With the drop of the newest UA, I'm seeing some discussion regarding wizards' spellbooks. Specifically, on how losing the spellbook can be a huge loss for a wizard PC.
But it's my impression that actually losing your spellbook is not at all a common event in 5E. My D&D roots are in 1E; in that edition, it wasn't unusual for a character to be in danger of losing everything if caught by a fireball, hit by a lightning bolt, or drenched in acid. Each item the character was wearing/carrying could be (DM's discretion) forced to make a saving throw, with success equaling emerging unscathed and failure meaning that item was ruined/destroyed.
In 5E, the standard mechanic seems to be that if an item/object is worn or carried, it's exempt from being damaged or destroyed in this way.
So I'm wondering if, in 5E, a wizard's spellbook is in regular danger of being damaged or destroyed? And if yes, how so? Because the only two ways that come to mind would be if the spellbook were stolen off the wizard's person or if, for some reason, the wizard traveled (near or far) without the spellbook, and it was stolen or destroyed from where they left it.
Yeah, I think about the only ways to lose it in this edition would be player carelessness or DM vindictiveness. And the rules can’t really fix either of those.
5E spellbooks are very rarely in danger of being lost or destroyed. It takes extraordinary circumstances to happen and even if it does, it can be partially transcribed into a new book and other spells found. No other classes in 5E have the possibility of loosing access to a portion of its power and i never seen such thing occur in any campaign i ran or played in since edition launch in 2014 or playtest years before.
Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. 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. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.
Right, like I said: the default mechanic in 5E seems to be that items being worn or carried are exempt from damage. Not realistic, but there's a fun factor and a streamlining factor involved, which I get.
In 1E, where there weren't things like attunement limiting magic items, sometimes a fireball or black dragon's breath weapon was the DM's best choice for a soft reset button for a campaign. Even magic items could be destroyed.
Yeah many 5E rules are designed with fun or simplicity in mind and are not all that realistic but it remains a good system to me , which i like far better than AD&D to have fun D&D experience. I have fond memory of earlier editions from my debut, but many brutal ones too loll
Sure! I'm not advocating porting that kind of granular ruling into 5E. Overall, I prefer 5E to 1E (though I have done some houseruling at my table to inject a bit of old school flavor).
Nothing has really changed about how losing one's spellbook affects the Wizard from current to UA rules. Nothing was ever stopping a Wizard from creating a backup of their spellbook other than time and money.
If a Wizard loses their spellbook through whatever means, they are still able to cast whatever spells they had prepared last. If their spellbook was permanently lost, they would only be able to scribe those prepared spells back into a new book (provided they have the time and money to do so).
Though in the UA, if the Wizard is particularly paranoid about losing their spellbook, they are effectively taxed by always needing to prepare Scribe Spell; without it they are actually incapable of creating a new book until they find another Wizard to create a Spell Scroll of Scribe Spell ... maybe two actually if I'm understanding the interaction right? Because you'd need one scroll to cast Scribe Spell and the other scroll to be the target of the Scribe Spell... unless the scroll can target itself.
Either way, the UA can fix this weird recursion by either making Scribe Spell just a generic feature, or making the spell count as always prepared.
As for if this has ever happened to me or if I've ever seen it happen? No. If the DM wants to mess with the caster's ability to cast spells they'll usually disarm or steal their spellcasting focus (also why my casters tend to carry more than one); just as debilitating without being punishing in the long term. The only time I'd really consider creating a backup copy of my spellbook is if I was also preparing a Clone spell in case I die and my belongings aren't recovered.
It's a sucky thing to happen, so by common consensus we all make sure it never happens.
If the wizard falls in the water, we assume their spellbook was wrapped in oilcloth. If the wizard is captured and stripped of gear, the spellbook is in a chest in the jailor's room. Etc.
It's a sucky thing to happen, so by common consensus we all make sure it never happens.
If the wizard falls in the water, we assume their spellbook was wrapped in oilcloth. If the wizard is captured and stripped of gear, the spellbook is in a chest in the jailor's room. Etc.
Plus there's the Enduring Spellbook as a Common magic item and a number of fancier ones with some additional powers. Personally, I think with player consent, losing the book for a few sessions could make a fun mini-arc, but I do agree with the general consensus that barring a deliberate plot point the book will simply remain untouched.
