Books [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Books [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sunblast
04-17-07, 09:34 PM Has anyone created the stats for books before? Prices, weights, possible benefits? I ask because the character I'm planning is going to be a big fan of books, so I'd love for there to be more of a reason for him to be risking encumberance just for a little roleplay. Would it be reasonable to receive a bonus to an appropriate knowledge skill if you take a little time to study it? If so, what bonus, price, and weight would be appropriate for, say, a history textbook or the like?

Also, what's the best way to generate values for books on a bookshelf? Our DM hasn't decided how much the books are worth in the now-deceased wizard's dungeon. If there's a formula one could use based on the approximate surface area of the walls covered in books (especially if it takes into account the occasional rare tomb/grimoire), that would be a perfect solution to our little problem.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me.
draconic_swine
04-18-07, 12:03 AM Using books to gain a bonus to knowledge checks is a great idea. I'd suggest a +2 bonus to your knowledge check (since you get a +2 is the "standard" bonus given to skill checks), but the time for the check is a bit more tricky. 1d4 hours, maybe? Or are you thinking of doing something more like "oh crap, this is bad, let me whip out a book and flip madly through its pages, hoping I find the information I need" instead of a "well, this is an interesting problem, let me do some research first"?

If you want a quick bonus to knowledge (as in a few rounds or less), I'm thinking there needs to be some sort of check involved to see if you find the information quickly enough, or else pretty much everyone will carry around a book related to their knowledge skill for a "free" +2 bonus.

I'd also probably allow you to get a bigger bonus to the knowledge check, but that would require much longer to research. Something like 1d4 days for a +4 bonus, 2d6 for a +6 bonus, etc.

As for what price and weigh to assign to books, I'm going to be an ass and tell you to weigh a book that you deem appropriately sized ;) Price is much trickier. Would books be hard to come by in D&D, like they were in the Middle Ages? Maybe start at 50 gp for a small book, and increase the price as the book increases in size/rarity?
Leress
04-18-07, 03:38 AM Go to this link
http://www.bastionpress.com/downloads.htm

and download Ink and Quill, I think it may have what you need.
Davith Bothain
04-18-07, 09:47 AM I might knock the benefit of a single tome (or small set of tomes) down to +1. The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook garners a +2 bonus to a specific set of Knowledge checks made within a library devoted to that one area of information (say, Knowledge (arcana) or (geography)). If a general-purpose library is established, it confers +1 to all Knowledge checks instead. I would rule that a small selection of books (or a single really good book) devoted to a single topic would be enough to grant +1 to that specific field of Knowledge.

It also provides for pricing information on the tomes, though this figure details how much to fill a library. The Arms and Equipment Guide gives an entry on approximate cost and weight of a holy textbook, but both, I believe, are presented as variable based upon content and quality.
Leaf_Mage22
04-18-07, 10:04 AM With books the possibilites are endless, I mean books themselves are vaults of power,knowledge,creation,ideas, and wisdom. You can have the DM value the books by Material,contents,rarity, and lore. What materials is the book made out of Dragon hide, or it has gems set into it, or maybe the pages are ancient papyrus that hasn't been used for centuries. Contents is probably most important, what inside spells, a journal, secrets of the world, or knowledge that even the Gods would kill for. Rarity usually most books in the D&D world are rare enough that only one copy should exist, unless its a widely used textbook or history book that schools and universities had copies made; but first editions make books that much rare and wanted. Lore should make books valuable as well, maybe you stumbled upon a book bards would tell tales of, or you remember seeing this book in an illustration in one of the many text books at the magic school library. The ideas are endless, it just boils down to how vast is the DM's world, are they willing to let imagination flow as an endless river, or let is dry to a small puddle.

The power is yours............
Sunblast
04-18-07, 10:00 PM Using books to gain a bonus to knowledge checks is a great idea. I'd suggest a +2 bonus to your knowledge check (since you get a +2 is the "standard" bonus given to skill checks), but the time for the check is a bit more tricky. 1d4 hours, maybe? Or are you thinking of doing something more like "oh crap, this is bad, let me whip out a book and flip madly through its pages, hoping I find the information I need" instead of a "well, this is an interesting problem, let me do some research first"?

