In my campaign we are playing Waterdeep: Dungeon of the mad mage. Some of the encounters on lv3 include Drow Mages https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/drow-mage. The description doesn't mention it, but by intuition such a monster would have a spell book somewhere, which the caracters could acquire after defeating him(?)
Anything that cast spells as a wizard probably has a spellbook somewhere, from which a PC could possibly copy spells into their own book (you cannot directly use someone else's spellbook). There is no guarantee that it's findable or usable, though.
Every PC wizard I know of carries their Spell book with them at all times because it is hard to steal from them and easy to steal from their living space.
Almost every DM I have ever played with has NPC's leave their spell book at home, heavily hidden away.
They usually do this because they are afraid of the PC becoming too powerful. Wizards having extra spells does not make them more powerful, it makes them better generalists.
I see nothing wrong with letting a PC get ahold of the Drow Mage's standard spell list. The first three spell levels are spells the Wizard already likely knows or are not worth it by the time they face a CR 7 monster (Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield are all commonly taken and should be easy to get. Witch Bolt sucks after third level (only worth taking if you run out of spell slots) Alter Self is a weak spell, Misty Step they should already know, Web is good at low levels, not so good by the time they face a Drow Mage. Fly is a good spell, but chances are they already know it. Lightning bolt is weak for a 3rd.
That leaves the good stuff. Greater Invisibility is one of the top 3 4th level spells but also likely already known. But Evard's Black Tentacles could be a good find, it is undervalued and if the Drow uses it on them, the player may figure out how powerful it is.
Finally, Cloudkill. Powerful spell but ONLY in special circumstances. Most of the time you are in it for at most 2 rounds, so the damage is basically comparable to a Fireball. It takes special circumstances, such as a locked room to make it deadly.
Nothing that great here. No Animate Objects, Bigbys, no Rary's Telepathic Bond. Basically you get 1 specialized spell, 1 undervalued spell, and one generally known as fantastic that they likely already know.
Now compare with what a Rogue gets when they face a Drow Elite Warrior (CR 5 rather than CR 7). That bastard has poison on both his short sword and his bolts. Yeah, he has to have at least 10 doses of said poison on him. Not to mention the +2 armor and +2 shortsword he should have on him if he is in the underdark - which you can steal and use at least till you return to sunlight.
Every PC wizard I know of carries their Spell book with them at all times because it is hard to steal from them and easy to steal from their living space.
Almost every DM I have ever played with has NPC's leave their spell book at home, heavily hidden away.
They usually do this because they are afraid of the PC becoming too powerful. Wizards having extra spells does not make them more powerful, it makes them better generalists.
I see nothing wrong with letting a PC get ahold of the Drow Mage's standard spell list. The first three spell levels are spells the Wizard already likely knows or are not worth it by the time they face a CR 7 monster (Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield are all commonly taken and should be easy to get. Witch Bolt sucks after third level (only worth taking if you run out of spell slots) Alter Self is a weak spell, Misty Step they should already know, Web is good at low levels, not so good by the time they face a Drow Mage. Fly is a good spell, but chances are they already know it. Lightning bolt is weak for a 3rd.
That leaves the good stuff. Greater Invisibility is one of the top 3 4th level spells but also likely already known. But Evard's Black Tentacles could be a good find, it is undervalued and if the Drow uses it on them, the player may figure out how powerful it is.
Finally, Cloudkill. Powerful spell but ONLY in special circumstances. Most of the time you are in it for at most 2 rounds, so the damage is basically comparable to a Fireball. It takes special circumstances, such as a locked room to make it deadly.
Nothing that great here. No Animate Objects, Bigbys, no Rary's Telepathic Bond. Basically you get 1 specialized spell, 1 undervalued spell, and one generally known as fantastic that they likely already know.
Now compare with what a Rogue gets when they face a Drow Elite Warrior (CR 5 rather than CR 7). That bastard has poison on both his short sword and his bolts. Yeah, he has to have at least 10 doses of said poison on him. Not to mention the +2 armor and +2 shortsword he should have on him if he is in the underdark - which you can steal and use at least till you return to sunlight.
Actually, the drow mage likely leaves his spell book behind because he is at home or near his base or because he just doesn't need it. PCs always carry their spellbooks because they aren't at home. They are traveling, moving from place to place so they always bring at least one spell book with them.They also want to swap spells out, prepare something different the next day. The listing for a drow mage shows the spells they have prepared and if they are happy with only having those prepared they don't need to take their spell book anywhere, they can leave it safely locked up because they don't need it unless they want to change the list of their prepared spells.
I would assume that a mage who isn't traveling keeps his spellbook at home (likely in a locked chest or safe, since they're expensive to replace). PCs might or might not have access to that location (if the mage is a patrol from a nearby garrison, you may have to take out the entire garrison to get at garrison supplies. Which is not necessarily impossible).
Every PC wizard I know of carries their Spell book with them at all times because it is hard to steal from them and easy to steal from their living space.
Almost every DM I have ever played with has NPC's leave their spell book at home, heavily hidden away.
