Alzrius
The EN World kitten
I don't recall it being obscure back in the day, or at least not that obscure, but in AD&D there's a special category of scrolls which anyone, of any class or race, can use: protection scrolls.
However, another old AD&D rule (though I believe this one is from AD&D 1E only; see page 127 of the DMG) is that any scroll that the PCs find is 5-30% likely to have its writing fade away immediately if they don't read it as soon as they acquire it. Presumably this is to help with how (page 121): "It is incumbent upon the Dungeon Master to do his utmost to convince players that a cursed scroll should be read. This is to be accomplished through duplicity, coercion and threat, etc. - i.e., any scroll not read has a chance of fading in normal air, but this can be noted by the archaic wording if read in the still dungeon atmosphere."
However, another old AD&D rule (though I believe this one is from AD&D 1E only; see page 127 of the DMG) is that any scroll that the PCs find is 5-30% likely to have its writing fade away immediately if they don't read it as soon as they acquire it. Presumably this is to help with how (page 121): "It is incumbent upon the Dungeon Master to do his utmost to convince players that a cursed scroll should be read. This is to be accomplished through duplicity, coercion and threat, etc. - i.e., any scroll not read has a chance of fading in normal air, but this can be noted by the archaic wording if read in the still dungeon atmosphere."
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