#wizard spellbook

[royalmilkteehee]

Not my usual “art”, but this is page one of my D&D Wizard, Barbiel’s, old Academy notebook pages that she still keeps in her spellbook (1 of 3)

[sky-scribbles]

Thinking about Gale's spellbook.

Not the old one, the one he carried when he was Gale, the Wizard of Waterdeep - a gorgeous, leather-and-silver bound thing that bulged with a lifetime's worth of accumulated knowledge. There were spells in there penned over wine and cheese with Elminster; in a flow state that bordered on the spiritual after a night with Mystra, remembering her instruction, the feel of her soul against his. That spellbook was the testament to his success, the proof that he had excelled beyond the excellent -

And then Mystra cut him off from the Weave, and it all become meaningless.

His own runes, rendered incomprehensible; beautiful spell-glyphs that turned from condensed power and knowledge to worthless pieces of art. He has to start anew, from the ground up - reforging his connection to the Weave without Mystra's guidance (without her, without), relearning schoolboy spells. Humiliatingly easy magic, the kind he used to do like it was breathing, except this time he has to study and work and try and try, Tara urging him on with firm but gentle words.

He learns different spells, now. Mage Armour, Shield, Magic Missile. Not the kind of spells that he'll ever need on a day-to-day basis; spells that'll keep him alive long enough when he makes an exodus to the depths of the Underdark, or the centre of some desert wastes, and goes supernova.

The new spellbook is a plainer thing, small enough to fit in a robe pocket (because extradimensional storage spaces are no longer things he can make with a thought). And then he's snatched by a Nautiloid, and... honestly, he'd swear that the spine just wants to hold onto blood-spatters, no matter how many times he cleans them out. The pages get spotted from all the times he's had to flick them open in driving rain; the corners get creased from being shoved in and out of his robes.

And absolutely nothing can protect it from the unstoppable force of his friends.

Karlach nearly sends the whole thing up in flames one night by gesticulating a bit too wildly. Wyll laughs too hard one night and sprays wine all over Gale's new notes on Abjuration. Scratch picks up the entire thing and runs off with it when Gale's back is foolishly turned, and it's only a stern talking-to from Halsin that saves the whole thing from becoming a chew toy.

Smiley cat faces, doodled on the pages in Yenna's untidy hand. A helpful comment from Karlach on the Fireball page: 'AKA FUCK YEAH LET'S GO!!!!' A few lines of Wyll's perfect handwriting, a memento from a long discussion about how infernal energies could enhance fire magic; a few observations from Shadowheart on warding enchantments. Some terse comments on psionic magic from Lae'zel that Gale finds himself weaving into his Shields, and they do seem to hold up a little better now. (Other hands on his spellbook! Touching the pages he carries close to his heart! The man he was would never have believed it.)

He thinks of them all, as he writes new spells. Counterspell, because nothing will touch them. Spells that will carry his people from danger and shield them from harm. He watches Astarion pace before the fire one night and inscribes Sunbeam with a cold smile of promise to Cazador; he glowers at Mizora over the edge of the pages as he ponders what spells would be best suited to killing a devil.

A wizard's spellbook, Elminster told him once, is a reflection of their soul. Gale of Waterdeep's spellbook was a marvel; perfect and polished and resplendant. Untouched by any hands but his own.

Gale Dekarios's spellbook is battered and beloved, covered on every page with the fingerprints of his friends.

[radioactive-mouse]

god i do still think it’s so interesting that most wizards (and even gale itself at times) talk about magic as though it’s an exact science, like, fantasy equivalent of being a STEM major, but during the weave scene gale explicitly compares it more to music and art and poetry, like!!

i know he has a thing for the dramatics but this is fascinating!!!

[jhamkul]

Grimoire of Daemonic Studies Wondrous Item, Rare (requires attunement by a Warlock or Wizard)

In all my time making homebrew stuff, maybe because of my indifference for wizards, I hadn’t done any spellbook, so with this one, I tried to make it extra flavorful. This dark leather-bound notebook exudes an aura of otherworldly power and a faint smell of blood and smoke. Its pages are filled with cryptic symbols and unsettling sketches of abyssal and demonic beings.

—————

Thank you very much for checking out this new creation! If you want to see more of my content, feel free to visit my Instagram, where I ask for advice, post teasers, and you can vote for my future posts.

