Scrolls as loot.

[Lord Ben]

Okay, a 9th level scroll is about 4000gp. Does anyone give them out as low level loot on occasion? I mean a 8000gp +2 sword is a nice reward for 8th level PC's and isn't too unbalancing. But a PC having a scroll of meteor swarm might just ruin a balanced encounter.

On a similiar note do you give NPC's high level scrolls? A NPC with Mords disjunction might piss the PC's off if they're only 8th level or so.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I usually only do this if it is necessary to complete the adventure. And even at that, if it is much higher, the spellcaster may not pass the spellcraft check needed to cast it successfully.

The wizard I play in one game got a caster level 8 Fireball scroll. I had to use it when we were being overrun by goblinoids, or we would have all been killed. Easy come, easy go.

 

[Pax]

Any party getting a spellscroll of a much-higher level than they can cst, is likely to either (a) save it for a true EMERGENCY, or (b) watchthe Wizard squirrel it away fo scribing when s/he can put it n their spellbook.

 

[Crothian]

I do this relatively often. I perfer to handout one use items and items with charges then permanent magical items. It's great to listen to them trying to safe to scribe into their spellbooks later while facing a possible deadly encounter that they feel the scroll can save them from.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

I never gave it a second thought. Use the scroll, or get dead. I fried the creeps.

 

[TiQuinn]

Every now and then I like to hand out a 5th or 6th level scroll to low level characters. Sometimes they use it when they've really backed themselves into a corner. And if nothing else, it whets their appetites for when their characters can actually cast those spells.

 

[the Jester]

I virtually always roll random treasure. If I roll a high level scroll, I'll throw it in; but minor items are always 3rd level or less spell scrolls, so the pcs have to be dealing with something of decent power to find the high level stuff.

Once in a while I throw something out for kicks; the party I run just found, among other things, a minor rod of quickening (quickens 3 spells of 3rd level or less per day). They aren't that high level (around 8th on average). This kind of thing is usually a reward rather than loot.

 

[Zirnike]

Semi-random: If someone uses a scroll of M. Disjunction, do they get the chance of losing spellcasting abilities? What if a rogue cast it, they don't have any?

I tend to not use scrolls unless they're 'plot items' (look, legend lore! I wondered about this (insert weird item here)). I try to keep all the usefull ones memorized. And I amost never seem to get very high level scrolls (more than 1 level beyond me or so, I guess, and I'm dual classed). ANything I need more than one of I try to make wands of...

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Any party getting a spellscroll of a much-higher level than they can cst, is likely to either (a) save it for a true EMERGENCY, or (b) watchthe Wizard squirrel it away fo scribing when s/he can put it n their spellbook.

Damn skippy!

As general treasure, I wouldn't toss one out that was more than two levels higher, even considering the check to cast it. It would also depend on what it was. A Meateor Swarm might be a bit much, but a Teleport Without Error Shouldn't cause to much chaos.

A Gate spell could be fun...darn, can't find the evil smiely.