Scrolls that are not Spell Scrolls can be used by anyone. An example of this is a Scroll of Protection.
A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class’s spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible. Casting the spell by reading the scroll requires the spell’s normal casting time. Once the spell is cast, the words on the scroll fade, and it crumbles to dust. If the casting is interrupted, the scroll is not lost. If the spell cast requires concentration, the caster is responsible for maintaining concentration.
If the spell is on your class’s spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine whether you cast it successfully. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from the scroll with no other effect.
The level of the spell on the scroll determines the spell’s saving throw DC and attack bonus, as well as the scroll’s rarity, as shown in the Spell Scroll table.
Spell Level | Rarity | Save DC | Attack Bonus |
---|---|---|---|
Cantrip | Common | 13 | +5 |
1 | Common | 13 | +5 |
2 | Uncommon | 13 | +5 |
3 | Uncommon | 15 | +7 |
4 | Rare | 15 | +7 |
5 | Rare | 17 | +9 |
6 | Very Rare | 17 | +9 |
7 | Very Rare | 18 | +10 |
8 | Very Rare | 18 | +10 |
9 | Legendary | 19 | +11 |
A wizard spell on a spell scroll can be copied just as spells in spellbooks can be copied. When a spell is copied from a spell scroll, the copier must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell's level. If the check succeeds, the spell is successfully copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the spell scroll is destroyed.
For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.
Note: An Order of Scribes wizard may use their Wizardly Quill to copy a spell into their spellbook. The time they must spend equals 2 minutes per spell level.
With time and patience, a spellcaster can transfer a spell to a scroll, creating a spell scroll.
Resources. Scribing a spell scroll takes an amount of time and money related to the level of the spell the character wants to scribe, as shown in the Spell Scroll Costs table. In addition, the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill and must provide any material components required for the casting of the spell. Moreover, the character must have the spell prepared, or it must be among the character’s known spells, in order to scribe a scroll of that spell.
If the scribed spell is a cantrip, the version on the scroll works as if the caster were 1st level.
Spell Level | Time | Cost |
---|---|---|
Cantrip | 1 Day | 15 gp |
1 | 1 Day | 25 gp |
2 | 3 Days | 250 gp |
3 | 1 workweek | 500 gp |
4 | 2 workweeks | 2,500 gp |
5 | 4 workweeks | 5,000 gp |
6 | 8 workweeks | 15,000 gp |
7 | 16 workweeks | 25,000 gp |
8 | 32 workweeks | 50,000 gp |
9 | 48 workweeks | 250,000 gp |
Spell scrolls should typically sell for about twice the cost of scribing one.