Scrolls, Books and Magical Texts

 

Consumable magical items such as potions and scrolls can mean the difference between life and death in many situations. The extent to which potions or scrolls are available for purchase is entirely determined by the Director and the universe they have created for their adventures, and in any case, the prices listed here are only guidelines based on the availability listed. In a setting where even the most basic (common) potions are actually extremely rare, the prices listed here might be 20x higher (or more realistically, not available for sale at all).

Spell Scrolls

Spell scrolls are somewhat more versatile than potions in the sense that the spells recorded on them are not cast on the user when read, but rather are cast by the user when read. This means that essentially any spell can be cast from a scroll. The trade-off for this utility, however, is that spells cast from scrolls require the reader to pay the Concentration casting cost of the spell in order to cast it. If they do not have enough Concentration to cast the spell, the scroll does not activate and the spell does not cast (but the scroll is not consumed).

As with spell potions, the default casting effectiveness of a standard scroll is 21, and the user of the scroll does not have to roll to cast the spell. This value of 21 should be used for determining the variable effects of the spell, or for Resisting the spell if its effects are negative.

Spell scrolls with an casting effectiveness of higher than 21 have an increased cost of (+10%x 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13... etc) per point of effectiveness over 21. Therefore a Zap (21) scroll (Power 3 Destruction) would cost $600, while a Zap (26) scroll would cost 80% more ($1080), but would be harder to Resist. For each 2 point increase in effectiveness (at 23, 25, 27, etc) a spell scroll becomes one step more rare in terms of its availability.

Because spell scrolls require the reader to pay the Concentration casting cost, and because scrolls are more often used for spells that effect a target, and can therefore be Resisted, scrolls tend to be less expensive than potions overall.

All scrolls have a Bulk of 1, and while scroll tubes do not reduce their bulk, they do offer the benefit of keeping fragile scrolls protected and handy so they can be accessed quickly when needed.

Reference Books

In addition to magical scrolls, a wide range of non-magical books exist that can be used as reference by the reader. The information in these books cannot simply be 'learned' to gain a permanent bonus, rather these books must be kept on hand to be referenced when needed to gain a bonus to a skill roll in a specified Skill Field. Referencing a reference book requires at least a full minute, meaning they cannot be used in a reactive context (such as during combat).

Books of Wisdom

The Books of Wisdom are a series of unrelated texts generally recognized by scholars to provide profound insight into entire fields of knowledge. These are recognized as being essential reading for individuals in a given profession. Studying a Book of Wisdom requires 40 hours of effort, at the end of which, the reader rolls a 21C using the specified Attribute. If successful, and provided the reader has the pre-requisites, the reader gains a free skill roll in the Skill Field associated with the Book of Wisdom (award the character 5xp which must be spent on a skill roll in the associated Skill Field).