Spellbook Familiar: an alternate Wizard class feature (crosspost from Wizards boards)

[hobbitguy1420]

Crossposted from Wizards.com forums

I read a lot of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and I was enthralled with his idea of living spellbooks which sometimes move on their own, and which are occasionally left on the shelf next to normal books and are found the nextmorning alone on the shelf, looking a bit thicker and unaccountably smug.

This gave me the idea of a Wizard character who has to wrestle his own spellbook every morning in order to prepare his day's spells, and I checked, but there's nothing in the rules to support this (other than the item familiar rules from UA, which don't quite feel right). I was torn, at first, as to whether it should be a feat or an alternate class ability. I've decided that it feels more like an alternate ability (replacing the standard Familiar) than itdoes a Feat at the moment. Is everything balanced? Most of the abilities were borrowed straight from the standard Familiar or altered from the Psicrystal, but I've invented Papyrophage, Living Ink, and Trap Spell specifically for the Spellbook Familiar.



Spellbook Familiars

A Spellbook Familiar is a Wizard’s spellbook which has been granted a semblance of life and sentience. A Spellbook Familiar retains the same size and shape it had before gaining sentience. The act of creating a Spellbook Familiar creates an intense bond between the character and his Spellbook Familiar. In many ways, a Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar are the same being. That’s why, for example, a Wizard can cast a spell with a range of “personal” on his Spellbook Familiar, even though normally he can cast such a spell only on himself.

Any spellbook may be granted life as a Spellbook Familiar. Many powerful wizards choose to awaken spellbooks which have been constructed with more durable materials than standard leather and parchment. (For rules for improved spellbook construction, see Complete Arcane). Materials which would increase the Hardness of a spellbook beyond that of a leather tome with parchment pages instead grant the Spellbook Familiar an Armor bonus to AC equal to half the Spellbook’s total Hardness minus one. . The bonus Hit Points granted by a material are multiplied by one-half of the wizard’s level; for example, an eighth-level wizard whose Spellbook Familiar has a cover of thin wood would be granted 4 extra hit points. Magical protections such as resistance to energy or mystical waterproofing are applied as normal. The GP costs of both material and magical upgrades remain unchanged.

If the Spellbook Familiar is damaged, 1d4 points of damage can be repaired with a DC15 Craft: Bookbinding check. If it is destroyed (taken below 0 hit points), the Wizard immediately suffers an XP penalty exactly though he had possessed a standard Familiar which died, including the Fortitude save to avoid further XP loss. When this happens, pages containing (1d12-1) spells are completely destroyed, removing those spells from the Wizard’s spellbook (at least temporarily: see Living Ink, below).

The Wizard may choose to perform the ritual over another spellbook at this point, creating a new Spellbook Familiar, or he may choose to re-enact the ritual over the same spellbook, essentially returning the Spellbook Familiar to life. All Spellbook Familiars thus revived have remained understandably jittery for at least a week after their resurrection, and none have ever explained what (if anything) they experienced while “dead.” Spellbook Familiars which were destroyed through disintegration effects or fire damage are reduced to ash, and cannot be revived in this manner (although the Revive Construct spell, shown below, is capable of returning them to life).

A Spellbook Familiar is treated as a construct for the purposes of all effects that depend on its type. As constructs, Spellbook Familiars are affected by the Repair Damage and Inflict Damage series of spells, and few wizards who possess Spellbook Familiars do not have at least one Repair Damage spell scribed within, as well as a scroll of the same spell in case of emergency.

A Spellbook Familiar counts as a familiar for spells such as Familiar Pocket, Fortify Familiar, Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability, or the like.

A Spellbook Familiar grants special abilities to its owner, as shown on the Spellbook Familiar Special Abilities table below. In addition, a Spellbook Familiar has a personality which gives its owner a bonus on certain types of checks or saving throws, as given on the Spellbook Familiar Personalities table below. These special abilities and bonuses apply only when the owner and the Spellbook Familiar are within 1 mile of each other.

Spellbook Familiar abilities are based on the owner’s levels in the Wizard class (or, alternately, any other Arcane spellcasting class which grants access to a Familiar and requires a Spellbook. Levels from other classes do not count toward the owner’s level for purposes of Spellbook Familiar abilities.

Most Spellbook Familiars cannot speak, but can manipulate the appearance of its cover in order to communicate. (Some Spellbook Familiars have lettering which they can rearrange to form messages, others can form faces with which to mime emotions, and still others reflect their mood via coloration. Regardless of the method, a Spellbook Familiar is perfectly capable of making itself understood.) A Spellbook Familiar can understand all languages known by its owner, but can only communicate in one. This is a supernatural ability.


Spellbook Familiar Basics


Size/Type Tiny Construct

Hit Dice ½ Master’s HP

Initiative +2

Speed 20 ft/Fly 10 ft (poor)

Armor Class 16 (+4 size, +2 Dex) Touch 14/Flat-footed 12 (AC 18, Touch 14, Flat-footed 14 when Slammed Closed)

Attack Slam Closed 1d2

Space/Reach 1 ft/0 ft

Special Qualities Construct traits, Spellbook Familiar granted abilities
(improved evasion, personality, share spells, sighted)


Skills Listen +6, Spot +6, Move Silently +6

Ability Scores Str 1*, Dex 15*, Con Ø, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10

Saving Throws
A Spellbook Familiar uses its owner’s base saving throw bonuses and ability modifiers on saves, though it doesn’t enjoy any other bonuses its owner might have (from magic items or feats, for example).
Abilities
When not moving, a Spellbook Familiar has no Strength score and no Dexterity score.

Skills
A Spellbook Familiar has the same skill ranks as its owner, except that it has a minimum of 4 ranks each in Spot, Listen, Move Silently, and Search. (Even if its owner has no ranks in these skills, a Spellbook Familiar has 4 ranks in each.) A Spellbook Familiar uses its own ability modifiers on skill checks.


Spellbook Familiar Special Abilities


Owner Level Natural
Armor Int Special
1st-2nd +0 6 Alertness, Empathic link, Hard to Decipher, Hover, Improved Evasion, Ironbound, Living Ink, Personality, Share spells, Sighted, Slam closed
3rd-4th +1 7 Mage Hand

5th-6th +2 8 Papyrophage, Scribed in Memory

7th-8th +3 9 Trap Spell

9th-10th +4 10 Improved Flight

11th-12th +5 11 Spell resistance

13th-14th +6 12 Scry on Spellbook Familiar

15th-16th +7 13 Telekinesis

17th-18th +8 14 —

19th-20th +9 15 —

Spellbook Familiar Ability Descriptions

All Spellbook Familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their owners) depending on the level of the owner, as shown on the table above. The abilities on the table are cumulative.

Natural Armor Adj. (Ex)
This number noted here is an improvement to the Spellbook Familiar’s natural armor bonus (normally 0). It represents a Spellbook Familiar’s preternatural durability.

Intelligence (Ex)
Spellbook Familiars are as smart as people (though not necessarily as smart as smart people). A Spellbook Familiar has an Intelligence score equal to that of a Psicrystal of the same level.

Alertness (Ex)
While a Spellbook Familiar is within arm’s reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.

Empathic Link (Su)
The master has an empathic link with his Spellbook Familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see what the Spellbook Familiar sees, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Hover (Su)
Despite its poor maneuverability in flight, the Spellbook Familiar has the ability to hover in one place for extended periods of time.

Improved Evasion (Ex)
When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a Spellbook Familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Ironbound (Ex)
A Spellbook Familiar is usually made from a book with a strong, tough cover. While the Spellbook Familiar is Slammed Closed, it gains a +2 increase to its Natural Armor score (which stacks with the bonus from having a high-level master).

Living Ink (Su)
The Spellbook Familiar has complete control of the ink placed within it, and a completely accurate memory of everything that has ever been scribed within its pages. This allows it to shift the writing on the spells in its pages in strange and confusing manners, increasing the DC of the Spellcraft check required for another wizard to copy spells from it by 2+1/2 the master's level.

Also, the book's perfect memory of its contents allows a wizard to replace damaged pages more easily. Any time pages of the Spellbook Familiar have been removed or damaged, the Wizard may transfer the contents of those pages to any blank pages in the book. This requires the same materials used to scribe such spells in the first place, except that the wizard need only pour the ink onto the proper page of the spellbook, which then shapes it into the proper symbols. This takes the book half a day per page, although the wizard need not attend after he has given it the proper amount of ink. Once the Spellbook Familiar gains the Papyrophage ability, it may use the ink and materials obtained through the consumption of other magical writings to replace pages through its Living Ink ability.

