At the start of play, every Magic-User’s spellbook contains Read Magic plus three other randomlydetermined first level spells.
An Elf begins play with only Read Magic in the spellbook.
Upon attaining a new level, a Magic-User can add one random spell to his book free of charge from his choice of spell levels he is already able to cast, but the time for researching or transcribing the spell remains as standard.
A Magic-User must rest for six continuous hours before preparing spells. After resting, the Magic-User must study using a spellbook for a number of hours equal to the highest level spell being prepared. This process is sometimes called memorizing spells.
Spells remain in memory until they are cast, and once they are cast, they fade from the mind like a dream upon waking. However, the same spell can be prepared multiple times. The Magic-User’s spell chart give the maximum number of spells that can be memorized at each level and the Magic-User can never have more than this number prepared at one time. Spells cannot be simply dismissed from the mind; they must be cast to clear the “spell slot.”
Reversible spells are effectively two different spells: the “normal” version and the “reversed” version. They must be researched, transcribed, and prepared as different spells.
A Magic-User can only safely prepare spells once every twenty-four hours. The mind simply cannot handle any more.
Magic-Users can only prepare spells which are written in their spellbooks.
Scrolls are magical items which allow a Magic-User to cast a spell without prior memorization, even if the spell is of higher level than the Magic-User is able to cast. A Magic-User must cast Read Magic in order to read a scroll (even to identify the spells contained on it!), but at any point thereafter the spell can be cast from a scroll. A scroll can have multiple spells on it, but only one spell can be cast at a time. Casting a spell from a scroll erases it from the scroll.
A character must hold the scroll with both hands in order to read/use it, and if in combat it takes the caster an entire action to use, just like casting a normal spell.
All spells cast from scrolls use the level of the reader, not the writer, to determine the effects of the spell.
Off-list scrolls may be cast without risk of failure. This allows the boundaries between the different types of specialist wizard to be blurred slightly, but only in the (presumably somewhat special) situation when magical scrolls are acquired as treasure.
Any Magic-User can create a spell scroll for any spell in his spellbook. The process costs 50 gp per day.
Even though the scroll is essentially a “one-use” formula for a spell, each must still be individually researched and crafted, and not mass-produced. Indeed, making a copy of a spell scroll will not imbue the copy with magical energy, or at the Referee’s discretion, perhaps making the copy would dissipate all magical energy from the original as well!
If a Magic-User finds a spell scroll containing a spell not already in the Magic-User’s spellbook, he can instead transcribe the spell on the scroll into his spellbook. This will remove the spell from the scroll. The process costs 20 gp per day.
Spellbooks are large, bulky things, and valuable at that. While a Magic-User can freely use any spellbook upon which he has cast Read Magic, sometimes a Magic-User may want to consolidate spellbooks or create new ones. This process is similar to writing scrolls, but does not erase the spell from the original source. The process costs 10 gp per day.
If a Magic-User wishes to add a spell to a spellbook without a prior reference to the spell (from a scroll or another spellbook), there is more intensive research to be done. A Magic-User can research spells of a higher level than he is able to cast and add them to his spellbook, but he may never prepare such spells. He can, however, write them on scrolls.
Referee must approve the spell, and should revise the spell for the player in advance of any research (sometimes this will merely involve altering the spell level). If successful, the character now has a spell that no other character has in the game! For spells that are on the standard spell lists, the process costs 25 gp per day. For wholly original spells, the process costs 30 gp per day.
Spells which affect a person can, for all intents and purposes, be made into liquid form so that the imbiber gains the benefit of the spell. The maker of the potion must be able to cast the spell being turned into a potion. If a Cleric assists the Magic- User, a potion capturing the essence of any of the healing spells (Cure Wounds or Cure Disease) can be made, though the Cleric must be of high enough level to cast the spell in question. The process to make a potion costs 50 gp per day.
Staves and wands can be used to hold magical power for later use. These are the steps to creating a staff or wand:
A wand or staff can only ever cast the spells that it is designed to cast. Wands can generally hold only one specific spell, but up to three different spells may be used if they are all closely related in effect. Staves can have up to three spells or five if they are all closely related.
Once all the work on the physical staff or wand is completed and the proper preparations are made, a Permanency spell must be cast on the item, followed by at least one casting of every spell to be represented in the staff or wand. However, the maximum number of charges will also be determined at this point, as the total number of spells cast into the wand (not counting the Permanency spell) will determine its maximum number of charges. Usually the lowest level spell is the one cast multiple times in order to increase the charges. These spells must be cast without interruption into the item, so it is usual for a group of mages, or a mass number of scrolls, to be used in the effort.
