Spellbook value

[Tyger]

How does one value a Wizard's spell book? Assuming of course that said Wizard no longer has a need for it?

Would it just be the 100 GP per spell level that the wizard spent crafting the spells into it? And 1/2 of that to sell it?

[NullAshton]

I believe so. Plus half the value for the spellbook itself, not too sure how much it costs.

[Raolin_Fenix]

Okay, this is absolutely retarded as far as I'm concerned, and I do not support this at all, but the Player's Handbook, in its dubious wisdom, has the following to say on the subject:

A spellbook entirely filled with spells (that is, with one hundred pages of spells inscribed in it) is worth 5000 GP.

I mean, that doesn't even cover the 100-GP-per-page cost to scribe spells in it. Let alone the value of the spell itself, or the scroll it cost you to have something to scribe from. I have no respect for that rule at all, but there it is.

[Enzario]

Well, it makes sense in the way that half of 100 is 50, therefore a cost of 50 gp per page for characters to sell. There are 100 pages in a standard spellbook, therefore: 100 pages*50 gp per page=5000. However, that doesn't begin to cover labor, fees, shipping, handling, and the standard shipping security of a party of no less than four adventurers capable of expending no more than one-quarter of their available resources to defend the caravan against each random encounter of approximately equal power to said party, allowing for one such encounter per leg of the journey.

[Beaudoin]

The 5,000 gp rule seems fair to me. When selling, it's essentially half value like most items. And as treasure, it takes a fair bit of work to use a gained spellbook. First you need to decipher the writings, then one of two things happens. One, you transfer the spells inside to your own book (incurring the 100 GP per page rule) at a DC 15+spell level Spellcraft check, with failure indicating you cannot copy the spell again until another rank of Spellcraft is gained. Two, you make a similar Spellcraft check every time you want to prepare a spell from it, with failure meaning you cannot prepare it from that source for the rest of the day. More work than a +1 Flaming Longsword, at least.

EDIT: Oops, more spellbook-as-treasure rules.

[BardicDuelist]

Well, it makes sense in the way that half of 100 is 50, therefore a cost of 50 gp per page for characters to sell. There are 100 pages in a standard spellbook, therefore: 100 pages*50 gp per page=5000. However, that doesn't begin to cover labor, fees, shipping, handling, and the standard shipping security of a party of no less than four adventurers capable of expending no more than one-quarter of their available resources to defend the caravan against each random encounter of approximately equal power to said party, allowing for one such encounter per leg of the journey.

True, but it is also impossible per RAW for a wizard to make any money crafting magic items (they sell them for 1/2 the cost...which is what they pay to create it). Also in D&D, the more you make somthing the less experience you have and so the worse you get at making it.

Still, if a first level wizard were to sell his spellbook, he would have more gold than the entire party. (4+Int+Cantrips)x50gp. Even a wizard with an 11 intelligence would make 625 by selling his spellbook (and that is if 0 level spells take up half a page, I cannot remember). If they take up a full page it is 1,150 GP. Add 50 per Int modifier, and annother 100 if they take the collegiate wizard feat.

So yes, at high levels a wizard is screwed if they try to sell their spellbook, as they will get virtually nothing for it, but at low levels they get a ridiculous amount.

[Tyger]

In this instance however, its more a matter of the party looking at the possessions of its recently deceased wizard, and wondering what to do with them.... :)

[BardicDuelist]

In this instance however, its more a matter of the party looking at the possessions of its recently deceased wizard, and wondering what to do with them.... :)

Sell them off to a wizard. You can probably get more money from a wizard (with diplomacy, bulff, appraise, etc)than selling it to a merchant. Either way, what good does it do you? Even 5,000gp is somthing.

If a new wizard comes along, well then I would suggest giving it to him (thus you have a character who has far more spells than before).

[TheOOB]

Items sell for half cost because the PCs don't own a store and have lots of ranks in profession merchant, they are simply looking for a merchant to pawn an item off to, of course the merchants going to buy it for a reduced price.

Now if the PC opens of their own shop and sells their items to other adventurers, they can start turning a profit, but thats not very adventurous.

