spellbook protections

[magwaaf]

so i'm gonna be playing an ectoplasmic bloodline sorcerer and i'm gonna be carrying a fake spellbook around so i look like a wizard and if it gets stolen thieves can have some false hope. what i'm looking for are good enchantments to make the book look magical and well protected magically.

what kind of protections are there? i've never played a full caster before and am not sure what's really good.

thanks!

[gorfnab]

Maybe use some Sovereign Glue during the binding process of making the fake spellbook. Sovereign Glue will ping as Strong Transmutation (CL 20) when using Detect Magic.

[magwaaf]

Maybe use some Sovereign Glue during the binding process of making the fake spellbook. Sovereign Glue will ping as Strong Transmutation (CL 20) when using Detect Magic.

that's awesome, i did not know that. been using that stuff for decades... as the game progresses i actually wanna cover this thing in all kinds of spells to make it look really important and really f with anyone that takes it

[Hellpyre]

Nystul's Magic Aura is tailor-made for such things.

[magwaaf]

awesome, thank you guys for the help. the game's not gonna be for awhile so im trying to learn how to not completely suck as my first caster

[Hellpyre]

As far as a first caster, especially a sorcerer, try to pick mostly spells that are versatile ways to interact with the world (Stone Shape, Major Illusion, Detect Thoughts, ect.) over more versions of the same thing (Magic Missle and Fireball are more than enough damage spells to last until late in your career). Being able to do combat well is nice, but if you want to do more than that the sheer utility of spells is a caster's greatest benefit.

[Angrith]

If this is your first full caster, I highly recommend the following guide: http://zenithgames.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-almost-complete-guide-to-sorcerers.html

It does an excellent job not just describing what picks are good, but why they're good.

[Crake]

If this is pathfinder, which i assume it is because youre using bloodlines as a sorcerer, then any true spellcaster would simply use the secluded grimoire spell every morning after preparing spells. A single 1st level spell to keep your spellbook completely safe.

So really, any spellbooks that are ever found should always be assumed to be a trap, unless you catch the wizard/magus while they’re preparing spells for the morning.

[magwaaf]

As far as a first caster, especially a sorcerer, try to pick mostly spells that are versatile ways to interact with the world (Stone Shape, Major Illusion, Detect Thoughts, ect.) over more versions of the same thing (Magic Missle and Fireball are more than enough damage spells to last until late in your career). Being able to do combat well is nice, but if you want to do more than that the sheer utility of spells is a caster's greatest benefit.

i was thinking about that. my group will probably have like a party of close to 10 people and its gonna be very few noncasters so i am gonna go by alot of their judgement as im also playing a character that is doing his damndest to not be a complete screw up lol. i wanna look for as many ways as i can to take advantage of the bloodlines built in tanglefoot bags.

[magwaaf]

As far as a first caster, especially a sorcerer, try to pick mostly spells that are versatile ways to interact with the world (Stone Shape, Major Illusion, Detect Thoughts, ect.) over more versions of the same thing (Magic Missle and Fireball are more than enough damage spells to last until late in your career). Being able to do combat well is nice, but if you want to do more than that the sheer utility of spells is a caster's greatest benefit.

i was thinking about that. my group will probably have like a party of close to 10 people and its gonna be very few noncasters so i am gonna go by alot of their judgement as im also playing a character that is doing his damndest to not be a complete screw up lol. i wanna look for as many ways as i can to take advantage of the bloodlines built in tanglefoot bags as much as i can.

[Vaern]

As far as spellbook protection goes, a standard spellbook is treated to be impervious to damage from anything it's likely to encounter including fire, water, mold, parasites, and staining (according to Complete Arcane's section on spellbook construction). As long as our isn't being directly attacked you shouldn't need to worry about it.

As far as theft deterrent goes, symbol spells trigger when read and should naturally blend in with any magical-ish looking writing. Things like sepia snake sigil, which traps the reader in a field of amber energy for several days, will make thieves regret touching your book. The downside is that symbols tend to have extremely expensive material components.
Complete Arcane also suggests that the spellbook may be spelltrapped for protection - for example, anyone opening the book other than its owner may trigger the casting of burning hands. This method of trapping your spellbooks follows the same rules and pricing as creating magical traps.
There's also a spell somewhere called dragoneye rune which you can place on the book... It's a permanent spell that functions as arcane mark, except that 3/day you can detect the distance and direction of the marked object or creature, which is extremely convenient for tracking down a stolen spellbook. It's sorc/wiz 2 with no material component cost, so if you wanted to just pick up a scroll to cast it on your book it should be reasonably inexpensive.

If you want the book to have a magical aura, you could always pick up the scribe scroll feat and fill the pages with actual spells. Or, if you decide to buy scrolls in town, have the shopkeeper(s) involved scribe their spells directly into your spellbook. Each page will emit its own magic aura according to the spell it contains.

[Troacctid]

Illusory script allows you to work a suggestion into the pages of the book. Great way to mess with thieves.