So I've been doing some research on Pact of the Tome to try and get the most out of it, and I stumbled across a thread (linked below) that asked if a warlock's tome was considered a spellbook. The original poster had a specific scenario in mind for their question, but it got me thinking on a more general use.
If a player who is playing primarily as a Warlock takes one level (or multiple) as a Wizard, are they able to use the Wizard ability to learn spells freely?
I'm not looking to cheat anything per se, but having access to a few more spells--and the ability to learn those found in the world--would be mighty useful. And having a tome handy to use as a spellbook seems pretty convenient.
Is this a) possible, and b) worth doing? TYIA for any guidance
The multiclass rules for any spellcaster and warlocks is pretty simple, you treat them separately for learning spells/preparing spells (warlocks are learned and don't need preparing, wizard spells are prepared from those learned), and can use the spell slots interchangeably to cast any spell you know or have prepared.
Regarding spellbooks...there's nothing really that says you can't use the Book of Shadows as a spellbook, but there are a few things to consider:
1) copying a spell into your spellbook requires that the spell be on the wizard spell list, so you can't learn extra warlock spells that way (any any spell shared would count as a wizard spell and would have to be prepared to be able to cast)
2) losing the spellbook...you can perform a ritual to replace your Book of Shadows, but it is up to the DM to determine if any additional writings other than the original cantrips (and possibly ritual spells inscribed through the eldritch invocation option) would return, so you may still have to recopy the spells
3) it would be up to the DM whether the book of shadows could be used as a spellbook (since there isn't anything explicit in the rules), so you should check before you try.
I agree with asking your DM. Another issue I see would be the size. RAW, a spell book has 100 pages, and a spell takes up one page per spell level. I don’t believe there is a specified length for a book of shadows, nor does it indicate how much space the warlock features take. So while a wizard can run out of space in their spellbook — a mundane item — I don’t think a warlock can run out of space in the tome, which is kind of magical. That may not have any practical effect in game, but it may depending mostly on how strict your DM is with wizard rules about size of the book.
Thanks for the responses! I will definitely check with my DM if I decide to go down this route. I also stumbled across the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, which does something similar to the Wizard ability on a smaller scale, so that might be the way to go?
Book of Ancient Secrets
Prerequisite: Pact of the Tome feature
You can now inscribe magical rituals in your Book of Shadows. Choose two 1st-level spells that have the ritual tag from any class’s spell list (the two needn’t be from the same list). The spells appear in the book and don’t count against the number of spells you know. With your Book of Shadows in hand, you can cast the chosen spells as rituals. You can’t cast the spells except as rituals, unless you’ve learned them by some other means. You can also cast a warlock spell you know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag.
On your adventures, you can add other ritual spells to your Book of Shadows. When you find such a spell, you can add it to the book if the spell’s level is equal to or less than half your warlock level (rounded up) and if you can spare the time to transcribe the spell. For each level of the spell, the transcription process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp for the rare inks needed to inscribe it.
Thanks for the responses! I will definitely check with my DM if I decide to go down this route. I also stumbled across the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, which does something similar to the Wizard ability on a smaller scale, so that might be the way to go?
The BoAS is on a smaller scale in the sense that it is limited to rituals, but on the other hand it is not limited by any class.
As for your original question, multiclass rules would limit you to only learning wizard spells that you could cast with wizard slots.
Thanks so much for your reply! This was mostly a flight of fancy, while prepping for a campaign. Now that it's started, I don't think it will be necessary/appropriate anyway.
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So I've been doing some research on Pact of the Tome to try and get the most out of it, and I stumbled across a thread (linked below) that asked if a warlock's tome was considered a spellbook. The original poster had a specific scenario in mind for their question, but it got me thinking on a more general use.
If a player who is playing primarily as a Warlock takes one level (or multiple) as a Wizard, are they able to use the Wizard ability to learn spells freely?
I'm not looking to cheat anything per se, but having access to a few more spells--and the ability to learn those found in the world--would be mighty useful. And having a tome handy to use as a spellbook seems pretty convenient.
Is this a) possible, and b) worth doing? TYIA for any guidance
Original thread: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/d-d-adventurers-league/41606-is-pact-of-the-tome-considered-a-spell-book-for-a
The multiclass rules for any spellcaster and warlocks is pretty simple, you treat them separately for learning spells/preparing spells (warlocks are learned and don't need preparing, wizard spells are prepared from those learned), and can use the spell slots interchangeably to cast any spell you know or have prepared.
Regarding spellbooks...there's nothing really that says you can't use the Book of Shadows as a spellbook, but there are a few things to consider:
1) copying a spell into your spellbook requires that the spell be on the wizard spell list, so you can't learn extra warlock spells that way (any any spell shared would count as a wizard spell and would have to be prepared to be able to cast)
2) losing the spellbook...you can perform a ritual to replace your Book of Shadows, but it is up to the DM to determine if any additional writings other than the original cantrips (and possibly ritual spells inscribed through the eldritch invocation option) would return, so you may still have to recopy the spells
3) it would be up to the DM whether the book of shadows could be used as a spellbook (since there isn't anything explicit in the rules), so you should check before you try.
I agree with asking your DM. Another issue I see would be the size. RAW, a spell book has 100 pages, and a spell takes up one page per spell level. I don’t believe there is a specified length for a book of shadows, nor does it indicate how much space the warlock features take. So while a wizard can run out of space in their spellbook — a mundane item — I don’t think a warlock can run out of space in the tome, which is kind of magical.
That may not have any practical effect in game, but it may depending mostly on how strict your DM is with wizard rules about size of the book.
Thanks for the responses! I will definitely check with my DM if I decide to go down this route. I also stumbled across the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, which does something similar to the Wizard ability on a smaller scale, so that might be the way to go?
The BoAS is on a smaller scale in the sense that it is limited to rituals, but on the other hand it is not limited by any class.
As for your original question, multiclass rules would limit you to only learning wizard spells that you could cast with wizard slots.
Thanks so much for your reply! This was mostly a flight of fancy, while prepping for a campaign. Now that it's started, I don't think it will be necessary/appropriate anyway.