reference some earlier threads
Spellbook Casting Oct 2009
Spontaneous Casters using Spellbook Sep 2012
so - if this is done via homebrew, I think there should be some constraints;
1) mainly useful out of combat
2) usage in combat should have (immediate) consequences with the minimal being erasure of the spell in the book.
3) should have costs similar to scroll usage but be a bit less than half. The caster already has a copy of the spell AND creating a scroll costs half the BTB standard purchase price.
4) time issue, mainly compression from scroll writing time down to N*SplLvl(or something similar) r or 1 full round (in combat).
5) components. Clearly this is going to take components in the form of having the spell book on hand, monies spent above(material), thrown in ritual/performance moves(verbal and somatic). So withstanding a feat, they will all be Comp:V,S,M regardless of their original components.
Having a known scribed spell in written form (book, borrowed book with successful Spellcraft check to understand, scroll, but NOT a Secret Page or Illusionary Script) that the caster has on his spell list and can normally cast can attempt to cast the spell taking 5*(Spell Level + Caster Level) rounds with concentration and expending components(outlined below) treating the spell as having components V,S,M. At the end of the casting (last round of concentration) the the caster attempts a Spellcraft DC 15+spell level to cast the spell. Failing the Spellcraft check means the spell fails and the time and expended components are wasted but the spell remains inscribed in the book. The Caster Level can be from the minimal for the spell to the actual caster's level. The save DC and other factors are as per the caster's normal abilities. Known Metamagics can be applied and raise the spell level of the spell without regard to traits or feats that might lower the caster's prepared spells.
common component cost = 10*SplLvl*CstrLvl GP with Encumbrance = GP/5 lbs.
uncommon component cost = 2*common cost (precious metals{Os,Ir,Pt,Pd,Au,Ag}(lump, coin, dust or item), gem(gem, dust, or item)) plus 0.125 lb (2 oz) of common components.
Attempting to cast the spell in (Spell Level + Caster Level) rounds with concentration can be done at 2* the component cost and requires a Spellcraft DC 15+2*Spell Level. Failing the Spellcraft check means the spell fails and the time and expended components are wasted and the spell is erased from the book.
In the above example, Infernal Healing 1st could be cast from a book;
a) at CL1, taking 10r of casting with concentration, using 10GP of components (2lbs) or 20GP & 2oz(0.125GP) components, Spellcraft DC 16.
b) at CL1, taking 2r of casting with concentration, using 20GP of components (4lbs) or 40GP & 2oz(0.125GP) components, Spellcraft DC 17 with possibility of losing the scribed spell.
in comparison an NPC spellcaster would charge 10GP and is likely to be found in most settlements.
Fireball 3rd could be cast from a book;
a) at CL5, taking 40r of casting with concentration, using 150GP of components (30lbs) or 300GP & 2oz(0.125GP) components, Spellcraft DC 18.
b) at CL5, taking 8r of casting with concentration, using 300GP of components (60lbs) or 600GP & 2oz(0.125GP) components, Spellcraft DC 21 with possibility of losing the scribed spell.
NPC spellcaster 150GP (if he would do it).
price to scribe a scroll of the spell 187.50GP
in summary, Unearthed Arcana, 1E pg81
Casting Spell directly from books
In extremis, the DM may allow a magic-user to cast a spell directly from any sort of spell book just as if the book were a scroll. The book must be of the appropriate sort {magic-user, illusionist, etc}... The caster must be able to know and use the spell...
Direct casting ... destroys the spell {in the book with 02/100 erases the preceding and succeeding spell in the book and 01/100 erases all of the spells in the book}. {summary}
Unearthed Arcana from 3.5, printed 2004, has a lot of different topics on spellcasting, components etc. Probably a good read if you are thinking about special components, point spellcasting, etc.
must be pretty good method ...
Drop Dead Studios touched on it in their Spheres of Power book and a bit more in their Skybourne setting. Basically their version lets you cast any spell in a spellbook without preparation but at the cost of time and money.
Spell Level Material Cost Casting Time
0 1 gp 1 minute
1 5 gp 5 minutes
2 10 gp 10 minutes
3 25 gp 30 minutes
4 50 gp 1 hour
5 100 gp 2 hours
6 250 gp 4 hours
7 500 gp 8 hours
8 1,000 gp 1 day
9 2,500 gp 2 days
So if you want you could cast Mage Armor without Preparing it but it costs 5gp in addition to normal materials and requires 5 minutes to cast.
I haven't read Drop Dead Studios work.
The cost is way too low at the low spell level end.
essentially there are several feats to store spells(I use "cost" rather than "base price");
* NPC caster @ Price = 10*CstrLvl*SplLvl. Availability varies.
