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Spellbooks

Description Source: Ultimate Magic
Each spellbook or formula book is a unique reflection of the personality and capabilities of its creator. Many of these tomes contain more than just spells, such as notes on the caster’s other research, personal diaries, naturalist sketches, or even political treatises. Some contain preparation rituals, each of which grants a boon—or sometimes a hindrance—to spellcasters who use the book to prepare their spells.

The sample spellbooks and formula books below each list a description of the book, information on the caster’s specialty school and oppositional schools (if any), the book’s spells, and its preparation ritual (if any). Some books also contain precautions against prying eyes.

Descriptions, protections, preparation rituals, and spell content can be mixed and matched as desired from different books. Higher-level books can easily serve for lower-level casters—just drop the spell levels that aren’t applicable and remove lower-level spells as desired. Similarly, if you desire longer books, combine two together or add spells or formulae of your choice to the desired levels. These books also work as spellbooks and formula books for new characters. Just copy the list, hand it to the player, and go.

A standard spellbook includes all cantrips except those in the wizard’s oppositional schools. Books containing cantrips from additional sources are noted in the content description.

Each book features a value, which represents what a character must pay for the book on the open market, though finding a seller may be difficult. The character may sell the book for half that value. Any book with a preparation ritual has two sets of costs, one for the book without the preparation ritual, and one for the book with the ritual.

Using Preparation Rituals

When a spellcaster who prepares spells uses a spellbook or formula book with a preparation ritual, as long as he prepares at least three spells (not including cantrips) or formulae from the spellbooks, he gains a temporary boon granted by the ritual. The boon lasts until its effect is spent (as specified by the boon description) or the spellcaster prepares spells again (at which time it can be reapplied by preparing at least three spells from the book). A spellcaster can only take the effect of one preparation ritual when she prepares spells, no matter how many spellbooks with preparation rituals she uses to prepare spells. Spells in this section A superscript “S” (S) indicates a spell from the caster’s specialty school, whereas a superscript “OP” (OP) indicates a spell from the spellbook creator’s opposition school.

Description Source: Arcane Anthology

Transcribing Spellbook Preparation Rituals

Preparation rituals (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 121) grant a unique boon to anyone who prepares at least three spells from the associated spellbook. Like spells, preparation rituals can be copied into new spellbooks. To imbue a spellbook with a preparation ritual, you must have the Scribe Scroll feat, as well as a number of ranks in Spellcraft and a caster level each equal to double the highest spell level in the original spellbook. You also must have scribed at least three spells from the original spellbook into the new spellbook; at least one of these spells must be of the highest spell level found in the original spellbook. You must prepare those three spells (or know them, if you cast spells spontaneously) and perform an 8-hour creation ritual that requires supplies costing half as much as the value of the preparation ritual (the difference in the spellbook’s value with and without the preparation ritual). At the ritual’s end, attempt a Spellcraft check (DC = 10 + double the highest spell level in the original spellbook). If you succeed, the new spellbook gains that preparation ritual. If you fail, the supplies are wasted to no effect. Formula book preparation rituals are similarly imbued, but use extracts rather than spells, and instead of Scribe Scroll, you must have Brew Potion. A spellbook can have multiple preparation rituals, but it must meet the requirements for each. This does not affect the number of preparation rituals from which a character can benefit.

Prayer Book and Meditation Book Rituals

Characters who prepare divine spells can create prayer books containing divine magical writing similar to the arcane magical writing in spellbooks. These books are usually used to instruct new acolytes in a faith’s magical traditions or to make use of preparation rituals that align with the faith’s goals. Prayer books with preparation rituals follow the same rules as arcane spellbooks with preparation rituals. Any preparation rituals found in spellbooks can also be found in prayer books, which have the same number of spells of each level recorded but generally draw them from the cleric, druid, or shaman spell list. Any character able to prepare the appropriate spells as divine spells can benefit from the preparation ritual recorded in a prayer book.

