Spell book less wizard

I am in an aquatic campaign (skulls and shackles) and I was thinking about the possibilities of playing wizard. The problem is that pesky spell book and water. Is there any way around this Feat, Trait, PrC, etc...

Thank you,
-Hexen

I'm not aware of anything official to help you with. However, I happen to run a stone age campaign, in which I've introduced an archetype for the oral tradition wizard (remembering spells as stories, rather than writing them down);

Talespinner

Maybe you can use it as a basis to homebrew something with your GM? I can imagine a storyteller-wizard fitting in among bored pirates...

Have each page be thin sheets of metal, and the writing is braille.

Prestidigitation can be used to dry up the book if it gets wet. Also, a Blessed Book should help, but it's quite expensive.

There's a waterproof bag in UE, but it's only good for 10 rounds underwater. Not perfect. You could have something like a scroll box, but big enough for your book. They're described as watertight.

I have heard of Wiz using tattoos as their spell book, or similar ideas.

Unless you want every one of your feats to be Spell Mastery, not really.

I'd suggest making a wizard-like witch. The Bonded Witch archetype is pretty interesting for half-elves since you get a bonded item instead of a regular familiar. Otherwise, there are quite a few familiars with swim speeds.

I have heard of Wiz using tattoos as their spell book, or similar ideas.

There's an archetype for that in this book. 3PP.

Jack Rift wrote:

I have heard of Wiz using tattoos as their spell book, or similar ideas.

There's an archetype for that in this book. 3PP.

Invest in the Cypher Script feat. Sucks to run out of room for new spells at high level :p

The exact nature of the spellbook is highly mutable. The suggestion for metal pages works well, as does any waterproof medium. Lots of creative alternatives, such as using wood that has been alchemically treated to resist water damage, or etched crystals that need to have Light cast through them like a projector to see the notes (might be a bit distorted by the water, however)?

Maybe it was in 3.5 complete magic? Don't remember.

There was a feat or alternate class feature called "eidetic memory" or something in Dragon a while back that let you keep your spellbooks in your head, instead of written down. I always allow it as an alternative arcane bond.

There was a feat or alternate class feature called "eidetic memory" or something in Dragon a while back that let you keep your spellbooks in your head, instead of written down. I always allow it as an alternative arcane bond.

That's an interesting idea.

You could get a Selu'kirra (elven lore gem) from the Forgotten Realms. They were used as spellbooks.

Note that there are no rules for how fast a spellbook is destroyed if it comes into contact with water, and that a DM might very well say that the special inks make it waterproof. Regardless of how it's treated it's an area not covered by the rules.

Also note that spellbooks are normally made from parchment, which reacts to water quite differently than paper does. Now, I'm not an expert, but from I've understood it very easily buckles when becoming humid, but doesn't as easily tear or lose color. Due to this, parchment books are usually covered in wood and strapped tight, so they can't buckle even if humidity changes.

A closed and strapped book would not be destroyed by simply dropping it into water - it could probably be underwater for a full minute and if just allowed to dry in peace be fully functional afterwards.

So if you store it in a waterproof bag, and try not to swim underwaters for TOO long with it (or use several waterproof bags in each other for those occacions), you should probably be fine.

You could of course reflavor the spellbook into something else as mentioned above, or you could ask the DM if you could invent a new spell for it. Personally, I think keeping the spellbook dry could be a fun challenge in and of itself, and if you end up as the wizard that invented a waterproof spell, that itself could be fun.

If you look through the Variant rules for spellbooks, you can see rules for using metal pages or other materials that are resistant to water. Additionally, a "superior box" is completely waterproof when locked, allowing you to use weaker page materials.

For example, you may use linen pages for the increased durability and place it in a superior locked box when not in use. This will not cost very much, as using linen pages is only 25gp and the superior box is 200gp.

Cheers!

You could get a Selu'kirra (elven lore gem) from the Forgotten Realms. They were used as spellbooks.

I constantly used those in 3.5. So much more convenient.

Spell mastery feat

And
Magaambyan arcanists Prc

The exact nature of the spellbook is highly mutable. The suggestion for metal pages works well, as does any waterproof medium. Lots of creative alternatives, such as using wood that has been alchemically treated to resist water damage, or etched crystals that need to have Light cast through them like a projector to see the notes (might be a bit distorted by the water, however)?

High quality linen/cotten blend + waterproof ink.

Your already paying a small fortune in materials, why use less than the best. Consider: how well does a dollar bill stand up to water?

Ask for Book Ward spell as a magic item tome.

