History Main / SpellBook

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Arche learns her spells from various spellbooks. Claus, your other mage, comes to battles equipped with tomes he flips through to {{summon|Magic}} spirits. He can also [[ThrowTheBookAtThem use them directly]] on any enemy that comes close.

* ''Literature/TheBible'': In the Book of Acts, much of the city of Ephesus (in modern-day western Turkey) was converted to Christianity all at once, and, "Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver[[note=]]50,000 pieces of silver is about equal to 140 years' labor wages, or over four million dollars today[[/note]]." (Acts 19:18,19 ESV)

* ''Bible Black'' from the game of the same name. Despite the fact that the spells are working, it's just an ordinary book, however.

* Several enemy mages in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' wield floating tomes (a first in the series). It is yet unknown if the player has access to them. According to the codex, these books are in fact normal books enchanted with prepared spells, presumably because these so-called Spellbinders don't have the training or experience to make up battle magic on the fly.

* ''Literature/TheBible'': In the Book of Acts, much of the city of Ephesus (in modern-day western Turkey) was converted to Christianity all at once, and, "Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver." (Acts 19:18,19 ESV)

* ''Literature/YoungWizards'': The Wizard's Manual is this ''and'' a [[GreatBigBookOfEverything Book Of Shadows]]. Being GreatBigBookOfEverything version of this trope, it gives access to every spell ever developed.

** 50,000 pieces of silver is about equal to 140 years' labor wages, or over four million dollars today.
* The Ildatch in ''The Wishsong of Literature/{{Shannara}}''. Also a sentient, evil ArtifactOfDoom that [[TheCorruption corrupts]] anyone who uses it.

* Toward the end of Season 6 of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Willow [[spoiler:absorbs a whole bunch of spell books before destroying the Magic Box]].
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' has the BookOfShadows, which fulfills this purpose as well.

* ''{{Franchise/Extrapower}}'': The Pyramid Witch Blackberry performs her summon magic by flipping her tome to the appropriate page. Even when ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist Giant Fist]]'' gives her a staff for short-range attacks, she keeps her spellbook on hand for her more powerful attacks.

* One of the more entertaining ones: In ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'', the Hucksters carry spellbooks... ''Hoyle's Book of Games''. Turns out Hoyle left coded secrets of magic in the pages, and if you know the key (and are willing to accept the price), you can mimic his better tricks.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheWitchsGhost'', the journal of Sarah Ravencroft which was sought by her descendant was not only the source of all her evil spells, but also [[SealedEvilInACan contained her evil spirit]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheWitchsGhost'', at one point the villain is armed with a spell book.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' has an entire archetype based on spell books, giving various powers to "Spellcaster type" monsters.

OlderThanDirt, as the {{ancient Egypt}}ians thought magic could be performed by [[RitualMagic reading and performing specific incantations]], and used collections of written spells in various forms. Writing itself was considered a magic art. Compare and contrast LimitedUseMagicalDevice, a magical item that only has a limited amount of uses before needing to recharge or becoming completely unusable.

* ''Manga/ZatchBell'': Each mamodo comes with a Spell Book which teaches the mamodo's partner spells.

* The Gray Book from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' is dedicated to the [[GeometricMagic Angelic Runes]] used by Shadowhunters, and the Book of White with spells [[TheNecromancer affecting life and death]] among other things. Shadowhunters and Warlocks are prone to collecting spell books, the former to keep them under lock and key, the latter in order to use them.

* Unlike mostPersona users, [[VideoGame/Persona4 Nanako]] doesn't possess a Persona of her own in ''Fanfic/StealTheTruthReachOutForYourHeart''. Instead, she uses a copy of Yu's Compendium and summons the Personas recorded in it, such as Yu's own Persona Izanagi.