Personality (Ex)
Every Spellbook Familiar has a personality, chosen from the table of Psicrystal personalities under the class entry for Psion (see the SRD). It is unclear whether this personality is a unique aspect of the Spellbook Familiar itself or a reflection of the Wizard which created it.

Share Spells (Su)
At the owner’s option, he can have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his Spellbook Familiar, as long as that spell can affect creatures of the construct type. The Spellbook Familiar must be within 5 feet of him at the time of the casting to receive the benefit. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the Spellbook Familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away, and will not affect the Spellbook Familiar again, even if it returns to its owner before the duration expires.

Additionally, the owner can cast a spell with a target of “You” on his Spellbook Familiar (as a touch range power) instead of on himself. The owner and Spellbook Familiar cannot share spells if the powers normally do not affect creatures of the Spellbook Familiar’s type (construct).

Sighted (Ex)
Although it has no physical sensory organs, a Spellbook Familiar can magically sense its environment as well as a creature with normal vision and hearing. Darkness (even supernatural darkness) is irrelevant, as are areas of supernatural silence, though a Spellbook Familiar still can’t discern invisible or ethereal beings. A Spellbook Familiar’s sighted range is 40 feet.

Slam Closed (Ex)
Whenever opened, a Spellbook Familiar may Slam Closed to protect its secrets. Any person holding or touching the Spellbook Familiar must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or receive 1d2 points of bludgeoning damage as the book closes upon his hand. After slamming closed, the Spellbook Familiar is very difficult to open – any person who attempts to open it must succeed at a DC 20 Strength check to pry open the covers and wrestle the pages into the proper position.

Mage Hand (Su)
The Spellbook Familiar may, at will, use a supernatural effect equivalent to the Mage Hand spell. Its caster level is considered equal to 1/2 the Wizard's class level.

Papyrophage (Ex)
If the owner is 5th level or higher, the Spellbook Familiar can consume other mundane or magical writings in order to gain more space for spells. All writings can add more blank writing space to the Spellbook Familiar according to the cost of the paper consumed, according to the table below. For example, a Spellbook Familiar with 100 pages must devour 2 GP worth of paper to gain 10 new pages, or 6 GP worth to gain 20 new pages. A Spellbook Familiar with 500 pages must devour 82 GP worth of paper to increase to 510 pages, and 166 GP worth of paper to increase to 520 pages. It takes the Spellbook Familiar about a minute to devour enough paper to grow a single extra page. It can grow up to ten times the Wizard’s level in new pages per day.

No matter how many new pages a Spellbook Familiar gains, it never seems as large as it ought to be. The Spellbook Familiar increases by the thickness of a single page for every ten new pages it gains.

If the Spellbook Familiar devours magical writing, it may choose to repair its wounds or glean scribing materials rather than raw paper. For every page of a spellbook or 100 GP's worth of other magical writings consumed, the Spellbook Familiar may, rather than gaining blank writing space, heal 1d8 points of damage to itself or gain all the materials required to scribe a spell onto a single blank page already in the book. The wizard need only trace onto the page with a blank stylus, and ink wells up to fill out the lines. Scribing a spell in such a manner still takes one day per spell, as though scribing the spell normally.

If the Spellbook Familiar devours a paper that has been scribed with Explosive Runes or some other offensive spell, there is a chance that it can harmlessly digest the spell energy. The Spellbook Familiar must make a Fortitude save (if the spell in question required a Fortitude save or a Reflex save against a physical effect) or Will save (if the spell in question required a Will save or a Reflex save against a mental effect) vs. the spell’s original DC +1. If the Spellbook Familiar fails the save, it gains no benefits from consuming the paper and the spell goes off, either targeting the Spellbook Familiar or centered on its square. If the Spellbook Familiar succeeds on its save, it harmlessly absorbs the spell energy, and acts as though it had devoured a scroll of the spell in question.

Amount of paper devoured (by GP cost) per number of pages added

Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost
110 2 GP 330 +46 GP 560 +92 GP 780 +136 GP
120 +4 GP 340 +48 GP 570 +94 GP 790 +138 GP
130 +6 GP 350 +50 GP 580 +96 GP 800 +140 GP
140 +8 GP 360 +52 GP 590 +98 GP 810 +142 GP
150 +10 GP 370 +54 GP 600 +100 GP 820 +144 GP
160 +12 GP 380 +56 GP 610 +102 GP 830 +146 GP
170 +14 GP 390 +58 GP 620 +104 GP 840 +148 GP
180 +16 GP 400 +60 GP 630 +106 GP 850 +150 GP
190 +18 GP 410 +62 GP 640 +108 GP 860 +152 GP
200 +20 GP 420 +64 GP 650 +110 GP 870 +154 GP
210 +22 GP 430 +66 GP 660 +112 GP 880 +156 GP
220 +24 GP 440 +68 GP 670 +114 GP 890 +158 GP
230 +26 GP 450 +70 GP 680 +116 GP 900 +160 GP
240 +28 GP 460 +72 GP 690 +118 GP 910 +162 GP
250 +30 GP 470 +74 GP 700 +120 GP 920 +164 GP
260 +32 GP 480 +76 GP 710 +122 GP 930 +166 GP
270 +34 GP 490 +78 GP 720 +124 GP 940 +168 GP
280 +36 GP 500 +80 GP 730 +126 GP 950 +170 GP
290 +38 GP 510 +82 GP 740 +128 GP 960 +172GP
300 +40 GP 520 +84 GP 750 +130 GP 970 +174 GP
310 +42 GP 530 +86 GP 760 +132 GP 980 +176 GP
320 +44 GP 540 +88 GP 770 +134 GP 990 +178 GP
550 +90 GP 1000 +180 GP


Scribed in Memory
The Spellbook Familiar can remember nonmagical writings it consumes, later calling them up onto its own pages via its Living Ink ability. The Spellbook Familiar may store a total number of pages equal to the wizard’s class level squared at any one time. If it later wishes to add more pages to its store, it must overwrite other pages of its choice.

Trap Spell (Su)
If the owner is 7th level or higher, he can cast a spell into his Spellbook. All costs (including material components, gold pieces, or XP) for the spell must be paid at the time the Trap Spell is set. The spell will then lay dormant until someone other than the owner attempts to open the Spellbook, in which case the spell will go off. If the spell is targeted, it will target the person opening the Spellbook Familiar. If it is area-of-effect, it is centered on the Spellbook Familiar, which is unharmed by the effect.

Improved Flight (Su)
If the owner is 9th level or higher, he can once per day, as a standard action, will his Spellbook Familiar to fly at a speed of 50 feet (Poor). This increase in speed lasts for a number of rounds equal to the owner’s class level.

Spell Resistance (Ex)
If the owner is 11th level or higher, a Spellbook Familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the Spellbook Familiar’s spell resistance.

Scry on Spellbook Familiar (Sp)
If the owner is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his Spellbook Familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.

Telekinesis (Sp)
The Spellbook Familiar may, at will, use an effect identical to the Sustained Force version of the Telekinesis spell. In addition, it may use the Combat Maneuver or Violent Thrust versions of Telekinesis once per day. Its caster level is considered equal to 1/2 the Wizard's class level.

Spellbook Familiar Personality (Ex)
Each Spellbook Familiar has a distinct personality, chosen by its owner at the time of its creation from among those given on the following table. At 1st level, its owner typically gets a feel for a Spellbook Familiar’s personality only through occasional impulses, but as the owner increases in level the Spellbook Familiar’s personality becomes more pronounced. At higher levels, it is not uncommon for a Spellbook Familiar to constantly ply its owner with observations and advice, often severely slanted toward the Spellbook Familiar’s particular worldview. The owner always sees a bit of himself in his Spellbook Familiar, even if magnified and therefore distorted.

[hobbitguy1420]

some related musings I've had on the subject. Anyone got some constructive criticism or input, either on the original alternate class feature or on these bits here?

a feat for Archivists:
Living Word
Prerequisites: Ability to cast third-level divine spells from a Prayerbook
Effect: The amount of divine energy suffusing your Prayerbook has awakened it to consciousness and mobility. The Prayerbook gains all abilities possessed by a Spellbook Familiar, other than the bonus granted by the Spellbook Familiar Personality. Your effective Wizard level for these effects is your class level -3.

A new spell:
Revive Construct
Transmutation
Level: Sorc/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Destroyed construct touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Often used by spellcasters with favored golems, or by Wizards who possess Spellbook Familiars, this spell returns destroyed Constructs to full health and mobility. The construct in question must have been destroyed for no more than one day per caster level.

A revived Construct has a number of hit points equal to its current Hit Dice. Any ability scores damaged to 0 are raised to 1. This spell regenerates any constructs that have been disintegrated or, in the case of Spellbook Familiars, burnt. None of the construct's equipment or possessions, if any, are affected in any way by this spell.

