Scrolls
in Magic ItemsThe most prevalent type of scroll is the spell scroll, a spell stored in written form, but some scrolls, like the scroll of protection, bear an incantation that isn't a spell. Whatever its contents, a scroll is a roll of paper, sometimes attached to wooden rods, and typically kept safe in a tube of ivory, jade, leather, metal, or wood.
A scroll is a consumable magic item. Unleashing the magic in a scroll requires using an action to read the scroll. When its magic has been invoked, the scroll can't be used again. Its words fade, or it crumbles into dust.
Spell Scroll
A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class' spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible. Casting the spell by reading the scroll requires the spell's normal casting time. Once the spell is cast, the words on the scroll fade, and its crumbles to dust. If the casting is interrupted, the scroll is not lost.
If the spell is on your class' spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine whether you cast is successfully. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from the scroll with no other effect.
The level of the spell on the scroll determines the spell's saving throw DC and attack bonus, as well as the scroll's rarity, as shown in the Spell Scroll table.
Spell Scroll
Spell Level |
Rarity |
Save DC |
Attack Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | Common | 13 | +5 |
| 1st | Common | 13 | +5 |
| 2nd | Uncommon | 13 | +5 |
| 3rd | Uncommon | 15 | +7 |
| 4th | Rare | 15 | +7 |
| 5th | Rare | 17 | +9 |
| 6th | Very Rare | 17 | +9 |
| 7th | Very Rare | 18 | +10 |
| 8th | Very Rare | 18 | +10 |
| 9th | Legendary | 19 | +11 |
A wizard spell on a spell scroll can be copied just as spells in spellbooks can be copied. When a spell is copied from a spell scroll, the copier must succeed on an Intelligence (Arcana) check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell's level. If the check succeeds, the spell is successfully copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the spell scroll is destroyed.