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View Full Version : Spell Books:Does and Do nots.



Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 04:49 PM
This thread is for ideas for how to magicly protect ur spell book. from alarm, to sphere of ultamite destruction, wat works best, wat works most destructivly, and wat requiers the lowest spell lvl.

Yechezkiel
2007-07-05, 04:58 PM
I like Secret Chest, depending on the character.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 05:12 PM
Well the thang to remember is that this is a spell book not a lichs pharlecty or watever, so simple spells are esenstail, u need to be able to protecte ur spells at the very begining

a couple duplacites are always esintail.

at high lvls the best thing i found is to put a geas curse on the book that says "find the owner of this book, return the book to him, apologize and do a favor for him." so if anybody trys to steal they are required to do the above, or the simplest is jsut hav ur book arcane mark them when they take it then ull always be able to find them.

Fhaolan
2007-07-05, 05:14 PM
I don't know if this is 'legal' anymore, but several editions ago I had a high-level NPC trap his spellbook by having several pages auto-trigger certain spells. The first trap page planted a suggestion for returning the spellbook to the proper owner, the second trap page cast Guards and Wards over wherever the reader currently was, and the last summoned some form of demon.

In another spellbook, the last few pages of each high level spell were switched, in a pattern only the creator of the spellbook actually knew. If you didn't already know the spell, you ended up with Wild Magic kinds of effects when you tried to cast them.

Yechezkiel
2007-07-05, 05:15 PM
Well the thang to remember is that this is a spell book not a lichs pharlecty or watever, so simple spells are esenstail, u need to be able to protecte ur spells at the very begining

a couple duplacites are always esintail.

at high lvls the best thing i found is to put a geas curse on the book that says "find the owner of this book, return the book to him, apologize and do a favor for him." so if anybody trys to steal they are required to do the above, or the simplest is jsut hav ur book arcane mark them when they take it then ull always be able to find them.

Secret Chest (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsS.html#secret-chest) is a whole level lower then Gaes/Quest. Take a look.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 05:22 PM
ah well thats not bad but letts say ur a lvl three how u gona do it then. the easyest way involes enchanment spells but my char has that school barred so i need to work around that.

i can always hire an NPC but id rather not. idont hav the time nor money. considering i can do it myself.

Kurald Galain
2007-07-05, 05:38 PM
Magic mouth for the win. Only level two, great for beginning wizzies.

Also, secret page to make the entire book appear blank (plus, in 2nd ed, you got exp for every spell you cast, and you get to cast this on every single page).

For the tough wizzies among us, tattoo the spell on your chest.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 05:43 PM
how does magic mouth work? jsut tell it to scream and shout about puttin it down and if u dont the big bad "wizzie" will come and turn u into ash.

Mike_Lemmer
2007-07-05, 05:50 PM
I've found the best way to protect your spellbook is to pretend it doesn't exist. 90% of GMs won't do anything to a spellbook if you never, ever draw attention to it.

Kurald Galain
2007-07-05, 05:50 PM
Basically, make a lot of noise. This won't really help if the book's owner is far away, but if some kind of thief is trying to take the book out of your pack and sneak off silently... woo!

(edit) Oh, and Sepia Snakes are always nice.

Gralamin
2007-07-05, 05:59 PM
I've found the best way to protect your spellbook is to pretend it doesn't exist. 90% of GMs won't do anything to a spellbook if you never, ever draw attention to it.

This is the best way. The double bluff idea of Making the important seem unimportant. If done right, No one will notice a thing.

MeklorIlavator
2007-07-05, 06:02 PM
I don't know if this is 'legal' anymore, but several editions ago I had a high-level NPC trap his spellbook by having several pages auto-trigger certain spells. The first trap page planted a suggestion for returning the spellbook to the proper owner, the second trap page cast Guards and Wards over wherever the reader currently was, and the last summoned some form of demon.

Its still legal. In fact, its suggested in The Logical Ninja's Guide to Wizards

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 06:02 PM
im not worried about my DM im worried about other mages/rogues with stiky fingers. were playing an evil campiagn

i did the following to my book.

1st.alarm, set to go off when touched and the comand word isnt said

2nd.web, covers the area around the spell book, slowing down the thief. maybe itll slow down me too but unlike the rogue i can throw a spell at him.

3rd.whispering wind, so if alarm doesnt wake me, the pre assigned voice will and it will hav a 3mile range.

wat about shrinking it down and keeping it as a realy long scroll slide it around ur waist under ur belt, make it extra strong, were two belts and sandwhich it between them.