In the case of mindless constructs, this spell simply restores them to good physical condition, restoring all physical identifiers. Not only are intelligent constructs restored in the same way, but this spell allows them to return with the same mind as they had before they were destroyed - all memories and personality are intact. No construct which has been thus revived has ever been convinced to speak of what they experienced during the interim - all such questions are ignored. Some scholars wonder if this reluctance indicates that they experienced nothing at all, while others believe that whatever manner of soul animates such things is bound to silence in whatever realm in which it passes the interim.

For unknown reasons, this spell does not function on constructs with the Living Construct subtype.

Material Component
Raw materials similar to those from which the construct is constructed, costing at least half of the total cost of that construct (minimum 1,000 GP).

[FireSpark]

I must say that I absolutely LOVE this idea. The abilities look well rounded and balanced too. Good work. :smallbiggrin:

[Winged One]

The next wizard I play will have one of these. Probably ranks in Autohypnosis as well so that they'll be able to replace the books they feed to it...unless the book remembers nonmagical writing that it eats? You can feed them scrolls and they'll count as nonmagical writing, right?

[hobbitguy1420]

Spell scrolls are specifically what I was thinking of when I mentioned "other magical writings" in the writeup. With that ability, scrolls you can't use (because they're from your prohibited school or from another class's spell list) and the enemy wizard's spellbook (once you've copied it, of course...) are actually useful for more than selling back to shops, using as firestarter, or making use of after going... erm... to the bushes.

I hadn't figured in if the book would remember the writings it's eaten... hrm... I'll have to consider that. Not sure how it'd effect the balance of the thing. I want it to be powerful enough to offset the loss of the Familiar and the risk you've got in having a mobile spellbook, but not enough to make it stupidly broken.

[Winged One]

Do these things count as familiars for spells like familiar pocket?

[hobbitguy1420]

I'd have no trouble letting a Wizard put his Spellbook Familiar in a Familiar Pocket. Looking at Fortify Familiar, I might allow that, too - it has less effect than usual, as the Spellbook Familiar is already immune to Sneak Attacks via its construct nature. Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability feels like it makes sense, too - in fact, I might allow the wizard to simply grant the SF spell slots, into which it could prepare whichever of his spells it wished. Enhance Familiar feels counter to the theme of the SF, but I *guess* it might be allowable.

The Repair Damage spells, of course, apply to the SF - and it's a foolish wizard who doesn't learn them, if he has one!

[Winged One]

How much should each page of nonmagical writing cost if a character wants a spellbook familiar with more than 100 pages?

[hobbitguy1420]

According to the SRD, a sheet of parchment is 2 SP, and one sheet of paper is 4 SP.

Hmm... maybe I should have some limit to the number of pages that can be consumed like that. We could run into million-page spellbooks before long.

[Winged One]

According to the PHB, a sheet of parchment is 2 SP, and one sheet of paper is 4 SP.

Hmm... maybe I should have some limit to the number of pages that can be consumed like that. We could run into million-page spellbooks before long.

Well, maybe impose a limit on the blank pages a book can have at one time. By the way, why is that Craft DC to repair a dead spellbook so high? And why, for the love of *insert name of object of your worship here*, does it scale with the caster's level?

[Lochar]

Require it to be specially pretreated paper that costs a certain amount of gold, or the equivalent in normal paper. Say 10gp or so in paper costs a page.

[Winged One]

Doesn't requiring the paper to be specially treated kind of defeat the flavor of the spellbook randomly eating whatever books you're dumb enough to store it with?

[Lochar]

I said or the equivalent in normal paper. Otherwise cheap paper would fill it really quick, which doesn't actually happen. It's just the crunch way to say it actually eats x amount of paper to gain one page itself.

[Jack_Simth]

You've got the time for scribing spells based on the spell level; normal spellbook scribing takes one day per spell, regardless of level (although you can cut that in half if you're copying the spellbook entirely).

[hobbitguy1420]

Really? My bad. I'll fix that.

The check DC is because you're essentially bringing the book back from the dead, and I didn't think it should be easy or cheap. How about if I drop the DC to 15?

Edit: made the DC change and clarified the day/spell time for scribing.

[Winged One]

Really? My bad. I'll fix that.

The check DC is because you're essentially bringing the book back from the dead, and I didn't think it should be easy or cheap. How about if I drop the DC to 15?

Edit: made the DC change and clarified the day/spell time for scribing.
Well, the real problem was with the combination of scaling and 20 being the base DC, but if you think this change doesn't make it overpowered that's fine. What subskill of Craft is used?

[hobbitguy1420]

...good question - I hadn't even thought about that. Definitely not any sort of metalworking or smithing... not woodworking, either...

well, what are the established craft subskills?

edit: Maybe Craft: Calligraphy? That's the best I got.

[Waspinator]

I might have to "borrow" this idea for a campaign I'm starting.

[hobbitguy1420]

please do - 's one of the reasons I posted it.

Let me know how it goes, though.

[DeadEnded]

...good question - I hadn't even thought about that. Definitely not any sort of metalworking or smithing... not woodworking, either...

well, what are the established craft subskills?

edit: Maybe Craft: Calligraphy? That's the best I got.

Craft: Bookbinding

I'm definitely going to use one of these for my next Wizard, would be much more interesting than some animal no one really pays any attention to.

[Waspinator]

Plus, unlike an animal familiar, if you don't need this one you can just stuff it into a bag of holding until it's needed without having to worry about suffocation.

[hobbitguy1420]

Glad to hear folks are liking this. :smallsmile:

Any DMs feel like chiming in with your opinion on the balance of it all?

Oh, and I'm not 100% sure if 10 GP per page is quite appropriate, as a character can buy a completely new spellbook for 15 GP and get 100 free pages out of it.

At that, the pricing for spellbooks is sorta wonky when you compare it to the pricing for parchment. A sheet of parchment is 2 silver, so 100 sheets of parchment (enough for a spellbook) would be 200 silver, or 20 gold - and that's without any of the alchemical waterproofing or stuff Complete Arcane says they go through.

So, lemme get this straight... it's cheaper to buy a spellbook and take it apart for the alchemically treated paper than it is to just buy a sheet of parchment?

Oh, WotC, you kill me.

[Winged One]

Apparently, the people who make spellbooks get bulk discounts. That's really the only way to explain that.

[FireSpark]

Or, a piece of parchment is the size of what we would consider two pieces of paper. In this event, you would only have 50 pieces of parchment (getting two pages per piece), costing only 10 gp. The other five is the leather binding, special additives, etc.

How about that? :smalltongue:

[Ilgivan]

I'm fully willing to believe that WoTC got their pricing screwy here.

My adventuring party considers ladders in stores to be "two ten-foot poles and some firewood real cheap"

[hobbitguy1420]

Hrm... how about some sort of scaling system, then? The more pages you have in your spellbook, the more paper it takes to add a new page. I'd say 10-15 GP sounds like a good upper limit, though - don't want it to cost hundreds of GP to add one more page to the book, especially considering the "magical writings" clause of Papyrophage.

Hmm...

To start, it should be a 1-1 page ratio, so about 2 SP per page.

Boccob's Blessed Book has 1000 pages at 12,500, which is 12.5 GP/page...

man, math hates me.

Edit: OK, howzabout this: for every 10 pages, you add 2 SP to the price per page.

So if you have a spellbook with 100 pages, it'd take 20 SP (or 2 GP) worth of paper to add 10 pages. It would then cost 40 more SP worth to add 10more pages, totalling 120pages.

total cost breakdown per 100 pages (on the left is the total number of pages in the book. Cost is in GP):


Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost
110 2 GP 330 552 GP 560 2162 GP 780 4692 GP
120 6 GP 340 600 GP 570 2256 GP 790 4830 GP
130 12 GP 350 650 GP 580 2352 GP 800 4970 GP
140 20 GP 360 702 GP 590 2450 GP 810 5112 GP
150 30 GP 370 756 GP 600 2550 GP 820 5256 GP
160 42 GP 380 812 GP 610 2652 GP 830 5402 GP
170 56 GP 390 870 GP 620 2756 GP 840 5550 GP
180 72 GP 400 930 GP 630 2862 GP 850 5700 GP
190 90 GP 410 992 GP 640 2970 GP 860 5852 GP
200 110 GP 420 1056 GP 650 3080 GP 870 6006 GP
210 132 GP 430 1122 GP 660 3192 GP 880 6162 GP
220 156 GP 440 1190 GP 670 3306 GP 890 6320 GP
230 182 GP 450 1260 GP 680 3422 GP 900 6480 GP
240 210 GP 460 1332 GP 690 3540 GP 910 6642 GP
250 240 GP 470 1406 GP 700 3660 GP 920 6806 GP
260 272 GP 480 1482 GP 710 3782 GP 930 6972 GP
270 306 GP 490 1560 GP 720 3906 GP 940 7140 GP
280 342 GP 500 1640 GP 730 4032 GP 950 7310 GP
290 380 GP 510 1722 GP 740 4160 GP 960 7482 GP
300 420 GP 520 1806 GP 750 4290 GP 970 7656 GP
310 462 GP 530 1892 GP 760 4422 GP 980 7832 GP
320 506 GP 540 1980 GP 770 4556 GP 990 8010 GP
550 2070 GP 1000 8190 GP


and so on. If you already have additional pages and seek to add more, just subtract the cost of your current pages from the cost of the total you're looking for (GMs might want to deal them in groups of 10 to make it easy)

Whatcha think?

