Why Not Share Spellbooks?

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've never even been able to convince a particular guy in our group to share spellbooks, even though we both often play casters.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Risk doesn't disappear because your a low-level character. As in real life, there is a risk/reward tradeoff. Sometimes characters, wizards included, will simply be risk averse.

But why would they even be suspicious? It's a mutually beneficial deal. It's not like one is offering the other a million Nigerian dollars.

 

[Rakusia]

because wizards horde power like scrooge hoards money. average wizard is at least a neutral alignment which means he wouldn't hesitate to use a bogus spell book to get free knowledge from someone for free

 

[Warbringer]

Because its a game balance mechanic first and foremost... roleplay, its trust. Maybe house rule its mechanical (since 1989 I've ruled copyinga scroll or spellbook erases he former.. who knows why)...

Put another way, why cant a fighter just copy other "fighting equipment"

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But why would they even be suspicious?

Sylar the Mage: "I'll hand you my secrets for bending reality to my will by words and finger wiggles, and you hand me yours. We'll copy everything in each and both be better off"

Deauxdeaux the Amazing: "Cool, here's mine!"

Sylar the Mage casts spell such as: *disintegrate, teleport, etc.* "LOOOOOserrr!"

Skylar will increase in power, Deauxdeaux is a sad panda.



You only have so many spells prepped, and once that book leaves your possession, that's all you have unless & until you have a backup spellbook. In that instant of transfer, you're vulnerable.

 

[Jacob Marley]

But why would they even be suspicious?

Maybe they heard stories from the wizard Spugnoir; whose spellbook was stolen? Maybe they were recently accosted by bandits on the road to Nulb? Maybe they suspect that the wizard Burne is secretly an agent of the Temple of Elemental Evil? Maybe they just got a funny feeling in the pit of their stomach that something just ain't right? Maybe... well, I can do this all night. There are hundreds of thousands of reasons why I might be suspicious of you.

It's a mutually beneficial deal.

Is it? My neighbor asks to borrow my chainsaw and, in exchange, I borrow his spreader. I head over to Home Depot to buy some fertilizer and when I return I find that he cut down the willow tree in his backyard. The willow that provided my yard with the shade that I enjoyed.

Point being: just because a deal looks beneficial doesn't mean it actually is. What one seeks to do with their new-found power/item/spell/tool matters.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Sylar the Mage: "I'll hand you my secrets for bending reality to my will by words and finger wiggles, and you hand me yours. We'll copy everything in each and both be better off"

Deauxdeaux the Amazing: "Cool, here's mine!"

Sylar the Mage casts spell such as: *disintegrate, teleport, etc.* "LOOOOOserrr!"

Skylar will increase in power, Deauxdeaux is a sad panda.



You only have so many spells prepped, and once that book leaves your possession, that's all you have unless & until you have a backup spellbook. In that instant of transfer, you're vulnerable.

But that could happen in any situation. It's the same as a fighter buying a sword: the fighter wants the sword, the blacksmith wants the money. The fighter could kill the blacksmith with the sword, but why would he? And why would the blacksmith expect him to? The deal is good for both of them.

Also, if a wizard wanted to kill another wizard and steal his spellbook, why not just cast finger of death and take it from the victim's cold dead hands?

Maybe they heard stories from the wizard Spugnoir; whose spellbook was stolen? Maybe they were recently accosted by bandits on the road to Nulb? Maybe they suspect that the wizard Burne is secretly an agent of the Temple of Elemental Evil? Maybe they just got a funny feeling in the pit of their stomach that something just ain't right? Maybe... well, I can do this all night. There are hundreds of thousands of reasons why I might be suspicious of you.

Actually, it's Spugnoir that brought up the issue. The adventure says Spugnoir just wants to learn more spells. One of my players, a Wizard, wanted the few spells Spugnoir already knew. He offered to trade spellbooks, and Spugnoir (of course) could not refuse. I then wondered why the heck any magic-user would refuse that offer, and this thread has not yet given me a satisfactory answer.

Is it? My neighbor asks to borrow my chainsaw and, in exchange, I borrow his spreader. I head over to Home Depot to buy some fertilizer and when I return I find that he cut down the willow tree in his backyard. The willow that provided my yard with the shade that I enjoyed.

Point being: just because a deal looks beneficial doesn't mean it actually is. What one seeks to do with their new-found power/item/spell/tool matters.

It's more like: I have a great recipe for apple pie. My neighbor has a great recipe for lemon meringue. If we email each other the recipes, neither of us lose something, but we both gain something. It's not like there's a bake-off that I'm going to lose now. More pies are good for everyone.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But that could happen in any situation. It's the same as a fighter buying a sword: the fighter wants the sword, the blacksmith wants the money. The fighter could kill the blacksmith with the sword, but why would he? And why would the blacksmith expect him to? The deal is good for both of them.

Why does anyone steal anything? They see the reward of doing so is worth the risk.

Why should a fighter risk killing a blacksmith over a mundane sword he can get anywhere? The reward is not worth the risk. Better to pay for it.

(Of course, if the fighter is broke, and he really needs that sword...)

Generally speaking, spells are rarer and more powerful than swords, and thus, more valuable. Higher reward for skulduggery in adding to one's arcane knowledge. Especially if one has no morals and the asking price is too high.

What price? They're exchanging spells, right?

Except not all spells are created equal. Imagine an Evoker and a Diviner going through negotiations to exchange spells. If they are both adventuring mages, they may be able to work a deal, presumably because both spellbooks will be filled with the most useful spells for each. But if one is an academician, the other may not find much worth trading for.

Hell...even between the adventuring mages, striking a deal may be tough, depending on how each values this spell or that, depending on their experiences.

Also, if a wizard wanted to kill another wizard and steal his spellbook, why not just cast finger of death and take it from the victim's cold dead hands?

1) you DO have to make sure you have the spellbook in hand or be sure of its location.

2) Sylar could have chosen that spell or a number of others- I wasn't trying to be exhaustive; he might not know that one, either.

 

[pemerton]

Maybe I'm missing something super-obvious, but is there any reason why two wizard characters wouldn't share spellbooks and copy each other's spells? Or even just look at both spellbooks every day?

Good question.

In practical terms its a game-balance issue. The attempt to layer fiction over the top of it so that it ostensibly makes sense in the gameworld has never beent that satisfactory, at least in my experience.

 

[Lwaxy]

We've had mages using each other's spellbook in some campaigns, but it created chaos for game balance. Now I usually declare a spellbook a personal magically linked item, which allows copying of a spell but not using it.