I ave a question about whether a wizards can learn spells by exchanging known spells with fellow wizards from the different cities and magic academies he encounters ?
Yeah, I believe that anywhere you can get access to a spell written down, you can potentially copy it over into your own spellbook. Provided that it is a wizard spell of course, and that you have the time and material/gold costs to do the copying. 2 hours and 50gp per spell level I believe.
How often you'll find spell scrolls or other sources of spells to copy, and which spells those will be however, is at the prerogative of the DM.
Yes on your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Other wizards can allow you to copy spells from their spellbooks into your own, and magical academies would intuitively have access to written/scribed magic to copy down.
Earning these favors and services is not likely to be free. A good DM will likely require you to earn a wizard's favor before that wizard will teach you new spells, and a magical academy is not about to hand its secrets out to every vagrant hedge witch that wanders by. You'll want to talk to your DM about how learning spells outside progression is likely to work in their game. Some DMs like to make it very easy for wizards to learn dozens of extra freebies; other DMs prefer to make the wizard work for every single 'extra' spell they get and consider carefully what they take on leveling up.
I ave a question about whether a wizards can learn spells by exchanging known spells with fellow wizards from the different cities and magic academies he encounters ?
Short answer: yes, absolutely, if your DM gives you the opportunity of course
That brings to mind a side discussion that might be a bit of a spoiler for Tomb of Annihilation, so I'll black it out:
My wizard in Tomb of Annihilation currently has four spellbooks he's picked up from defeated enemies/found on bodies, with a whole bunch of spells in them he doesn't know yet and can't use...
It actually creates an interesting strategic dilemma when he levels up -- does he learn a spell that's already in one of those spellbooks (there's some really useful stuff in them), or does he skip those and take different spells in case he gets a chance to sit down and transcribe stuff at some point?
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
In the PHB, the section about the Wizard has a sidebar titled YOUR SPELLBOOK. This has all the relevant rules for copying spells, however you might find them.
One minor word of warning from a player who's DM is very liberal about giving out spells - the number you can prepare stays the same, so this just gives you more choices. Which can be great, but also kind of overwhelming if you don't know what you're going to face.
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled??
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
No limit for spell books. Easy to learn spells, just takes money and time.
It is quite typical for wizards to over-fill their spellbooks. It is the main reason to take Wizard rather than Sorceror. You get spells that are good at low levels but rarely get used once you level up, so you stop casting them. A prime example of this is the first level attack spells. Burning Hands does 3d6 damage, averaging 10.5, but by the time you hit level 5, your Firebolt cantrip does 2d10, averaging 11. You might keep it memorized for a while, as it could hit more than 1 person, and you can always upcast it. But by the time you hit level 11 you will never want to cast it , even upcast.
Wizards often learn spells mainly for non-adventuring use. Wall of Stone for example is rarely as good as Wall of Force during combat, but if you want to make a fortress, you learn cast Wall of Stone every day till you get it built.
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
Not quite. Per the spellbook description, a spellbook has 100 blank vellum pages for recording spells. Nowhere in the PHB that I recall specifies how many pages a spell takes up, but two common assumptions are 'one spell, one page' a'la spell scrolls or "one page per level of the spell", which I believe is an older edition rule. Nevertheless, it's very reasonable to assume that a given spellbook can hold a theoretical maximum of one hundred spells.
The issue lies in the fact that the rules for wizard PCs are entirely absent when it comes to multiple spellbooks. They claim a wizard can create a backup spellbook and that they can transcribe spells from a captured spellbook into their own, but what about the inverse? Can a wizard scribe spells of their own into a captured enemy spellbook and make that spellbook into one of their own? Many of the fancy spellbooks in Tasha's Cauldron have spells scribed in them as a default, but they're explicitly intended to be used as PC spellbooks - do you simply get those spells in your own spellbook as freebies? Are those spells 'yours' now, and you can transcribe them freely even though you never paid for them or learned them on level-up? Can a wizard with multiple spellbooks prepare spells from any/all of the books they have with them, or do they need to choose one single spellbook to prepare spells from on a given day? Can a wizard even carry multiple spellbooks?
DDB sure as shootin' doesn't let them; your wizard's "spellbook" is no such thing, it's a list of spells you're allowed to prepare that are assumed to be in 'your spellbook', but the website offers absolutely no way to differentiate between, say, a wizard's primary spellbook and a backup spellbook they're working on in their spare time with only about half their spells in it. or if the wizard is attuned to both a duplicitous manuscript and an atlas of endless horizons, each of which is stuffed with spells appropriate to its nature, which of those spellbooks is 'the wizard's spellbook'?
ALl of which is a really, really good conversation to have with your DM, if you're playing a wizard and your table is expecting to get past level 5 and/or cares about logistical issues like this. 5e provides precisely zero answers, it'll be uyp to your DM and you to figure them out for your specific wizard.