PS: spreadsheet software that autocompletes math is my savior.

[Arrghus]

This opens interesting possibilities.

"Hello, Harry Potter. My name is Tom Dolder. How did you get my diary?".

[hobbitguy1420]

I'd say that the diary would probably be represented by a different type of enchanted (or cursed, more likely) item.

[Mewtarthio]

I'd say that the diary would probably be represented by a different type of enchanted (or cursed, more likely) item.

The diary is just a phylactery. JK Rowling uses a few special variants on phylacteries that, among other things, make phylacteries intelligent and allow them to influence others.

[DracoDei]

See The Grimoire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50196) for a different way of looking at this concept.

[hobbitguy1420]

That's interesting, DracoDei - very much the more dangerous side of the Pratchettian spellbook (is Pratchettian a word? meh, it is now). Mine was aimed more toward being useful and quirky, but I like yours very much.

[DracoDei]

Well, I didn't invent it... although I did give some suggestions that the author liked a lot and ended up using... including:
"Some of them could be upstanding citizens."

"Getting Papyr Crafted could be a GOOD thing."

"What happens if they get water dumped on them?"

[Voodzik]

That's interesting, DracoDei - very much the more dangerous side of the Pratchettian spellbook (is Pratchettian a word? meh, it is now). Mine was aimed more toward being useful and quirky, but I like yours very much.

Alright, someone had to do it when you mentioned Pratchett's spellbooks....

The Octavo

It rests lost now, in the bowels of a mystic being of power and magic, but as it was used once millennia ago, and again by the Wizzard Rincewind, so shall it be needed again....

Stats to come as I think of them, all you Pratchett fans out there who remember the ol' Octavo feel free to throw a few on yourself.....

[hobbitguy1420]

The octavo?

I think you'd only need two words on the sheet.

"You lose."

[Darkantra]

But someone reading the Octave would require a character to defeat the Luggage.

Sir, you ask the impossible.

Hmm, Luggage stats would be interesting, it would have to have a variant of improved trip which would let it get a free bite attack every time it trips an enemy, plus reflex saves to avoid being pulled inside of it. Plus it would have at least a +8 or +12 on racial checks for bull rushing, grappling and the like.

Maybe you should give the spellbook ranks in autohypnosis to make checks for memorization after eating another book.

Daeric dived into the alley and hid behind a stack of refuse just in time. The currators ran by the opening, pausing only a moment to glance down the dirty path before one of them was struck by Cort's slingshot. The man grabbed his bruised arm and ran down the street shouting, "There's that thieving bastard!"
The rest of the currators, all brandishing metre sticks and spinning slide-rulers in their ink-stained hands, gave bestial roars and charged after the thief.
The scrawny wizard gulped in air and thanked the many gods that he'd gotten out of there intact, and that Cort had drawn the currators away. He reached into the sack tied to his waist and pulled out an iron-bound book. He tried to open it but it resisted his efforts.
"Damn it Chunk!" he yelled at the book, "Not now, open up gods damnit!"
The book opened reluctantly.
"Uhk... not now master," The pages ruffled, "That treatise didn't agree with me... *bleork*" A gob of ink stained sawdust splatted onto Daeric's shirt.
"Be sick later! Tell me what the treatise said, where did the three nations store the Rage Golem?"
"Err... I can't remember."
Daeric stared at Chunk blankly for a moment before shaking it hard enough to make ink fly into the air.
"You ate the damned thing, you should know what it said!"
"Hey, it's been a busy day! I'll probably remember it later... I think."
Daeric closed the spellbook after it was sick again and groaned. It had been a simple plan, break into the library when the Librarian was out on his daily stroll, have the book find and eat the treatise and then leg it out of there. The treatise had many spells cast on it to make it easy to trace if stolen, but those would fade away after being eaten by Chunk. It was, fattally, too bad that Chunk was literally drawing a blank.
Right up until he heard the sound he was afraid of what Cort would do to him if his book didn't remember what the treatise had read. But to every person who heard that particularly angry sound, it's owner quickly became the most feared creature in existence.
"Oook."

How about every time the spellbook eats a particular document it can make an auohypnosis check to determine if it will remember the contents? Maybe it could remember completely up to it's HD times the number of pages it contains, of pages of regular text? But every time it tries to recall a particular passage it has to make an autohypnosis check to remember.

I'm not sure how to suggest what should happen it the book eats a book or page with explosive runes or other wards, but there should be some rules for that too.

[hobbitguy1420]

For spells like Explosive Runes and similar, howzabout this:

Upon devouring the page, the Spellbook Familiar must make a Will save (vs. any spell requiring a Will save, or any spells which require Reflex saves that have mental effects) or a Fort save (for spells which require Fort saves or Ref saves vs. physical effects) against the spell's original DC. On a failed save, the spellbook familiar doesn't gain anything, and the spell goes off as usual (either targeted on the SF or with a radius centered on it). On a successful save, the SF absorbs the magical energy, and gains paper as though it had just devoured a scroll of that spell.

[hobbitguy1420]

I'm still trying to decide on a proper GP/page ratio for standard and magical papers - the standard paper table I posted a bit ago feels right, but it throws my magical paper thoughts straight out the window.

Any input?

[hobbitguy1420]

What do you mean, officer? I'd never post randomly to a thread just to bump it. That's crazy talk.

[Stycotl]

this is cool stuff. i am imagining one of these books as a kender that has been transmuted into a tome. Now imagine giving it the ability to steal pages as a ranged attack. you could just be walking through an old library, book stashed safely within your robes, and random books are jumping on the shelves, bits of paper floating dramatically to the floor.

[hobbitguy1420]

Well, they *do* get Mage Hand (and later, Telekinesis) at will...

[pseudovere]

Wouldn't being able to remember anything that was written on in give it an effectively unlimited amount of pages?

Write a spell, remember the spell, save the spell in memory, write another spell with the ink used for the first, rinse and repeat (rinsing meant to be metaphorical. Attempt at your own risk.)

Maybe you should set a cap on the number of pages it can remember, so that people can't abuse it. As much.

That's an awesome idea, even if you aren't factoring in the sheer awesomeness that is Terry Pratchett. It makes me sad that I'm running a soulfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3785711&posted=1#post3785711) in my next campaign rather than a wizard...

Oh well. Still awesome.

[hobbitguy1420]

That's easy enough to fix. They can only remember what they've eaten for up to (wizard's level) days. Or maybe they can only permanently remember (wizard's level) squared pages.

I'm glad people like this. Anyone who plays one, post your reactions, both in RP and in crunch.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to deal with magical vs. mundane paper consumption. I think there has to be some sort of scaling number, but I can't figure out how the two tables should relate, if at all...

Oh, and because I forgot to say it before: Darkantra, that bit with Daeric and Chunk the Spellbook was pure awesome.

[Ambush]

So, I shopped this idea to my DM, after I whined to him about not wanting a cat or bat or rat or pigeon or whatever. He likes it, and pending a viewing of whatever final rules we decide upon for this application, it's what my Wizard will be using. I also brought it to my local gameshop and showed it to the store owner and one of the other guys that runs the place. Both of them LOVED the idea, and I'm pretty sure that they both have plans to use them in campaigns soonish.

The main thing that I've been trying to ensure is that the balance with a normal familiar is preserved. I did not want to get something that was overpowered in some way or another, and detrimental to my table's game. Fortunately however, between myself and the 3 other guys I've had look at it, there does not seem to be any real imbalances in the gameplay.

[hobbitguy1420]

Wow, I'm flattered!

I think I've worked out the pricing issues - I'm putting together a final writeup of the ability, if anyone's interested!

[Ambush]

I'm also interested in thoughts on how the Complete Arcane spellbook modifications might impact the SF...

[hobbitguy1420]

I haven't done an in-depth exploration of them, but my first instinct is that they effect the SF the exact same way they would effect a standard Spellbook. I'll take a look at them later, though, to see if they require special treatment.

