ACQUISITION OF CANTRIPS, MAGIC-USERS	MAGIC-USER SPELL BOOKS	Types of spell books	Cost of spell books	Physical aspects of standard books
Physical aspects of travelling books	Value of spell books	Casting spellls directly from books	ACQUISITION OF ILLUSIONIST SPELLS	ACQUISITION OF CANTRIPS, ILLUSIONISTS
ILLUSIONIST SPELL BOOKS	COST OF MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST SPELL CASTING	-	-	-

ACQUISITION OF CANTRIPS, MAGIC-USERS
The number and types of cantrips known and recorded is determined
by random use of the tables on page 30 of this volume. The exception
is the table of useful cantrips -- those which are employed to make
apprenticeship less wearisome.

An apprentice has one useful cantrip
for each point of INT, and is allowed free choice from the list
of 20 offered. For the other five categories of magic-user cantrips, the
number which may be known (selected at random) is as follows: reversed,
2-8; legerdemain, 2-5; person-affecting, 2-8; personal, 2-8;
and haunting-sound, 2-5.

It is possible that an apprentice will have developed other cantrips
over the course of his or her apprenticeship. The DM
must carefully review any proposed cantrip to determine if it is of suitable
nature && power when compared to existing cantrips herein. In
no event is it possible for any apprentice to have developed more than
three new cantrips.

Since cantrips are magickal, they must be read as would a spell. Likewise,
to record one in a spell book or on a scroll, the same procedure
is followed as in recording a spell.

MAGIC-USER SPELL BOOKS

General note: Most of the info in this section applies equally to
spell books for illusionists as well as for M-Us. See the following
section on illusionist spell books for those areas where particular
differences exist.

When a magic-user completes his or her apprenticeship, it is assumed
that he or she has one, or possibly two, spell books.

A Book of First Level Spells will certainly be possessed,
and there might be a Book of Cantrips as well.

The latter depends upon the options of both the DM and the concerned player.
The following applies to all spell books.

Question: Can magic-users bring their spell books into
dungeons or on overland adventures?

Answer: It is perfectly all right to bring spell books anywhere one
wishes, but those who are wise will realize several factors which would
discourage this action. From page 39 of the DMG, one sees that a
great deal of uninterrupted time is needed to recover spells, and this
time cannot be taken in a dungeon filled with wandering monsters.
Area-effect spells like lightning bolts and fireballs will ruin books that
are very expensive to replace (check page 115 of the DMG for details
on cost). Damage can also be taken from creatures like blue dragons
and black puddings whose attacks eat away at materials. Simple traps
like falling into a pit filled with briny water can also take their toll on
the pages of a spell book. — J. Ward, W. Niebling
(Update: The cost of replacing spellbooks is detailed in UA).

Q: Can a magic-user who is already at
his maximum spell level remove a
spell from his book in order to
research a new spell?

A: I assume you mean maximum at that
spell level due to his intelligence. Dropping
a spell from a spell book is allowable.

Some campaigns even allow the magic-user
to exceed the intelligence limit as long
as the character is spending all that time
and money on spell research, though this
should be used only in campaigns in which
money is scarce.
(133.72)

Types of Spell Books

There are two kinds of spell books:

1. Standard books,
    each of which contains up to 36 cantrips,
    up to 24 spells of 1st-3rd level,
    up to 16 spells of 4th-6th level,
    or up to 8 spells of 7th-9th level.

2. Travelling books, each of which contains at most one-fourth <(1/4)> of the number of spells possible to be contained in a standard spell book --
    either nine<9> cantrips,
    six<6> spells of 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd level;
    four<4> spells of 4th, 5th, and/or 6th level;
    or two<2> spells of 7th, 8th, and/or 9th level.
<2. could be worded/formatted exactly as 1., or vice versa. 'up to either' on the first line would prolly be correct>
 

OUT ON A LIMB
 

‘Of little worth’

Dear Editor,
I am happy to see DRAGON acquire its
sixth birthday. I have been reading the magazine
for the last three years. Overall I have
been very pleased with the articles which are
presented.

I was not pleased at all with the article
(about spell books, DRAGON™ issue #62) by
Mr. Gygax. Until now, the tomes which magicusers
lugged around with them were something
which made no other class envious. The
magic book took up a lot of space, and it was
only of use after the magic-user had a good
sleep or in case of discussions. In a dungeon a
magic book was of little worth.

There are magic items which allow the
magic-users to cast extra spells. These magic
items are lightweight, so a magic-user can
carry several. These magic items are called
scrolls. It must be noted that scrolls do have
their disadvantages. A magic-user must be of
at least 12th level before he or she can research
a spell. Researching a spell takes a lot
of time and money to accomplish. These disadvantages
made already written scrolls
found in the course of an adventure a pleasing
sight.

The spell books of Mr. Gygax make scrolls
not worth the effort. A magic-user can just
write extra pages of a certain spell which he
knows into his book for casting during an
adventure. No need for expensive and timeconsuming
research. No need for waiting until
one is high level. I must say here that I do
not know what an extremis situation is. Mr.
Gygax says that it is the only time that a
magic-user can cast a spell directly from the
book. A DM is supposed to run a consistent
universe. Either a magic-user can cast a spell
from the spell book or he cannot. It is easy to
see third level magic-users running around
the dungeons of Greyhawk with their books
of Sleep and Magic Missile reading them unto
the monsters. The books are lightweight and
non-bulky. A magic-user can carry several
(one under each arm, five in the backpack,
and a few more in a sack at his side). This is
not a pleasant sight to any DM.