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
Common house rule is 1 page per level of spell (carry over from 2&3.x Edition rules). Spell Books contain 100 pages per RAW.
Part of the flavor of copying spells from a spellbook is deciphering that wizards notations etc and adapting it to your own.
So in a case where you write your own spell into the book, I would think you could use the speellbook for the spell YOU wrote into it but not the spelsl THEY wrote into it. It seems like you can't just pick up someone else's spellbook and use it as your own without coping the spells with your own notations.
I do n't think there's any rules specifying how many spells you can have in one book, nor any specifying you couldn't pay for a spellbook with more pages just because the standard is 100.
In older editions, a wizard’s “spellbook” was assumed to eventually span multiple volumes. Applying that same concept to 5e, even though a spellbook only holds 100 (or X) spells, if the wizard has 2 volumes in “their spellbook,” it could hold up to 200 (or X+Y) spells. Make sense?
As a RP element when weight and space is not a problem I have 1 spell book for each level of spells or 1 crystal that can store spells as a book per spell level.
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
Common house rule is 1 page per level of spell (carry over from 2&3.x Edition rules). Spell Books contain 100 pages per RAW.
Anyone that makes a house rule should either consider how it affects the game. This means they should think about a) are they creating a massive limitation for more powerful Wizards and only wizards - preventing them from doing the main thing they are known for (having unlimited spells), b) allowing multiple spell books, c) changing the RAW rule on pages in a book to reflect the house rule they are using.
Common house rule is 1 page per level of spell (carry over from 2&3.x Edition rules). Spell Books contain 100 pages per RAW.
Spellbooks you can purchase are listed as having 100 pages
The "spellbook" a wizard PC starts with is deliberately not described as a 100-page book
The Book’s Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap.
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
Common house rule is 1 page per level of spell (carry over from 2&3.x Edition rules). Spell Books contain 100 pages per RAW.
Anyone that makes a house rule should either consider how it affects the game. This means they should think about a) are they creating a massive limitation for more powerful Wizards and only wizards - preventing them from doing the main thing they are known for (having unlimited spells), b) allowing multiple spell books, c) changing the RAW rule on pages in a book to reflect the house rule they are using.
typically the house rule in question is to create a money sink for wizards (gods knows the game could use more of those) as well as ensure the wizard doesn't end up with "I have an app for that" syndrome too quickly. And no it is not a massive limitation (more a consequence of pursuing magical knowledge). Multiple books are natural extension of the house rule. And as I and others stated earlier the rule is a carry over from previous editions (so the balance is there).
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I ave a question about whether a wizards can learn spells by exchanging known spells with fellow wizards from the different cities and magic academies he encounters ?
Yeah, I believe that anywhere you can get access to a spell written down, you can potentially copy it over into your own spellbook. Provided that it is a wizard spell of course, and that you have the time and material/gold costs to do the copying. 2 hours and 50gp per spell level I believe.
How often you'll find spell scrolls or other sources of spells to copy, and which spells those will be however, is at the prerogative of the DM.
Yes on your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying that spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Other wizards can allow you to copy spells from their spellbooks into your own, and magical academies would intuitively have access to written/scribed magic to copy down.
Earning these favors and services is not likely to be free. A good DM will likely require you to earn a wizard's favor before that wizard will teach you new spells, and a magical academy is not about to hand its secrets out to every vagrant hedge witch that wanders by. You'll want to talk to your DM about how learning spells outside progression is likely to work in their game. Some DMs like to make it very easy for wizards to learn dozens of extra freebies; other DMs prefer to make the wizard work for every single 'extra' spell they get and consider carefully what they take on leveling up.
Please do not contact or message me.
Short answer: yes, absolutely, if your DM gives you the opportunity of course
That brings to mind a side discussion that might be a bit of a spoiler for Tomb of Annihilation, so I'll black it out:
My wizard in Tomb of Annihilation currently has four spellbooks he's picked up from defeated enemies/found on bodies, with a whole bunch of spells in them he doesn't know yet and can't use...
It actually creates an interesting strategic dilemma when he levels up -- does he learn a spell that's already in one of those spellbooks (there's some really useful stuff in them), or does he skip those and take different spells in case he gets a chance to sit down and transcribe stuff at some point?
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
In the PHB, the section about the Wizard has a sidebar titled YOUR SPELLBOOK. This has all the relevant rules for copying spells, however you might find them.
One minor word of warning from a player who's DM is very liberal about giving out spells - the number you can prepare stays the same, so this just gives you more choices. Which can be great, but also kind of overwhelming if you don't know what you're going to face.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Also noteworthy is you can learn new spells of Level 1+ this way, not cantrips.
Yeah. Though, if your DM allows Tashas optional class features I believe wizards can swap one wizard cantrip out for another during a long rest now.
