I wanted to ask the hivemind what your thoughts are on ways to screw with the wizard in my game. Namely being I’d like to blow up his spellbook. I’m just not sure how this would work on DDB. Also if he does manage to find a new book can he copy down spells he had prepared before he goes to sleep. Maybe it takes him a couple days without sleep to get his entire prepared list copied. Stuff like this is what I’m wanting to happen but I want your advice first.
You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell.
If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal.
So, yeah, he would definitely be able to re-copy his prepared spells on to a new paper medium, with 1 hour time per spell. Keep in mind, though, that the spellbook can be of any papery form the wizard wishes/has available, so he would not technically need a new book per se, he could just decide to write them all down on scrap paper to then make a book out of, or to re-copy them once he can find a sturdier option.
Thank you for the help. I’m doing so, for two reasons. First I am trying to throw a wrench in the party and bring them together. This would certainly make him depend on his allies more. Second he hasn’t been trying to find new books, scrolls, spells at all really. I don’t want to pull him aside and tell him he has to look because he’s a wizard, I want him to have a reason to look. Running low on spells would certainly do the trick.
Overall, good idea, but be prepared to maybe some malcontent from the wizard player at the beginning, as it might seem you are targeting them just for the sake of making the character's life difficult.
Again, I think these are good reasons and a good enough idea, but maybe giving the player a hint that it might happen might be best, just to avoid outrage and tantrums (completely speculating here, as I have no idea what type of person the wizard player is, but it seems they are not the best team-player by your words).
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Thank you for the help. I’m doing so, for two reasons. First I am trying to throw a wrench in the party and bring them together. This would certainly make him depend on his allies more. Second he hasn’t been trying to find new books, scrolls, spells at all really. I don’t want to pull him aside and tell him he has to look because he’s a wizard, I want him to have a reason to look. Running low on spells would certainly do the trick.
"make him depend on his allies more" - What level is this guy??? Wizards are probably the least self-sufficient characters out there. Even the greatest of them (except Elminster, but he is basically the DM's (Greenwood's) pet god) need a selection of henchmen, allies, servants, meat-shields, burglars and twin brothers.
If he is not looking for new spells, perhaps he is happy with the ones he has. Perhaps he is thinking of D&D like a computer game, where if you need spells etc, you will find them. If he doesn't have them, he doesn't need them sort of meta-gaming.
If you want him to want spells, then design problems that can be solved with the right spells - spells that he doesn't have yet. Doors barred from the other side, where stealth is preferable to battering rams; a 130' long corridor that fills with lethal levels of lightning every 12 seconds; getting trapped in a Forcecage. Or have an NPC wizard upstage him with elegant solutions occasionally, or merely boast in the tavern of what he would have done. ( The Professor of defence against dark arts comes to mind here...)
Messing with a wizard's spellbook is rarely a good idea.
The player may see it as a challenge - I'd probably sulk and go find something interesting to do.
Maybe it's worth talking to the player: "Hey, Bob, your character is pretty stand-off-ish and not really part of the party. Plus they don't seem interested in exploring any new magic. Why is that?"
If it turns out that's just the way "Bob" feels the character would behave, then ask the player how they feel about a few structured events which would help the character come around to viewing the other party members as friends and allies, not just lackeys and travelling companions and/or get more interested in new magical possibilities.
Brain storm it with the Player. They may surprise you by coming up with an idea that you never thought of that is "way cooler" than blowing up their spellbook. Or maybe not.
Ask the player how they feel about temporary crippling their character by taking away their spell-book. Make it clear that it is temporary, and that - coincidentally - they will find magical inscriptions that will allow them to rebuild their spell-book.
Also ... be aware that this might just be the Player's style, and that it's not really a problem, or anything that you can fix. Not all players & DMs mesh together properly; to quote Matt Colville, "Not every band is Rush"
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Our wizard always depends on the rest of the party.... or else he dies... Lol. He's had the most near death experiences than any other player in our campaign.
But if you really want to punish him/her... Taking away their spell book is definitely the worse thing that can happen to a wizard.
If the player is just new to playing/bad at playing a wizard in general... you may just need to talk to them on the side to see if they really want to play this kind of character or give them tips on how to play their class more effectively. If they don't really want to play a wiz, then give him/her an EPIC death in game and re-roll. :)
I agree with LeK and Vedexent, be prepared for a rightfully pissed off player. Your removing thier primary class feature and destroying an item worth more gold then all the magic items he's likely to find.
1) he doesn't HAVE to look for scrolls. He gets 2 spells per lvl. In addition adding spells not from that list is a huge gold investment. It's 50 gold per spell lvl! That's not including the cost of possibly buying them.