As for spellbooks, they really are not meant to be transfered between wizards. A full wizards spell book is valuable, but the time and money it takes to craft one for what another wizard gets out of it is quite wasteful. Scrolls are the preferred method of trading spells, they are cheep, efficient, and fairly easy to scribe into your own spellbook.

[Leon]

Not sure on the exact value but my Druid is keeping possesion of 2 knowing that he will be well rewarded for them - i know for sure that a Alive wizard is worth much more but sadly we havent managed to keep one alive so far

[Jack Mann]

Items sell for half because this isn't Economist: The Enterprise.

[tannish2]

just figure out how much the player spent on it and use whatever selling rules you use to set the price (i beleive DMG is 50% without diplomacyness bonus)

[TheOOB]

Items sell for half because this isn't Economist: The Enterprise.

That about sums it up. D&D is about adventuring and kicking monster butt, the title is "Dungeons" and "Dragons" after all.

[Jack Mann]

Hold on, hold on. It would have been funnier if I'd written Capital: The Accumulation, wouldn't it?

Well, too late now, damn it all. There's a German word for this, and it's a damned pity I don't know any German.

[Aquillion]

I suspect that there are two real reasons why this is set up the way it is:

First, to keep players from scribing extra spellbooks, then selling them at a profit. Duh. If a scribed spellbook's sell value exceeded the materials cost to create it, every wizard would spend all their free time making backup spellbooks and selling them.

Second, spellbooks, as treasure, are not consumed when the wizard uses them. In other words, a wizard can find a spellbook, copy out all the spells he needs, then sell it and get its full value, despite still having all of its useful spells. This implies that the value of spellbooks needs to be fairly low if they're going to be given as treasure -- if you sell a +1 flaming greatsword, you don't have a +1 flaming greatsword anymore, but with a spellbook you can have your cake and eat it, too.

[Overlord]

Hold on, hold on. It would have been funnier if I'd written Capital: The Accumulation, wouldn't it?

Well, too late now, damn it all. There's a German word for this, and it's a damned pity I don't know any German.

How about "The Wealth of Parties?"

Or "Das Loot."



...Get it? It's like "Das Kapital" and "Das Boot!" And the Das Boot part was by accident!

HA HA!!

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Parties would have been as great title.

[Abstruse]

Interestingly, the per-page scribing cost listed under Boccob's blessed book in the DMG is 25 gp/page.

A wizard can fill the 1,000 pages of a Boccob's blessed book with spells without paying the 25 gp per page material cost.

[Overlord]

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Parties would have been as great title.

Exactly.

But, by the way, if I ever write an aquatic adventure, I'm going to have no choice but to call it:

DAS LOOT!

[SilverClawShift]

I mean, that doesn't even cover the 100-GP-per-page cost to scribe spells in it. Let alone the value of the spell itself, or the scroll it cost you to have something to scribe from. I have no respect for that rule at all, but there it is.

Well, bear in mind that the POINT of that rule is to not cover the 100-GP-per-page cost. A scribed spellbook needs to be worth less by default than it costs to make, or you might as well make "Unlimited Cash" a wizard class feature.

But going from that base, if you really wanted to play around with the numbers, you easily could. Different spells may be worth more to different people.
A Necromancers spellbook would probably sell for very little gold in a kingdom where practicing necromancy was punishable by execution. A spellbook full to the brim of nothing but 1st and 2nd level spells would likely be worth less to a powerful wizards than it would be to a fledgling apprentice mage. A book that was filled cover to cover with 9th level spells (11 of them, max, for most spellbooks) would be worth a lot to a wizard approaching 17th level, and a lot less to a 7th level wizard (unless they were REALLY planning ahead).

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Interestingly, the per-page scribing cost listed under Boccob's blessed book in the DMG is 25 gp/page.

Typing error.

[Tor the Fallen]

Hold on, hold on. It would have been funnier if I'd written Capital: The Accumulation, wouldn't it?

Well, too late now, damn it all. There's a German word for this, and it's a damned pity I don't know any German.

There's a French phrase for it. "Esprit d'escalier", or "wit of the staircase".

[Jack Mann]

As I recall, the German is basically the same phrase.