Wizards, PrCs, and class features.

[Ashes]

Hello all.
Recently I got to wondering. Wizards are often stated to only miss out on bonus feats when they choose to go into a full spellcasting prestige class, rather than sticking with wizard 20.
My concern is this.

At each new wizard level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new wizard level) for her spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards’ spellbooks to her own.

This is from the entry called "Spellbook", not spellcasting, and therefore, I am in doubt as to whether a PrC that advances casting (and thus has a "Spells" entry, but not a "Spellbook" entry) would let you add new spells per level, seeing as you did not gain a Wizard level, as the entry quite specifically states.

Thoughts on this?

[Gnorman]

Scrolls are cheap and hopefully plentiful.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

You learn spells as if you had advance a level in Wizard. You do not, however, gain any other benefit.

[Gaiyamato]

You learn spells as if you had advance a level in Wizard. You do not, however, gain any other benefit.

PH is right.
With Wizard (and Archivist) when a prc advances your spell progression you learn those two spells. But if the prc does not advance the spell progresion then you get zip. Usually a full progression prc is what you go for unless you have somethign specific in mind. I try and avoid non-full-spellcasting-progression prcs though.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Spells per Day/Spells Known

When a new [PrC] level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of [PrC] to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

That is basically what every prestige class says when it advances spellcasting. It grants new spells per day and spells known as if you had gained a level in your spellcasting class. Just because the mechanics of the spellbook are described separately from the mechanics of spells/day does not make them completely separate.

[Ashes]

I've always just interpreted the "Spells known, if applicable" as referring to spontaneous casters. Now, I'm trying to say that wizards in PrC's shouldn't get new spells, I was just wondering if they did.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I've always just interpreted the "Spells known, if applicable" as referring to spontaneous casters. Now, I'm trying to say that wizards in PrC's shouldn't get new spells, I was just wondering if they did.

Some classes, particularly divine classes like Cleric and Druid, automatically know their entire spell list. In that case, gaining additional spells known would not be applicable. For any other class that doesn't automatically know every spell on their class list, a prestige class grants additional spells known along with additional spells/day when it increases your spellcasting ability.

[mostlyharmful]

Scrolls are cheap and hopefully plentiful.

Yet still more than a Wizard needs to pay to add to his book, particularly if the DM is nice. It's either
- free to add spells (secret page works as writen and there's a mage you can swap spells with)
- 50Xlevel (secret page works but your mage buddy isn't interested in quid pro quo on spells so you've got to pay them)
- 150xlevel (you've got to scribe them normally and pay your mage friend)

It can be less for the level one and two spells to grab a scroll dependant on your DMs rulings but beyound that it's far far cheaper inside the core rules.

Yes this assumes there's mages around that aren't paranoid and insane but core assumes that when you build towns and when they wrote the rules on spell learning.