ARCANE MAGICAL WRITINGS

To record an arcane spell in written form, a character uses complex notation that describes the magical
forces involved in the spell. The notation constitutes a universal arcane language that wizards have
discovered, not invented. The writer uses the same system no matter what her native language or culture.
However, each character uses the system in her own way. Another person’s magical writing remains
incomprehensible to even the most powerful wizard until she takes time to study and decipher it. To
decipher an arcane magical writing (such as a single spell in written form in another’s spellbook or on a
scroll), a character must make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the spell’s level). If the skill check fails, the
character cannot attempt to read that particular spell again until the next day. A read magic spell
automatically deciphers a magical writing without a skill check. If the person who created the magical
writing is on hand to help the reader, success is also automatic. Once a character deciphers a particular
magical writing, she does not need to decipher it again. Deciphering a magical writing allows the reader to
identify the spell and gives some idea of its effects (as explained in the spell description). If the magical
writing was a scroll and the reader can cast arcane spells, she can attempt to use the scroll.
Editor: What is in your spellbook? For example, if you copy over a spell into a spellbook, then destroy the
spellbook, do you still “know” the spell? This is important when it comes to borrowed spellbooks. I
think that it’s important to define what is a wizard’s PERSONAL spell list, and the wizard spell list.
The wizard spell list is all 1849 official wizard spells. Your personal spell list is every spell that you
personally have spent 8 hours copying over into your spellbook. (Or you used the attunement rules to
add to your personal list. Check with your DM to see if he is using said rules.)There doesn’t seem to be
any way around this, except for certain magic items. Once written down (or attuned) anywhere, it’s in
your “spellbook”. Or rather, in your personal spell list.
Editor (Personal Spell Lists): So, if you destroy every copy of a spell from a Wizard’s Spellbook, does he
forget that spell and have to relearn it? Below in the replacing spellbook section, it implies that you can
use borrowed spellbooks to replace destroyed spellbooks. Since you cannot use any spell in a borrowed
spellbook that you have not already copied down at least once into a spellbook (or attuned), we can
infer that you never lose your personal spell list. So as a wizard, you need to keep track of your
PERSONAL spell list, but then keep track of what spellbooks you have, which ones are borrowed and
which ones you copied yourself (and which ones you are attuned to).

The Spellbook
Although most folks think of them as thick, heavy tomes of parchment or vellum pages bound with ornate
covers and heavy locks, a wizard’s spellbooks can take almost any form. A spellbook can be made from
belts of linked metal plates that serve as pages, scribed on thin sheets of ivory, or disguised by magic to
look like a shield, gaming board, lute, or almost any other mundane item of equivalent size. Whatever their
appearance, spellbooks are generally classified in two groups—arcanabula and grimoires. Arcanabula, or
workbooks, are a wizard’s everyday working tomes. They tend to contain spells jumbled in any order,
interspersed with annotations and notes of magical lore, and are often stained and battered from travel and
use in the field. Grimoires, sometimes called greatbooks, are formal, ordered collections of spells.
Greatbooks tend to be locked, guarded, and hidden, either in a secure cache or in a wizard’s abode. Most
are composed with gilded ornamentation or inks, and they might even have plates of polished ivory or
platinum within them, engraved or stamped with arcane writings. They are usually large and often of
unusual proportions (such as very tall for their width), and many have metal-bound corners (ornate
protective caps) and chased or relief-carved covers.

Wizard Spells and Borrowed Spellbooks

A wizard can use a borrowed spellbook to prepare a spell she already knows and has recorded in her own
spellbook, but preparation success is not assured. First, the wizard must decipher the writing in the book.
Once a spell from another spellcaster’s book is deciphered, the reader must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15
+ spell’s level) to prepare the spell. If the check succeeds, the wizard can prepare the spell. She must repeat
the check to prepare the spell again, no matter how many times she has prepared it before. If the check
fails, she cannot try to prepare the spell from the same source again until the next day. (However, as
explained above, she does not need to repeat a check to decipher the writing.)
Masters and Apprentices: Wizards who take on apprentices usually teach them many of the same
notations and codes they themselves have perfected. A wizard attempting to decipher, prepare, or copy
a spell from the spellbook of a master (or apprentice) gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the Spellcraft
 check.
Mastering a Foreign Spellbook: Instead of laboriously copying each spell of interest from a found
spellbook into his own, a wizard might instead make a dedicated effort to master the spellbook’s
particular ciphers and notations. This procedure is sometimes referred to as becoming attuned to the
spellbook (although it’s a matter of time and study, not a mystical process). Mastering a spellbook
requires a successful Spellcraft check (DC 25 + the level of the highest-level spell in the book) and
takes one week plus one day per spell contained within. If the wizard succeeds, he can use the foreign
spellbook as his own, requiring no further Spellcraft checks to prepare or copy spells from it. If he
fails, he cannot attempt to master that spellbook again until he gains at least 1 more rank in Spellcraft.
Editor: The moment your Spellcraft is 23 or higher, you automatically can use any spell that you have
already recorded into one of your spell books. This can save you a great deal of time on making
backup spellbooks, because now you can hire anyone to take the time to scribe a spellbook and you
can use it without fear of failure. The problem being, of course, that you have to have copied it over
into one of your spellbooks at least once, or undergone the attunement process.

Adding Spells to a Wizard’s Spellbook

Wizards can add new spells to their spellbooks through several methods. If a wizard has chosen to
specialize in a school of magic, she can learn spells only from schools whose spells she can cast. Spells
Gained at a New Level: Wizards perform a certain amount of spell research between adventures. Each time
a character attains a new wizard level, she gains two spells of her choice to add to her spellbook. These
spells represent the results of her research. The two free spells must be of spell levels she can cast. If she
has chosen to specialize in a school of magic, one of the two free spells must be from her specialty school.
Spells Copied from Another’s Spellbook or a Scroll: A wizard can also add a spell to her book whenever
she encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard’s spellbook. No matter what the spell’s
source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing. Next, she must spend a day studying the
spell. At the end of the day, she must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). A wizard who
has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from
her specialty school. She cannot, however, learn any spells from her prohibited schools. If the check
succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into her spellbook. The process leaves a
spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll
disappears from the parchment. If the check fails, the wizard cannot understand or copy the spell. She
cannot attempt to learn or copy that spell again until she gains another rank in Spellcraft. A spell that
was being copied from a scroll does not vanish from the scroll. In most cases, wizards charge a fee for
the privilege of copying spells from their spellbooks. This fee is usually equal to the spell’s level x 50
gp, though many wizards jealously guard their higher level spells and may charge much more, or even
deny access to them altogether. Wizards friendly to one another often trade access to equal-level spells
from each other’s spellbooks at no cost.
Independent Research: A wizard also can research a spell independently, duplicating an existing spell or
creating an entirely new one.

Researching Original Spells

If you decide to allow characters to develop original spells, you can use these guidelines to handle the
situation. A spellcaster of any kind can create a new spell. The research to do this requires access to a well-
stocked library, typically in a large city or metropolis. Research requires an expenditure of 1,000 gp per
week and takes one week per level of the spell. This money goes into fees, consultants, material component
experimentation, and other miscellaneous expenditures. At the end of that time, the character makes a
Spellcraft check (DC 10 + spell level). If that roll succeeds, the character learns the new spell if her
research produced a viable spell. If the roll fails, the character must go through the research process again if
she wants to keep trying. A viable spell is one that you allow into the game. Don’t tell the player whether
you think the spell is viable when research begins. (That’s the point of the research.) However, feel free to
work with the player before the research begins and give him guidance on the parameters under which an
original spell might be acceptable in your game. Research to create new spells is always in addition to any
other research involved for gaining spells that are already part of your campaign (if you decide to also
require spell research for the new spells that casters are entitled to as they attain higher levels).

Creating New Spells

Introducing an unbalanced spell does more damage to your game than handing out an unbalanced magic
item. A magic item can get stolen, destroyed, sold, or otherwise taken away— but once a character knows a
spell, she’s going to want to keep using it. When creating a new spell, use the existing spells as
benchmarks, and use common sense. Creating a spell is actually fairly easy—it’s assigning a level to the
new spell that’s hard. If the “best” 2nd-level spell is invisibility, and the “best” 1st-level spell is charm
person or sleep, and the new spell seems to fall between those spells in power, it’s probably a 2nd-level
spell. (Sleep, however, is a strange example, because it’s a spell that gets less useful as the caster gains
levels—compared to a spell such as magic missile or fireball, which gets better, up to a point, for higher-
level casters. Make sure spells that only affect low-level creatures are low-level spells.) Here are some
pieces of advice to consider.
• If a spell is so good that you can’t imagine a caster not wanting it all the time, it’s either too powerful or
too low in level.
• An experience point (XP) cost is a good balancing force. An expensive material component is only a
moderately good balancing force. (Money can be easy to come by; an XP loss almost always hurts.)
• When determining level, compare range, duration, and target (or area) to other spells to balance. A long
duration or a large area can make up for a lesser effect, depending on the spell.
• A spell with a very limited use (only works against red dragons) could conceivably be one level lower
than it would be if it had a more general application. Even at a low level, this is the sort of spell a
sorcerer or bard never takes, and other casters would prepare it only if they knew in advance it would
be worthwhile.
• Wizards and sorcerers should not cast healing spells, but they should have the best offensive spells. If
the spell is flashy or dramatic, it should probably be a wizard/sorcerer spell.
Editor: If your DM allows spell research, as a wizard, you should totally be using it. I would like to point
out it takes one week of research per spell level and 1,000 gp in materials per week. By guidelines
established elsewhere, we can assume that means 8 hours a day. However, it does not have to be 8
uninterrupted hours. Nor does it say that you have to do it all in one week. So, if you want to start
customizing your spells, or even getting spells you have a hard time finding, you need to get the right
equipment. If you get the right equipment, you can handle things on the road, just keep track of how
much down time you have in a day and make sure to point it out to the DM that you are doing spell
research. For example, on a long trip by cart, you could set up a Tenser’s floating disk with your lab
equipment on it. That should give you 8 hours a day to work on your spell.
Editor (Equipment): Alas, they never updated the equipment from Tome and Blood, so we have to use the
equipment from there. To do research on the road, you will need an arcane lab and an arcane library.
The lab might be optional, but you need to pick it up just in case. Then you need raw materials. Most
DMs will hand wave this and just let you pick up raw materials in any major city. However, the cost
might be 1,000 gp for a week, but the weight is up in the air. I suggest 7 pounds, but that’s a house
rule. You base cost is 10,500 gp and 640 lbs. Now hauling around 640 lbs of books and equipment
would require a cart in and of itself. A handy haversack only holds 120 lbs. So what’s a low strength
wizard to do? Well, a type 3 bag of holding for 7,400 gp should handle all your magical research
holding needs with 340 pounds of room to spare. Or you can get a portable hole for 20,000 gp and just
plan on only using it on a wall.
Editor (What To Research): Remembering that any money spent on research does not count against your
wealth by level, you should totally be blowing your excess gold on spell research. But what to
research? Either research spells that already exist that your DM won’t let you find easily, or take any
existing spell and customize it to your needs. Are you a fire mage? Take any spell with an energy
descriptor and make it fire. Another trick is to take any spell you like, take any metamagic feat you
like, and combine them into one spell permanently. Take a personal spell and make it usable on others.
Take a touch spell and make it ranged. Take a ranged spell and make it mass. Remove the ability to
resist with a saving throw or spell resistance. There is no need to make a customized spell that is
radically different from the available spells, because you have 1849 spells to choose from. Minor
tweaks should be enough to make the already awesome spell list of a wizard even more awesome. And
don’t forget that special effects are free, so any researched spell of yours can have screaming skulls,
dripping blood, or flying force daggers that have screaming skulls and drip blood. Then you can sell it
and recover your losses to pay for the next spell you are trying to research.
Editor (Converting non-wizard spells to wizard spells): So you want to be able to heal. Healing really is
the providence of clerics. However there are examples of clerical-like spells turned into wizard spells.
 Usually they get a wizard “flair”, but the examples are there. Futhermore, there is the ultimate example
“Wish”. Wish can imitate ANY spell of 5th level or lower from ANY spell list. So, right there, if you
are willing to take a +4 level adjustment, you should be able to research any non-wizard spell into a
wizard version, just by jacking up the price 4 levels. Your DM might bring up that wish costs 5,000 xp.
Then point out limited wish can copy any spell only 3 levels lower for only 300 xp. So ask if you can
have any 1st through 4th level spells at +3 levels and 300 xp, or any 1st through 5th level spell at a +4
level adjustment and no extra XP cost. Because there are some 3rd level druid spells I would be willing
to cast a 6th for 300 xp. Most DM’s will flat out say, “NO.” but there is no harm in asking and working
out the spell research rules ahead of time.
Editor (Augury): Since you don’t know if the spell is possible or not, it’s highly recommended you take the
time to cast an augury spell to save you a whole headache of time and gold.

Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook

Once a wizard understands a new spell, she can record it into her spellbook.
Time: The process takes 24 hours, regardless of the spell’s level.
Space in the Spellbook: A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level, so a 2nd-level spell
takes two pages, a 5th-level spell takes five pages, and so forth. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one
page. A spellbook has one hundred pages.
Materials and Costs: Materials for writing the spell (special quills, inks, and other supplies) cost 100 gp
per page. Note that a wizard does not have to pay these costs in time or gold for the spells she gains for
free at each new level. She simply adds these to her spellbook as part of her ongoing research.
Editor (The Spellbook Itself): Alas, the spellbook itself does not factor into the cost of writing a new spell
in it. There are exceptions, but normally if you have a 15 gp spellbook or a 15,000 gp spellbook, it’s
still 100 gp a page.

Replacing and Copying Spellbooks

A wizard can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If she already has a
particular spell prepared, she can write it directly into a new book at a cost of 100 gp per page. The process
wipes the prepared spell from her mind, just as casting it would. If she does not have the spell prepared, she
can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book. Duplicating an existing
spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and
cost per page are halved.
Editor: So let’s get real here. Writing a spellbook is 100 days and 10,000 gp. Copying over a spellbook
that you already wrote is 50 days and 5,000 gp. So here I bring up the Quill of Rapid Scrivening from
DMG2. It only copies scrolls into spellbooks, but it can do it in 10 minutes and works all day long.
There is no limit on how many spells you can copy over in a day. Downside, it eats up scrolls, and has
a cost of 27,000 gp. That’s a whole LOT of your WBL to eat up just to speed up spell copy times. This
is an excellent item to pick up at high levels, or to have in the hands of NPCs that you are friends with.
So if you can get a hold of this or have it made, find a friendly NPC wizard and give it to them as a
gift, on the promise that they will never sell it and when you stop by you can use it when ever you
want. This is ideal choice at 9th level where teleport becomes available and you can take a day off to
translate a few dozen scrolls over to your spellbook.

Selling A Spellbook
Captured spellbooks can be sold for a gp amount equal to one-half the cost of purchasing and inscribing the
spells within (that is, one-half of 100 gp per page of spells). A spellbook entirely filled with spells (that is,
with one hundred pages of spells inscribed in it) is worth 5,000 gp.

Spellbook Construction
Aside from ornamentation and spurious false writings, all spellbooks require one page per spell level
(minimum one page) to record any particular spell. The pages of most spellbooks have been treated for
durability and protection against fire, mold, water, parasites, staining, and other hazards. These procedures
make even a blank spellbook relatively expensive. The base cost of 15 gp buys a well-bound leather
volume of 100 parchment pages, a style also typically used for other high-quality books such as the
genealogies of noble families or the master copies of sages’ published writings. Exotic materials increase
the cost and weight of a spellbook accordingly, and these materials are usually reserved for grimoires, not
arcanabula.
Editor (Masterwork): Under the rules, there is no reason you cannot have a masterwork spellbook. Such a
tome would have an additional +2 to all skill checks related to the book, but nothing else. The purpose
of an empty spellbook is to hold spells, not to help you cast them. This costs an additional 50 gp,
regardless of the cost of the book itself. Ironically, this will not help you to copy spells INTO the book,
but to help anyone attempting to decipher the script and copy a spell OUT of the book. Needless to
say, most wizards don’t bother with this option, unless they are running a library.
Editor (Does A Spellbook Cost Against Your Wealth By Level?): No. When you begin play, your average
wizard exceeds his wealth by level just by having a spellbook. So, the unwritten rules are that it does
not. However, a DM COULD impose such a rule if he wants. It is suggested that the first spellbook
doesn’t count, but secondary and other back up spellbooks should. The reason is, if the spellbook he
carries around with him is in the line of fire, then that’s payment enough. However, if he has backup
spellbooks, especially ones he keeps hidden, then he is negating the very weakness of being a wizard.
Ironically, this would encourage a wizard to have the spellbook he carries around be the most
expensive one, and his backups be the cheapest. Fluff text would seem to indicate that it is the
opposite. A DM might wish to allow all spellbooks to be counted “off the books”, no pun intended, for
ease of accounting. That way wizards have yet another thing to sink their spare cash into. It all depends
on your DM’s style and if he even keeps track of all this.

Spellbook Materials
The weight, hardness, hit points, and cost of a spellbook of unusual construction is the sum of its cover and
page construction. Special physical treatments (such as baths in secret herbal tinctures and alchemical
solutions designed to retard fire and mold damage) are included at all levels as the base function of being a
spellbook. The default spellbook is a leather cover with parchment pages.
Editor: Unfortunately, the list of materials is far from complete. On the other hand, they did give use some
means of comparison. Rather then use their chart, I’m going to just go material by material. The
following is extrapolated from the materials of various books and as such there is some shoe horning
involved. When in doubt, I didn’t include a material, rounded down for values, and rounded up for
cost. I stand by my math.
Editor (Damage/Resistance): Some materials grant the book special resistances. This only applies to the
spellbook, not the person holding it. Some materials confer extra damage. This applies if you use the
spellbook to make a touch attack against anyone. Books are not designed to be used as weapons, but
you can poke someone with it.

Spellbook Covers
The cover of the spellbook includes the front, back and binding.
ADAMANTINE
Cost: 5,000 gp
Hardness: 9
Hit Points: 7
Weight: 5 lb
Not much of a bonus over steel, but it does come with 1/- damage reduction.
ALCHEMICAL SILVER
Cost: 1,000 gp
Hardness: 5
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 5 lb
Basically it’s copper, but it comes with electrical resistance 2.
ALCHEMICAL COPPER
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 5
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 5 lb
Like normal copper, but with cold resistance 2.
ALCHEMICAL GOLD/PLATNUM
Cost: 5,000 gp
 Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 10 lb
It gains acid and fire resistance 2.
ARANDUR
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
Gains sonic resistance 2. Whee.
ASTRAL DRIFTMETAL
Cost: 12,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It allows incorporeal creatures to affect it. So unless you are also planning on getting astral
driftmetal foil pages, there isn’t much point in getting this, unless you want a ghost to be able to
carry the book, but not flip the pages.
AURORUM
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
You will also need to make metal foil aurorum pages, but if you do, you can reform the book
as a full-round action regardless of how much damage it takes, unless it is disintegrated.
BLUE ICE
Cost: 1,200 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 3 lb
It weighs less then steel, and is always cold to the touch, but oddly enough has no special
resistance to fire. It is immune to burning like steel, but so is steel.
BLUEWOOD
Cost: 300 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 3 lb
Alchemically treated blueleaf trees grown using wood shape spells can be used to make the
cover of spellbooks. If used with the ironwood spell, see wood, ironwood below.
BONE
Cost: 5 gp
Hardness: 2
Hit Points: 0
Weight: 2 lb
Like leather, but heavier.
BRONZE/COPPER
Cost: 100 gp
Hardness: 5
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 5 lb
This was originally Soft Metal, but as far as I can tell that means you are making it out of
bronze or copper. Since there are many materials to make your cover out of, I am renaming Soft
Metal as Bronze/Copper. The attributes remain the same. This covers any other “soft” metal not
included in this section.
BRONZEWOOD
Cost: 2,000 gp
 Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 4 lb
No real advantage over steel.
CHAMELEOWEAVE
Cost: 105 gp
Hardness: 2
Hit Points: 0
Weight: 1 lb
Your book takes on the appearance of other books it is next to, giving you a +1 circumstance
bonus to hiding or disguising it.
CHITIN
Cost: 200 gp
Hardness: 5
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 5 lb
It’s made out of bug.
CRYSTAL
Cost: 200 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It’s made out of crystal and shiny.
DARKSTEEL
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It gains acid resistance 2, but also does 1 point of electrical damage if used to hit someone.
DEEP CRYSTAL
Cost: 1,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
As a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you can channel psionic power
into a spellbook made of deep crystal. For 2 power points, the deep crystal spellbook deals an 2d6
points of damage on a touch attack. The spellbook will stay charged for 1 minute or until it scores
its next hit. Not very useful unless you are a Cerebremancer, but its an option.
DENSEWOOD
Cost: 400 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 10 lb
Increase the DC of any strength check to damage the book by 5.
DLARUN
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It gains fire resistance 2, but also does 1 point of cold damage if used to hit someone.
DRAGONHIDE
Cost: 200 gp
Hardness: 4
Hit Points: 2
Weight: 2 lb
 Dragonhide material is technically just superior leather, but it does render the book immune to
the energy damage that the dragon it was made from uses as a breath weapon. You would use up
the same amount of dragonhide as a buckler shield. Otherwise, it has no additional benefits.
FEVER IRON
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It gains Fire resistance 2, but also does 1 point of fire damage if used to hit someone.
FLAMETOUCHED IRON
Cost: 750 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
If you are using this material, it’s no better then normal iron, unless you craft the cover to
include a holy symbol of your choice. Then anyone who uses the book to turn undead in
considered one class level higher then they normal are.
GLASSTEEL
Cost: 300 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 3 lb
Nothing special.
HIZAGKUUR
Cost: 2,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
It gains cold resistance 2, but also does 1 point of electrical and fire damage if used to hit
someone.
LEATHER
Cost: 5 gp
Hardness: 2
Hit Points: 0
Weight: 1 lb
The default material. This covers any normal form of animal hide, but is typically some sort
of farm animal. However if you want to say it’s made out of human skin, or is made out of rabbit
fur, you can do that, but the attributes of the material remains the same. It’s all leather, the only
difference is cosmetic. If you want to say it’s made out of baby seal skin, go right ahead. The DM
might charge more for some exotic material, but then that falls under object d’art rules.
MITHRAL
Cost: 1,500 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 3 lb
It is shiny.
OBDURIUM
Cost: 10,000 gp
Hardness: 14
Hit Points: 10
Weight: 5 lb
The hardest substance you can make your book out of.
PURPLE MOURNLOAD
Cost: 400 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
 Weight: 5 lb
No special use unless you use it to make the cover of the book into a holy symbol. Then on
every successful turn attempt, you do one point of damage per level of the user.
SLIPCASE, LEATHER
Cost: +20 gp
Hardness: +1
Hit Points: +1
Weight: +1 lb
All fine books can be purchased with a waterproof double slipcase of chased and tooled
leather, strong enough to protect against driving rain or burial in snow but not against prolonged
immersion. A leather slipcase put over the book. It adds one more thing that needs to be opened
(thus another fire trap) and adds a little more protection to the book.
SLIPCASE, RIVERINE
Cost: 4,000 gp
Hardness: N/A
Hit Points: N/A
Weight: 5 lb
Your spellbook is now encased in a slipcover made of pure force. Unless it can damage a wall
of force, your spellbook is now immune to it. You cannot use this and any other sort of slipcase.
SLIPCASE, SUSALIAN CHAINWEAVE
Cost: 28,000 gp
Hardness: +1
Hit Points: +1
Weight: +1 lb
This can be added to any spellbook as a slipcase. It provides the book with DR 3/piercing. It
cannot be used with a normal slipcase.
STARMETAL
Cost: 5,000 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
If you use it to hit any extra-planar creatures while they are on the Material Plane, it does 1d6
points of damage to them.
STEEL
Cost: 200 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
This was originally Hard Metal, but as far as I can tell that means you are making it out of
steel. So I changed it to steel to reflect that. This covers any other “hard” metal not included in this
section.
STONE
Cost: 20 gp
Hardness: 3
Hit Points: 1
Weight: 5 lb
About as good as wood, but much heavier.
TARGATH
Cost: 200 gp
Hardness: 5
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 5 lb
A spellbook with a targath cover grants the one who carries it on his person (not in an
extradimensional space) a +2 resistance bonus on fortitude saves against disease.
THINAUN
Cost: 15,000 gp
 Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
If the spellbook is in contact with someone when they die, the thinaun sucks in the soul. The
soul remains in the cover until it sucks in another soul or is destroyed. Raise dead, resurrection,
and similar spells won’t bring back a creature whose soul is trapped by a thinaun spellbook unless
the caster has the spellbook in his possession. Because the soul is nearby, fewer material
components are required for such spells: Reincarnation, raise dead, resurrection, and true
resurrection require half as much of the relevant material component (unguents or diamonds) to
cast if the soul is within a thinaun spellbook.
URDRUKAR
Cost: 2,500 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 5 lb
Increases the DC for all scry attempts on the one who has this spellbook by +2.
WILDWOOD
Cost: 600 gp
Hardness: 7
Hit Points: 5
Weight: 3 lb
Always masterwork, as long as the book is exposed to sunlight for one hour a day, it will
“heal” 1 point of damage every 24 hours.
WOOD, NORMAL
Cost: 20 gp
Hardness: 3
Hit Points: 1
Weight: 1 lb
Originally it read wood, thin. There is no “thick” version. Since I am including many different
versions of wood, this has been renamed “normal”. This covers soft wood like pine trees and
hardwoods like oak. This does not include any magical or special wood materials, only ordinary
trees.
WOOD, IRONWOOD
Cost: 800 gp
Hardness: 8
Hit Points: 6
Weight: 1 lb
Under the crafting rules, if you have access to the ironwood spell while crafting items made
out of wood, “ironwood is as strong, heavy, and resistant to fire as steel”. The cost to hire
someone to cast the spell is 780 gp, plus the cost of the original wood. Since the caster will vastly
exceed the weight needed, you can assume that the book can be “treated as a magic item with a
+1 enhancement bonus”, because technically you could hit someone with a spellbook. We
can therefore treat it as a magical weapon.
To quote the rules under magic weapons, “An attacker cannot damage a magic weapon
that has an enhancement bonus unless his own weapon has at least as high an enhancement
bonus as the weapon struck. Each +1 of enhancement bonus also adds 1 to the weapon’s or
shield’s hardness and hit points.”
This means that we use the steel’s hardness and hit points, add one for the
enhancement, but use wood’s weight. Needless to say, crafting it yourself if you are a 13 th
level Druid or Wu Jen is much cheaper. The material also does not burn when exposed to
fire, but would still be damaged by fire attacks as steel would.

