Use this guide to turn the scribing rules into a downtime plan. The reference page contains the rules; the examples below show how to budget the work, check prerequisites, and record the result for your table.
Original examples and explanations based on SRD 5.2.1, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Read the source rules and attribution.
Check the character before planning the time
The scribe needs proficiency in Arcana or with Calligrapher’s Supplies. The character must have the spell prepared on every day of inscription and have its required Material components available. Consumed Material components are spent when the scroll is completed.
Write down the spell, its level, the relevant proficiency, and any component you need to obtain. If you cannot prepare the spell on a planned day, choose a different workday rather than counting that day as completed inscription.
Budget by spell level
Each listed day means 8 hours of inscription. Multiple workdays need not be consecutive, so you can fit a project around travel stops and time in town. The costs below are scribing costs, not a general price list for buying finished scrolls.
| Spell level | Workdays | Scribing cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 1 | 15 GP |
| 1 | 1 | 25 GP |
| 2 | 3 | 100 GP |
| 3 | 5 | 150 GP |
| 4 | 10 | 1,000 GP |
| 5 | 25 | 1,500 GP |
| 6 | 40 | 10,000 GP |
| 7 | 50 | 12,500 GP |
| 8 | 60 | 15,000 GP |
| 9 | 120 | 50,000 GP |
Example: a level-2 Misty Step scroll
Suppose your wizard has Arcana proficiency and can prepare Misty Step. A level-2 scroll needs three workdays and 100 GP. Reserve 8 hours on each of those days and keep Misty Step prepared throughout the inscription days. The days may be separated by adventures.
Misty Step has no Material component, so this example adds no consumed-component expense. Record the scribe’s spell save DC and spell attack bonus as required by the scribing rule, even though Misty Step itself does not call for a save or spell attack.
Example: a level-3 Revivify scroll
The level-3 row requires five workdays and 150 GP for inscription. Revivify also requires a diamond worth at least 300 GP, which the spell consumes. Have that component available and spend it when the scroll is completed.
Using a diamond worth exactly 300 GP makes the minimum combined expense in this example 450 GP: 150 GP for inscription plus the diamond. The five days represent 40 hours of work. Do not confuse the scribing cost with the spell’s component cost.
Keep a project record
- Spell and level, with a link to the correct edition’s entry.
- Scribe’s qualifying proficiency and spell preparation on each workday.
- Planned and completed workdays, counting 8 hours per day.
- Scribing expense and any consumed Material component, recorded separately.
- Scribe’s spell save DC and spell attack bonus; caster level for a cantrip.
- Completion date and the character who receives the finished scroll.
Scribing, casting, and copying are separate
Finishing a scroll does not bypass the rules for using one. The Spell Scroll reference explains eligible casters and checks for spells above the level they can normally cast. Copying a Wizard spell from a scroll into a spellbook is also a separate process with its own check and consequences.
Agree with your DM how downtime is tracked before beginning. The examples here apply the 2024 rules; they do not replace a campaign’s specific rules or apply older crafting tables.