I was going to put this in the Transmute Ideas thread, but it kinda wandered a bit and didn't feel like it fit there anymore.
So I'm back from Origins and had some time to think it over, and it has been mentioned in many areas offering a spellbook of some kind that would allow casters to slot in a certain number of scrolls to make them cast as spells for the adventure. While I really like this idea, I think it would be problematic in that suddenly every scroll token would need to be classified into 0/1st/2nd level spells for purposes of interactions with other tokens or some element of design that could balance this out (still cast as a scroll), but still able to work in the combat rooms for DM's ("Oh, I can cast X scroll from my spellbook" when they didn't slot that scroll, etc.)
Having dove hard into a scroll build for Bard, I have found that I'm typically burning 5 scrolls per combat on Nightmare, and if I didn't do Monster Lore check I would burn up to 6. Combats have lasted three rounds, and usually in the odd occurrence that it reaches four the combat board damage finishes the creature off.
So if I'm burning 5 scrolls/combat, and there are at max four combat rooms, that means I'm potentially using up to 20 scrolls per adventure, over three adventures, makes up to 60 scrolls per adventure cycle.
Now, I'm not complaining. Please do not think that. I'm just pointing out that if someone else were to go the Lenses of Sage Speed with Greater Arcane Scroll Case and Charm of the Sage route, they might use as many or they might use fewer scrolls than this, as the spells on the card are usually much better than scrolls since they are A) free, and 2) augmented to much better effect. But if someone were to go this scroll caster route, then it is clear that it could add up to a very large sum of money being spent at each con they attend to play TD. At a modest $2/scroll, that adds up to $120 per con, on top of the ticket price to play.
So if it were possible to somehow create a transmute path that can reduce the amount of scrolls used per adventure, it would save the scroll caster build on money, and that is my primary reason for asking for a transmute to this end.
I really, really like the idea behind the spellbook for Wizard classes and will throw my hat in with the lobby to make that a reality all day long. But what I'd also like to see is a relic/legendary scroll case for all casters that can hold, say, up to 3 scrolls, gives them a bonus to heal and damage that is equal to or better than the Greater Arcane Scroll Tube, allows the chosen scrolls to be cast as scrolls without surrendering the scroll token, and those scrolls can be affected by all the other tokens that affect scrolls.
Pie in the sky wishful thinking there, and I can already see the cries of OP that are incoming, but something resembling that would cut down on the amount of money a scroll caster would spend per con as well as the load of tokens being carried through the dungeon. Even if the selection were limited, such as a rare scroll case that allowed 1 common and 1 uncommon scroll, and the relic allowed the same plus 1 rare scroll, and then the legendary allowed 3 (maybe 4?) of any rarity of scroll, with the relic providing +2 to healing and damage and the legendary providing +4, I think it would help reduce the amount of cash spent and scrolls carried by the player.
Side benefit, more scrolls freed up for Alchemist Parchments.
What slot?: I've read the arguments over slotless items, and that pie in the sky wish of mine would make it slotless. If this were not possible, though, then I'd suggest using the new upcoming tome slot.
Other options: There's always releasing more equippable tokens that add bonuses to scrolls. To reduce cost, offering a UR or better token that augments common rarity scrolls enough to bring their base damage/healing on par with rare scrolls, then that might save a few bucks. Then again it might unintentionally raise the price on common scrolls. Tokens that affect specific named scrolls or affect scrolls that do a particular type of damage could also be interesting for build purposes, but I'm not sure they'd help lower the price nor the amount carried. Adding a bonus and type of damage to the scroll would also be interesting, and having a multi-year path that can alter or add different types of damage to scrolls would be cool but I don't think it would be as popular as the other multi-year transmutes.
I'm fully expecting this idea to be scoffed at and shot down in flames, but I still think it would be a cool thing to see.
Avatar Image by Graven, 2015. Thanks, Graven!
