Author: pandaniel
“Should I use my spell scroll?” you think to yourself. “We might fight an even bigger giant robotic crab after this…”
Spell scrolls are a consumable item in D&D 5E which allow you to cast different spells. Some are found in dungeons, whereas others might be bought. They are often left unused, forgotten about and collecting dust at the bottom of the party’s inventory, or hoarded until the end of the campaign.
We believe spell scrolls should be used more. This guide will discuss how to use and obtain spell scrolls, as well as why you should seek them out, and what kinds of spell scrolls you should be looking for. Hopefully this will show you why scrolls are great, and that you should actually use scrolls as often as you can!
A spell scroll contains a single spell which is only readable and usable if the spell is on whatever spell list that is used by your class. For a Cleric this would mean the spell must be on the Cleric spell list, whereas an Arcane Trickster Rogue requires the spell to be on the Wizard spell list. You can cast its spell without providing any material components by reading it using the scribed spell’s normal casting time. The scroll’s spell level determines its DC or bonus to attack.
If the spell is of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your Spellcasting ability modifier 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.
A variant rule which adds to the consequences of failing this check is Scroll Mishaps. Once you fail, you have to make a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw, and if you fail you roll on the Scroll Mishaps table. This table sounds worse than it is, as you would have already wasted the scroll anyway, it happens quite infrequently (you need to fail the check and the save) and most of its effects are not too awful. In general we recommend against using spell scrolls of a higher level than you can cast except when it is absolutely necessary anyway, and this variant rule is a negligible factor in that assessment.
You can obtain spell scrolls from looting defeated enemies or in treasure hoards and the like, or you can scribe scrolls yourself. You either get a spell scroll of your DM’s choice in something like a treasure hoard or you yourself create one. If your DM is using the Dungeon Master’s Guide treasure tables, spell scrolls will appear roughly as often as potions of healing. Obtaining scrolls this way is fairly reliable in quantity, but not quality: the choice of spell is obviously going to be randomized, so it’s somewhat difficult to work with.
Scribing scrolls yourself is more reliable, as you can pick the spell you want to scribe. Scribing a Spell Scroll is a downtime activity described in Xanathar’s Guide To Everything (XGE) which can take anywhere from 1 day to 48 workweeks and costs between 15 and 250,000 gp depending on the level of spell you want to scribe. To scribe a spell scroll you need to have the spell prepared, or it must be among your known spells, which is different from using the scroll, which only requires that you have the spell on your class’ spell list. Additionally you need to have proficiency in the Arcana skill and provide the material components that the spell requires.
No matter your world’s calendar, mechanically a workweek means 5 days. Each day that you want to count towards finishing your scroll you are required to spend at least 8 hours engaged in scribing your spell. The good thing is that these days do not have to be consecutive. The amount of time you can take off can however not be more than twice the time required, i.e. you are allowed to have a total break time of 5 days for scribing a spell that takes 3 days to finish.
Depending on whether your table sees scribing down spell scrolls as light activity, you could get more out of your day if you also want to progress scribing down a spell. As part of a long rest you can spend two hours performing light activity, or eight hours for a Pact of the Tome Warlock with the Aspect of the Moon Invocation, which would be a great way to free up more time for adventuring.
Another way to allow for more time adventuring is through the Order of Scribes’ level 10 feature: Master Scrivener. This feature allows you to halve the gold and time you must spend to make spell scroll. An elf could make a scroll every long rest while others are dreaming! That is the dream… if elves dreamt. Similarly, the Artificer’s Magic Item Adept feature reduces the crafting time for magic items with a rarity of common or uncommon to a quarter of its typical crafting time, and halves the cost. This also applies to spell scrolls of up to 3rd level.
The first and foremost benefit is the conservation of resources, i.e. spell slots. While the creation of spell scrolls costs both money and time, there is little reason not to scribe good spells down for later use if you can afford them. Capitalizing on spell slots you conserved to better prepare yourself for challenging future adventuring days is the same principle as rest casting, but over a longer period of time. D&D is a game of resources, and the better you can use them, the better your character will feel in play.
