This book holds the knowledge of some ancient wizard long dead! It has been thought lost for millenia, and now I have it, and with countless hours of study, I will unlock its power!
That's the typical reaction of a wizard. In FK, it's not quite so....impressive. I agree with Andreas on many points, and I disagree on many points. But, I'm not gonna argue that. I'm just going to share MY particular vision of the wizard's spellbook.
As it is, the spellbook (excluding the neat ones in Aurora's, and the ones received as noobs), is just another book, much like any other in the Realms. But traditionally, the spellbook is a book of POWER, inscribed with magical runes, protected by wards, and laboriously studied and cared for. And the more powerful the wizard, the more powerful were their spellbooks. It would be an interesting change to see this reflected more in FK.
Now, in regards to coding issues, I have no CLUE what it would take to implement these or any other ideas suggested. That's why they're just ideas at this point.
Now the cheap, generic spellbooks cost less than 5 plat. Understandable. As it is, they are NOT books of power. But what about...say...Blackstaff's book? There is BOUND to be more spells than any wizard could learn in that book. What price tag would a wizard place on that?
Perhaps, a wizard's spellbook SHOULD be able to be written in. Part magical journal/part magical recipes. What if it were a reflection of the wizard: his faith, his alignment, his guild? What if, once lost, it could only be replaced by copious amounts of work? Or...what if the wizard could place wards and enchantments around his book, to protect it from thieves, other wizards, or- in the event of his death-protection until his return? Or maybe the spellbook could be attached to the wizard, bridging the gap between life and death?
And what if a wizards obtains the spellbook of another wizard, willingly or no? Perhaps with the right amount of study, experience expenditure, and component usage, a wizard could scribe spells into his OWN book? (This would also be a way for Mage Colleges to share information, as well as making money. Can anyone say "scribe spellbook?")
And maybe for the evil wizzies out there, what if we are given a reason to go good mage hunting, solely to learn the art of our opponents, and steal their power for our own?
As far as the wizard's status in equality with the other classes.....I think reputation plays an important role here. I have noticed...slowly but surely...wizzies are starting to receive a lot more respect. Many a fighter will not fight a wizard because of his reputation. In cases like these, code is irrelevant. And that's how it is in FR. Many times, a wizards creates an illusion of power, and if the people buy it, then it is so.
Nevertheless, I will say this: I have lost MANY a battle to players simply because I am a wizard, and they are not. Priests can dispel us, warriors completely ignore our high leveled spells. (Unless we use feats, which devour mana) Although I am recently leaning more towards the RP side of the game, this is -STILL- a MUD, and code retains an important function. Pure RP would be a MUSH, if I'm not mistaken....
I think it would make sense for insanely high-leveled and well RPed wizards with lots of hours under their belt to make a flippant gesture, leveling a row of undead with a spell. It happens in the books, why not in the game?
Just a few thoughts from an adamant wizard player, thanks for the "food for thought."
Rhiel