If you want a quick bonus to knowledge (as in a few rounds or less), I'm thinking there needs to be some sort of check involved to see if you find the information quickly enough, or else pretty much everyone will carry around a book related to their knowledge skill for a "free" +2 bonus.

I'd also probably allow you to get a bigger bonus to the knowledge check, but that would require much longer to research. Something like 1d4 days for a +4 bonus, 2d6 for a +6 bonus, etc.

As for what price and weigh to assign to books, I'm going to be an ass and tell you to weigh a book that you deem appropriately sized ;) Price is much trickier. Would books be hard to come by in D&D, like they were in the Middle Ages? Maybe start at 50 gp for a small book, and increase the price as the book increases in size/rarity?
Ah, this is exactly what I had in mind! I was picturing my character taking his time to research a given topic, but I can also see him flipping through a book to find some vital bit of info (Trolls dislike fire, etc.). Actually, that second one makes me think of how I must look when I start searching through my PHB for that obscure rule. ;)
If a check is required for quick research (which I totally agree with), I wonder what it should be? Not gather information... Search, perhaps?
Go to this link
http://www.bastionpress.com/downloads.htm

and download Ink and Quill, I think it may have what you need.
It's the strangest thing... I checked that link earler today at school. It didn't seem to cover what I'm looking for, but I didn't have much time to look at it. Now, however, it keeps taking me to someone's Yahoo! blog or something. Weird. :confused:
I might knock the benefit of a single tome (or small set of tomes) down to +1. The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook garners a +2 bonus to a specific set of Knowledge checks made within a library devoted to that one area of information (say, Knowledge (arcana) or (geography)). If a general-purpose library is established, it confers +1 to all Knowledge checks instead. I would rule that a small selection of books (or a single really good book) devoted to a single topic would be enough to grant +1 to that specific field of Knowledge.

It also provides for pricing information on the tomes, though this figure details how much to fill a library. The Arms and Equipment Guide gives an entry on approximate cost and weight of a holy textbook, but both, I believe, are presented as variable based upon content and quality.
Whoa, such a little bonus. And for an entire library, no less! A tad disappointing, I fear. Then again, I guess the books of those times lacked the compressed information that our modern textbooks have. Or not. I'm no expert on the subject. ;)
I tried to find books in the Arms and Equipment Guide, but I only found the false book. I Probably overlooked it, though. There's so much stuff to search through in that one.
Could you mayhaps help us price the library we've recently taken? It's a small one, to be sure, but it probably has a few tomes of value. The room in question is 45' by 25' and the bookshelves reach 10' high. The exceptions would be the two doors, where there are no books, and there are two spots where the books only go 5' high (space for two gargoyles to perch). That's a total of 1,250 square feet of bookshelves.
With books the possibilites are endless, I mean books themselves are vaults of power,knowledge,creation,ideas, and wisdom. You can have the DM value the books by Material,contents,rarity, and lore. What materials is the book made out of Dragon hide, or it has gems set into it, or maybe the pages are ancient papyrus that hasn't been used for centuries. Contents is probably most important, what inside spells, a journal, secrets of the world, or knowledge that even the Gods would kill for. Rarity usually most books in the D&D world are rare enough that only one copy should exist, unless its a widely used textbook or history book that schools and universities had copies made; but first editions make books that much rare and wanted. Lore should make books valuable as well, maybe you stumbled upon a book bards would tell tales of, or you remember seeing this book in an illustration in one of the many text books at the magic school library. The ideas are endless, it just boils down to how vast is the DM's world, are they willing to let imagination flow as an endless river, or let is dry to a small puddle.

