Eriol
2018-03-15, 06:44 AM
There's a contradiction/omission with the Wizard rules to copy scrolls into their Spellbook. This is present between the PHB and the DMG, but they're both in the same document in the SRD. Text quotes below are from the SRD pdf located here (http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd).
For a wizard to copy a spell from a scroll into his/her spellbook, the text from the PHB on page 114 and in the SRD on pages 54-55 is as follows:
Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.
Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Then in the DMG on pages 200-201 and below in the SRD on page 242, there's this:
A wizard spell on a spell scroll can be copied just as spells in spellbooks can be copied. When a spell is copied from a spell scroll, the copier must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell’s level. If the check succeeds, the spell is successfully copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the spell scroll is destroyed.
I am not asking about copying from another player's spellbook. The DDAL rules are actually... well they make the problem worse, as here's the ruling from the 7.0 version of that guide for ToA: (Emphasis added by me in this section)
Downtime: Copying Spells. In order to copy spells into your spellbook, you must use this downtime activity. For each downtime day spent, your character can spend 8 hours copying spells into their spellbook. Two or more characters playing the same adventure together using this downtime activity can allow one another access to their spellbook; effectively “trading” spells between everyone involved to copy as normal. All parties to the trade must spend these downtime days in order to trade spells. As there can be a chance of failure when copying spells, you must use this downtime activity in the presence of the table’s DM.
So the question is: does copying a spell from a scroll require an Arcana check? The PHB (and Wizard Section of SRD) doesn't say anything about it. But the DMG (and the Magic item section of the SRD) DOES say that. And the DDAL guide definitely says there's a check involved, but doesn't expand on what that check actually is.
Now at MY table (non-AL) there is no check. Costs, (gold, time) but not a check. The PHB is the RAW that I use for the ruling. But what do other people think? And more importantly, what is the AL rules on this?
For a wizard to copy a spell from a scroll into his/her spellbook, the text from the PHB on page 114 and in the SRD on pages 54-55 is as follows:
Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it.
Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Then in the DMG on pages 200-201 and below in the SRD on page 242, there's this:
A wizard spell on a spell scroll can be copied just as spells in spellbooks can be copied. When a spell is copied from a spell scroll, the copier must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell’s level. If the check succeeds, the spell is successfully copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the spell scroll is destroyed.
I am not asking about copying from another player's spellbook. The DDAL rules are actually... well they make the problem worse, as here's the ruling from the 7.0 version of that guide for ToA: (Emphasis added by me in this section)
Downtime: Copying Spells. In order to copy spells into your spellbook, you must use this downtime activity. For each downtime day spent, your character can spend 8 hours copying spells into their spellbook. Two or more characters playing the same adventure together using this downtime activity can allow one another access to their spellbook; effectively “trading” spells between everyone involved to copy as normal. All parties to the trade must spend these downtime days in order to trade spells. As there can be a chance of failure when copying spells, you must use this downtime activity in the presence of the table’s DM.
So the question is: does copying a spell from a scroll require an Arcana check? The PHB (and Wizard Section of SRD) doesn't say anything about it. But the DMG (and the Magic item section of the SRD) DOES say that. And the DDAL guide definitely says there's a check involved, but doesn't expand on what that check actually is.
Now at MY table (non-AL) there is no check. Costs, (gold, time) but not a check. The PHB is the RAW that I use for the ruling. But what do other people think? And more importantly, what is the AL rules on this?