Wands in fiction

Magic wands commonly feature in works of fantasy fiction as spell-casting tools. Few other common denominators exist, so the capabilities of wands vary wildly. Note that wands fill basically the same role as wizards' staffs, though staffs generally convey a more 'serious' image; a fairy godmother would definitely use a wand, possibly with a star on the end, while Gandalf as surely would not. In dramatic fiction, wands can serve as weapons in magical duels.

Harry Potter Wands

In the fictional world of Harry Potter, as described by J. K. Rowling, wands serve as a focusing tool that enhance a person's capabilities to use magic. Most spells require a wand. The wand shop in Diagon Alley, Ollivander's, sells wands.

Wands have four main characteristics:

• the type of wood used in their manufacture
• the magical substance that gives them their magical properties
• the specific quality of motion when waved
• the length
• No two wands have identical characteristics, and Mr Ollivander says he remembers every wand he has ever sold.

Some wands:
 

• Harry Potter: holly wood, 11" (28 cm), supple, single phoenix feather
• Lord Voldemort:yew wood, 13½" (34 cm), single phoenix feather
• Ron Weasley (new wand): willow wood, 14" (36 cm), unicorn tail hair
• Hermione Granger: vine wood, dragon heartstring (source: J.K. Rowling's website: 1 2)
• Cedric Diggory: 12¼" (31 cm), single unicorn hair
• Fleur Delacour: rosewood, 9½" (24 cm), inflexible, Veela hair
• Viktor Krum: hornbeam, 10¼" (26 cm), quite rigid, dragon's heartstring
• Dolores Umbridge: "unusually short"
• Rubeus Hagrid: Oak, 16"

Role-playing and video games

In role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and D&D-derived computer role-playing games such as NetHack, wands function as storage devices for specific magical spells, which a wielder can only use a certain number of times before running out of "charges". Wands allow non-wizard player characters to use spells, and also enable wizards to use spells they couldn't ordinarily cast.

Wands also feature in a number of other fantasy video games, such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in which they usually serve as one of many weapons available to the player's character.

Wands sometimes don't have any meaningful purpose or effect on gameplay, but are just parts of the story, as in Puyo Pop Fever, where Miss Accord, a character of the game, has lost her wand that she calls her "flying cane."