The power is yours............
All too true. I think I'm gonna go bug my Dm. :D
Davith Bothain
04-19-07, 09:48 AM I'm going to assume your math is off, since the area you presented exceeds the bounds of the dimensions of the room. I'm also assuming your library is designed for maximum storage space for its layout. From the description of the size of the shelves and the room, I'd say you have two stronghold spaces' worth of fancy library space, there, warranting you six book lots. If we're going by the SBG, that equates to 1000 gp for each +2 bonus of a single type (one lot), 3000 gp for a general bonus of +1 (one lot), 5000 for a +4 bonus in a single field for an "extended lot" (three lots), and 20000 gp for a +6 bonus in a single field for a "master lot" (six lots). The rules don't specify about how to deal with better-than-average general lots, but I'd simply multiply the corresponding single-subject prices by three for a similar bonus (+2 to all Knowledge checks would cost 15000, +3 would cost 60000).

...Of course, this is all only useful if you're filling the place yourself. I'd personally say that all but the greatest compilations of the greatest tomes in existence would garner only the lower or lowest bonuses. Just one good book may grant you that bonus, yes, but you still have the rest that only touch it on its surface. Whether or not Dzadsiz's Guide to the Oerth would grant a bonus over A Visit to the Four Continents is up to its contents and, ultimately, DM approval.

Oh, and the entry for "Holy text" in the AEG is located in the same section as "Book, false": under "h" for "holy". (Not intended to be sarcastic.)
Raveni
04-19-07, 10:47 AM We've always just used the entry in the PHB for Tool, Masterwork... Anything more than a +2 would be very rare, expensive, large, or all of the above.

Tool, Masterwork: Knowledge (Arcana) - A transcribed copy of a tome full of ancient mysteries. For when you have time to look up an obscure magical tradition, not when trying to figure out the vulnerablities of an attacking Dragon.
:)
Sunblast
04-19-07, 04:34 PM I'm going to assume your math is off, since the area you presented exceeds the bounds of the dimensions of the room.
Wha? Seriously? All I did was take the surface area of the four walls. That means two walls are 45' by 10' (2*45*10=900) and the other two are 25' by 10' (2*25*10=500). I added them together (900+500=1,400) and subtracted 150 square feet for the doors (50 square feet each) and the two gargoyle perches (25 square feet each) for my total (1,400-150=1,250). What did I do wrong? :confused:
I'm also assuming your library is designed for maximum storage space for its layout.
Nah, I don't think so. It is actually a dining room as well. No shelves in the middle of the room, if that's what you were thinking; actually, there's a big table and some chairs there. The shelves are just along the walls.
Oh, and the entry for "Holy text" in the AEG is located in the same section as "Book, false": under "h" for "holy". (Not intended to be sarcastic.)
Hammock, heat mat... Holy text! Ah, thank you! No sarcasm taken, by the way, but it's always good to specify. After all, you can't convey that sort of stuff through words.
We've always just used the entry in the PHB for Tool, Masterwork... Anything more than a +2 would be very rare, expensive, large, or all of the above.

Tool, Masterwork: Knowledge (Arcana) - A transcribed copy of a tome full of ancient mysteries. For when you have time to look up an obscure magical tradition, not when trying to figure out the vulnerablities of an attacking Dragon.
:)
Oh! That's an interesting take on the matter. And the price feels about right, as does the weight. That might just be the thing I'm looking for. :D
abraham
04-19-07, 05:26 PM I think that bluetrolls website(you can get there by way of www.fraternityofshadows.com)has a netbook on books.
NoldorForce
04-19-07, 06:01 PM Considering the DMG guidelines on magic items, requiring thousands of GP for small (+5 or less) bonuses to Knowledge skills are inappropriate.

I prefer the Arcana Evolved rules for books that give bonuses to Knowledge skills. The price, in keeping with the scaling of magic item modifiers, is 10 gp times the square of the bonus. The maximum bonus is +5 for books or +10 for libraries. There is of course one big balancing factor: it takes at least an hour to use them, and likely longer for more difficult questions.

