Value of a Spell book?

[Lord Thurham]

The characters in my campaign managed to obtain a spellbook off of a wizard. They are trying to sell it. Is there a game mechanic for figuring out the value of this spellbook.

Boy is this wizard gonna be mad! <Evil Grin>

LT

 

[Tabarnak Smokeblower]

The value of the spellbook should be the value of the spells inscribed in it, ie 100gp per page, where a spell of level X takes up 2X pages (0-level spells take 1 page).

TS

 

[andargor]

The value of the spellbook should be the value of the spells inscribed in it, ie 100gp per page, where a spell of level X takes up 2X pages (0-level spells take 1 page).

TS

Désolé mon grand, I have to differ.

Since the wizard buying it has to scribe the spells in his own spellbook before he/she can cast them (at the normal cost), the cost should reflect how rare the spells in the spellbook are.

Of course, if you use the FR rules to master a spellbook, then the value could approach the scribing cost.

Andargor

 

[jodyjohnson]

The 3.5 books give a specific value. It's 50g per pages of spells I believe. (also 50g/spell level.)

I'd have to double check.

 

[Rel]

The 3.5 books give a specific value. It's 50g per pages of spells I believe. (also 50g/spell level.)

I'd have to double check.

If there have been changes to the rules for "found" spellbooks, I'd be most interested in them. As it stands, it is nearly impossible to come to an objective conclusion of value for a found spellbook because of the "can't use 'till you copy it" rule.

In 3E, the value of a found spellbook goes something like this:

Let's say I've got a book containing some of the "secrets of the universe" in it. It has taken me years to write them down and thousands of dollars of research. Now I'll offer to sell it to you, but here's the catch: It's written in a secret language that only I can understand.

The question is what will it cost you to get at those "secrets of the universe"? The answer is a number of years and dollars exactly equal to what it took me to write it down in the first place.

So the value of such a book is strictly in how interested you are in knowing these particular "secrets of the universe".

I hate the spellbook mechanics with the all-consuming passion of a million burning suns! Well, not really. But I'm certainly not fond of them one little bit.

 

[Lord Thurham]

So, in a nut-shell, there really isn't any 3.0 "official" ruling on how one would determine the value of a spellbook that is for sale. Is it safe to say that either the game designers "forgot" to mention this or that the game designers thought they were worthless?

I could just house rule it and come up with something fair. I gotta be careful with that, cause every rogue in the realm is gonna want to steal every wizards spellbook if it's worth alot!

LT

 

[Rel]

One way you could look at it would be this:

The value to a given Wizard would be the cost of a scroll of each spell that the book contains that he doesn't already have but definately wants.

As for the thoughts of the designers, I don't know. The Wizard spell-book rules are so devoid of any actual logic that it would be almost impossible to calculate a GP value for a spellbook that would have any meaning in the usual context of the game.

 

[IndySteve]

The PH does cover preparing spells from someone else's spellbook. I believe for any particular spell, the Spellcraft DC is 15+spell level, so it can be used without copying everything out of it, it's just less efficient.

 

[bret]

Rather than basing it on the cost of a scroll, you should base it on the cost for an NPC to cast the spell.

When copying from a scroll, that uses up an expendable resource.

When copying from another spellbook, the other spellcaster has the original copy afterwards.

From an economic point of view, they are two different things.

 

[Skinwalker]

The value to a given Wizard would be the cost of a scroll of each spell that the book contains that he doesn't already have but definately wants.

Might wanna check the math on that system. Low level spells would be underpriced and high level spells would be overpriced. Remember, scrolls cost what they do because they are spell *completion* items. A spellbook is a spell *preparation* item.

It costs a wiz [3.0; not sure about 3.5] 100 gp per page to make a "backup" of a spell he already has, so I'd use this a a basis for pricing out the book. It would be reasonable to include modifiers (+10% to +100% would be my advice) for "Name" and rare or unique spells.

As to having to copy the spell before using it - - never read that rule anywhere. I did see one that said it was DC 15 + spell level to use another person's book. Also, keep in mind, if you make the book yours (e.g., prepare spells out of it over a prolonged period of time) it won't be "another person's book" forever.

Example: I acquire the 3.5 DMG. Things in it are largely familiar, but subtley different enough to cause me the occasional problem when preparing an adventure (flubbing my DC 15 + rule level check). After a while, though, the spine on my 3.5 DMG is cracked and the pages dog-eared, and I am preparing 3.5 adventures with ease.