Dungeon Master: Scrolls

By now it should be obvious that I tend to write about things I don't see used very often in the games I play. Keeping with the theme, I am going to be talking about spell scrolls and why they are a very useful tool for the Dungeon Master. As always, feel free to comment and add to what I say.

Different Economy

The beauty in these kinds of scrolls is that they are a one-time use thing. They don't nearly have as big an impact as a wand or staff that allows continuous casting of the spell. Instead, it's a single casting. In the case of Dungeons & Dragons 5^th edition, the wizard could choose to learn the spell instead of casting it. However, this is not a valid strategy if the spell is already known by the wizard. It may also be better to keep the high level spell than learn it (great, learned the 6^th level spell due to a lucky roll but can't cast it for weeks).

Extra Firepower

You can continue to give challenges to the players that are at the level expected. However, more experienced or daring groups might want a bigger challenge. In these kinds of cases, spell scrolls and magic items provide exactly what they might need to face their powerful enemies. Since a lower level character can cast spells they don't know from a scroll (in most systems I can recall including Dungeons & Dragons, anyway), a weak party could use it to even the odds. A fireball in the hands of a 1^st level party allows for completely different threats to be thrown their way. It also provides a difficult choice for the wizard since they only get one use from the scroll.

Extra Castings

When a game has some kind of scroll mechanic or limited casting, it is typically balanced around some time period. However, wizards are not always lucky enough to be able to rest and prepare. When they aren't, the party is significantly weakened. A way to get around this problem is through spell scrolls. The result is that the wizard has more spell slots or castings of their spells than they normally would. I'd be careful in these cases since a clever party could keep these scrolls for later and turn important encounters into a joke. Having said that, it's a possible situation that can come up during play and clever play should be rewarded. It can also allow for story opportunities and tension that is otherwise not possible (maybe they can challenge the big bad early, create a setback for the big bad they wouldn't otherwise, or get out of an impossible situation). Just don't forget to consider the possibility and don't forget to factor scrolls into future combat encounters.

Unpredictable Enemies

A powerful hostile wizard with spell slots changes the nature of the encounter dramatically. It also allows a higher chance of spell failure than otherwise possible and can make an unpredictable encounter (especially when used with the miscasting rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide). The danger with this approach is that the players could kill the enemy early and obtain quite a few more scrolls than intended by the Dungeon Master. Planning for this (you would generally assume a scroll or two would be left and needed) may need to be called for. You could also decide to simply reward the players for their luck and or thinking (if they thought of a great ambush, maybe the final fight should be easier?).

Completely Different Spells

Spell economy is a difficult subject. There could in theory be some spells that are so powerful you don't even want a level 20 wizard to have access to it during combat readily. In these cases, you could let a wizard spend significant resources and time to create a single scroll. Unlike normally, where spells may be cast per day or other period, this allows you to have spells that could take weeks or even years of preparation before being cast. It also allows for some special spells that the players may only get the chance to cast once or twice in the entire length of time they play. As a tool for the Dungeon Master, these kinds of spell scroll allow for break from the normal spell system and allow for some interesting situations for the players. In fact, I'd say that using scrolls is one of the most powerful ways to make changes to the spell casting system (more spells, new spells, etc.) without actually changing the normal spell casting system (all of the original mechanics are kept intact).