* Unlike most Persona users, Nanako doesn't possess a Persona of her own in ''Fanfic/StealTheTruthReachOutForYourHeart''. Instead, she uses a copy of Yu's Compendium and summons the Personas recorded in it, such as Yu's own Persona Izanagi.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': It never comes up in cutscenes like [[WhiteMagicianGirl Serena's]] harp, but [[BlackMagicianGirl Veronica]] carries a large book that she uses to activate special abilities from her Vim tree. [[spoiler:Serena inherits this book after Veronica sacrifices herself at the end of Act 1.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII its sequel]] have books to cast magic. The magically-gifted mutant/esper race can also use naturally-learned magic, but the draw is that spell books (A) have more uses than a natural spell; (B) can be found/bought and replaced; (C) are usually stronger than natural spells; and (D) feature some spells that can't be learned naturally, like the powerful Fog and Prayer spells.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'': The Velvet Room Attentdant's "Le Grimoire", aka the Persona Compendium. It can record the many myths and legends within the hero's mind and summon them. They can also use the tome to fight. First wielded by Elizabeth from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', then her brother Theodore from the PSP port of that game, then their older sister Margaret from ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and their little [[spoiler:sister Lavenza from]] [[spoiler:''VideoGame/Persona5'', although she only fights in the ''Royal'' re-release and when transformed into LiteralSplitPersonality twins, the tome becomes a clipboard.]]

* The Factor 5[=/=]Creator/StudioGhibli DS collaboration, ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni,'' came with an actual "spellbook" as [[{{Feelies}} a pack-in]]. The spellbook will contain instructions on how to cast spells in the game world, as well as providing information on the game worlds themselves. For the [=PS3=] version, the entire book was replicated digitally in the game, with pages becoming available as the story progressed, but players who scored the fairly rare Wizard's Edition also received their own physical copy of the book.
* In some ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}''-like variants a spell-caster must carry around spellbooks for all the spells they want to cast, which both takes up space in a limited inventory and also weighs down the not-physically-strong wizard (books are heavy). In ''VideoGame/NetHack'' and its variants, however, the player only needs to hold onto the spellbooks long enough to memorize the spell.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Arche learns her spells from various spellbooks. Claus, your other mage, comes to battles equipped with tomes he flips through to {{summon|Magic}} spirits. He can also [[ThrowTheBookAtThem use them directly]] on any enemy that comes close.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' Seers and Scholars learn their spells from Books. Since everyone learns their skills from weapons, they can also [[ThrowTheBookAtThem smack people over the head with their books, too.]]
** Scholars return in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', and anytime a Stratagem is used, a large black or white tome will appear in midair, pages flying rapidly.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Arcanists and their {{Prestige Class}}es the Scholar and Summoner use Grimoires are their weapon. The Grimoires are made by Alchemists with enchanted ink. In the game's lore, the tomes contain [[FormulaicMagic complex mathematic and geometric calculations]] that help to focus the user's magic.

