Wizards trading spells?

[CCamfield]

One of my players has asked whether it would be possible for him to find a Wizard's Guild or similar, in which he might find a wizard of similar level willing to "trade spellbooks for a day".

How would you handle this? Do you see wizards as being willing to do such a thing if they both benefit equally, or are they jealous of their knowledge?

(I don't think there will be guilds in my game per se, probably schools, but right now he could probably find another wizard in the same military regiment.)

 

[Ravellion]

I see every spell in the PHB as "common". Now, if said wizard had done his own spell research and came up with Fuldamon's Infinite Invulnarbility, he might be a bit more guarding of it. But a Dispel Magic? Sure, if he gets back a Fly or a Fireball spell, why not?

Rav

 

[Sagan Darkside]

How would you handle this?

I believe there are rules (dmg, perhaps) about trying to learn from another wizard's spellbook. IIRC- it was pretty rough.

They would be better off producing scrolls and giving the scrolls to the people they want to share with- then that person can go through the usual procedure.

Do you see wizards as being willing to do such a thing if they both benefit equally, or are they jealous of their knowledge?

It depends on the individual wizard. My last wizard would laugh in the face of any wizard who wanted to borrow his book- especially since he had researched a few of his own spells.

Perhaps if they belonged to the same organization, some wizards would be more open to such things, but if the new member came up and asked to borrow his life's work? Haha.

I always picture spellbooks as more then just recipes for spells, but personal notes/observations/journals all mixed in with ceremonies.

Just keep in mind that however your world is- under the base rules, the spellbook is the life of the wizard. It is not like he can replace it with ease or little cost. It would not be the same as a fighter lending a sword or a bard lending a lute.

SD

Edit: Oops, I was mistaken in it being harder to learn from a spellbook versus a scroll. From the SRD:

Spells Copied from Another's Spellbook or a Scroll:

A wizard can also add spells to her book whenever she encounters a new spell on a magic scroll or in another wizard's spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the character must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings, above).

Next, the wizard must spend a day studying the spell. At the end of the day, the character must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level).

A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus to the check if the new spell is from her specialty school. She cannot, however, learn any spells from her prohibited schools.

 

[Sanackranib]

spell swap

in my game this is best done by scribing out the spell that you want to trade/sell in this way the ingegrity of you own book is maintained. also as wizards are generally secretive of thier capabilities to those that they dont know it can be problematic in the best circomstances. also its about ecconomics - supply and demand. since the pc is aproaching and npc and not generally the other way around the npc will want greater compensation then what they are giving up, perhaps in the form of money or components but also in the form of a spell trade that isnt on a 1 for 1 basis, perhaps they want a spell a higher level ie: d-door for fireball, or perhaps 2 second level spells , or 1 3rd and a first also spells and money are incentive. a lot depends on who you are dealing with, how well they know you, and weither hey have had successfull (good) dealings with you in the past.
remember 2 things: spells are precious & wizards like everyone else are often greedy

 

[Hand of Evil]

In my games I have the guild, which has libraries of old spell books or at least books that tells you what libraries may hold the old spell. Magic-users carry a seal (changes every year) that they are given when they pay their annual fees.

They are then able to try to SEARCH for the spell they are looking for.

Dealing with NPCs is really dealing with chrisma, barter, and trade and how the character interacts with them. Have a house rule that allows my players to sub henchmen for contacts (people that they go to for help or they see as friends) that applies.

 

[CCamfield]

How much do you charge characters for membership in the guild, and what does it get them, aside from library access?

 

[Ravellion]

http://members.lycos.co.uk/tholestia/torgs.html

and scroll down to "Gradean Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences"

Rav

 

[JoeGKushner]

Depends on the power level of the campaign. The way 3rd edition is set up is that mages aren't hiddent little trolls used to scare people. They can be just as common as fighters and rogues. Now individual campaign mileage may vary, but even in the official settings, the most powerful characters, even in numbers, are usually mages.

Now with this theory in mind, even in a non-magic wild setting like the Scarred Lands, there are numerous ways a wizard could swap spells.

In most cases, this would be done on an individual basis.

If the wizard is part of a guild, he'd probably be able to buy some spells and trade for others and perhaps even be sent out to find others for the guild. Of course there needs to be more than just the spell swapping. Guildcraft, Tome & Blood, Path of the Magi and Q. Wizard all have some ideas on helping out here.

 

[Olive]

well the population tables in the DMG makes them somewhatless common than fighters and rogues...

The highest level rogue and fighter is determined randomly by adding d8 to the community modifier, whereas the wizard has a d4. Given the method that the overall numbers are worked out by, they should be about half as common.

edit: this was my 500th post