How different are scrolls of the same spell written by different classes?

[Jay R]

I'm new to running 3.5e, and I keep bumping into things I don't know.

The party has just found several scrolls. How different are scrolls of the same spell made by different classes?

For instance, a cleric has made a divine scroll of darkness.? Can a druid use that scroll? Can a wizard or sorcerer? Can a wizard copy darkness as an arcane spell into her spellbook from that divine scroll?

Every bard spell has a verbal component. If a bard makes a scroll of hypnotic pattern, does a wizard or sorcerer need that verbal component to cast it? If the wizard makes the scroll, can a bard cast it without a verbal component? Can the bard figure out what the verbal component should be (since the scroll won't tell)?

My most immediate question is how much I have to track about where a scroll came from. You find a darkness scroll. Does that tell you everything you need about the scroll to know who can use it?

Thanks for any help.

[Telonius]

From the Scrolls (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/scrolls.htm) description:


To have any chance of activating a scroll spell, the scroll user must meet the following requirements.

The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his or her class.)
The user must have the spell on his or her class list.
The user must have the requisite ability score.
If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell’s caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check. If she meets all three requirements but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully. If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a mishap (see Scroll Mishaps, below). A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers.

As long as a character is a caster of the right type (arcane or divine), has the spell on the class list, has the requisite ability score, and their CL=the spell's CL, then they can use the scroll. A Druid can cast a scroll made by a Cleric, and vice versa, as long as the spell is on both of their class lists.

There are a few edge cases where the scroll might require a different CL depending on who created the scroll:


Several arcane spells are different in level for sorcerers and wizards than they are for bards. Such spells appear on the table at the level appropriate to a sorcerer or wizard (considered the default because bards typically don’t involve themselves in scribing scrolls).

Likewise, some divine spells are different in level for clerics and druids than they are for paladins and rangers. Such spells appear at the level appropriate to a cleric or druid (considered the default because paladins and rangers typically don’t involve themselves in scribing scrolls).

If a divine spell is cast at different levels by clerics and druids, it appears at the level appropriate to a cleric (considered the default choice between clerics and druids).

For the verbal components, that's the only slightly ambiguous part. Here's the activation for scrolls:


Activating a scroll requires reading the spell from the scroll. The character must be able to see and read the writing on the scroll. Activating a scroll spell requires no material components or focus.

It does say that you need to read the spell. Whether or not that means, just read it with your eyes, or read it aloud...?

From the description of Spell Completion (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#spellCompletion) Items:


This is the activation method for scrolls. A scroll is a spell that is mostly finished. The preparation is done for the caster, so no preparation time is needed beforehand as with normal spellcasting. All that’s left to do is perform the finishing parts of the spellcasting (the final gestures, words, and so on). To use a spell completion item safely, a character must be of high enough level in the right class to cast the spell already. If he can’t already cast the spell, there’s a chance he’ll make a mistake. Activating a spell completion item is a standard action and provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does.

So that bit of description seems to suggest that Verbal and Somatic components might still need to be done. But the description also answers the bit about the Wizard scroll/Bard caster example. The spell is a Wizard spell, and if the Wizard version doesn't need a V component, the Bard doesn't have to worry about it. The rules don't explicitly say this, but I'd personally rule that figuring out what the S and V components are, would be contained in the "Decipher the Writing" step.

[Tzardok]

Scrolls are one of the few items that care about wether they were made by a divine or an arcane caster. Only someone on the same side of the divide as the creator can use them. So your clerical darkness scroll can't be used by bards or wizards. You also must have that spell on your spell list (i.e. the list of spells that you theoretically can learn). Druids don't have darkness on their list, so the example scroll can only be used by clerics.

Regarding components, I don't think that matters. The description of activating a scroll mentions that the scroll must be read out loud, so what components the spell requires don't play a role. Edit: Huh, that is apparantly a translation mistake in the German Dungeon Master's Guide. Ignore it.

The things you need to keep track of for a scroll are arcane or divine, and caster level. The first decides together with the properties of the spell itself if you can cast it all, and the second not only influences the strength of the effect, if you use a scroll that has a higher caster level than yourself you have a chance of fumbling the spell.