From: Rannou@info.polymtl.ca (Patrick Rannou)
Subject: Re: Scribing from a Spell Book
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada
	<drool.080a@retreat.Bah.Rochester.NY.US>
	<1992Jul27.022947.8670@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 03:39:09 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.022947.8670@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> gupw@uniwa.uwa.edu.au (Paul Wagland) writes:


   Well, what I do in my campaigns is to allow MU to copy spells between
   their own spell-books, thus enabling them to make back-up spell books,
   though not cheaply, but they can't copy from anothers spell books. The
   reasoning behind this is that the spell in the spell book is like a
   recipe...but very finely tuned to the caster. You can scribe from a
   scroll because they contain the magic force neccessary to cast the
   spell, ie. even though the MU isn't fully proficient with the spell the
   force behind the scroll 'pushes' him through the spell.

   So tell me what you think.

Well, for it to work properly you could think about how I do it:

A mage can have multiple copies of his spell, but when you copy it from one
book the spell disappears from all books.

If not, why say that when you copy it from mage (long dead) A book to mage
B book it disappear from mage A book, since if mage C want also the same
spell mage B only has to copy the spell into another of his books, and then
let mage C copy it.

In my campaign, spellbooks *ARE* magical, thus it "explains" their strange
behavior and also why when a non-mage look at a spell page he sees only
"blurry ink" (like on a scroll), and why a non-mage can't simply "decalc" a
spellbook's pages into another spellbook to copy it.

I.E. if a spellbook isn`t magical, then a non-mage, even if he DOESN'T
understand nor use a spell, can COPY it: line by line, letter by letter,
strange looking symbol woth an odd shape by symbol with same shape... I
didn't like that idea, so I made a spell an magical "object" in itself,
which "resisdes" in the spellbook. The book isn't really magical, but the
ink is. If a mage has mutliple copies of a spell, one copy is the "master"
copy, and the others are either "true copies" or "sub-copies".

A true copy means that if anybody copy the spell from the spellbook, ALL
the copies, even the one from the master book, disappear: the spell go to
the new spellbook, his new "home".

A sub-copy means that it is impossible to copy the spell from it (sort of a
limited wish or other powerful magics), meaning that if a wizard lose his
travellling spellbook it is npt a big loss, BUT there is the problem that
the subcopy, not being "true", needs a direct link to the master book in
order to "work". This means that if the mage is in another plane, or in a
lead cage, or in a magic force field (like prismatic sphere), he can't
study his spells from that book, because the book is "disconnected" from
the master book. A true copy is far more resistant because it works even in
another plane, or through metal, but some powerful or specifically designed
magics can still block the contact. With the master copy, you never have a
broken link. Also, a travelling spell book can NEVER hold a master copy,
only a sub or true copy. More often than not, it's a sub-copy. Casting
dispel magic succesfully at a spellbook (must be touched) stops it working
for D4 rounds, but if the mage has another copy of the spell he can use the
spell still (unless of course the dispel was made on the master book. Don't
bring your master book with you on an adventure...)


Another house rule: We all know that if a mage would be to cast a spell
directly from the energies in his body, even a first level spell would
drain him, and a teleport have great chances of killing him. So, where does
the energy come from? FRom tghe "plane of magic". OK, so what is the
"gateway" between the caster's mind and that other plane of existence?
Answer: the spell-object itself, the magical ink in the spellbook. So even
tough the plane of magic permeates ALL things, except "magic dead" areas,
areas which can be very big (like, say, a planet named earth where magic
doesn't exist), an unbroken link between the caster's mind and the
spell-object, or more precisely his spell-book, is needed. That link is
immaterial/invisible, even detect invisibility or true seeing don't make
the link visible, since the link isn't material. The link is more like
radio waves than rope... Some things can break this link: magic dead areas
which completely surround the mage or all copies of the spell he can
access, thin lead or metal and specifically designed magic casing.

A dagger doesn't cover the entire body, so it doesn't interfere with
spellcasting. A studded armor, tough, is enough to disturb seriously the
link, because even tough there are many holes in the "metal part" of the
armor, it acts as a Faraday cage and greatly reduces the intensity of the
link. Spells might still work, but at greatly reduced effects. The head of
the mage is the most sensible to metal, and thus it might be possible to
stop a mage from casting just by putting his head between two metal bars.
Some specifically treated noble metals, and magical items specifically
designed for that use, don't block the magic link except if a really great
amount of it is around the mage. Silver and Gold are reputed for these
uses. A mage in a room with gold pieces all around him usually don't have
problems spellcasting except if he bathes in the gold... A mage in a magic
dead area can nver cast, but if his travelling spellbook is in a magic dead
area, and his master book is 10,000 miles away safely locked in the mages
tower, then the mage can still cast.

Leather armor doesn't pose a problem at all to spellcasting, but if it is
learned that a mage uses armor, of any kind, then the mage is considered
not a great mage, that he has reduced potential, that he must be pretty
weak or coward to rely on armor. It's a matter of social status more than
common sense. Because of that, fighter/mages will not be considered highly
among mages, and will have more trouble finding teacher, who will charge
more and rarely teach them the most rare or powerful spells. Of course,
this apply to humans in a particular society. Elves tend to care less about
that, or not at all, so while most elves mages can wear leather without a
problem, they still are shunned by human magery groups unless they wear
robes. It nay sound stupid, but think about the French in rEnaissance or
something, who where not considered part of the higher social class if they
didn't wear "perruques" (I don't know the english word).


Well, all in all it doesn't change the "official" rules much, and consider
all this only as a suggestion, not a rule.

=====have fun!







--
/---------------------------\
| Patrick "Paradak" Rannou. |
| Rannou@info.polymtl.ca    |
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