I was wondering if someone can help me with the idea of a Cleric producing spell scrolls. Reading the rules it seems that Wizards or simply someone with Arcana proficiency can produce spell scrolls. I just want to be sure.
Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character’s known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
I don't see any reason that a Cleric couldn't create a spell scroll, as long as they have proficiency in Arcana, as you mentioned. It could be pretty easily flavored as researching religious texts or something like for extra flavor as well!
I would allow clerics to scribe scrolls using Religion and Druids to use Nature for the same effect. Skills are not something you can easily pick up once you started your adventuring career and it's burden if you add scroll scribing after the campaign has started.
Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character’s known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
I don't see any reason that a Cleric couldn't create a spell scroll, as long as they have proficiency in Arcana, as you mentioned. It could be pretty easily flavored as researching religious texts or something like for extra flavor as well!
I kije your answer, and hope to be able to learn more. Unfortunbately your link is not to Scribing Spell scrolls...I think I can find it though with your information...thanks.
Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character’s known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
I don't see any reason that a Cleric couldn't create a spell scroll, as long as they have proficiency in Arcana, as you mentioned. It could be pretty easily flavored as researching religious texts or something like for extra flavor as well!
And then if you imagine the final product is an illuminated prayer scroll, covered with holy icons and gold lettering. The power of the gods captured in written form.
The biggest difficulty is unless the cleric has chosen the sage background or knowledge domain, it's impossible to have the arcana skill as a proficiency. Compare this to generic magic item creation rules from the same book which require tool proficiency (easier to learn) instead of skill proficiency.
I would allow clerics to scribe scrolls using Religion and Druids to use Nature for the same effect. Skills are not something you can easily pick up once you started your adventuring career and it's burden if you add scroll scribing after the campaign has started.
That sort of makes sense, though scrolls are more an item of the intellecual "classes," so I think this is why Arcana was chosen was the original skill for making them. It's hard for me to imagine Druids keeping a bunch of scrolls around, for instance, unless they specifically had some way to shield a room from the elements. I mean, they are compared to armed paleo-hippies for a reason.
The biggest difficulty is unless the cleric has chosen the sage background or knowledge domain, it's impossible to have the arcana skill as a proficiency. Compare this to generic magic item creation rules from the same book which require tool proficiency (easier to learn) instead of skill proficiency.
You may have pointed out an error with Acolyte background. When I pick it, it gives religion as a skill proficiency and one of your choice....is this only me or can someone else check. Because it is listed as having "Insight" and "religion" as proficiencies.
There are several backgrounds that work well with Cleric class, that are from official campaigns like Curse of Strahd. "Haunted One" is a really cool background I like and you can pick Arcana...I created a Celestial Warlock, who had witnessed his family being slaughtered by a demon until his patron came and saved him from certain death. I think this background could easily fit with a cleric as well. It would make sense to me since a cleric with this background might spend his or her life studying protection magic and creating protection from evil scrolls...
I would allow clerics to scribe scrolls using Religion and Druids to use Nature for the same effect. Skills are not something you can easily pick up once you started your adventuring career and it's burden if you add scroll scribing after the campaign has started.
I like this idea. Now to think about the other casting classes. Bards would obviously use Performance, although for spells they acquire through magical secrets you might allow/require the source class' associated skill. Paladins and Rangers could use Religion and Nature respectively, since they overlap with Clerics and Druids, while Arcane Tricksters might use Deception.
What about Sorcerers, Warlocks and Eldritch Knights?
The biggest difficulty is unless the cleric has chosen the sage background or knowledge domain, it's impossible to have the arcana skill as a proficiency. Compare this to generic magic item creation rules from the same book which require tool proficiency (easier to learn) instead of skill proficiency.
You may have pointed out an error with Acolyte background. When I pick it, it gives religion as a skill proficiency and one of your choice....is this only me or can someone else check. Because it is listed as having "Insight" and "religion" as proficiencies.
If you had already picked Insight as one of your class proficiencies, then any other source of Insight proficiency (such as race or, in this case, background) will allow you to choose another skill.
Since gaining the same skill proficiency from two different sources doesn't give you expertise, it gives you one proficiency and one redundancy.
Remember, Page 125 Player's Handbook, you can always customize a background to add different skill, language, and tool proficiencies. Just replace one of the background skills with Arcana.
Also yes, as deffdefying says, if you take a class proficiency that duplicates one from your background then you're able to make a free selection in the background options.
For example the Azorius Functionary background gives Intimidation, Insight, and two languages. I take Insight as a Cleric, so when I get to the Functionary selection the duplication of Insight means I can select something else (which is Arcana, Arcana and Religion are two of the most useful "information" skills, and I have Perception from Elf and Insight already). It's a pity that Clerics generally don't have high intelligence, but proficiency helps.
