Scrolls.

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Scrolls.

Topic Started: Nov 2 2009, 08:32 AM (254 Views)

Nov 2 2009, 08:32 AM Post #1

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Ok. I've tried bringing this up once before, but I've refined the idea somewhat now. Simply put, it's so difficult to set up a wizard or cleric type character that hardly anyone bothers. This is due to the sheer cost of magic. It's also impractical to play certain types of rogue or bard for the same reason. My solution is this: Scrolls.

The first thing to note is that in order to use scrolls, a character must first purchase this requisite ability:

Use Scroll: This ability permits a character to be able to use scrolls. It also reduces a character's available spell slots by three if they are using any fighter abilities. Note that the character must physically read the scroll out in their post in order for the casting to work.
Price: 50G

Optional (Tell me whether you think this is necessary or not): The poster must pick one spell from the scoll list, for each scroll, and declare their choices in their first post in a thread (In which case, the prices listed below would all be reduced).

Basically, each scroll gives you a small selection of spells to choose from, without the expense of purchasing all of them individually. The drawback is that you can only use the scroll once, after which it disintegrates. You can, of course, re-use your scrolls if you begin another thread, assuming your character has had a chance to re-stock. The idea is that it gives casters just starting out a bit of versatility without having to make hundreds of posts just to collect a few spells.

A list of suggestions follows, with spells sorted into broad categories:

Simple Scrolls
Simple Red Scroll	Simple Green Scroll	Simple White Scroll	Simple Black Scroll	Simple Blue Scroll	Simple Yellow Scroll
Hold Portal Illusion Incognito Stealth Door	Far Sight Infravision Empathy Find Aura Flight	Light Heal Luck Resist Fear Empathy Find Aura Identify Alignment	Magic Missile Magic Whip Explosive Runes Grease Web Levitate	Growth Crush Burning Hands Bubble Rain Wind Arrow	Force Field Magnetise Frigid Lance Snow Shadow Veil Flash
Price: 115G	Price: 110G	Price: 115G	Price: 120G	Price: 135G	Price: 170G

Standard Scrolls
Standard Red Scroll	Standard Green Scroll	Standard White Scroll	Standard Black Scroll	Standard Blue Scroll	Standard Yellow Scroll
Displacement Invisibility Spider Climb Hypnotise Hypnotic Lure Mirror Speed Charm	Copy Eyes Hold Person Polymorph Other Night Sight See Invisibility Teleport Phantom Blade	Cure Lunar Ray Protection from Energy Ethereal Sight Blade Barrier Wall Enchanted Blade Strength	Blind Blur Fatigue Poison Silence Sleep Weaken Horror	Stone Skin Wood Fireball Acid Splash Aqua Blade Whirlpool Air Cutter	Shocking Grasp Ice Ball Curse Shadow Spew Bless Guardian Angel Ring of Light
Price: 230G	Price: 245G	Price: 240G	Price: 215G	Price: 220G	Price: 210G

High Scrolls
High Blue Scroll	High Yellow Scroll	High Scroll: Life Scroll	High Scroll: Death Scroll	High Scroll: Altering Scroll	High Scroll: Force Scroll
Quake Asphyxiation Gale Hydrocannon Flamethrower Inferno	Ice Storm Lightning Bomb Crushing Darkness Eclipse Holy Bolt Shiver	Greater Heal Revive	Create Undead Toxic Cloud	Polymorph Self Draconian Breath	Break Slow Time
Price: 215G	Price: 230G	Price: 315G	Price: 225G	Price: 215G	Price: 245G

Miscellaneous Scrolls
Scroll of Dispel
Dispel
Price: 490G

The following spells are considered to be too complicated or unsuitable (Most psychic spells) for being scribed onto scrolls. The staff may wish to give out scrolls featuring these spells as unique or competition items.

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Exodus

Nov 2 2009, 09:29 AM Post #2

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I think it sounds like a neat idea. This would also bring up that they could have multiples of the same scroll so that they could use the set of spells more than once per thread. It also doesn't replace spells because of the limits on use. Another great idea LJ.

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Nov 4 2009, 04:59 AM Post #3

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More input plx

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Nay�la

Nov 4 2009, 07:00 AM Post #4

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I think it actually tackles the problem it is meant to fix quite well.

At first I was a bit iffy about the requirement to buy something to use them, because in my experience these sorts of scrolls are meant for anyone's use so simply reading them was suffice activate them so that aspect came across as having to buy the ability to read. I've since found out that this isn't always the case e.g. limits imposed to stop an opponent stealing your scrolls and using them against you. I would however, feel it would be better without that limit, if only to enable that possibility in roleplay

Just out of curiosity, is it quite common to use the same spell multiple times in a topic? In my experience the "big" spells like the ones in the "High Scrolls" category would only be used once anyway so this might devalue being a "true" mage at that level. Might be worth considering omitting this level of scrolls, or make them rare?