* Grimoire Weiss of ''VideoGame/{{Nier}}'' is an exceedingly arrogant, sentient spellbook that absorbs the blood of dead enemies and in return provides BlackMagic. It's also responsible for most of the [[SnarkyNonHumanSidekick snarky one-liners]] of the game.
* Alexander of Daventry from ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series definitely knows his way around these - he uses them in [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman both of]] [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVIHeirTodayGoneTomorrow his games]].
* Leon's weapon of choice in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'', which summons armed spirits to do the melee attacking.
* There are a few in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''; some are offhand items that increase spell damage, others teach you new skills (and either go on your bookshelf or are consumed upon use).
* ''Bible Black'' from the game of the same name. Despite the fact that the spells are working, it's just an ordinary book, however.
* Charlotte from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'' uses spellbooks for her default attack. While some (like the Encyclopaedia and Blank Book) are straight cases of ThrowTheBookAtThem, others summon weapons or other entities to attack over short range.
* A couple of these turn up as PlotCoupons in the first ''VideoGame/{{Majesty}}'' game, enabling any hero that picks them up to cast a variety of low-level offensive and defensive spells that are normally only available to the Wizard.
* [[BlackMagicianGirl Chloe Heartzog]] equips these as weapons in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemia2FallOfAlchemy'', and also reads them as a hobby. Her books can summon flying weapons from their pages, serve as a portal for TheLegionsOfHell, and perform a comprehensive EnemyScan on monsters. By chewing on them.
* Several enemy mages in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' wield floating tomes (a first in the series). It is yet unknown if the player has access to them. According to the codex, these books are in fact normal books enchanted with prepared spells, presumably because these so-called Spellbinders don't have the training or experience to make up battle magic on the fly.
* In ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', wizards have a special slot in their inventory for "grimoires": magical tomes that can be [[PowersAsPrograms "loaded"]] with the spells the wizard had previously learned. The number of spells a wizard can prepare this way per grimoire is limited, so especially at lower levels, it may be a good idea to carry a couple with different spell selections and dynamically switch them in combat. Furthermore, pretty much the only way to learn new wizard spells is to plunder the grimoires of enemy mages.
* Several ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' games have spellbooks as something a hero needs to equip in order to learn spells, with no real reason not to get one right away, and most heroes on the Magic side come with one anyway. Some artifacts also function as spellbooks, allowing the wielder to cast magic they normally don't have access to.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' has a Magic Book which gives the Magic Wand's attack flame properties. Curiously, in the Japanese version, it's explicitly Literature/TheBible.
* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'': as a practitioner of libromancy, Claris Snowflake's WeaponOfChoice is a grimoire. Her [[MiniMecha spiricle striker]] is also outfitted with an upscaled magic tome. Why? [[RuleOfCool Why not!]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'': The Book of Thoth is a purchasable item for Mages or Guardians that allows them to stack up mana and magic power as they kill minions or other Gods. Later on, the owner of the book, Thoth, becomes playable as a mage who uses the book to read up and launch spells from there.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': The Tomegathericon in the second game gives the user a unique class with various "evil" spells such as summoning demons and hellfire (shame the balance is heavily skewed towards AttackAttackAttack). The name is a double ShoutOut: to the Necronomicon, obviously, but also to Tau Mega Therion, the Greek name for the biblical Beast of the Apocalypse.
* ''VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad'': You can find some "Copy Ability Scrolls" from certain treasure boxes in the game; each of them enhances one of your copy ability, usually in the form of giving you one extra move.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', with a plain book, some obsidian, and diamonds in hand, you can craft an enchanting table where you can put your hard-earned experience points and lapis-lazuli to get enchantments on your tools, the enchantments being stronger the more bookshelves you put around it. Around the world, you can also find enchanted books that can similarly buff tools when combined together on an anvil (these books can also be created by enchanting ordinary ones on an enchanting table).
* A few areas in ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'', [[BigFancyCastle Pridemoor Keep]] in particular, feature large bouncing tomes which when struck produce pages around the area that serve as {{temporary platform}}s.
* ''VideoGame/DisgaeaDimension2'' introduced Books as a new weapon class, their skills allowing the user to "summon" characters that performed an attack. That said, long before Dimension 2 introduced them as a weapon class, ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' made use of them for elemental attacks.
* In ''VideoGame/DarkDevotion'', the player can obtain various books that allow them to cast spells. they carry these books in the offhand, allowing them to use them in tandem with a one-handed weapon.
* In ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin'' and ''[[VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII Original Sin II]]'', "Skill Books" are single-use items that teach a player character the spell or other skill contained within. They're sold by vendors throughout the game; the sequel also allows the PC to create them through ItemCrafting, even for skills they themselves don't know.

* ''WebVideo/TheMusicVideoShow'': The second season introduces this.

