Saltmarsh

I don't think so, but I'd have to check the rules to be sure. Just checked, Clayde and Brallyn are the only ones who might make level.

You're both right.

How long does Albionus need to write the new spells anddo find familiar etc etc? Sounds really lengthy.

Difficult to say. Sorry for the long explanatory post. Oh the delights of playing 1ed Magic-users!

Albionus is now in possession of the following spells (strikethrough = spells already owned, bold = spells known, but not yet copied; underlined = spells I'll try to learn at first opportunity) :

1st level: affect normal fires, find familiar, magic missile, mending, message, read magic, sleep, spider climb

2nd level: fools gold, web

5th level: animate dead

According to the rules spelled out by WhtKnt here, there are two ways to copy spells:

- normal method: you spend one day and 100gp per level of the spell you'd like to copy, assuming you've been able to learn it (which requires you to have cast read magic on it prior to attempting to understand the spell). You can only copy spells you understand, but there is no risk of failure.

- Using the write spell: you spend one hour and one usage of the special inks used by the spell (200gp buys you 1d3+1 usages) per level of the spell you wish to copy. Write allows Albionus to copy spells he still doesn't understand (for instance, a 2nd level spell, or a 1st level spell he failed to learn) but doing so forces him to save vs magic (at a bonus or penalty depending on the level of the spell being copied and what level of spells he is allowed to cast). If he fails, he takes 1d4hp of psychic damage per level of the spell he was trying to copy and he falls unconscious for a number of turns equal to the damage taken. If you're not killed outright by the damage, you can only heal this damage at a rate of 1-4hp per day, regardless of the mundane or magic means used to heal the damage taken.

In practice, Albionus has a 65% chance of learning any 1st-level spell he tries to decipher after using read magic on them. His intelligence score limits the maximum number of spells he may know for each level at 11, which is why a magic-user should carefully select which spells he is going to try to learn. And if he uses write to copy a spell he doesn't know (of levels 1-2), he has only a 50% chance of success.

Then there is the problem of how many spells he can cast per day: two 1st-level spells. So here is a hypothetical timeline (D = today):

D+1: after resting, he memorizes detect magic and read magic, casting both during the day; he finds any magic items mixed in the loot (but still can't identify their properties) and then reads as many spells as he can with one casting of read magic (lets assume 4 levels worth). If allowed by the DM, he would scribe find familiar (which he has learned before the assault on the Sea Ghost) through the ordinary method.

D+2: Rested again, he memorizes read magic (if necessary to decipher more spells), and write. He tries to learn new spells, and learns two new 1st-level spells (4*0.65 chance). He can then either copy one of the newly learned spells (full-day activity again), or — more probably — cast write to copy 2-4 spell levels worth of enchantments he still hasn't understood. If these are 1st level spells, the risk of death is low, but he might still take damage and fail to inscribe the spell. If he tries to copy web and fails, he might actually die (he has 7hp).

D+2: Rested again, he memorizes find familiar and write or identify. The familiar summoning ritual takes 1-24hr, 100gp of materials and, if not successful, will deny a familiar for one in-game year. Assuming a short casting time, there might be some time for writing spells (assuming he hasn't taken too much damage already) or for identifying magic items (the swords and wand would be priorities). Identification is another risky endeavor: you spend 100gp of materials to hold the item for a few seconds. For each of the two segments (six seconds) Albionus holds the item, he has a 25% chance (I kid you not!) of learning one property of the item. That property might not be true, depending on a secret saving throw. Regardless of outcome, the magic-user then looses 8 points of constitution due to exhaustion (Albionus would still have a Con score of 4), and will recover 1 point of constitution per hour.

So it is all pretty hazardous, time consuming, and costly, for relatively limited returns. When Alboinus will be a Wizard lord or something, he'll kick ass doing this shit, but at level 2, he's pretty brittle.

I'll proceed with the day one activities as soon as @WhtKnt has clarified a few points:

Questions for @WhtKnt:
- how many levels of spells can be read per round of the read magic spell duration (a single casting allows Albionus' 4 rounds of spell effect)?
- can Albionus procure the Identify spell and/or more special ink for the write spell on short notice?
- do you use the identify spell as written (for instance, is there a countdown between finding and identifying the item, as in PHB p.67; or do you apply the Constitution penalty, etc...)?
- can the write spell be used to copy spells understood by the M-U, and if so, is there a risk of failure?

1) I believe that a reasonable assumption is one spell/round (regardless of level) can be read by read magic. That's the way I always used to run it. You're not fully reading the spell, just enough to get the gist of it.

2) Hopewell can provide the ink at 90% of the cost (that is, a 10% discount). He also has the components for the identify, again at 90% cost.

3) There is a countdown with the identify spell, as described, however, it assumes that the magic-user keeps the item nearby or on his person. If this is not the case, the aura does not begin to mix until the item is brought near (if that makes any sense). I do apply the constitution penalty, and a successful identification reveals a hint about the properties of the item, as described in the spell. Things such as charges are not considered properties and will be revealed along with a property of the item, within +/- 25%.

4) The write spell can be used to copy spells known to you, and there is no risk for such.

This brings to light a means by which I used to handle charged items that I wanted to run by the group. Instead of me having to track the charges of an item secretly, I have, in the past, used this method: the item starts with a 100% chance of working. For wands, each time a charge is used, the chance drops by 1%. If the roll fails, the wand is empty. Staves and rods are handled the same way, but the numbers of charges differ (as rods can have up to 50 charges, the formula is -2% per use and for staves, with 25 charges, the formula is -4% per use). Note that it will always work the first time. (In this case, the identify will not reveal the number of charges remaining, since we don't know how many are left.)

Alternately, if preferred, we can start the countdown at the number of charges given in the text for the item and count down from there.

This way, you can track the usages yourself (saving me a bookkeeping step) and none of us will know when the item will suddenly give up the ghost (though you do know when you are getting close). I developed this method when I used to run solo dungeons when I was younger to keep up the mystery. Is that acceptable to everyone? If so, I will put it in the House Rules tab.

RE: Find familiar
Funny, but true story. My wife's character wanted to acquire a particular type of familiar, a tressym (fans of the Forgotten Realms will know that tressym is a winged cat native to Arabel). They happened to be in Arabel at the time and so she decided to chum for her tressym. She spent 100 gp above and beyond the spell costs to lay hundreds of platters of fresh tuna in a field before casting the spell. I ruled that if she got any result other than "no familiar available," the result would be a tressym. So she casts the spell and goes unconscious (as casting for 24 hours will do to a body). She woke to the sound of loud mewing. She had gotten her tressym. She also attracted (not as familiars) every cat and tressym within 3 miles of the city! Several mages were very angry with her for luring their familiars away.

The above post was in response to my enquiry about the possibility of purchasing plate mail. Would there be enough time to travel to Seaton, buy the plate mail and return? I could buy a horse in Saltmarsh, which would speed things up considerably. Other party members might want to do this as well. Hopefully when Venemar and any of the others are back Albionus would be making progress with the magic preparations and we could give the council a start date.

You could make the trip to Seaton and back by horse in as little as three days. The lizardfolk lair is not but just down the coast and you should reach it within a few hours' sail. With Brallyn casting as many cure light wounds as she can each day, four days will be plenty of time for everyone to rest and recover.