[satisfactuality]

i have no basis for this but; tiberia has a very classic high fantasy style spellbook, augefort also has a classic spellbook but it's all written in various codes only he knows and some that he doesn't know anymore, oisin's is full of chicken scratch writing and notes that are upside down or sideways depending on what direction he happened to open it to make them, ayda's is painstakingly copied every time she reincarnates and her old ones are categorized like library books, aelwyn's is incredibly neat and laid out like a planner or timetable but is full of scraps of paper and post-its and old receipts she stuck in as reminders and adiane's is bullet journal style and occasionally she'll add in pictures and stickers and notes from her friends

[emptyheadgamer]

cast something from my spellbook

[stellarmeals]

Youre the first ones to see this silly drawing because i like tumblr more than the other social medias.

[nailsofvecna]

Expunged from the wizard council's library of spells after it was discovered that the inventor of this spell is not a wizard at all, just a barbarian with quick reactions and a great throwing arm.

[y-rhywbeth2]

I am pondering the possibility of a wizard of thay oc, so do you have any interesting facts about them that probably didn’t make it into the wikia? (Especially anything pertaining to Bane worship 👉🏼👈🏼 sorry not sorry)

EDIT: Shit, I read in a rush and missed the 'Thay' part. I'll get back to you when I have time.

For generic wizard things for anybody who needs generic wizard shit, since I already typed it:

Random Torilian wizard things, that may or may not be interesting, mostly off the top of my head:

Like sorcerers, psionic classes, and bards, wizards have the ability to wield magic because of innate ability. On Toril the ability to wield arcane magic is called having 'The Gift.'

You generally get a heads-up you've got it, even if you don't realise it at the time, by Mystra manifesting in your dreams during the deities' usual ad-space airtime between your regular dreams.

You probably needed to seek out another wizard to teach you how to actually use it though, who will possibly be part of some official organisation or possibly a secret unofficial one, and the responsibilities owed by apprentice to master and vice versa will usually be agreed upon via formal legally binding contract. Universities are common in Lantan and Halruaa, but outside of Silverymoon (the most prestigious), and small ones in Waterdeep, Sembia, Chessenta, the Vilhon Reach, Impiltur and Tethyr, formal schools for magic aren't available. Evermeet has a university, but unless you're an elf, a harper or a half-elf with a well connected elven parent that's not an option. Also necromancy is forbidden in that case.

Wizards, as occultists and those with education and power available only to a select few are prone to be, are also very haughty, paranoid bastards who don't like to share their toys. The Church of Azuth and the Church of Mystra tend to have to prod/whack them with metaphorical sticks to make them function as a viable academic community.

'The trade of magic or lore will always take place very gingerly, in one of two ways: private deals between members (kept secret even from other members), and formal deals (known to other members and regulated by intricate, written guild rules that have been tested and refined and complained about and refined again for decades or longer). Because of suspicion and paranoia, private deals are rare without a master-apprentice relationship being involved, or some kind of agreement that involves hostages or collateral or third-party scrutinizers.'

Your apprenticeship will mostly involve chores, your teacher may be an asshole, and they are likely to hide things from you or keep your education incomplete. In light of this, followers of Azuth and Mystra redistribute lore and spells all over the place, hiding them in places where apprentices and people who are barred from learning may find them. They also have to play mediator when mages do exchange lore and spells and stuff, because mages don't trust each other to deal fairly.

Self-taught mages are called hedge-wizards.

Illusionists have their own secret language; ruathlek.

Mages usually have their own mage sigils, unique to themselves, which serve as signatures and turn up in some spells (explosive runes, for example).

There are mage fairs; if there's a big enough population of spellcasters in a region then the mages will gather and do their annual socialising, contract writing, squabbling and etc. Duelling, markets for magical items, and competitions are also held. (Sorcerers attending will be looked down upon).

Outside of cosmopolitan areas like Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep, or nations like Calimshan and Halruaa, being a mage is going to make people at least a bit wary of you in a negative way. Also depending on where you are (Cormyr, Amn) you might need a license to practice magic. Or else.)

Robes (as opposed to something like the regular tunic and trousers worn by everyone else) are not mandatory unless they're some kind of uniform, and wearing them may earn you an eyeroll - especially in the Dales. Familiars are not actually that common.

Pretty much all arcane spellcasters make offerings to Mystra, regardless of who else they worship and whether they personally care for her faith or not; She's the Weave; you use the Weave; pay your taxes, just in case. Likewise a mage is liable to pray to the other gods who are involved with knowledge and magic when certain aspects come up. Off the top of my head: Azuth (patron of wizards), Savras (divination), Selûne (more divination; particularly popular with female diviners) Leira (illusion), Velsharoon (necromancy), Myrkul (more necromancy), Oghma (knowledge). You want to use your arcane power and knowledge to control the world around you and rule? You're also going to worship Bane, most likely. Other deities may be involved if you're not human.

