As discussed on page 57 of the Player’s Handbook, a specialist wizard pays for an increased affi nity for the spells of his chosen school by selecting two prohibited schools (or just one, in the case of the diviner) whose spells, as well as spell trigger and spell completion items using those spells, are forever denied to him. One way around at least part of this restriction is for a specialist wizard to take levels in sorcerer, using her sorcerer spellcasting ability to master the spells and magic items she cannot use as a wizard.
Such an approach carries costs, of course—fi rst and foremost, the fact that spellcasting ability in the two arcane classes doesn’t stack. A 7th-level necromancer/5th-level sorcerer casts spells from each class at the appropriate level, while a single-classed necromancer of caster level 12th has access to higher-level spells, better spell penetration checks, and better level-based variables. In the same way that a single-classed sorcerer gains an advantage over a wizard in the number of spells he can cast per day at the expense of delaying increases in spell power until higher levels, a mul- ticlass sorcerer/wizard drastically increases her daily spell output, but at the cost of decreasing the maximum level and power of those spells.
The most effi cient way to create a multiclass sorcerer/ wizard is often to take relatively low levels in sorcerer (no more than two or three) and the rest of the character’s levels in the wizard specialist class. This approach gives the character access to any prohibited schools through the sorcerer class, and though she won’t be able to know or cast higher-level spells of those schools, she can freely use any spell trigger items based on spells of the formerly prohibited school or schools.
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ALTERNATIVE SPELLBOOKS
Chapter 5 describes several options for designing, protecting, and disguising a wizard’s spellbook. While arcane script remains the default medium in which most wizards record the details of the spells they prepare, standard spellbooks aren’t the only means available for storing the workings of magic.
Arcane Geometry
A small number of wizards study the magic inherent in precisely scribed designs and perfect angles, abandoning the standard arcane symbology of words and equations. The spellbook of a geometer (see page 40), its pages fi lled with painstakingly precise diagrams of circles, arcs and angles, looks nothing like the spellbook of another wizard. While a standard spellbook requires a number of pages scribed with phrases and formulae to record a single spell of 2nd level or higher, a geometer can record any spell of any level on only a single page of his book.
Learning to record and prepare spells through arcane geometry is almost as diffi cult as learning to prepare wizard spells in the fi rst place, so to use this new symbology for his spellbooks, a wizard must take levels in the geometer prestige class.
Structures
More impressive than even the most extravagant grimoire, permanent structures (circles of standing stones, pyramids, labyrinths, towers, and the like) can be used to record the workings of arcane spells. At the simplest level, walls can be graven or painted with spell scripts (essentially serving as an oversized spellbook of plaster and stone), while in other cases, a structure’s very form and arrangement can serve to record arcane information. A ring of standing stones each carved with a single glyph, for instance, could provide an arcanist with the information necessary to determine how the spell is to be cast from their physical orientation.
Aside from the advantage of its permanence and strength, a structure can record spells that can then be prepared or learned by any number of spellcasters for as long the structure stands. At the same time, that openness means that anyone who visits the site (friend or foe) might be able to comprehend and ultimately use the spell scribed there.
Preparing a spell from a structure works like preparing a spell from a borrowed spellbook (see page 178 of the Player’s
Handbook). A spellcaster must fi rst decipher the arcane
markings with a read magic spell or a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level), then succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) to prepare the spell. An arcanist can also scribe a structure spell into her spellbook (as if transcribing from another caster’s spellbook) if she so desires.
Wall Spells: Carving or painting an arcane formula on a structure’s walls works much like scribing a spell into a spellbook on a larger scale. It takes 100 square feet of wall space to serve as one page of a spellbook (so that a 9th-level spell requires 900 square feet, or an area 30 feet on a side),
and with the increased size, an arcanist must use up a greater volume of special materials to record the spell (a cost of 300 gp per spell level).
Recording a spell on a wall requires a 24 hours plus an additional 12 hours per 100 square feet of space used, and the spellcaster scribing the wall must succeed on a DC 15 Craft (painting) check. Carving or chiseling a spell into a wooden or stone wall requires a 24 hours plus an additional 48 hours per 100 square feet of space used, and requires the spellcaster to succeed on a DC 20 Craft (woodworking) or Craft (stoneworking) check.
It’s possible for a wizard to map out the precise symbols to be painted, cut, or carved without doing the fi nal work. Preparing the surface by sketching or penciling the design in such a way that workers unfamiliar with the spell can then paint or carve its symbols requires a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) and takes 24 hours plus an additional 1 hour per 100 square feet, after which other workers can make Craft checks in the wizard’s place and complete the process as described above.