A meditation book is a secular version of a prayer book, recording theories and philosophies of magic, and can be used to focus energies when preparing arcane spells from a source other than a spellbook (such as for witches) or meditating to regain spell slots (for spontaneous spellcasters). A spellcaster can benefit from a meditation book’s preparation rituals by preparing spells or meditating to regain spell slots while studying the spellbook and expending one spell slot of a level at least equal to that of the highest-level spell within the meditation book.

Meditation books and prayer books have the same cost as the spellbooks they emulate (including the cost of the scribed spells, despite the users of such books not normally requiring spellbooks to prepare spells). If the boon granted by a meditation book or spellbook applies to only a particular class’s spells, a character gaining that boon can apply it to any spell from the same class list that the spells she prepared were drawn from (for prayer books) or that provided the spell slot expended (in the case of meditation books).

NameCostBook TypeClass Requirements
Nyzam's Remedies50 gpFormula BookLevel 3 Alchemist
Songs of the Linnorm Kings180 gpMeditation BookLevel 5 Skald
Defensive Primer185 gpSpellbookLevel 1 Abjurer
Apprentice Chapbook of Rul Thaven195 gpSpellbookLevel 2 Diviner
The Swordsman's Analects250 gpSpellbookLevel 3 Universalist
Unnamed Journal275 gpSpellbookLevel 3 Universalist
Traveler's Tome365 gpSpellbookLevel 4 Transmuter
Wisdom of Jatembe (Three Warriors Edition)375 gpSpellbookLevel 5 Diviner
Lab Journal of Constance Inflix395 gpFormula BookLevel 5 Alchemist
Book of Harms535 gpSpellbookLevel 5 Evoker
Erages Journeyman's Manual575 gpSpellbookLevel 7 Magus
Galtan Cookbook670 gpFormula BookLevel 8 Alchemist
The Guide's Analects690 gpSpellbookLevel 6 Universalist
Book of the Grave815 gpSpellbookLevel 6 Necromancer
Journal of the Beast Within915 gpFormula BookLevel 10 Alchemist
Grimoire of Glittering Eyes1,055 gpSpellbookLevel 7 Illusionist
Arrowsong's Sorrow1,200 gpSpellbookLevel 3 Universalist
Calamaes Fragment1,565 gpSpellbookLevel 7 Transmuter
Tome of the Transmuter1,835 gpSpellbookLevel 8 Transmuter
The Prying Eye1,940 gpSpellbookLevel 7 Universalist
Journeyman Book of Rul Thaven2,195 gpSpellbookLevel 9 Diviner
Cold Irony2,420 gpSpellbookLevel 15 Bard
Chymist's Guidebook2,545 gpFormula BookLevel 15 Alchemist
Manuscript of Jack Were-son2,835 gpSpellbookLevel 10 Universalist
Sarini's Workbook4,295 gpSpellbookLevel 16 Magus with Bard Spells
Arctic Call4,335 gpSpellbookLevel 11 Evoker
Tome of Stone Wards4,385 gpSpellbookLevel 17 Abjurer
Cyrusian Codex4,425 gpSpellbookLevel 11 Transmuter
Insights of Far-Seeing Taernis4,555 gpSpellbookLevel 12 Conjurer
Wisdom of Jatembe (Six Warriors Edition)4,725 gpSpellbookLevel 11 Diviner
Quest Eternal6,475 gpSpellbookLevel 13 Diviner
The Formulae of Master Gebr6,615 gpFormula BookLevel 20 Alchemist
The Last Azlanti's Analects7,030 gpSpellbookLevel 15 Universalist
Grandfather's Legacy7,635 gpSpellbookLevel 14 Necromancer
Guardian Grimoire10,055 gpSpellbookLevel 15 Abjurer
Mysteries of Shadow11,865 gpSpellbookLevel 16 Illusionist
Master Books of Rul Thaven12,725 gpSpellbookLevel 17 Diviner
Wisdom of Jatembe (Nine Warriors Edition)13,415 gpSpellbookLevel 17 Diviner
Library of the Dancer of Skins16,435 gpSpellbookLevel 19 Universalist
Manual of Binding17,165 gpSpellbookLevel 18 Conjurer
Mastery of Word and Thought22,675 gpSpellbookLevel 20 Enchanter
Runes of Wealth26,365 gpSpellbookLevel 18 Transmuter