Compared to items like pearls of power or spell gems, spell scrolls are cheap, more reliably accessible, and lack the attunement requirement, making them a significantly more appealing option if available.
Warlock is a prime example of a class that is great at utilizing spell scrolls. Most lower level spells for Warlock quickly become redundant or outclassed by other options, but this does not mean they are bad spells. Examples for this will follow later.
Another similar case is the Paladin, but with different reasons to use scrolls. Paladins have a limited amount of spell slots, which many people would call “smite slots,” but we at Tabletop Builds disagree with this notion, as spells can be incredibly powerful. Smite might sometimes be good, but spells should never be disregarded. However, if Paladins get the ability to cast these spells without spell slots through spell scrolls, this is a win-win, as you can do more of both!
Secondly, scribing down spells can help out your party in a couple of ways. One way to do this would be to scribe scrolls for your fellow players that make use of things like ritual books, tomes and spellbooks, as they could copy them down to add them to their repertoire for repeated use. Another way would be to create scrolls for people that have the spells in their spell list, but not known or prepared, as this too could add to their abilities.
Thirdly—this is especially the case for prepared casters—scribing scrolls can allow you to swap out niche spells, or ones that you do not use often for better options. This is a harder pill to swallow for known casters, as it might be quite a while before you can cast these spells again if you run out of spell scrolls, but for prepared casters this should really be something you keep in mind. We’ll list out a bunch of options in the next section.
Last but not least is a fun side benefit of scrolls; they cannot be counterspelled as spells from magical items don’t require any components except if stated otherwise! Counterspell states you take the reaction when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell, but this is impossible when components aren’t used, as with spell scrolls. This might not often come up, but it is very nice, especially if your DM is known for counterspelling your party casting revivify. For the rules on magic items see the Dungeon’s Master Guide (p. 141), and for spell perceiving Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (p. 85).
The level of spell scrolls that you should acquire depend heavily on the type of game you play in. One table might frequently allow you to have a day of downtime, whereas another might often have months and another almost none at all. In general, we would recommend against trying to get spells of a higher level than 3 as the price and time spent grow exponentially. Spells up to and including 3rd level are still reasonably affordable, and hopefully your game will allow you to spend some time on creating them.
Additionally, every workweek you spend on a downtime activity brings a 10% chance of a complication. There is an example complication table provided in XGE on which can be rolled, but a DM can also select an option or create their own. The sample complications have a one out of six chance that your spell instead becomes a random spell of the same level, which means that the higher level spell you have, the higher chance you have to get a wrong spell. Below is a summary.
Most 1st level spells are worth being scribed down. Of course, we cannot and do not want to list everything, so keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive, and just mentions some big highlights. Most of these highlights won’t include spells with a save DC or attack roll at all, as these will not be based on your own spellcasting ability but are predetermined by the level of the spell and should generally be avoided, but a few exceptions will be made.
Shield: As stated previously, Warlock especially gets a lot out of spell scrolls because of their limited spell slots that are all high level. A Warlock with The Hexblade Otherworldly Patron or one that has dipped some levels into something like Divine Soul Sorcerer gets great mileage out of shield scrolls (other casters do too, shield is pretty neat!). Shield never loses its great potency, but it is hard to decide to use one of your three synaptic static slots on shield. (Remember that casting a spell from a spell scroll takes the spell’s normal casting time.)
Silvery barbs: An incredible spell which we have fully detailed here. First level spell slots are getting tighter and tighter with new spells being introduced, so having some scrolls on hand helps alleviate some of that. As you’ll likely have another caster in your party who can use a scroll of this, you can even help each other out by sharing your scrolls amongst each other.
