In one of the campaigns I am participating in, mortality rates are rather high as the DM has a tendency to make very challenging adventures in an attempt to force us, as players, to use our noggins rather than our builds to successfully resolve situations. As a result, most of us tend to have back-up characters that we level up behind the scenes just in case one of our character perishes without hope for ressurection.
One of my back-up characters is an elven sorcerer who has lived for over a century and has written many volumes chronicling his discoveries and theories into the humanoid mind (he's of the Dreamspun bloodline) He is very arrogant, so also keeps up a running series of books chronicling his adventures and daily life as well. I want him to have been able to publish many of these works and also be able to sell some of his books for gold as he travels around our DM's game world (which is homebrew, not Pathfinder). One of his quirks would be to cast suggestion on bad guys or people that annoy him and have them read one of his books in a quiet corner for a few hours.
What are the rules for creating, writing, and selling books, and what determines the books quality?
Skills I have been thinking of have been Craft (books), Linguistics, Perform (Literature), and Profession (Writer/Scribe). Are any of these close to what I would need? I would think for some material my character level (and resulting experience) would give bonus's to the content of the books and as a result increase the value. Are there any concrete rules for book creation?
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I think that Profession (Writer) would be your best bet for this.
Profession is the skill you use when your just abstractly making gold and something as basic as having a few books on hand shouldn't be anything mechanically you should have to worry about in anything but in terms of encumbrance. Assume any costs are subtracted from the profits made through sales and all that washes out.
As for quality, well that all depends on how well you roll I suppose.
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I've wondered the same thing, about what skills do all those other, non-adventurer types use to do their jobs. Visual arts and literature aren't well represented in the current skill selection.
To me, Craft is about actually creating/making items, and a fairly narrow range of items per Craft skill. To me, Craft (books) would be about literally making books, i.e., binding and what not. There is no Write skill, so Craft will have to do for the more esoteric forms of creation as well. I'd go with Craft (literature), or maybe Craft (narrative) or Craft (essay) if you want to represent that he writes a specific kind of prose. [I have a bard with Craft (epic poetry). One of the Paizo folks said in a forum once that writing music could just be part of Perform, but I see the creation of and the performance of as pretty distinct. But it all depends on how simulationist you want to get.]
Profession (writer) also works. Profession (scribe) has some precedence - I think the Pathfinder Chronicler prestige class needs a few ranks of Prof (scribe), but I see scribes as folks who copy books, not write them. To me, Profession is a more encompassing skill than Craft. With Craft you can make or maybe fix something, but with Profession you can make a living and it includes all the little details needed to run a business. In my campaign, only Experts get Profession as a class skill because that's the level of dedication to a job that Profession represents.
Perform has rules for earning income based of Perform checks. You could use the same DCs for determining how good your books are. As you rise in level, you'll invest more ranks in Prof (writer) or whatever, so you modifiers will go up. You could Take 10 or Take 20 (maybe days or weeks instead of minutes). Skill Focus. Not sure what the rules are for Crafting masterwork items, but I know they're there, even for Crafting stuff that's so good it's magical (in the APG).
Seems to me there was some old 3rd party 3.0 stuff about writing books. I'll see if is can find it.
EDIT: Liber Liborium - Doesn't seem available anymore but I bet you could track it down. Or this one Ink & Quill - not only available but free!
I took a unique interest in this topic, and I just poured over a number of the rulebooks that I have at my disposal in hopes of providing a definitive answer for you. I didn't find anything.
Recently having graduated from college for Creative Writing, the idea of in-game rules that would allow me to realize in my fantasy what the real world seems entirely unable or unwilling to encourage makes this topic close to my heart. From that perspective, at least in the world we inhabit, writing isn't easily profitable. Lamentably, depressingly not profitable. *sigh*
As far as in game, the first question I would have is whether or not your GM has chosen to advance technology far enough to provide access to a printing press. If not, reproducing your character's work for anything even resembling mass publication will be a chore. If printing presses are available, the character may be able to negotiate royalties from publishing firms that would print his work in bulk and ship the product throughout the realm. The printing press gets specific mention in The Gamemastery Guide - both the benefits and downsides of including technology of that type within the game.
As for how much the book costs (and how much to subsequent royalties are), that will almost certainly have to be homebrew rules. Logic dictates that mass production = reduced cost = inexpensive books. Each individual copy is valued at significantly less when there are thousands or millions of copies available for sale.
If mass production is not an option, each individual copy will have a value determined be appropriate checks, rarity of the work, and reputation of the author. For those checks I would begin with Craft (book) or Profession (bookbinder) in order to create an attractive tome. Inevitably a "masterwork book" is going to catch the eye of potential audiences better than a stack of parchment hastily bound with twine. This would create the journal that will later house the character's words. Perhaps (if the author acts as bookbinder) he can provide a unique an noticeable signature look above and beyond a treated leather cover, gold leafing, or an attractive watermark.
After that, Profession (writer), (author), (other synonym) checks would determine the value of the work. After all, a pretty cover doesn't make the character a wordsmith. My personal experience is that revision (agonizing amounts of revision) produce a better work, so multiple unbound manuscripts that have been labored over would produce an improved final product. Finally, a Profession (scribe) check could be used to transfer the completed work (once the character has met his desired DC) to the blank pages of the book, complete with legible, flowing script.
This gives you three check results to work with. Speak with your GM about how those three numbers interact to determine the layman's value of the final piece. Craft x Profession (author) x Profession (scribe) in gp or sp, for example. Or Craft + Profession (author) + Profession (scribe) x 10 in gp/sp.
