A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class’s spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible. Casting the spell by reading the scroll requires the spell’s normal casting time. Once the spell is cast, the words on the scroll fade, and it crumbles to dust. If the casting is interrupted, the scroll is not lost.
If the spell is on your class’s spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine whether you cast it successfully. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from the scroll with no other effect.
The level of the spell on the scroll determines the spell’s saving throw DC and attack bonus, as well as the scroll’s rarity, as shown in the Spell Scroll table.
Spell Scroll
Spell Level | Rarity | Save DC | Attack Bonus |
---|---|---|---|
Cantrip | Common | 13 | +5 |
1st | Common | 13 | +5 |
2nd | Uncommon | 13 | +5 |
3rd | Uncommon | 15 | +7 |
4th | Rare | 15 | +7 |
5th | Rare | 17 | +9 |
6th | Very rare | 17 | +9 |
7th | Very rare | 18 | +10 |
8th | Very rare | 18 | +10 |
9th | Legendary | 19 | +11 |
A wizard spell on a spell scroll can be copied just as spells in spellbooks can be copied. When a spell is copied from a spell scroll, the copier must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell's level. If the check succeeds, the spell is successfully copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the spell scroll is destroyed.
VARIANT: SCROLL MISHAPS
A creature who tries and fails to cast a spell from a spell scroll must make a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw. If the saving throw fails, roll on the Scroll Mishap table.
Scroll Mishap
d6 Result 1 A surge of magical energy deals the caster 1d6 force damage per level of the spell. 2 The spell affects the caster or an ally (determined randomly) instead of the intended target, or it affects a random target nearby if the caster was the intended target. 3 The spell affects a random location within the spell’s range. 4 The spell’s effect is contrary to its normal one, but neither harmful nor beneficial. For instance, a fireball might produce an area of harmless cold. 5 The caster suffers a minor but bizarre effect related to the spell. Such effects last only as long as the original spell’s duration, or 1d10 minutes for spells that take effect instantaneously. For example, a fireball might cause smoke to billow from the caster’s ears for 1d10 minutes. 6 The spell activates after 1d12 hours. If the caster was the intended target, the spell takes effect normally. If the caster was not the intended target, the spell goes off in the general direction of the intended target, up to the spell’s maximum range, if the target has moved away.
Notes: Utility, Consumable
Thanks for pointing out the treasure scroll information, makes it much easier to reward some situational scrolls as loot my party wouldn't otherwise have access to. When I initially read the Spell Scroll section I was like, crap.
how much gold is a 8th level spell scroll
idk
The DMG and XGTE each have a "Selling a Magic Item" suggested downtime activity with a single price (halved for consumables like potions and scrolls) listed for each rarity. Given that the usefulness of an item within a particular rarity can vary widely, it's not a super-useful benchmark.
does anyone know if one could actually create your own spell scroll
I let players try to cast scrolls that aren't on their spell list by making the spellcasting check at disadvantage. On a failure, a scroll mishap automatically occurs.
Book of Spell Scrolls
Rarity (Various)
This magical book contains several blank pages that have been pre-treated to be scribed as Spell Scrolls. The Book of Spell Scrolls follows the same rules for Spell Scrolls, except when you cast a spell from one of the Spell Scrolls, you tear a number of pages out as you cast the spell. If the character can scribe spells into a book, that character can take the time to convert some of the pages into a spell scroll for half the time and gold required for crafting a spell scroll. For every level of the crafted Spell Scroll, the scribed spell fills up that many pages. (A 3rd level Spell Scroll will take up 3 pages in the book, and the caster tears out all 3 pages when the character casts the spell.)
Uncommon: 1d4+1 pages.
Rare: 2d4+2 pages.
Very Rare: 3d4+3 pages.
Legendary: 4d4+4 pages.
When the dm is having a bad day:
DM: You find a 9th level spell scroll.
Player(2nd level): I open it to see what spell it is!
DM: It's meteor swarm!