[Ambush]

Well...the various cover materials change the hardness and hit points of a normal spellbook. While the book has hp, hardness doesn't really apply (which would be the main benefit of making the cover of some special material). Maybe it would provide an AC bonus (reflecting the difficulty in damaging the book through the new cover).

[hobbitguy1420]

Hrm... I'd say probably not a Natural Armor increase, at least not on a 1/1 scale (+8 AC for 200 GP? I think not!). Maybe just a standard armor bonus, one armor per two or three points of Hardness beyond a standard leather/parchment tome (which is 2, I think)?

Also, the extra HP granted by items are multiplied by 1/2 the wizard's class level.

[hobbitguy1420]

Forgive the double-post, but I just updated the beginning of this thread with a finalized version of the Spellbook Familiar writeup, and I wanted to post it down at the end of the thread, too, for the lazy. :-)


Spellbook Familiars

A Spellbook Familiar is a Wizard’s spellbook which has been granted a semblance of life and sentience. A Spellbook Familiar retains the same size and shape it had before gaining sentience. The act of creating a Spellbook Familiar creates an intense bond between the character and his Spellbook Familiar. In many ways, a Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar are the same being. That’s why, for example, a Wizard can cast a spell with a range of “personal” on his Spellbook Familiar, even though normally he can cast such a spell only on himself.

Any spellbook may be granted life as a Spellbook Familiar. Many powerful wizards choose to awaken spellbooks which have been constructed with more durable materials than standard leather and parchment. (For rules for improved spellbook construction, see Complete Arcane). Materials which would increase the Hardness of a spellbook beyond that of a leather tome with parchment pages instead grant the Spellbook Familiar an Armor bonus to AC equal to half the Spellbook’s total Hardness minus one. The bonus Hit Points granted by a material are multiplied by one-half of the wizard’s level; for example, an eighth-level wizard whose Spellbook Familiar has a cover of thin wood would be granted 4 extra hit points. Magical protections such as resistance to energy or mystical waterproofing are applied as normal. The GP costs of both material and magical upgrades remain unchanged.

If the Spellbook Familiar is damaged, 1d4 points of damage can be repaired with a DC15 Craft: Bookbinding check, or the wizard may use the Repair Damage series of spells to restore its hit points. If it is destroyed (taken below 0 hit points), the Wizard immediately suffers an XP penalty exactly though he had possessed a standard Familiar which died, including the Fortitude save to avoid further XP loss. When this happens, pages containing (1d12-1) spells are completely destroyed, removing those spells from the Wizard’s spellbook (at least temporarily: see Living Ink, below).

The Wizard may choose to perform the ritual over another spellbook at this point, creating a new Spellbook Familiar, or he may choose to re-enact the ritual over the same spellbook, essentially returning the Spellbook Familiar to life. All Spellbook Familiars thus revived have remained understandably jittery for at least a week after their resurrection, and none have ever explained what (if anything) they experienced while “dead.” Spellbook Familiars which were destroyed through disintegration effects or fire damage are reduced to ash, and cannot be revived in this manner (although the Revive Construct spell, shown below, is capable of returning them to life).

A Spellbook Familiar is treated as a construct for the purposes of all effects that depend on its type. As constructs, Spellbook Familiars are affected by the Repair Damage and Inflict Damage series of spells, and few wizards who possess Spellbook Familiars do not have at least one Repair Damage spell scribed within, as well as a scroll of the same spell in case of emergency.

A Spellbook Familiar counts as a familiar for spells such as Familiar Pocket, Fortify Familiar, Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability, or the like.

A Spellbook Familiar grants special abilities to its owner, as shown on the Spellbook Familiar Special Abilities table below. In addition, a Spellbook Familiar has a personality which gives its owner a bonus on certain types of checks or saving throws, as given on the Spellbook Familiar Personalities table below. These special abilities and bonuses apply only when the owner and the Spellbook Familiar are within 1 mile of each other.

Spellbook Familiar abilities are based on the owner’s levels in the Wizard class (or, alternately, any other Arcane spellcasting class which grants access to a Familiar and requires a Spellbook. Levels from other classes do not count toward the owner’s level for purposes of Spellbook Familiar abilities.

Most Spellbook Familiars cannot speak, but can manipulate the appearance of its cover in order to communicate. (Some Spellbook Familiars have lettering which they can rearrange to form messages, others can form faces with which to mime emotions, and still others reflect their mood via coloration. Regardless of the method, a Spellbook Familiar is perfectly capable of making itself understood.) A Spellbook Familiar can understand all languages known by its owner, but can only communicate in one. This is a supernatural ability.


Spellbook Familiar Basics


Size/Type Tiny Construct

Hit Dice ½ Master’s HP

Initiative +2

Speed 20 ft/Fly 10 ft (poor)

Armor Class 16 (+4 size, +2 Dex) Touch 14/Flat-footed 12 (AC 18, Touch 14, Flat-footed 14 when Slammed Closed)

Attack Slam Closed 1d2

Space/Reach 1 ft/0 ft

Special Qualities Construct traits, Spellbook Familiar granted abilities
(improved evasion, personality, share spells, sighted)


Skills Listen +6, Spot +6, Move Silently +6

Ability Scores Str 1*, Dex 15*, Con Ø, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10

Saving Throws
A Spellbook Familiar uses its owner’s base saving throw bonuses and ability modifiers on saves, though it doesn’t enjoy any other bonuses its owner might have (from magic items or feats, for example).
Abilities
When not moving, a Spellbook Familiar has no Strength score and no Dexterity score.

Skills
A Spellbook Familiar has the same skill ranks as its owner, except that it has a minimum of 4 ranks each in Spot, Listen, Move Silently, and Search. (Even if its owner has no ranks in these skills, a Spellbook Familiar has 4 ranks in each.) A Spellbook Familiar uses its own ability modifiers on skill checks.


Spellbook Familiar Special Abilities


Owner Level Natural
Armor Int Special
1st-2nd +0 6 Alertness, Empathic link, Hard to Decipher, Hover, Improved Evasion, Ironbound, Living Ink, Personality, Share spells, Sighted, Slam closed

3rd-4th +1 7 Mage Hand

5th-6th +2 8 Papyrophage, Scribed in Memory

7th-8th +3 9 Trap Spell

9th-10th +4 10 Improved Flight

11th-12th +5 11 Spell resistance

13th-14th +6 12 Scry on Spellbook Familiar

15th-16th +7 13 Telekinesis

17th-18th +8 14 —

19th-20th +9 15 —

Spellbook Familiar Ability Descriptions

All Spellbook Familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their owners) depending on the level of the owner, as shown on the table above. The abilities on the table are cumulative.

Natural Armor Adj. (Ex)
This number noted here is an improvement to the Spellbook Familiar’s natural armor bonus (normally 0). It represents a Spellbook Familiar’s preternatural durability.

Intelligence (Ex)
Spellbook Familiars are as smart as people (though not necessarily as smart as smart people). A Spellbook Familiar has an Intelligence score equal to that of a Psicrystal of the same level.

Alertness (Ex)
While a Spellbook Familiar is within arm’s reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.

Empathic Link (Su)
The master has an empathic link with his Spellbook Familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see what the Spellbook Familiar sees, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Hover (Su)
Despite its poor maneuverability in flight, the Spellbook Familiar has the ability to hover in one place for extended periods of time.

Improved Evasion (Ex)
When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a Spellbook Familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Ironbound (Ex)
A Spellbook Familiar is usually made from a book with a strong, tough cover. While the Spellbook Familiar is Slammed Closed, it gains a +2 increase to its Natural Armor score (which stacks with the bonus from having a high-level master).

Living Ink (Su)
The Spellbook Familiar has complete control of the ink placed within it, and a completely accurate memory of everything that has ever been scribed within its pages. This allows it to shift the writing on the spells in its pages in strange and confusing manners, increasing the DC of the Spellcraft check required for another wizard to copy spells from it by 2+1/2 the master's level.

Also, the book's perfect memory of its contents allows a wizard to replace damaged pages more easily. Any time pages of the Spellbook Familiar have been removed or damaged, the Wizard may transfer the contents of those pages to any blank pages in the book. This requires the same materials used to scribe such spells in the first place, except that the wizard need only pour the ink onto the proper page of the spellbook, which then shapes it into the proper symbols. This takes the book half a day per page, although the wizard need not attend after he has given it the proper amount of ink. Once the Spellbook Familiar gains the Papyrophage ability, it may use the ink and materials obtained through the consumption of other magical writings to replace pages through its Living Ink ability.

