Making A 8th Level Wizard - Cost of Spells

[Olaf the Stout]

I'm creating an 8th level Wizard PC. I normally DM but I have swapped places with one of my players for a couple of sessions just to give me a break. Having never created a PC Wizard before I am a little unsure as to how many spells he can have.

I know that he gets all cantrips for free at 1st level as well as 3 + Int Bonus 1st level spells. I also know that he gets 2 free spells per level. Assuming that I takes these as the highest level spell that I can cast I get the following spells for free:

All - Cantrips
7 - 1st Level
4 - 2nd Level
4 - 3rd Level
4 - 4th Level

That's all well and good but obviously I want to have a wider range of spells than that. I know that I don't get them for free but how much do they cost? Do I just assume that I paid another wizard to copy them from his spell book and that each spell beyond the number listed above costs me 50GP x Spell Level?

Sorry if these seem like very basic questions (they are!) but I couldn't seem to find the answer in the PHB.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Sound of Azure]

Hi Olaf,

I'd ask your DM about the spell level x 50gp "fee". As DM, I'd waive the "fee", assuming that your Wizard had found various spells in his travels.

Don't forget the spell level x 100gp cost of actually scribing the spells into your spellbook. You can find this info on page 179 in your v3.5 PHB, under Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook. The high cost of scribing should be enough of a money sink, without adding in the "copy fee" above.

Note that your "free" spells you get from levelling up don't cost anything to add to the spellbook.

I'd ask your DM though. He may work something out for you.

---
Re: the amount of free spells. Your numbers are correct if you have a wizard with a 16 or 17 Intelligence (+3 bonus).

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I had missed the 100gp x Spell Level cost to write the spell into the spellbook. That is a fairly significant cost all by itself.

As for the free spells, my Wizard actually had 15 Int at 1st level.

3 + Int Bonus = 5 1st-level Spells at 1st level
2 free spell of any level at 2nd level (I have to take these as 1st-level spells as I can't cast 2nd-level spells and I already know all the Cantrips).

Total: 7 1st-level spells as a Wizard 2 with a 15 Int.

Let me know if I went wrong somewhere.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Sound of Azure]

No, you're right. I can't add up today.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

That's ok. I totally missed the section where it talked about the cost of scribing the spells into your spellbook, despite the fact that I read that exact paragraph a couple of times!

Our brains must have been affected by the long awaited appearance of rain!

Olaf the Stout

 

[Thanee]

Standard is 150gp per spell level (50gp to get a copy and 100gp for fancy inks).

Since you can also buy scrolls, you can save 25gp per spell level on 1st-level spells.

If you have the money, it's wise to invest in a Boccob's blessed book as soon as possible.

Or get the Collegiate Wizard feat (main benefit: 4 spells free per level instead of 2).

Bye
Thanee

 

[LostSoul]

Hmm, when I made an 8th-level wizard I just bought scrolls. I didn't think about copying spells from another wizard's book.

I paid all the costs and I didn't feel like it was a big deal in play. Um, but I did keep all those scrolls for use in the game. Not sure if that's legal or not.

Ah: "The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment." Whoops, looks like I screwed up.

 

[Sound of Azure]

Our brains must have been affected by the long awaited appearance of rain!

Olaf the Stout

Darn humidity.

I'm totally expecting the garden to explode into growth next week. My cats aren't very happy about the rain, though. C'est la vie...

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Standard is 150gp per spell level (50gp to get a copy and 100gp for fancy inks).

Since you can also buy scrolls, you can save 25gp per spell level on 1st-level spells.

If you have the money, it's wise to invest in a Boccob's blessed book as soon as possible.

Or get the Collegiate Wizard feat (main benefit: 4 spells free per level instead of 2).

Bye
Thanee

I just checked out Boccob's Blessed Book. That's great value. It takes a fairly big chunk of my starting wealth of 27,000gp but it certainly is a great deal in the long term.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Thanee]

Yeah, especially if you plan on learning lots of spells. It's merely 125 spell levels to break even, which is not as much as it might sound.

Bye
Thanee