A wizard on Toril can expect the Church of Mystra to be on their back about wielding magic sensibly, using it sparingly, not hording it and trying to keep knowledge and use of the magic from being widely available to the average joe*, and not scaring the normies by being an idiot/evil bastard with it. * That doesn't mean teaching every irresponsible twelve year old fireball, or giving a horrified crowd a detailed explanation of black necromancy. Demonstrate how it can be useful and non-destructive to them. But, while Mystrans will probably make Mystra's judgements sound more severe then they actually are to try and make you behave, you can ignore them; Mystra will only cut you off from the Weave when you do really stupid shit that threatens mass destruction. Think Karsus-tier.

Wizard-related things regarding Bane:

It's already on my blog that wizards make up a chunk of Bane's clergy, originally forming the reformist faction after Fzoul reinterpreted the doctrine to mean 'support wannabe tyrants and spread Bane's power through them instead of doing it directly yourself,' decided the High Imperceptor and the orthodoxy were corrupt and fucked off to make the Zhentarim a Banite faction - enter Manshoon, Toril's resident evil wizard posterboys and all around problem for centuries. There are still wizards who want to be tyrants, playing up the evil advisor stereotype and such.

Banite wizards are usually more loyal to the power and aid Bane can offer than the deity himself (Manshoon is described as 'cleaving' to Mystra and offering Bane lip service; the arcane clergy largely ditched Bane for Cyric when the first god died, while the clerics usually stuck with Bane; etc).

We've had groups like the Zhent reformers and the Brotherhood of the Blackhand, who enjoyed stealing and hoarding political power and magical artefacts and such. You can probably get yourself initiated into an evil wizard community that sacrifices babies to Bane every tenday as an apprentice. The contract will be stupidly long and full of clauses in the standard lawful evil fashion, and the chores will suck though.

Obviously Bane appeals to your standard hubristic evil mage who wants power and to control the flow of knowledge and horde magic to keep themself in power. Bane's standard avatar is a wizard, so he's very into that aspect of it | Examples: Cleric 36/Fighter 35/Mage 30/Thief 10 (2e) vs Fighter 15/Blackguard 10/Cleric 10/Wizard 10/Rogue 20 (3e).

Bane has his own liches, but Baneliches were clerics so not really applicable.

[ketunhanska]

mmm,,bnuuy :3 (any pronouns for oc. +she still needs a name so suggestions are most welcome!)

[bugwizard4lyfe]

working on a new spellbook with only dirt-related spells in it.

so far i’ve got Eat Dirt (puts dirt in the target’s mouth) and Dirt Organs (turns the target’s organs into dirt) and Dirt For Brains (makes the target’s brains into dirt) unfortunakty i have over-tested Dirt For Brains and i can’t think of anything else

[strikeslip]

Ok, so the original Golden Stone Enclaves. El cites them as having been built "five thousand years ago," with some reference to the Mahābhārata, which means that date is probably coming from the tradition that argues the Kurukshetra War (of the relevant poem) kicked off the Kali Yuga. Historical evidence points more at ~1000 BCE instead of ~3000 BCE, which is also consistent with the sutras being written in Vedic Sanskrit. Shout out to El for being a good desi girl I guess? And an unreliable narrator, which, yes, she is, but not usually around historical dates. *shakes fist*

[wizardnuke]

the other day my dm told me it's cool how i approach wizard magic as if it's a form of math (i asked him if i recognized the way that some runes were ordered and if i could extrapolate a spell 'formula' from it) and i immediately launched into a very specific dnd headcanon about how wizards use the weave as if it's a measurable thing and cited essek's weave/weather vane as inspiration. so many spells raise thee questions of 1. how the fuck are they changing physics 2. WHAT HAPPENED TO ENTROPY? WHAT IS THE ENTROPY SITUATION IN BASICALLY ALL MAGIC SYSTEMS. solution to both is wizards must be able to do something w the weave that lets them break the laws of nature . and this is a silly thing to think so hard about but it's fun. for me.

[cashmerecrow]

[tired-wizard-librarian]

Quick update

The beast between the shelves is no longer pacified...

Further updates to follow.

[fishsticxz-art]

it is done