The weight for books is half the bonus, rounded up. That of libraries is unspecified.
draconic_swine
04-19-07, 06:18 PM Those Arcana Evolved rules seem really good. The only thing I'd do is increase the weight a bit, but other than that I like. I might actually decide to introduce books into my campaign now. It seems pretty cool.
Sunblast
04-19-07, 08:56 PM Those Arcana Evolved rules seem really good.
Oooh, I second that. My DM has approved that one. ^_^ Now she just has to price that library. My bookworm character is gonna rock! :D
Leress
04-20-07, 01:30 AM here is the link to Ink and Quill
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:RvPpo3W_D74J:www.bastionp ress.com/Downloads/Ink_and_Quill.pdf+ink+and+quill+bastion+ press&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Davith Bothain
04-20-07, 08:59 AM Well, it might be a moot point by now, but that now sounds like a basic library type (half the capacity). Also, your "math error" was a misunderstanding on my part: here I thought you were taking the area of the floor and divvying it up, the total bounds of which would be greater than the amount you provided. My bad. I must, however, take note that you're assuming every square inch of the walls are occupied by books. Remember to factor in space for the shelves and room between them (not to mention places where no books reside, so long as the place isn't brimming with written word).
Sunblast
04-20-07, 09:50 AM here is the link to Ink and Quill
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:RvPpo3W_D74J:www.bastionp ress.com/Downloads/Ink_and_Quill.pdf+ink+and+quill+bastion+ press&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Thanks. I swear, each time I've tried clicking the last link, it took me somewhere else. This time, it's sending me here: http://www.dragonwing.net/
Last time, like I said, it was some sort of Myspace-like page. Weird, huh?
Well, it might be a moot point by now, but that now sounds like a basic library type (half the capacity). Also, your "math error" was a misunderstanding on my part: here I thought you were taking the area of the floor and divvying it up, the total bounds of which would be greater than the amount you provided. My bad. I must, however, take note that you're assuming every square inch of the walls are occupied by books. Remember to factor in space for the shelves and room between them (not to mention places where no books reside, so long as the place isn't brimming with written word).
Cool, got the surface area thing cleared up. :) I was thinking of space for the shelves, but I had forgotten about possible spaces between books. Ah, well. It shouldn't matter for this particular library, though. Our DM is going to simply roll up the treasure, then augment it by giving the books in the library an arbitrary value. I still intend to give it the once-over. Who knows when you'll find something important to your character?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sunblast 04-17-07, 09:34 PM	Has anyone created the stats for books before? Prices, weights, possible benefits? I ask because the character I'm planning is going to be a big fan of books, so I'd love for there to be more of a reason for him to be risking encumberance just for a little roleplay. Would it be reasonable to receive a bonus to an appropriate knowledge skill if you take a little time to study it? If so, what bonus, price, and weight would be appropriate for, say, a history textbook or the like? Also, what's the best way to generate values for books on a bookshelf? Our DM hasn't decided how much the books are worth in the now-deceased wizard's dungeon. If there's a formula one could use based on the approximate surface area of the walls covered in books (especially if it takes into account the occasional rare tomb/grimoire), that would be a perfect solution to our little problem. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me.
draconic_swine 04-18-07, 12:03 AM	Using books to gain a bonus to knowledge checks is a great idea. I'd suggest a +2 bonus to your knowledge check (since you get a +2 is the "standard" bonus given to skill checks), but the time for the check is a bit more tricky. 1d4 hours, maybe? Or are you thinking of doing something more like "oh crap, this is bad, let me whip out a book and flip madly through its pages, hoping I find the information I need" instead of a "well, this is an interesting problem, let me do some research first"? If you want a quick bonus to knowledge (as in a few rounds or less), I'm thinking there needs to be some sort of check involved to see if you find the information quickly enough, or else pretty much everyone will carry around a book related to their knowledge skill for a "free" +2 bonus. I'd also probably allow you to get a bigger bonus to the knowledge check, but that would require much longer to research. Something like 1d4 days for a +4 bonus, 2d6 for a +6 bonus, etc. As for what price and weigh to assign to books, I'm going to be an ass and tell you to weigh a book that you deem appropriately sized ;) Price is much trickier. Would books be hard to come by in D&D, like they were in the Middle Ages? Maybe start at 50 gp for a small book, and increase the price as the book increases in size/rarity?