I feel that Mr. Gygax did not think through
his actions when he wrote the article. I hope
he corrects the problems which he created.
 

Roby Ward
Baton Rouge, La.
(Dragon #64)
 

Spell books revisited

Dear Editor:
I would like to reply to a letter by Roby Ward
published in DRAGON #64. It’s obvious that
Mr. Ward has neglected to look more closely
at the article about spell books (from issue
#62). He says that a magic-user can “write
extra pages of a certain spell which he knows
into his book for casting during an adventure.”
I agree it is possible to cast a spell from
a spell book, as there is a scroll-like dweomer
used to create the magical runes, but this is
not usually done for practical reasons.

If you consider the weight and size of a
traveling spell book, you can see that the book
would take about as much space as a mediumsized
notebook. Although it would be possible
to carry one in your hand, this sure would
ruin your ability to cast a spell! And it’s even
worse when you’re trying to dig the book out
of your pack: Do you grab the right object in
your haste? And do you know how long this is
going to take, even if you grab the right object?
Even if you get it out, it’s still going to
take a few segments to find the desired spell,
and through all this time you’re going to stick
out like an elf in an orc’s lair. And if the DM is
doing his job, you’ll know it!

The idea of casting spells out of the book
may be useful in a less hurried situation, although
this idea might be discouraged because
you’d probably lose the ability to cast
the spell on that sheet.

The idea that Mr. Gygax has put into his
article will work very well if the DM remembers
to keep things in perspective.

Robert Hilton
APO New York, N.Y.
(Dragon #68)
 

Cost of spell books

A standard spell book costs 1,000 gp for materials, plus an additional
100 gp per spell level for each spell contained therein. (For this determination
and all other similar ones, consider cantrips as 1st-level
spells.) The cost of a new magic-user’s or illusionist’s initial book or
books is assumed to be borne by the new spell caster’s former master,
so the fledgling spell caster will have one or two spell books at no
cost to him or her. Books which are prepared later in a magic-user’s
career (having higher spell-level capacity than “beginning” books)
are not supplied by the character’s master, but must be composed by
the character in question as part of his or her training when the spell
caster is trying to rise to a higher experience level. This composition
will take from 4-7 weeks for each new standard book; the book is composed
during and after the time when other training exercises are taking
place.

These same costs/prices apply when such a book is being manufactured
and composed: Any standard spell book requires a 1,000 gp in-
vestment for materials, plus 100 gp per level for each spell entered
within the book, payable when a magic-user adds a new spell to his or
her repertoire. (Entering a 1st-level spell costs 100 gp, a 2nd-level
spell costs 200 gp, etc.)

A travelling spell book costs 500 gp for materials. The cost of
each spell contained within such a book is the same as the cost for entering
aspell in a standard book. All travelling spellbooks must be fabricated
by the magic-user, or otherwise discovered as treasure by the
magic-user or his or her associates. A PC cannot automatically
possess a travelling spell book at the beginning of his or her
career.

Physical aspects of standard books

A standard spell book is approximately 16 inches in height, 12 inches
wide, and 6 inches thick. (The DM has leeway to reduce or enlarge
this general size, although nothing smaller than 12x12~6in ches or
larger than 18x12x9 inches is recommended.) The weight of a standard
book of median size is 15# (adjusted upward or
downward for varying sizes). The encumbrance value of such a book
is equal to three times its weight (45# or thereabouts), although it is
correct to assume that a volume will fit within an otherwise empty
backpack or large sack.

The cover of a standard book is typically heavy leather - dragon hide
or something similar - inlaid with metal so as to provide both extra
durability and a means to close and secure the book. Vellum pages
are sewn together and secured to a fine, supple leather spine backing.
Pages are secured additionally by fine leather front and back
pieces. It is also usual for such a tome to have vellum stubs at intervals
for insertion of additional pages, although this by no means allows
for any increase or change in the number and types of spells the
book can contain.

Notwithstanding any special protections placed thereon, a standard
spell book has a saving throw equal to that of “leather or book,” and
with + 2 to dice rolls made to save against acid, fireball, disintegration,
and lightning attacks.
 

Physical Aspects of travelling books

A travelling spell book is approximately 12 inches tall,
6 inches wide,
and 1 inch thick;
9x9x1 is likewise a good working size.
The weight of such a book is approximately 30 gold pieces,
and encumbrance rougly 60 gp.
Five such books will fit within a backpack,
twice that number in a large sack.

The cover of a travelling spell book is strong,
supple leather,
such as that from a giant cobra.
The hand-sewn leaves of parchmetn are carefully secured to a fine leather backing and glued to the spine.
The whole is further secured by front and back pieces of vellum.
A small lock or leather ties are typically used to secure the whole.
Pages are very thin and fragile,
so great care must be taken to protect the book when it is in use.

Notwithstanding any special protections placed thereon,
a travelling spell book has a saving throw equal to that of "leather or book,"
with bonuses (as a standard book has) against certain forms of attack.
 

Value of spell books

A standard spell book has an Experience Point Value of 500 points
per spell level contained therein (again, considering cantrips as 1stlevel
spells), and a Gold Piece Sale Value of 1,000 gp per spell level
(applies to all spells, including cantrips). As with any other magical
items acquired, spell books must either be sold immediately or else
the x.p. value taken. This holds true regardless of whether or not any
tome is eventually sold. Thus, a spell book cannot be kept while a particular
spell or spells are transcribed, and then the work sold for the
Gold Piece Sale Value and the proceeds taken toward experience
points.

