Spellbook

Spellbooks are used by illusionists and mages to store spells, allowing the daily study of symbols and diagrams too complex to be memorized or retained once a spell has been cleared from the caster's mind. Illusionists and mages must therefore have access to a written form of their spells in order to use them again, making a spellbook their most important possession. Its loss can greatly reduce a caster's power for a time.

It is common for illusionists and mages to possess more than one spellbook, including copies kept hidden in secure locations in case of loss. Spellbooks are often stored in sealed metal containers to protect against fire and similar dangers. At minimum, a spellbook should have a leather cover, which must fail its save before the pages within are affected. As an alternative, spells may be stored on scrolls kept in strong cases and carried on the caster's person. Some consider this safer than carrying books in a pack.

Composition

Spellbooks and scrolls are measured in "quires," consisting of four sheets folded to create eight leaves. Each leaf has a front and back page, so that a quire equals 16 pages. Twenty quires form a "ream," equal to 320 pages. A page is defined as 108 square inches, or 9 by 12 inches. A cantrip requires one half page, so that 32 cantrips fill one quire. A spell requires one page per spell level, so that 16 spell levels fill one quire. Because book sizes vary, spellbooks are described by the number of quires they contain rather than by page size. Larger pages are still measured in standard quires, so that only total capacity matters. Quires also provide a consistent measure of weight.

When a spellbook is filled, the caster must obtain another. As a caster gains levels, multiple books become necessary, since powerful spells consume large portions of a quire. The caster knows which spells are in each book, but should identify them clearly if any are at risk. Spells gained early in a career will not be found in later volumes.

If scrolls are used, more must be acquired as spells increase. A typical scroll is 9 inches wide and long enough to equal one quire, though smaller pieces may be used if desired.

How Spells are Written

When a caster gains a level and first understands a new spell, it could be argued that the spell should not be used until it is written into a spellbook — however, at present this rule is considered suspended. Rewriting a spell anew that the character already has, however, requires locating a suitable town, an apothecary and a supply of one 2 fl.oz. ink pot of magical ink per two spell levels to be written. A prior copy of the spell, which need be written in merely ordinary ink, as well as six hours per spell level, is also necessary. These things can be obtained from another mage, or more typically a mage guild, which are small associations whose purpose is support and enablement of other mages. If the character is not a member of the guild, a nominal fee of 20 g.p. is sufficient to become a "member."

Otherwise, the initial presence of a spell in the caster's book is accepted as a matter of course, handwaved if it were, without tracking the process. It may be assumed that the caster maintains a small reserve of magical ink for this purpose, without the need to record it.

However, when copying spells into additional books, the process must be carried out in play. The caster must acquire the materials and spend the time to complete the work. This discourages foolishness on the part of spellcasters and acts as a hedge against their power, while assuming the creation of reserve copies stored in safe locations. Without such guilds, replacing a lost spellbook requires copying from the books of other casters, which is possible but inconvenient and sometimes difficult.

See also,
Illusionary Spell Acquisition
Magical Spell Acquisition
Player Characters