 charges), teleport (5 charges).

○ (Prerequisite: 20th-level wizard) You gain the benefits of all of this wand's variant properties.

Destroying Arista. The only way to destroy Arista, Wand of the Spire is to leave it in an antimagic field on the Ethereal Plane for 100 years, at which point it finally succumbs and becomes nonmagical, allowing it to be easily snapped in two.

The wizards sat in their twisting tower, rising above the lake. There they surveyed the currents: both of the lake and of the people in the city below. Amid the seagull cries were the whinnies of pegasi and clean lake wind. You could see, hear, and think clearly from above. When you're high up, the problems of everyday minutia seem simple.

The queen had told them they were foolish to think this way of course, and that, no, you couldn't feed or house a city with a wave of your wand. That real problems exist amidst the nonmagical, too. She was a good leader, to be sure, but she was wrong about one thing.

There's always a wand to solve your problems.