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<blockquote data-quote="GodOfCheese" data-source="post: 3396858" data-attributes="member: 19170">When a wizard copies a spell from another wizard's spellbook, is this essentially software piracy?&nbsp; I thought this situation was interesting enough to post about and see if anyone else has opinions on the subject.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, I don't want this to turn into a &quot;pirates are thieves!&quot; vs &quot;information must be free!&quot; debate if at all possible...On the one hand, there is a significant barrier to entry to CAST a spell, regardless of the cost to copy it.&nbsp; That is, you must have a spell slot for it, high enough Int, etc.&nbsp; This would suggest that spells aren't &quot;secrets&quot;.&nbsp; That you can identify the name of a spell with a Spellcraft check also suggests that spells are public knowledge-- just not that many people are able to cast them.On the other hand, Wizards who lose their spellbooks have to work hard to replace them.&nbsp; If a wizard researches a new spell and refuses to share it with others, then copying it without his permission seems like stealing to me.&nbsp; It's expensive to research a new spell, in money, xp, and time.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you could scribe Wish into a spellbook, would you erect the scroll in the town square, knowing that only the &quot;worthy&quot; would understand it?&nbsp; Or would you squirrel it away at the bottom of the sea, to protect the knowledge from misuse or ensure that you get paid for your efforts?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GodOfCheese, post: 3396858, member: 19170"] When a wizard copies a spell from another wizard's spellbook, is this essentially software piracy? I thought this situation was interesting enough to post about and see if anyone else has opinions on the subject. However, I don't want this to turn into a "pirates are thieves!" vs "information must be free!" debate if at all possible... On the one hand, there is a significant barrier to entry to CAST a spell, regardless of the cost to copy it. That is, you must have a spell slot for it, high enough Int, etc. This would suggest that spells aren't "secrets". That you can identify the name of a spell with a Spellcraft check also suggests that spells are public knowledge-- just not that many people are able to cast them. On the other hand, Wizards who lose their spellbooks have to work hard to replace them. If a wizard researches a new spell and refuses to share it with others, then copying it without his permission seems like stealing to me. It's expensive to research a new spell, in money, xp, and time. If you could scribe Wish into a spellbook, would you erect the scroll in the town square, knowing that only the "worthy" would understand it? Or would you squirrel it away at the bottom of the sea, to protect the knowledge from misuse or ensure that you get paid for your efforts? [/QUOTE]

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