Casting spells directly from books

In extremis, the DM may allow a M-U to CAST a spell directly
from any sort of spell book just as if the book were a scroll. The book
must be of appropriate sort so that the spell matches the profession of
the caster, ie. M-U spell, M-U spell book. The caster
must be able to know and use the spell in question. (Note that in this
regard, reading directly from a spell book differs from the use of scroll
spells.)

Direct casting of a spell from a spell book automatically destroys that
spell. There is also a 1% chance per level of the spell that the spells
immediately preceding and following the spell cast will likewise be destroyed.
There is an additional 1% chance that the casting oi a spell
directly from a spell book will destroy the entire book. A permanency
spell, for instance, would not prevent a spell from “disappearing”
when cast in this manner; even though writing might remain on the
page, that writing will no longer be magical in nature. These strictures
apply whether a spell caster is using his or her personal book or the
book of another. Read magick is required for one M-U to read
another M-U’s spell book, and a M-U can learn a spell
by reading it from another’s book. This learning process requires 2-8
hours of study per level of the spell, after which time the spell is
learned and thereby immediately usable by the M-U who did
the studying.
 

Question: May a character CAST a spell by reading aloud
from his spell book?

Answer: Absolutely not! The spell books do not contain the power
of, say, a scroll with a spell on it; they are a means for the M-U to en-
able himself to retain a number of magic spells at a single time. Within
the framework of each spell are gestures and moves that must be
done in a special sequence, as well as materials that must be em-
ployed while making the incantation. Simply reading a spell from the
spell book will not cause it to be cast while the other conditions of the
spell remain unfulfilled. — J. Ward, W. Niebling
(Update: ^see above^).
 

Quote:
Originally posted by Cias the Noble
4) From reading the UA, I concluded that the option allowing magic-users to cast spells directly from their spell books was added with reluctance, and the rules given in the UA essentially allow magic-users of low level to make “cheap” scrolls. Do you feel that this should still be an “official” optional rule, and if so would you alter it’s form?

Optional rules are for the DM to decide in regards to use in his campaign.
I was not averse to allowing casting from a spell book, as it is not cheap.
Replacing one should be a major undertaking.
The only character willing to use that expedient should be one in extremis, or else the campaign is being run too generously by the DM.
When the spell is gone from the book, it can't be read and re-learned.
Creating traveling spell books takes time and effort, money when the proper blank book is located in which to scribe the spells.

Cheers,
Gary

ACQUISITION OF ILLUSIONIST SPELLS

Illusionists begin with a limited book of spells, just as do regular
magic-users. The spells available are divided into three groups; one
from each group will be known by the beginning illusionist.
The illusionist always has read illusionist magic.

The spell groupings are:

Offensive Spells	Defensive Spells	Misc. Spells
1. [colour spray]	1. [audible glamer]	1. [change self]
2. [hypnotism]	2. [darkness]	2. [dancing lights]
3. [light]	3. [gaze reflection]	3. [detect illusion]
4. [phantasmal force]	4. [wall of fog]	4. [detect invisibility]
5. [chromatic orb]	5. [phantom armor]	5. (choose)
6. [spook]	6. (choose)	6. (choose)*

* The DM has three options which can be used here:
    1) allow an additional (5th) miscellaneous spell, or
    2) allow re-selection of an offensive spell, this time by the player's choice rather than the die roll
    3) simply assume that the roll means nothing more than choice of a miscellaneous spell, just as a roll of 5 does.

Spells from this work were added to the list of initial spells because of
the limited number of illusionist spells originally given in the PH.
You will note that this has not been done for MUs of the original sort,
since that class already has a sufficient number of spells to select from.

ACQUISITION OF CANTRIPS, ILLUSIONISTS

Illusionists have available to them all of the cantrips that can be
learned and employed by regular magic-users, although an illusionist’s
capacity for such minor magics is different in each category from
that of a regular magic-user (see the list that follows). In addition, illusionists
can learn and employ from 5-8 minor illusion cantrips, none of
which are available to regular magic-users. Except where otherwise
indicated, all properties pertaining to magic-user cantrips likewise apply
to those employed by the illusionist class.

The number of magic-user cantrips available to illusionists in each
category is as follows:

    Useful cantrips: One per point of INT, up to INT minus 3; i.e., an INT with 18 INT can choose 15 useful cantrips from the magic-user list.
    Reversed: 2-5
    Personal: 2-5
    Legerdemain: 3-6
    Haunting-sound: 5-8
    Person-affecting: 2-5

ILLUSIONIST SPELL BOOKS

Illusionist spell books are the same as those of regular magic-users,
with the following exceptions:

    1. Standard spell books contain either 24 spells of 1st or 2nd level,
    16 spells of 3rd or 4th level, or 8 spells of 5th, 6th, or 7th level. If
    1st-level MU spells are known and used by the illusionist,
    he || she must have a new spell book for such spells; this tome is
    essentially a standard work for first level containing up to 24
    spells.

    2. Travelling sepll books hold 6 spells of 1st or 2nd level,
    4 spells of 3rd or 4th level, or but 2 spells of 5th, 6th, or 7th level.

