New Money Trick, Maybe

[JackMage666]

So, I was lookng at making a Gnome Illusionist, and I think I may have found a new money trick. In Unearthed Arcana, there is a variant that allows you to give up your extra spell per level per day for being a specialist wizard, and gain the benefit of 2 extra illusion spells per level gained, and all illusion spells are treated as if under Spell Mastery. Now, if I'm thinking correctly, you could just continously copy and sell spellbooks that you make using spell mastery.

Would this work? Obviosuly, you want to keep a spellbook to write your extra spells, but the mastered ones could be copied and sould without fear of losing them, but I'm not seeing anything stopping you.

[Keld Denar]

Eh, its ok. The market would be pretty small though, considering how few casters there are over 3rd level or so. Plus, of all the people you don't want to piss off for exploiting economics, at the top of the list are wizards.

Trust me, you don't want TLN to scry you, greater teleport in, then quickened timestop-cloudkill-forcecage-dimensionalanchor you, do you? Me either.....

[JackMage666]

Well, the Variant is constant, meaing it also counts for every Illusion spell you learn at later levels - Meaning, the extra money increases with level.

[Citizen Joe]

YOU making multiple copies doesn't help (except for insurance reasons). The CASTER needs to learn the spell, of which, part includes scribing the spell into their spellbook. So it falls to the category of loaning out your book so they can copy it. If you have multiple copies, I suppose that means you could do this more than one at a time. THe standard fee charged to adventurers for this is 50gp per spell level copied. Since you're trying to exploit the mechanic, thus going door to door hawking your wares, you'll get half that if anyone nibbles.

So, YES, you could make some money, but no more so than any other wizard. Your client pool would be exceptionally small though.

[Swooper]

THe standard fee charged to adventurers for this is 50gp per spell level copied.
Where did you get that number from? I was under the impression wizards had to buy scrolls to learn more spells, and those cost a *bit* more than 50gp/spell level last time I checked. :smallconfused:

As for the OP: I fail to see how Spell Mastery with all Illusion spells makes it somehow easier or cheaper for you to copy your spellbook. All it does is let you memorize them without your spellbook, and write them down in a new one in case you lose it.

[Citizen Joe]

Its in the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#arcaneMagicalWritings)



Spells Copied from Another’s Spellbook or a Scroll

A wizard can also add a spell to her book whenever she encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard’s spellbook. No matter what the spell’s source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings, above). Next, she must spend a day studying the spell. At the end of the day, she must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from her specialty school. She cannot, however, learn any spells from her prohibited schools. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into her spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, below). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.

If the check fails, the wizard cannot understand or copy the spell. She cannot attempt to learn or copy that spell again until she gains another rank in Spellcraft. A spell that was being copied from a scroll does not vanish from the scroll.

In most cases, wizards charge a fee for the privilege of copying spells from their spellbooks. This fee is usually equal to the spell’s level × 50 gp.


EDIT: Note that there is also a cost associated with actually scribing the spell:


Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook

Once a wizard understands a new spell, she can record it into her spellbook.
Time

The process takes 24 hours, regardless of the spell’s level.
Space in the Spellbook

A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one page. A spellbook has one hundred pages.
Materials and Costs

Materials for writing the spell cost 100 gp per page.

Note that a wizard does not have to pay these costs in time or gold for the spells she gains for free at each new level.


So the aforementioned illusionist would have to pay 100 gp per level to make the additional copies. Note also that when making a WBL advanced character its reasonable to use 150 gp per spell level for added spells (with DM approval). Otherwise, you're stuck with "all cantrips" + 3 1st level spells + INT bonus 1st level spells + 2 spells (of castable level) per wizard level. Some wizards may want to trade a larger spellbook for other possible magic items or equipment.

[Superglucose]

And besides, a scroll can be used after you copy the spell into your spellbook, so it's definitley not the same. Not only are you buying the spell, but you're also buying a free usage of it (if memory serves).

[Citizen Joe]

No, scribing from a scroll wipes it from the scroll... Scribing from a spell book doesn't... scribing from memory wipes the spell from your memory.

[Roderick_BR]

Hmm... you need Spell Mastery to write copies of spells into a spellbook? That feat lets you memorize known spells without need to read them from your spell book, but it doesn't give any special powers to write them down. You still pay the normal prices for it.

[Golthur]

IIRC, also, with a sufficiently high Spellcraft check, you can directly prepare spells from a spellbook that isn't your own.

Ah, here it is (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/spellcraft.htm). "Prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook", DC=15+spell level.

[JackMage666]

Hmm... I coulda sworn there was a pricing guide for sold spellbooks somewhere, though I'm not sure where (hence, why stealing and selling an enemy spellbook would be so effective.)

[Citizen Joe]

Hmm... I coulda sworn there was a pricing guide for sold spellbooks somewhere, though I'm not sure where (hence, why stealing and selling an enemy spellbook would be so effective.)

Yea, its 100 gp per page but you only get half for loot... that's 5000 gp for a full 100 page book. Of course, you spent 10,000 gp to scribe it so there isn't much point.