Sebastian Francis
First Post
I mean, I like it and all, but for the past 3 years it's been nagging at me. A feeling of unease, of discomfort. A feeling that something is fundamentally wrong. Then it hit me, tonight, when I was flipping through my AD&D 2e DM's Guide for nostalgia's sake.
FROM AD&D 2e DM's GUIDE:
"The first step in creating a spell scroll (not a protection scroll) is for the wizard or priest to know and be able to cast the appropriate spell--the desired spell must exist in his spell books. . . . If a wizard knows the spell, he can begin fabrication. His first step is to assemble the appropriate materials: quill, ink, and paper. These materials can't be commonplace items lest they mar the final product or be consumed by the very magical energies the wizard seeks to enscribe.
The quill used for each spell must be fresh and unused. Lingering energies of the spell just transcribed cling to the quill. If the quill were used again, these energies would flow and intermingle with later attempts, causing them to fail.
Furthermore, the pen can't be just an ordinary goose quill. It must be from a strange and magical creature, perhaps one appropriate to the nature of the spell (the feather of a cockatrice for a flesh to stone, etc.). The task of gathering the right quill can be an adventure in itself. . . .
The ink is the final consideration. . . . The ingredients could be simple--the ink of a giant squid mixed with the venom of a wyvern's sting, or the musk of a giant skunk brewed with the blood of a gorgon. They could also be complex in meaning--the tears of a crocodile and a drop of water from the bottom of the deepest ocean, or a drop of mead from the cup of King Thyas blended with the lamentations of the women from the funeral of a great hero."
--AD&D DM's GUIDE (p.85-86)
FROM D&D 3.0 DM's GUIDE:
"The character needs a supply of choice writing materials, the cost of which is subsumed in the cost for scribing the scroll--12.5 gp per level of the spell times the level of the caster. All writing implements and materials used to scribe a scroll must be fresh and unused. The character must pay the full cost for scribing each spell scroll no matter how many times she previously has scribed the same spell.
The creater must have prepared the spell to be scribed . . . and must provide any material components or focuses the spell requires. If casting the spell would reduce the caster's XP total, she pays the cost upon beginning the scroll in addition to the XP cost for making the scroll itself. Likewise, material components are consumed when she begins writing, but focuses are not. (A focus used in scribing a scroll can be reused). The act of writing . . .
[sorry, I would have typed more, but I fell asleep at this point]
--D&D 3.0 DM's GUIDE (p.245)
And that, in a nutshell, is why 3rd edition is bugging me, even after playing it for three years.
The first passage reads like a fantasy role-playing game.
The second passage reads like an accounting text book.
Siiiiiiiigggghhh . . .
[Begin Gamer Identity Crisis]
FROM AD&D 2e DM's GUIDE:
"The first step in creating a spell scroll (not a protection scroll) is for the wizard or priest to know and be able to cast the appropriate spell--the desired spell must exist in his spell books. . . . If a wizard knows the spell, he can begin fabrication. His first step is to assemble the appropriate materials: quill, ink, and paper. These materials can't be commonplace items lest they mar the final product or be consumed by the very magical energies the wizard seeks to enscribe.
The quill used for each spell must be fresh and unused. Lingering energies of the spell just transcribed cling to the quill. If the quill were used again, these energies would flow and intermingle with later attempts, causing them to fail.
Furthermore, the pen can't be just an ordinary goose quill. It must be from a strange and magical creature, perhaps one appropriate to the nature of the spell (the feather of a cockatrice for a flesh to stone, etc.). The task of gathering the right quill can be an adventure in itself. . . .
The ink is the final consideration. . . . The ingredients could be simple--the ink of a giant squid mixed with the venom of a wyvern's sting, or the musk of a giant skunk brewed with the blood of a gorgon. They could also be complex in meaning--the tears of a crocodile and a drop of water from the bottom of the deepest ocean, or a drop of mead from the cup of King Thyas blended with the lamentations of the women from the funeral of a great hero."
--AD&D DM's GUIDE (p.85-86)
FROM D&D 3.0 DM's GUIDE:
"The character needs a supply of choice writing materials, the cost of which is subsumed in the cost for scribing the scroll--12.5 gp per level of the spell times the level of the caster. All writing implements and materials used to scribe a scroll must be fresh and unused. The character must pay the full cost for scribing each spell scroll no matter how many times she previously has scribed the same spell.
The creater must have prepared the spell to be scribed . . . and must provide any material components or focuses the spell requires. If casting the spell would reduce the caster's XP total, she pays the cost upon beginning the scroll in addition to the XP cost for making the scroll itself. Likewise, material components are consumed when she begins writing, but focuses are not. (A focus used in scribing a scroll can be reused). The act of writing . . .
[sorry, I would have typed more, but I fell asleep at this point]
--D&D 3.0 DM's GUIDE (p.245)
And that, in a nutshell, is why 3rd edition is bugging me, even after playing it for three years.
The first passage reads like a fantasy role-playing game.
The second passage reads like an accounting text book.
Siiiiiiiigggghhh . . .
[Begin Gamer Identity Crisis]
Last edited:
. The old description sets a wonderful atmosphere and makes the writing of a scroll something special. It even makes my mind wander through lots of potential adventures connected to this "simple act".