For additional security, illusionists may opt to do their spell books using
illusionary script, which would only be recognizable as such by another
illusionist. A MU may not learn a spell from an illusionist
spell book (and vice versa) even if the illusionist spell in question is
the same in name (and perhaps other respects) as a MU spell.
The magical forces released by the casting of "namesake" spells are
similar to one another, but the way in which that magic is triggered differs
from class to class.

COST OF MAGIC-USERIILLUSIONIST SPELL CASTING

Thunderstaff
 

While the cost of having a cleric cast needed spells is reasonably well
detailed in the Dungeon Masters Guide, the cost of magic-user or illusionist
spell casting was neglected. Rather than giving an extensive
list of spells and costs, the following set of guidelines is provided to
enable the DM to determine a “reasonable” fee for any spell.

Basic costs: A willing magic-user or illusionist will typically work for a
fee of 200 gp per spell level. Double the material component(s), or
material components of at least such value as substitutions, is also
part of the basic fee.

Additional costs: Failure to furnish the material component(s) of a
spell which has components of ordinary sort will incur a surcharge of
10% or three times the value of the component(s), whichever is
greater. Failure to furnish any extraordinary component(s) that may
be needed brings a surcharge of 100% of the casting cost or three
times the value of the component(s), whichever is greater. Spells
which place the caster in danger (including such castings as identify,
which causes a temporary drop in constitution of the caster) require at
least a double fee, and guarantees will be required as well. Spells
which age the caster will be cast only if a counter to such aging is
awarded prior to spell casting, unless the amount of aging is insignificant
to the caster. (A young elf will not be overly concerned about aging
5 years, although a fee of ten times normal might be charged!)

Magic item payment: A magic-user or illusionist will generally accept
some item of magic in lieu of cash or like valuables. In such cases, the
sale value of the item, adjusted downward by the general reaction of
the spell caster to the individual requesting his or her services, is to be
considered the base value of the item. The character and behavior of
the NPC encountered will always be the purview of the DM. Such
character or behavior will, naturally, often affect costs and fees.

Hostile spell casters: In general, a hostile spell caster will either
charge at least double normal fees, or else he or she will simply refuse
to cast any spell whatsoever - unless possibly bribed to do so with
some magic item. Any spell caster of good alignment is quite unlikely
to cast any spell for a character of evil alignment in any event. Again,
adjudication of such events is the realm of the DM.

Spell casting under duress: Use the rules in the Dungeon Masters
Guide for all magic-user and illusionist spell casting under threat,
magical influence, etc.
 

Q. Why isn't there a list of M-U
spell prices in the DMG?
A. Because M-U spells are never
bought in that sense.The detailed
recipe for casting a spell may be
bartered for, usually with details of
other spells (see DMG p39).  the
amounts of cash involved are small,
with magic items and (much more
importantly for a M-U) magickal
knowledge being the chief currency.
    When M-U characters progress
in level they must engage in a
period of training under a higher
level M-U, which is paid for in
cash. Subsumed into the cost of this
training is the acquisition of another
spell.
    Clerical spells have given prices, but
the price is for the effect of the spell,
rather than the spell itself.
(Imagine #5)
 

Q: The information on spell books on
page 79 of Unearthed Arcana does
not match the information as originally
presented in DRAGON issue
#62. Is this an error or an editorial
c h a n g e ?
A: The information in Unearthed Arcana is
correct and applies to all spell books. This
was an editorial change based on playtesting
results.
(155.88)
 

Q. What happens if a wizard loses a
spell book? Are the spells lost/forgotten,
and, if so, how may they be
retrieved?
A. The wizard has effectively lost
1 of his or her recipe books for
spells. Unless he or she kept a copy of
the book then the spells in the book
cannot be re-memorised once used.
    The only option in a case like this is
for the wizard to construct a new
copy of the book, by trading for/stealing/copying
the spells that were
contained within it.  This time,
however, because the spells had
already been in a spell book (and had
been understood), the wizard in
question would not have to check to
see if he or she could know the spell
(Players Handbook p10, Intelligence
Table II.)
    The new spell book would still cost
the same amount in raw material to
make, and wuld take just as long as
the original.
(Imagine #7)
 

SPELL BOOKS
* A standard spell bookcosts 1,000 gp for materials, +plus+ an additional 100 gp per spell level for each spell contained therein.
* (For this determination and all other similar ones, consider cantrips as 1st level spells.)
* This composition will take from 4-7 weeks for each new standard book; the book is composed during and after the time when other training exercises are taking place.

* These same costs/prices apply when such a book is being manufactured and composed:
Any standard spell book requires a 1,000 gp investment for materials, plus 100 gp per level for each spell entered within the book,
payable when a magic-user adds a new spell to his or her repetoire.
* (Entering a 1st-level spell costs 100 gp, a 2nd-level spell costs 200 gp, etc.)

* A travelling spell book costs 500 gold pieces for materials.
 

SPELL BOOKS / TYPES
1. Standard books,
    each of which contains up to 36 cantrips,
    up to 24 spells of 1st-3rd level,
    up to 16 spells of 4th-6th level,
    or up to 8 spells of 7th-9th level.

2. Travelling books, each of which contains at most one-fourth of the number of spells possible to be contained in a standard spell book --
    either nine cantrips,
    six spells of 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd level;
    four spells of 4th, 5th, and/or 6th level;
    or two spells of 7th, 8th, and/or 9th level.