Hex: Another Warlock example: hex is generally seen as a bad spell to use spell slots on here at Tabletop Builds, but Warlocks have quite a lot of spells they can prepare, and hex without having to use a slot is not completely terrible if you do not have better things to concentrate on like hypnotic pattern or summon greater demon. (However, do keep in mind that you can also start your mornings with killing an insect with hex and eldritch blast and short resting to get this slot back while keeping up your concentration, but a scroll is more flexible.)
Expeditious retreat: Like hex, this can be a good bonus action when you aren’t using your concentration or don’t want to use another leveled spell. These are situations where you have already cast synaptic static in round one, and need a better angle for your Repelling Blast or when you see the ability to default kill or kite creatures with your now superior movement.
Mage armor: While we normally would recommend you to pick up an armor proficiency through some other means, mage armor is a good spell if this is not doable for your Wizards or Sorcerers. You should first try to just rest cast this spell, but a day of adventuring could take longer than 8 hours, and using 25 gp for a solid boost in AC for the rest of the day is quite worthwhile.
Gift of alacrity: Another good option, though limited to the Wildemount-specific Arcane Traditions of Chronurgy and Graviturgy. This option is quite similar to mage armor where you should usually just rest cast it, but again, in some days this is not something you can accomplish. Technically, for the purpose of using this spell scroll you would run into issues with Rules as Written. Dunamancy spells are not added to your class’ spell list when you are part of either of these Arcane Traditions, even though you can prepare them, and thus the spell scroll would be unusable by you. This seems like an oversight, but talk to your DM whether they would actually allow you to cast this spell after scribing it down (if they don’t, please don’t scribe them either).
Longstrider: Longstrider is a solid 1 hour long non-concentration buff to your movement. Simple and easy to use.
Goodberry: Scribing a goodberry scroll costs the same amount as crafting a potion of healing (and will generally cost less than purchasing one) but is the superior option when used out of combat, healing 10 hit points guaranteed versus 7 on average from the potion.
Another difference is that by Rules as Written, a berry cannot be fed to an ally, whereas a potion of healing can be administered. Your DM might rule it differently though, which would allow you to revive unconscious creatures. For that purpose, the healing difference between 7 average hit points from the potion or 1 hit point from a single berry hardly matters.
Absorb elements: A great spell, and even better when you do not need to use spell slots to use it. One issue that might arise, here and with other reaction spells, like shield, is that you need to be able to read the scroll to use it. If you do not have a free hand to do this, you can remedy this problem by, for example, attaching your spell scroll to your shield or staff or the like. If you have both silvery barbs and shield already, you might not be getting to use this much.
Bless: Clerics and Paladins can make good use of bless scrolls. Clerics get their first level spell slots opened up to cast command more often, and Paladins can actually use their slots for Divine Smite without feeling bad about it. If you have a Cleric in your party with proficiency in Arcana, and you are playing a Paladin, you could even offload the responsibility of scribing to them alone. However, multiple people scribing spells is not bad either.
Healing word: Another direction to look at for Clerics is healing word. Healing word is a spell we generally already recommend against upcasting anyway, so just spending the time and money to get this at first level is not an issue. Additionally, if you have 10 of these, you can also just pick any other great spell on the Cleric spell list instead, as it no longer needs to clog up your prepared spells for the off chance someone goes unconscious. An additional spell prepared is worth a lot more than a few gold pieces and time if they are available to you (the same idea works for something like a Druid).
Web, entangle: For our first mentions of spells that actually require you to look at the Spell Scroll table for Save DCs and Attack Bonuses are two great control spells: web and entangle, which when scribed both have a save DC of 13. Web and entangle are both really efficient spells. While the save DC of 13 is most likely going to be lower than your normal spellcasting save DC once you leave tier 1, being able to use spells like these basically as a cantrip is quite strong. Similar to healing word, entangle can be really good in certain situations, but the Druid spell list is abundant with great options, and you’ll often not be able to prepare everything you want (just take a look at our Druid Basic Build, which constantly swaps between removing and adding the same spells). Creating a batch of scrolls of entangle can be a really good way to be conservative with both your spell slots and your spell preparations for later tiers of play.