They usually do this because they are afraid of the PC becoming too powerful. Wizards having extra spells does not make them more powerful, it makes them better generalists.
agree with the comment that more spells in a book doesn't equal more power. and keep in mind that most low-level PC's don't have a home at all...they're wandering adventurers - leaving it at home isn't usually even an option. if my wizard had a reliable home (which many NPC's do) and was going out on a specific mission, the book would likely be left at home.
also, whether a PC leaves a spellbook or takes it everywhere is also hugely driven by the DM...if a player knows the DM doesn't bother trying to steal/destroy/confiscate its spellbook, why would it ever leave it at home (even if it were an option)? That's an NPC concern, not usually a player concern.
I think he would have his spell book on him in case he needed to memorize new spells. That way he wouldn’t have to go home just for that. Especially if he’s on garrison duty in Halaster’s dungeon, which is not that close to Menzoberranzan.
I think he would have his spell book on him in case he needed to memorize new spells. That way he wouldn’t have to go home just for that. Especially if he’s on garrison duty in Halaster’s dungeon, which is not that close to Menzoberranzan.
Home for these purposes is "the place he sleeps, keeps his changes of clothes, etc". I don't have Dungeon of the Mad Mage, so I have no idea what (if any) living quarters it has or how accessible they are.
@Pantagruel666 okay, thanks. Makes sense. I guess if the drow Mage was encountered in his quarters, he’d probably have his spell book, whereas if the party ran into him guarding a treasure room he wouldn’t.
Rabelais? Never actually read his stuff but I recognize the name.
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In my campaign we are playing Waterdeep: Dungeon of the mad mage. Some of the encounters on lv3 include Drow Mages https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/drow-mage. The description doesn't mention it, but by intuition such a monster would have a spell book somewhere, which the caracters could acquire after defeating him(?)
Anything that cast spells as a wizard probably has a spellbook somewhere, from which a PC could possibly copy spells into their own book (you cannot directly use someone else's spellbook). There is no guarantee that it's findable or usable, though.
They usually do this because they are afraid of the PC becoming too powerful. Wizards having extra spells does not make them more powerful, it makes them better generalists.
I see nothing wrong with letting a PC get ahold of the Drow Mage's standard spell list. The first three spell levels are spells the Wizard already likely knows or are not worth it by the time they face a CR 7 monster (Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield are all commonly taken and should be easy to get. Witch Bolt sucks after third level (only worth taking if you run out of spell slots) Alter Self is a weak spell, Misty Step they should already know, Web is good at low levels, not so good by the time they face a Drow Mage. Fly is a good spell, but chances are they already know it. Lightning bolt is weak for a 3rd.
That leaves the good stuff. Greater Invisibility is one of the top 3 4th level spells but also likely already known. But Evard's Black Tentacles could be a good find, it is undervalued and if the Drow uses it on them, the player may figure out how powerful it is.
Finally, Cloudkill. Powerful spell but ONLY in special circumstances. Most of the time you are in it for at most 2 rounds, so the damage is basically comparable to a Fireball. It takes special circumstances, such as a locked room to make it deadly.
Nothing that great here. No Animate Objects, Bigbys, no Rary's Telepathic Bond. Basically you get 1 specialized spell, 1 undervalued spell, and one generally known as fantastic that they likely already know.
Now compare with what a Rogue gets when they face a Drow Elite Warrior (CR 5 rather than CR 7). That bastard has poison on both his short sword and his bolts. Yeah, he has to have at least 10 doses of said poison on him. Not to mention the +2 armor and +2 shortsword he should have on him if he is in the underdark - which you can steal and use at least till you return to sunlight.
Actually, the drow mage likely leaves his spell book behind because he is at home or near his base or because he just doesn't need it. PCs always carry their spellbooks because they aren't at home. They are traveling, moving from place to place so they always bring at least one spell book with them.They also want to swap spells out, prepare something different the next day. The listing for a drow mage shows the spells they have prepared and if they are happy with only having those prepared they don't need to take their spell book anywhere, they can leave it safely locked up because they don't need it unless they want to change the list of their prepared spells.
I would assume that a mage who isn't traveling keeps his spellbook at home (likely in a locked chest or safe, since they're expensive to replace). PCs might or might not have access to that location (if the mage is a patrol from a nearby garrison, you may have to take out the entire garrison to get at garrison supplies. Which is not necessarily impossible).
plus most low-level PC's don't have a home at all...they're wandering adventurers.
agree with the comment that more spells in a book doesn't equal more power. and keep in mind that most low-level PC's don't have a home at all...they're wandering adventurers - leaving it at home isn't usually even an option. if my wizard had a reliable home (which many NPC's do) and was going out on a specific mission, the book would likely be left at home.
also, whether a PC leaves a spellbook or takes it everywhere is also hugely driven by the DM...if a player knows the DM doesn't bother trying to steal/destroy/confiscate its spellbook, why would it ever leave it at home (even if it were an option)? That's an NPC concern, not usually a player concern.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I think he would have his spell book on him in case he needed to memorize new spells. That way he wouldn’t have to go home just for that. Especially if he’s on garrison duty in Halaster’s dungeon, which is not that close to Menzoberranzan.
Home for these purposes is "the place he sleeps, keeps his changes of clothes, etc". I don't have Dungeon of the Mad Mage, so I have no idea what (if any) living quarters it has or how accessible they are.
@Pantagruel666 okay, thanks. Makes sense. I guess if the drow Mage was encountered in his quarters, he’d probably have his spell book, whereas if the party ran into him guarding a treasure room he wouldn’t.
Rabelais? Never actually read his stuff but I recognize the name.