Spell Purchasing for Wizards Created Above 1st Level

[diaglo]

That does not answer the question nor provide any insight into the problem.

<SNIP>One way or another, either you are deciding that spells copied do count against the wealth by level guidelines or they do not.

read howandwhy99's original post.

they do count in our campaign.

 

[the Jester]

In my campaign, I allow wizards above 1st level their starting complement + 2/level for free; then they must purchase scrolls and pay scribing costs for the rest. Although if you were actually adventuring for all those levels you'd gain some additional spells from spellbooks, trading with npcs, etc, I feel this is compensated for by the ability to optimize your equipment significantly.

On the other hand, I have recently started assinging equipment rather than letting pcs choose it about 2/3rds of the time.

 

[howandwhy99]

All 0-level spells,
5+ 1st
4 2nd
4 3rd
4 4th
4 5th
4 6th
2 7th

I priced out the costs using the Borrowed list. FYI, even at 13th level Boccob's book is still overpriced for what I drew up.

I believe Wizards are balanced with Sorcerors by doubling their Known Spells / Level. So, I doubled the Wizards "free" spells gained / level to find the cost.

4 0th = 400
4 1st = 600
4 2nd = 1200
4 3rd = 1800
4 4th = 2400
4 5th = 3000
4 6th = 3600
2 7th = 2100
Total = 15,100gp

I am alloted 40K. Maybe the DM will allow a 2/3rds or 3/4's ruling based on wealth costs in the game?

A Boccob's Blessed Book still is not cost effective. But it is close.

4 0th = 0
4 1st = 200
4 2nd = 400
4 3rd = 600
4 4th = 800
4 5th = 1000
4 6th = 1200
2 7th = 700
+ Blessed Book = 12,500
Total = 17,400gp

EDIT: I'm leavin' on a jetplane. See ya' later.
EDIT2: (I'm back) I made a mistake on the original purchase table. Plus I added the Blessed Book comparison.

 

[frankthedm]

Buy a used spell book and sell it one you are done copying?

It looks like WOTC computed the borrow costs based on whatyou pay to buy, copy and resell.

Selling a Spellbook

Captured spellbooks can be sold for a gp amount equal to one-half the cost of purchasing and inscribing the spells within (that is, one-half of 100 gp per page of spells). A spellbook entirely filled with spells (that is, with one hundred pages of spells inscribed in it) is worth 5,000 gp.

 

[Plane Sailing]

In my campaign (and the campaigns I play in) you gain additional spells by purchasing scrolls, so the 13th level wizard can spend a proportion of his starting gold on scrolls if he wishes.

Cheers

 

[diaglo]

In my campaign (and the campaigns I play in) you gain additional spells by purchasing scrolls, so the 13th level wizard can spend a proportion of his starting gold on scrolls if he wishes.

Cheers

for this campaign (low magic) the DM, Olgar Shiverstone is giving us 40000gp at 13th lvl.

in the What to do, What to do thread you can see some background.

 

[Patlin]

In my campaign (and the campaigns I play in) you gain additional spells by purchasing scrolls, so the 13th level wizard can spend a proportion of his starting gold on scrolls if he wishes.

You never fight an enemy wizard and take his spellbook as loot? You never crib notes from a fellow party member? Still pretty restrictive even if all you mean is that no NPCs will willingly trade spells, but hopefully at least these two things are legal...

 

[Cabral]

You never fight an enemy wizard and take his spellbook as loot? You never crib notes from a fellow party member? Still pretty restrictive even if all you mean is that no NPCs will willingly trade spells, but hopefully at least these two things are legal...

What? You never fight an enemy fighter and take his wepaons as loot?

It doesn't matter how you got it, the wealth guidelines above 1st level represent how much your gear should be worth.

Even if your GM rules that all spells are freely available from some source, that's still 100 gp per level to actually put it into your spellbook.

 

[Thanee]

Precisely. When you create characters above 1st level, you completely disregard how equipment might be obtained. You always pay the cost in gold (which does not mean you bought it... see the gold more as resource points at this stage).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Patlin]

While your position makes sense, Cabral, the fighter in your example can either keep the sword or sell it. The wizard can do both. He can scribe the spell and then sell the spellbook, with no reduction in the spellbooks value.

That's why I'm suggesting the cost to gain access to the spell ought to be discounted somewhat when starting a higher level character. I acknowledged this would be a house rule, but it seems reasonable and probably a better solution than that suggested above -- play a sorceror rather than a wizard for games starting at more advanced levels.

Also note that the line you quoted was in response to a suggestion that any added spells must be purchased as scrolls. I was seeking clarification of that statement, as it is highly restrictive and not in accordance with the suggested fee in the PHB for gaining access to a spell from anothers spellbook. It also wasn't clear to me whether plane sailing was saying that this was his group's rule for starting characters above first level, or if it was a more general statement as to how his group allows spells to be acquired in actual play. I was under the impression PS was also suggesting a house rule aproach, one which is at least as coservative as my suggestion was liberal, and I was hoping to ellicit some discussion as to why he preferred to limit wizards in this manner.