Quote:
Originally Posted by irdeggman
It does not state anywhere that a wizard only knows the spells contained in his spellbook. More specifically it doesn't state that he muct record them into his spellbook in order to know them.
He knows the spells he learns.
The two free spells per level must be written into the spellbook, making this line of thinking interesting, but irrelevant for the current topic. "Each time a character attains a new wizard level, she gains two spells of her choice to add to her spellbook." So, the wizard can't learn new spells because he can't use scrolls or captured spellbooks and the two free spells must be written into the spellbook. Of course, if you let the wizard actually use scrolls and captured spellbooks, you might as well let him keep them.
It does not state they
must be written into a spell book.
SRD:
A wizard begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from her prohibited school or schools, if any; see School Specialization, below) plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the wizard has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new wizard level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new wizard level) for her spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards’ spellbooks to her own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irdeggman
If he doesn't have them written down he can't memorize them (i.e., prepare them) for casting.
True. Also, if he doesn't have them written down in his spellbook, he can't even prepare them from someone else's spellbook. "A wizard can use a borrowed spellbook to prepare a spell she already knows and has recorded in her own spellbook..."
True, but what about when a wizard has lost his spellbook or had it destroyed? He no longer has one and he can replace the spellbook as follows:
Replacing and Copying Spellbooks
A wizard can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If she already has a particular spell prepared, she can write it directly into a new book at a cost of 100 gp per page (as noted in Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, above). The process wipes the prepared spell from her mind, just as casting it would. If she does not have the spell prepared, she can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book.
Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.
Another point is in the skill description for Spellcraft.
Spellcraft DC: 15 + spell level
Task: Learn a spell from a spellbook or scroll (wizard only). No retry for that spell until you gain at least 1 rank in Spellcraft (even if you find another source to try to learn the spell from). Requires 8 hours.
Spellcraft DC: 20 + spell level
Task: Decipher a written spell (such as a scroll) without using read magic. One try per day. Requires a full round action.
Spells Copied from Another’s Spellbook or a Scroll: A wizard can also add a spell to her book whenever she encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard’s spellbook. No matter what the spell’s source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings, above). Next, she must spend a day studying the spell. At the end of the day, she must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from her specialty school. She cannot, however, learn any spells from her prohibited schools. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into her spellbook (see
Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, below). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.
If the check fails, the wizard cannot understand or copy the spell. She cannot attempt to learn or copy that spell again until she gains another rank in Spellcraft. A spell that was being copied from a scroll does not vanish from the scroll.
In most cases, wizards charge a fee for the privilege of copying spells from their spellbooks. This fee is usually equal to the spell’s level x50 gp.
Basically IMO as I read the material in total I end up with:
To learn a spell a wizard must make a decipher arcane writing check (if it is written down somewhere else). DC 20+ level of spell. This gets him a rudimentary understanding of the spell in question.
To learn the spell he must then make a spellcraft check of 15 + spell level.
He can then scribe it into his spell book and subsequently prepare it.
It is interesting though when it
Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook
Once a wizard understands a new spell, she can record it into her spellbook.
Time: The process takes 24 hours, regardless of the spell’s level.
Space in the Spellbook: A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one page. A spellbook has one hundred pages.
Materials and Costs: Materials for writing the spell cost 100 gp per page.
Note that a wizard does not have to pay these costs in time or gold for the spells she gains for free at each new level.
and
Replacing and Copying Spellbooks
A wizard can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If she already has a particular spell prepared, she can write it directly into a new book at a cost of 100 gp per page (as noted in Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, above). The process wipes the prepared spell from her mind, just as casting it would. If she does not have the spell prepared, she can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book.
Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.
Which seems confusing to me at least.
At one time the RAW says once a wizard understands a spell he can scribe it into his spellbook and on the other it says in order to scribe it into his spellbook he has to prepare it and then expend this preparation when scribing it.
But he can't prepare a spell unless he uses a spell book to do it from.