Spellbook Pages
The pages of a spellbook are always 100.
ADAMANTINE FOIL
 Cost: 5,000 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 10
Weight: 20 lb
Slightly more hit points, but no other advantage.
ALCHEMICAL GOLD/PLATINUM FOIL
Cost: 5,000 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 8
Weight: 40 lb
There is no reason for using this besides style.
ASTRAL DRIFTMETAL FOIL
Cost: 12,000 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 8
Weight: 20 lb
If you also include a cover made of the stuff, you will have a spellbook an incorporeal
creature could freely carry and use. A useful effect if you ever plan on becoming a ghost.
AURORUM FOIL
Cost: 4,000 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 8
Weight: 20 lb
You can automatically put an aurorum book back together as a full-round action.
FERROPLASM FOIL
Cost: 1,500 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 8
Weight: 20 lb
When in the hands of a psionic, it forms the pages of the spellbook. In the hands of a non-
psionic, it melts.
IVORY
Cost: 100 gp
Hardness: 0
Hit Points: 4
Weight: 4 lb
Expensive, but sturdy.
COPPER FOIL
Cost: 500 gp
Hardness: 1
Hit Points: 8
Weight: 20 lb
Copper is apparently expensive to form into shape.
OBDURIUM FOIL
Cost: 10,000 gp
Hardness: 2
Hit Points: 16
Weight: 20 lb
The best hit points you can hope for.
PARCHMENT
Cost: 10 gp
Hardness: 0
Hit Points: 1
Weight: 2 lb
Standard material
PAPER, LINEN
 Cost: 20 gp
Hardness: 0
Hit Points: 2
Weight: 2 lb
Made from pressed cloth, it is a bit of an upgrade from the standard.
VELLUM
Cost: 50 gp
Hardness: 0
Hit Points: 3
Weight: 2 lb
Another form of paper that is very sturdy.

Locks
If you wish, you can have a locksmith install a lock on your book. There are multiple types. Each adds 1
pound to the weight of the spellbooks. They are as follows:
Simple (DC 20): 20 gp
Average (DC 25): 40 gp
Good (DC 30): 80 gp
Superior (DC 40): 150 gp
Hidden Switch (Search DC 25): 200 gp
Hidden Lock (Search DC 25) Base lock + 300 gp

Mechanical Traps
Placing a trap on a spellbook falls under one of three different methodologies. The first is to place a lock on
the book then trap the lock to so that any attempt to open it without a key results in a poisoned needle
stabbing you. The second is to simply smear contact poison on the book and resolve to never touch that
part. The third is a gas trap where opening it without the correct secret catch results in a cloud of poisonous
gas being released. So for calculating the prices of these traps you use the following:
 Your base price is 1,000 gp
 The base DC to find a trap, or disable a trap is 20. If you wish to have is exceed this, the total
additional cost is 200 gp for every +1 to the search/disable DC. If you want to reduce the
search/disable DC, you can save 100 gp for every point you reduce the search/disable DC by.
 A gas poison is a flat 1,000 gp additional cost. Gas poisons always effect an area 5’ radius around the
book. Gas poisons never miss. Gas poisons trigger when the book is opened without using a secret
latch or a lock without a key. If the book does not have either of these, the gas always triggers when
opened.
 Contact poison never misses, but you cannot open the book without being exposed. If you are wearing
protective gear, you are fine, or you need to pay for a hidden latch to open the book, thus by-passing
the contact poison, or a lock with a key. If you don’t pay for a lock or a latch, you expose yourself to
the poison every time you open it.
 A poison needle needs a to hit roll. The base to hit roll is +10. Every additional +1 to hit costs another
200 gp, and every -1 to hit reduces the cost by 100 gp. A poison needle triggers when you try to open it
without using the hidden latch or the lock without a key. If you don’t have a hidden latch or lock, it
triggers every time someone tries to open it. If successful, a poison needle trap does one point of
damage piercing. If you fail to do one point of damage, injury poison will have no effect. If you use a
contact poison instead, the one point of damage is not needed.
 Go to my Poison Handbook to find the cost of the poison you want to use. You can also use alchemical
items if you wish. Alchemical ammunition is available in my weapon-shield handbook.
 If you wish, you can buy WSAs for the poison needle trap. Recommended are assassination, toxic, and
other poison related WSAs. If you are going to add WSAs, you must pay an additional 300 gp for the
trap to be masterwork, then buy at least +1 EB before you start to add WSAs. Treat it like any other
magical melee weapon.
 For an additional 500 gp, you can buy an automatic reset, but this does not include additional poison.
Poison would have to be added on a case by case basis. For twenty times the cost, you can have poison
 that resets along with the trap. This assumes you have specially created, ultra-concentrated poison.
While the DMG is unclear, one can assume it only lasts 20 times.

Crafting a spellbook
Crafting a spellbook falls under Craft (Bookbinding), although the making of a Spellbook could be
considered to also fall under craft (Alchemy), considering it is chemically treated. Ask your DM how he
views it.
1. To craft the book we first need to figure out the final cost of the book in gold, then multiply by 10 to
get the value in silver. (ex: The basic spellbook is 15 gold, so it’s 150 silver.)
2. Determine the DC, which would be 15 for a high quality item, or if you are building something really
complex, your DC is 20. (ex: 15 for the basic spellbook. Adding a lock would bump the DC to 20.)
3. Pay one third the price in raw materials. (ex: 5 gp for the raw materials.)
4. Make your craft check once a week (Seven 8 hour days). If you make it, multiply the result by the craft
DC. If it equals the cost in silver, the item is completed. If you exceed the cost in silver by double or
triple, the time is one half or one third respectfully. (ex: Your result is a 15. Fifteen times DC 15 is
225. It takes one week.) If you fail your check by 4 or less, you make no progress that week. If you fail
by 5 or more, you waste half your raw materials and have to buy more raw materials before you can
continue.
You can also make a masterwork version of your spellbook. The spellbook is considered a masterwork tool
and thus adds +2 to any skill checks to write in it. This additional 50 gp is rolled separately then the rolls
for the spellbook itself. Needless to say, this can add weeks onto the time to complete.
1. Your target cost is 500 silver.
2, Your DC is 20.
3, You need 16 gold, 6 silver and 7 copper in raw materials.
4. Your checks are just like a normal spellbook. (ex: You roll a 20. Your target is 20 so you only get 400
silver done your first week. It will take another week to finish)
There are two options to speed up the creation time:
1. You can make your checks daily instead of weekly. If you do this, your output it calculated in copper,
not silver.
2. You may voluntarily add +10 to the indicated DC to craft an item. This allows you to create the item
more quickly (since you’ll be multiplying this higher DC by your Craft check result to determine
progress). You must decide whether to increase the DC before you make each weekly or daily check.
Note that all of this only covers the non-magical portion of the book. For magical enhancements, see the
next section.

PROTECTING SPELLBOOKS
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
Any wizard with the means to do so will carefully safeguard her spellbooks against accident, battle
damage, or theft. Most arcanabula feature cheap and inexpensive protections (often a simple explosive
runes or fire trap), but for most wizards, the risk of losing a workbook isn’t enough to justify the expense
of high-level protection. Grimoires, on the other hand, are generally stored in the most secret hiding places
(sometimes even on other planes) and equipped with mechanical traps, loyal guardians, and deadly spells of
defense. The protections applied to a greatbook can take virtually any form, from magically sustained
poisonous spiders or snakes, to bladders of paralyzing or sleep-inducing gases, to scything blades or
poisoned needles concealed in the locks, lids, or frames of the coffers and cabinets the books are hidden in.
These traps are never of a design or nature that might endanger the book, but otherwise are almost limitless
in the kinds of damage they can inflict on the uninvited. Magical protections can add thousands of gold
pieces to the cost of even the simplest tome. Some of the most common spellbook defenses include the
following.
Glamered: The book looks and feels like something else of similar size (no more than 25% larger or
smaller in any dimension) and weight (between half as heavy and twice as heavy as the original). Upon
command, the book switches between its normal and its glamered appearance, but anyone who touches
the book in glamered form can make a DC 14 Will save to disbelieve the illusion. Moderate illusion;
CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, major image; Price +2,000 gp.
Levitating: The book hovers in the air at whatever point it is placed, much like an immovable rod (though
the book can support only its own weight). Moderate transmutation; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item,
 levitate; Price +2,000 gp.
Pungent: The book is infused with an acrid essence that repels damaging pests. Any creature that touches
the book without first speaking a command word must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or become
nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds. Moderate conjuration; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, stinking cloud;
Price +2,000 gp.
Resistant to Energy (Major): The book has resistance 12 against acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic
attacks. Moderate abjuration; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, protection from energy; Price +3,000 gp.
Resistant to Energy (Minor): The book has resistance 5 against acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic
attacks. Moderate abjuration; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, resist energy; Price +1,000 gp.
Spelltrapped: A magic trap has been incorporated into the book (for example, a burning hands spell that
strikes anyone handling the book except its owner). The trap can be set to operate when the book is
touched, when it is opened, or when a particular page is read. Any spell appropriate for a trap may be
used. Caster Level: As per spell chosen, minimum 3rd; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, spell
chosen; Market Price: Adds value equal to 500 gp x spell level x caster level, plus 100 gp x the cost of
the trapped spell (in gp or XP), if any.
Waterproof: The book is impervious to damage caused by immersion in or exposure to water. Faint
abjuration; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, endure elements; Price +1,000 gp.
Editor (Breakdown): Glamered is a good choice if the spellbook is light. Not a good choice for heavy
spellbooks, unless you want to disguise it as furniture. Levitating is just for show. Pungent is a
wonderful because it’s cheap, it works forever, and nauseated is nasty. Heck, I’d buy an empty
spellbook with that feature just to toss out into empty hallways and hope people are stupid enough to
pick it up before I ambush them. The minor resistance to energy is good, as it will prevent it from
being damaged in most casual environmental mishaps. The major version is only 12 points, which
means it won’t help much against a fireball or any serious elemental attack. The minor version is
simply good enough, most of the time. I suppose if you want to keep your spellbook inside your
fireplace, get the major version, but the minor will do just fine 90% of the time. Finally, we have
waterproof, which looks nice, except this is as an enchantment so it fails in antimagic fields. You can
make the spellbook out of waterproof materials, or simply waterproof it for another 30 gp. The spell
version is a trap, always get the non-magical version.
Editor (Spelltrapped): It’s important to note that in reality this is usually overkill. You can reduce the cost
to 1/5th the cost if it works only once a day. Even that may be too much. If you are willing to have it
only work 10 times before you have to enchant the spell trap again, you can have it reduced in price
another 1/5th, and yes, the two do stack. If you think about it, how many times are you going to get to
USE that spelltrap? Once? Twice? And once it does go off, will anyone touch it again without using a
11 foot pole or hiring a rogue. A rogue can disarm your trap and once disarmed, it’s as good as
dispelled. So why pay for something that will last forever when you can buy it in limited charges.
Also, don’t forget metamagic feats. They may increase the price, but selective will render the book
immune to it’s own trap, as well as sculpting can make sure the blast is directed away from the book so
it is unharmed. And what spell cannot benefit from good old fashioned fell drain?
Editor (What Spells To Use): So you want to put spells on your spellbook to trap it. What spells to use?
First of all, there are a number of trigger spells that you can use for free, these are in another section.
The first trap should be a 1/day 10 times only use of greater plane shift. The problem is you have to
pick a location to shift to. This location should be somewhere very secure, like the bottom of a
collapsed mine shaft. Greater plane shift will take the spellbook to that one spot. You can also use
teleport or greater teleport, if you are on a budget. Try to convince your DM the inside of your
backpack is a location, or the inside of your bag of holding. Otherwise, you’ll have to teleport to it
later. The second type of trap is a Screw You spell, like insanity, or finger of death. However, chances
are the thief will have friends, so this isn’t as useful as the book simply teleporting away. The third is
to slap the guy with an invisible Arcane Mark/Mark Of Justice/Geas. The arcane mark lets you find
him (just scry for it), the mark of justice or geas can direct him to return the book to you then bow his
head and remain motionless for one minute. Plenty of time to coup de grace him, if you so desire.

