What happens to the scroll?

[TYPO5478]

What would happen to a magic scroll if dispel magic were cast upon it? Scrolls are magic items, and dispel magic "suppresses" an items magic properties for 1d4 rounds. So would the scroll go blank for 1 - 4 rounds? Could it be erased permanently? Is the writing the only "magic property" of a scroll?

If explosive runes were scribed on a magic scroll, would erase (assuming it worked) remove just the explosive runes, or both that and the scribed spell?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

What would happen to a magic scroll if dispel magic were cast upon it? Scrolls are magic items, and dispel magic "suppresses" an items magic properties for 1d4 rounds. So would the scroll go blank for 1 - 4 rounds? Could it be erased permanently? Is the writing the only "magic property" of a scroll?

It doesn't really go blank so much as just become nonmagic for a bit. Using it - or, rather, attempting to use it - just results in nothing happening.

If explosive runes were scribed on a magic scroll, would erase (assuming it worked) remove just the explosive runes, or both that and the scribed spell?

I'm not sure. I'd certainly check the "Does it work?" caster level check against both, however.

 

[Vuron]

The ability of the scroll to function as a spell completion item is temporarily surpressed however the physical properties don't change. Thus I would venture to say that in the standard campaign the scroll is a mixture of magic bound in the act of reciting the scroll. There is a physical aspect to the scroll (the parchment and the writing) which has the magic bound into it.

However I think it would be reasonable to also assume that the very writing itself is magical and during the surpression of the scroll the writing becomes blank or even garbled.

As for your second question I assume that you can in theory use the erase spell as in essence a targeted dispel on the explosive runes exclusively. I'm not sure that's technically allowed as per the rules but that would allow you to remove booby-traps on magicaland non-magical books without destroying the underlying document.

 

[Li Shenron]

What would happen to a magic scroll if dispel magic were cast upon it? Scrolls are magic items, and dispel magic "suppresses" an items magic properties for 1d4 rounds. So would the scroll go blank for 1 - 4 rounds? Could it be erased permanently? Is the writing the only "magic property" of a scroll?

You just cannot successfully activate the scroll during those rounds.

 

[Li Shenron]

If explosive runes were scribed on a magic scroll, would erase (assuming it worked) remove just the explosive runes, or both that and the scribed spell?

Two different things:

(1) a scroll of Explosive Runes (E.R. is SCRIBED on the scroll). You read it to CAST the scroll, it doesn't explode when you do so If you dispel it, you cannot use it to cast E.R. for 1d4 rounds.

(2) a scroll ONTO WHICH Explosive Runes was CAST: a successful Dispel Magic gets rid of the E.R. permanently. If the scroll is a magic scroll of another spell, I suppose that spell might be temporarily suppressed.

 

[TYPO5478]

Two different things:

(1) a scroll of Explosive Runes (E.R. is SCRIBED on the scroll). You read it to CAST the scroll, it doesn't explode when you do so If you dispel it, you cannot use it to cast E.R. for 1d4 rounds.

(2) a scroll ONTO WHICH Explosive Runes was CAST: a successful Dispel Magic gets rid of the E.R. permanently. If the scroll is a magic scroll of another spell, I suppose that spell might be temporarily suppressed.

Heh. Thanks for clarifying! I was talking about scenario 2, not 1. And I was specifically referring to the erase spell, not dispel magic in that circumstance.

 

[Li Shenron]

Heh. Thanks for clarifying! I was talking about scenario 2, not 1. And I was specifically referring to the erase spell, not dispel magic in that circumstance.

Ok! That's more difficult... Erase can work on both magical and non-magical writing. I am not completely sure whether the writing on a scroll is considered magical for this purpose (I'd say yes, but it's debatable). Anyway that only changes how you determine if erase is successful, but in any case the scroll seems to be erasable.

One problem of this scenario is that according to the SRD it's not clear if you can cast the Runes on top of another writing. Can you cast Runes on an already written page? I don't know...

Assuming you could do that, I think that probably you cannot just use Erase to target only the Runes and avoid erasing the spell in the scroll. It's complicated because you should roll 2 caster level checks, one for the Runes and one for the spell, but you actually would like to succeed in the first and fail in the second. Can you voluntarily fail the second?

Now that I notice, the Erase spell is badly written... apparently you have to target a scroll or 2 pages, but all the spells it can erase (except Sepia Snake Sigil) can be written on any object, not just scrolls and books.