Personality (Ex)
Every Spellbook Familiar has a personality, chosen from the table of Psicrystal personalities under the class entry for Psion (see the SRD). It is unclear whether this personality is a unique aspect of the Spellbook Familiar itself or a reflection of the Wizard which created it.

Share Spells (Su)
At the owner’s option, he can have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his Spellbook Familiar, as long as that spell can affect creatures of the construct type. The Spellbook Familiar must be within 5 feet of him at the time of the casting to receive the benefit. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the Spellbook Familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away, and will not affect the Spellbook Familiar again, even if it returns to its owner before the duration expires.

Additionally, the owner can cast a spell with a target of “You” on his Spellbook Familiar (as a touch range power) instead of on himself. The owner and Spellbook Familiar cannot share spells if the powers normally do not affect creatures of the Spellbook Familiar’s type (construct).

Sighted (Ex)
Although it has no physical sensory organs, a Spellbook Familiar can magically sense its environment as well as a creature with normal vision and hearing. Darkness (even supernatural darkness) is irrelevant, as are areas of supernatural silence, though a Spellbook Familiar still can’t discern invisible or ethereal beings. A Spellbook Familiar’s sighted range is 40 feet.

Slam Closed (Ex)
Whenever opened, a Spellbook Familiar may Slam Closed to protect its secrets. Any person holding or touching the Spellbook Familiar must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or receive 1d2 points of bludgeoning damage as the book closes upon his hand. After slamming closed, the Spellbook Familiar is very difficult to open – any person who attempts to open it must succeed at a DC 20 Strength check to pry open the covers and wrestle the pages into the proper position.

Mage Hand (Su)
The Spellbook Familiar may, at will, use a supernatural effect equivalent to the Mage Hand spell. Its caster level is considered equal to 1/2 the Wizard's class level.

Papyrophage (Ex)
If the owner is 5th level or higher, the Spellbook Familiar can consume other mundane or magical writings in order to gain more space for spells. All writings can add more blank writing space to the Spellbook Familiar according to the cost of the paper consumed, according to the table below. For example, a Spellbook Familiar with 100 pages must devour 2 GP worth of paper to gain 10 new pages, or 6 GP worth to gain 20 new pages. A Spellbook Familiar with 500 pages must devour 82 GP worth of paper to increase to 510 pages, and 166 GP worth of paper to increase to 520 pages. It takes the Spellbook Familiar about a minute to devour enough paper to grow a single extra page. It can grow up to ten times the Wizard’s level in new pages per day.

No matter how many new pages a Spellbook Familiar gains, it never seems as large as it ought to be. The Spellbook Familiar increases by the thickness of a single page for every ten new pages it gains.

If the Spellbook Familiar devours magical writing, it may choose to repair its wounds or glean scribing materials rather than raw paper. For every page of a spellbook or 100 GP's worth of other magical writings consumed, the Spellbook Familiar may, rather than gaining blank writing space, heal 1d8 points of damage to itself or gain all the materials required to scribe a spell onto a single blank page already in the book. The wizard need only trace onto the page with a blank stylus, and ink wells up to fill out the lines. Scribing a spell in such a manner still takes one day per spell, as though scribing the spell normally.

If the Spellbook Familiar devours a paper that has been scribed with Explosive Runes or some other offensive spell, there is a chance that it can harmlessly digest the spell energy. The Spellbook Familiar must make a Fortitude save (if the spell in question required a Fortitude save or a Reflex save against a physical effect) or Will save (if the spell in question required a Will save or a Reflex save against a mental effect) vs. the spell’s original DC +1. If the Spellbook Familiar fails the save, it gains no benefits from consuming the paper and the spell goes off, either targeting the Spellbook Familiar or centered on its square. If the Spellbook Familiar succeeds on its save, it harmlessly absorbs the spell energy, and acts as though it had devoured a scroll of the spell in question.

Amount of paper devoured (by GP cost) per number of pages added

Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost Pages Cost
110 2 GP 330 +46 GP 560 +92 GP 780 +136 GP
120 +4 GP 340 +48 GP 570 +94 GP 790 +138 GP
130 +6 GP 350 +50 GP 580 +96 GP 800 +140 GP
140 +8 GP 360 +52 GP 590 +98 GP 810 +142 GP
150 +10 GP 370 +54 GP 600 +100 GP 820 +144 GP
160 +12 GP 380 +56 GP 610 +102 GP 830 +146 GP
170 +14 GP 390 +58 GP 620 +104 GP 840 +148 GP
180 +16 GP 400 +60 GP 630 +106 GP 850 +150 GP
190 +18 GP 410 +62 GP 640 +108 GP 860 +152 GP
200 +20 GP 420 +64 GP 650 +110 GP 870 +154 GP
210 +22 GP 430 +66 GP 660 +112 GP 880 +156 GP
220 +24 GP 440 +68 GP 670 +114 GP 890 +158 GP
230 +26 GP 450 +70 GP 680 +116 GP 900 +160 GP
240 +28 GP 460 +72 GP 690 +118 GP 910 +162 GP
250 +30 GP 470 +74 GP 700 +120 GP 920 +164 GP
260 +32 GP 480 +76 GP 710 +122 GP 930 +166 GP
270 +34 GP 490 +78 GP 720 +124 GP 940 +168 GP
280 +36 GP 500 +80 GP 730 +126 GP 950 +170 GP
290 +38 GP 510 +82 GP 740 +128 GP 960 +172GP
300 +40 GP 520 +84 GP 750 +130 GP 970 +174 GP
310 +42 GP 530 +86 GP 760 +132 GP 980 +176 GP
320 +44 GP 540 +88 GP 770 +134 GP 990 +178 GP
550 +90 GP 1000 +180 GP


Scribed in Memory
The Spellbook Familiar can remember nonmagical writings it consumes, later calling them up onto its own pages via its Living Ink ability. The Spellbook Familiar may store a total number of pages equal to the wizard’s class level squared at any one time. If it later wishes to add more pages to its store, it must overwrite other pages of its choice.

Trap Spell (Su)
If the owner is 7th level or higher, he can cast a spell into his Spellbook. All costs (including material components, gold pieces, or XP) for the spell must be paid at the time the Trap Spell is set. The spell will then lay dormant until someone other than the owner attempts to open the Spellbook, in which case the spell will go off. If the spell is targeted, it will target the person opening the Spellbook Familiar. If it is area-of-effect, it is centered on the Spellbook Familiar, which is unharmed by the effect.

Improved Flight (Su)
If the owner is 9th level or higher, he can once per day, as a standard action, will his Spellbook Familiar to fly at a speed of 50 feet (Poor). This increase in speed lasts for a number of rounds equal to the owner’s class level.

Spell Resistance (Ex)
If the owner is 11th level or higher, a Spellbook Familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the Spellbook Familiar’s spell resistance.

Scry on Spellbook Familiar (Sp)
If the owner is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his Spellbook Familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.

Telekinesis (Sp)
The Spellbook Familiar may, at will, use an effect identical to the Sustained Force version of the Telekinesis spell. In addition, it may use the Combat Maneuver or Violent Thrust versions of Telekinesis once per day. Its caster level is considered equal to 1/2 the Wizard's class level.

Spellbook Familiar Personality (Ex)
Each Spellbook Familiar has a distinct personality, chosen by its owner at the time of its creation from among those given on the following table. At 1st level, its owner typically gets a feel for a Spellbook Familiar’s personality only through occasional impulses, but as the owner increases in level the Spellbook Familiar’s personality becomes more pronounced. At higher levels, it is not uncommon for a Spellbook Familiar to constantly ply its owner with observations and advice, often severely slanted toward the Spellbook Familiar’s particular worldview. The owner always sees a bit of himself in his Spellbook Familiar, even if magnified and therefore distorted.


Supplemental Materials

Feat: Living Word
Prerequisites: Ability to cast third-level divine spells from a Prayerbook
Effect: The amount of divine energy suffusing your Prayerbook has awakened it to consciousness and mobility. The Prayerbook gains all abilities possessed by a Spellbook Familiar, other than the bonus granted by the Spellbook Familiar Personality. Your effective Wizard level for these effects is your class level -3.

Spell: Revive Construct
Transmutation
Level: Sorc/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Destroyed construct touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Often used by spellcasters with favored golems, or by Wizards who possess Spellbook Familiars, this spell returns destroyed Constructs to full health and mobility. The construct in question must have been destroyed for no more than one day per caster level.

A revived Construct has a number of hit points equal to its current Hit Dice. Any ability scores damaged to 0 are raised to 1. This spell regenerates any constructs that have been disintegrated or, in the case of Spellbook Familiars, burnt. None of the construct's equipment or possessions, if any, are affected in any way by this spell.
This spell has the added bonus of restoring half of the XP lost by the wizard upon the destruction of his Spellbook Familiar.