ALTERNATIVE SPELLBOOKS
There are a number of different methods of scribing spellbooks besides using spellbooks themselves. These
are listed below.
Arcane Geometry
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
A small number of wizards study the magic inherent in precisely scribed designs and perfect angles,
abandoning the standard arcane symbology of words and equations. The spellbook of a geometer, its pages
filled with painstakingly precise diagrams of circles, arcs and angles, looks nothing like the spellbook of
another wizard. While a standard spellbook requires a number of pages scribed with phrases and formulae
to record a single spell of 2nd level or higher, a geometer can record any spell of any level on only a single
page of his book. Learning to record and prepare spells through arcane geometry is almost as difficult as
learning to prepare wizard spells in the first place, so to use this new symbology for his spellbooks, a
wizard must take levels in the geometer prestige class.
Editor (Geometer): Available to a 2nd level Geometer. It still takes 24 hours to scribe a spell into a
spellbook and materials costing 100 gp per page. A geometer’s spellbook is difficult for non-geometers
to decipher and use. The Spellcraft DC to decipher or prepare spells from a geometer’s spellbook is
increased by 5 for non-geometers.
Editor: So unless you are going to spend 2 levels of a PrC on gaining this ability, how is this of use to you?
Well, if you have a Spellcraft of 28, you can automatically make the skill check to memorize from a
geometer spellbook. They occupy one page regardless of size. If you can find a Geometer who is
willing to take the feat Arcane Shorthand, he can fit two spells on a page at half the cost. That’s two 9th
level spells tattooed onto your left foot for only 100 gp. If you are willing to take ten on the skill check,
you only need a base 19 Spellcraft to automatically make it. With intelligence bonuses and a few other
magic items, it’s quite possible to get this by 10th level. Then you can pay a arcane shorthand using
geometer to tattoo spells on your skin so you never have to be without your spellbook. Or you can be a
arcane shorthand using geometer yourself and compress everything down.
Editor (Mastering/Attuning): If you attempt to use the mastering a spellbook rules, remember that it’s DC
25 + your highest spell level you are trying to learn with another +5 for geometer, or DC 39. With a
skill boosting magic item this may be possible at lower levels, but it is usually out reach of most single
digit wizards. Still, it is temping to have someone make a geometer spellbook, or tattoos then taking
the time to attune them.

Braids or Weaves
- DRAGON MAGAZINE
Braids and weaves are made by twisting twine, leather, hair, or filigree into complex arcane patterns that
simulate the esoteric workings of magic and the universe. The full presentation of how the caster displays
these items depends upon the caster’s culture, aesthetic, and practicality. Some wizards braid spell patterns
into their own hair, while others work then into belts, shawls, whips, or similar items. Regardless, weaves
can only store a limited amount of knowledge. 24 inches of quarter inch thick braid only holds one written
page’s worth of spell information. Braids and weaves eventually pull loose and wear out. Creating a braid
or weave that lasts for one week requires a DC 10 craft (braiding), craft (weaving, or Use Rope check. A
braid or weave lasts one additional week per 5 points of the creator’s craft or rope use skill check above the
DC. It takes 2 hours to memorize a spell from a braid or weave instead of 1 hour.
Editor: Wait, what? I make this and it only lasts a week? What if I braid it but never use it? What if I
weave something then put it in a box and never touch it again? How do you “read” it? Lets answer
these questions one at a time.
Editor (Hair Facts): The average human hair takes 100 days to grow 1 inch. That means it takes 2,400
days, or six years to grow your hair out to 24 inches. The average human head has 140 square inches of
scalp. Assuming you need a little extra room for twisting and what not, and cutting off split ends, and
other “accidents” the average human could grow his hair long enough to support up to 100 pages of
spells in 10 years. The average male’s face has about 40 square inches, assuming you trim it up
somewhat, you could have 25 pages in 10 years as well. It is up to the DM if he will allow multiple
“pages” on the same braid. I suggest that you keep it to 100 and 25 pages, just for the sake of
simplicity.
Editor (How do I read it?): Assuming that the pattern is part of the spell, one can assume that you read it
by touch as well as by sight. This makes sense since it wears out over time. I assume this means that
you can read it 7 times in a week (because you only need it once a day), then it wears out. So if you
don’t memorize a given spell, you don’t use up one of the seven “charges”. Also, I assume if you wash
your hair, you wash away your spells. Although, isn’t that what prestidigitation is for?
Editor (Alternate Rules): They already have established that you can get ammunition at the same cost as
reusable weapons in lots of 50. So why not view spell “braids” in the same light? A normal page costs
100 pg, so have one “charge” of a spell’s page cost 2 gp. It takes 8 hours to scribe one spell, so you can
scribe up to 50 “charges” of spells in one 8 hour day. For example, a 3rd level spell that you can
memorize from 5 times would be 30 gp worth of materials. You could then also put another 45
“charges” of spells in your hair at the same time, but each one costs different. So instead of rolling the
dice to determine how many weeks it holds, just have a flat fee. While this method actually is much
more expensive in the long run, it is more realistic, fits the rules better, and is faster so it’s more likely
to be used by a PC then the original. A wizard is likely to have a few extra spells in his beard or hair
“just in case”.

Carvings
- DRAGON MAGAZINE
Some wizards forgo printed text by carving their spellbooks into a solid object. Carved items tend to be
more durable. A small item like a bracelet can hold no more then one page, while a shield could hold
between four to six. Assume that roughly one page of space per pound of weight. It takes two hours to
prepare spells from a carving instead of the usual one.
Editor: The main difference between carvings and tokens is size. Carvings are at least one pound a “page”
so a 100 page spellbook becomes a major restriction on your carrying capacity. Carvings are also one
piece, but can be assumed to be much more durable then a token.

Spellshards, Wizard’s
- EBERRON CAMPAIGN SETTING (3.5)
A wizard can mystically imprint spells into an Eberron dragonshard rather than physically writing them
into a spellbook. A single spellshard is about the size of a human fist and holds the equivalent of 20 pages
of spells. Imprinting a spell into a spellshard takes 24 hours and requires the wizard to cast arcane mark.
This unusual use of arcane mark requires a material component of powdered silver worth 100 gp per page.
Once this process is complete, the wizard can concentrate on the shard in order to bring any spell stored in
it into focus; the spell appears as silvery writing within the swirling colors of the shard. One shard is 3 gp
and weights 1/2 lb.

Structures
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
More impressive than even the most extravagant grimoire, permanent structures (circles of standing stones,
pyramids, labyrinths, towers, and the like) can be used to record the workings of arcane spells. At the
simplest level, walls can be graven or painted with spell scripts (essentially serving as an oversized
spellbook of plaster and stone), while in other cases, a structure’s very form and arrangement can serve to
record arcane information. A ring of standing stones each carved with a single glyph, for instance, could
provide an arcanist with the information necessary to determine how the spell is to be cast from their
physical orientation. Aside from the advantage of its permanence and strength, a structure can record spells
that can then be prepared or learned by any number of spellcasters for as long the structure stands. At the
same time, that openness means that anyone who visits the site (friend or foe) might be able to comprehend
and ultimately use the spell scribed there. Preparing a spell from a structure works like preparing a spell
from a borrowed spellbook. A spellcaster must first decipher the arcane markings with a read magic spell
or a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level), then succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) to
prepare the spell. An arcanist can also scribe a structure spell into her spellbook (as if transcribing from
another caster’s spellbook) if she so desires.
Wall Spells: Carving or painting an arcane formula on a structure’s walls works much like scribing a spell
into a spellbook on a larger scale. It takes 100 square feet of wall space to serve as one page of a
spellbook (so that a 9th-level spell requires 900 square feet, or an area 30 feet on a side), and with the
increased size, an arcanist must use up a greater volume of special materials to record the spell (a cost
of 300 gp per spell level). Recording a spell on a wall requires a 24 hours plus an additional 12 hours
per 100 square feet of space used, and the spellcaster scribing the wall must succeed on a DC 15 Craft
(painting) check. Carving or chiseling a spell into a wooden or stone wall requires a 24 hours plus an
additional 48 hours per 100 square feet of space used, and requires the spellcaster to succeed on a DC
20 Craft (woodworking) or Craft (stoneworking) check. It’s possible for a wizard to map out the
 precise symbols to be painted, cut, or carved without doing the final work. Preparing the surface by
sketching or penciling the design in such a way that workers unfamiliar with the spell can then paint or
carve its symbols requires a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) and takes 24 hours plus an
additional 1 hour per 100 square feet, after which other workers can make Craft checks in the wizard’s
place and complete the process as described above.
Structure Spells: Designing an entire building or edifice to preserve arcane knowledge is a challenging
proposition, and a structure so designed must generally have an area of at least two 10-foot cubes per
spell level to be recorded—passages cut to precise measurements, mosaic paths picked out on a
flagstone floor, freestanding monoliths, walls, arches, buttresses, or almost any other type of feature
whose design and orientation might convey information. Special materials must be used in the
structure’s preparation, costing at least 1,000 gp per 10-foot cube of area over and above the cost of
construction. For those who wish it, a comprehensive breakdown of designing and building in a D&D
campaign can be found in Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook. The structure must be designed by a
wizard who knows the spell to be recorded. The wizard must make a successful Knowledge
(architecture and engineering) check (DC 20 + the level of the spell to be recorded), then personally
oversee construction for at least 4 hours per day. Construction is halted temporarily if the wizard can’t
oversee the job for any reason, and though there’s no limit to how long it might take to complete
construction, hired workers generally need to be paid their full daily wage while awaiting the wizard’s
return. Structures designed to record arcane spells are usually much less obvious than walls painted
with arcane symbols, and special instruction is generally required for wizards who seek to prepare
them. A wizard without this special instruction takes a –5 penalty on Spellcraft checks made to
decipher, prepare, or copy structure spells.
Editor: Damn Cool. For an adventurer, useless. But damn cool. Still, if I was a wizard with a sense of the
dramatic, I can see carving my spells into the structure of a building. What better way to keep
something secret and safe? Now a funny thing to try would be to combined this with Geometer and
arcane shorthand. Put all the spells on the outside of the tower, with all sorts of flying buttresses and
bizarre architectural flourishes. Make sure your tower is on the highest mountain and visible for miles.
Then make sure you note which spells are visible from which side of the tower. Now any wizard who
can see the tower can memorize spells with a skill check. So many possibilities.

