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Salbazier
2010-12-27, 11:55 PM
What kind of security measures a wizard can implement to keep others from reading his spellbook and steal his spells? Maybe there is some kind of wondrous item that helps? So far I only thought of book with Arcane Lock-ed lock and using explosive runes. The former can be dispelled while the latter end up with the wizard losing his own spellbook as well.

ExtravagantEvil
2010-12-28, 12:21 AM
I believe that Complete Arcane has a set of rules for exactly this, a set of price guides for improving your spell book with defenses and traps, ranging from metal pages, to fire erupting from it if you don't say the magic password to open the thing.

Theodoriph
2010-12-28, 12:25 AM
Before you go through all that, I'd talk to your GM and ask him if he's going to be an asshat about trying to separate you from your spellbook (Don't phrase it like that!). If the answer is no, no need to protect it.

Coidzor
2010-12-28, 12:25 AM
Have two spellbooks. 1 is decoy book, this is the one you actually carry around with you. The other is subject to a permancied shrink item spell. This one is held by your familiar. You then put your familiar into a dimensional pocket with the familiar token spell. Though I can't recall the source on that spell offhand....x.x

Alternatively, if you're a necromancer, have it inside one of your permanent undead minions. Or a construct. Or a hauntshifted(libris mortis, 5th level sorc/wiz & cleric spell) undead powering a construct.

Edit: And guess what you do with your free spells and your decoy spellbook during downtime? If you guessed Explosive Runes out the wazoo, then you're right. :smallbiggrin:

Salbazier
2010-12-28, 12:33 AM
Hmm, I'll check CArc again later.

@Theodoriph
This is just mind excercise. I usually don't bother either but wizards tend to be described as jealously guarding their spell knowledge aren't they? Just curious what kind of measures they may used. Besides, its not only for players. Putting some traps in the defeated evil wizard's spellbook can be interesting. Especially if said spellbook contain some BBEG-researched secret spell that important to the plot.

Tvtyrant
2010-12-28, 12:46 AM
The simply one would be to be a Geometer and put Glyphs on it.

JeminiZero
2010-12-28, 12:59 AM
I believe that Complete Arcane has a set of rules for exactly this, a set of price guides for improving your spell book with defenses and traps, ranging from metal pages, to fire erupting from it if you don't say the magic password to open the thing.

Complete Arcane also has rules for Tattoo Spell pages, which is exactly what it says on the tin. Unfortunately, the human(oid) body only has so much writing space.

Its perhaps the ultimate security for those spells that you do tattoo, since nothing short of death/dismemberment will seperate you from those spell. And nothing less than capture and imprisonment will give the BBEG access to those spells. And even if that does occur, it still provides a strong disincentive, as it means he has to spend hours or even days staring at a naked wrinkly old man.

Coidzor
2010-12-28, 01:03 AM
Its perhaps the ultimate security for those spells that you do tattoo, since nothing short of death/dismemberment will seperate you from those spell. And nothing less than capture and imprisonment will give the BBEG access to those spells. And even if that does occur, it still provides a strong disincentive, as it means he has to spend hours or even days staring at a naked wrinkly old man.

Or several experts on retainer with Profession: Flayer maxed out. :smallamused: But that gets rather squicky fast.

Theodoriph
2010-12-28, 01:12 AM
Or several experts on retainer with Profession: Flayer maxed out. :smallamused: But that gets rather squicky fast.

Or maybe Survival...I mean if you know how to skin various animals, why can't you skin a human after you kill them. :P

...

Or Profession [Dressmaking]

It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again. ;)

Talkkno
2010-12-28, 01:27 AM
There is a spellshard that stores your spells in a smallish dragonshard, so that would help. (ECS)

tiercel
2010-12-28, 02:41 AM
One simple layer of security, of course, is to have more than one copy of a spellbook. Partly it depends on your goal -- whether it is primarily to prevent others from reading/learning your spells, or primarily to prevent losing access to your own spells.

How complete your "backup" spellbook(s) are depends on your funds (and how securely you can hide your backups), but having at least your primary spell list backed up gives you a fallback position if your primary security measures fail.

As mentioned, decoys are a good addition -- you can be much more destructive in trapping a decoy book than a real spellbook, if you are worried about protecting or recovering your book. (Unless you are more worried about *punishing* someone who takes your book without you being able to retrieve it in any case.) If nothing else, more books means more total traps you can place (and more stuff that a would-be thief has to take, to successfully take your spellbook).

Another part of your defense is obfuscation -- using both illusions and mundane disguises to keep your spellbook from looking like a spellbook. Secret page is an obvious candidate. Will a thief steal every book, or anything that might be a book or could possibly serve as a book, to try to get your spellbook? Especially when there are a whole pile of random books, which may or may not be glowing with magical auras (some courtesy of Nystul)?

ericgrau
2010-12-28, 02:54 AM
Before you go through all that, I'd talk to your GM and ask him if he's going to be an asshat about trying to separate you from your spellbook (Don't phrase it like that!). If the answer is no, no need to protect it.

