Can a user of magic item can choose where the spell came from?

[With a box]

let's talk about Mr. Mac
his has int 18 wis 13 cha 9 and some UMD rank.
If he have an scroll of resurrection, can he treat it as an archivist spell, so he can use his int to activate? (even if it actually written by a cleric?)


The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his or her class.)
The user must have the spell on his or her class list.
The user must have the requisite ability score.

[sideswipe]

yes. it appears on his list and he can cast as long as int is enough.

same with wiz/sorcerers and scrolls.

[Psyren]

Yes - all it cares about is (a) is the spell on your list and (b) is it the right type (arcane or divine.) It does not care if another class scribed it as long as the type of magic is the same.

[Curmudgeon]

You've quoted the regular rules for scroll activation. If you're activating an item with Use Magic Device, you can pick any one class which might have been used for its creation and simulate having that class's spell list. Scrolls are either arcane or divine, and have a specific caster level; there's no other information about the actual scriber contained in the scroll. So pick what you want: you can choose any attribute which could have been used to create the item. So divine scrolls can be activated via Wisdom (as if a Cleric scribed it), Charisma (as if a Favored Soul scribed it), or Intelligence (as if an Archivist scribed it). Arcane scrolls could have been scribed using Intelligence (Wizard), or Charisma (Sorcerer). Are there any arcane spellcasters who use Wisdom?

[Afgncaap5]

Hmm. So, a wizard can cast a scroll that was made by a cleric as long as the spell appears on his or her spell list? I always interpreted that as not being the case. As in, because a cleric makes it, it's a divine spell, and since the scroll is divine then it can't be cast by a wizard.

I suppose I can see where the other interpretation might be valid. I think I'd avoid that for my world, though; it'd change a few things about the history of magic.

[KillianHawkeye]

Hmm. So, a wizard can cast a scroll that was made by a cleric as long as the spell appears on his or her spell list? I always interpreted that as not being the case. As in, because a cleric makes it, it's a divine spell, and since the scroll is divine then it can't be cast by a wizard.

I suppose I can see where the other interpretation might be valid. I think I'd avoid that for my world, though; it'd change a few things about the history of magic.

No, your interpretation is correct. As Psyren stated above, the spell needs to be on your class list, AND it also needs to be the correct type of magic (arcane or divine). The class of the person does not matter, but it does determine what type of scroll it is. So if a Cleric creates a scroll, it is a divine scroll, and an Archivist (also divine) can use it but a Wizard cannot without doing UMD or something.

[Curmudgeon]

Hmm. So, a wizard can cast a scroll that was made by a cleric as long as the spell appears on his or her spell list?
KillianHawkeye already provided the answer for that one. You might be confusing the rules for spell completion items (scrolls) with spell trigger items (wands, staffs). Spells in scrolls are specified as either divine or arcane (or neither, occasionally). Spells in wands or staffs aren't so specified, so a Favored Soul and a Bard can both use the same wand of Cure Light Wounds without any activation requirements, even though that spell's divine for the FS but arcane for the Bard.

[Chronos]

IIRC, there's a fey-themed prestige class out there somewhere with Wis-based arcane casting, but it has a very limited spell list.

[sideswipe]

IIRC, there's a fey-themed prestige class out there somewhere with Wis-based arcane casting, but it has a very limited spell list.

and for any thing ever there is lost tradition. meaning that as long as you have a stat at 19, you have a stat that could have been that casting stat.

[Curmudgeon]

and for any thing ever there is lost tradition. meaning that as long as you have a stat at 19, you have a stat that could have been that casting stat.
Lost Tradition is a very hard sell with most DMs:

It comes from the 3rd party Bastards and Bloodlines book.
That book is 3.0, not 3.5.

[Psyren]

Lost Tradition is a very hard sell with most DMs:

It comes from the 3rd party Bastards and Bloodlines book.
That book is 3.0, not 3.5.


On top of this, I believe it only works with spells you cast, not items you activate.

[Chronos]

I think you misunderstand. It's not "character takes Lost Traditions, character activates scroll using his Strength". It's "character assumes that the creator of the scroll had Lost Traditions, character activates scroll using his Strength".

[Ilorin Lorati]

Which is an even harder sell, because all the above is true and it's likely to be obvious that you're just finagling with ability mods.

[Psyren]

It's been a while since I read that feat, but I don't recall it letting you apply the effects to items you create.