Tattoos
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
By the use of tattoos, some wizards turn their own bodies into spellbooks, and high-level tattooed mages
can often be covered with arcane designs and symbols from head to toe. Some spell tattoos can be placed
so that the caster can read them simply by looking down, while others need the aid of mirrors or even a
familiar to study their tattoos. Tattooing offers a means of creating a spellbook that’s virtually impossible to
lose. It does have the disadvantage of the limited amount of usable spell-recording space on the average
humanoid-shaped body, as well as the possibility of having to partially or completely undress to reference
every spell in one’s repertoire. Tattooing also usually provides unmistakable evidence of a character’s
arcane nature, denying the opportunity for anonymity that many arcanists crave. For creatures with
humanoid forms, different areas of the body can hold varying page-equivalents of spellbook information,
depending on their size.
Body Spellbook - Area Equivalent
Hand - 1 page each
Forearm - 3 pages each
Upper arm - 3 pages each
Chest - 6 pages
Abdomen - 6 pages
Upper leg - 5 pages each
Lower leg - 5 pages each
Foot - 1 page each
Face - 2 pages*
Scalp - 4 pages*
Back, upper - 10 pages*
Back, lower - 4 pages*
Leg, posterior - 4 pages each*
 Arm, posterior - 2 pages each*
* A wizard cannot read spells in these locations without the use of a mirror, scrying magic, or a familiar’s
assistance.
Because tattoos must save on space to fit in a comparatively small area, they must be scribed with great
care and the finest reagents and inks, requiring 200 gp per page-equivalent, a time of 24 hours plus an
additional 8 hours per spell level, and a Craft (tattooing) check (DC 20 + spell level if the caster scribes the
tattoo himself; DC 10 + spell level if someone else does the work). To have the work done by another
tattoo artist, the wizard must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) to prepare a carefully executed
sketch or diagram of the tattoo to be scribed. Tattoos that can’t be read by a wizard without assistance
(those placed on areas of his body he can’t always see) must be scribed by someone else. Wizards who
employ other forms of tattoo magic can employ spellbook tattoos as well, but they must keep careful track
of how much body space is allocated to each tattoo type.
Editor: That whole part about not being able to read tattoos in certain parts of your body, or an inability to
scribe in certain areas can be overcome with the application of a simple alter self spell. Just shift your
sin around to where you have access to it, then let it snap back into place when you are done. I highly
recommend that the spell Alter Self is in a location that is visible without needing to cast it.
Editor (By the numbers): 48 visible pages, and 26 that need a mirror, that’s a total of 74 pages you can
scribe spells onto. Using the Geometer/Arcane Shorthand method, you could cram 148 spells onto you
body. Who says a wizard needs his spellbook?
Editor (Resurrection/Reincarnation/Healing): One thing to point out is, before you go through all this, ask
your DM what his opinion is on tattoos coming back from the dead and healing. If you die and come
back, but they have to make you a new body, do the tattoos come with you? How about if you get
cloned? Does your clone come with tattoos? If you get stabbed down to -9 hit points then healed, do
you get any scars that ruin your spells? Make sure you work these out before you choose to get
spellbook tattoos.

Tokens
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
A number of wizards scribe spells as engravings on stones, bones, wooden rods, ivory or teeth, or
statuettes. Instead of preparing and packing workbooks while adventuring, the wizard simply amasses a
collection of these items, often carried in a nondescript belt pouch. A token of this sort can store a
surprising amount of information in a relatively small space. The choice of material, its dimensions and
shape, and the markings on it all convey information on several levels at once. Scribing spells onto tokens
requires the same expense in materials as for a standard spellbook. An object holds anywhere from 1 to 9
page-equivalents of spellbook information, depending on its size. A single complex spell can be recorded
on a set of similar objects, so a necromancer might record enervation (4th level) onto four rune-scribed
finger bones with a capacity of 1 spellbook page each (although if one of the finger bones goes missing, the
others are unusable).
Object - Pages
Slingstone, finger bone, hand crossbow bolt - 1 page
Cobblestone, arm bone, rod - 4 pages
Skull, club, leg bone - 6 pages
Staff - 9 pages
Scribing a spell on a spell token takes 24 hours plus an additional 8 hours per spell level, and the spellcaster
must succeed on an appropriate Craft check (woodworking, gemcutting, or a similar skill) with a DC of 10
+ spell level to record the spell successfully. Tokens can be designed for “reading” by touch alone, enabling
spells to be prepared even in darkness or while blinded, but a wizard preparing such spells must spend an
additional 5 minutes per spell over and above the time the spells would normally take to prepare, and
succeed on a Search check (DC 15 + spell level). Retries are permitted, so a wizard can take 20 on the
check if desired, but doing so further lengthens the preparation time.
Editor: I assume the difference between these and carvings is durability, weight, and how you read them. If
it’s a carving, you read it by sight, and if you use tokens, you can do it by touch. Carvings are from
dragon magazine and tokens are from complete arcane, so there is some overlap, but they do have
different ways of approaching the same problem. There’s no reason you can’t use both.

Nonmagical Items
The following is a list of nonmagical items that may be of use to anyone who uses a spellbook.

ARCANE LAB
- TOME AND BLOOD (3.0)
Cost: 500 gp
Weight: 40 lb
This is similar to an alchemist’s lab. It includes beakers, bottles, mixing and measuring equipment, cutting
tools, and miscellaneous chemicals and substances. It’s only absolutely necessary for creating golems, but
many sorcerers and wizards have one for potion making and spell research. The lab grants a +2 modifier on
Spellcraft checks to determine if a new spell is viable.

ARCANE LIBRARY
- TOME AND BLOOD (3.0)
Cost: 10,000 gp
Weight: 600 lb
This is a collection of at least 200 rare volumes used in spell research. Due to its size and cost, most
wizards depend on various professional organizations to provide access to a suitable library. Booksellers in
large cities and metropolises sometimes have sufficient numbers of the right books, but even then, whole
libraries are seldom accumulated at once. It can take a week or more to purchase all the necessary volumes,
depending on supply and available transportation.

FALSE PAPER
- CITYSCAPE (3.5)
Cost: 15 gp
This “item” is actually a pair of separate substances: a thick viscous liquid and a thinner fluid. When
poured over paper, the thicker liquid forms an extremely thin layer of what appears to be blank paper. The
writing remains, but it is hidden behind what looks like a blank sheet. Only a DC 35 Search check reveals
that the paper is dual layered. The owner can write on this new layer, or leave it. Applying the second fluid
causes the top layer to disintegrate (along with anything written on it), revealing the original writing
beneath. This has proven to be an effective means of smuggling hidden messages into or out of a city, or
even—although it costs a great deal—a means of hiding a spellbook from prying eyes. The cost given is for
enough false paper to cover, and then reveal, a single sheet. You may add multiple layers of false paper to a
single sheet, but each layer after the first reduces the DC to detect the false paper by 5.

FIREPROOF SPELLBOOK
- PLANAR HANDBOOK (3.5)
Cost: +50 gp
Weight: +5 lb
With pages made of fireproof parchment, covered in leather made from fire-resistant animals, and bound
with steel, a fireproof spellbook does not catch fire when exposed to a fire-dominant plane or environment.

WATERPROOF SPELLBOOK
- PLANAR HANDBOOK (3.5)
Cost: +30 gp
Weight: +4 lb
Utilizing waterproof ink and pages sealed in paraffin, this spellbook can survive being immersed in water
—an extremely useful item for a wizard journeying to a water dominant plane.

Magical Spellbooks
The following is a list of magic items that could be used as a spellbook.

BOCCOB’S BLESSED BOOK

- DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE (3.0)
- DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE (3.5)
Price: 12,500 gp
Caster Level: 7th
 Aura: Moderate; (DC 17) transmutation
Weight: 1 lb
This well-made tome is always of small size, typically no more than 12 inches tall, 8 inches wide, and 1
inch thick. All such books are durable, waterproof, bound with iron overlaid with silver, and locked. A
wizard can fill the 1,000 pages of a Boccob’s blessed book with spells without paying the 100 gp per page
material cost. This book is never found as randomly generated treasure with spells already inscribed in it.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, secret page

BOOK OF BLOOD
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
- MAGIC OF FAERUN (3.0)
Price: 21,300 gp
Caster Level: 13th
Aura: Strong; (DC 22) conjuration/necromancy
Weight: 3 lb
Bound in blood-red leather and bearing a bronze clasp, this vellum spellbook is waterproof, fireproof, and
lockable, and can contain up to forty-five spells of any level. In addition, once per day, its owner can use
the book to cast summon monster IV to summon a yeth hound. The book can also be used to cast finger of
death once per day, but each such use permanently drains 1 hit point from the wielder. The book must be
held to utilize its powers.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, finger of death, summon monster IV

LORE GEM
- MAGIC ITEM COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Price: 7,500 gp
Caster Level: 11th
Aura: Moderate; (DC 20) divination
Activation: — and full-round (mental)
Weight: - lb
This oval purple gem is flat on one side. Images of strange runes seem to materialize and dissipate within
it.
A lore gem affixes to your forehead and can be easily removed (requiring a standard action either way).
While it is worn, you can better focus your mind and memory, gaining a +2 competence bonus on
Knowledge checks, though you must spend a full round in contemplation to gain this bonus. This is a
continuous effect and requires no activation. Additionally, a lore gem acts as a spellbook, allowing a wizard
(or any other spellcaster who requires a spellbook) to record spells into and prepare spells directly from the
lore gem. The gem holds up to thirty spells of any levels, and recording a new spell into a lore gem requires
the normal amount of time and expense. You can also erase an existing spell as a standard action. A newly
created lore gem is empty of spells, but a lore gem recovered as treasure might have spells recorded within,
at the DM’s option. If so, the value of the item should increase as if it were a spellbook.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, legend lore, secret page.

NECKLACE OF THE PHANTOM LIBRARY

- EXPLORER’S HANDBOOK (3.5)
Price: 15,000 gp
Caster Level: 11th
Aura: Moderate (DC 20) illusion
Weight: 1 lb
Rather than commit their wizardly knowledge to spellbooks, the ancient giants fashioned necklaces of the
phantom library out of Siberys dragonshards. Whenever they needed to prepare spells, they donned a
necklace and studied the glowing runes that surrounded them.
Lore: The ancient giants were powerful wizards who used magic necklaces to store their spells
(Knowledge [arcana] DC 15). A necklace of the phantom library functions exactly like a spellbook,
except that scribing new spells into it takes less time (Knowledge [arcana] DC 25).
Description: A necklace of the phantom library is a necklace made of golden chain with five lozenge-
shaped Siberys dragonshards set among the links at equal intervals. Once you don the necklace,
 yellow-orange sigils appear in the air about two feet from your face. These sigils are the spells
inscribed within the necklace, and you can move from spell to spell with a thought, the sigils spinning
through your field of vision (an effect that looks a little like a scrolling microfiche reader).
Prerequisite: Anyone can don a necklace of the phantom library, but the spells within it are useful only to
wizards.
Activation: It takes a standard action to put a necklace on or take it off. Moving from spell to spell is a free
action. As a practical matter, you’ll wear the necklace only when you’re preparing your spells, so the
exact timing of your actions doesn’t matter.
Effect: A necklace of the phantom library is primarily a storage device—the giants’ equivalent to a
present-day wizard’s spellbook. A necklace holds 500 pages worth of spells, and you can purge the
necklace of unwanted spells with a moment’s thought. You can inscribe new spells into a necklace of
the phantom library by wearing the necklace, then tracing the necessary sigils in the air before you.
You can thus copy spells without paying the 100 gp per page material cost, and the process takes only
8 hours per spell. Whenever you don the necklace, the glowing symbols appear in front of your face.
They obscure the rest of your vision, granting total concealment to anyone who isn’t adjacent to you.
Anyone else can see you just fine, however, making it a good idea to take the necklace off prior to
combat.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, programmed image.

QUILL OF RAPID SCRIVENING

- DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE 2 (3.5)
Price: 27,000 gp
Caster Level: 10th
Aura: Moderate (DC 20) transmutation
Weight: 3 lb
A quill of rapid scrivening is an incredible boon for wizards who have little time to scribe spells into their
spellbooks.
Description: A quill of rapid scrivening is black overall, but its comfortable gripping surface is inscribed
with silvery runes representing stars and constellations. A many-colored feather graces its end. When
the quill is used to trace a spell, the inlaid stars and constellations glow faintly and shift across the
gripping surface.
Activation: To claim the benefit of the quill, the user must touch it to a blank page in his spellbook, then
use it to trace the runes of a spell scroll that he has successfully deciphered and understood. This
process requires 10 minutes of effort.
Effect: Once the user has traced the runes of the desired scroll with the quill, the scroll turns blank, and the
spell that was on it is automatically transferred onto the previously designated blank page in the
spellbook. Only spells on the wizard spell list can be copied in this manner. Because it is so responsive
and easy to write with, a quill of rapid scrivening is also a boon to forgers. A user with the Forgery
skill gains a +10 competence bonus on Forgery checks made to forge documents.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, arcane mark, read magic, fabricate
Editor: Personally, I think this is awesome, but it is FAR too expensive. Now as a DM, I would house rule
in that you can use it to copy over ANY spell, but it always eats up the original. For example, I get a
stolen spellbook. I use the quill on it and any spell that comes out of the stolen spell book disappears
from it, but when I write it in MY spellbook, I can use it freely without having to make Spellcraft
checks to memorize. Oh, and I’d drop the price to 1,700 gp, and get rid of that +10 bonus to forgery.
The skill bonus alone is 10,000 gp of this magic item. A stripped down version is still 17,000 and still
over priced. It’s a magic item designed to destroy treasure, for crying out loud. Encourage the players
to use it and destroy loot.