The maximum number of charges a wand can handle is 99, while a staff can handle 49 charges.
The base number of charges used by each spell is determined by the levels of spells included. The lowest level spell expends one charge, and the difference between the spell level of their effects determines the number of charges that higher-level effects expend. For example, a wand that can cast Invisibility 10' Radius and Mass Invisibility would lose one charge each time a Invisibility 10' Radius is used, and four charges for each Mass Invisibility, for that spell is four spell levels more than Invisibility 10' Radius.
The Permanency spell must be cast on a staff or wand in order to recharge it. In this case, and only this case, if the Magic-User fails the saving throw versus Magic and loses a point of Constitution when casting the Permanency spell, this lost Constitution is not lost permanently and is healed at the normal rate. However, recharging a wand or staff is not a definite process, as each time that the spell is cast, the Magic-User must make a save versus Magic, and only on a success does the spell cause the staff or wand to regain a charge. The process of making a staff or wand costs 50 sp per day.
When transcribing or researching spells, the character (and player) will never know exactly how long it will take. Magic is a risky business.
The player must declare ahead of time how long the character will take to perform the activity. The Referee will randomly determine the actual necessary length of time it should take according to the table below (which the player can also use to estimate how long they wish to work). The period must be uninterrupted for the character; any significant interruption undoes all work and the project must be started anew. The costs up to that time are wasted. Only after the time passes in-game and the money is spent can success be determined.
If the character spent time equal to, or greater than, the amount necessary, then the work is automatically a success. If the character spent less time, the entire project is a failure; all work has been for naught, all money spent has been wasted, and the process must begin again from scratch. There is a 10% chance that any failed project results in a curse as determined by the Referee.
The time required for items 1–5 is doubled if the Magic-User is not working in a library worth at least 1,000 gp per level of the spell in question. Time to create a potion is doubled if the Magic-User is not working in a laboratory worth at least 1,000 gp per level of the spell that the potion will duplicate. Creating a wand or staff requires both a library and a laboratory worth at least 1,000 gp each per highest spell level included or the time is doubled.
The character’s Intelligence modifier is applied to the final number of required days (with a positive modifier lessening the number of days, of course). The minimum amount of time it takes to research spells or write scrolls is never less than a day.
Spells are cast by a combination of mental effort, gesticulation, and incantations. In order to cast a spell, a Magic-User must have both hands free (or be carrying a staff or wand) and be able to recite the incantation freely (Elves merely require one free hand). A character that is bound, gagged, Silenced, or otherwise unable to gesture or speak cannot cast spells. Casting a spell cannot be done secretly, stealthily, or disguised as another activity; the actions necessary to casting a spell will be obvious to all.
Magic-Users cannot cast spells if they are more than Lightly encumbered. Elves cannot cast spells if they are more than Heavily encumbered.
Magic-Users use libraries and laboratories to assist their magical activities. Each library or laboratory is ranked on its cost; for every 500 gp in value a library is worth, a ten foot square is needed to store the books, and every 1,000 gp a laboratory is worth requires a ten foot square of space. These are nontransportable (at least, not without major effort, and certainly not as part of normal travel). Laboratory and library elements can only be purchased in large cities. Libraries and laboratories discovered and somehow transported only add 1d100% of their value to the looter’s own, due to possible duplication, differences in methods, etc., between mages.
Every time the laboratory is used, the Magic- User must make a saving throw versus Magic. If the roll is successful, the laboratory loses 1d20 × 100 sp in value due to used supplies. If the roll is failed, wasted supplies and accidents reduce the value of the laboratory by 2d20 × 100 gp. On a natural 1, there is a dangerous explosion which destroys both 5d20 × 100 gp of the laboratory’s value and the project being worked on, and in addition, the Magic-User (and alchemist, if present) suffers 1d10 damage (save versus Breath Weapon for half).
| Activity | Time Required | Cost |
| Writing a Scroll | Spell Level × 2d6 Days | 50 gp/day |
| Transcribing a Spell from Scroll to Spellbook | Spell Level × 1d6 Days | 20 gp/day |
| Transcribing a Spell from Spellbook to Spellbook | Spell Level × 1d3 Days | 10 gp/day |
| Researching a Spell on the Spell Lists | Spell Level × 3d6 Days | 25 gp/day |
| Researching a New Spell | Spell Level × 4d6 Days | 30 gp/day |
| Creating a Potion | Spell Level × 1d6 Days | 50 gp/day |
| Creating a Wand or Staff | Total Spell Levels × 10 × 1d6 Days | 50 gp/day |