With the drop of the newest UA, I'm seeing some discussion regarding wizards' spellbooks. Specifically, on how losing the spellbook can be a huge loss for a wizard PC.
But it's my impression that actually losing your spellbook is not at all a common event in 5E. My D&D roots are in 1E; in that edition, it wasn't unusual for a character to be in danger of losing everything if caught by a fireball, hit by a lightning bolt, or drenched in acid. Each item the character was wearing/carrying could be (DM's discretion) forced to make a saving throw, with success equaling emerging unscathed and failure meaning that item was ruined/destroyed.
In 5E, the standard mechanic seems to be that if an item/object is worn or carried, it's exempt from being damaged or destroyed in this way.
So I'm wondering if, in 5E, a wizard's spellbook is in regular danger of being damaged or destroyed? And if yes, how so? Because the only two ways that come to mind would be if the spellbook were stolen off the wizard's person or if, for some reason, the wizard traveled (near or far) without the spellbook, and it was stolen or destroyed from where they left it.
What is your experience with this?
Yeah, I think about the only ways to lose it in this edition would be player carelessness or DM vindictiveness. And the rules can’t really fix either of those.
5E spellbooks are very rarely in danger of being lost or destroyed. It takes extraordinary circumstances to happen and even if it does, it can be partially transcribed into a new book and other spells found. No other classes in 5E have the possibility of loosing access to a portion of its power and i never seen such thing occur in any campaign i ran or played in since edition launch in 2014 or playtest years before.
Right, like I said: the default mechanic in 5E seems to be that items being worn or carried are exempt from damage. Not realistic, but there's a fun factor and a streamlining factor involved, which I get.
In 1E, where there weren't things like attunement limiting magic items, sometimes a fireball or black dragon's breath weapon was the DM's best choice for a soft reset button for a campaign. Even magic items could be destroyed.
Yeah many 5E rules are designed with fun or simplicity in mind and are not all that realistic but it remains a good system to me , which i like far better than AD&D to have fun D&D experience. I have fond memory of earlier editions from my debut, but many brutal ones too loll
Sure! I'm not advocating porting that kind of granular ruling into 5E. Overall, I prefer 5E to 1E (though I have done some houseruling at my table to inject a bit of old school flavor).
Nothing has really changed about how losing one's spellbook affects the Wizard from current to UA rules. Nothing was ever stopping a Wizard from creating a backup of their spellbook other than time and money.
If a Wizard loses their spellbook through whatever means, they are still able to cast whatever spells they had prepared last. If their spellbook was permanently lost, they would only be able to scribe those prepared spells back into a new book (provided they have the time and money to do so).
Though in the UA, if the Wizard is particularly paranoid about losing their spellbook, they are effectively taxed by always needing to prepare Scribe Spell; without it they are actually incapable of creating a new book until they find another Wizard to create a Spell Scroll of Scribe Spell ... maybe two actually if I'm understanding the interaction right? Because you'd need one scroll to cast Scribe Spell and the other scroll to be the target of the Scribe Spell... unless the scroll can target itself.
Either way, the UA can fix this weird recursion by either making Scribe Spell just a generic feature, or making the spell count as always prepared.
As for if this has ever happened to me or if I've ever seen it happen? No. If the DM wants to mess with the caster's ability to cast spells they'll usually disarm or steal their spellcasting focus (also why my casters tend to carry more than one); just as debilitating without being punishing in the long term. The only time I'd really consider creating a backup copy of my spellbook is if I was also preparing a Clone spell in case I die and my belongings aren't recovered.
It's a sucky thing to happen, so by common consensus we all make sure it never happens.
If the wizard falls in the water, we assume their spellbook was wrapped in oilcloth.
If the wizard is captured and stripped of gear, the spellbook is in a chest in the jailor's room.
Etc.
Plus there's the Enduring Spellbook as a Common magic item and a number of fancier ones with some additional powers. Personally, I think with player consent, losing the book for a few sessions could make a fun mini-arc, but I do agree with the general consensus that barring a deliberate plot point the book will simply remain untouched.
I also never seen anyone make a backup copy of a Wizard's spellbook in any games so far must be another sign of low risk i guess ☺