I allow wizards to take a spell as mastered as a favored class bonus with no ill effects yet

Back in the day...

...the term "spellbook" was something of a misnomer, as one could have spells recorded in a broad variety of ways. Knotted cords, coded by type of knot and color of cord, being the prime example which springs to mind for an aquatic campaign. Spell preparation looks more like cat's cradle than studying...

I am in an aquatic campaign (skulls and shackles) and I was thinking about the possibilities of playing wizard. The problem is that pesky spell book and water. Is there any way around this Feat, Trait, PrC, etc...

I really shouldn't be sharing a wizard's secrets with you, but you're an elf, and elves have their own ways of doing things. For the moment I'll assume you're on a mission of Good, and not up to some malfeasance.

- Consider waterproofing for the time being. Coating the pages in paraffin (melted wax) is a good start. It will take some time and care to do this. Of course, there's nothing wrong with making a copy of your spellbook first, and stashing it with someone whom you trust. (Fun Fact: this is the primary reason why wizards eventually go crazy and build dungeons stocked with owlbears: to prevent theft of their spellbooks). Wax-coated paper is a bit harder to read, but will repel water, and what are you doing reading under water anyway?

- Consider making a "completely waterproof spellbook" by using sheets of copper. Acid etching and careful tooling will make a lightweight and perfectly readable spellbook. Beware of rust monsters and sharp edges too.

- Ever notice how magic items are usually in fine condition when you find them? Those enchantments stave off entropy, at least to a small degree. Cast Sepia Snake Sigil or Secret Page in your spellbook and Wala! Your spellbook is now magical and has a saving throw of 2+ half your level if left unattended (but of course it always uses your saving throw if attended).

Why has no one mentioned Book ward lasts a day per level and protects against all sorts of stuff including water. The Variant rules for spellbooks are also a good idea glad someone mentioned it.

edit: never mind someone did.

Since I'm having the same problem with my Magus in that same Campaign, I came up with the idea to do a stitched spellbook, inspired by this:
Google Result

Cloth and thread are usually not concerned with waterproofness, and to me a paperbook is as sensitive to fire as cloth would be.

Right now I'm considering developing a Spell that would function as a stitching machine to avoid putting loads of ranks in craft(sowing) 8-)

Since Warp Wood is 2nd level and Erase is 1st level and Arcane Mark is a cantrip, I'd say 1st level is where I'd set the spell-level for such a spell to develop? My DM insists on stitching book taking loads longer then writing them... unless I learn this as a crafting skill. :-(

Has anyone by chance already developed such a spell? How would you write it?

Is there anything the rules that would forbid the use of stitching for a spellbook?
How would you calculate costs for such a book?

Vellum pages are waterproof.
You would need a special ink though that doesn't run when soaked in water. But I'm sure some of the aquatic races have invented something like this which would be available in large coastal cities.

I had a dwarf wizard use stone spell books, and I cast unseen servant every day to carry them for me. :p

Back in the days of the three little white books in a box, the Wizards would tattoo their pages onto fresh skins. Engraved plates might also work.

My DM and me settled for linen cloth "spellbook" with a price of 20 gp per 50 pages... and instead of magic inks and stuff I'd buy magic twine and needle...

Sounds fair to me. :-)

I think an obvious solution has been found. Make pages out of something unaffected by water and just use arcane mark to make all of the pages.

Except that isn't how Arcane Mark works...

This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. The writing can be visible or invisible. An arcane mark spell enables you to etch the rune upon any substance without harm to the material upon which it is placed. If an invisible mark is made, a detect magic spell causes it to glow and be visible, though not necessarily understandable.

Its used to basically sign your name and that's it.

Except that isn't how Arcane Mark works...

Quote:

This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. The writing can be visible or invisible. An arcane mark spell enables you to etch the rune upon any substance without harm to the material upon which it is placed. If an invisible mark is made, a detect magic spell causes it to glow and be visible, though not necessarily understandable.

Its used to basically sign your name and that's it.

You could research a new spell that has the effect you're looking for. Shouldn't be hard. Cantrip at best.

Does Arcane Mark have a limit on how small the mark is? No, it doesn't, only a limit on the maximum size.

So suppose your personal glyph is a simple dot. Also known as a pixel...

Really. The built-in limits on AM are easy enough to circumvent. You could even just write in binary, treating an AM as '1' and an empty space as '0'.

Does Arcane Mark have a limit on how small the mark is? No, it doesn't, only a limit on the maximum size.

So suppose your personal glyph is a simple dot. Also known as a pixel...