Pass without trace: A great party-wide buff spell for a variety of situations, pass without trace is an incredible spell, and the ability to cast it for 250 gp and no spell slots makes it even better. Every party should have pass without trace, and getting scrolls for it is worth their weight in gold.
Misty step: Misty step, like healing word, can be pretty good at the right place at the right time, but with good positioning you won’t need this too often. This is a spell you should be swapping out as a Warlock once you have enough spell scrolls for it. Wizards can get away with just preparing it again once they run out, and therefore don’t need that many.
Lesser restoration: A spell that’s a tough sell to keep prepared constantly, but extremely useful in niche situations describes lesser restoration perfectly, making it a great candidate for scribing. If you need lesser restoration, your situation is probably quite dire, and having the scrolls on hand after swapping this one out can be a lifesaver, literally. Better be safe than sorry.
Revivify: For the same reasons as un-preparing healing word or lesser restoration, revivify is probably not something you will cast every adventuring day, and thus it’s quite the no-brainer to keep scrolls of it in stock. If your DM is rolling on the Scribe a Scroll Complications table, there is a small chance that you lose your diamonds without getting a scroll of revivify, but the chance to get the correct scroll is about 98%, so the risk is worth it, unless you are extremely strapped for cash.
Spell scrolls, unlike most magical items, are a way to increase your party’s resources that you can control, for the most part.
You can get spell scrolls by finding them, crafting them, or even buying them if your game happens to have shops for them.
You can craft spell scrolls by scribing them, something which can only be done when you have proficiency in Arcana. Remember that D&D is not a solitary game, so think about your fellow players and how you can support them. We strongly recommend you to take a look at Arcana when you decide what skill proficiencies you want on your next spellcaster character, as getting spell scrolls is not just something that can benefit you, but your friends as well! Proficiency in Arcana can easily be fitting for pretty much any caster, so go wild!
As a last note for all of you who prefer watching videos over reading: our good friend Pack Tactics has created his own rendition of this article in an audio and video format over on his channel. If you haven’t already, go check him out!
I really like scribing scrolls of thunder step as a Warlock when I’m levels 5 and 6. I’m going to swap the spell out for dimension door at level 7 or 8 but there will be a few times in the campaign where moving an ally 30 feet is enough to get them out of immediate danger and the damage dealt doesn’t hurt
Great post, came here because of Pack Tactics’ video!
This is awesome
I came here after watching the Pack Tactics video, just wanted to say thanks for writing this! I thought spell scrolls were kind of lame before, since the spell has to be one you could already potentially cast, but for some reason I never thought about it in terms of resource management, so this really opened my eyes!
Thank you, Pandaniel! Spell scrolls are prrrrretty neat!
Thank you for reading :)!
Noice! That’s is great content. Got here by Pact Tactics video. Summarizing the whole scribing process, effort, recommended choices, and uses is priceless.
My Gnome Pact of the Tome Warlock is also a Ritual Caster. This video was sent directly to him by his Patron, The Growl Within The Hole in The Wall. Thank You @Pandaniel for an amazing introduction to the Hidden-In-Plain-Sight )HIPS( World of Scrolls.
The Growl Within is pleased
Happy to hear! 😀
Ok, I’ll need to look into this on my 9th level wizard.
Don’t know why I didn’t bother, scribe wizard seems much cooler this way 😛
Hi and thank you for the guide.
I think you may have gotten something wrong RAW regarding the counterspelling of spell scrolls. RAW I believe that counterspell can be used to counter a spell scroll and I am certain that RAI this is the case.
I would direct you to this sage advice post from Jerry Crawford:
https://www.sageadvice.eu/if-a-spell-cast-from-a-spell-scroll-is-counterspelled/
Obviously, it does not directly address this point but there is an obvious and clear inference in Crawford’s response that spell scrolls can be counterspelled.