He can choose to add more scrolls that the party finds, but that's generally an opportunity thing. Are you offering the chances for the wizard to find them?
IlI' be honest here man. In my opinion the spellbook is the most core feature of Wizard's and removing thier class freature (spell casting and Ritual Casting) without offering something in return, especially since a spell book is often worth more then Full Plate, is a quick way to make your Wizard player find a new game.
I appreciate all the advice here and will say that I have taken a few points here. As a note the player is level 9, a veteran player, and has never even looked for additional spells in books or scrolls despite coming in contact with both. The player has more than enough gold not only for a new book but also to copy down spells, besides I planned on doing this in an area where a new book would be easily accessible. If at the end of this he still plays the same way then I will take it that he is not interested in THAT part of the wizard class and I will stop preparing spells to find.
With your advice I will be doing this slightly differently. The party will come into contact with an NPC wizard who is on the outs after having lost his spellbook. During fights (in which it makes sense) enemies will begin going after his spell book. By the time I actually take out the book he will see it coming and likely start looking for spells or ways to block it from happening. The end result of roleplay will not only be exactly what I wanted, it will be better. Thank you guys again for the advice, look out for an angry wizard in the coming weeks... hehe
How about you screw with the wizard and make it a story element? Have a bad NPC steal or eradicate the book, the pc's have to fight the enemy's minions and then the enemy to get the book back. Then say that the baddie had a contingency plan and casted a curse on it, so the wizard must use some time to break the curse.
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Hi. I'm a 14 year old student looking to play D&D. If you don't have a problem with me, I would gladly join your session!
If the wizard doesn't actively look for new spells, then it's probably because he doesn't know he can, or doesn't think that you will give him any chance to loot new spells. Try burning some spellbooks/scrolls in front of him, and tell him later OOC that if he had somehow salvaged it, he would have unlocked new spells.
As for a way to bring the party together, try having a puzzle that requires three or more people to do things at the same time, while being mage hand/unseen servant-proof.
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Hey there, SkillCheck here,
I wanted to ask the hivemind what your thoughts are on ways to screw with the wizard in my game. Namely being I’d like to blow up his spellbook. I’m just not sure how this would work on DDB. Also if he does manage to find a new book can he copy down spells he had prepared before he goes to sleep. Maybe it takes him a couple days without sleep to get his entire prepared list copied. Stuff like this is what I’m wanting to happen but I want your advice first.
Dungeon Master for Heroes of Agarra
I have a growing library of Homebrew: Subclasses | Races | Feats | Items
You check out my newest Homebrew: Doctor - The Survey Corps - Order of the Shadow Master
One question first: why would you do that?
Secondly, the Wizard Spellbook sidebar states:
So, yeah, he would definitely be able to re-copy his prepared spells on to a new paper medium, with 1 hour time per spell.
Keep in mind, though, that the spellbook can be of any papery form the wizard wishes/has available, so he would not technically need a new book per se, he could just decide to write them all down on scrap paper to then make a book out of, or to re-copy them once he can find a sturdier option.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Thank you for the help. I’m doing so, for two reasons. First I am trying to throw a wrench in the party and bring them together. This would certainly make him depend on his allies more. Second he hasn’t been trying to find new books, scrolls, spells at all really. I don’t want to pull him aside and tell him he has to look because he’s a wizard, I want him to have a reason to look. Running low on spells would certainly do the trick.
Dungeon Master for Heroes of Agarra
I have a growing library of Homebrew: Subclasses | Races | Feats | Items
You check out my newest Homebrew: Doctor - The Survey Corps - Order of the Shadow Master
Overall, good idea, but be prepared to maybe some malcontent from the wizard player at the beginning, as it might seem you are targeting them just for the sake of making the character's life difficult.
Again, I think these are good reasons and a good enough idea, but maybe giving the player a hint that it might happen might be best, just to avoid outrage and tantrums (completely speculating here, as I have no idea what type of person the wizard player is, but it seems they are not the best team-player by your words).
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Wizards are probably the least self-sufficient characters out there. Even the greatest of them (except Elminster, but he is basically the DM's (Greenwood's) pet god) need a selection of henchmen, allies, servants, meat-shields, burglars and twin brothers.
Or have an NPC wizard upstage him with elegant solutions occasionally, or merely boast in the tavern of what he would have done. ( The Professor of defence against dark arts comes to mind here...)
Roleplaying since Runequest.
Maybe it's worth talking to the player: "Hey, Bob, your character is pretty stand-off-ish and not really part of the party. Plus they don't seem interested in exploring any new magic. Why is that?"