* Scribe Scroll @ Cost=12.5*CstrLvl*SplLvl taking 2hr(C<=250) else std RndUp[C/1000]d.
* Craft Wand @ Cost=375*CstrLvl*SplLvl for [50]chg taking std RndUp[C/1000]d. Prorated at [1]chg it's 7.5*CstrLvl*SplLvl. More cost efficient and doesn't provoke in combat.
so a low cost means that spellbooks, copied spellbooks, and captured spellbooks become slow to cast scrolls that are way cheaper than an equivalent scroll. Why not create copies of spellbooks and use those instead of scrolls in non-combat? When spells are cheap we hit the, "I'm casting Charm Person / Hypnotism 480 times a day" issue. I'd rather avoid all that.
lastly, the 2 day casting time is somewhat unreasonable but points the way towards rituals. A proficient caster would gain the spell twice in that time. A scroll would cost 1912.5GP and take 2 days. It's an equivalence in a way but the scroll has a long storage time for later use.
In my outline a 9th level spell at 17 cstr lvl would cost 1530GP for 306lb of components and take 130r(13min) of concentration.
Notice that I used the NPC Casting cost, so there would not be an advantage other than if you had the spell in a book and really needed it NOW or had access to components in bulk. I doubled the cost for quicker easier casting as it negates the need to look for an NPC.
You could double the casting time in my method and still be okay. I was really thinking of times charlatans or pretender's might need to cast a spell using this method (their stage hand entertaining you while they go about the actual casting) or when you need a Remove Curse or Break Enchantment. Sometimes you don't have too much time and need to do it twice.
In a similar topic, I suggested a book casting class.
If they won't invest levels in a special class, they cannot do it.
Most of these other ideas are equally balanced.
As for rituals, maybe you can suggest some here. Go to Rituals.
Azothath wrote: I haven't read Drop Dead Studios work.
The cost is way too low at the low spell level end.
essentially there are several feats to store spells(I use "cost" rather than "base price");
* NPC caster @ Price = 10*CstrLvl*SplLvl. Availability varies.
* Scribe Scroll @ Cost=12.5*CstrLvl*SplLvl taking 2hr(C<=250) else std RndUp[C/1000]d.
* Craft Wand @ Cost=375*CstrLvl*SplLvl for [50]chg taking std RndUp[C/1000]d. Prorated at [1]chg it's 7.5*CstrLvl*SplLvl. More cost efficient and doesn't provoke in combat.
so a low cost means that spellbooks, copied spellbooks, and captured spellbooks become slow to cast scrolls that are way cheaper than an equivalent scroll. Why not create copies of spellbooks and use those instead of scrolls in non-combat? When spells are cheap we hit the, "I'm casting Charm Person / Hypnotism 480 times a day" issue. I'd rather avoid all that.
lastly, the 2 day casting time is somewhat unreasonable but points the way towards rituals. A proficient caster would gain the spell twice in that time. A scroll would cost 1912.5GP and take 2 days. It's an equivalence in a way but the scroll has a long storage time for later use.
In my outline a 9th level spell at 17 cstr lvl would cost 1530GP for 306lb of components and take 130r(13min) of concentration.
Notice that I used the NPC Casting cost, so there would not be an advantage other than if you had the spell in a book and really needed it NOW or had access to components in bulk. I doubled the cost for quicker easier casting as it negates the need to look for an NPC.
You could double the casting time in my method and still be okay. I was really thinking of times charlatans or pretender's might need to cast a spell using this method (their stage hand entertaining you while they go about the actual casting) or when you need a Remove Curse or Break Enchantment. Sometimes you don't have too much time and need to do it twice.
I don't know a 5 minute casting time on a 1st level spell is fairly limiting. Nobody is going to just sit there as a guy casts a 5 minute Charm Person spell. and it's not as though the duration of the spell changes, so racking up a bunch of buff spells isn't really going to work.
and a 2 day ritual to cast Wish from scratch. I have no problem with that. A Wish spell every 13 minutes, That I would have a problem with
You are supposed to use wishes to raise the dead and up attributes(by one per wish) so casting time is pretty much irrelevant.
Greylurker wrote: Azothath wrote: ...
In my outline a 9th level spell at 17 cstr lvl would cost 1530GP for 306lb of components and take 130r(13min) of concentration.
...
...
and a 2 day ritual to cast Wish from scratch. I have no problem with that. A Wish spell every 13 minutes, That I would have a problem with I can understand that... but there were considerable other constraints on the casting in my method (even in the quoted text). Note in the original I said, "... that the caster has on his spell list and can normally cast ..." so the caster can already cast the spell in question.
I don't know the full text of the other method but I would discourage designs that allowed free usage of spells above current capabilities of the class without consequences. The given text would seem to allow that.
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