Can a Wizard prepare a spell from a scroll?

[The Crusader]

Let's assume all of the standard stuff:

Class spell. Not a prohibited school. Spell level that you can cast. Available slot.

Could you do it?

[Weables]

No.

Quote:

He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook

The direct rule isn't there, because its something that's been understood from every previous edition, but the text I quoted is from the Wizard spells class feature, and implies it must come from his book.

[HangarFlying]

No, but it's a cool concept that might make an interesting archetype.

[daimaru]

You can copy a spell into your spellbook. In fact, I would interpret all of the rules for copying a spell from a scroll to a spellbook as more evidence that you can't just study the scroll and avoid using the spellbook.

A wizard can also add a spell to his book whenever he encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard's spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings). Next, he must spend 1 hour studying the spell. At the end of the hour, he must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from his specialty school. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into his spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.

Once a wizard understands a new spell, he can record it into his spellbook.

Time: The process takes 1 hour per spell level. Cantrips (0 levels spells) take 30 minutes to record.

Spell Writing Spell Writing
Level Cost Level Cost
0 5 gp 5 250 gp
1 10 gp 6 360 gp
2 40 gp 7 490 gp
3 90 gp 8 640 gp
4 160 gp 9 810 gp

[The Crusader]

Interesting. What you are saying is almost exactly the reason I would have thought you could do this.

You can copy a spell from a spellbook - or - from a scroll.

You can prepare a spell from a spellbook - or - .....

They seem to work almost identically, except that the scroll is consumed. I'm not suggesting that you should be able to use a scroll as a single page spellbook. The scroll would be consumed when you prepared the spell.

[HangarFlying]

The Crusader wrote:

Interesting. What you are saying is almost exactly the reason I would have thought you could do this.

You can copy a spell from a spellbook - or - from a scroll.

You can prepare a spell from a spellbook - or - .....

They seem to work almost identically, except that the scroll is consumed. I'm not suggesting that you should be able to use a scroll as a single page spellbook. The scroll would be consumed when you prepared the spell.

There is no need to prepare a spell slot from a scroll because you can just cast it from the scroll.

[OldSkoolRPG]

The Crusader wrote:

Interesting. What you are saying is almost exactly the reason I would have thought you could do this.

You can copy a spell from a spellbook - or - from a scroll.

You can prepare a spell from a spellbook - or - .....

They seem to work almost identically, except that the scroll is consumed. I'm not suggesting that you should be able to use a scroll as a single page spellbook. The scroll would be consumed when you prepared the spell.

The rules explicitly require a spellbook

PRD wrote:

Spellbooks

A wizard must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook, except for read magic, which all wizards can prepare from memory.

[fictionfan]

Well you might want to use your own caster level.

[Rub-Eta]

A DM may rule it like you can. As per RAW, no. As a DM I would allow it if you succeed at the relevant decipher DCs, and the scroll would be spent.

[The Crusader]

HangarFlying wrote:

The Crusader wrote:

Interesting. What you are saying is almost exactly the reason I would have thought you could do this.

You can copy a spell from a spellbook - or - from a scroll.

You can prepare a spell from a spellbook - or - .....

They seem to work almost identically, except that the scroll is consumed. I'm not suggesting that you should be able to use a scroll as a single page spellbook. The scroll would be consumed when you prepared the spell.

There is no need to prepare a spell slot from a scroll because you can just cast it from the scroll.

Yeah, it would be situational. But, I can think of a few instances where a prepared spell is truly superior. Caster Level, save DC's, and of course metamagic feats completely change the ballgame, too.

[Gilarius]

I seem to remember a rule (which might have been a house rule) where a spellbook could be used to cast a spell, exactly as if it were a scroll. This would erase the spell, but might be useful in an emergency. And a spellbook could be made out of deciphered scrolls without copying them.
This would been from 1st edition and my memory is (increasingly) faulty.
Using that rule would mean you still have the Scroll after using it for memorisation.

In Pathfinder, I'd allow the original idea but wipe the scroll. However by RAW, it doesn't work.

[Karcinal Eschatar]

With the current system, it would be wise to not allow preparing spells from scrolls.

An arcanist can prepare any spell that a wizard can, but can then cast it like a sorcerer without expending it. This means an arcanist can't fail at copying a spell from a scroll to a spellbook.

The fact that spells on scrolls always take up a foot of scroll length also distinguishes their nature from spells in spellbooks, which require a minimum of one page per spell level.

[JDLPF]

A wizard can certainly prepare a spell from a scroll, but he must have several scrolls and some glue first.

[Klorox]

Problem of course is that even if it were to be allowed (basic answer is still NO!), that much study would destroy/wipe off the scroll...
oh, and sorry for the thread necro