SPELL BOOKS / COSTS

SPELL BOOKS / VALUE

SPELL BOOKS / CASTING SPELLS DIRECTLY FROM

SPELL BOOKS / STANDARD / PHYSICAL ASPECTS

SPELL BOOKS / TRAVELLING / PHYSICAL ASPECTS

SPELL BOOKS / ILLUSIONIST
 
 

THE FORUM

Just a short note from an average, physically
weak magic-user -- has anybody really thought
about the size of so-called standard spell books?
16" X 12" X 6" is larger (much larger!) than
the average unabridged dictionary, not to
mention weighing upward of 25 pounds. And as
for fitting them into a standard pack, our
unabridged dictionary barely fits in the huge
hiker?s backpack I have, let alone having any
room for the extra 3? per side of the standard
spell book.

All these poor, 10-strength magic-users are
going to have to employ strength spells just to
keep their libraries in any sort of order, or else
hire fighters to get the books on and off the top
shelves for them (leverage is a definite problem,
and if you don?t believe me, go find an
unabridged dictionary and try to put it on a
shelf even above waist-level). I suggest a little
scaling down when it comes time to edit that
material for the fabled second edition books. I
thank you, and my hernia thanks you.

S. Kunz
Chicago IL
(Dragon #121)
 

Before Unearthed Arcana, there was the spell
book. You knew how much it weighed and that
you needed it whenever you wanted to memorize
rize a spell, and that’s about it. But now, almost
every detail you wanted to know is covered in
the rule books, except how to enter a spell into
the spell book and what spells may be entered. I
would like to suggest the following addition to
Unearthed Arcana (and maybe to the second
edition.)

Enter the following paragraph after the “Cost
of spell books” paragraph on page 79 of
Unearthed Arcana:

“Entering spells into a spell book: Once the
magic-user has bound and completed a spell
book, he is ready to enter spells into the tome.
The number of spells capable of fitting into one
book dictates how many spells the magic-user
may place in his own spell book (see page 79,
Unearthed Arcana). Spells of different levels
may be placed in one spell book only so long as
they all belong to the same level category — e.g.,
for magic-users (1,2,3) (4,5,6) (7,8,9) and for
illusionists (1,2) 3,4) 5,6,7).

“To enter a spell, it is necessary to transcribe
it from a scroll or another spell book. In either
case, the spell must be memorized in the common
fashion if it is within the magic-user’s
possible spell levels of use. If it is not within his
capability for memorization, a write spell must
be employed to place the magic-user in a trancelike
state so as to not take damage from the
copying of the higher level spell. As detailed on
page 69 of the Players Handbook under write,
the use of the spell will cause the copying of the
spell to take only one hour per spell level. In the
case where the magic-user can memorize the
spell, he will do so in the morning like any other
spell. A read magic spell is only needed if the
magic-user is not copying from his own spell
book or a scroll. Note that a scroll can be read
with intentions to cast it immediately or to
memorize it, and in the case of copying, the
magic-user would memorize it just as any other
spell. In both cases involving the scroll, all
writing disappears from the page.

“In order to copy the spell into a spell book, a
special quill must be acquired which cannot be
normally purchased. The quill must be from a
creature of strange or magical nature, i.e., a
griffon, harpy, hippogriff, pegasus, roc, sphinx,
etc.

“The ink is also a very special requirement of
spell copying, and is compounded only by the
inscriber personally from strange and secret
ingredients. The basic medium should be sepia
from a giant squid or octopus. To this liquid may
be added blood, powdered gems, herbal and
spice compounds, draughts concocted from
parts of monsters, and so on. Ink formulas
should be devised in accordance with the purpose
of the spell (see chart beginning on page
116 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The cost
for the ink for each spell is 100 gp per spell
level. There is no other direct cost for entering
a spell into s spell book.

“When the spell is fully memorized (see DMG,
page 40, Recovery of Spells), the inscription of
the spell may begin. The magic-user must draw
a magical circle and will copy the spell within it
for one full day for each level of the spell being
scribed in the spell book. Time so spent must be
continuous, with interruptions only for rest,
food, sleep, and the like. If the magic-user leaves
his work to do anything else, the spell is broken,
and the whole effort is for naught. Only one
spell may be copied at a time.”

This new rule was not invented from scratch,
but was compiled from many other rules found
throughout the rule books. More rules of this
nature need to be created, so let’s get writing.

Stephen Barnecut
Calgary, Alberta
(Dragon #122)
 

I recently read the "Spell Books" section of
Unearthed Arcana and discovered, in the words
of W.S. Gilbert, ?a most ingenious paradox.?
Unearthed Arcana states that the encumbrance
of a medial (16? X 12? X 6?) standard spell book
is 450 gp, while the Dungeon Master's Guide
states that the encumbrance of a ?Book, large
metal-bound? is only 200 gp (Appendix O,
"Encumbrance of Standard Items"). This discrepancy
can be explained in various ways, so
let us turn to a detailed scrutiny of the physical
aspects of standard and traveling boks as
described in Unearthed Arcana.  The following
analysis will focus on the largest and smallest
recommended sizes for standard books.

    1. 12? X 12? X 6? standard book: volume =
        864 cubic inches;

    2. 18" X 12" X 6" standard book: volume =
        1,296 inches;

    3. 12? X 6? X 1? traveling book: volume =
        72 cubic inches; and,

    4. 9? X 9? X 1? traveling book: volume = 81
        cubic inches.

The relative spell capacities are also out of
line.  Depending upon which sizes of standard
and traveling books are used, a standard book
has 11-18 times the volume of a traveling book,
but only 4 times the spell capacity.  In other
words, a traveling book has up to 4.5 times the
per-unit-volume capacity of a standard book.
The sturdier construction of the standard book
can explain part of this discrepancy -- or can it?

