So, how exactly do you write down a spell?

This article incorporates all the official
information on the subject of spell
inscription found in the AD&D® 1st
Edition PH, DMG, and UA.
This article is not intended to be a variant
of the official rules; it is intended to
expand, clarify, and develop what has
already been written within the
framework of the rules. Any exceptions to
this framework are clearly noted. [Notes
on how the 2nd Edition game accounts for
spell inscription are also included.]

Before discussing the process of scroll
inscription, we must first gain an
understanding of spell inscription at every
level. There are three levels of spell
inscription that a magic-user can use:

1. The magic-user can take a spell that
he both understands and has memorized,
and he can write that spell into his spell
b o o k ;

2. The magic-user can take a spell that
he does not understand and is unable to
cast for lack of understanding (e.g., a spell
of a level higher than the spell-caster can
cast), and he can place that spell in his
spell book [this is not allowed in the 2nd
Edition game]; and

3. The magic-user can take a spell he
both understands and has memorized, and
he can write it down on a scroll.
Each case is treated in detail in the
following sections.

Recording understood spells
A magic-user finds a scroll with a spell
on it, or else he finds another magic-user?s
spell book. How does he transfer a new
spell from this source into his own
personal spell book? To begin with, the
magic-user selects a new spell, then must
cast a read magic spell, as that spell is
needed to read magical writing written by
Now the magic-user must roll an
intelligence check (1st Edition Players
Handbook, page 10, Intelligence Table II,
"Chance to Know Each Listed Spell") to see
if he is able to know and understand the
spell. (Remember that a PC is only able to
know a limited number of spells of each
level if his intelligence is below 19.) If the
magic-user fails his chance to know the
spell or has already reached the maximum
number of spells he can know at that
level, proceed to the section on "Recording
unknown spells."
Assume that the magic-user made his
intelligence check and has not yet reached
the maximum number of spells he may
know at the level in question. He has also
used his read magic spell, and he has read
and understood the spell he picked; he is
now ready to record the spell into his own
book. To write the spell, the magic-user
needs an unused quill and an unopened
bottle of ink. The ink costs 100 gp per
spell level of the spell being inscribed
(Unearthed Arcana, page 79). A spell takes
one turn per spell level to inscribe into the
magic-user?s spell book. The magic-user
gathers his materials, sits down, and
eventually has a new spell in his book. (In
the 2nd Edition game, it takes 1-2 days per
spell level to inscribe a new spell into a
spell book.)

Recording unknown spells
What if the magic-user was not able to
read or understand the new spell due to
lack of intelligence or experience levels?
To place this type of spell into his spell
book, the magic-user must use the
first-level spell, write (1st Edition Players
Handbook, page 69). Most magic-users use
the write spell to record unknowable
spells into their spell books, saving these
spells for later investigation when the
magic-users increase in levels or
intelligence. Details on the process of
using a write spell are given with the spell
itself.
On page 45 of the 1st Edition DMG, the
cost of the bottle of ink for the write spell
is listed as 200-500 gp; this ink is sufficient
to inscribe 2-4 spells. An optional rule here
is to make the cost of writing down an
unknown spell (including ink and all) 100
gp per level of the spell to be entered into
the spell book. This makes the write spell
compatible with the section on spell books
in Unearthed Arcana (page 79).

Scroll inscription
Finally, we deal with the process by
which spells are placed upon scrolls. Most
details on scroll inscription are given in
the 1st Edition DMG, page 117.
An unused quill is needed to write a
spell onto a scroll. The quill must be from
some feathered creature of a magical
nature, such as a griffon, roc, harpy,
sphinx, pegasus, hippogriff, kenku, or
diakk. These quills cost 25-100 gp or more
depending upon local availability. Ink is
also required; the magic-user must either
buy the ink premade (if it is available) or
find the formula of ingredients and the

Inscription Surfaces Table

Surface	Amount	Modifications to chance of spell failure
Papyrus	2-4 gp/per sheet	+5% to chance of spell failure
Parchment	4-10 gp/per sheet	Normal chance of spell failure
Vellum	8-50 gp/per sheet	-5% to chance of spell failure

process to produce the ink himself. Each
spell has its own ink formula. DMs should
feel free to invent their own list of
ingredients and the process by which the
ink is produced (use your imagination, and
see the 1st Edition DMG, page 117, for an
example). The ink should cost 4-40 gp per
spell level to manufacture and 2-200 gp
per spell level to purchase premade. To
manufacture the ink, the magic-user needs
the assistance of an alchemist, who must
also be paid for his help. [The 2nd Edition
game does not give prices for these
required items; PCs must get them
personally or hire someone to get them.
Also, alchemists are not required for the
making of spell ink, as mages can create
the ink themselves.]

To begin, the magic-user must have all
the materials necessary for scroll-making
at hand: ink, quill, the material
components of the spell to be inscribed,
and the scroll itself. The magic-user must
select the type of surface upon which the
spell is to be transcribed (see the
Inscription Surfaces Table).

With all the necessary materials at hand,
the magic-user can prepare for spell
transcription. The preparation period
costs 100 gp per spell level and lasts one
day per spell level. This period is spent in
meditation, fasting, drawing magical runes
and symbols, readying the ink, etc. When
the preparation period ends, the
magic-user is now ready to cast the spell
and transcribe it from his spell book and
memory onto the scroll. This process takes
one hour per spell level. During the spell?s
transcription period, the magic-user enters
a trancelike state. Any interruption of his
concentration automatically results in the
failure of the transcription. To determine
if the scroll inscription is successful
(provided no interruptions are
experienced), see the section on
scroll-inscription failure on page 117 of
the 1st Edition DMG.

Additional notes
The formula for the ink needed to
transcribe a spell into a book or scroll is
written in the language of magic?a series
of magical runes and symbols. As such, a
magic-user needs a read magic spell to
read the formulas written by other
magic-users. A magic-user lower than the
7th level of experience needs a write spell
to copy down the ink formula, as if he
were copying down an unknown spell. At
and above 7th level, a magic-user can copy
ink formulas as if they were spells that he
understood.

Unearthed Arcana lists a section on spell
books that opens up a whole new can of
worms. On page 80, under the section
entitled "Casting spells directly from
books," the rules state: "In extremis, the
DM may allow a magic-user to cast a spell
directly from any sort of spell book just as
if the book were a scroll." Any enterprising
player will notice that it is easier, quicker,
and cheaper to make a new page in a spell
book than it is to create a scroll. Abiding
by this short cut, it would not be long
before magic-users ran around with
several spell books they have made for use
as scrolls. [This form of spell-casting is not
allowed in the 2nd Edition game.]
DMs should be prepared for this
twisting of rules in their own campaigns.
Some suggested ways to limit players from
overusing their PCs' spell books are:
1. Tell the players that their PCs can
each have or carry only one spell book at
a time (maybe spell books erase each other
if brought into close contact);
2. Tell the players that their PCs can?t
cast spells directly from their spell books
[essentially following the 2nd Edition ban
on this form of spell-casting];
3. Make it more expensive for the PCs to
create spell books; or
4. Increase the chance that casting a
spell from a spell book will erase other
spells found within the book or will
destroy the whole book itself.
This article can also be used by
illusionists to inscribe their scrolls. Placing
unknown spells into a spell book would
involve the creation of a spell similar in all
regards to the magic-user spell write (we'll
call this new spell write illusionist script).
The details on copying illusionist spells are
easily figured out by the DM.