[3.5] More than one spellbook?

[Yael]

Can it be possible?
I'm starting a new game soon as an elven generalist with an effective spellbook of 54 pages at level 5th...
I though of having a personal library at the Arcane Order's campus or in a personal dungeon. But can I prepare spells from different spellbooks if they all belong to me?

[eggynack]

I'm pretty sure that you can have as many spellbooks as you want, limited only by your purchasing power.

[Gavinfoxx]

Yes. It's very easy.

You spend 15 gp and buy another spellbook.

In fact, it is a really, really, really good idea to have multiple spellbooks in general!

[Yael]

If I try to make a copy of my spellbook I have to pay with EXP?
Also, inscribing in a new spellbook needs a spellcraft check or something?

[Sith_Happens]

If I try to make a copy of my spellbook I have to pay with EXP?
Also, inscribing in a new spellbook needs a spellcraft check or something?

It costs 100 gp per page as usual, or half that if you already have the same spell in one of your other books.

[ArcturusV]

Nope, no need for Spellcraft Checks or XP costs. If you have a spellbook, and are copying to a new spellbook, it just costs you 50 GP per page, and you can do two spells per day.

Scribing a totally new spell into a spellbook uses the standard Spellcraft Check, plus 100 GP per page and 1 day.

And you should totally have multiple spell books. Remember even just the Wizard Level 1 will practically fill up your spellbook. Wizards know all Cantrips. Cantrips take up a page each. A spellbook has 100 pages. I think there's something near 80 Cantrips in the game just counting WotC books (Not Dragon Magazine or Third Party). So by the time you learn 20 levels of spells your first book would be entirely full. So it's pretty much a requirement for you to have more than one spellbook. Hopefully broken up into Utility/Purpose.

"Oh, this is my Downtime in Town spellbook. This is my Item Crafting Spellbook, this is my Wilderness Adventure Spellbook, this is my Dungeon Crawl spellbook..."

[Curmudgeon]

Spellbooks aren't magical; they're just books. You can write grocery lists or friends' birthdays there if you want. They also happen to be sized so that spells written in them (using those expensive inks) fit at 1 page per spell level. But, as ordinary possessions, anyone who can pay the price can have any number of them.

[ahenobarbi]

Also checkout Boccobs Blessed Book - in the long run it's cheaper.

[Fouredged Sword]

When I play a wizard I normally keep a set of books. One set is a library of all spells I come across. I keep it in a pocket dimension fortress where it is safe or, at lower levels, on a bookshelf at the end of my sofa.

Then I have my adventuring book, which contains all the spells I know I am going to need for adventuring. Think Rivintine plates rather than paper. Much harder to destroy.

Then I have a few tatoo's of spells I can't do without, and need if my spellbook gets snatched. Teleport to get home to my library (and ALL my spells) being one of them.

[Big Fau]

Also checkout Boccobs Blessed Book - in the long run it's cheaper.

There's also a Dragonshard item that acts like a spellbook in various Eberron books (The ECS has one, but there should be another in MoE).

[Curmudgeon]

Then I have my adventuring book, which contains all the spells I know I am going to need for adventuring. Think Rivintine plates rather than paper. Much harder to destroy.
Actually, probably not. Riverine is base on Wall of Force, which resists Dispel Magic. However, it doesn't have any listed resistance to Greater Dispel Magic, which is the go-to spell for any debuffer starting from level 11. So your "much harder" book will fairly easily be turned to ordinary sea water.

[Chronos]

Riverine is vulnerable to Greater Dispel Magic in the same way that wood or steel is vulnerable to it. That is to say, it doesn't have any special immunity to it, but GDM won't actually do anything to it. It's a material, not a spell, and isn't even magical at all unless it's made into a magic item.

[Marnath]

Actually, probably not. Riverine is base on Wall of Force, which resists Dispel Magic. However, it doesn't have any listed resistance to Greater Dispel Magic, which is the go-to spell for any debuffer starting from level 11. So your "much harder" book will fairly easily be turned to ordinary sea water.

Try again. Wall of Force (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfForce.htm) is unaffected by most spells, disintegrate and mage's disjunction are explicitly the only two spells that affect either the wall of force or riverine material.

[Illarion]

I like keeping a lore gem on hand as an emergency spellbook. keep it in your pocket or get it sewn into the lining in your robes.

[SaintRidley]

Also checkout Boccobs Blessed Book - in the long run it's cheaper.

Nab a level of Geometer later on as well and you'll be the king/queen of ridiculously cheap spellbook writing - now you don't have to pay at all, and every spell only takes up one page.

