Magic "xerox" spell?

[Mahali]

PHB 238 "Prestidigitation can create small objects, but they look crude and artificial."

I don't think you'd get legible results, neither textually nor cartographically.

Thats creation out of nothing though. Having a real pen lift itself up in the air and start writing on real paper is different.

 

[Berk]

Yep, right. But if a wizard wants to copy a spell from a different book into his own with that xerox spell, it will work. Spells in books are not magical texts AFAIK. Scrolls...ummmh, heck, not sure for them...I'd say they are magical, because a wizard needs XP and materials to create them (so it's a magic item).

That falls under the realm of magickal texts I would personally rule. Otherwise it would be very easy to copy spellbooks and all into your own and with no cost and such.

 

[vic20]

Thats creation out of nothing though. Having a real pen lift itself up in the air and start writing on real paper is different.

Granted. I'm just saying that I think that the 'finesse level' of Prestidigitation (now there's a word to slow you down when you're typing!) seems to be pretty crude in general. Cartography and Penmanship require more than Prest would allow. That's my campaign anyway. Yours may vary.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Personally, I wouldn't allow Prestidigitation to copy text, either. In Tome and Blood, there's a full page on different uses for the spell, but there's nothing similar to copying. I wouldn't allow a cantrip to do something like that, since it would seem to make professional Scribes obsolete.

 

[rhammer2]

It would not be for no cost in materials, you must provide all writing materials (paper, ink, pen). What the spell saves you is time.

That falls under the realm of magickal texts I would personally rule. Otherwise it would be very easy to copy spellbooks and all into your own and with no cost and such.

 

[isoChron]

Like Dark Dragon said: Amanuensis is the spell to go. Problem is just with maps ... no words just lines.

But Amanuensis could copy a spellbook.

1. You need to provide the magical ink (the expensive component for writing spellbooks).
2. You must adapt the spell in this particular writing of another wizard (look under Read Magic: Using a spellbook of another wizard, not that easy IIRC)
3. You must still provide the pages in your book.

Maybe it's easier to adept the whole spellbook of the (dead) wizard. Hm, but that will end up with lots of books with similar spells ... hm ...

With scrolls ... scrolls are magic. Amanuensis could only copy non-magical text. So, no scroll to scroll or scroll to book.
Bye

 

[Darklone]

A mage I had in one group used Unseen Servants to copy non magical texts. I would have allowed them to copy spellbooks too... since I always assumed the cost to write it consisted of magical ink and special paper.

 

[Chun-tzu]

A mage I had in one group used Unseen Servants to copy non magical texts. I would have allowed them to copy spellbooks too... since I always assumed the cost to write it consisted of magical ink and special paper.

That's a good idea. An Unseen Servant should be able to reproduce text, but much slower than the Amanuensis spell. Detailed maps would probably be beyond an Unseen Servant, though, as that would take some kind of Cartography check.

 

[bret]

A mage I had in one group used Unseen Servants to copy non magical texts. I would have allowed them to copy spellbooks too... since I always assumed the cost to write it consisted of magical ink and special paper.

Although I would allow an Unseen Servant to write the same sentance over and over again, I would not allow them to copy a book.

The unseen servant is mindless. It can continually repeat the same basic motions, but doesn't have the ability to adapt. I think that changing what words are written would require a new command. On the other hand, I would allow a mage to sit there and direct an unseen servant through copying a book. Unfortunately, this doesn't save the mage any time.

 

[dkilgo]

\

You could create a higher-level spell that'd allow you to quickly scribe or copy magical scrolls, but you'd have to give it an expensive material component or an xp cost to keep it balanced - if you could just cast a spell during down-time and copy magical scrolls instantly, you'd be completely circumventing the magical item creation rules.

Yeah, it might circumvent the magic item creation, but only in this particular case. As far as I can see it, anyway.