Leress 04-18-07, 03:38 AM	Go to this link http://www.bastionpress.com/downloads.htm and download Ink and Quill, I think it may have what you need.
Davith Bothain 04-18-07, 09:47 AM	I might knock the benefit of a single tome (or small set of tomes) down to +1. The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook garners a +2 bonus to a specific set of Knowledge checks made within a library devoted to that one area of information (say, Knowledge (arcana) or (geography)). If a general-purpose library is established, it confers +1 to all Knowledge checks instead. I would rule that a small selection of books (or a single really good book) devoted to a single topic would be enough to grant +1 to that specific field of Knowledge. It also provides for pricing information on the tomes, though this figure details how much to fill a library. The Arms and Equipment Guide gives an entry on approximate cost and weight of a holy textbook, but both, I believe, are presented as variable based upon content and quality.
Leaf_Mage22 04-18-07, 10:04 AM	With books the possibilites are endless, I mean books themselves are vaults of power,knowledge,creation,ideas, and wisdom. You can have the DM value the books by Material,contents,rarity, and lore. What materials is the book made out of Dragon hide, or it has gems set into it, or maybe the pages are ancient papyrus that hasn't been used for centuries. Contents is probably most important, what inside spells, a journal, secrets of the world, or knowledge that even the Gods would kill for. Rarity usually most books in the D&D world are rare enough that only one copy should exist, unless its a widely used textbook or history book that schools and universities had copies made; but first editions make books that much rare and wanted. Lore should make books valuable as well, maybe you stumbled upon a book bards would tell tales of, or you remember seeing this book in an illustration in one of the many text books at the magic school library. The ideas are endless, it just boils down to how vast is the DM's world, are they willing to let imagination flow as an endless river, or let is dry to a small puddle. The power is yours............
Sunblast 04-18-07, 10:00 PM	Using books to gain a bonus to knowledge checks is a great idea. I'd suggest a +2 bonus to your knowledge check (since you get a +2 is the "standard" bonus given to skill checks), but the time for the check is a bit more tricky. 1d4 hours, maybe? Or are you thinking of doing something more like "oh crap, this is bad, let me whip out a book and flip madly through its pages, hoping I find the information I need" instead of a "well, this is an interesting problem, let me do some research first"? If you want a quick bonus to knowledge (as in a few rounds or less), I'm thinking there needs to be some sort of check involved to see if you find the information quickly enough, or else pretty much everyone will carry around a book related to their knowledge skill for a "free" +2 bonus. I'd also probably allow you to get a bigger bonus to the knowledge check, but that would require much longer to research. Something like 1d4 days for a +4 bonus, 2d6 for a +6 bonus, etc. As for what price and weigh to assign to books, I'm going to be an ass and tell you to weigh a book that you deem appropriately sized ;) Price is much trickier. Would books be hard to come by in D&D, like they were in the Middle Ages? Maybe start at 50 gp for a small book, and increase the price as the book increases in size/rarity? Ah, this is exactly what I had in mind! I was picturing my character taking his time to research a given topic, but I can also see him flipping through a book to find some vital bit of info (Trolls dislike fire, etc.). Actually, that second one makes me think of how I must look when I start searching through my PHB for that obscure rule. ;) If a check is required for quick research (which I totally agree with), I wonder what it should be? Not gather information... Search, perhaps? Go to this link http://www.bastionpress.com/downloads.htm and download Ink and Quill, I think it may have what you need. It's the strangest thing... I checked that link earler today at school. It didn't seem to cover what I'm looking for, but I didn't have much time to look at it. Now, however, it keeps taking me to someone's Yahoo! blog or something. Weird. :confused: I might knock the benefit of a single tome (or small set of tomes) down to +1. The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook garners a +2 bonus to a specific set of Knowledge checks made within a library devoted to that one area of