RUEHAR’S FLUTE
- PLAYER’S GUIDE TO FAERUN (3.5)
Price: 15,000 gp
Caster Level: 3rd
Aura: Faint (DC 15) transmutation
Weight: 1 lb
This finely crafted silver flute resembles a rolled-up spell scroll, with its holes lining the edge of the
“parchment”. It has seldom been seen outside the possession of the descendants of Ruehar, a green elf
wizard who lived during the days of Myth Drannor. When two short notes in any key are played on the
flute, it emanates light, as the spell, and automatically dispels any of the following effects within the light
effect’s radius: acid fog, cloudkill, fog cloud, obscuring mist, solid fog, and stinking cloud. The flute’s
second ability is activated by a command word known only to Ruehar’s descendants. When this word is
spoken, the flute unrolls like a scroll, revealing a small spellbook capable of holding twenty spell levels.
The original Ruehar’s flute contains the following spells: 1st—color spray, magic missile, Tenser’s
floating disk, ventriloquism; 2nd—daze monster, glitterdust, lively step; 3rd— Leomund’s tiny hut,
phantom steed; 4th—polymorph. Ruehar’s descendants may, however, have manufactured more flutes
since his death, and those spellbooks may contain different spells or simply remain blank. Any wizard who
has deciphered the spellbook within Ruehar’s flute may study and prepare these spells normally.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, gust of wind, light

SYMRUSTAR’S CHOKER
- PLAYER’S GUIDE TO FAERUN (3.5)
Price: 15,000 gp
Caster Level: 7th
Aura: Moderate (DC 20) transmutation
Weight: - lb
This ornate choker, sized and designed for an elf woman’s throat, functions as a spellbook. As long as a
wizard character wears it, she may study and prepare any spell “scribed” in the item. Symrustar’s choker
may store a total of thirty-six spells, but no more than four of each level. The choker is treated like a
wizard’s spellbook for the purpose of deciphering spells contained therein, “scribing” new spells, and so
forth. To determine randomly how many spells are stored in a given choker, roll 1d4–1 for each spell level,
then roll randomly as if generating a scroll to find the exact spells.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, secret page

TELKIIRA
- LOST EMPIRES OF FAERUN (3.5)
Price: 100,000 gp
Caster Level: 20th
Aura: Strong (DC 25) transmutation
Weight: - lb
Telkiiras are powerful lore-gems worn by the leaders of the mightiest elf clans. Each telkiira holds the
knowledge, skills, and sometimes even a fragment of personality from each of the elves who previously
wore it. Only a few of these devices survived the destruction of Myth Drannor and the other fallen elven
realms, and most of those that remain are jealously guarded by their houses. At least a few have made their
way into the hands of other creatures over the millennia. When placed on the forehead of an elf, a telkiira
confers the following benefits.
• The wearer gains a +4 insight bonus on Will saves.
• The wearer gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Intelligence.
• A telkiira contains 10 ranks in each of four different Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills.
Among the most common skills available from a telkiira are Decipher Script, Knowledge (arcana),
Knowledge (history), and Spellcraft. When making a check involving one of the telkiira’s skills, the
wearer can use either the device’s ranks in that skill or his own, whichever is higher. He uses his own
ability modifier for any skill check using the telkiira’s ranks.
• A telkiira functions as a spellbook that can hold up to 200 pages of spells. A wizard can “write” a spell
into a telkiira without paying the usual material cost of 100 gp per page, although he still must take the
normal time to do so. A telkiira is fully erasable, so its owner can remove spells and replace them with
new ones as he sees fit.
• A telkiira can hold up to ten distinct memories, each up to 1 hour in length, with perfect clarity. A
wearer who accesses one of these memories experiences it as if she were the person who recorded it.
Writing a memory requires 1 full round, regardless of its length. Telkiiras often hold important or
treasured memories of their previous owners.
Only an elf or a creature with elf blood (a half-elf, for example) can wear a telkiira safely. Any other
creature that places the gem on its forehead gains two negative levels and cannot use any of its abilities.
These negative levels remain as long as the telkiira is worn and disappear as soon as it is removed.
Telkiiras are often locked to prevent unauthorized elves from enjoying their full benefits. An elf wearing a
locked telkiira gains none of the benefits described above except the bonuses to Intelligence and on Will
saves. Any member of the house, clan, or family that owns a given telkiira can lock or unlock it as a free
action. Any other wearer can attempt a Use Magic Device check or Charisma check (DC 20 for either) to
open a locked telkiira. Failure means the wearer must wait until he attains his next level before trying
again.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, fox’s cunning, protection from spells, limited wish, vision, creator
must be an elf.

TOMEBOUND EYE OF BOCCOB

Price: 7,000 gp
Caster Level: 5th
Aura: Faint; (DC 17) enchantment
Activation: Standard (command)
Weight: —
The watchful Eye of the Uncaring One stares out from this seal.
When affixed to a wizard’s spellbook, this seal provides a focus for arcane energy. A tomebound eye of
Boccob has 3 charges, which are renewed each day at dawn. Spending 1 or more charges when you prepare
your wizard spells from a spellbook to which a tomebound eye is attached grants one or more spells a
competence bonus on caster level checks to overcome a target’s spell resistance.
1 charge: Gain a +4 competence bonus on your caster level check to overcome spell resistance.
2 charges: Gain a +6 competence bonus on your caster level check to overcome spell resistance.
3 charges: Gain a +8 competence bonus on your caster level check to overcome spell resistance.
You can divide the 3 charges between spells, or spend all three to enhance a single spell. For example, you
could grant three spells each a +4 bonus, one spell a +6 bonus and another a +4 bonus, or a single spell a +8
bonus. No spellbook can have more than one of these items affixed to it, and you can’t gain benefits from
more than one eye in a given day.
Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, ability to prepare 3rd-level arcane spells.

SPELL TRADING OBSERVATIONS

(Stolen without shame from Taltamir@minmax)
I always see people refer to "buying scrolls" in order to learn new spells as a wizard. However, buying
scrolls is the worst possible way to acquire new spells known as a wizard. From best to worst they are:
1. The best is to acquire spells known via levelup, boosted by the collegiate feat, elven generalist
substitution, and aerenal arcanist feat if needed.
2. Free spellbook to spellbook copying. This is either a quest reward, the result of joining a guild, looting
it off a corpse of an enemy wizard, or stealing it from a still living enemy wizard or just trading spell X
for spell Y (you let me copy haste from your book, I will let you copy fly from mine). The only cost is
the magic inks, a mere 100gp per page, or nothing with a blessed book. This is ideal for a party
containing more than one wizard.
3. A more pricy way to achieve the above is to a pay a wizard for the right to copy a spell from him. The
standard fee for this is 50gp per spell level for the right to copy, plus standard scribing costs (100 GP
per page in magic inks, or nothing with blessed book)
4. The final and least effective way is to use a scroll. It destroys a consumable item that cost both GP and
XP to create, whose value is at a minimum (for a minimum CL scroll with no expensive material
component or XP component) 25*SL*(SL*2-1)+100*SL
Where SL = Spell level.
SL*2-1 = Caster level.
The +100*SL is waived if you have blessed book.
This cost skyrockets for a spell with an expensive material component or XP cost, such as wish. (a scroll of
wish costs an additional 25,000gp beyond the baseline 9th level spell cost due to the extra 5000XP it
requires to create such a scroll) Thus, scribing a 9th level spell with no material or XP component costs the
following with each method:
1. free
2. 900gp, or free with blessed book.
 3. 1350gp, or 450gp with blessed book.
4. 4725gp, or 3825gp with blessed book. +cost of spell's material component + 5gp per XP cost to cast
the spell.
As you can clearly see, scrolls are the worst way to learn a new spell. Interestingly with a blessed book you
turn a profit on level up by putting the free level up spells in a mundane book (or better, copybooks,
explained later) and then copying it for free into your blessed book. You could then sell the mundane books
for 50gp a page. However, it is better to keep them as a backup. Additionally you could break the economy
by buying a blank blessed book, filling it up with spells, and then selling it. But you really shouldn’t.

Safe spell trading protocols:

Dangers of traditional methods: when a wizard sells access to his spellbook for purpose of copying spell
to another wizard s/he does not know or trust, there are various risks to both the buyer and seller. The
buyer might be trying to steal the seller’s spellbook, the seller might plant a trap his spellbook to
incapacitate and rob the buyer, both have to meet and do their research in a distracting public place, or
one of them needs access to the other’s sanctum. Once they familiarize each other with their
spellbooks, and know where the traps are, they can kill each other with impunity to steal the other’s
spellbook. Also, the seller should spend the whole day with the buyer to ensure that his book does not
leave his sight. Even if the buyer himself is not hostile, a third party might target both when the seller
has no access to his book. All of these possibilities are rather unlikely, most wizards would not resort
to such trickery, especially if they wish to share spells with other wizards in the future. But the
possibility exists. Therefore, a series of simple protocols to allow safe and lucrative sharing of spells
between wizards must be planned.
Protocol: A blank spellbook costs a mere 15gp, a wizard can copy a spell he already learned from his
spellbooks to a new book and pay only half the price in magic inks and take half time (2 spells a day).
Which means it takes 50gp per page to scribe. This 50gp is not wasted, as a spellbook is valued for sale
at 50gp per filled page. The typical cost for “the right to copy” a spell from another’s spellbook is also
50gp per spell level (page). This all adds up very neatly. Spells (with the exception of very low level
spells such as cantrips) should each be copied into a single spellbook, called a copybook. Here is a
chart detailing the cost of creating such copybooks, their resale value/right of copy value (the two are
the same)

Spell cost to create sale value of copybook = copyright Ink cost for total cost to buyer
Level copybook price = total price to a buyer with buyer without blessed book
blessed book

1 65 50 100 150

2 115 100 200 300

3 165 150 300 450

4 215 200 400 600

5 265 250 500 750

6 315 300 600 900

7 365 350 700 1050

8 415 400 800 1200

9 465 450 900 1350

 When a buyer contacts a seller requesting to buy a spell, the seller can hand him a book containing
only that spell. The buyer pays in advance for the copyright cost, and puts down a deposit equal to cost of
creating the copybook. Thus a person wishing to copy a 5st level spell will pay 250gp, and 265gp deposit.
He will receive his deposit back when he returns the copybook to the seller.
At worst, a dishonest buyer steals the copybook. The seller made full profit, but has lost one day’s
work due to the theft (time it took to create the copybook). (had the deposit not included the 15gp cost of a
blank book, the buyer would have actually made a 15gp profit by stealing said book; so even though the
market value is X, the deposit should be X+15gp)
At worst, a dishonest seller has disappeared with the deposit. The buyer can then keep then seller’s
copybook to sell the same spells to others. He has lost the choice on whether to make a copybook for that
particular spell, but has gained 1 day of labor. In either worst case scenario the buyer and the seller do not
lose any money
These worst case scenarios assume no true malicious intent; it is always possible for either of the
two to really be assassins trying to gain access to the victim. Either could place a deadly trap in the
copybook, or the seller could provide a fake copybook written with non-magical ink (and thus useless). The
solution to that is quite simple, conjure a celestial monkey (summon monster 1) and have him read the
copybook alone and away from others. It will trigger any traps; at absolute worst destroying the book.
At higher levels, the exchange can be made via a lantern archon who has been lesser planar bound.
Minor extra savings: Each spellbook contains 100 pages, weighs 3 lbs, and costs 15gp by RAW. It might be
possible to create custom “copybook” with just the right number of pages, at a lower cost. (say that 15gp is
actually 5gp for the cover and 1sp per page … a 10 page book would thus be 6gp)… not a big issue really.