I believe you are making the inference that spell scrolls cannot be counterspelled based on a paragraph at p85 of XGtE that you reference above:
“If the need for a spell’s components has been removed by a special ability, such as the sorcerer’s Subtle Spell feature or the Innate Spellcasting trait possessed by many creatures, the casting of the spell is imperceptible. If an imperceptible casting produces a perceptible effect, it’s normally impossible to determine who cast the spell in the absence of other evidence”
In this case the need for spell component’s hasn’t been removed by a special ability. The components were provided and expended when the scroll was created.
I would also submit that casting a spell from a spell scroll does in fact require a component; the spell scroll itself. To cast a spell from a spell scroll you have to read the scroll. You would have to take it out and read it. This would normally be a visible action that others can see and most creatures who are able to counterspell would recognise what was happening and be able to do so.
Considering all of the above points and taking a commonsense approach that someone pulling out a mystical looking scroll in the middle of a combat is 99% likely to be casting a spell, it seems to me that it is entirely possible to counterspell a spell from a spell scroll from being cast provided you can see the caster and are within range.
Hey, thanks for the comment. However, I believe you are wrong.
The tweet you posted does not actually in any way say scrolls can be counterspelled, it is conjecture to say it does. The question did not have to do with the ability or inability to counterspell spells.
As for the paragraph you posted, yes this is indeed what makes scrolls unable to be counterspelled. The general rules on magic items (we also reference this in the article) line out that magic items do not require components except stated otherwise and the description for the spell scrolls don’t state otherwise. As such the spell does not require components to be cast, material components needing to be provided during the creation does not have anything to do with the casting whatsoever. If you believe otherwise please show me the rules which makes you believe that this is the case, as I might be misinformed.
As for your next point, we have already figured out the spell does not require a V, S, or M component (which are the only 3 spell components), so it is not perceivable as per the passage in XGtE. If you believe that “reading*” is a verbal component or that an item is a material component, again, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not believe this is supported anywhere in the rules. *In either case, reading does not mean reading out loud.
As for common sense, it is hard to say what is common sense in a world where toy crossbows are the ultimate weapons. We here at the blog do not agree with the notion of rulings based on realism or other such notions, as the game does not take a realistic stance, we look at the rules as they are presented.
While we don’t take JC’s tweets as law, I would like to show you one he posted a couple of years after the one you provided, which does actually say something that has to do with the ability or inability for scrolls to be counterspelled:
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/988882563501510656?s=20
You might say that this “ad-hoc component” he speaks of would allow for counterspells, but again, no spell components (V, S, or M components) means that spells aren’t perceivable, he is just using the English definition of component here-not spell components which is a keyword.
Thank you for your reply as I didn’t really expect one or so quickly.
I have to concede that at best this rule is ambiguous. I can completely see where you are coming from with this interpretation but I still have to respectfully disagree. I guess this is part of what makes D&D so unique, it is unique from table to table and appealing.
Here is why I am still not sold if interested.
I think you sometimes have to take a common-sense approach where there are contradictory positions within the rules and I believe this is the case here.
For my part I would place more emphasis on the following paragraph of the DMG because it is specific to spell scrolls, their use and activation, rather than magic items in general:
“Spell Scroll” item:
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. (p139 DMG)
So clearly no material components are needed but conversely, it follows that verbal and somatic components are or they would also have been listed. I favour this paragraph in my reading of the rules as it is specifically applied to spell scrolls rather than magic items in general and reason it should be given greater weight in this context.
I had considered the “Sage Advice” from Crawford you referenced but I don’t think it’s right to rely on the part that supports one side of the discussion:
“Spell scrolls follow the normal rule for casting a spell from a magic item: you don’t need to provide any components to cast the spell (V, S, or M).”
to only then disregard the part that supports the other:
“Spell scrolls have a twist, though: you must read the scroll to cast its spell. This is effectively an ad hoc component.”