Hope my input has been helpful

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Nov 4 2009, 07:24 AM Post #5

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The ability represents the character's knowledge of how magic works, which I imagine would be required for any kind of non-natural casting. As an analogy, you could, for instance, give me a university-level maths or engineering textbook. I could read it, but it's unlikely I'd understand or be able to make use of it, without the required prior knowledge. The other reason I thought that could make the idea plausible is that magic has its own written language, which one would need to know in order to speak the words. You can use the scrolls of others, but you still need to know how to do it.

As for the high level scrolls, they are not as versatile as the spells to which they are related. For instance, Greater Heal has been used as as sort of auto-regeneration spell, which just amounts to repeatedly casting the spell on yourself. The scroll can't do this, being a one-use item. Attacking spells such as Toxic Cloud could concievably be used multiple times in a single battle. Similarly for spells which only stay in effect for a certain amount of time such as Break and Slow Time, once the spell wears out, you'll have to have another scroll if you want to recast. Polymorph Self is, again, something that is often used multiple times as a spell, but as a scroll, is only good for one transformation and back. As for spells such as Revive and Draconian Breath, though they will often only be needed once within a short amount of time, there are still situations where the scrolls will be considerably less useful; particularly, when the character is part of a group, or fighting in a war. These can be cast multiple times on multiple characters, greatly increasing their usefulness when taken as spells rather than scrolls.

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Renegade

Nov 4 2009, 10:19 AM Post #6

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I like it, providing we make sure it is well documented and known that the conditions/requirements of using scrolls (polymorph self only once, greater heal not used to auto regenerate, etc) so that people don't try and use scrolls as a simple way to do the same magnitude capability cheaply.

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Asche

Nov 4 2009, 11:14 AM Post #7

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Quote:

I like it, providing we make sure it is well documented and known that the conditions/requirements of using scrolls (polymorph self only once, greater heal not used to auto regenerate, etc) so that people don't try and use scrolls as a simple way to do the same magnitude capability cheaply.

What's wrong with them having the same magnitude? If anything, you'd think a single use object should have an even greater magnitude than something that can be used repeatedly.

What you want to limit is the frequency and versatility with which they can be used, or at least that's what the examples seem to imply. Also, as LJ just said recently, the polymorph self scroll actually takes effect twice. Assuming that the second transformation reverts back to the user's origional form.

The only one transformation was actually my concern about using it ie: What if they transformed into something without eyes to read a second one with.

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Onir

Nov 4 2009, 11:28 AM Post #8

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Asche
Nov 4 2009, 11:14 AM
What's wrong with them having the same magnitude? If anything, you'd think a single use object should have an even greater magnitude than something that can be used repeatedly.

It's much cheaper than buying the spell itself, therefore giving it greater magnitude would force the price to be driven up as it's much more powerful than the original spell.

And it also seems to make much more sense for scrolls to be of less magnitude. Here is an example to illustrate my point:

If a group of actors are reading a play for the first time ever, while trying to act it out at the same time, they obviously wouldn't be as good as if they had actually rehearsed and knew the play by heart.

If an inexperienced Wizard is reading a spell from a scroll, it wouldn't be as potent as Mr. Sorcerer casting a spell that he actually Knows.

Edited by Onir, Nov 4 2009, 11:29 AM.

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Renegade

Nov 4 2009, 11:52 AM Post #9

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Actually I was only referring to what LJ said about this sort of thing.

Quote:

For instance, Greater Heal has been used as as sort of auto-regeneration spell, which just amounts to repeatedly casting the spell on yourself. The scroll can't do this, being a one-use item.

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Ashkiera

Nov 6 2009, 09:59 PM Post #10

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Renegade
Nov 4 2009, 11:52 AM
Actually I was only referring to what LJ said about this sort of thing.

Quote:

For instance, Greater Heal has been used as as sort of auto-regeneration spell, which just amounts to repeatedly casting the spell on yourself. The scroll can't do this, being a one-use item.

That's not magnitude.

On another note, it would probably be a good idea to disallow the use of copy on scrolls. It kind of defeats the purpose of them.

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Nay�la

Nov 6 2009, 10:02 PM Post #11

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Quote:

Simply put, it's so difficult to set up a wizard or cleric type character that hardly anyone bothers. This is due to the sheer cost of magic. It's also impractical to play certain types of rogue or bard for the same reason. My solution is this: Scrolls.

How does it defeat the purpose of them?

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Xue Jian

Nov 6 2009, 10:04 PM Post #12

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I like this idea.

I too think that scrolls should be more limited / have less utility than the actual spells, so we'll have to make sure that is made clear in the shop description.

I agree that the Copy spell should not be allowed to work on scrolls. They're supposed to be a way to get started / add flexibility, not a cheap replacement for the regular spells.

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Ramus

Nov 7 2009, 08:20 AM Post #13

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The only thing that have noticed was that there are not elementally specific scrolls. If someone wanted to specify in Ice and Water spells they wouldn't be able to use the scrolls for it.

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