There is a mayor problem for Wizards which has occured during multiple campaigns I have played over the last ten years, which doesn´t seem to have been adressed yet here.
While there are a lot of campaigns where the general storyline passes leisurely enough for a Wizard to find the time to copy several spells to his spellbook, there are those campaigns where that luxury cannot be had.
A lot of parties spend several levels running against timed events, never having the chance to catch their breaths for some days. Most classes can deal with this just fine, but a Wizard is in the unique position in the game that his potential is actively harmed by such circumstances.
If any recovered loot turns out to be several useful scrolls, the Wizard would need several days to copy them over to his spellbook. Even if he buys a few new scrolls in a town, he is dependent on the plot not suddenly getting frenetic again, because he´ll need one day per spell to copy it down into the spellbook.
I´d therefore propose that copying any number of spells into a spellbook takes only eight uninterrupted hours of work. Yeah, munchkins could potentially abuse it to write 237 spells into a book in one day, but for in-game practical reasons the *essential* function of a Wizard, which is spellcasting, should not be furthermore restricted than it already is.
A Wizards greatest strength over Sorcerers is his diversity... it should be insured that he can actually benefit from this advantage.
If you have played any 3.5, they came out with with a quill in the magic item compendium. It writes one spell either on a scroll or into a spellbook. In 3.5 it costs you xp to do it but just convert it to pathfinder and badda bing!!! no more xp used! It's a free spell added to your spellbook everyday. That should solve your problem.
You could also borrow from the traveling enchanter rules, which state that an enchanter in the midst of adventuring may reduce the time per day and stretch the enchantment out. I think it drops to 4 hours a day, doubling the days required.
Basically what I'm saying is to just require the eight hours of work and let them put in the time. Skip the uninterrupted part. Give 'em a couple hours a day during their watch or during travel breaks. The average pc has eight extra hours on an average travel day to use, let 'em use some of 'em.
If you have played any 3.5, they came out with with a quill in the magic item compendium. It writes one spell either on a scroll or into a spellbook. In 3.5 it costs you xp to do it but just convert it to pathfinder and badda bing!!! no more xp used! It's a free spell added to your spellbook everyday. That should solve your problem.
I´m addressing the time problem... and no, it doesn´t cost you XP to write a spell from a scroll into your spellbook.
You could also borrow from the traveling enchanter rules, which state that an enchanter in the midst of adventuring may reduce the time per day and stretch the enchantment out. I think it drops to 4 hours a day, doubling the days required.
Basically what I'm saying is to just require the eight hours of work and let them put in the time. Skip the uninterrupted part. Give 'em a couple hours a day during their watch or during travel breaks. The average pc has eight extra hours on an average travel day to use, let 'em use some of 'em.
Actually, the process takes 24 hours, so normally three days of work. Unless that was somehow errataed, this is excessive.
Now, with those (house?) rules you mentioned, it takes six days for a single spell to be copied... this brings us right back to where we started. Some campaigns don´t allow for so much downtime.
The Scribing Pen he was discribing does cost Xp to copy spells over, but that's just that item, normally there is no cost.
Personally I think it should be a "1 Hour per Spell Level" thing. This way it actually takes time to translate it over correctly, but at the same time it's not an all day process eating into "In game" time.
The Scribing Pen he was discribing does cost Xp to copy spells over, but that's just that item, normally there is no cost.
Personally I think it should be a "1 Hour per Spell Level" thing. This way it actually takes time to translate it over correctly, but at the same time it's not an all day process eating into "In game" time.
I agree,
I can accept that brewing a potion or scribing a scroll should take a full day, but adding a spell to one's spell book should indeed be a bit more adventurer-friendly.I love the dynamics of wizards having to rely on their spellbook and all, but it shouldn't be completely unpractical for the adventuring wizard. In hour game, we have Overland Actions (wee see a day like a round, with overland free action, overland swift actions, overland standard action etc.). Inscribing a spell in one's spellbook is an Overland Standard action, while a Full Overland Action allow 1 spell per Int bonus to be inscribed. It a quick-and-dirty rule, but it worded decently.
'findel
We are talking about spellbooks in this thread:
And I agree that wizards have a great deal with time in non-stop adventures.
Incorrect: We are talking about removing the spellbook altogether in that thread. In this thread we are talking about the length of time it takes to add a spell to a spellbook.
Different (though related) subject matter.
Besides, it's not like people have discussed related topics in more than one thread before:
Fighters Rule, Dispelling the Fighter Myth, Why I'm banning Fighters... et al.
I have to agree that it is far too time-consuming. Also, it may be too cost-intensive at lower levels. That seems to be the complaint I hear from wizards in the games I run and play in.
I totally agree with the idea of making it 1 hour per level to copy a spell into your spell book. In a previous campaign I was given permission to copy the Lesser Globe of <insert energy type> and Globe of <insert energy type> but the kicker was I only had 1 night to do it. So my solution was to plane shift to a plane where time passed much faster. For each hour on my home world a day passed in this plane. So over the course of the night I was able to get all 10 spells but not every wizard has that option.
Doug
Actually, the process takes 24 hours, so normally three days of work. Unless that was somehow errataed, this is excessive.
Now, with those (house?) rules you mentioned, it takes six days for a single spell to be copied... this brings us right back to where we started. Some campaigns don´t allow for so much downtime.
Actually, my man, I don't know where you got that, but:
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 1 hour per spell level. Cantrips
(0 levels spells) take 30 minutes to record.
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
The previous page also notes that learning said spell only takes one hour and the required spellcraft check, so this is a substantially shorter time. If this still feels prohibitive, allow the pc to break the time into one hour increments and spend it where he can.
Oh, and I originally saw those rules in a book, but don't remember where. So, yeah, they're house.