That is cherry-picking in my view and as you alluded JC as often as not muddies the waters around certain ambiguities with the rules as clears them such and does do here. The fact that he specifically scrambles in the second sentence to emphasise that spell scrolls have a “twist” clearly shows that the intention is that spell scrolls should have some sort of visible component.
Spell scrolls are treated differently from other magic items in several context’s. Another example would be in regards to downtime activities where there are separate rules for making spell scrolls to that of “normal” magic items.
I also think that if this was a rule it would be specifically stated as one rather than player’s have to tease it out from the reading of two or three separate paragraphs in different sections of the DMG because it substantially increases the effectiveness of spell scrolls in a way which doesn’t appear to be supported in the actual text in the DMG specifically about activating and using Spell Scrolls (Despite JC’s Sage Advice).
This is also how I believe it is played at the vast majority of tables (be cool to see some sort of poll as the only real evidence I have is my own experience and the D&D Streams I have watched) not least I think because it just makes more sense that when someone pulls out a spell scroll you can clearly see they are physically doing it and “perceive” they are casting a spell rather than the somewhat absurdity that it is essentially some invisible action no one can see.
Again even though I take a different view from you I want to thank you for your guide. I found it very useful in its other aspects and it took me down something of a Nerd Rabbit Hole which I always enjoy. 🙂
Someone from my DM”s discord also highlighted this tweet from Sage Advice but this time from Mike Mearls
https://www.sageadvice.eu/is-it-possible-to-counterspell-a-magic-item/
“A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written as 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. DMG p200
Given that is exactly what a Spell Scroll is for I think that’s pretty definitive.
Like Kobold’s video, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on a few words, while forgetting what goes into casting off a spell scroll. You have to read the scroll to cast the spell. Can someone make you out reading the scroll? They can counter the spell. Can they not make you out casting the spell? They can’t counter the spell. This has to be the right answer, because the contrary result is silly.
You might even be able to trick an opponent into wasting a spell slot by pretending to read the scroll (although I’d probably make someone use an action and either a performance or deception check for such a play).
Awesome article, I’ll be linking this to a couple of my buddies! The Pack Tactics video is a really nice and quick way to consume this content too!
Happy birthday!
Thank you 🙂
Happy birthday, Pandaniel; I deeply appreciate this article and have used it to inform my stance on scrolls both as a dm and as a player.
Thanks! That is great to hear!
Unleashing the food of birthday wishes
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ thank you
Happy Birthday Pandaniel
Thanks, Gambit!
Happy Birthday Pandaniel! This article made me pick Arcana and become the defacto scribe in our westmarch campaign. Spell scrolls have been a game changer!
Thank you <3. Awesome to hear that it has become a part of your gameplay!
One, Two, Three.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear pandaniel.
Happy birthday to you.
Great timing on that start! Thanks, William 🙂
Happy Birthday!
Thanks! <3
Happy Birthday and the best wishes!
Thanks.. again?! :D!
Happy birthday lad 🎉
Thank you!!
Happy Birthday
Thank you <:
Happy birthday Pandaniel! May you have many more 🙂
Thank you very much! That would be great indeed! :,)
Happy Birthday
Thank you!
Happy Birthday to ya
Ty!! 😀
Happy birthday!!!
Thanks, Shand!
Happy birthday!
Thank you!
happy date of born
Thanks x)!
happy date of born
I am not sure if you are just fc again, but thanks anyway!
Happy b-day!
Thank you very much! 😀
I just watched Pact Tactics video.
Thank you so much for making this mechanic understandable! ❤️
As an old school DnD guy, this is absolutely spot on. Really the wizard way to think about it is, any spell that “this spell would be awesome if it was a ritual” fits… Those niche spells that get poopoo’d on most optimization board/builds fit here as well. I don’t want to have the argument with the table that misty step should still be a bonus action off a scroll, or counter spell/shield/absorb/etc should still be a reaction. Keep it simple. Mage Armor? Clairvoyance? Speak with Dead? Remove Curse? Arcane Eye? Summon XYZ… you get my drift. I also agree that magic items cannot be counter spelled, and that *is* an argument I’d have with the table, although I’m not sure I’d win that debate with this current crop. Great content by the way.
