About that missile rod -- I'm curious. The RAW mentions that you can't put more than 3 ST into a missile spell but the rod description explicitly mentions a rod producing a 20-die fireball.
I'm guessing this has been covered by other threads but what's your house ruling on that? Can a rod produce more than a 3-point missile spell effect?
Yes, missile rods are very very expensive siege weapons, that require wizards to recharge.