Spellbooks as scrolls

[Cromm10k]

Dear wise and savvy connoisseurs of the mighy rules of D&D, the following question came up some weeks ago during a gaming session:

I had the memory in the back of my head that some 3.x book says that one can use pages from a wizard's spellbook as scrolls (rip them out and cast). I checked all books available to me without any clue hinting to this rule. So did I have mixed up rules from other RPGs or (A)D&D editions or did I just miss the right book/paragraph???

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Derro]

I believe that was in the 1e DMG. The specifics are hazy but I do remember the rule.

 

[Keith Robinson]

From the FAQ:

Can a wizard cast a spell directly from his spellbook? If so what effects on the spellbook are there?

No, you cannot use a spellbook like a scroll. A spellbook contains notes for preparing a spell, but it's not a precast spell just waiting to be activated as a scroll is.

HTH

 

[Runestar]

And if you want to know why not, consider the following scenario.

A scroll costs "lv*caster-lv*25 gp".

A spell costs just 150*lv gp to copy into your spellbook.

Simple math tells you that this quickly becomes abusive for higher lv scrolls, when a 9th lv spell from your book costs just 1350gp to copy, rather than its normal market price of 3825gp.

 

[Cromm10k]

Thanks a lot guys!!!

Me thinks I just mixed things up. Our poor sorcerer will have to sell the spellbook he found...

 

[Shin Okada]

It is not a bad thing at all. Even a spell book with cantrips and few 1st-level spells give him good amount of GPs.

 

[Ydars]

To expand on scroll questions; does anyone know if the casting time of a spell on a scroll is always a standard action? e.g. what if the spell on the scroll is something like featherfall that has a normal casting time of an immediate or swift action? i.e can you cast feather fall on a scroll with a single word as an immediate action?

I can't find it anywhere in the books; I suspect it will be a standard action but this makes featherfall scrolls pretty useless.

 

[Runestar]

It is the spell's original casting time, as clarified (or rather, superseded) by rules compendium.

Whether you can get the scroll out in time however, is another matter altogether...

 

[Ydars]

Thanks for that; you are right about getting it out but I intend to have a featherfall scroll stuck to the inside of my buckler for this purpose so it is always ready. Then as long as I have a free hand I won't get smashed by a fall.

 

[green slime]

Thanks for that; you are right about getting it out but I intend to have a featherfall scroll stuck to the inside of my buckler for this purpose so it is always ready. Then as long as I have a free hand I won't get smashed by a fall.

Isn't it just easier to memorize?

The scroll will get sundered along with your buckler... and then you'll fall.