Most don't bother but if you don't and yet complain about wizards being OP then there is something wrong here. Rogues stealing spellbooks is a classic since 2e. Wizards being powerful when prepared and vulnerable when unprepared is practically RAW; it's in the PHB. Eliminating the second case is openly asking for trouble. Also makes the game more boring and video game-ish when you take away unusual challenges like protecting your spellbook. For that matter "evil" DMs are a lot of fun in general.

Godskook
2010-12-28, 03:12 AM
@JeminiZero, you should be able to combine geometer and tattoo spell for even greater effect. Iirc, that's 46+ spells you can scribe on your own body without requiring a mirror or anything. More if you're willing to have your familiar assist in preparations(so put non-essential but useful spells in those places)


Or maybe Survival...I mean if you know how to skin various animals, why can't you skin a human after you kill them. :P

As the saying goes:

"Everyone has enough brains to tan his own hide" (Its a leather making expression)

Alleran
2010-12-28, 03:21 AM
It's possible to avoid the issue of a spellbook at all. One issue of Dragon Magazine had an alternate class feature called "Eidetic Spellcaster" that basically allowed you to carry your spellbook in your head. You still had to memorise spells each day, but you memorised them "from memory" rather than from a spellbook.

The cost of scribing spells was replaced with the cost of special incense and so on instead, and I think you had to give up your familiar for it as well. And you can always get a familiar back via a feat (just take the flaw for -1 AC or something like that). You can pile all the protections on a spellbook that you want, but it still might be circumvented, so IMO the best way to protect it is to not need it.

JaronK
2010-12-28, 03:55 AM
I like keeping mine in an enveloping pit, on the bottom floor of a tower built into that pit. You can keep your spare undead in there, too.

JaronK

Godskook
2010-12-28, 04:00 AM
Here's a really good method:


The next step is to prevent them from being stolen while you sleep. What follows is perhaps not the only solution, but it's the one that I ended up using. If you don't have access to the books needed (Complete Arcane or Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, and Dungeonscape), I guess you should try to find something else. Anyway, what I did was to buy a light shield made of darkwood (not proficient with it, but there's no ACP, so big deal) that contained a hidden space, using the oil bladder rules from Dungeonscape. Then, since UMD is on the Truenamer skill list, I purchased two Eternal Wands (from MIC)... normal wands will work just as well, but I like Eternal Wands. The first one is a wand of Greater Alarm. It's just what it sounds like... not quite on the Rope Trick or MMM level of protection, but it's cheaper and very handy. The second, however, is the really important one: a CL 8 wand of Absorb Weapon.

Absorb Weapon is an Assassin-only spell, so it's more likely that you'll get a Warlock, a Chameleon, or an Artificer to make it for you... talk to your GM. The upshot of it, though, is that it lets you absorb a light weapon into your body for one hour per CL (hence why we wanted it CL 8). It's more or less impossible to detect while absorbed, and you're the only one who can bring it back out (unless it gets dispelled or something, which is what the Greater Alarm is for).

Remember the light shield I mentioned? Well, since you can make a shield bash with it, it counts as a light weapon. So, every night, you put your amulet (and your ring, if applicable) inside your hidden compartment on your shield, and then absorb it into your body while you sleep. Not foolproof, perhaps, but pretty close to it.

If you have another way of protecting your items, feel free to post it.

Chaelos
2010-12-28, 04:23 AM
My preferred solution: keep a traveling spellbook with you that contains the most frequent, important spells you use within it. Keep a separate, full copy of every spell you've learned in Boccob's Blessed Book (if you're high enough level for it to be worth it) or in a regular spellbook (if you're somewhat lower level). Store this extra copy in a Leomund's Secret Chest.

If you've taken Collegiate Wizard (and you should), or if your DM is liberal about allowing you access to new spells to learn, this is very much worth it if there's a chance the DM will try to make you, as they say, into "A commoner with good will saves." I enjoy Leomund's Secret Chest and Boccob's Blessed Book, but both are expensive--if your DM plays strictly by WBL, perhaps too expensive. That's why it's important to gauge whether said DM (or even a rival party member, if you play with that sort) is going to try to screw you.

The trick is not to pay any scribing costs if you're using this strategy. Spells you learn at every level are scribed ONCE for free, so write these in a traveling spellbook; Boccob's Blessed Book costs nothing to scribe in, so spells you acquire via other wizards should be written down there.

FelixG
2010-12-28, 06:30 AM
Complete Arcane also has rules for Tattoo Spell pages, which is exactly what it says on the tin. Unfortunately, the human(oid) body only has so much writing space.

Solution: Knock your teammates out and tattoo them as well!

"Dangit Grog! stop moving around I need to prepare magic missile!"

AnswersQuestion
2010-12-28, 06:38 AM
Solution: Knock your teammates out and tattoo them as well!

"Dangit Grog! stop moving around I need to prepare magic missile!"

That's fairly reasonable for a seasoned group, especially if the tattoos won't be permanent. Once they get their thing going, nothing like remembering the barbarian's hard, muscled, intimidating back is also "The key to win this battle". Might even make a plot on that.