Scrollscriber's Supplies
The arcane symbols of magic are scrawled in delicate care, these glyphs of magic infuse the scrolls, books, and even tablets they are written on to. Scrollscribes spend their days pushing their magic into scrolls to be used by others or even by themselves in stressful situations.
Scrollscriber's Supplies
Scrollscriber's supplies include five vials of different colored ink, quills, gold leaf, and 10 sheets of paper.
Your tools weigh 3 lbs and costs 65 gp.
Scribing a Scroll
To scribe a scroll you need scrollscriber's supplies, several hours, materials needed (including gold), and knowledge of the spell you wish to create.
No check is required to scribe a spell scroll.
Cantrip
If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.
Intelligence
To scribe a spell scroll, the scriber must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The scribe must also be able to cast spells of that level and know the spell they are scribing.
It doesn't matter if the scriber uses a different ability for casting their spells, Intelligence is required for knowing how to write the spell out. This means if you have a 12 Intelligence, you can only scribe up to 2nd level spells.
Scribe Cost
Every scroll requires additional materials than just spell materials in order to scribe. You must have a number of sheets of paper and number of vials for each spell scroll you scribe, as well as other rare and strange ingredients that you must mix into the vials. When scribing a scroll, you spend an amount of gold equal to the spell scroll level per the Creating a Spell Scroll chart. Prices taken from Sane Magical Prices.
Spell Slots
You must expend the appropriate level spell slot for every 8 hours you are working on a scroll. If you wish to create a level 6 spell scroll, you must expend a level 6 spell slot for every 8 hours you work on the scroll, meaning you must expend a 6th level spell slot six times.
Spell Material Cost
While scribing a scroll, you must first provide the material cost of the spell. This means if you wish to create a 3rd-level revivfy spell scroll, it will require you to spend 300 gp of diamond dust for the spell materials. These materials then infuse the spell scroll with their essence, this is permanent.
Time Required
You must spend at least 8 hours a day working on your scroll to make progress. Per the DM's discretion, you could break up the 8 hours in increments.
Creating a Spell Scroll
| Spell Level | Scribe Cost | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 10 gp | 8 Hours | |
| 1st | 60 gp | 16 Hours | |
| 2nd | 120 gp | 24 Hours | |
| 3rd | 200 gp | 32 Hours | |
| 4th | 320 gp | 40 Hours | |
| 5th | 640 gp | 48 Hours | |
| 6th | 1,280 gp | 56 Hours | |
| 7th | 2,560 gp | 64 Hours | |
| 8th | 5,120 gp | 72 Hours | |
| 9th | 10,240 gp | 80 Hours |
Proficiency
If you are proficient with scrollscriber's supplies, the gold cost to scribe a scroll is halved though not for the material requirements of a spell as you understand how to infuse magic with less arcane inks and magic. If you are attempting to craft a revivfy spell scroll, a 3rd-level spell, you must expend 300 gp for the material component of the spell as well as spend 100 gp for the material needed for the scroll, a total of 400 gp to produce a revivfy scroll.
Buying & Selling Scrolls
If you wish to purchase or sell a scroll, the price is based off of the level of the spell scroll, as per the Creating a Spell Scroll chart and the material cost of the spell. If you wish to purchase a 3rd-level spell scroll of revivfy, it would cost 600 gp (300 gp for the spell materials, and 200 gp for the scroll scribe). This cost is subject to DM's discretion and may increase or decrease depending on the pervasiveness of magic, the kingdom's wealth, and other factors.
Additional Materials
The scribe cost represents the cost of materials, like ink and paper, though you may need to buy more if a complication arises. At DM's discretion, certain exotic and very rare materials might provide additional bonuses or abilities to the spell scroll, like providing additional uses of a spell scroll or casting a spell that requires an Action, but as a Bonus Action.
Scribing Materials
| Item | Cost | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Case, map or scroll | 1 gp | 1 lb. |
| Ink (1 ounce bottle) | 10 gp | - |
| Ink pen | 2 cp | - |
| Gelatinous Cube Ooze Ink (1 ounce bottles) |
30 gp | - |
| Paper (one sheet) | 2 sp | - |
| Quill, Cockatrice feather | 10 gp | 1/4 lb. |
| Quill, Roc feather | 110 gp | 1 lb. |
Variant Rules
Below are a few variant rules to make scribing a scroll a special occasion, more difficult or cost more gold and time or to limit the amount of scrolls a single character can craft.
Special Materials
In order to craft a spell, you must first gather the required ingredients (Ink, Parchment and a Quill) and one of those ingredients must have something to do with the spell in some way. If you wanted to scribe a flesh to stone spell scroll, you would need to find a special quill made from a cockatrice feather or use ink from a basilisk eyeball.
Other special materials would be based on the spell you wish to create, a few ideas are provided below. You can only use the material once per spell scroll, if you wanted to create multiple flesh to stone spell scrolls, you would have to have multiple cockatrice feather quills. This could reduce or replace the cost of a scroll as a trade off.
