CHARACTER SPELLS
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 | - | - | - |
<note: a precis of the following could be incl. in an 'appendix' on the main MU page>
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.
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)
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>
‘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)
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.
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 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
*template***template*
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