In the case of mindless constructs, this spell simply restores them to good physical condition, restoring all physical identifiers. Not only are intelligent constructs restored in the same way, but this spell allows them to return with the same mind as they had before they were destroyed - all memories and personality are intact. No construct which has been thus revived has ever been convinced to speak of what they experienced during the interim - all such questions are ignored. Some scholars wonder if this reluctance indicates that they experienced nothing at all, while others believe that whatever manner of soul animates such things is bound to silence in whatever realm in which it passes the interim.

For unknown reasons, this spell does not function on constructs with the Living Construct subtype.

Material Component
Raw materials similar to those from which the construct is constructed, costing at least half of the total cost of that construct (minimum 1,000 GP).

[hobbitguy1420]

I know I said that was the final version. I was wrong.

I'm tweaking some things - I had the thought of replacing the psicrystal personalities (which sort of work, but aren't very thematic) with a different source for the skill bonuses. it would be something like this:

Treatise (Ex)

As part of the ritual that awakens the Spellbook Familiar to consciousness, the Wizard must scribe a short passage onto the inner covers. This writing, which cannot be affected by the Spellbook Familiar’s Living Ink ability, reinforces the Wizard’s knowledge and training once the Spellbook Familiar has been awakened, granting the Wizard a small bonus according to the subject matter of the writing.

Spellbook Familiar Treatise subjects

Subject Benefit to Owner
Anatomical diagrams +3 bonus on Heal checks
Decorative schematics +3 bonus on Craft checks
Depictions of secret doors +3 bonus to Search checks
Dream journal +2 bonus on Will saves
Etiquette pamphlet +3 bonus to Diplomacy checks
Intellectual essay +3 bonus on checks involving one knowledge skill
the Wizard already knows (once chosen, this does not change).
Jeweler’s notations +3 bonus on Appraise checks
Keys to various ciphers +3 bonus on Decipher Script checks
List of herbal antidotes +2 bonus on Fortitude saves
Military speech +2 bonus on Initiative checks
Mystery story +3 bonus on Gather Information checks
Notes on camouflage +3 bonus on Hide checks
Paragraph of falsehoods +3 bonus on Bluff checks
Short mantra +3 bonus on Concentration checks
Stretching instructions +2 bonus to Reflex saves

I'm not 100% sure of the specific writings for each of those entries (if someone has a better idea, please share!)

I'm also considering allowing a Spellbook Familiar's Hardness to grant DR/- or DR/Adamantine, to up their defensive oomph (per a suggestion on the Wizards forums). Any thoughts?

[hobbitguy1420]

Anybody else care to chime in on the balance of this variant? I'm still looking for some advice on whether it needs a defensive boost or not.

[Collin152]

I don't suppose anybody else is reminded of Zebra Girl reading this?

[Winged One]

Nah, Tomie's more of an artifact spellbook, and was neither created nor imbued with magic by Jack.

[Collin152]

Well, obviously it isn't exactly the same, but it's the same premise.

[hobbitguy1420]

Thanks for your thoughts - I'm glad to hear that others enjoy the premise as much as I do.

Do you have any opinions on the crunch of it?

[Collin152]

I'm no good with crunch, really.
If somebody deems it balanced, though, I totally want to use it.

[hobbitguy1420]

All right, then - anyone else?

[DeadEnded]

My DM is of the opinion that this ability could be misused.


Trap Spell (Su)
If the owner is 7th level or higher, he can cast a spell into his Spellbook. All costs (including material components, gold pieces, or XP) for the spell must be paid at the time the Trap Spell is set. The spell will then lay dormant until someone other than the owner attempts to open the Spellbook, in which case the spell will go off. If the spell is targeted, it will target the person opening the Spellbook Familiar. If it is area-of-effect, it is centered on the Spellbook Familiar, which is unharmed by the effect.


He believes that being able to set 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 permanent spells on the book to go off when someone opens it is a little much and is broken/unbalancing.

Considering the fact that the only time said book is really going to be opened is on the demise of my wizard in the first place, I don't really think this is a problem until the enemy wizard has done the same thing. But if i read it correctly it's a trap, and a Rogue of sufficient level could use his Trapsense ability as well as disable device to get the book open.

Any thoughts on this?

[criminalTruth]

Doesn't anyone else see a problem with "trap Spell"

Personally as a DM i see tons of problems with it

1st you can store an IFINIATE amount of traps within the spell book

2nd it has no cost

3rd its like craft contingency on crack???

how i would use it?

every night i'd take all my unexpended spells and trap my spell book

id hire a high level rogue to forge a cover for it and then place it around the book with something that some NPC might want to open up and read.

have him sneak in and place it on table

someone opens the book

they must make

400 save or die's

400 reflex saves (for the 3rd lvl fireball)

400 reflex saves (for the delayed blast fireball)

400 reflex saves ( for the meter storm)

.... umm.. yea the list can go on?

oh not to mention if the wizard dies and the party "opens the book'

total party kill at that point...

i just argued for over an hour with a player about this..

i told him easy fix.. ( as other classes have abilities much like this one)

i told him he can lose the spell slot, until it is discharged

example

i cast fireball for a trap spell.

i no longer have that slot available to prepare spells for the day.

he then mentioned "explosive ruins"

and i said he can prepare "explosive ruins" as per the rules and retain that spell slot.

( makes perfect sense right)???

does anyone else see how this 7th lvl ability can be abused royally?

then he said " when would this come up in game??"

i said it can. and thats enough to keep it out of the game.

i asked what other familiars get at that level.

he said "speak with others of its kind"

simple question to the op?

why not allow it to speak with others of its kind? such as a golems, other constructs?

can make for very interesting role playing opportunity's?

combine it with the ability to write on its paper to the owner as a form of speech as well or even other players.

of course my player said " thats not very useful no where NEAR as useful as the animal familiars"

of course he's right... a toad being able to speak with another toad is WAY more useful then being able to speak to golems?

i also suggest to keep with the spirit of the rules to just give it perfect maneuverability (nothing game breaking there..)

over all a good concept and a good job.. just this one ability i think needs an overhaul.

thoughts?

[criminalTruth]

oh not to mention the fact that rogues cant even detect these things???

or disarm them...

[criminalTruth]

Most Spellbook Familiars cannot speak, but can manipulate the appearance of its cover in order to communicate. (Some Spellbook Familiars have lettering which they can rearrange to form messages, others can form faces with which to mime emotions, and still others reflect their mood via coloration. Regardless of the method, a Spellbook Familiar is perfectly capable of making itself understood.) A Spellbook Familiar can understand all languages known by its owner, but can only communicate in one. This is a supernatural ability.

oh combine that ability with the trap spell ability for epic lulz

[hobbitguy1420]

I'd intended that to literally be "one spell." no 2,000,000,000,000 reflex saves here. It's a single line of defense. May need to reword that...

The issue with allowing "speak with Golem" is that golems are mindless. Animals have minds, albeit simple ones. Golems don't even have that - int score of "-" tends to preclude most conversation.

[Zeta Kai]

Yeah, I would specifically limit it to only 1 Trap Spell per object. That should eliminate most of the TPK cheese.

[Debihuman]

I like the Treatise but I think it should be used later so that the wizard can scribe his knowledge into the spellbook familiar for anyone to gain the benefit who reads it.

Here is my suggestion:

Treatise (Ex): At 17th level, a wizard can scribe a short passage onto the inner covers of his Spellbook Familiar. This writing, which cannot be affected by the Spellbook Familiar’s Living Ink ability, reflects the Wizard’s knowledge granting whoever reads the cover a small bonus according to the subject matter of the writing. The reader can only gain this benefit once.

Obviously, if there is a spell trap, that happens first...

Debby

[hobbitguy1420]

Treatise is intended to duplicate the bonus granted by a standard Familiar or Psicrystal - like how a badger familiar grants its owner a +2 to Crafts (underwater basket weaving) checks and such. None of the other Familiar types have the ability to pass their bonus on to someone else, but I suppose that's a possibility... not sure how it'd affect the balance.

[Debihuman]

Well, no other familiar is a book either. It makes sense for most familiars to give a small bonus to its creator but if the spellcaster has to write his own treatise, isn't he simply giving himself that knowledge? That just doesn't seem right.

When I think of why a wizard would choose a spellbook familar in the first place, it's because he has access to more magical writing space than with other spellbooks. Writing on the inside cover is like leaving an identifying mark on a book since it's not a spell. It would would be more like leaving your mark on the book. If you are willing to go that far, why not leave a small legacy? Whoever reads the inside covers gains a small benefit (or if the wizard is really evil it could even be a small penalty but that's another topic). Of course, to get to it, you have to deal with a book that can slam on you, or be enspelled with a nasty trap. It just seemed appropriate to me.