So, could you give your opinion on a potential rules exploit for the Order of Scribes?
The magic quill is described as having unlimited ink of any color. This ink is also apparently of high enough quality to write spells, based on how the class description has you using it to write spells and spell scrolls. So it would seem like you then only have to pay for the material components of the spell and the parchment your spell scroll is written on.
This seems kinda game breaking and a mistake (like the two bags of holding bomb exploit with the Artificer). But you still have to go buy the parchment from someone and then spend the crafting time (which isn’t halved until level 10), so it could also be seen in the same light as asking the DM to let your character forage for herbs with a Nature or Survival check and then use your Herbalism proficiency to make healing potions.
I don’t know if I’d allow this as a reward for creative play or deny it for potential balance issues. So I was wondering what your personal ruling on this would be and if you knew of any errata covering it.
The rules say you can use the quill to write more quickly, but it doesn’t say that it can reduce the price of scribing. The quill produces it’s own ink but it that doesn’t necessarily mean the ink is good enough to scribe spells. While the quill doesn’t require ink because it can make it’s own, it can presumably still use the fine ink required it hasn’t produced to scribe spells.
It should also be noted that the 50 gp cost per level isn’t entirely ink, it also includes “material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it.” The proportion of price between the components and ink is unstated, so it would be impossible to determine how much gold using the quill to write would save.
Just watched the video by Pact Tactics. Thank you all for your hard work deciphering this mechanic and presenting it in a clear way so we can use it to better enjoy our games at our own tables!
Thank you for providing the scroll scribe research. I would have never thought about it otherwise.
Found this thanks to Pack Tactics. Thank you so much for this guide!
Thanks
This guide is very useful and has provided me with great inspiration on how to implement scrolls in my world through the present factions. Very nice
Wow, scrolls are powerful, great job explaining the full potential of scrolls! Minor gripes, you should state that the rules Tabletop Builds(TTB) cites for identifying spells and scribing Scrolls are “optional rules” . Why is it just accepted that characters can scribe scrolls when they can’t by default. You don’t have articles titled “Players! Why aren’t you flanking more” or “Tricks for dealing with encumbrance” if these rules scrolls were so widely utilized like feats or multiclassing as to be essetially defacto core rules the article would be kinda derivative which it certainly isn’t, anyway a disclaimer that these rules need to discussed with and at the mercy and arbitrariness of the DM, would be nice, but PC’s scribing scrolls does have some interesting implications.
It makes arcana a must have skill on anyone who can cast a spell, through class, feats, race, What does this mean for downtime, it now becomes a resource, how many scrolls are PC’s going to be make between adventures, remember when the coffeelock was a thing and taking 4 short rests in a row suddently became reasonable, because now a DM may want to limit downtime which was previously narrative focused and a chance for players to explore personal or world building goals, is the DM going limit those activities by limiting downtime, in fact a player may not explore any other downtime options because they now pay a penalty for not exclusively making spell scrolls in their downtime, conversely the DM would indeed be hampering her players if she doesn’t want to give PCs 3+ months of downtime between adventures because it goes against the narrative of her campaign, This is also dependent on how much gold the PC’s have.
Also if rules as written that wizards/sorcerers get silvery barbs, shield and absorb elements essentially as class features. All it costs is a reaction (they may need to bump up strength a bit to traverse the dungeon with all the scrolls they now carry, wait nevermind scroll of longstrider) and also the rules don’t say you need a free hand/appendage to use a magic item, so I guess you just don’t.
All griping aside question though, TTB’s clarification on why a spell cast via a scroll can’t be counterspelled, does that mean a PC can’t use silvery barbs unless the PC can see a enemy fail a saving throw?
