riffle scroll

• • Weight 1 lb.

Although details of this antiquated method of crafting scrolls were once long buried in an obscure library, the secrets of crafting riffle scrolls were recently rediscovered by an adventurer. Happily, he found the crafting and use of these scroll-like devices a handy remedy for the crippling nausea he normally suffered whenever he cast a spell.

A riffle scroll is similar to a standard scroll, but its methods of activation and shape are quite different. A riffle scroll is a wondrous item that holds the power of a single spell. Each riffle scroll is a thin booklet, similar in shape to a chapbook (but somewhat smaller), containing 25 to 50 pages of eldritch symbols. When held between thumb and forefinger and riffled through in a quick manner, the motion of the pages turning activates the magic within, simultaneously completing casting of the spell and erasing the booklet.

A riffle scroll uses spell completion as its activation type, just as do normal scrolls. Characters who cannot cast the spell contained in a riffle scroll must rely on Use Magic Device to activate the magic held within. Riffle scrolls are treated exactly as scrolls for the purposes of deciphering the writing, activating the spell, and determining its effects (including the chances for mishaps), save for the fact that riffle scrolls do not require verbal components—they automatically function as if they were cast using the Silent Spell metamagic feat. Activating a riffle scroll provokes attacks of opportunity just like casting a spell. Magical silence does not interfere with using a riffle scroll. Activating a riffle scroll requires one free hand. A riffle scroll uses the normal casting time for the inscribed spell, even if the user or creator is of a class that has increased casting times when using metamagic effects.

Riffle scrolls are somewhat heavier than normal scrolls; a single riffle scroll weighs 1 pound. Each riffle scroll has an AC of 9, 5 hit points, hardness 0, and a break DC of 10. Riffle scrolls cannot be kept in standard scroll tubes; they are normally transported in flat leather cases or boxes similar to containers used to transport books.

Riffle scrolls can be created by any spellcaster who has the Scribe Scroll and Silent Spell feats. Scribing a riffle scroll is more time-consuming and expensive than scribing normal scrolls because of the greater number of pages and more complex magic involved. A riffle scroll’s market price is equal to the spell level × the caster’s level × 25 gp—but note that only spells that have been modified by the Silent Spell metamagic feat can be crafted into riffle scrolls. This affects the spell’s effective spell level for the purposes of determining the riffle scroll’s price. Effectively, a riffle scroll costs about the same as a normal scroll of one spell level higher. This also means that 9th-level spells cannot be made into riffle scrolls, because there are no 10th-level spell slots. Abilities that reduce the level adjustment of the Silent Spell feat do not affect riffle scrolls.

To scribe a riffle scroll, you must use up raw materials costing half of its market price. Scribing a riffle scroll takes 1 day for each 1,000 gp in its base price, with a minimum of 1 day of work. Although an individual riffle scroll might contain more than one spell, each spell must be scribed as a separate effort, meaning that no more than 1 spell can be scribed in a day.