Unearthed Arcana states that a standard book
of median size (i.e. 16" X 12" 6'") weighs 150
gp.  Therefore, a size 1 book (1/4 less volume)
should weigh roughly 115 gp and a size 2 book
(1/8 greater volume) should weigh roughly 170
gp.  A traveling boko of either size weighs 30 gp.
The smallest standard book thus has almost 11
times the volume of the larger traveling book,
but weighs less than 4 times as much.  Even
with the unmodified 150 gp weight, the standard
book would weigh only 5 times as much
as the traveling book.  The clear implication is
that traveling books are much more sturdily
constructed than are standard books.

It is not reasonable for a traveling book to
have both a greater unit-volume capacity and a
stouter construction than a standard book. Such
a state of affairs is a logical paradox and makes
"standard" books obsolete. I am therefore
forced to conclude that the specifications given
in Unearthed Arcana are flawed. As a result, I
suggest the following revisions:

    1. Reduce the size of a standard book to
        10? X 10? X 4? (roughly the size of CRC's
        Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, for
        example);

    2. Reduce the weight of the standard book to
        130 gp and the encumbrance to 300 gp;
        and,

    3. Use only the larger traveling book (9? X
            9? X 1?), and reduce weight and encumbrance
            to 20 gp and 40 gp, respectively.

Using these proposed values, a standard book
would have five times the volume of a traveling
book and would weigh 6½ times as much. This
is consistent with both the stouter construction
of standard books and the higher relative capacity
of traveling books.

I have one final suggestion: Since the vast
majority of magic-user and illusionist spells
require one segment per spell level to cast, the
capacity of a spell book should be expressed in
spell levels. Why should the average first-level
spell require as much space as the average
third-level spell? Expressing capacity in spell
levels, based on Unearthed Arcana's assessment
of the number of ninth-level spells a book can
hold, yields the following schedules:

Standard book (eight ninth-level spells =
72 spell levels)
72 cantrips
72 first level
36 second level
24 third level
18 fourth level
14 fifth level
12 sixth level
10 seventh level
9 eighth level
8 ninth level

Traveling book (two ninth-level spells =
18 spell levels)
18 cantrips
18 first level
9 second level
6 third level
4 fourth level
3 fifth or sixth level
2 seventh, eighth, or ninth level

There is a precedent for capacity based on
spell levels -- the magic item Boccob?s blessed
book has a capacity of 45 spell levels. The capacity
schedules based on total spell levels are
actually less generous than Unearthed Arcana?s
schedules with regard to fifth- and sixth-level
spells, while being more generous with regard
to the lowest level spells. Unearthed Arcana?s
schedules are admittedly simpler than what I
propose, but only marginally so.

Eric Krein
No address
(Dragon #123)

Recently, a magic-user in my campaign grew
out of her old spell book -- she'd discovered a
cache of scrolls she needed to transcribe -- and
asked me how one would go about fashioning a
standard spell book. Checking Unearthed Arcana,
I discovered something totally ridiculous:
Those things are supposed to be 6? thick! Not
only is there nothing in this world that compares
to this (I measured the complete works of
Shakespeare and didn't even hit 4½?!), it makes
life very difficult for the average magic-user
with a strength of 9.

Where does this volume come from? One spell
to a page, correct? Considering that the vellum
used is as thick as the cardboard used to bind
hardback books (Shakespeare gets to be pretty
handy!), about one-eighth inch, I?d say that the
thickest standard spell book would be 3?. Eighteen
sheets of vellum ? a cantrip on each side ?
stacks up to a bit more than 2?. Add heavier
leather and metal bindings, and there?s 3?.

If someone wants to write in and tell me how
wrong I am, go ahead. I?d be interested to see
how they came up with these silly dimensions
(I?m still baffled by the height and width). Until
then, let?s show a bit of concern for the magicusers
of our worlds, who certainly should have
the right to carry something besides spell books
in their backpacks.

Elisabeth Atwood
Princeton NJ
(Dragon #129)
 

I was just reading your July issue (#123) when
I spotted some flaws in a couple of arguments
which I would like to point out.
Eric Krein's mistakes are simple ones caused
by a failure to examine the use a magic-user has
for a given spell book. By letting form follow
function, one can see that a traveling spell book
would need to store all the spells known and
collected by the mage during his adventures. It
would also have to be able to survive the dangers
faced on an average adventure. This would
dictate the need for a book with an armored
cover and pages made of the thinnest possible
material, possible choices being silk or gold leaf.

On the other hand, the standard spell book is
made for a quiet life in a wizard?s library, where
the book serves the same general function as a
hoard serves a dragon. This kind of spell book
would not need a high volume-to-weight ratio,
so decoration would replace armor.

It should also be noted that one cantrip equals
one-fourth of a first-level spell. This means that
a traveling spell book can hold 72 cantrips and a
standard spell book can hold 288 cantrips.

The other letter, by Leung Chi Kong on the
subject of waterborne combat and naval firepower,
also deserves to be challenged because
of a misinterpreted passage quoted from issue
#116, This passage illustrates that a magical
counterpart to cannons would evolve for use on
warships in the same way that magic wands are
used as guns and flying brooms are used as
airplanes. There is no reason why enchantments
used on smaller weapons can?t be applied
to siege engines to give cannonlike effects.