Example Special Materials for Spells
| Spell | Special Material |
|---|---|
| arcane eye | goo from a hag eye [ink] |
| barkskin | one, unbroken piece of bark at least 1 foot per spell level [parchment] |
| blade ward | a buckler [parchment] |
| blink | venom of a phase spider [ink] |
| catnap | eyelash of a sphinx [quill] |
| cone of cold | black ice from Plane of Ice [quill] |
| enlarge/reduce | roc feather [quill, enlarge only] milk from aphids [ink, reduce only] |
| feather fall | chicken feather [quill] |
| fireball | liquid fire on the Plane of Fire [ink] |
| identify | ash from a burned down library [ink] |
| insect plague | blood from your first born son [ink], leg of a grasshopper [quill] |
| mage armor | leather armor [parchment] |
| maze | a minotaur's horn [parchment] |
| meld into stone | stone tablet [parchment |
| revivfy, resurrection | one, unbroken strip of necrotized flesh at least 1 foot per spell level [parchment] |
| rope trick | woven silver chain at least 1 foot per spell level [parchment] |
| speak with dead | skull of a dead humanoid [parchment] |
| thorn whip | thorn of a rose [quill] |
| tongues | tongue of a humanoid who spoke a number of languages per spell level [quill] |
| water breathing | poison from a blowfish [ink] |
| zone of truth | a liar's tongue [quill] |
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Xanathar's Guide to Everything provides alternative pricing and the amount of time needed to scribe a spell scroll. Consider their alternative if your campaign takes place in a low magic world or create your own between the two provided spell scroll costs.
Xanthar's Guide to Everything also provides their own rules for spell scroll creation found on page 133.
Spell Scroll Costs
| Spell Level | Scribe Cost | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 15 gp | 1 day | |
| 1st | 25 gp | 1 day | |
| 2nd | 250 gp | 3 days | |
| 3rd | 500 gp | 1 workweek | |
| 4th | 2,500 gp | 2 workweeks | |
| 5th | 5,000 gp | 4 workweeks | |
| 6th | 15,000 gp | 8 workweeks | |
| 7th | 25,000 gp | 16 workweeks | |
| 8th | 50,000 gp | 32 workweeks | |
| 9th | 250,000 gp | 48 workweeks |
Enhanced Spell Scrolls
Some spell scrolls could be crafted so well that you can store their energy in the parchment and have it ready to go off at the slightest word. This would allow a scriber to create the scroll in such a way that a spell that normally requires an Action to cast could be cast as a Bonus Action instead.
In order to do this, a scribe must spend twice as much time as normal and spend twice as much on material spell costs as well as the scribe costs. After every 8 hours of work, the scribe must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with the DC being 10 + the level of the spell.
On a failed check, the spell scroll is destroyed by the arcane energies, as well as losing all spell component materials and a portion of the spell scroll material cost per the DM's discretion.
Scribing with other Abilities
A DM may decide that a scribe can use their main spellcasting ability to determine the level of spells that they can scribe and make spell scrolls for. This would mean a cleric or druid could use their Wisdom score in place of their Intelligence score to determine what level of spell scrolls they can craft.
Limited Spell Scrolls
A creature must put a piece of themselves into a spell scroll and it stays in there until the spell is cast. A character can only create a number of spell scrolls equal to their Intelligence modifier plus their Proficiency Bonus, if they produce any more spell scrolls they lose access to a spell slot equal to the level of the spell scroll they created. They only regain the use of that spell slot once the number of spell scrolls created is equal to their spell scroll limit.
Material Components Consumed
A
Astral Projection - 1,000gp & 100gp Silver Bar per person
Arcane Lock - 25gp Gold Dust
Awaken - 1,000gp Agate
C
Ceremony - 25gp Silver Powder
Clone - 1,000gp Diamond
Create Homonculus - 1gp Ash
Commune - 100gp Incense
Conjure Elemental (Air) - 100gp Incense
Continual Flame - 50gp Ruby Dust
Control Weather - 400gp Incense
D
Divination - 200gp Incense & 25gp Sacrificial Offering
Drawmij's Instant Summons - 1,000gp Sapphire
F
Find Familiar - 10gp Herbs & Charcoal
Forbidance - 60gp Incense
G
Globe of Invulnerability - 1sp Glass Bead
Glyph of Warding - 200gp Diamond Dust & 60gp Incense
Greater Restoration - 100gp Diamond Dust
Guards and Wards - 120gp Incense
H
Hallow - 1,000gp Herbs, Oils & Incense
Heroes' Feast - 1,000gp Gem-Encrusted Bowl
Hypnotic Pattern - 60gp Incense
I
Illusory Script - 10gp Ink & Lead
Invulnerability - 500gp Adamantine
L
Legend Lore - 250gp Incense
M
Magic Circle - 100gp Silver & Iron Powder
Magic Jar - 500gp Ornamental Container
Magic Mouth - 10gp Jade Dust
Mighty Fortress - 500gp Diamond
N
Nondetection - 25gp Diamond Dust
P
Planar Binding - 1,000gp Jewel
R
Raise Dead - 500gp Diamond
Reincarnate - 1,000gp Oils & Unguents
Resurreciton - 1,000gp Diamond
Revivify - 300gp Diamond
S
See Invisibility - 25gp Silver Powder
Sequester - 5,000gp Gem Powder
Simulacrum - 1,500gp Ruby Dust
Snare - 25ft Rope
Speak with Dead - 150gp Incense
Stoneskin - 100gp Diamond Dust
Symbol - 1,000gp Diamond & Opal Dust
T
Teleportation Circle - 50gp gems
True Resurrection - 25,000gp Diamond
True Seeing - 25gp Ointment for the Eyes