Wizard cliff notes

[PMDM]

If you have a wizard who is stuck on the number of pages in his spellbook, let him use shorthand

Wizard Shorthand

When a wizard is copying a spell into his spell book, if he makes a spellcraft DC check of 15 + spell level, he can write the spell in shorthand. The spell takes up half the amount of pages in a spellbook, but the wizard must make a spellcraft DC of 10 + spell level, and other wizards who use his spellbook must make a spellcraft DC of 25 + spell level.

[Jack_Simth]

Well, unless you disallow taking 10, no wizard is going to flinch at writing their own spells in shorthand. Point of fact, every wizard is going to use shorthand, unless they specifically rent out their spellbook for copying, as it provides a measure of defense against other spellcasters stealing the spellbook (they can still steal it, but it's considerably less of a prize). Oh yeah, and it makes it less expensive to scribe, and it takes up less space. There is no downside for the vast majority of wizards.

[PMDM]

what if I bumped up the DC to 25 + spell level for the writer, and 35 DC for the reader who didn't write the spell?

[SilveryCord]

I like it a bit, but there should be some disadvantage for casting the spell too. Ever scrawled something down on a sheet of paper, and then try and read it a year later?

[fangthane]

It's far too expensive to be worthwhile at lower levels and becomes too valuable at higher levels to be justified by its difficulty; at level 20, a DC 34 spellcraft check is pretty easy to make but at level 1 a DC 26 is all but impossible. Perhaps make it DC 20+caster level?

My tendency would be to just make a feat to allow scribing in one page fewer (minimum 1) which could be taken multiple times and stack, also possible to take as a wizard bonus feat.

[I_Got_This_Name]

Hmm. . .

How about making it 25 + 3x spell level, reduced to 15 + 3x spell level if you are the original writer and have prepared the spell from that particular instance of shorthand at least once a week for every week since writing it (it becomes alien to you if you don't read it for a week).

[fangthane]

That would work; it'd balance things against the ability to get items at higher levels, make it a chore (I assume a check for a given spell can only be made once per day but that should be specified) to prepare any spell which wasn't already familiar in its shorthand form, and the realism of the "ahh, crap, maybe if I sleep on it and look at it again tomorrow I'll remember what that meant..." which I know I've done to myself with shorthanded notations. (not real shorthand, since I don't know it)

[PMDM]

I like the idea of 3*spell level, and I'll use that. I won't use the requirement of casting a spell a lot, so you remember the shorthand. It's too much to remember in a game, and it lends itself to spellwhoring. That is, using only spells way too much. Everyone has a better time if wizards use a variety of spells in a game.