To prove my point, I?m giving examples of
magical counterparts to real weapons:

Example 1: An ogre in full plate (AC 1), armed
with a pole cleaver, long bow, an assortment of
magic arrows, and a wand of wonder; on a
triceratops in plate mail, is about equal to a
tank.

Example 2: A dragon is equal to a B-52 in
capabilities without any help. With some magic,
he can be equal to a space shuttle.

When the Lord Nelson of a fantastic world is
confronted by his ramming fleet, he should be
able to call forth magic equal to cannons. He
may even have subs and carriers.

Douglas M. Burck
Cincinnati OH
(Dragon #129)
 

In response to the letter by Elisabeth Atwood
(issue #129): Spells do not require just one page
each. In order to meet the specifications given
on page 79 of Unearthed Arcana, the following
dimensions can be extrapolated: A standard
spell book would have 72 pages; a traveling
book would have 18. Each cantrip would
require two pages; 1st-3rd level spells, three
pages; 4th-6th level spells, four pages; and, 7th-
9th level spells, nine pages. These numbers
agree quite nicely with the figures given in
Unearthed Arcana. These pages would include a
cover page for each spell, 1-3 pages of casting
instructions, and 1-5 pages of additional notes
and theory.

Brian Habing
Rockford IL
(Dragon #135)
 

I am writing in response to Elisabeth Atwood's
letter in issue #129. First, I don't think that
vellum was or is an eighth of an inch thick. I
think it is more realistic to say that it is as thick
as the cover of a paperback novel (1/100th of an
inch was the measure I got from my mom's
romance novels), which gives a maximum of
1,200 pages, excluding cover. "1,200 pages?" you
say. "What would a magic-user write on 1,200
pages?" One page per spell may seem realistic
for lower-level spells (1-3), but as spells increase
in power, so do they increase in complexity and
therefore may require more than one page to
write down.

Second, who said spell books contained only
spells? Magic-users do lots of research taking
lots of notes. How better to keep track of these
notes than by keeping them in your spell book?
Notes, maps, and maybe even a diary may be
kept in a spell book (although not mixed with
the spells).

Third, the cover can range anywhere from a
piece of thick leather to a thin piece of metal
covered by several layers of leather and cloth. A
wise magic-user would devise a way to lock his
spell book with a mechanical lock in addition to
any magical protection it may have.

It's not impossible to conceive of a 6" -thick
book -- just difficult.

Randy Smith
Kingsville MO
(Dragon #135)
 

In response to Elisabeth Atwood's letter in
issue #129, let's consider the cover of the spell
book itself. Dragon hide or some other strong
leather is required. I don't have an exact knowledge
of the consistency of such hide, but in my
campaign I allow the softest part of such hide to
be used for the construction of spell books, as
the rest of the skin is so tough as to be unworkable.
The softest skin is on the stomach and is at
least an inch and a half thick.

Now for the paper. I only let PCs write on one
side of a piece of vellum. I may be wrong, but I
can?t find any rule that states that a spell must
fit on one page. We could possibly tie the length
of the written spell to the casting time. While
this seems like an ideal method to me, the
designers generally opted to lump the length of
spells in groups of three levels. If we accept
Elisabeth's view on the thickness of vellum and
my view on having multiple pages per spell,
then add to this a thick hide, we come up with a
book that could quite conceivably be 6? thick.
There are such thick books around, mostly
Bibles; I saw one of these large volumes on
display in Boston?s Old North Church museum. 

While the figures for book size described in
Unearthed Arcana may seem a little big, consider
that the magic-user must constantly study
these volumes and will probably not write using
microscopic letters and glyphs. I estimate the
size of a written character to be at least a half
an inch. This would require a book of large size,
or else it would be a foot thick.

Let's turn to the point of transporting spell
books. A magic-user should only transport a
spell book when he finds one. A person would
have to be crazy to adventure with his only
spell book when you consider that it is his
livelihood. If he loses it, he's out of business.
DMs are familiar with how well a +2 book
saves against acid, lightning, fireball, or disintegrate.
As a player, I wouldn't want to give the
DM any more chances to get at my PC's books
than are absolutely necessary. That's what
traveling spell books are for.

Wayne Straiton
New Fairfield CT
(Dragon #135)


First, I am forced to reject Mr. Burck's criticism
(issue #129) of my letter on spell books
(issue #123). Unearthed Arcana describes spellbook
construction in good detail on page 79. It is
apparent by inspection that the heavier materials
in standard books make for a more rugged
tome, as indicated by its saving-throw bonus,
while the traveling book?s ?less is more?
approach yields a higher relative capacity. The
dimensions given by Unearthed Arcana, however,
indicate that traveling books have the best
of both worlds.

While our intrepid invoker might like a more
rugged traveling book, adding enough armor to
make it as rugged as a standard book would
negate the high relative capacity which is the
whole point of traveling books. If light, nonbulky
armor could be had for traveling books,
Mr. Wizard would likely use it beneath the
decorative trappings of his standard books as
well, their sheltered lives notwithstanding. This
brings us back to square one.

(As for cantrip capacity, I could defend any of
five ratios. The preferred ratio is strictly a
matter of taste.)

Second, players who want sword-swinging
sorcerers need merely play an elven fighter/
magic-user. True, the jolly old elf must stop at
11th level (give or take a couple), but how many
campaigns run long enough for that to become
a serious problem?

