Achlys
December 21, 2015, 2:41am
10
YR7:
A piece about copying books via magic in Ars Magica (Fifth Edition):
The Prolific Scribe , R: Voice, D: Mom, T: Group; Rego Animal (Requisite: Aquam) 10
This spell instantly scribes a copy of a book the caster is holding. Materials (parchment and ink) must be in voice range. The caster must succeed at an Intelligence + Finesse roll of 15 to successfully copy the book; otherwise, the piece is in gibberish. A roll of 21+ will allow a +1 to craftsmanship due to superior scribing.
For purposes of copying, the spell is the equivalent of a semi-professional scribe - copying up to 8 levels of summa (or one tractatus) per casting.
(Base 1 [Covenants p. 50], +2 Voice, +2 Group, +1 requisite; Base ease factor is 9 [“daily work of semi-skilled artistsâ€, Societas p. 61] to 15 (Hard), +6 for a season’s work.)
[...]
As can be seen, the magical copying of books is hardly efficient. Even under the best conditions, the magus needs to cast two spells (ReAn(Aq) 10), making two EF 15 Finesse checks. (Binding can be accomplished later, through mundane means.) The high Finesse requirements alone can deter most magi. More and more magic can be used in less optimal conditions or to accelerate the process, culminating in casting a Ritual spell to duplicate the book – at great costs. Instead of wasting effort and raw materials on magically copying books, magi are far more likely to copy works themselves or through mundane scribes.
Tough elegant, I don't think an adequate application of the spell needs to complete the work of an artisan in a season. At ease factor 9, it completes a day's work of copying. A magus would only have to successfully cast it each day to complete a couple of pages, and by the end of a season, the deed would be done. I think this approach, magical copying of books is efficient.