Structure Spells: Designing an entire building or edifi ce to preserve arcane knowledge is a challenging proposition, and a structure so designed must generally have an area of at least two 10-foot cubes per spell level to be recorded—pas- sages cut to precise measurements, mosaic paths picked out on a fl agstone fl oor, freestanding monoliths, walls, arches, buttresses, or almost any other type of feature whose design and orientation might convey information. Special materials must be used in the structure’s preparation, costing at least 1,000 gp per 10-foot cube of area over and above the cost of construction. For those who wish it, a comprehensive breakdown of designing and building in a D&D campaign can be found in Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook.
The structure must be designed by a wizard who knows the spell to be recorded. The wizard must make a successful Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check (DC 20 + the level of the spell to be recorded), then personally oversee construction for at least 4 hours per day. Construction is halted temporarily if the wizard can’t oversee the job for any reason, and though there’s no limit to how long it might take to complete construction, hired workers generally need to be paid their full daily wage while awaiting the wizard’s return.
Structures designed to record arcane spells are usually much less obvious than walls painted with arcane symbols, and special instruction is generally required for wizards who seek to prepare them. A wizard without this special instruction takes a –5 penalty on Spellcraft checks made to decipher, prepare, or copy structure spells.
Tattoos
By the use of tattoos, some wizards turn their own bodies into spellbooks, and high-level tattooed mages can often be covered with arcane designs and symbols from head to toe. Some spell tattoos can be placed so that the caster can read them simply by looking down, while others need the
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aid of mirrors or even a familiar to study their tattoos.
Tattooing offers a means of creating a spellbook that’s virtually impossible to lose. It does have the disadvantage of the limited amount of usable spell-recording space on the average humanoid-shaped body, as well as the possibility of having to partially or com- pletely undress to reference every spell in one’s repertoire. Tattooing also usually provides unmis- takable evidence of a character’s arcane nature, denying the opportunity for anonymity that many arcanists crave.
For creatures with humanoid forms, dif- ferent areas of the body can hold varying page-equivalents of spellbook informa- tion, depending on their size.
Because tattoos must save on space to fi t in a comparative- ly small area, they must be scribed with great care and the fi nest reagents and inks, requiring 200 gp per page-equiva- lent, a time of 24 hours plus an additional 8 hours per spell level, and a Craft (tattooing) check (DC 20 + spell level if the caster scribes the tattoo himself; DC 10 + spell level if someone else does the work). To have the work done by another tattoo artist, the wizard must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) to prepare a carefully executed sketch or diagram of the tattoo to be scribed. Tattoos that can’t be read by a wizard without assistance (those placed on areas of his body he can’t always see) must be scribed by someone else.
Wizards who employ other forms of tattoo magic (such as those found in the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting)
can employ spellbook tattoos as well, but they must keep careful track of how much body space is allocated to each tattoo type.
Tokens
A number of wizards scribe spells as engravings on stones, bones, wooden rods, ivory or teeth, or statuettes. Instead of
preparing and packing workbooks while adventuring, the wizard simply amasses a collection of these items, often car- ried in a nondescript belt pouch.
A token of this sort can store a surprising amount of information in a relatively small space. The choice of material, its di- mensions and shape, and the markings on it all convey information on several lev- els at once.
Scribing spells onto tokens requires the same expense
in materials as for a stan- dard spellbook. An object holds any- where from 1 to 9 page-equivalents of spellbook in- formation, depending on its size. A single com- plex spell can be
recorded on a set of similar objects, so a necroman- cer might record
enervation (4th
level) onto four rune-scribed fi n- ger bones with a capacity of 1 spellbook page each (although if one of the fi nger bones goes missing, the others are unusable).
Spellbook Object Size Equivalent Slingstone, finger bone*, hand crossbow bolt 1 page
Cobblestone, arm bone*, rod 4 pages
Skull*, club, leg bone* 6 pages
Staff 9 pages
* From a Medium creature. For each size category larger than Medium, increase the bone’s spellbook equivalent pages by 50%, so that the skull of a Large creature could be used to scribe nine pages of spells. For each size category smaller than Medium, decrease the bone’s spell equivalent pages by 50%.
Scribing a spell on a spell token takes 24 hours plus an additional 8 hours per spell level, and the spellcaster must succeed on an appropriate Craft check (woodworking, gemcutting, or a similar skill) with a DC of 10 + spell level to record the spell successfully.
