In what ways can a spellbook be trapped...

[nexusphere]

So far, I've come up with

explosive runes
snake sigil
secret page
(contingency?) triggered spells (such as disintegrate)
or Extra-planar summons.

Any other suggestions. . .

I need about 31. ;-p

[Remco Sommeling]

doesn't explosive runes still ruin your spellbook ?

it depends on the purpose I guess, but you might want to look at some more mundane options, first thing people will look for on a spellbook is magical traps afterall, antimagic field or dispels can void most if not all.

[Father Dale]

The various 'symbol' spells work very good at this. Set them to be activated at touch and attune the owner of the book to them so that he doesn't accidentally set them off.

[Anonymous Visitor 163 576]

Fire Trap would work, and it doesn't harm the book.

You could cast Planar Binding, and have something watch the book for a year and a day.

You could cast an invisible arcane mark on the book. Then, if it does get lost or stolen, you can divine where it is. (Yay, low-level option)

You can cast magic mouth, and have the book say things under a wide variety of circumstances.

Create a golem, and have it smash people when the magic mouth goes off.

You could capture a black pudding, and then cast permanent image to look like your spellbook, while your spellbook is disguised as something else.

You could always just rub poison all over it.

You could put the spellbook in a difficult place to get to, like inside a prismatic sphere.

You could protect it with any manner of magical traps. There's a whole section of the rules on this.

Set a contingency to wreck someone if they try to dispel your spellbook. That'll really make them mad.

[vuron]

rkraus2 wrote:

You could protect it with any manner of magical traps. There's a whole section of the rules on this.

This.

A poison needle trap on the locking clasp, contact poison on the pages of the book so that you need special precautions to use, an alarm triggered heightened destruction on anyone who touches the cover, a lethal gas trap when the book is lifted from a pedestal, etc.

Most mages are going to protect their spellbook with as much deterrent as they can possibly afford and that doesn't result in their accidental death on occasion.

[Rezdave]

nexusphere wrote:

So far, I've come up with

You forgot illusory script. Also, if it has any sort of mundane lock then it should also be arcane locked. The book might have a permanent alarm on it as well as the arcane mark suggested above. Lets you know if any idle fingers happen to fiddle with it.

HTH,

Rez

[Dilvish the Danged]

This may sound freakish, but I think that the lack of description of what a magical device trap actually is, means that it could apply to a book. (Magical device traps are a type of dungeon trap made with the Craft Wondrous Item feat). Using a touch range Alarm spell as a trigger, you could load it with the harmful spell of your choice, that would be cast on anyone but the book's maker, who touched it.

However, this may be a tough sell to your DM.

[Stereofm]

A Lock Lurker posing as the lock of the tome.

A mirror of soul trapping (small-sized) disguised as the cover.

I don't remember the details, but there was a spellbook in the FR, with a pocket dimension full of mini-dragons inside....

Hmmm ... also the biting book from Army of Darkness :)

Yummy.

[Mynameisjake]

Use shrink item to turn your spellbook into a cloth, then magic aura to remove any trace of magic (add nondetection if you're of high enough level). Then either wear it as a loincloth or hankie (no one ever takes your loincloth) , or toss it in your sock drawer.

[Michael Johnson 66]

Mynameisjake wrote:

Use shrink item to turn your spellbook into a cloth, then magic aura to remove any trace of magic (add nondetection if you're of high enough level). Then either wear it as a loincloth or hankie (no one ever takes your loincloth) , or toss it in your sock drawer.

LOL! No one ever takes your hankie or socks, either.

[Frerezar]

Become very good friend with a mimic who likes that ¨spellbook look¨ that is the rage nowadays. Make sure it is easy to spot.

[I_Use_Ref_Discretion]

How about a book where every other spell is "enhanced"...

So you open it up to page 1 and you see a level 3 spell "Sively's Precise Orb of Inferno".... which is more or less a silent, glittering black and grey fireball with a max range of about 5 feet, but it does d8's for damage.

The spell has a lot of bells and whistles, which might make it hard to precisely determine all it's characteristics on first glance. This was done on purpose to obfuscate it's true nature.

Now, you can grant the PC a check of some sort to discern that there's something "funny" about the spell, with more info gained on higher rolls..... but if he's not paying much attention: KABOOM.

Of course, PF and D&D's magic system doesn't give us the tools to fully explore this as a possibility (magic theory? spell formulae?, component aspects of the spell's inner workings?).... a limitation with the system unfortunately. I've always hated that.

[Rezdave]

I_Use_Ref_Discretion wrote:

How about a book where every other spell is "enhanced"...

So you open it up to page 1 and you see a level 3 spell "Sively's Precise Orb of Inferno"....

My Players recently defeated a powerful Enchanter who has been their nemesis for several story arcs. They took his spellbook, all his papers, his novels and journals, everything (one NPC later asked if they had even checked/taken his @$$-wiping paper, since the privy would be an ideal place to hide a secret book ... "that's just a torn up, half-used Seer's Catalogue, leave it behind while we look for the spellbook").

They're reviewing it all in DT with the help of some specialist NPCs who salvage shipwrecks and are used to this sort of thing. The spellbook they found contains several normal lower-level spells common to any wizard or that they have seen the Enchanter cast, but the higher level ones (like the confusion they are looking forward to using) are scribed incorrectly to either fail upon casting or backfire as UIRD suggests.

The real spell books are all secret paged among the romanic novels and other drivel on the bookshelf.

And yes, the fake does have a couple "protections" that can be overcome just to help with the subterfuge.

I_Use_Ref_Discretion wrote:

Of course, PF and D&D's magic system doesn't give us the tools to fully explore this as a possibility (magic theory? spell formulae?, component aspects of the spell's inner workings?)

Seems to me you're looking for a simple Spellcraft check. A wizard with no Spellcraft simply reads the magic words off the page and performs the prescribed motions and goes "Kaboom". One who has studied magic theory (aka Spellcraft) gets a DC check value to notice the problem.

Just because magic theory isn't explicit to the RW gamer doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Also, I'd argue that there is a pretty explicit in-world system of which the overarching structure can be gleaned (component systems, "schools" and so forth), even if it is not always consistent (material components sure seem arbitrary).

FWIW,

Rez

[Oliver McShade]

What about Arcane Lock ?

[Dark Arioch]

Secret Chest spell is a good place to keep it and you can always trap the heck out of the miniature and the actual chest, on top of trapping the book itself.

[William Timmins]

Two naiads, one goblet flipbook.