Anxe
2007-07-05, 06:35 PM
Illusory Script is an easy one. Then it doesn't even look like a spellbook. There's no good way to protect it without harming it in the process though. You could get it made out of Red Dragon Skin and then cast Explosive Runes or Fire Trap on it, but that's rather expensive and pisses off any future dragons you may meet. The absolute best way to protect your spellbook is to not have one. Just take Spell Mastery.

bigbaddragon
2007-07-05, 06:50 PM
Maybe you could try to use unseen servant (level 1 spell, hour/level) for this job, have him take possession of your spellbook while you're asleep. I don't know if the spellbook would become invisible while in his possession though.

The Valiant Turtle
2007-07-05, 06:59 PM
Make use of a Rope Trick spell for sleeping whenever possible (although at low levels it doesn't quite last long enough)

Arbitrarity
2007-07-05, 07:37 PM
1: Scribe some duplicates with Secret Page.
2: Use secret page on the original. Blank book.
3: Fire trap all of these, shadow conjure sepia snake sigils.
4: Stick random spells that you might like to put on, i.e. Geas, teleport, etc.
5: Sequester all your copies.
6: Stick the copies, and the original, and some random blanks, in a portable hole. Stick this in a secret pocket in your cloak. Stick everything random andmundane in there as well.
7: Make more copies. Stick some deep underground with your clone, stick some on the ethereal plane with teleport object, at random locations, including underwater, in the middle of the desert, etc.
8: Remember mind blank.
9: If possible, use genesis to hide your spellbooks as well :smallbiggrin:
10: ?????
11: Profit!

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 07:45 PM
well if thoughs arent those just tons of options. i plan on using the rope trick when i get to lvl 9,(eight hrs of sleep one hr to study.) but untill then i figure ill jsut keep the reguler things on it and possibly shrink it, and tuck it in my crouch. that out to be a fun search check, for the both of us.

Thanatos 51-50
2007-07-05, 07:49 PM
Wow, thats alot of valuble ink you're using to protect your spellbook.

This is, of course, why I say Sorcs are better than Wizards.

Spontaneous Casting FTW!

Irreverent Fool
2007-07-05, 07:55 PM
ah well thats not bad but letts say ur a lvl three how u gona do it then. the easyest way involes enchanment spells but my char has that school barred so i need to work around that.

i can always hire an NPC but id rather not. idont hav the time nor money. considering i can do it myself.

I would very much like to read and/or take part in this discussion but I beg of you to use some grammar and punctuation 'letts say ur a lvl three how u gona do it then.' hurts me just to look at it. If you don't understand the need for such things, then please do it simply out of politeness for those of us that lack the linguistic versatility to adapt to this net-styled shorthand.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 08:21 PM
sure thing. sorry my phone-tagging is coming out.

on a related note, what does it take to make a whole lot of copies. i.e. spells, time, materials. ect.

The Valiant Turtle
2007-07-05, 08:53 PM
on a related note, what does it take to make a whole lot of copies. i.e. spells, time, materials. ect.

Players Handbook, page 179

100 gp per level of the spell being scribed, for each spell.

(aka, extremely expensive)

There is a magic item in the DMG for which this is cheaper I believe.

Quietus
2007-07-05, 09:12 PM
Players Handbook, page 179

100 gp per level of the spell being scribed, for each spell.

(aka, extremely expensive)

There is a magic item in the DMG for which this is cheaper I believe.

Boccob's Blessed Book, at 12,500 gold or so I believe.

Cruiser1
2007-07-05, 09:13 PM
There is a magic item in the DMG for which this is cheaper I believe.
(Boccob's) Blessed Book (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#blessedBook) allows you to add spells to your spellbook for free. It's also waterproof, and 1000 pages as opposed to just 100. This should be the first magic item Wizards buy, since it makes all future spells you get cheaper. If you take the Craft Wonderous Item feat, craft one for yourself at half price the moment you attain level 7.

Arbitrarity
2007-07-05, 09:16 PM
Secret page alters the contents of a page so that they appear to be something entirely different. The text of a spell can be changed to show even another spell.

Free spell page copies. Booyeah.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 09:20 PM
oh and sor aren't that much better, you have to chose your path, while a wiz is the most handy/open class, you can do just about anything another class can.

i think when i get a higher level, ill just put bands of steel (SC), alarm, and teleport with out error on it, then take spell mastery and include teleport, a nice kill spell, and a few other handy spells, u know the ones that make people talk when they don't want too. like fear and whatnot.

when said thief attempts to lift said spell book, the (PHB)Alarm goes off, (SC) Bands of Steel, becoming immobilized or entangled. and just to through salt in the wound, a little (SC) Sensory Deprivation. after all this the book teleports to a safe place, like a small underground cave with no entrance or exits were you have a gensis or watever that other planar effect is. then teleport there after your done "talking" to the little thief. Then jsut sit there and study your spellbook and teleport back to were you were.