Of course this is pedantic, bear with me, for example if a PC cast banishment on a balor and they don’t immediately disappears, pretty easy to visually ascertain they made the save, what if the PC had cast synaptic static, Tasha’s mind whip or phantasmal force instead, could a PC actually see if the balor succeeded on a saving throw or not? Maybe an insight or arcana check would be necessary? Remember the “optional rules” for identifying a spell also include how to tell if someone is under the effects of a spell. Anyway I know this comment is kinda late
Hi TTB,
I have a rules question. For multiclassed characters, are the requirements evaluated individually for each class? For example, if a cleric 1/wizard 19 wants to use a scroll of spirit guardians, do they have to make an ability check (because they can’t cast level 3 cleric spells even though they can cast level 3 spells)? If so, is wisdom the spell modifier used for the check? What happens if the spell is on both the wizard and cleric list? Do you pick which class you’re using or can they be combined? (My guess is everything is evaluated on an individual class basis)
Thanks,
re: “The amount of time you can take off can however not be more than twice the time required, i.e. you are allowed to have a total break time of 5 days for scribing a spell that takes 3 days to finish.”
According to Xanathar’s: “The days of an activity don’t need to be consecutive; you can spread them over a longer period of time than is required for the activity. But that period of time should be no more than twice as long as the required time.” So for a 3 day task, you could have up to 3 days break (spreading the time over no more than 6 days total).
Also, that limitation isn’t strict. If it’s broken, you can still complete the task, but at the cost of additional complications and possibly doubling the GP cost.
In stead of scribing Revivify, you could scribe Gentle Repose and only prepare Revivify after a team member goes down. It saves you 250 gp and 2 work days, in addition to mitigating the risk of having to roll on the table.
Depends on the situation you find yourself in. If you need the team member back in group today then this isn’t going to work as you’ll need your long rest to prep revivify. If you can wait a day then yes, it’s a good idea.
Hi! Thank you for your scroll mechanics. I will use them a lot!
I’d argue that the idea of a spell scroll being impossible to counter because of the specific wording of counterspell “when you see a spell being cast” and that since there are no VS or M components required there’s nothing to “see”when using one is pretty thin in concept, bordering on rules-abuse of RAI. Whats more, the argument looks over the fact that spell scrolls DO require a component, a material component, a rather large and obvious material component… the scroll itself. While that fact is unarguable, I’d also, personally, not argue with any DM who made the call that invoking a spell scroll requires the act of reading said scroll aloud (effectively a V component). So, sure there’s plenty to “see” to trigger a counterspell. Otherwise a great and helpful article. Just a bit of an overreach on the impossible to counter bit.
In order for a spell to be perceptible, it needs to have components. Just seeing what it’s cast from isn’t enough.
This is an old comment but just saw Fallen’s reply to it. The DMG (Ch 7 > Magic Items > Activating an Item > Spells) says this: “Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item, often by expending charges from it. The spell is cast at the lowest possible spell and caster level, doesn’t expend any of the user’s spell slots, and requires no components unless the item’s description says otherwise.”
In other words, just because you have an item doesn’t mean it counts as a material component, and just because you have to read the scroll doesn’t mean it has a verbal component (it doesn’t say you have to read it out loud, and even if you did that’s not the same as a verbal component).
So then, the next question, is whether casting the spell is perceptible despite having no components? And XGtE clarifies this for us, and tells us the answer is no (Ch. 2 > Spellcasting > Perceiving a caster at work): “Is it possible for someone to perceive that a spell is being cast in their presence? To be perceptible, the casting of a spell must involve a verbal, somatic, or material component. The form of a material component doesn’t matter for the purposes of perception, whether it’s an object specified in the spell’s description, a component pouch, or a spellcasting focus.”
It’s not necessarily intuitive, but when the rules are clear they trump intuitions about how it “seems like it ought to work”.
Do spell scroll use up spell slots?
No, that is part of the appeal of scrolls as mentioned in the article.