Player: cool, I'll use this on the next boss fight! I leave the room.
DM: As soon as you leave the room the spell scroll vibrates.
DM: It WaS CurSEd, MeTeOR SWARm iS CaSt AbOVe YoU.
Player: OH NO! nooooooo I fail the save
DM: iTs 240 DaMAge, ThE PaRTY dieS
what is the most powerful scroll and how much damage does it do. also is force damage a type of damage that barbarins can be risistint to if they rage.
This is how I understand it (with help from these comments) as well. However, I then don't understand the purpose of a cantrip level spell scroll. It is not saving spell slots for casters, it is not letting casters that don't have the spell available to them use it, and it is not letting non-casters use it???
According to XGE page 133, crafting that 8th level spell scroll costs 50,000 gp and takes 32 work weeks. According to the stated rules of crafting that means the standard rate should be about 100,000 gp.
Cantrips are known spells, so you only know a few from your class's spell list. Having them available as a spell scroll means you don't need to know them.
Example: A sorcerer might know only 4 of the cantrips on their list. If they don't know Friends but have a reason to use it, having it available as a scroll is valuable.
Question for a character I have.
They’re a lvl 2 cleric, and a lvl 1 sorcerer multiclass. I don’t know 2nd level spells, but I do have 2nd level slots.
“If the spell is on your class’s spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check”
So for example, could I cast the 2nd lvl cleric spell lesser restoration without making a check or would I still have to?
It does sound a bit too crazy to be true, cause on the extreme end a 10lvl cleric 10lvl sorcerer multiclass could cast True Resurrection without a roll as long as they buy the spell scroll since they can’t make the scroll themselves with XGtE’s rules about it so maybe finding the scroll in the first place is the way they balance it, idk that’s why I’m here :p
Thanks for reading this! I don’t wanna cheat the system to avoid a roll because then it’s just not fun.
Okay. i have not seen an answer for this so i need to run it by you other DMs.
Spellscrolls.
1) is using a spell scroll counted as a. Use an object action, or b. as the cast a spell action?
2) IF 1=a, when casting a spell from a scroll it uses the activation time of the spell. so if you cast an action spell with a scroll,
can you then cast a levelled bonus action spell?
3) IF 1=a, if i cast Haste as my spellcasting action, can i use the free use an object action to cast another level spell from a scroll.
and then use a bonus action spell scroll as well. meaning 3 castings per turn?
For a great video, covering almost all elements of spell scrolls, see pack tactics video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYPIRZ5pTQM
Using the scroll, takes the same action and amount of time, as the spell normally is using to cast it. Ask your DM, if they'd allow you to cast another levelled spell, but I probably wouldn't allow it.
Man, writing a 9th lvl spell scroll takes 48 work weeks and 250k gold in items, but according to the Selling magic items downtime, you only get half price for scrolls. So 100k to sell it, for 250k in cost to make it + almost a year of time.
But writing out cantrips at 15g a pop, and selling for 50g a pop seems like a decent money maker for low level characters
I think the only thing about this is that they bring up a debated topic. They claim that they aren't counterspellable. I am on the side that they are counterspellable but that is just my opinion on it and in the end. It is up to the DM to see how they would rule it if it ever comes up in their own game.
Is there any good reason why you must have the scroll on your spell list at all in order to cast from a scroll?
The whole point of scribing a scroll is to let people cast a spell they can't ordinarily cast. This seems like an unreasonable restriction implemented to be less fun.
It would be more fun for a spell cast off-list to cause a wild magic surge or something like that.
RAW: Exactly as you say. But it's still dumb and wrong :D
Better: Any spell scroll can be used by anyone with the Spellcasting trait.
Is it broken? Nope. Does that let a Wizard use a Scroll of Healing Word? Yep. Is that bad? Nope.
The point of scribing a scroll is to conserve your spell slots in the field by preparing one-off casts ahead of time. There's other magic items, feats, and so on that let you cast off-class spells.