DMs - do you enforce spellbook rules?

[Deadguy]

I had every intent of doing it by the book when I started my Shattered World campaign. Then my Wizard-Bard PC pointed out the cost of transcribing spells into his spellbook and I choked! I have a firm opinion that Wizards should try and develop an extensive library of at least low level spells otherwise they're little different from Sorcerers except they're deficient in casting ability!

So I changed it to:
Scribing Cost = (Spell Level^2) * 10gp

This encourages the learning of low level spells whilst still making high level spells costly to transcribe. As for their acquisition in the first place, I developed some rules for the cost from various sources: Scrolls (that was the easy one), from other people's Spellbooks, and as a student of a higher level Wizard.

My Wizard-Bard is happy and I am happy, knowing that enemy Wizard's are equally benefitted.

 

[UD]

My DM dosn't enforce costs.

In my Dragonstar campaign I do.

In my FR capaign it hasn't come up yet, but spell level^2 x 10gp sounds good.

 

[DMaple]

100 gold pieces PER PAGE to put a spell into a spellbook? Spells take 2 pages per spell level, so a first level spell costs 200 gold pieces.

Is that for spells "on top" of what they gain for goin up levels?

IE: A Wizard goes from 1st to second level and therefore gains 2 1st level spells. Which would set him back 400gp.

I don't know about your campaigns but I don't think any players had 400gp in ready cash at start of 2nd level.

Get to third level and they are 800gp just to learn their new spells?

 

[Victim]

The cost is only for additional spells. The 2 free spells per level truely are free.

 

[nsruf]

Re: Re: DMs - do you enforce spellbook rules?

Is that for spells "on top" of what they gain for goin up levels?

No, the PHB explicitly states that the 2 spells a wizard gets at each level are free. Only additional spells cost time and money.

While I don't like the spellbook rules very much (the main reason being that a player whose wizard loses his spellbook might as well create a new PC) I would probably still use it - if my campaign had wizards

 

[Omegium]

The rules are a bit silly, do you know what a fortune a 1st lvl wizard has? if he has 16 int, he has 16 lvl 0 spells, thats 16 pages, plus 6 lvl 1 spells, that is 12 pages. Total: 2800 gp in spells. You could make a very good living out of killing apprentice mages. And the best: they can't even do anything back!

When I am going to dm sometimes, I might choose to say wizards can write for free (except for the normal costs of spellbooks and ink), but they don't get any free spells at lvling. And buying scrolls can be costly, so I hope it will turn out normal. And I can control the spells a player gets

 

[Shin Okada]

I am doing it "by the book". And my players do not complain about it.

Whenever they defeat a wizard, they can get his spell book. All they need to have is high Spellcraft skill rank. For example, one of their PCs, a 10th level wizard with Int 22 (20 +2 from Headband of Intellect) have Spellcraft at +19 (+13 Rank, +6 Int Bonus). Now he can always roll at least 20. That means he never fail to prepare 5th-level spells from borrowed spell book. So he have truly wide variety of spells now.

 

[Galfridus]

I run it by the books and have had no complaints. The wizard in my game brought in some extra cash by making magic items for other party members.

I hear that one of the Forgotten Realms books has a rule for "switching ownership" of other spellbooks, effectively turning it into one of your own spellbooks. I keep meaning to find that rule and review it; seems like a reasonable rule for my campaign.

 

[gamecat]

What is the point of these rules? They castrate the wizard. A sorcerer doesn't have to shell out a single copper for new spells. I let wizards write into their books for free, but I make the books a bitch (a very high one-time fee to make an arcanabula or grimoire, cause you need something to hold the magic in the writ) to buy... one of those numbers with dragonhide etc... something in the high thousands, but then the book can hold up to, say, 1500 pages, then you gotta buy another book. Works better, imho.

 

[Moon_Goddess]

The point of the rules is to castrate the wizard. Otherwise the wizard is a veritable god compared to the sorcerrer.