Cheap Spell Book

[Beholder Bob]

I always had the scribing of a spell into a spellbook be more then the alpha/numeric values written into paper, but rather an arcane practice of literally bonding the magic to the book to the mage. You have a hard time of using another’s spellbook, a spellcraft roll being required. Spells are absurdly complex, the casting of one without the "template" provided by the spellbook would leave it beyond the ability of a wizard to do. Think of the color blind test, with multi colored dots that include a word written in a particular color. If your color blind, all you see are dots. The spellbook allows the wizard a unique color vision for the particular spell he is trying to "see". The complex arrangements required to cast magic missiles is very complex and is a little different for each wizard. The wizard uses the "template" to see through the complexity of "dots" to perceive the magic missile design. Other people have different "color" needs, so using another's spellbook can be very challenging. The design is as complex as a painting - you know the general nature of, say, Mona Lisa, but the brush strokes are beyond your ability to memorize. So to, the wizard in general understands the Mona Lisa/magic missile picture, but needs to see it to get a mental snapshot imposed in his mind.
Scrolls have the magic itself trapped in paper, not the "color template". A wizard can copy it into a spellbook because it is "naked" - nothing obscuring its nature and so require a template - because again the magic is literally in it.
A wizard with spell mastery is genius enough to actually be able to reproduce the spell, "brush stroke for brush stroke". Damn he's good.
A sorcerer is an idiot savant - he is color blind and unable to perceive the magic, but has exact reproductions stored in his head. "You dropped 253 toothpicks and this is how I cast magic missile."
Based on the above, used spell books should cost very little - translation will be a chore for any who use them. The cost is for the "spell components" for perceiving the magic clearly enough to translate it onto paper, and once placed on paper the magic is gone.

Well, that’s my interpretation.

 

[Winternight]

Actualy its 100gp per lvl now.
Spells only take 1 page per spell lvl in 3.5

There are still some of us who stick to 3.1
And if I may quote my DM:
"If anyone just indicates that there is a new version get killed.

...

And some else may play his character."

Call us cheap, but we don`t like paying 120 bucks a piece for some moderate changes.
Maybe if we start a new campaign, but not within a campaign. Or did ya converted your characters within a campaign?

But that dosn`t matter. 100 GP a page is still a lot.
And BBB you have to get. It is not on every corner. (But that`s one usefull hint - thanx for it)
I am playing a 9th level wizard an he has no magic items. Every copper he wrestled from the dead remains of his enemies has gone into his spell books.
But then I have about 80 spells to choose from.

Still I have the question: Some hast to make the ink and quill ...

Materials and Costs: Materials for writing the spell (special quills, inks, and other supplies) cost 100 gp per page.

SO has to sell it to me for 100 gp. Are there anywhere rules for it (alchemy, spellcraft, profesion(Spellbookmaker), .... )?

 

[andargor]

As it is it seems a balanced way of making a mid-high level wizards spellbook important, as losing it does cramp your style a lot, without crippling the character (as you are out 6,250gp per Boccobs rather than the 25,000 gp for a normal spellbook). Being unable to prepare any new spells for a few days is tense and fun, being forced to rebuild your spellbook from scratch for 150,000 gp is not.

Well, it's actually more than that... To scribe a spell you need either:

- A free spell acquired on levelling up;
- Another spellbook to scribe from;
- A scroll to scribe from;
- Have the spell already memorized; or
- Research the spell

So if you lose your spellbook, you are S.O.L. until you find the scrolls/spellbooks you need to reconstruct it... You'll be running around only able to cast Read Magic for quite a while I suspect...

The most cost-effective way to prevent this is make a copy, which is at half cost of the original. Or make scrolls for every spell you have at minimum caster level (although that costs you XP).

Andargor

 

[Winternight]

The most cost-effective way to prevent this is make a copy, which is at half cost of the original.

???
I started to make a back up Spellbook.
Where is that wrtten ?

 

[andargor]

???
I started to make a back up Spellbook.
Where is that wrtten ?

Don't have the PHB with me (wouldn't look good at work ). From the SRD:

Replacing and Copying Spellbooks

A wizard can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If she already has a particular spell prepared, she can write it directly into a new book at a cost of 100 gp per page (as noted in Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, above). The process wipes the prepared spell from her mind, just as casting it would. If she does not have the spell prepared, she can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book.
Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.

Andargor

EDIT: Note that Amanuensis from MoF doesn't save you money, but makes copying a hell of a lot faster.

 

[Winternight]

Don't have the PHB with me (wouldn't look good at work ). From the SRD:

EDIT: Note that Amanuensis from MoF doesn't save you money, but makes copying a hell of a lot faster.

Dammit I should really learn to read.
FAST!
DAmm.
Thanx
@Amanuensis:
I can copy Nhundret words per minute.
How may spells are that? It is nice the say I can copy spellbooks, but they don`t say how many words a spell has only how many pages.
Or am I blind aggain?

 

[andargor]

Dammit I should really learn to read.
FAST!
DAmm.
Thanx
@Amanuensis:
I can copy Nhundret words per minute.
How may spells are that? It is nice the say I can copy spellbooks, but they don`t say how many words a spell has only how many pages.
Or am I blind aggain?

Ah, yes, that is not written anywhere. We decided that 250 words is one page, and that's pretty small writing...

Andargor

 

[Winternight]

Ah, yes, that is not written anywhere. We decided that 250 words is one page, and that's pretty small writing

At least I`m not that blind.
But that explains why it is so expensive to wrote spell into a spell book. You have to write in micro script you need special quills.
ahhh.