Roleplaying Info:
Common criticism: “Oh, no! My wizard won't have access to every arcane spell in existence, for free,
despite that such a strategy would have invalidated all conflict within the setting.”
To be fair, there are only a FEW spells you must have. a wizard determined to break the game can “win
DnD” even without thousands of spells. and ~90% of the most broken spells are in core anyways. If
anything, scribing a ton of spells is a trap, it wastes your money and time, which could have been spent
better (time can be spent killing monsters for XP or casting spells for money, money can be used to buy
items that increase CL or Int, etc).
For the leery DM: If you feel this is overpowered there are ways to rein it in. You can say that EVERY
wizard trades spells via copybooks in their free time and that the free spells gained on levelup actually
come from the profit such trading provides. Sometimes this also means a wizard buys spells copybooks
with higher level spells that s/he cannot use yet, so if you are in a dungeon and leveled up, it is
assumed you had copybooks of your new spells which you carried with you. All those buying, selling,
and hoarding is abstracted and assumed to only gain enough cash to finance the acquisition of those
free spells at levelup. Every wizard is also assumed to have a wizard library with a copybook per each
spell they know, and some they haven't learned yet.
Feats that give extra spells on level up (ex: collegiate), actually mean that you spend extra time trading
spells rather than extra time training (some other feat). This method of reining it in does not necessarily
mean banning the acquisition of new spells via this protocol. It merely means that a PC cannot just point
out this method to the DM and say “give me a bunch of free money”, if they want to make a profit with this
they have to spend time in game positioning themselves as a major supplier, the same as if they wanted to
run a merchant guild who corners the corn market. They can still use their WBL to buy extra spells beyond
those that are granted by your class levels and feats as normal. (aka, it is assumed to you trade enough to
finance the acquisition of 2 new spells per level; buying more cost WBL). With some calculations, you can
determine how many "buyers" each wizard will come across per week to maintain the 2 free spells per level
if you do want to micro-manage this aspect of the game.
World building and Role-playing implications: Every wizard actually has a library instead of one book.
The library is made up of copybooks of spells known (created by yourself, or purchased), and
copybooks you purchased of spells you don't know yet (level too high). It also means that you can't just
point at this handbook and say to the DM "give me more money/spellbooks"... rather, you have to
actually do something in game to position yourself as a high volume trader in spells (just as you would
have to do something to position yourself as a high volume trader in magic items, silk, jewels, etc etc).
A "low volume trader" (someone who never spent in character time setting up shop) is the traditional
 adventurer wizard, whose copybook trading merely funds his 2 free spells per level, nothing more,
nothing less.
NPC wizards who never adventure probably have 2 of each "copybook" of their known spells; potentially
n different locations. They use multiple small books to memorize spells each morning. While adventurer
wizards probably have 1 travelbook with all their spells (which they carry) and in additional to that 1
copybook per each spell (at their sanctum).

FEATS
There are only three feats of use to people who are concerned with spellbooks.

ARCANE SHORTHAND [GENERAL]

- DRAGON MAGAZINE #358
You discovered a shorthand method for recording spells in spellbooks.
Benefit: You scribe spells in a spellbook using a shorthand that lets you transcribe faster and to occupy less
space then normal. This shorthand cuts in half the time required to write a spell in a spellbook. Such
spells also take up half as many pages and half as much of the special materials normally used. The
Spellcraft DC to learn or prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook written in shorthand equals 25 +
spell level.
Special: A spellbook written with this method holds more spells and is thus worth more than a normal
spellbook of the same number of pages. A wizard may take arcane shorthand as a wizard bonus feat.
Normal: The Spellcraft DC to learn or prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook equals 15+ spell level.
Editor: Really Neat Feat. The problem is, there are so many things better to spend a feat on then this. Still,
this is a real money saver, and can help with so many other methods of making spellbooks. Tattoos,
Carvings, Architecture, the list goes on.
Editor (Geometer): Technically if you combine this with geometer you can squeeze two spells on one
page. The total base DC to translate goes up to 30, making it nigh unreadable by most wizards, which
can be an added security function. However, given the rules on spellbook mastery, if the person
creating the spell were to sit down and work with the person he was scribing the spell for, I would
count that as taking 20. In that case, if the buyer of the condensed spell was to be able to make the roll
with a natural 20, I’d let him use it from that point on. So an NPC could charge say four times the
going rate, but then take a week and transcribe the spell for you and you’d be able to use the spell from
that point on. It’s a gray area and something you should ask your DM.

COLLEGIATE WIZARD [GENERAL]

- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
You have undergone extensive training in a formal school for wizards.
Prerequisites: Int 13, wizard level 1st.
Benefit: You begin play with knowledge of six 1st-level spells plus 1 per point of Intelligence modifier.
Each time you gain a wizard level, you may add four spells to your spellbook without additional
research. In addition, you gain a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (arcana) checks.
Normal: 1st-level wizards begin play with knowledge of three 1st-level spells, and can add two spells per
level to their spellbooks.
Special: You can take this feat only as a 1st-level character.
Editor (Greyhawk Method): Do note, this appears to replace the Greyhawk Method feat available from
dragon magazine #315. Thus we have dropped that feat and only included this one.
Editor: Do you have to behead Tiamat in order to get the ink to scribe a 1st level spell? Does every
spellbook you find explode like a supernova when you look at it cross-eyed? Are you the only wizard
on the planet with no one to trade spells with? The last time you had down time between adventures
did it only last long enough to do your laundry? In short, is your DM a dick? Then you need this feat.
In low magic campaigns, this is a must. In a normal campaign, there are much better feats to get. Spells
will come in time, this just speeds up the process and saves you some money. However, 4 spells of
ANY KIND YOU CAN CAST is very nice and worth a look at, if your DM works hard to cock-block
getting anything more useful then a cantrip.

SKINCASTER [GENERAL]
- DRAGON MAGAZINE #359
You copy all spells directly to your skin instead of a spellbook.
Prerequisite: Prepares spells from a spellbook.
Benefit: You use your own body as a spellbook and need only be able to read your skin in order to prepare
spells. Transferring a spell to your skin costs 100 gp per spell level of the spell.
Editor: They already have rules on tattooing, and you can do it without a feat. What gives? This came out
in 2007 when the tattoo spellbook rules came out in 2004. So, does this replace those rules? No. The
way it reads, this feat allows you to tattoo spells on your skin for cheaper, and you have unlimited
room to scribe spells. That’s right, no upward limit. Who needs Boccob when you got this feat? How
does it work? Magic, that’s how. In my head I imagine that you reuse certain key words and phrases
over and over, thus making your body into some sort of bizarre draconic scrabble game. Whatever.
The only question is, as your DM if you are true resurrected, do the spells come back with you. I
should think so, but it’s a judgment call.

ACFS
There is only one ACF that applies to spellbooks.

EIDETIC SPELLCASTER
- DRAGON MAGAZINE #357
Unlike other wizards, you can see within your mind the intricate arcane symbols, words, and gestures that
define your spells. Your photographic memory acts as your spellbook, inscribing the spells you know
within your mind.
Level: 1st, (4th for hexblades).
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain a familiar.
Benefit: You do not need a spellbook, either to record spells you know or to prepare spells normally, either
through gaining levels in wizard or learning from other spellbooks, and you must pay all the normal
costs for learning new spells (used instead in special incenses rather than inks), but you do not need to
put them into a spellbook.
Editor: Upside, you never lose your spellbook. Downside, sharing spells with another wizard is a bitch. So
tell me, if I find an eidetic spellcaster, can I cut off his head, preserve his brain, and use it as a
spellbook? What happens if a mind flayer eats it? I have no idea. Still, a wonderful ACF. However,
skincaster gives you unlimited spell storage for the same price and it doesn’t cost you a familiar and
the scribe scroll feat.

SPELLS
There are a number of spells that you can cast on your spellbook, or are very useful for protecting your
backup spellbook. We include notes about these here. The actual spell is available in the Spell section of
the EVD.

ARCANE LOCK
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Court Herald 2, Knight of the Weave 2, Magewright 2, Merchant Prince 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2,
Thayan Slaver 1, Wu Jen 2
Editor: This is why you buy a lock for your spellbook, so you can put this on top of the lock. Or just
get a secret latch. Remember that it’s permanent, not instantaneous, so it can be disabled simply
by taking it into an AMF.

ARCANE LOCK, IMPROVED

- STRONGHOLD BUILDER’S GUIDEBOOK (3.0)
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: 3.0 Spell and may be disallowed by your DM. It just lets more then one person bypass the
arcane lock. Nothing special.
ARCANE MARK
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Universal
Level: Court Herald 0, Hexblade 1, Magewright 0, Sorcerer/Wizard 0, Wu Jen 0
Editor: Put this on your book. Set it up for an Instant Summons. Nuff said.

ARCANE SEAL
- SHARN - CITY OF TOWERS (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Magewright 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: The spell is unclear, but it does mention the word “object” so you should be able to use this
on any lock, including one on your spellbook. It comes with alarm for free and you don’t need to
spend XP to make it permanent. Problem is, it requires a key that can be stolen. Still, you needed
a key for that lock anyways, so why you complaining?

CONTINUAL FLAME
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Evocation [Light]
Level: Adept 3, Cleric 3, Hunter of the Dead 2, Merchant Prince 2, Shade Hunter 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 2,
Urban Adept 3, Warmage 2
Editor: Cast it on your bookmark. Keep it inside the book. It’s dark when it’s closed, it’s lit when you
open it.

DRAGONEYE RUNE
- DRAGON MAGIC (3.5)
Universal
Level: Initiate of Io 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Wu Jen 2
Editor: An arcane mark that lets you scry it. This goes on every single spellbook you own as soon as
you can cast it. The invisible version.

DRAWMIJ’S INSTANT SUMMONS

- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Rune Domain 7, Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Editor: So high level. So expensive. So worth it. When you need it, you are going to need it. At this
level you need at least one spellbook that has all your “Oh I’m Screwed” Spells.

EXPLOSIVE RUNES
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Abjuration [Force]
Level: Court Herald 3, Magewright 3, Rune Domain 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: If you want the book to survive, consider selective or sculpt metamagic feat, otherwise, put it
in the book somewhere at random as a booby trap. Make sure it’s not a book you loan out to
others. Every spellbook should have this at least once.

FANG TRAP
- SERPENT KINGDOMS (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Editor: It lasts until triggered and can be yet another free trap on your spellbook. Immoble for 1
round and 1d4/level damage is nothing to sneeze at. Combined with some of the other traps, this
could be nasty.

FIRE TRAP
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Abjuration [Fire]
Level: Blighter 2, Druid 2, Kobold Domain 3, Magewright 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4, Warmage 2, Wu Jen 4
Editor: The object so trapped is not harmed in the explosion. It does 1d4 +1/level up to +20, so the
damage sucks. But combined with a fang trap, it might be enough to push someone over.
Remember, fang trap can have conditions like, when anyone but me opens this book. And if they
are immobile, they cannot make reflex saves. Heh.

GEM TRACER
- DRAGONS OF FAERÛ N (3.5)
Divination
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Editor: If you have the money, this is an awesome spell. You should have a gem for every spellbook
you give a crap about.

GENIUS LOCI
- COMPLETE MAGE (3.5)
Conjuration (Creation) [see text]
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Editor: Not really a spell for your spellbook, but for the location where you put your backup
emergency spellbook. If your spellbook is spelltrapped to teleport back to a safe location, this is
the spell I want at that location.

GHOUL GLYPH
- LIBRIS MORTIS (3.5)
- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Necromancy
Level: Hunger Domain 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2
Editor: This only works on a location, so if you have an emergency backup spellbook, this is cast on
the 5 foot square that book sits in.

GLYPH OF WARDING
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 3, Dwarf Domain 3, Magewright 3, Rune Domain 3, Shugenja 3, Wealth Domain 3
Editor: 5d8 damage is low, but since it triggers on opening, combine it with fang trap, and fire trap
for maximum damage. The problem is, this will destroy the spellbook in the process unless you
make it selective If you know any sweet 3rd level spells, you can have that go off instead. A
combust spell will do 10d8 damage against a single target and often you don’t want the book
caught in the blast. A combust spell is a much better choice then the blast glyph. Alas, it’s a cleric
spell, but that doesn’t mean the party cleric can’t cast it for you.

GLYPH OF WARDING, ELDER

- LORDS OF MADNESS (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 9
Editor: You can store up to a 9th level spell. Let your imagination run wild.
GLYPH OF WARDING, GREATER
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 6, Rune Domain 6, Shugenja 6
Editor: You can store up to a 6th level spell. That covers disintegrate. Just saying.