Really. The built-in limits on AM are easy enough to circumvent. You could even just write in binary, treating an AM as '1' and an empty space as '0'.

Though you COULD do that it would take forever. You still have to cast the spell including the verbal and somatic component. It's a standard action and thus takes approximately 6 seconds per casting. Granted, once you wrote it once you would (theoretically) never have to write the spell again, but still a major chore.

On a related topic you still have to use special expensive inks somehow to scribe your spells thus accounting for the scribing costs notated under the magical writings section of the magic chapter.

Sounds exhausting. I'd spend a week and rework an easy spell for my own uses. That's just me though. As an added bonus you could use the new spell for magical graffiti

I think an obvious solution has been found. Make pages out of something unaffected by water and just use arcane mark to make all of the pages.

Magic is special and mysterious you shouldn't expect a novice to fix something archmagi have not solved. By not using the ink you lose the essence, color, taste, smell, and texture of the spell book.

The idea could work fine in some campaigns, but a sorcerer sounds better if you are worried.

Does Arcane Mark have a limit on how small the mark is? No, it doesn't, only a limit on the maximum size.

So suppose your personal glyph is a simple dot. Also known as a pixel...

Really. The built-in limits on AM are easy enough to circumvent. You could even just write in binary, treating an AM as '1' and an empty space as '0'.

Wait, you're trying to abuse the RAW to use arcane mark to write in your spellbook, while the RAW explicitly states the rules for copying a spell into a spellbook (hint: it constitutes more than writing)?

If you're going to beg your DM for a houserule and the next second rules-lawyer her, you might see yourself without the houserule in short notice.

My DM and me settled for linen cloth "spellbook" with a price of 20 gp per 50 pages... and instead of magic inks and stuff I'd buy magic twine and needle...

Sounds fair to me. :-)

I suppose needlepoint could also be used to add spell formulae to your clothing, especially items like robes and cloaks. Wizard robes covered in arcane symbols are pretty commonplace in fantasy art - so why not give that a practical use.

Ascalaphus wrote:

Does Arcane Mark have a limit on how small the mark is? No, it doesn't, only a limit on the maximum size.

So suppose your personal glyph is a simple dot. Also known as a pixel...

Really. The built-in limits on AM are easy enough to circumvent. You could even just write in binary, treating an AM as '1' and an empty space as '0'.

Wait, you're trying to abuse the RAW to use arcane mark to write in your spellbook, while the RAW explicitly states the rules for copying a spell into a spellbook (hint: it constitutes more than writing)?

If you're going to beg your DM for a houserule and the next second rules-lawyer her, you might see yourself without the houserule in short notice.

Just what exactly is involved in scribing spells is left deliberately vague; the only things we know is how many pages it uses, how expensive it is, and how long it takes. The only way we have to be certain that it doesn't involve AM is because you don't need to have AM prepared to do it. But it's entirely possible that is uses the same principles as AM.

So suppose you say that scribing spells with AM requires special material components of the same cost as classical scribing. Or maybe you just spend that much money on coffee; as long as you spend money to record spells.

Scribing takes an hour per page; "dotting" it in with AM takes a while but if you have a clever AM->character encoding scheme, you might say that the difference is a wash, and AM-scribing takes approximately the same time as classical scribing.

Now, is this really all that abusive? You've gained text that's a bit more durable than ink (without houseruling anything about the supposed special durability of spellbook ink), but you had to have a cantrip prepared to do so, somewhat limiting you in the number of cantrip slots remaining.

---

Anyway, my point is mostly that the 6-character limit on AM is just a poor idea. There's enough ways to encode any text you want using only a single symbol that you can print sideways, upside down and so forth, so the limit is a fake limit.

Supposing my AM is an arrow. I can cast the spell to point it in 8 different compass directions without sacrificing any visual clarity; now I've got 8 different symbols in my alphabet. That's quite enough to write a text.

While AM-scribing isn't fast, it isn't all that slow compared to classical medieval writing either; there's no fiddling around with pens that need to be re-sharpened or replaced, ink that needs to dry to avoid smudging and all that.

As an addendum: I see no rule forbidding superimposing multiple AMs on each other. So if you had the arrow, and use 8 compass directions, there's actually 2^8=256 possible combinations (including empty space), which seems quite a large enough alphabet for most purposes.

Could you not just wrap up your book in oil cloth? Then leather, then more oil cloth?
Only need to pull it out when studying...
I'm playing same module, and so far it has not been an issue.

I am amazed no one has recommended Book Ward.

Edit: Gah, how did I miss that? Someone did mention it earlier in the thread.