Tokens can be designed for “reading” by touch alone, enabling spells to be prepared even in darkness or while blinded, but a wizard preparing such spells must spend an additional 5 minutes per spell over and above the time the spells would normally take to prepare, and succeed on a Search check (DC 15 + spell level). Retries are permitted, so a wizard can take 20 on the check if desired, but doing so further lengthens the preparation time.
A wizard studies his tattooed spellbook Il lu s. b y D . C ra ba pp le Body Spellbook Area Equivalent
Hand 1 page each
Forearm 3 pages each
Upper arm 3 pages each
Chest 6 pages
Abdomen 6 pages
Upper leg 5 pages each
Lower leg 5 pages each
Foot 1 page each
Face* 2 pages
Scalp* 4 pages
Back, upper* 10 pages
Back, lower* 4 pages
Leg, posterior* 4 pages each
Arm, posterior* 2 pages each
* A wizard cannot read spells in these locations without the use of a mirror, scrying magic, or a familiar’s assistance.
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PATRON DEITIES
Mages tend to give much less thought to the affairs of deities than most other characters do, since their view of the miracu- lous capabilities of deities in the physical world is tempered by the arcane power they command. Though few arcanists take their views to extreme levels, some high-level wizards and sorcerers with an inclination toward megalomania have been known to think of themselves as deities in the making, moving beyond disrespect to an outright challenging of the deities themselves.
For the majority of mages, though, arcane power comes with merely mortal ambitions, and they regard the deities in much the same way that any confi dent but sensible creature of signifi cant personal power does—as formidable beings worthy of worship or at least respect.
Common Patron Deities
Most human wizards who choose to revere a single deity above all others venerate Boccob, Lord of All Magics, or Wee Jas, the Ruby Sorceress. Boccob is a distant and aloof deity who rarely shows favor to his worshipers or acts against their enemies, but wizards admire the Archmage of the Deities for his intellect and meticulous nature, easily following his philosophies of objectivity, careful study, and inquiry into everything. Sorcerers and bards have less interest in Boccob’s dispassionate teachings, and they usually take a patron deity whose traditions refl ect some aspect of their less structured lives.
Wee Jas represents a darker approach to magic; while followers of Boccob seek arcane power as an end in itself, those who follow Wee Jas see magic as a means to achieving some measure of control over fate. The Witch Goddess favors those who have the strength to forge their own destinies, and powerful arcanists are heavily numbered among the rare mortals who do so. Because most sorcerers and bards disdain the notion of fate controlling their actions, few become fol- lowers of Wee Jas.
Elf mages often revere Corellon Larethian, leader of the elven pantheon and patron of the magic that is the elf race’s highest art. Elf culture and society perceives less estrange- ment between arcane and divine magic than most races, and elf mages often hold high positions in Corellon’s temples. From a desire to strengthen their connection to the arcane history of their elf side, many half-elf spellcasters venerate Corellon Larethian as well.
Uncommon Patron Deities
Olidammara is a favorite deity among bards of many races, because the Laughing Rogue well suits the bard’s love of bold escapades, quick wits, and song. Even evil bards often fi nd Olidammara a worthy patron, and sorcerers with especially independent spirits often take him as their patron as well. Though few admit it openly, a great number of evil sorcerers and wizards revere Vecna, the Whispered One—possibly the greatest living wizard (and certainly the greatest unliving) of
any age. Vecna’s terrible accomplishments are still spoken of long centuries after his divine ascension, and those enthralled by the love of secret power are often drawn to worship the Maimed Lord.
Rare Patron Deities
Some spellcasters choose to revere deities whose portfolios don’t include magic, simply because their larger desires and beliefs echo that deity’s teachings and laws. For some, the society in which they were brought up plays a part in this outlook, so a sorcerer might worship St. Cuthbert after being steeped in the tenets of that deity’s faith as a youth. In other cases, the devout follower of a nonarcane deity might view her spellcasting talents simply as one more weapon in the arsenal of her faith, and virtually all churches count powerful arcane spellcasters among their faithful.
Of the nonarcane deities, Pelor and Hextor are the ones most commonly venerated by arcane spellcasters. Pelor’s faith is widespread, and his servants crusade tirelessly against evil, a credo that appeals to many good arcanists. Evil mages who believe that their arcane might gives them an innate right to power fi nd the faith of Hextor, deity of tyranny, an appealing one.
Many necromancers look upon Nerull’s grim work with dark admiration. While not all necromancers worship the Reaper of Flesh, rare indeed are those who don’t at least acknowledge his power.