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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FoxWander" data-source="post: 3142673" data-attributes="member: 1356">This post was prompted by one simple thought- why the heck is writing spells so expensive? This Order of the Stick strip, <a href="http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0306.html" target="_blank">#306, Power Word: Annoy</a> illustrates exactly what I'm talking about. Specifically the following:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Size- Every spell is one page per spell level. The simplest cantrip is one whole page, while, as illustrated in the comic, a one-word 9th level spell (power word: kill) takes up nine pages! Why does a spellbook require one-page per spell level when a scroll can hold ANY spell on ONE sheet? To make it even more ridiculous, copying a 9th level spell from a scroll into your spell book suddenly makes it use up 8 more pages!! It has to be the same info if you can copy it into your book- why all the extra pages?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Cost- 100gp per PAGE?!?! A 1st level SCROLL is only 25gp, 2nd level scrolls are 150gp.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Time- 24 hours to scribe a single spell. Same thing as above- the simplest cantrip or a ONE-WORD spell = 24 hours.</li> </ul>Why? No other core-class but Wizard has to invest so much just to perform the main function of their class. A 20th level wizard, just to have ALL the spells they can cast in one day, will have to have two spellbooks which will have cost 18,430gp and taken 40 days of scribing! (Actually it's 19,930gp and 55 days total- wizard's start with ALL the cantrips, that's 15 more than they can cast at 20th level, but they'd still be in the spellbook!) Sure a 20th level fighter will have "spent" gobs more on magic swords, armor and what not, but that goes for ANY high level character. Wizards have to spend almost 20K throughout their career just to BE a wizard!I'm sure most will agree that it's ridiculous. After all it's probably one of the most "hand-waved" away rules I've ever encountered. So why, if most DMs never even bother with it anyway, should it bother me in the first place? Because it IS ignored so often. If a rule is almost universally ignored because it's inherently stupid, shouldn't that rule just be changed? At least to something that makes more since?Here are a few of my ideas-<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Get rid of the high cost. What's so special about "spell writing" ink anyway? It's not like it's creating a magical effect. You can't cast the spell directly from the spellbook. A spellbook is just notations about HOW to cast the spell- it's the power of the wizard that supplies the magic. So why the special ink? No reason that I can think of. Normal ink off the equipment list is 8gp a bottle. That should work well enough. Sure if you want 'pretty ink' or special colors, that'll cost more, but that should be personal preference- not a requirement to scribe the spell in the first place. Heck, even requiring "masterwork ink" at 58gp a pop would be better. One vial of ink should still last you for plenty of writing. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Cut down the size. Maybe the spells size should be tied to how long it takes to cast. Afterall, if it's harder to cast it should be more complicated written down also. Say, 1 standard action or less = 1 page, 1 round to cast = 2 pages, minutes to cast = 4 pages, 1 hour or more = 10 pages. Sure it'd make figuring out the length of spellbook complicated, but why would you need to figure out how long the book is anyway- if you follow my first point you're not being charged per page anyway. But this at least would make since on a cpmlicated spell = longer spell basis. Or just use One page per spell, since you can fit it all on one page for a scroll. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> The time to scribe = 1 hour per spell level minus 1 hour per point of Intelligence bonus, to a minimum of one hour. It gives you another perk for being smart and gives you a logical system in case "scribing time" ever becomes an issue. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Allow feats or skill use to effect spellbooks... - If you don't like '1 page/spell just like a scroll' then perhaps a feat that duplicates the Geometer Prc's Book of Geometry ability- it gives you 1 page spells no matter how complicated AND only you can read them, in case you're paranoid about you're book being stolen. - Allow a spellcraft check to write your spells in code, then it's your check result + the spell's level to try and decipher it. Again, this is for the paranoid folks, or just for DMs who want to make a "DaVinci" style spellbook. - Make a craft:calligraphy check to write your spells even smaller. You can make a truly travel-sized spellbook but you might need a magnifying glass to read it.</li> </ul>These are just off the top of my head. Anybody else have anything along these lines? Do you follow all the spell scribing rules from the books in your gaming group?Sorry for ranting a bit. But I play wizards a lot, and it really bugs me how unecessarily complicated they make it. Don't get me started on the 8-hours of rest nonsense.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>

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