Also, should a spellbook familiar have Con Ø? Constructs usually have Con —.

What happens when two spellbook familiars meet? Would they try to consume each other's pages?

If it can consume magical writing, wouldn't it be a liability in a library? I could see a bias against these things in some places where books and scrolls would be encountered. Imagine a libary refusing the wizard admittance until he "checked" his familair. Not that the book "has" to eat but doing so will heal it or make it larger so the potential for damaging other writing is quite real.

Moreover, it doesn't seem like a spellbook familair would discriminate between magical and nonmagical paper. It would be unfortunate if the party's map were devoured by the spellbook familiar.

I think that limiting the trap spell to one is a good idea too.

Debby

[hobbitguy1420]

The explanation behind the skill bonus is that the knowledge being written down mystically reinforces the character's skill. It's more than just the words being written down - it creates a mystical resonance on the connection between the Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar, granting him greater skill. It may not make 100% sense, but hey. It's magic. And it's just a justification for the usual familiar skill bonus.

There are a couple reasons a wizard could create a Spellbook Familiar. More more scribing space is one, but another is simply that the SF is more capable of defending itself than a standard spellbook would be. Normal spellbooks, for example, are incapable of running away.

Is there a difference between Ø and -? I didn't think there was. Ø is different from 0; one's just zero, the other's a null.

Spellbook Familiars meeting would probably have a similar reaction to two dogs meeting. If they're friendly, they'd probably sniff around one another's... er... pages, then get along swimmingly. If they're aggressive, one of them would probably try to eat the other. Pages would fly, but ultimately neither would completely devour the other (unless the DM wanted it to try, and the dice agreed).

As for whether a given Spellbook Familiar would devour a party's map, or the contents of a library, well, that depends on the disposition of the Familiar in question. Some, I'm sure, would be impulsive enough to attempt to do so (and the wizard in question would be well-advised to secure it in some manner, to avoid accidents). Others might be wise enough to restrain themselves. The thing isn't just a mindless golem - it's a "living" book, with a personality and an intellect (albeit occasionally a stupid one) of its own.

[Debihuman]

The explanation behind the skill bonus is that the knowledge being written down mystically reinforces the character's skill. It's more than just the words being written down - it creates a mystical resonance on the connection between the Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar, granting him greater skill. It may not make 100% sense, but hey. It's magic. And it's just a justification for the usual familiar skill bonus.

Unfortunately, your justification doesn't hold water when comparing it to other rules. It would be fine if the book had to be dedicated by someone else to the wizard and then he (or she) would get the bonus, but no other writing mystically reinforces a character's skill.

Even with the mystical hocus-pocus, it's hard to swallow this one because a wizard doesn't gain this from writing any other spells or from creating a scroll. I have no problem with a wizard gaining the "usual familiar skill bonus" from his spellbook familiar; I simply object to the method by which he gains it.

You don't have the wizard gaining the ability from the spellbook familiar at all—he gains it from writing in the spellbook familiar. Rather than trying to justify this with inconsistent logic, it would simply have been a lot easier to say that spellbook familiars grant their owner's X ability and leave it at that.

No other familiar requires a Special Abilty to gain that feature and I don't think a spellbook familiar should be unique. However, if you are going to go that route, then at least be consistent with the rules that are already in existence. All that needs to be said is this: Unlike other familiars, the spellbook familiar cannot confer the usual abilty bonus until the wizard writes a treatise on the cover.


Is there a difference between Ø and -? I didn't think there was. Ø is different from 0; one's just zero, the other's a null.

The null should be indicated by a —, not a Ø.

There actually is a difference between a Con 0 and a Con —. Having a zero means the creature has been reduced to zero. This is typically used for undead having a Con 0 but constructs having a Con — because constructs were never alive.

WotC's books and the SRD uses the "—" not the "Ø" to avoid confusion because using both "0" and "Ø" is confusing.

This is standard writer's guidelines, but it does keep things consistent. [You can see it in the SRD].

O, 0 and Ø are much harder to proofread than O, 0 and —. It's a matter of style and it really helps to keep things as simple as possible.

Debby

[hobbitguy1420]

I think we're talking at cross purposes, Debihuman; forgive me if I start to sound slightly frustrated, I'm just having trouble seeing where your issue is with the feature as written.

The writing of the thesis is just fluff, an explanation for the skill bonus (similar to a psicrystal's personality. How does having a psicrystal with a heroic personality allow you to endure hardship better, granting a +2 to Fortitude saves? I don't know, but it does. It's magic. Well, psionics...). By the fluff explanations I'm thinking, the difference between the Thesis and anything else that's written in the Spellbook Familiar is that the Thesis is part of the ritual that awakens the SF (y'know, the "100GP in materials and 1 day" part). Scribing this information into the book while forging the soul-deep bond that causes the book to awaken is what causes the mental resonance that creates the skill bonus.

Or, if you want, you can fluff the skill bonuses differently in your game. Say that each bonus is granted by a special rune that the wizard carves into the cover, but only one rune can be used. Or say that the wizard has someone else scribe the Thesis (requiring another person with at least +5 in the given save or at least 10 ranks in the given skill) or something.

As for the Ø vs. - problem, I think that's just a terminology issue. Ø isn't zero, it's the null set. N/A, as it were.

[Debihuman]

I think my edited post explains it all much clearer. I do like your spellbook familiar and the only the quibbles I have are relatively minor. :smallsmile:

Debby

[hobbitguy1420]

I'm glad to hear that you like the SF. I do think that most of our problems are either communication-based or just stem from differing viewpoints.

It isn't the act of writing the thesis that grants the wizard the bonus. Writing the thesis just "activates" the bonus - sort of like plugging a battery into a flashlight. it isn't the act of putting in a battery that makes light, it's the flashlight itself. Once the thesis is there (the process of which is subsumed into the awakening ritual, as explained above) the bonus is provided by the SF, same as a Toad's +3 HP or the Heroic Psicrystal's +2 to Fort saves.

The psicrystal entry in the SRD includes the bonus under the entry "Psicrystal personality (ex)." I based the SF off the psicrystal almost as much as I did the familiar (both are constructs, for example).

In the end, though, the whole entry was just a fluffy, thematic way to justify the skill bonuses. I'm a bit hesitant to rewrite the entry for a single quibble, but if other people have problems with it I'm willing to revisit.

[Debihuman]

I don't think you need to rewrite the whole entry obviously. However, it could do with a little more proofreading and editing.


Treatise (Ex): As part of the ritual that awakens the Spellbook Familiar to consciousness, the Wizard must scribe a short passage onto the inner covers. This writing, which cannot be affected by the Spellbook Familiar’s Living Ink ability, reinforces the Wizard’s knowledge and training once the Spellbook Familiar has been awakened, granting the Wizard a small one-time bonus according to the subject matter of the writing.

I merely recommend this:

Treatise (Ex): As part of the ritual that awakens the spellbook familiar to consciousness, the wizard must scribe a short passage onto the inner covers. This writing, which cannot be affected by the spellbook familiar’s Living Ink ability, allows the spellbook familiar to confer a special ability to the wizard in accordance with the chart below.


I would also recommend that you remove this sentence in the first paragraph: "In many ways, a Wizard and his Spellbook Familiar are the same being." First, it isn't true. Secondly, it is a poor way of describing the mystical link between a wizard and his familiar. It also is an unnessary sentence as you mention that they have an "intense bond" in the previous sentence.

Debby

P.S. I now see where you used Ø for non-abilities because that is used in the psionics section of the online SRD. I presume it is in error because it isn't that way in the Expanded Psionics Handbook nor is it in the SRD on the Wizard's of the Coast site. I reiterate that using a dash is better than using an Ø.

[hobbitguy1420]

I'll keep the - / Ø thing in mind for the next time I revise the writeup. Like I've said, it hasn't bothered anyone else so far, but if it causes confusion I'm willing to be flexible.

I could've sworn I saw that "the same being in many ways" in one of the familiar writeups (either Psicrystal or familiar). Guess I just made it up, then. hrm... I'll keep that one in mind for my next revision, too.

I hadn't really made this thread for proofreading and such; it's mostly about the game balance and roleplay opportunities.

[Bayar]

Very nice idea ! Would you do a D20 Modern version of a Spellbook familiar? A PDA familiar? Or a Notebook familiar ? :biggrin:

[hobbitguy1420]

I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with d20 modern, especially where it involves magic. I suppose that rather than eat paper, a tech-based SF would probably consume electronics, gaining extra storage that way...

[hobbitguy1420]

Don't you hate it when you're driving and you run over a huge ::bump:: in the road?