Clerical scrolls should be made with the prime ability for their class. That is Wisdom! Druid's and Ranger's are the same. Warlock's, Bard's, Paladin's and Sorcerer's prime casting is Charisma. Wizard's and Artificer's use Intelligence. Unless you take a Domain or Subclass that grant's you the Arcana proficiency and you decide that you should forgo your prime ability or another ability and add more points into Intelligence, each and every other class and subclass is Penalized if they try to create a scroll. I'm new to 5E so this is news to me. Prior to this edition, from 1st to 4th, when creating scrolls the Prime Casting Ability is always what is required to cast the spell onto a scroll. It always took quality paper or other material to write on. Quality ink was always required and then any material components that a spell needed to be cast and used. If only a focus could be used for casting, no material would be lost while making a scroll. I'll go with whatever the DM at my table decides, but when I DM in the future I'll use the old way. If it's not broke, don't try to fix it. I'm pretty sure the writers for the DMG and the PHB never even talked or played the game nor do I think they played any other edition than the 4th. Which was the most broke POS version, ever. It's the reason Pathfinder was born I'm pretty sure!!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I was wondering if someone can help me with the idea of a Cleric producing spell scrolls. Reading the rules it seems that Wizards or simply someone with Arcana proficiency can produce spell scrolls. I just want to be sure.
From the Dungeon Master's Guide's Crafting Magic Items section
I don't see any reason that a Cleric couldn't create a spell scroll, as long as they have proficiency in Arcana, as you mentioned. It could be pretty easily flavored as researching religious texts or something like for extra flavor as well!
Also see Scribing a Spell Scroll in Xanathar's Guide to Everything.
I would allow clerics to scribe scrolls using Religion and Druids to use Nature for the same effect. Skills are not something you can easily pick up once you started your adventuring career and it's burden if you add scroll scribing after the campaign has started.
The biggest difficulty is unless the cleric has chosen the sage background or knowledge domain, it's impossible to have the arcana skill as a proficiency. Compare this to generic magic item creation rules from the same book which require tool proficiency (easier to learn) instead of skill proficiency.
That sort of makes sense, though scrolls are more an item of the intellecual "classes," so I think this is why Arcana was chosen was the original skill for making them. It's hard for me to imagine Druids keeping a bunch of scrolls around, for instance, unless they specifically had some way to shield a room from the elements. I mean, they are compared to armed paleo-hippies for a reason.
You may have pointed out an error with Acolyte background. When I pick it, it gives religion as a skill proficiency and one of your choice....is this only me or can someone else check. Because it is listed as having "Insight" and "religion" as proficiencies.
There are several backgrounds that work well with Cleric class, that are from official campaigns like Curse of Strahd. "Haunted One" is a really cool background I like and you can pick Arcana...I created a Celestial Warlock, who had witnessed his family being slaughtered by a demon until his patron came and saved him from certain death. I think this background could easily fit with a cleric as well. It would make sense to me since a cleric with this background might spend his or her life studying protection magic and creating protection from evil scrolls...
That makes a lot of sense. Clerics of the Knowledge domain and (of course), the Arcana domain also get to pick up Arcana as a skill at level 1.
I like this idea. Now to think about the other casting classes. Bards would obviously use Performance, although for spells they acquire through magical secrets you might allow/require the source class' associated skill. Paladins and Rangers could use Religion and Nature respectively, since they overlap with Clerics and Druids, while Arcane Tricksters might use Deception.
What about Sorcerers, Warlocks and Eldritch Knights?
Sorcerer and warlock persuasion eldritch knight and arcane trickster should still be arcana since int is their casting modifier
If you had already picked Insight as one of your class proficiencies, then any other source of Insight proficiency (such as race or, in this case, background) will allow you to choose another skill.
Since gaining the same skill proficiency from two different sources doesn't give you expertise, it gives you one proficiency and one redundancy.
Remember, Page 125 Player's Handbook, you can always customize a background to add different skill, language, and tool proficiencies. Just replace one of the background skills with Arcana.
Also yes, as deffdefying says, if you take a class proficiency that duplicates one from your background then you're able to make a free selection in the background options.
For example the Azorius Functionary background gives Intimidation, Insight, and two languages. I take Insight as a Cleric, so when I get to the Functionary selection the duplication of Insight means I can select something else (which is Arcana, Arcana and Religion are two of the most useful "information" skills, and I have Perception from Elf and Insight already). It's a pity that Clerics generally don't have high intelligence, but proficiency helps.
Clerical scrolls should be made with the prime ability for their class. That is Wisdom! Druid's and Ranger's are the same. Warlock's, Bard's, Paladin's and Sorcerer's prime casting is Charisma. Wizard's and Artificer's use Intelligence. Unless you take a Domain or Subclass that grant's you the Arcana proficiency and you decide that you should forgo your prime ability or another ability and add more points into Intelligence, each and every other class and subclass is Penalized if they try to create a scroll. I'm new to 5E so this is news to me. Prior to this edition, from 1st to 4th, when creating scrolls the Prime Casting Ability is always what is required to cast the spell onto a scroll. It always took quality paper or other material to write on. Quality ink was always required and then any material components that a spell needed to be cast and used. If only a focus could be used for casting, no material would be lost while making a scroll. I'll go with whatever the DM at my table decides, but when I DM in the future I'll use the old way. If it's not broke, don't try to fix it. I'm pretty sure the writers for the DMG and the PHB never even talked or played the game nor do I think they played any other edition than the 4th. Which was the most broke POS version, ever. It's the reason Pathfinder was born I'm pretty sure!!