[karkus]

Whoa whoa whoa... Do people not have multiple spellbooks? I assumed that it was a general rule for any Wizard casting spells above ~2nd level to have more than one at a time... :smalleek:

But yes, as it was mentioned above, Boccob's Blessed Book is so much handier and can save you hundreds, if not thousands of gps in the long run.

EDIT: And take some Geometer, if it's not too much trouble. That's handier than a Hecatonchires!

[Curmudgeon]

Try again. Wall of Force (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfForce.htm) is unaffected by most spells, disintegrate and mage's disjunction are explicitly the only two spells that affect either the wall of force or riverine material.
You've apparently read something that's not written in the spell, because that "only" term simply isn't there. Those are just two examples of spells which will destroy a Wall of Force. Since D&D has thousands of spells, it's quite reasonable for Wall of Force to be "unaffected by most spells" and still have a good number which do affect it.

As I noted, Greater Dispel Magic is not on the list which are stated to fail against a Wall of Force.

[Deophaun]

Meh, when I get high enough level, I just make a few permanent images for my spellbooks. YMMV, though.

[Fouredged Sword]

Except that Greater Dispell magic states

"This spell functions like dispel magic, except that the maximum caster level on your dispel check is +20 instead of +10."

Therefor anything that is immune to dispel magic is also immune to greater dispel magic.

This language is in most dispel effects, so they are ignored mostly.

Unless you can find a dispel effect that doesn't reference dispel magic for how it functions, it cannot be dispelled.

[Telonius]

Spellbooks aren't magical; they're just books. You can write grocery lists or friends' birthdays there if you want.

I'm now imagining a Wizard who's stolen a colleague's spellbook, working for years trying to figure out how to get a mysterious "Summon Eggs" spell to work.

[Marnath]

You've apparently read something that's not written in the spell, because that "only" term simply isn't there. Those are just two examples of spells which will destroy a Wall of Force. Since D&D has thousands of spells, it's quite reasonable for Wall of Force to be "unaffected by most spells" and still have a good number which do affect it.

As I noted, Greater Dispel Magic is not on the list which are stated to fail against a Wall of Force.

There isn't a list of spells listed to fail against Wall of Force. It states that most spells don't affect it, and then lists the two that do. Because those spells are listed as exceptions, that means that anything not on that list falls under "most spells." Greater Dispel Magic is not on the list of spells that do work, so it doesn't affect Wall of Force.

[Gildedragon]

Personally when dealing with a wizard; there is a library for sure, but the library doesn't hold the spellbook. It is the spellbook; alongside the rest of the stronghold.

[Curmudgeon]

There isn't a list of spells listed to fail against Wall of Force. It states that most spells don't affect it, and then lists the two that do. Because those spells are listed as exceptions, that means that anything not on that list falls under "most spells." Greater Dispel Magic is not on the list of spells that do work, so it doesn't affect Wall of Force.

There's a statement that "most" spells don't affect Wall of Force; that could mean anywhere from 50.1%% to 99.9%.
There's a list of one example spell which does not affect Wall of Force: Dispel Magic.
There's a list of two devices and two example spells which do affect Wall of Force: Disintegrate and Mordenkainen's Disjunction.
There's a list of two example spells which can bypass Wall of Force: Dimension Door and Teleport.
Absent any RAW statement that any of those lists are complete, you can't claim with certainty how some unlisted spell will be work/fail against a Wall of Force. Instead, your individual DM will make that determination, and you may find yourself surprised from game to game by their differing takes on this spell — all within the letter of the rules.

[ArcturusV]

Course, along with Tattoos for the Emergency Wizard Option, Embroidery is the other thing you can do. Embroider some pages of your spellbook into your clothing. To most people it'll just look like some fancy needlework, won't think twice about it. And thus unless your DM strips you naked when he throws you in prison you still have part of your spellbook with you.

[Marnath]

Has eidetic spellcaster been mentioned yet? Make your brain your spellbook! :smallbiggrin:

[Lord Vukodlak]

You've apparently read something that's not written in the spell, because that "only" term simply isn't there. Those are just two examples of spells which will destroy a Wall of Force. Since D&D has thousands of spells, it's quite reasonable for Wall of Force to be "unaffected by most spells" and still have a good number which do affect it.

As I noted, Greater Dispel Magic is not on the list which are stated to fail against a Wall of Force.

Greater dispel magic functions

like dispel magic, except that the maximum caster level on your dispel check is +20 instead of +10.

Additionally, greater dispel magic has a chance to dispel any effect that remove curse can remove, even if dispel magic can’t dispel that effect.
I don't see additionally it can dispel a wall of force, which means it can't. Greater Dispel magic except where otherwise noted is subject to the limitations of the lesser version.

Splat-book spells that effect a wall of force have it listed in the entry usually because they do something similar to disintegration such as black blade of disaster or sphere of ultimate destruction.