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled ?
Thanks for your reply, that was what I thought. I have a second question. So, if the wizard can add as many spells as he finds in his spellbook, how many spells can a spellbook contain before it is completely filled??There is no limit in 5E to how many spells can be stored in one spellbook.
No limit for spell books. Easy to learn spells, just takes money and time.
It is quite typical for wizards to over-fill their spellbooks. It is the main reason to take Wizard rather than Sorceror. You get spells that are good at low levels but rarely get used once you level up, so you stop casting them. A prime example of this is the first level attack spells. Burning Hands does 3d6 damage, averaging 10.5, but by the time you hit level 5, your Firebolt cantrip does 2d10, averaging 11. You might keep it memorized for a while, as it could hit more than 1 person, and you can always upcast it. But by the time you hit level 11 you will never want to cast it , even upcast.
Wizards often learn spells mainly for non-adventuring use. Wall of Stone for example is rarely as good as Wall of Force during combat, but if you want to make a fortress, you learn cast Wall of Stone every day till you get it built.
Not quite.
Per the spellbook description, a spellbook has 100 blank vellum pages for recording spells. Nowhere in the PHB that I recall specifies how many pages a spell takes up, but two common assumptions are 'one spell, one page' a'la spell scrolls or "one page per level of the spell", which I believe is an older edition rule. Nevertheless, it's very reasonable to assume that a given spellbook can hold a theoretical maximum of one hundred spells.
The issue lies in the fact that the rules for wizard PCs are entirely absent when it comes to multiple spellbooks. They claim a wizard can create a backup spellbook and that they can transcribe spells from a captured spellbook into their own, but what about the inverse? Can a wizard scribe spells of their own into a captured enemy spellbook and make that spellbook into one of their own? Many of the fancy spellbooks in Tasha's Cauldron have spells scribed in them as a default, but they're explicitly intended to be used as PC spellbooks - do you simply get those spells in your own spellbook as freebies? Are those spells 'yours' now, and you can transcribe them freely even though you never paid for them or learned them on level-up? Can a wizard with multiple spellbooks prepare spells from any/all of the books they have with them, or do they need to choose one single spellbook to prepare spells from on a given day? Can a wizard even carry multiple spellbooks?
DDB sure as shootin' doesn't let them; your wizard's "spellbook" is no such thing, it's a list of spells you're allowed to prepare that are assumed to be in 'your spellbook', but the website offers absolutely no way to differentiate between, say, a wizard's primary spellbook and a backup spellbook they're working on in their spare time with only about half their spells in it. or if the wizard is attuned to both a duplicitous manuscript and an atlas of endless horizons, each of which is stuffed with spells appropriate to its nature, which of those spellbooks is 'the wizard's spellbook'?
ALl of which is a really, really good conversation to have with your DM, if you're playing a wizard and your table is expecting to get past level 5 and/or cares about logistical issues like this. 5e provides precisely zero answers, it'll be uyp to your DM and you to figure them out for your specific wizard.
Please do not contact or message me.
Common house rule is 1 page per level of spell (carry over from 2&3.x Edition rules). Spell Books contain 100 pages per RAW.
Part of the flavor of copying spells from a spellbook is deciphering that wizards notations etc and adapting it to your own.
So in a case where you write your own spell into the book, I would think you could use the speellbook for the spell YOU wrote into it but not the spelsl THEY wrote into it. It seems like you can't just pick up someone else's spellbook and use it as your own without coping the spells with your own notations.
I do n't think there's any rules specifying how many spells you can have in one book, nor any specifying you couldn't pay for a spellbook with more pages just because the standard is 100.
In older editions, a wizard’s “spellbook” was assumed to eventually span multiple volumes. Applying that same concept to 5e, even though a spellbook only holds 100 (or X) spells, if the wizard has 2 volumes in “their spellbook,” it could hold up to 200 (or X+Y) spells. Make sense?
As a RP element when weight and space is not a problem I have 1 spell book for each level of spells or 1 crystal that can store spells as a book per spell level.
Anyone that makes a house rule should either consider how it affects the game. This means they should think about a) are they creating a massive limitation for more powerful Wizards and only wizards - preventing them from doing the main thing they are known for (having unlimited spells), b) allowing multiple spell books, c) changing the RAW rule on pages in a book to reflect the house rule they are using.
Spellbooks you can purchase are listed as having 100 pages
The "spellbook" a wizard PC starts with is deliberately not described as a 100-page book
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
typically the house rule in question is to create a money sink for wizards (gods knows the game could use more of those) as well as ensure the wizard doesn't end up with "I have an app for that" syndrome too quickly. And no it is not a massive limitation (more a consequence of pursuing magical knowledge). Multiple books are natural extension of the house rule. And as I and others stated earlier the rule is a carry over from previous editions (so the balance is there).