Peregrine
2007-07-05, 10:25 PM
People have already mentioned Logic Ninja's Guide on this. I very much liked his ideas: (1) teleport, to teleport the book to a safe location, (2) arcane mark, to mark the would-be thief, and (3) some suitable punishment, such as a geas or a death effect.

Do note, though, that he says you don't need any feats to trap your spellbook. This isn't true; you need Craft Wondrous Item to do it. I thought at first that the details on this were only in the DMG, with this specific detail on p.67, but it's in the SRD too:

Creating a magic device trap requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat...
(A 'magic device trap' is a trap that casts a spell, like a wand or other activating item. The other sort of magic trap is a spell trap, where the spell itself has a traplike effect -- e.g. fire trap. You don't need the feat for these, of course.)

I actually went through the rules for it and came up with a table of costs, so that I could figure out an economical way to trap spellbooks.

Assuming a wizard using minimum caster level, the cost for a magic device trap that uses a spell of a given level is...

{table=head]Level|GP|XP
0|25gp|2xp
1|50gp|4xp
2|300gp|24xp
3|750gp|60xp
4|1400gp|112xp
5|2250gp|180xp
6|3300gp|264xp
7|4550gp|364xp
8|6000gp|480xp
9|7650gp|612xp[/table]

...plus any costly material components, and 5 times any XP components in gp. This is for a one-shot trap; multiply costs on the table by 10, and costs due to extra components by 100, for a resetting trap. (Using alarm for the trigger is free. I think that using alarm as the trap itself, to warn you when someone touches your book, would cost as normal for a 1st-level spell.)

And incidentally, duplicating your spellbook (when you have the original in front of you, that is) costs only half the normal spell-scribing amount:

Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.

JackMage666
2007-07-05, 10:38 PM
I've never protected a spellbook. As said, by ignoring it, most others will as well. Those who don't have it out for you, and stealing your spellbook is the least of your problems. The d4 HD doesn't stand up to too much punishment, and if an "ally" gets the jump on you (a great example is when you are asleep), you stand a good chance of death.

But, if you want me to answer the question, I say, once again, don't protect it. Make the spellbook look as mundane as possible. Buy an expensive gawdy looking book and scribble in it. Cast some random spells on it (permanent duration, preferably, you want this thing to have a magic aura). Basically, make it look like a spellbook. Act dramatically when it's stolen, and cut down on spellcasting (it sucks, but it must be done) unless necessary. Buy another gawdy book. Repeat.
Just don't let anyone know the crappy torn-page faded leather journal you keep is actually you spellbook. To increase this feeling, do something like Secret Page your spells, and put something mundane in it (horticulture notes works fine.) Nystal's Magical Aura should do away with the auras (or place them on the gawdy book if you'd like). It's not like anyone's gonna spend the time to cast Identify on it.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 10:57 PM
well then heres my expensive re-setting trap:

Alarm, trigger(comand word?!): free
Alarm, wu-wuuu: 50gp 4xp
Bands of Steel, "What the-? Oh, now Son of a B****": 300gp 24xp
Sensory Deprivation, Monkey see, hear, say, feel, taste, no anything:
1400gp 112xp
Teleport, "oops, were'd it go?": 2250gp 180xp

Total: 3950gp 356xp x 10(for resetting trap) = 39,500gp 3,560xp

Look of senseless, un-intellegable, shock and awe, on there face: priceless!

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-05, 11:00 PM
but par the usuale ill probally go with the opps thats not my spellbook routine, because its nice and cheap.

Jannex
2007-07-05, 11:29 PM
One could invest in a Glove of Storing. It's not a foolproof option, but it's reasonably secure.

Skyserpent
2007-07-05, 11:32 PM
Why not just Craft Contngent Spell rig it to port to your place when touched by anyone not you? also: Spell Mastery Greater Teleport...

Peregrine
2007-07-06, 05:52 AM
You know, I've noticed something.

You can craft a repeating wish trap for 2,576,500 gp and 6,120 XP. Now, that's a whole lotta gold (almost 23 and a half metric tons actually). But hey, gold is cheap, XP is not. You get endless wishes (normally 5,000 XP a pop) for just 6,120 XP. Cheaper than any other method.

