Writing spells into a spellbook

[Cybris75]

I'm confused about the rules for writing spells into a spellbook.

You can copy a spell from another spellbook.
Does this mean a wizard can write spells into his book that he is not able to cast yet?
What about divine spells from an archivist's prayerbook?

You can also copy a spell from a scroll, destroying the scroll in the process.
But a scroll contains an almost-complete casting of the spell, not the spellbook textual representation ("source code" or "recipe") of the spell.
You can't cast a spell directly from a spellbook, so a scroll can't just be a copy of the spell text.
Well, a scroll could contain both, but why should it - and wouldn't the scroll be longer to read for a higher-level spell then?
Do you have to be able to cast the spell from the scroll in order to copy the scroll, by effectively un-casting it and then writing the result into the spellbook?

Also, can an archivist's prayerbook and a wizard's spellbook be the same item? Would I need two entries for a spell that I could cast as an archivist and a wizard?

[HunterOfJello]

I'm confused about the rules for writing spells into a spellbook.

You can copy a spell from another spellbook.
Yes, you can. There are specific rules in the PHB and Complete Arcane for this. There may also be rules for it in the DMG (I'm not sure on that one).

I believe that Complete Arcane also has rules on memorizing spells from another wizard's spellbooks.

Does this mean a wizard can write spells into his book that he is not able to cast yet?
Yes! He can write spells into his spellbook that he is not able to cast himself. He also counts as "knowing" all of the spells that are in his spellbook. This creates interesting shenanigans.

What about divine spells from an archivist's prayerbook?
This could be argued one way or another, since a 'spellbook' may not be the same as a 'prayerbook'. However, even if you consider them to be the same thing, a wizard who could write divine spells into his spellbook could still not memorize those divine spells and cast them during the day. A wizard is limited by both the spells in his spellbook and the spell slots per day that he has from his class.


You can also copy a spell from a scroll, destroying the scroll in the process.
But a scroll contains an almost-complete casting of the spell, not the spellbook textual representation ("source code" or "recipe") of the spell.
A scroll contains everything that is needed to completely cast a spell a single time. It contains the parts that are needed for memorizing it and the parts that are needed to initiate it. It is worth noting that scrolls take a great deal of skill and expertise to read and initiate. Only someone trained as a wizard or born a sorcerer (and developed their arcane power) would understand and be able to use an arcane scroll.

Even Rogues who train in Use Magic Device so that they can muddle their way through a scroll and force it to activate must succeed on a DC 20 + CL Use Magic Device check to activate a spell and must also have a high enough ability score to cast it as if you were a wizard. Otherwise, you have to do a second Use Magic Device check which is even more difficult to do. (DC 34 for a 9th level wizard spell if you don't already have 19 intelligence).


You can't cast a spell directly from a spellbook, so a scroll can't just be a copy of the spell text.
Spellbooks work differently than scrolls. Scrolls are designed to activate when used. Spells written into spellbooks are designed to be used by a wizard to activate everything necessary for a spell except for the final activation components (somatic, verbal, etc.). They are slightly different methods of activating the exact same effect.


Well, a scroll could contain both, but why should it - and wouldn't the scroll be longer to read for a higher-level spell then?
Scrolls don't take longer to read, but they do take a much higher degree of skill to use. Check out the DMG section on scrolls in the back of the book. If a level 5 wizard finds a Scroll of Fireball with a CL of 5 he can cast it without effort. However, if he finds a Scroll of Fireball with a CL of 10, he must make a Caster Level check to be able to cast it properly. In this case, it would be a Caster Level check with a DC of 11. If he fails, the spell doesn't activate and may cause a mishap.


Do you have to be able to cast the spell from the scroll in order to copy the scroll, by effectively un-casting it and then writing the result into the spellbook?

I think I covered this above.


Also, can an archivist's prayerbook and a wizard's spellbook be the same item? Would I need two entries for a spell that I could cast as an archivist and a wizard?

You would need two completely different entries to memorize an arcane spell and a divine spell, even if the spells have the same effect. Dispel Magic as a divine spell requires a completely separate entry than dispel magic as an arcane spell.

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I hope that clears things up a bit, and I hope that if I'm wrong on anything that someone will correct me.