Spellbooks

[HolyDraconus]

I understand that to copy a spell it's 50g and 2 hours per level. In that same section, it says it's 10g and half time if it's your spell into another of your spellbooks. What's the gold and time cost for taking an enemies spellbook and declaring it yours? Specially since they are dead.?

[ClintACK]

I understand that to copy a spell it's 50g and 2 hours per level. In that same section, it says it's 10g and half time if it's your spell into another of your spellbooks. What's the gold and time cost for taking an enemies spellbook and declaring it yours? Specially since they are dead.?

I've always played that you have to copy it into a spell book of your own to make it yours -- so it's 50g and 2 hours per level.

If this seems unfair, keep in mind that you're permanently increasing your known spells. The Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and all the half-casters in the party would give a lot more than 50g per level to be able to do that.

[JumboWheat01]

The cost of taking it and claiming it to be yours is nothing, but the spells are worthless in it since they are written in the code and syntax that its former owner used, not yours. Still have to decipher it and copy down in your own. Which is, as the PHB says, 50g and 2 hours per spell level.

At least you won't have to buy scrolls for a while... or maybe you'll just burn something down to cinders if you happen to discover that a majority of the spells in the book you already have in yours.

[Erys]

I understand that to copy a spell it's 50g and 2 hours per level. In that same section, it says it's 10g and half time if it's your spell into another of your spellbooks. What's the gold and time cost for taking an enemies spellbook and declaring it yours? Specially since they are dead.?

An enemy spell book has a wizards unique notes that must be deciphered, it is no different than a scroll you find in a hoard. So 50 gold and 2 hours per level.

[Kane0]

The expensive value is because you are developing, researching or decoding a spell for the first time, the cheaper one is just making another copy of something you already know (and probably have written in your own way).
A lot of wizards customise the way their spells are written in their spellbooks for ease of use, even going so far as to cipher them just in case. It wouldn't be uncommon for one wizard to have to spend considerable time trying to understand how another wizard detailed their method, even for spells they both know.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

I was actually looking at this recently. There were rules in 3.5 for this (because 3.5 had rules for everything) in either Complete Arcane or Complete Mage. I think the bottom line is "talk to your DM" since there are no written rules in 5e but it would make sense in story to be able to decipher another mage's notation/style to the point that you could use their book as though it were your own.

[Kane0]

Complete arcane, also had some nice info on different kinds of spellbooks, primarily the Fieldbook and the Grimoire.

[JumboWheat01]

I think the bottom line is "talk to your DM" since there are no written rules in 5e but it would make sense in story to be able to decipher another mage's notation/style to the point that you could use their book as though it were your own.

A man who only has one cipher for their precious spellbook is like a man without a back-up hat. Which is to say they are a horrendous fool and should be ridiculed by their fellows, dead or not.

[Coffee_Dragon]

Saying you can just learn another mage's system of notation is an obvious subversion of the rules for spellbooks.

[HolyDraconus]

Saying you can just learn another mage's system of notation is an obvious subversion of the rules for spellbooks.

Which is why gold and time was mentioned. Anyway, the party is allowing me 20g so I will just scribe my own spells into the book for now.

[RickAllison]

Which is why gold and time was mentioned. Anyway, the party is allowing me 20g so I will just scribe my own spells into the book for now.

While I think you can eventually learn someone's ciphers, it would be trading significant amounts of time for comparatively little gain.

Keep the spells around, though. You may not have the gold now, but later it will be a great option.

[Sigreid]

I view it as a lot like getting hold of a scientists research notes. Not his published articles, his notes. It takes time, effort and materials to figure out what the hell he's talking about. :smallbiggrin:

[Saeviomage]

A man who only has one cipher for their precious spellbook is like a man without a back-up hat. Which is to say they are a horrendous fool and should be ridiculed by their fellows, dead or not.

Why do you even need to cipher your spellbook? Whomever takes it is going to be performing actions which change reality without necessarily understanding the effects of what you wrote down. It's like finding someone else's prototype explosive device and then pressing buttons in the hope that it does something useful.

That, to me, is why the time and expense.

[Godshoe]

The reason of cost is a rare inks and material for experiments to master the spell. When you just rewrite your own spell, you don't need material components and time to master the spell case now it's not your problem.
So it cost's lesser - only inks and time to scribe all formulas. Just like that.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

Saying you can just learn another mage's system of notation is an obvious subversion of the rules for spellbooks.I never said it was fast or easy. Complete Arcane says it takes a week plus a day for every spell in the book and then requires a Spellcraft check with a DC of 25+the highest spell level in the book and you can't retry the check if you fail until you've gotten another rank in Spellcraft. That's almost a month worth of work if you make the check on the first try even if it's a level 1 Wizard's book (a 3.5 Wizard's spellbook starts with all core cantrips and three level 1 spells, which is 22 spells out of the gate and thus a 29 day process for even the least worthwhile spellbooks).

[LordVonDerp]

I understand that to copy a spell it's 50g and 2 hours per level. In that same section, it says it's 10g and half time if it's your spell into another of your spellbooks. What's the gold and time cost for taking an enemies spellbook and declaring it yours? Specially since they are dead.?

None, the spellbook is your property. Though you may have trouble reading their notes.