Of course, you probably have to designate the specific effect of the wish, rather than getting any or all of its possible effects from just the one 'trap'. But when you have a magic rock that drops a 25,000gp magic item whenever you touch it, you can afford to make a few more. (Make six, one for each ability score, and you and everyone you know can get +5 inherent bonuses in every score!)

Of course, each one takes 14 years, 40 days to create...

And if a repeating wish trap just makes the veins stand out in your DM's forehead, you can go for a one-shot version for just 32,650 gp and 612 XP...

How's that for protecting your spellbook? :smalltongue:

lord_khaine
2007-07-06, 06:20 AM
all in all the rules for magical traps are horribel broken, as i have come to understand them there is fx nothing to prevent you for making a portable heal-trap, or a stoneskin trap to a ridiculous low price.

Kurald Galain
2007-07-06, 06:25 AM
Why on earth would any sane DM allow for healing or buffing traps? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

lukelightning
2007-07-06, 06:30 AM
One good strategy is pre-emptively killing the party rogue, who is the one most likely to take your book.

Peregrine
2007-07-06, 07:47 AM
Why on earth would any sane DM allow for healing or buffing traps? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Anti-undead? A simple cure light wounds trap on your front door is a great way to welcome the neighbours and keep out the restless dead. :smallbiggrin:

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-06, 11:22 AM
If a spell's matrial component is costly or it has xp, you to mark up the cost.

so a wish would be, 5 x 5000 + (traps exp cost) x 10 for reapeating, now thats alot of frigen xp..

Peregrine
2007-07-06, 11:29 AM
If a spell's matrial component is costly or it has xp, you to mark up the cost.

so a wish would be, 5 x 5000 + (traps exp cost) x 10 for reapeating, now thats alot of frigen xp..

Ah, but that's just it. You don't. For wondrous items in general, and it's explicitly stated for traps too, you don't spend the XP required for any of the spells. Traps have an additional cost of 5 gp times the XP component. And while the base costs are multiplied by 10 for resetting traps, component costs are multiplied by 100. Hence the exorbitant cost in gold, yet delightfully low XP requirement.

Let me see... other spells that have XP components... what other nice traps could I come up with... Ooh! Gate in a nasty outsider when someone messes with your spellbook? :smallbiggrin: And then the nice outsider takes the spellbook to a safe place for you -- better than a teleport trap (3% chance of teleporting it to the wrong place).

Ivius
2007-07-07, 12:52 AM
I use Greater Glyph of Warding (Plane Shift) and teleport the would-be thief to somewhere nasty, depending on the character. The Elemental Plane of Fire and the Negative Energy Plane are some favorites.

Tor the Fallen
2007-07-07, 01:01 AM
I've never protected a spellbook. As said, by ignoring it, most others will as well. Those who don't have it out for you, and stealing your spellbook is the least of your problems. The d4 HD doesn't stand up to too much punishment, and if an "ally" gets the jump on you (a great example is when you are asleep), you stand a good chance of death.

But, if you want me to answer the question, I say, once again, don't protect it. Make the spellbook look as mundane as possible. Buy an expensive gawdy looking book and scribble in it. Cast some random spells on it (permanent duration, preferably, you want this thing to have a magic aura). Basically, make it look like a spellbook. Act dramatically when it's stolen, and cut down on spellcasting (it sucks, but it must be done) unless necessary. Buy another gawdy book. Repeat.
Just don't let anyone know the crappy torn-page faded leather journal you keep is actually you spellbook. To increase this feeling, do something like Secret Page your spells, and put something mundane in it (horticulture notes works fine.) Nystal's Magical Aura should do away with the auras (or place them on the gawdy book if you'd like). It's not like anyone's gonna spend the time to cast Identify on it.

Better yet, only scribble somewhere in your notes about all the traps on your spellbook. Then, if the DM ever thinks "hey, I'm gunna steal that spell book" bam, his plan goes to hell.

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-07-07, 11:14 AM
well i wouldnt be half as worried about it but were playing an evil campiagn

and i like the idea of plane shift, that sounds rly nasty, in a good way.

tensai
2007-07-10, 07:32 PM
1: Secret Page them so they look like cheesy romance novels.

2: Magic Mouth them so they have audio effects appropriate to the contents.

3: Throw in some perfectly mundane romance novels for something to do on downtime.

I've used this to great effect with an arcane trickster.

Also, alternative spellbooks similar to the ones listed in CArcane. Nobody expects that deck of cards to actually contain instructions for casting Dimension Door.