Third, I did not find the problem of spells
learnable vs. intelligence to be a problem at all.
Noting that Unearthed Arcana swelled the spell
list by about 25% at most spell levels, I merely
increased the maximum spells learnable by 25%
across the board, rounding fractions up. This
allowed existing characters to learn some of the
new spells without discarding old ones. Also,
with these expanded limits, allowing unlimited
selection to characters with 19 intelligence
causes a significant discrepancy only for firstlevel
spells.

Finally, I have modified the memorization
rules in my campaign with good results. I
require spell-casters of any class to declare in
advance those spells memorized more than
once. Thus, a 5th-level magic-user with four
first-level spells could cast magic missile once
without prior notice. To cast it again, he would
have had to declare advance that he had
memorized it twice and so had but two discretionary
slots remaining. This stricture prevented
overspecialization, while the discretionary
slots led to a greater role for the less-used spells.

Eric Krein
Lakewood CO
(Dragon #135)
 

NOTES BY GARY GYGAX

Elfdart wrote:
Colonel,

In UA, you had a rule for PCs casting spell directly from spellbooks with a chance that by doing so, POOF! -the whole book would disappear. IMC, this works out nicely, since PCs have thus lost all but one or two spellbooks and with them, a huge amount of gold since the books are worth so much money. They only remembered to copy spells a few times! :roll:

Was this intentional on your part to get greedy PCs to throw away so much money or is this just serendipity on ours?
 

Hi Elfdart,

As a matter of fact I am often belabored for my cruelty in causing loss of PCs' magic items and money.
I created the rule so as to allow someone in extremis to have a change of survivng,
but that coming with a terrible risk on the theory better a live PC without a spellbook than a corpse with same beside it.

That your players are using the rule in carless fashion is pure serendipity, so enjoy.
It is always good to be able to give marvelous treasures when you know that they will soon be gone;)

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
Heh, another Spell-related question, Colonel.

In Uneartherd Arcana you list the value of standard spell books as 500 Experience Points "per spell level contained therein" (p. 79). Does this mean that if a spell book contained 5 first level spells it would be worth 2,500 XP? I assume that's the case, as a scroll with a like number of 1st level spells would be worth 500 XP.

there is no value listed for travelling spell books, however. Would these tomes be worth the same as a standard spell book or, perhaps because of their less sturdy construction, they would be worth a lesser amount of XP.

Gray Mouser

Salut!

Yes, a 1st Level soell book (traveling or not) with five spells in it would bring 2,500 XP to the magic-user gaining it.

I value traveling spell books using the same base as regular ones. All such works are miniaturized and made of very sturdy materials so as to withstand the wear and tear of being caried about on adventures. Of course the number of spells in such smaller volumes will typically be less than the main spell books, so their XP value will be lower.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
OK, here's my final spell book question (of the day). UA states that standard spell books can contain "up to 36 cantrips, 24 spells of 1st-3rd level, up to 16 spells of 4th-6th level, or up to 8 spells of 7th-9th level" (p. 79). Travelling spell books, on the other hand, have the following capacities: "nine cantrips; six spells of 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd level; four spells of 4th, 5th and/or 6th level; or two spells of 7th, 8th and/or 9th level" (p. 79).

Now, does this mean it is possible for a spell book to have spells of various levels in it, or does each spell book have to be dedicated to a specific spell level (like the 1st level spell book a beginning M-U or Illusionist acquires from their master)? Also, if spells of various levels can be contained within a single book do these levels have to be of the groups listed above (i.e., 1st-3rd, 4th-6th, and 7th-9th) or could they be from any level (e.g., a spell book containing spells of all levels from 1st to 9th)? If this last is the case, how would you figure out the number of spells a book can contain given the number/level restrictions?

I know, a complicated question and one that probably has an obvious answer, but this has been bugging me recently as a certain M-U/Thief in my campaign is always on about finding a mage's spell-book (and when he does it's sure to be trapped, perhaps with a [i]Symbol of Death[i] <devious>).

Gray Mouser

PS
Oh yeah, did any of the Greyhawk PC's ever find an entire spell book as opposed to just picking up spells form scrolls?

Lengthy query, short reply 

There is no reason a mage couldn't have a spell book with varying levels of spells. The mu-thief you mention could indeed find a trapped spell book with a symbol of death--but that would be a device that lessened the number of actual spells the book was able to contain.

Greyhawk Campaign PCs have indeed found both traveling and normal spell books--rarely, but on several occasions.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray Mouser
Thanks for answering my questions, Gary, I appreciate it.

However, there is one thing I'd like you to clarify if you could. Since you give limits to the number of spells contained in each spell book by the spells' level, how would you determine this number if the spells therein were of various levels more then the 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 groupings? E.g., could a standard spell book that already contained 5 ninth level spells (a great find, indeed) contain an additional 5 sixth level spells, or would this violate the level limit for the spell book?

Hope I'm making sense here.

Gray Mouser

Heh, and I'll quote yor earlier post:

"UA states that standard spell books can contain "up to 36 cantrips, 24 spells of 1st-3rd level, up to 16 spells of 4th-6th level, or up to 8 spells of 7th-9th level" (p. 79). Travelling spell books, on the other hand, have the following capacities: "nine cantrips; six spells of 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd level; four spells of 4th, 5th and/or 6th level; or two spells of 7th, 8th and/or 9th level" (p. 79). "

A spell book can hold 8 spells of 7th+ level. If 5 are inscribed, that means it is at 5/8ths capacity, so it could indeed contain 6 additional spells of 4th-6th level, or 9 of 1st-3rd level.

Cheers,
Gary