casting from a spellbook

[Aeson]

If you cast a spell from the book is it treated as a scroll? does the spell disappear from the book? where can I find the rule?

 

[Hypersmurf]

You can't; No; You can't.

-Hyp.

 

[Aeson]

that isn't very helpful.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Let me expand.

You cannot cast a spell directly from a spellbook. You must prepare the spell from the spellbook and cast it normally, using your wizard spell slots.

Since you cannot cast a spell directly from a spellbook, it won't make the spell disappear.

Since you cannot cast a spell directly from a spellbook, you won't be able to find the rule for it anywhere; it doesn't exist.

Notice that scribing a 5th level spell (say) into a spellbook costs 500gp. Scribing a scroll of a 5th level spell costs 562.5gp and 45xp, at minimum caster level. Why would any wizard ever scribe such a scroll, if he could instead write it on 5 pages of a spellbook and cast it from there instead, at lower cost?

He scribes the scroll because spellbooks don't work like that.

-Hyp.

 

[Jack Simth]

You could do that in a previous edition - 1st or 2nd, I think - but you can't in 3.5. Why? Well, under 3.5 mechanics, if you could treat a spellbook as a scroll, almost no wizard would ever actually make a scroll over maybe a 4th level spell. Why? Well, scribing into a mundane spellbook costs 100 gp per page, and a blank spellbook costs 15 gold pices. So a 9th level spell would cost 915 gp to make for casting out of the spellbook. A caster level 5, spell level 3 scroll has a market value of 375 gp. That's 187.5 gp and 15 xp to scribe, while writing it into an otherwise blank spelbook would be 315 gp, no XP (includes cost of spellbook). A caster level 7, spell level 4 scroll has a market value of 700 gp, that's 28 xp and 350 gp to scribe. Writing it into an otherwise blanke spellbook would be 415 gp, no XP (includes cost of spellbook). Is 65 gold worth more, or less, than 28 xp? A caster level 9, 5th level spell scroll is valued at 1,125 market; 562.5 gp and 45 xp to craft. A 5th level spell in an otherwise blank spellbook costs 515 gp to make.

 

[frankthedm]

If you cast a spell from the book is it treated as a scroll? does the spell disappear from the book? where can I find the rule?

1st edition DMG or Unearthed arcana had that.

Spellbooks just are not costed where that is anywhere near balanced.

The closest thing available is

When preparing spells for the day, a wizard can leave some of these spell slots open. Later during that day, she can repeat the preparation process as often as she likes, time and circumstances permitting. During these extra sessions of preparation, the wizard can fill these unused spell slots. She cannot, however, abandon a previously prepared spell to replace it with another one or fill a slot that is empty because she has cast a spell in the meantime. That sort of preparation requires a mind fresh from rest. Like the first session of the day, this preparation takes at least 15 minutes, and it takes longer if the wizard prepares more than one-quarter of her spells.

 

[Whimsical]

Behold my house rule:

Wizard spell books are actually compilations of magical scrolls. Use the scroll scribing rules for adding new spells for your spell book. You can study the spell book or any scroll to prepare a spell and cast it at your casting level, or you can cast it as a scroll (which would erase it of course). No spell book is keyed to the wizard that scribed it. The spell scribing language is universal for arcane casters; the Draconic language is derived from this arcane language. Simply add any scroll you find or add to your spell book, then make the Spellcraft check to understand it.
There is no good reason why a person couldn’t copy a spell from a nonmagical D&D spell book and have it cost so much time and money to do so. Although this rule retains the high costs of creating copies of spells, it grants you the benefit of being able to use it as a scroll in desperate situations.

 

[Jack Simth]

Wizard spell books are actually compilations of magical scrolls. Use the scroll scribing rules for adding new spells for your spell book. You can study the spell book or any scroll to prepare a spell and cast it at your casting level, or you can cast it as a scroll (which would erase it of course). No spell book is keyed to the wizard that scribed it. The spell scribing language is universal for arcane casters; the Draconic language is derived from this arcane language. Simply add any scroll you find or add to your spell book, then make the Spellcraft check to understand it.
There is no good reason why a person couldn’t copy a spell from a nonmagical D&D spell book and have it cost so much time and money to do so. Although this rule retains the high costs of creating copies of spells, it grants you the benefit of being able to use it as a scroll in desperate situations.

Hmm... makes 1st-4th level spells less expensive, gold wise, but 5th+ level spells more expensive by a fair margin.

How would this impact a Baccob's Blessed Book?

 

[Whimsical]

Hm. I haven't considered that. [Considering...]

I will probably have to change how the BBB works.

 

[Aeson]

Wizard spell books are actually compilations of magical scrolls. Use the scroll scribing rules for adding new spells for your spell book. You can study the spell book or any scroll to prepare a spell and cast it at your casting level, or you can cast it as a scroll (which would erase it of course). No spell book is keyed to the wizard that scribed it. The spell scribing language is universal for arcane casters; the Draconic language is derived from this arcane language. Simply add any scroll you find or add to your spell book, then make the Spellcraft check to understand it.
There is no good reason why a person couldn’t copy a spell from a nonmagical D&D spell book and have it cost so much time and money to do so. Although this rule retains the high costs of creating copies of spells, it grants you the benefit of being able to use it as a scroll in desperate situations.

I likes this.