D&D 5E Protecting Spellbooks

[Savage Wombat]

I'm placing a wizard's spellbook in my dungeon, and just noticed that there don't seem to be trap spells any more.

Explosive Runes, which has been moved under Glyph of Warding, specifically can't be placed on objects designed to be moved. Even Arcane Lock seems to make using it on a book questionable under RAW.

Does anyone have any citations from published materials about trapped objects - failing that, any suggestions about how to throw something together until the DMG comes out?

 

[ccooke]

None of my players read this forum (And if any of them do, don't read the next bit. I'll be able to tell if you do!)

[SBLOCK]
These are from my notes for the next session, where the players will be looting a fortress they've just stormed. One thing they may discover is:

Hidden compartment in the desk, DC22 to find
spellbook
Trapped (DC25 to notice. Dispel Magic to suppress, or use command word ("Beauty")). Fireball if touched, burning the book
Detect Magic, Find Familiar, Mage Armour, Shield, Unseen Servant, Misty Step, Silence, Suggestion, Counterspell, Fireball, Fly, Phantom Steed, Greater Invisibility, Ice Storm, Cone of Cold, Contact Other Plane

(The spellbook exists because it should exist in the game; they just defeated a mage who had been living here for weeks. That doesn't mean it should be easy for them to get it. It will be quite obviously arcane, and if they touch it without taking precautions that's their own problem)

[/Sblock]

 

[Tormyr]

I'm placing a wizard's spellbook in my dungeon, and just noticed that there don't seem to be trap spells any more.

Explosive Runes, which has been moved under Glyph of Warding, specifically can't be placed on objects designed to be moved. Even Arcane Lock seems to make using it on a book questionable under RAW.

Does anyone have any citations from published materials about trapped objects - failing that, any suggestions about how to throw something together until the DMG comes out?

Can you place the glyph under the book on the table?

 

[Savage Wombat]

Can you place the glyph under the book on the table?

The idea is to protect the book that the wizard carries around. If the book is supposed to stay on the table, glyph of warding works fine. But if you pick the book up it goes off.

 

[practicalm]

It seems that by forcing the symbol and glyph of warding spells, it is rewarding characters that have a home base instead of the wandering life of adventurers. I agree there should be some spell to help keep wizards from being robbed of their spell books. I'd just let glyphs of warding to be cast on a spell book instead of trying to do something more complicated.

 

[steeldragons]

I'd just let glyphs of warding to be cast on a spell book instead of trying to do something more complicated.

Bares repeating. When the obvious solution and the simple solution come together in a nice little package it seems...unnecessary to not use it.

 

[77IM]

You can cast arcane lock on a chest. Buy a small flat chest and carry around the spell book in the chest.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

A higher level mage would probably keep his book in a Leomund's Check (or whatever they call that spell in 5e). Only available if you speak the password, which they won't get if he/shes dead.

 

[Gilladian]

I see no reason a book could not have a lock upon it, very like a chest would have, if slightly daintier, that could not have Arcane Lock cast on it. It is an "entryway" equal to that of a chest lid. The problem is that a lock on a book is essentially useless. Just cut the cover away at the hinge, lift the cover off without ever undoing the lock, and you have the pages bare to your use. It ruins the book, but who cares? You can copy the spells easily.

Glyph of warding specifically says it can be cast "within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph" although the object can't be moved more than 10', so you could cast it on a book in your library and you'd be okay. Personally, I'd put the book into a big leather bag, cast the glyph on it, then pick up the bag and carry it around. As long as the book and the bag stay within 10' of each other, you're good. Nitpicky, but it should work.

 

[ExploderWizard]

For the adventuring mage, there is also the option of traveling spell books. So much chatter about having all this gold and nothing to spend it on-how about backup spell books?

Don't go crying to mamma if you fall into a pit of acid with your only spell book in your pack and thousands of gold at home doing nothing.