If it turns out that's just the way "Bob" feels the character would behave, then ask the player how they feel about a few structured events which would help the character come around to viewing the other party members as friends and allies, not just lackeys and travelling companions and/or get more interested in new magical possibilities.
Brain storm it with the Player. They may surprise you by coming up with an idea that you never thought of that is "way cooler" than blowing up their spellbook. Or maybe not.
Ask the player how they feel about temporary crippling their character by taking away their spell-book. Make it clear that it is temporary, and that - coincidentally - they will find magical inscriptions that will allow them to rebuild their spell-book.
Also ... be aware that this might just be the Player's style, and that it's not really a problem, or anything that you can fix. Not all players & DMs mesh together properly; to quote Matt Colville, "Not every band is Rush"
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Our wizard always depends on the rest of the party.... or else he dies... Lol. He's had the most near death experiences than any other player in our campaign.
But if you really want to punish him/her... Taking away their spell book is definitely the worse thing that can happen to a wizard.
If the player is just new to playing/bad at playing a wizard in general... you may just need to talk to them on the side to see if they really want to play this kind of character or give them tips on how to play their class more effectively. If they don't really want to play a wiz, then give him/her an EPIC death in game and re-roll. :)
"Lawful Good does not always mean Lawful Nice."
Have an NPC wizard bump into the party who is keen on finding new spells/scrolls/books...see if he takes the hint.
Perpetually annoyed that Eldritch Knights can't use Eldritch Blast, Eldritch Smite, and Eldritch Sight.
Nuking your Wizard's sleep book is a @#_& move.
I agree with LeK and Vedexent, be prepared for a rightfully pissed off player. Your removing thier primary class feature and destroying an item worth more gold then all the magic items he's likely to find.
1) he doesn't HAVE to look for scrolls. He gets 2 spells per lvl. In addition adding spells not from that list is a huge gold investment. It's 50 gold per spell lvl! That's not including the cost of possibly buying them.
He can choose to add more scrolls that the party finds, but that's generally an opportunity thing. Are you offering the chances for the wizard to find them?
IlI' be honest here man. In my opinion the spellbook is the most core feature of Wizard's and removing thier class freature (spell casting and Ritual Casting) without offering something in return, especially since a spell book is often worth more then Full Plate, is a quick way to make your Wizard player find a new game.
I appreciate all the advice here and will say that I have taken a few points here. As a note the player is level 9, a veteran player, and has never even looked for additional spells in books or scrolls despite coming in contact with both. The player has more than enough gold not only for a new book but also to copy down spells, besides I planned on doing this in an area where a new book would be easily accessible. If at the end of this he still plays the same way then I will take it that he is not interested in THAT part of the wizard class and I will stop preparing spells to find.
With your advice I will be doing this slightly differently. The party will come into contact with an NPC wizard who is on the outs after having lost his spellbook. During fights (in which it makes sense) enemies will begin going after his spell book. By the time I actually take out the book he will see it coming and likely start looking for spells or ways to block it from happening. The end result of roleplay will not only be exactly what I wanted, it will be better. Thank you guys again for the advice, look out for an angry wizard in the coming weeks... hehe
Dungeon Master for Heroes of Agarra
I have a growing library of Homebrew: Subclasses | Races | Feats | Items
You check out my newest Homebrew: Doctor - The Survey Corps - Order of the Shadow Master
I’m kinda interested now in how it’ll play out. Haha. Please keep us posted. :)
"Lawful Good does not always mean Lawful Nice."
Dungeon Master for Heroes of Agarra
I have a growing library of Homebrew: Subclasses | Races | Feats | Items
You check out my newest Homebrew: Doctor - The Survey Corps - Order of the Shadow Master
How about the wizard hasn't realised he needs reading glasses so he keeps getting his spells wrong. The other players notice before he does.
How about you screw with the wizard and make it a story element? Have a bad NPC steal or eradicate the book, the pc's have to fight the enemy's minions and then the enemy to get the book back. Then say that the baddie had a contingency plan and casted a curse on it, so the wizard must use some time to break the curse.
Hi. I'm a 14 year old student looking to play D&D. If you don't have a problem with me, I would gladly join your session!
If the wizard doesn't actively look for new spells, then it's probably because he doesn't know he can, or doesn't think that you will give him any chance to loot new spells. Try burning some spellbooks/scrolls in front of him, and tell him later OOC that if he had somehow salvaged it, he would have unlocked new spells.
As for a way to bring the party together, try having a puzzle that requires three or more people to do things at the same time, while being mage hand/unseen servant-proof.