information (say, Knowledge (arcana) or (geography)). If a general-purpose library is established, it confers +1 to all Knowledge checks instead. I would rule that a small selection of books (or a single really good book) devoted to a single topic would be enough to grant +1 to that specific field of Knowledge. It also provides for pricing information on the tomes, though this figure details how much to fill a library. The Arms and Equipment Guide gives an entry on approximate cost and weight of a holy textbook, but both, I believe, are presented as variable based upon content and quality. Whoa, such a little bonus. And for an entire library, no less! A tad disappointing, I fear. Then again, I guess the books of those times lacked the compressed information that our modern textbooks have. Or not. I'm no expert on the subject. ;) I tried to find books in the Arms and Equipment Guide, but I only found the false book. I Probably overlooked it, though. There's so much stuff to search through in that one. Could you mayhaps help us price the library we've recently taken? It's a small one, to be sure, but it probably has a few tomes of value. The room in question is 45' by 25' and the bookshelves reach 10' high. The exceptions would be the two doors, where there are no books, and there are two spots where the books only go 5' high (space for two gargoyles to perch). That's a total of 1,250 square feet of bookshelves. With books the possibilites are endless, I mean books themselves are vaults of power,knowledge,creation,ideas, and wisdom. You can have the DM value the books by Material,contents,rarity, and lore. What materials is the book made out of Dragon hide, or it has gems set into it, or maybe the pages are ancient papyrus that hasn't been used for centuries. Contents is probably most important, what inside spells, a journal, secrets of the world, or knowledge that even the Gods would kill for. Rarity usually most books in the D&D world are rare enough that only one copy should exist, unless its a widely used textbook or history book that schools and universities had copies made; but first editions make books that much rare and wanted. Lore should make books valuable as well, maybe you stumbled upon a book bards would tell tales of, or you remember seeing this book in an illustration in one of the many text books at the magic school library. The ideas are endless, it just boils down to how vast is the DM's world, are they willing to let imagination flow as an endless river, or let is dry to a small puddle. The power is yours............ All too true. I think I'm gonna go bug my Dm. :D
Davith Bothain 04-19-07, 09:48 AM	I'm going to assume your math is off, since the area you presented exceeds the bounds of the dimensions of the room. I'm also assuming your library is designed for maximum storage space for its layout. From the description of the size of the shelves and the room, I'd say you have two stronghold spaces' worth of fancy library space, there, warranting you six book lots. If we're going by the SBG, that equates to 1000 gp for each +2 bonus of a single type (one lot), 3000 gp for a general bonus of +1 (one lot), 5000 for a +4 bonus in a single field for an "extended lot" (three lots), and 20000 gp for a +6 bonus in a single field for a "master lot" (six lots). The rules don't specify about how to deal with better-than-average general lots, but I'd simply multiply the corresponding single-subject prices by three for a similar bonus (+2 to all Knowledge checks would cost 15000, +3 would cost 60000). ...Of course, this is all only useful if you're filling the place yourself. I'd personally say that all but the greatest compilations of the greatest tomes in existence would garner only the lower or lowest bonuses. Just one good book may grant you that bonus, yes, but you still have the rest that only touch it on its surface. Whether or not Dzadsiz's Guide to the Oerth would grant a bonus over A Visit to the Four Continents is up to its contents and, ultimately, DM approval. Oh, and the entry for "Holy text" in the AEG is located in the same section as "Book, false": under "h" for "holy". (Not intended to be sarcastic.)
Raveni 04-19-07, 10:47 AM	We've always just used the entry in the PHB for Tool, Masterwork... Anything more than a +2 would be very rare, expensive, large, or all of the above. Tool, Masterwork: Knowledge (Arcana) - A transcribed copy of a tome full of ancient mysteries. For when you have time to look up an obscure magical tradition, not when trying to figure out the vulnerablities of an attacking Dragon. :)
