Feature Suggestion: Enhanced Spellbook Functionality

[Silveras]

Spellbook extended functionality has been suggested from time to time here on the forums. The problem is that the use of spellbooks has diversified as the game has evolved, and not everyone agrees on what is necessary and what is "extra". With the release of the Arcane Anthology, a Player Companion based around specific spellbooks, and inspired by the really nice work done to support Polymorph options, I am posting this to try to suggest some enhanced spellbook functionality, and to define what is "basic", "advanced", and "extra".. for which I invite others to comment.

Unlike ShadowChemosh's gear items that calculates the number of books required to hold the character's current spells, each of these items should represente a separate physical book because the spellbooks can be loot gained from an enemy, or can be lost or stolen.

Base Functionality

• User Text: For the owner's name, and for identifying notes needed to know which book set came from what source, etc. The existing gear items do not meet this requirement, but such is an easy thing to create in the Editor.
• Carryable Item: Spellbooks can be lost or stolen, so they need to be a carryable item, capable of being stored in a container. The existing gear item meets this requirement. The Spellbook mechanism does not meet this requirement.
• Distinct from existing Spellbook: Players may choose for their characters to create multiple copies, some with different content, such as Traveling Spellbooks or Compact Spellbooks. They would also need to be transferable to another character for the case where enemy spellcaster's spellbooks are looted. The existing gear items meet this requirement. ShadowChemosh's spellbooks do not meet this requirement, as they auto-calculate from the character's Spellbook mechanism.
• Optional: Not all GMs will want to use this option for their games, so it should be separate from the existing Spellbook functionality for spellcasters. Also, although Witches are "Spellbook" casters, they do not have physical books and cannot make copies of their familiars, etc.
• Multiple Types: Alchemist Formulae books should have appropriate items.
• Automated Calculation: Based on the spellbook type (Standard, Traveling, or Compact; Spellbook or Formulae book as of this writing), the book should calculate the number of used/remaining pages, base value, and sale value of the book. ShadowChemosh's enhanced items calculate the number of books required to hold the spells in the existing Spellbook mechanism.
• Table of Spells: Because each book can have different contents, there should be a table to add spells (much like for Scrolls), which tabulates the cost of adding the spells. A "Buy for Free" is needed because the 2 new spells gained by Wizards at new levels do not have any cost to write into the spellbook. Spells whose required number of pages exceed the available remaining pages in the book should be flagged with a warning. The existing gear items, and ShadowChemosh's enhanced gear items, do not support this.

Advanced Functionality

• Tracking Readability: Mostly for captured or borrowed spellbooks, tracking which spells have been deciphered and understood by the caster would be useful.
• Support for Ultimate Magic format features: Support for a physical description of the spellbook's cover and pages, as well as Preparation Ritual.
• Support for Protections: Support for enhancements to saving throws against energy, etc., including Hardness and Hit Points of the book.
• Dossier for contents: A separate printing/PDF Dossier option to show the contents of these spellbooks, with the header for each spellbook giving the name, owner, physical description (if implemented), preparation ritual description (if implemented), and value before the list of spells.
• Support for variable page counts, scribing costs, and DCs for understanding: Based on the Cypher Script feat.

Bells and Whistles

• Support for non-spell contents: Support for trapped pages in between the spells.