I Feel So Dumb When It Comes To Magic

[sambouchah]

Okay so for someone who plays a wizard in almost every campaign/group I've been in I have alot of problems with magic. My main question is as a Wizard how can I learn spells more quickly. Also creating a magic item confuses me. I have read the section in the DMG about it and still don't get it. Advice on spell creation would be great as well(always wanted to make my own)

[J-H]

My main question is as a Wizard how can I learn spells more quickly.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#addingSpellstoaWizardsSpellbook

Copy spells from another wizard for a relatively small fee, plus 100 gp in materials per spell (scroll down a bit for that).

[Diarmuid]

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "learn spells more quickly"?

Are you trying to get more spells in your spellbook or reduce the time it takes to add spells to your spellbook?

Item creation can be confusing...what specifically has been tripping you up?

Creating your own new spells is very vague and requires a good working relationship between the caster and the DM to define the requirements/costs/time/etc.

[sambouchah]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#addingSpellstoaWizardsSpellbook

Copy spells from another wizard for a relatively small fee, plus 100 gp in materials per spell (scroll down a bit for that).


Can you elaborate on what you mean by "learn spells more quickly"?

Are you trying to get more spells in your spellbook or reduce the time it takes to add spells to your spellbook?

Item creation can be confusing...what specifically has been tripping you up?

Creating your own new spells is very vague and requires a good working relationship between the caster and the DM to define the requirements/costs/time/etc.

I mean having more spells in my book for use, yes. And the limitations on how many effects an item can have, how to create a specific item. Something like Boccob's magic book or the deck of many things.

Also bonus spells per day above caster level. A wizard with an 18 INT gets a bonus fourth level spell. Does this mean that if I know a 4th level spell(by having it in my spellbook) I can cast it once a day?

[Greenish]

Also bonus spells per day above caster level. A wizard with an 18 INT gets a bonus fourth level spell. Does this mean that if I know a 4th level spell(by having it in my spellbook) I can cast it once a day?You prepare the spells in your bonus slots from high Int as you do with your normal spell slots.

[J-H]

You have to be able to cast 4th level spells to use your bonus spell-per-day from INT, though.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

Quick and dirty:
You can prepare as many spells per day as the table for your class says. For each level the table says you can cast, you may also get extra spells per day for having a higher casting stat. This doesn't increase the spells known (for a sorcerer or similar) or the number of spells in your book (for a wizard or similar) just the number you can use and only of levels you could use anyways. (If a first level wizard somehow got 28 intelligence, he wouldn't get to cast a 9th level spell every day.)

You can try to add a spell from another spellbook or a scoll to your spellbook. There are three steps:
1) Decipher the spell. You can do this by either rolling spellcraft (DC 20+spell level) or by casting Read Magic (a 0 level spell). If you succeeded, move on to step 2. Otherwise you're done for the day.
2) Spend the day studying the spell. (What spending "the day" constitutes may vary from 1 DM to another. I generally let non-adventuring downtime be enough unless there's something big or distracting going on.) At the end of the day, roll spellcraft (DC 15+spell level). If it succeeds, go to step 3. If not, you can't try again on this spell until you gain another rank in spellcraft (usually by leveling up).
3) You understand the spell and can copy it into your spellbook. This takes 24 hours (again, whether it's 24 hours of work or just the amount of work you can do in a day is subject to the DM's interpretation) and uses materials worth 100 GP per spell level as well as one page of the spellbook per level (minimum 100 GP and one page).

[DMVerdandi]

You should homebrew a spell.
Make a "spell eater" spell.

Have it give you the ability to permanently allow you to memorize spells by consuming the magic in scrolls and spellbooks at the cost of 2x spell level experience, per spell.

First spell you memorize?
Spell Eater.


Since it costs experience, even though it's cheap, you can put the level relatively low. I would go for 3.

[Magesmiley]

I mean having more spells in my book for use, yes. And the limitations on how many effects an item can have, how to create a specific item. Something like Boccob's magic book or the deck of many things.


Magic Item creation is kind of split between the feat section in the Player's Handbook and the Magic Item section in the Dungeon Master's Guide. If there is a specific item that you are looking to create, your best starting point is the item description in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Taking a look at the Blessed Book you cited, you'll note the following at the end of description:


Moderate transmutation; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, secret page; Price 12,500 gp;Weight 1 lb.

The interesting things for creating this are:
CL 7th, which means that the minimum caster level to create the item is 7th
Craft Wondrous Item, which means that you require this feat in order to be able to create the item (if you don't have this, you can't make the item)
Secret Page, which is a spell that you need to be able to cast to create the item (and while you are creating the item, one of your spell slots has to be dedicated to this spell)
Price 12,500 gp, this indicates the market value for the item if you tried to buy it (more on this shortly).

Now go to the Player's Handbook and locate the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
You'll find this passage in there:

You can create any wondrous item whose prerequisites you meet. Enchanting a wondrous item takes one day for each 1,000 gp in its price. To enchant a wondrous item, you must spend 1/25 of the item’s price in XP and use up raw materials costing half of this price.

Ok. Simple enough.
12,500/1,000 = 12.5 (which rounds up to 13) days to make the item
12,500/25 = 500 XPs that you have to burn in order to make the item
12,500/2 = 6,250 GP that you need to spend to make the item.

So you need to have at least a caster level of 7, have the Secret Page spell, use 13 days to make the item, burn 500 XPs and spend 6,250 GP to make a Blessed Book.

Keep in mind that some magic items, such as the Deck of Many Things, are classified as artifacts and can't be crafted.

If you want to make a custom magic item that isn't on the list, you also need to work with your DM. The various charts you'll find on creating custom items are just guidelines - the DM needs to sign off on whatever custom creation that you come up with. Some DMs also place other requirements on crafting items.

[The Dark Fiddler]

In Complete Arcane, there's a feat called collegiate wizard (though it's not in the main section of feats, it's somewhere near the back) that gives you more first-level spells to start with and doubles the number of spells you receive every time you level up.

[Aldurin]

You have to be able to cast 4th level spells to use your bonus spell-per-day from INT, though.

No you don't. There is nothing in the SRD or PHB that says this. You get bonus spell slots for the levels you can cast no matter what level you are, as long as you have a positive modifier.

As for getting more spells, you basically have to do what others have been saying, copying more spells into your book from different sources. This is usually done by:

1. Buy a scroll that has the new spell so you can write it into your spell book.
2. Make friends with another spellbook user and copy their spells (still has material cost).
3. (Recommended) Play an evil character, then capture other wizards and use their wealth to pay for the spells you copy against their will. Then burn their spellbook so they're little more than a commoner and have no means of revenge (or at least make it take long enough for him to attempt revenge so that you'll get worthwhile exp from killing him).

[J-H]

No you don't. There is nothing in the SRD or PHB that says this. You get bonus spell slots for the levels you can cast no matter what level you are, as long as you have a positive modifier.

I was responding to his mention of having a 4th-level spell slot. We're agreeing.

[Magesmiley]

In Complete Arcane, there's a feat called collegiate wizard (though it's not in the main section of feats, it's somewhere near the back) that gives you more first-level spells to start with and doubles the number of spells you receive every time you level up.

If your character is an elf, there is an option in Races of the Wild that gives you another spell every time you level up too.