Sunblast 04-19-07, 04:34 PM	I'm going to assume your math is off, since the area you presented exceeds the bounds of the dimensions of the room. Wha? Seriously? All I did was take the surface area of the four walls. That means two walls are 45' by 10' (24510=900) and the other two are 25' by 10' (22510=500). I added them together (900+500=1,400) and subtracted 150 square feet for the doors (50 square feet each) and the two gargoyle perches (25 square feet each) for my total (1,400-150=1,250). What did I do wrong? :confused: I'm also assuming your library is designed for maximum storage space for its layout. Nah, I don't think so. It is actually a dining room as well. No shelves in the middle of the room, if that's what you were thinking; actually, there's a big table and some chairs there. The shelves are just along the walls. Oh, and the entry for "Holy text" in the AEG is located in the same section as "Book, false": under "h" for "holy". (Not intended to be sarcastic.) Hammock, heat mat... Holy text! Ah, thank you! No sarcasm taken, by the way, but it's always good to specify. After all, you can't convey that sort of stuff through words. We've always just used the entry in the PHB for Tool, Masterwork... Anything more than a +2 would be very rare, expensive, large, or all of the above. Tool, Masterwork: Knowledge (Arcana) - A transcribed copy of a tome full of ancient mysteries. For when you have time to look up an obscure magical tradition, not when trying to figure out the vulnerablities of an attacking Dragon. :) Oh! That's an interesting take on the matter. And the price feels about right, as does the weight. That might just be the thing I'm looking for. :D
abraham 04-19-07, 05:26 PM	I think that bluetrolls website(you can get there by way of www.fraternityofshadows.com)has a netbook on books.
NoldorForce 04-19-07, 06:01 PM	Considering the DMG guidelines on magic items, requiring thousands of GP for small (+5 or less) bonuses to Knowledge skills are inappropriate. I prefer the Arcana Evolved rules for books that give bonuses to Knowledge skills. The price, in keeping with the scaling of magic item modifiers, is 10 gp times the square of the bonus. The maximum bonus is +5 for books or +10 for libraries. There is of course one big balancing factor: it takes at least an hour to use them, and likely longer for more difficult questions. The weight for books is half the bonus, rounded up. That of libraries is unspecified.
draconic_swine 04-19-07, 06:18 PM	Those Arcana Evolved rules seem really good. The only thing I'd do is increase the weight a bit, but other than that I like. I might actually decide to introduce books into my campaign now. It seems pretty cool.
Sunblast 04-19-07, 08:56 PM	Those Arcana Evolved rules seem really good. Oooh, I second that. My DM has approved that one. ^_^ Now she just has to price that library. My bookworm character is gonna rock! :D
Leress 04-20-07, 01:30 AM	here is the link to Ink and Quill http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:RvPpo3W_D74J:www.bastionp ress.com/Downloads/Ink_and_Quill.pdf+ink+and+quill+bastion+ press&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Davith Bothain 04-20-07, 08:59 AM	Well, it might be a moot point by now, but that now sounds like a basic library type (half the capacity). Also, your "math error" was a misunderstanding on my part: here I thought you were taking the area of the floor and divvying it up, the total bounds of which would be greater than the amount you provided. My bad. I must, however, take note that you're assuming every square inch of the walls are occupied by books. Remember to factor in space for the shelves and room between them (not to mention places where no books reside, so long as the place isn't brimming with written word).
Sunblast 04-20-07, 09:50 AM	here is the link to Ink and Quill http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:RvPpo3W_D74J:www.bastionp ress.com/Downloads/Ink_and_Quill.pdf+ink+and+quill+bastion+ press&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a Thanks. I swear, each time I've tried clicking the last link, it took me somewhere else. This time, it's sending me here: http://www.dragonwing.net/ Last time, like I said, it was some sort of Myspace-like page. Weird, huh? Well, it might be a moot point by now, but that now sounds like a basic library type (half the capacity). Also, your "math error" was a misunderstanding on my part: here I thought you were taking the area of the floor and divvying it up, the total bounds of which would be greater than the amount you provided. My bad. I must, however, take note that you're assuming every square inch of the walls are occupied by books. Remember to factor in space for the shelves and room between them (not to mention places where no books reside, so long as the place isn't brimming with written word). Cool, got the surface area thing cleared up. :) I was thinking of space for the shelves, but I had forgotten about possible spaces between books. Ah, well. It shouldn't matter for this particular library, though. Our DM is going to simply roll up the treasure, then augment it by giving the books in the library an arbitrary value. I still intend to give it the once-over. Who knows when you'll find something important to your character?