More accessible Spell Scrolls Part 2
Buying Spell Scrolls
It's not always practical to go dungeon delving to get spell scrolls, especially if you need them quickly, specifically, or in large supply. To this end, it may be more viable to go to a spell scribe and buy them instead.
Those versed in the magic do not always desire to go through the efforts and dangers of adventuring to make their money. Some are content to settle down and scribe spell scrolls and sell them for a living. These folk can be found all over, but the more skilled individuals tend to conglomerate to places where more money may be earned. And while there are exceptions, as a rule of thumb, the maximum level of a spell scroll that can be bought in a settlement is shown in the Spell Scroll Availability table.
These spell scribes usually have an assortment of spells to choose from, but sometimes, they may need to produce them on request.
Spell Scroll Availability
| Spell Level | Availability | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | Village | 50 GP |
| 1st | Village | 100 GP |
| 2nd | Town | 250 GP |
| 3rd | City | 500 GP |
| 4th | Capital | 2,500 GP |
| 5th | Magic Academy | 5,000 GP |
| 6th | — | 10,000 GP |
| 7th | — | 25,000 GP |
| 8th | — | 50,000 GP |
| 9th | — | 100,000 GP |
The table also shows the value of a spell scroll even if it can't be bought. Scribes love to expand their repotoire and typically will gladly buy them off of you. Much like trade goods, scrolls do not lose their value and can be sold at full price.
Scribing Spell Scrolls
There is, however, more than one way to acquire spell scrolls on demand. Instead of relying on the whims and resources of a local spell scribe, you can instead attempt to create it yourself.
In order to attempt to scribe a spell onto a scroll you need three things: You either have the spell known or the ability to prepare the spell that you wish to scribe, the appropriate amount of materials, and the appropriate amount of time.
Those last two are determined by the level of the spell to be scribed, as shown on the Spell Scroll Scribing table. If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.
Credits
Designed by d'Artagnan on DMs Guild, /u/dArtagnanDnD on reddit, or dArtagnanDnD on patreon and dArtagnanDnD on Twitter.
- Made with "GM Binder".
- Made with reference and for use with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, created by Wizards of the Coast.
Spell Scroll Scribing
| Spell Level | Scribing Cost | Scribing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 25 GP | 1 Hour |
| 1st | 50 GP | 1 Day |
| 2nd | 150 GP | 2 Days |
| 3rd | 400 GP | 3 Days |
| 4th | 2,250 GP | 5 Days |
| 5th | 4,500 GP | 1 Week |
| 6th | 9,000 GP | 2 Weeks |
| 7th | 24,000 GP | 3 Weeks |
| 8th | 45,000 GP | 5 Weeks |
| 9th | 90,000 GP | 10 Weeks |
The cost represents the cost of the materials to scribe the spell onto the scroll in such a manner that it may be cast by the reader without expending the reader's personal reserves of spell slots. This is why, although the process seems similar to how a wizard scribes spells into their spell book, it is far more costly and takes far longer.
The value in the table, however, does not include the cost of any costly material components that are used as part of casting the spell. The item is expended in the creation of the scroll. So, to scribe the 5th-level spell raise dead, a cleric must spend a 500 GP diamond in addition to the 4,500 GP normally required to scribe a spell, for a total of 5,000 GP.
The time shown in the table determines the length of time required to scribe the spell. Apart from cantrips, which only take an hour to turn into scrolls, the time taken is listed in days or weeks. A day of work is a dedicated 8 hour period of uninterrupted work. Scrolls that take multiple days, are multiple of these 8 hour periods. These periods need not be consecutive days, and while one could work more than 8 hours a day to complete the work faster, one does so at the risk of exhaustion. If you take a break from scribing a scroll, you can come back to it later, but you can only break up work in 8 hour increments, anything less is wasted.
The weeks listed in the table, refers to 7 8-hour work days. Once you complete 1 week of work on a scroll (or the total time for spell scrolls of 4th-level or less), you must make an Arcana check using your spellcasting ability. The DC for this check is 10 + the spell's level + 1 for every interruption in the current work week.
On a success, you can continue onto the next week of work. If you fail the check, the week's work is wasted and you must start the current week's work from scratch. If you fail the check by 5 or more, not only is the work wasted, but so is the gold spent for that week's work. If you fail the check by 10 or more, the entire project is ruined, and half of the gold spent on the project is wasted, and the project needs to be started from the beginning.