To record an arcane spell in written form, a character uses complex notation that describes the magical forces involved in the spell. The writer uses the same system no matter what her native language or culture. However, each character uses the system in her own way. Another person’s magical writing remains incomprehensible to even the most powerful wizard until she takes time to study and decipher it.
To decipher an arcane magical writing (such as a single spell in written form in another’s spellbook or on a scroll), a character must make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the spell’s level). If the skill check fails, the character cannot attempt to read that particular spell again until the next day. A read magic spell automatically deciphers a magical writing without a skill check. If the person who created the magical writing is on hand to help the reader, success is also automatic.
Once a character deciphers a particular magical writing, she does not need to decipher it again. Deciphering a magical writing allows the reader to identify the spell and gives some idea of its effects (as explained in the spell description). If the magical writing was a scroll and the reader can cast arcane spells, she can attempt to use the scroll.
Adding Spells to a Spellbook
Wizards—and other spellcasters who use a spellbook—can add new spells to their spellbooks through several methods. If a wizard has chosen to specialize in a school of magic, she can record spells only from schools whose spells she can cast.
Spells Gained at a New Level
Spellcasters perform a certain amount of spell research between adventures. Each time a spellcasting character attains a new class level, she gains additional spells of her choice from her class list to add to her spellbook. These free spells must be of spell levels she can cast. If the character is a wizard who has chosen to specialize in a school of magic, one of the two free spells must be from her specialty school.
Spells Copied from Another’s Spellbook or a Scroll
A spellcaster can also add a spell to her book whenever she encounters one on a magic scroll or in another character’s spellbook. No matter what the spell’s source, the spellcaster must first decipher the magical writing (see above). Next, she must spend a day studying the spell. At the end of the day, she must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell’s level). If the check succeeds, the character understands the spell and can copy it into her spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, below). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.
If the check fails, the spellcaster cannot understand or copy the spell. She cannot attempt to learn or copy that spell again until she gains another rank in Spellcraft. A spell that was being copied from a scroll does not vanish from the scroll.
In most cases, spellcasters charge a fee for the privilege of copying spells from their spellbooks. This fee is usually equal to the spell’s level × 50 gp.
Independent Research
A spellcaster also can research a spell independently, duplicating an existing spell or creating an entirely new one. See Researching New Spells for more information.
Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook
Once a spellcaster understands a new spell, she can record it into her spellbook.
Time
The process takes one hour per level of the spell being recorded (30 minutes for 0-level spells).
Space in the Spellbook
A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one page. A typical spellbook has one hundred pages.
Materials and Costs
Materials for writing the spell cost 100 gp per page.
Note that a spellcaster does not have to pay these costs in time or gold for the spells she gains for free at each new level.
Replacing and Copying Spellbooks
A spellcaster can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If she already has a particular spell prepared, she can write it directly into a new book at a cost of 100 gp per page (as noted in Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook, above). The process wipes the prepared spell from her mind, just as casting it would. If she does not have the spell prepared, she can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book.
Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.
Selling a Spellbook
Captured spellbooks can be sold for a amount of gold equal to one-half the cost of purchasing and inscribing the spells within (that is, one-half of 100 gp per page of spells). A spellbook entirely filled with spells (that is, with one hundred pages of spells inscribed in it) is worth 5,000 gp.