It is also possible that your GM may houserule that a well crafted work could provide a +2 equipment bonus in a Knowledge skill appropriate to the work's content, and that you have at least 5 ranks in. (I would suggest that this bonus be used only in situations where the work can be used as a reference, and most certainly not as a permanent bonus from having read the book)
In the Pathfinder Society there are instances of volumes being produced that have accumulated a decent value. The "Pathfinder Chronicles" tell the tales of various Pathfinders, accomplishing something similar to what you describe. If you want to stick to the rulebooks (this is a rules discussion forum, after all), use that in-game option to provide adventure chronicles to the society. There isn't money to be made, I don't think - but, again, there isn't that much to be made in the real world either.
If you can find it Ink & Quill is a pretty good d20 book for this.
I'd use Craft (Literature) in this case. It's unusual for a Craft skill, but Craft is really the only skill that models creating something of lasting value. In this case the particular creation is a written idea, rather than a piece of jewelry, but it has many of the same attributes:
--If it is very old, it's value may be enhanced
--If it is of exceptional quality, the crafter may become famous
--It is not unusual for the work of a given crafter to be recognized
--The crafter is likely to see payment for the object only once (no royalties unless you have a somewhat more legally advanced society than most games)
The Craft Skill even has rules for how long it takes to make an item of a given value. The only thing lacking is the DC for a book...that's too subjective to go into in a post. Once you've set a DC, however, then you figure out how valuable a book you want to write, and go to town on the crafting rolls week after week until your magnum opus is complete.
Perform is more for one-time use. When you write a book, it stays written.
Profession would be more appropriate for someone churning out anonymous pamphlets and such...the key being that while you can make a living, you are far less likely to produce something of lasting value, or that will have your name potentially attached to it.
I'd use Craft (Literature) in this case. It's unusual for a Craft skill, but Craft is really the only skill that models creating something of lasting value. In this case the particular creation is a written idea [...]
See, this is exactly the reason that I wouldn't use Craft for the content itself. An idea is intangible. It's not something that has any utility whatsoever until it is shared, in this case through an extensive document.
Many ideas never see fruition. Ideas come and go, lost to the ether due to the fact that the idea sprung from a mind without the aptitude to properly put it down. In essence, ideas resemble blueprints for larger projects, and like those blueprints ideas mean nothing unless they are executed by one who knows how to put the pieces together.
That is why I suggest Profession. An author possesses knowledge of words: an understanding of form, an advanced vocabulary, and a feel for how a story flows and breathes. The more ranks in the Profession, the deeper this understanding. The craft of plot and metaphor is significantly different from the craft of a broadsword or an amulet.
It does, however, bear resemblance to a skilled chef, or a talented lawyer. The chef constructs a dish from a breadth of experience, understanding, chemistry, and artistry. His greatest tools are technique and creativity, not hammers and steel. A chef of any reputation will provide meals beyond expectation, not simply 'better' and 'worse' versions of the same object.
A lawyer uses words, rhetoric, and charisma as much as he uses his knowledge of the law. He creates a case for or against an argument, but it is the art of conviction and persuasion (and perhaps conniving) that demonstrates talent.
I do not mean to undermine the power of the Crafts. Painting and sculpting are both Craft skills that fly in the face of my argument that the Professions are more geared towards creativity. Still, those skills are specific in their artistry because they provide a valuable item rather than a valuable idea.
A good poem can be carved into the side of a piece of driftwood, and is as valuable as it would be if it was written in gold and platinum across a slab of marble. Sure, gold and marble might fetch a prettier price, but the value of the words is unchanged.
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In one of the campaigns I am participating in, mortality rates are rather high as the DM has a tendency to make very challenging adventures in an attempt to force us, as players, to use our noggins rather than our builds to successfully resolve situations. As a result, most of us tend to have back-up characters that we level up behind the scenes just in case one of our character perishes without hope for resurrection.
One of my back-up characters is an elven sorcerer who has lived for over a century and has written many volumes chronicling his discoveries and theories into the humanoid mind (he's of the Dreamspun bloodline) He is very arrogant, so also keeps up a running series of books chronicling his adventures and daily life as well. I want him to have been able to publish many of these works and also be able to sell some of his books for gold as he travels around our DM's game world (which is homebrew, not Pathfinder). One of his quirks would be to cast suggestion on bad guys or people that annoy him and have them read one of his books in a quiet corner for a few hours.
What are the rules for creating, writing, and selling books, and what determines the books quality?
Skills I have been thinking of have been Craft (books), Linguistics, Perform (Literature), and Profession (Writer/Scribe). Are any of these close to what I would need? I would think for some material my character level (and resulting experience) would give bonus's to the content of the books and as a result increase the value. Are there any concrete rules for book creation?
well, deathcon00, i am glad you are going to start using the old noggin more in my campaigns. sorry about the near TPK last game.
keep in mind, most books are masterwork items, crafted by hand and illustrated (in the medieval sense). only the dwarves of ironhold have access to printing press technology at this point. well, the dwarves and the one of the kingdoms to the west you probably haven't been to. regardless, your books could be printed in short runs and fairly rare. most official documents are still on scrolls.
having actually taken classes and worked in jobs where i had to physically print and manufacture a book by hand, and having been a bookseller for many a year, let me suggest some things. craft (bookbinding) or craft (printing) or craft (illustration) might all be part of what is needed to physically make a book. profession (bookseller), or profession (journalist), or perform (storyteller) might also play a part. knowledges are very important skills for a writer. at this point (4th level) you are definitely your own biggest fan, and i would say that it seems to me that you'd be rather like a door to door encyclopedia salesman... with magic.
a century-old elf is a babe in the woods by elven standards. i can see where you would describe the character as arrogant. if you have had anything published it would have been self-published and rather costly.