HALASTER’S TELEPORT CAGE

- CITY OF SPLENDORS WATERDEEP (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Editor: Where I have my emergency backup spellbook is also inside one of these that I have cast
while some how shoe horning in selective spell so I’m immune to it. I can teleport in and anyone
who tries to trace teleport me will wind up in the middle of nowhere.

HARDENING
- DEITIES AND DEMIGODS (3.0)
- EBERRON CAMPAIGN SETTING (3.5)
- MAGIC OF FAERÛ N (3.0)
- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Transmutation
Level: Artifice Domain 7, Magewright 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Editor: The moment you can cast this, you will cast it on every spellbook you own. RIGHT NOW.

HOARD GULLET
- DRAGON MAGIC (3.5)
Transmutation
Level: Initiate of Astilabor 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Editor: How about a Bag of Holding... at level 1? Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a good spell to know.
Use this spell to hide your spellbooks.

ILLUSORY WALL
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Illusion (Figment)
Level: Court Herald 4, Magewright 4, Shugenja 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Editor: If you are hiding an emergency spellbook, an illusionary wall with explosive runes/sepia
snake sigils behind them all over the place is a good idea. Only one illusionary wall hides the
passage to your spellbooks. The other walls are one inch in front of a real wall with all sorts of
spell traps that go off when you read them. After the third or fourth explosion, intruders are
bound to stop disbelieving.

LEOMUND’S SECRET CHEST

- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Commerce Domain 6, Magewright 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Wealth Domain 5
Editor: I don’t like it. Yes, I know, a chest full of emergencies you can call at will. It’s that 60 day time
limit that bothers me. What happens if I get tossed in a stasis field? Millions of gold pieces worth
of magical emergency equipment lost to the astral plane. No thank you.

LEOMUND’S TRAP
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Magewright 2, Merchant Prince 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2
Editor: Only one trap within 50 feet works. That makes this spell suck since you can only have it on
one spellbook. On the other hand, it’s cheap. So cast it on a spellbook anyways.

MAGIC MOUTH
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Bard 1, Court Herald 2, Emissary of Barachiel 1, Harper Scout 2, Magewright 2, Merchant
Prince 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Vigilante 1
Editor: Ten gold buys you a one time alarm like, “Help Help! Some pervert is trying to have sex with
me! He is taking the term Bibliophile Way Too Seriously!” Much cheaper then the P cost of a
permanent alarm spell.

NCHASER’S GLOWING ORB

- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Evocation [Light]
Level: Cleric 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: Instead of 50 gp of dust, you hav a 50 gp orb that you can turn on and off at will. Maybe have
it built into the cover or something and have the orb hardened to avoid being broken. Worth
mentioning, but not that useful.

PERMANENCY
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Universal
Level: Court Herald 5, Magewright 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Time Domain 5, Wu Jen 5
Alarm 9th 500 XP
Dancing lights 9th 500 XP
Invisibility 10th 1,000 XP
Magic mouth 10th 1,000 XP
Mordenkainen’s private sanctum 13th 2,500 XP
Phase door 15th 3,500 XP
Prismatic sphere 17th 4,500 XP
Shrink item 11th 1,500 XP
Stinking cloud 11th 1,500 XP
Symbol of death 16th 4,000 XP
Symbol of fear 14th 3,000 XP
Symbol of insanity 16th 4,000 XP
Symbol of pain 13th 2,500 XP
Symbol of persuasion 14th 3,000 XP
Symbol of sleep 16th 4,000 XP
Symbol of stunning 15th 3,500 XP
Symbol of weakness 15th 3,500 XP
Editor: Here is a list of spells you might want to put on your spellbook, or use to hide/guard your
spellbook. Shrink item, private sanctum, and prismatic sphere are the three I vote for. A stinking
cloud with selective metamagic feat might also be a good idea, if it’s inside the Prismatic sphere,
which is inside the private sanctum. Only shrink item is worth casting on the spellbook itself.
Still, on the whole, it’s a huge drain to your XP and chances are it’s not worth it.

PERMANENT IMAGE
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Illusion (Figment)
Level: Bard 6, Creation Domain 7, Court Herald 6, Moon Domain 6, Shugenja 6, Sorcerer/Wizard 6,
Wu Jen 6
Editor: This goes in your backup spellbook area so when you are there you can create illusions to
make it look like you are sleeping in the corner, instead of behind intruders preparing to
disintegrate them.

PRESTIDIGITATION
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Universal
Level: Bard 0, Hexblade 1, Magewright 0, Merchant Prince 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 0, Vigilante 1, Wu Jen
0
Editor: Always remove your spellbook from it’s bag with a pair of tongs and use this spell to turn the
pages. Never touch your spellbook with your hands. Do this in front of other people. Tell them it’s
because you bound a demon inside your book and anyone who touches it will become possessed
and attempt to murder random people. In reality it’s because the book is saturated with contact
poison. Watch people who use protection from evil to handle your book fall over twitching.

PROFANE ITEM
- COMPLETE CHAMPION (3.5)
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Cleric 4, Blackguard 4
Editor: Alignment seeking trap that does 1d4/level (max 10d4) negative energy damage. Meh. If
there is a cleric in the party and you are evil, ask him to cast this. It doesn’t cost him anything.

SACRED ITEM
- COMPLETE CHAMPION (3.5)
Transmutation [Good]
Level: Cleric 4, Paladin 4
Editor: Alignment seeking trap that does 1d4/level (max 10d4) positive energy damage. Meh. If
there is a cleric in the party and you are good, ask him to cast this. It doesn’t cost him anything.

SECRET PAGE
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Transmutation
Level: Bard 3, Cloistered Cleric 3, Court Herald 3, Ebonmar Infiltrator 3, Magewright 3, Merchant
Prince 3, Rune Domain 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 3, Vigilante 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Target: Page touched, up to 3 sq. ft. in size
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
Secret page alters the contents of a page so that they appear to be something entirely different. Thus,
a map can be changed to become a treatise on burnishing ebony walking sticks. The text of a spell can
be changed to show a ledger page or even another spell. Explosive runes or sepia snake sigil can be
cast upon the secret page. A comprehend languages spell alone cannot reveal a secret page’s contents.
You are able to reveal the original contents by speaking a special word. You can then peruse the
actual page, and return it to its secret page form at will. You can also remove the spell by double
repetition of the special word. A detect magic spell reveals dim magic on the page in question but
does not reveal its true contents. True seeing reveals the presence of the hidden material but does not
reveal the contents unless cast in combination with comprehend languages. A secret page spell can be
dispelled, and the hidden writings can be destroyed by means of an erase spell.
Material Component: Powdered herring scales and will-o’- wisp essence.
Editor (The Secret Page Trick): A spellbook has 100 pages. A 1st level spell takes 1 page. Scribe the
same 1st level spell into your book 100 times. When you learn a spell, instead of scribing it the
traditional way, just cast Secret Page to change the text of one of those 1st level spells into that of
the one you just learned. Now a spell of any level will only take up a single page of your book.
Editor (Why it’s broken): Technically, It doesn’t even have to be a spell you know. You can put any
spell in there and it’s free. It all comes down to “The text of a spell can be changed to show a
ledger page or even another spell.” Poof. Wish spell in your spellbook. Definitely broken.
Editor (Why it shouldn’t work): There is strong evidence that the secret page spell shouldn’t work
because nothing says the spell on the illusionary page can be used to memorize spells. There is
strong indication that it may look like a spell, but if you don’t spend the 100 gp per page to scribe
it, it isn’t a spell you can use to memorize with. However, to be honest, it doesn’t say you have to
spend the gold, either. Ask your DM, because by RAW, it could go either way.
Editor (One possible fix): It does say “ANOTHER” spell, which would indicate there must be a spell on
the page in the first place. And really, all it’s doing it letting you fill it up a spellbook like a
geometer, so it’s not entirely broken. If you simply restrict the secret page to spells you already
know, and that the spell must take up as many pages as it normally would (for example, a 6 th
level spell must be spread over 6 spells), then you really are using a spell to double your capacity
in a spellbook. That really isn’t that game breaking in my option.
Editor (Strict DM Ruling): So if you want to scribe spells with this, you should charge as much as you
would to scribe it normally. However, nothing says you can’t layer multiple secret pages on the
same page. If your DM wants you to spend the time and gold to scribe the scroll in an illusion,
that’s fine. Just indicate that the original page can be blank, then the illusions that be turned off
until you need them. You just make the command phrase to be, “Close page number X” to make it
disappear and “Open page number X” to make a page appear. If you number each secret page in
the order to be read, you can layer an infinite number of secret pages on the same page. If I’m
forced to pay for scribing in illusion, then at least let it be that I can hide all my spells in a single
pamphlet. Just make sure to harden that page. Before you say, “You shouldn’t be able to do that”
there is a Eberron magic item that does that very thing (Necklace of the phantom library). If I can
scribe a spell in architecture so you can study it and memorize a spell from SPACE, I certainly can
scribe a spell in illusion.

SEPIA SNAKE SIGIL

- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Conjuration (Creation) [Force]
Level: Bard 3, Magewright 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: You can only have one to a book, but every spellbook should have one of these somewhere.
The cover is a good choice, as long as you have 25 words on it and avoid leaving it lying around
where friends might glance at it. To be safe, put it in the index.

SHALANTHA’S DELICATE DISK

- LOST EMPIRES OF FAERÛ N (3.5)
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Editor: This spell is broken. It creates scrolls that are usable by anyone for 200 gp and no xp cost. As
a player, you should totally learn this spell, as it will allow you to have other people cast personal
spells into the disks so that you can use them, or hand off personal spells to others for their use.
When it comes to spellbooks, there is a unique use. You make about twenty of these, all with
Rary’s Arcane Conversion in them. (Or one spell engine, if you can cast it and have the 250 xp to
blow.) You put each disk INSIDE a soft spellbook with a flexible cover. In the spellbook, you
include a whole bunch of emergency spells. When you are boned and have none of the spells you
 need, summon the spellbook and bring it down HARD on your knee, shattering every disk at
once. Now you can swap out your useless spells for spells that might save your ass.

SIGN OF SEALING
- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: This deals 1d4 points of damage per caster level (maximum 10d4) in a 30-foot radius (Reflex
half). Yet another spell to put on your spellbook so it murders whoever dares to open your stuff
without permission. You need to add selective to avoid blowing up your own spellbook.

SIGN OF SEALING, GREATER

- COMPLETE ARCANE (3.5)
- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Editor: This deals 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 20d6) in a 40-foot radius (Reflex
half). Just a bigger boom. No reason you can’t cast both on the same spellbook. Just saying.

SKULL WATCH
- PLAYER’S GUIDE TO FAERÛ N (3.5)
- SPELL COMPENDIUM (3.5)
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Editor: A permanent Alarm spell. You carry a few in your bag of holding and bring them out when
you camp. Could be fun. The skulls can guard your emergency spellbooks. They can float around
you as you study. You can add gems to the eyes and teeth and pretend it’s your demilich familiar.
A permanent image can really help pull that part off.

SIMULACRUM
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK (3.0)
- PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 1 (3.5)
Illusion (Shadow)
Level: Envy Domain 8, Maho-Tsukai (3.0) 7, Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Editor: Why waste time copying your own spells when your body double can do it for you!

WATCHWARE
- UNAPPROACHABLE EAST (3.5)
Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 5
Editor: For your emergency backup spellbook. It’ll let you know if anyone is messing with your stuff.

Spellcasting From A Spellbook

Can you cast directly from a spellbook? No, by RAW you can’t. Although there was a time in second
edition when you could. Under 3.5 rules, it simply is too cheap to cast in this fashion. Far cheaper
then buying a scroll. However, there is a unique house rule I came across. Simply put, you can cast
any spell you have directly from your spellbook, once. All copies of the spell in every spellbook you
own burn up at the exact same moment and the spell is forever burned from your mind. You can
never cast, relearn, or use that spell again. You cannot read it from a scroll, use it from a wand,
although you can drink a potion with the spell in it. This is still very generous for a DM to do, but it
gives players a, “I -WILL- succeed, no matter the cost!” burn yourself out option.

Are Spellbooks Magical?

Originally I was on the fence about this, until I read Amanuensis, which makes it clear it can only copy
non-magical text, and thus cannot copy spellbooks. So if that is the case, spellbooks are magical and
thus are detectable under detect magic. This then raises the question, can you memorize spells in an
antimagic field? If the book is non-magical in an AMF, then you cannot memorize spells from it, right?
That’s a question for a DM, but personally, I say, yes.