Apologies if this has been asked many times before, but I couldn’t find an answer reading through the old threads and it’s hard to break old habits when I read the rulebook…
Given the fact that ACKS tweaked the Vancian method of spellcasting and created a hybrid in which Magic-Users now have a repertoire of spells they can cast that are maintained by ritual, taboos, etc., is it still necessary to study the physical spellbook each night to relearn spells? Or is following the rituals, star alignments, not eating squirrel meat and getting enough sleep sufficient? The following quote got me thinking…
“Sometimes an arcane spellcaster’s spell book will either be lost or destroyed. Each week he goes without access to his spell book, an arcane spellcaster loses the knowledge of one spell level, until eventually he knows none at all.”
Does this imply that if a spell caster adventures for a few days he/she doesn’t necessarily have to risk taking the spellbook to relearn spells each night as long as they get back to it before the week is out?
EDITED: MichaelPfaff’s post below is correct. The spellcaster needs to consult his book for one hour per day.
Thanks. Great news for spellcasters.
Yes especially if they are going only short distances away from their home town or starting city. Good question Duncan. 
Eh. That’s not how I read that.
I read this as meaning that each week without the spellbook means he loses a spell from his repertoire entirely. This has nothing to do with preparation for spells each day.
Especially considering the immediate followup sentence is: “An arcane spellcaster can rewrite the spells through research and memory…” Meaning, once the spell is lost, it must be rewritten into the spellbook.
This is not the same as “losing a spell” that must be re-prepared each day.
It makes sense to me that each spell would still need to be re-prepared each morning, and that would require the spellbook at hand. Especially, considering in ACKS the spellbook is more of a journal and not just a static spell written down.
The rules state:
“Once spellcasters have cast all their available spells for the day, they must have 8 hours of uninterrupted rest and one hour of concentrated study…”
I’m imagining the spellbook is required for this study. They need it to know all of the precise rituals and which star alignments matter, etc. It has all your notes on what to do. Without this, why would you need a spellbook at all? Doesn’t make any sense.
Sure, if you go out and get back before the week is up, you don’t lose your spell from your repertoire, but it would make sense to me that you still need the book to PREPARE spells each day.
Otherwise, what’s the point of preparing spells at all since you can cast any spell from your repertoire?
It gets even muddier with this:
“A formula for each spell in an arcane spellcaster’s repertoire is recorded in his spell books. Periodically the caster reviews his spell books to refresh himself on the various taboos, rituals, and star signs he must remember about each spell in his repertoire.”
Periodically? Wtf is that supposed to mean? I took it as each night when they are in “concentrated study”…
Secondly, this phrase:
“For an arcane spellcaster to have a spell in his repertoire, he must keep track of complex astrological movements and star signs that are constantly changing; he must daily appease various ghosts and spirits that power certain dweomers; he must remember and obey special taboos that each spell dictates”
So, the spellbook has all of these rules and notes for appeasing, but they must be appeased “daily” - it just makes sense to me that the spellcaster would use their spellbook to reference during this daily ritual… And, not only reference, but since things are constantly changing, also updating their spellbook.
I read it as Michael, too, with one exception: the text explicitly states, that the caster looses one SPELL LEVEL from his repertoire (p.67, Left) for each week he is unable to study his spellbook. So my interpretation is that, for example, a 5th level mage with a repertoire of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spells, will loose ALL his recorded 3rd level spells in week 1, then ALL his recorded 2nd level spells inw eek 2 and lastly after week 3 has no more spells in his repertoire at all. And since spells that are not in a mage’s repertoire cannot be prepared and only prepared spells can be cast, a mage has serious problems the longer he is without his spellbook.
In addition, the daily study to prepare spells (after 8 hours of uninterrupted rest), would suffice (at least for me) to cover this : For an arcane spellcaster to have a spell in his repertoire, he must keep track of complex astrological movements and star signs that are constantly changing; he must daily appease various ghosts and spirits that power certain dweomers; he must remember and obey special taboos that each spell dictates"
You’re right, Beastman. It does say, “one spell level” and not “one spell”.
This would seem to further the argument that the statement about “losing” spells via not having your spellbook is completely different than spell preparation.
Michael/Beastman, you are both correct. I mis-interpreted my own rules. Sigh. I’ll edit my own post above to link to Michael’s explanation to avoid confusion.
Alex, no biggie. Glad it was worked out.
I think with the huge influx of posts and questions, you have an insurmountable task of keeping up with it all! You’ve been doing a helluva job keeping everything in order!
Thanks!
My biggest source of confusion is that ACKS itself went through 36 versions of revisions. Sometimes the rule I used for the longest amount of time is not the rule I adopted in the final version, and so I will, with great authority, offer the wrong answer. Fortunately, in most cases, the intent of the rules is evident enough from what I’ve written that upon reading it I remember what the heck I meant.
As long as you guys don’t mind my occasional stumbles I’ll keep at it.