* In ''Franchise/Ben10'', Charmcaster's spellbook is kept by Gwen after a body-switching incident. She keeps it and her skills at magic continue to increase throughout the series. The evil sorceror Hex (who is Charmcaster's boss and uncle, though Charmcaster has been a solo act of late) has a library full of them.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Gargamel is the owner of the Great Book of Spells, which he occasionally turns to when his own magic abilities and knowledge aren't enough to help him catch the Smurfs.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'', Mandrake owns a large collection of sorcery books, which are off-limits to Kshin and, by implication, the rest of the Defenders apart from Mandrake himself. The plot of the third episode in the series involves Kshin disobeying this rule in a misguided attempt to teach a gang of bullies a lesson.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' the Butterfly family's book of spells has the entire family's magic knowledge inside it, along with a familiar attached to the book, Glossaryck. [[spoiler:Toffee later destroys the book, leading Star to create her own book of spells that she invented.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'', along with being a GreatBigBookOfEverything, the Great Book of Gummi also doubles as this, being the source of Zummi's spells. Several evil witches and wizards desire the Great Book mainly for the magic within it.

* In ''Manga/BlackClover'' they are referred to by the archaic word "grimoire" and are received by young magic users in a yearly ceremony so that they can unlock their true magical potential.

* Jax from ''ComicBook/JaxEpochAndTheQuickenForbidden'' took this along with the magic boots and gloves from an old cabin after she went through a door in Realmsend.

* ''Literature/GrimoiresSoul'': The main method of using magic in Kesterline and in the world at large is via grimoire, commonly taking the form of an actual book, but also including objects like scrolls, bones, and computer tablets.
* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' in Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': Lucy goes inside a magician's house to find a Spell Book so she can make some invisible opponents visible. She's tempted to cast some of the spells for her own benefit (and does so once, to her regret).

* Literature/TheBible: In the Book of Acts, much of the city of Ephesus (in modern-day western Turkey) was converted to Christianity all at once, and, "Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver." (Acts 19:18,19 ESV)

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': These shows up as school textbooks, but averted in that they are merely textbooks and don't allow you to cast spells any more than having a biology textbook allows you to do genetic engineering. Although [[spoiler:Snape]] effectively turned his old copy of ''Advanced Potion-Making'' into more of a grimoire.
* The ''Devil's Water Dictionary'' from ''Literature/LastCallAtTheNightshadeLounge'' is a recipe book of mixed drinks that grant bartenders magic powers, such as Mai Tai's that allow the drinker to conjure fire.

* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/AMidsummerTempest'', Prince Rupert uses magical books to win the English Civil War for the Royalists. However, since they are Prospero's books, he must first find where Prospero drowned them and then bring them up from the seabottom. (In this book, Shakespeare is the Great Historian.)
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos'', [[spoiler: Quentin]] receives his knowledge from such a book. It is written in the [[LanguageOfMagic language of dreams]], and he can only read it while he sleeps.
* Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip:
** In ''Literature/TheBellAtSealeyHead'', Ysabo's ritual includes turning one page in a blank book every day. When Ridley Dow appears, he shows her it filled with marvelous images and says it is a magic book. [[spoiler:It turns out to be the book into which [[TheHighQueen Queen Hydria]]'s court has been enchanted.]]
** In ''Literature/TheForgottenBeastsOfEld'', Sybel steals these from lesser wizards in her quest to learn the [[IKnowYourTrueName true names]] of legendary creatures. Maelga warns her that she may one day steal from the wrong wizard, but she dismisses the notion. Until it's too late.
* In C. S. Goto's ''Literature/DawnOfWar'' trilogy, Ahriman reflects on how Magnus outdid the "False Emperor" and [[BastardUnderstudy how he outdid Magnus]] -- and how he keeps his own Prodigal Sons down, so no one would supplant him. In particular, there is no Book of Ahriman, as there as a Book of Magnus, because he stole it.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''Literature/ProsperosDaughter'' trilogy, Prospero did not drown his books. Even when he retired, he gave them to his children.
* Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Necronomicon'' is often used as an example, and in his short story "Literature/TheDunwichHorror" Wilbur Whately needs a complete copy because his version is missing a key formula. With his hearty approval, other weird fiction writers of his era used the name, which Lovecraft thought helped make it feel real. It has even appeared in book catalogs and library records.
* The Book of Skelos is sought by sorcerers throughout [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian the Hyborian world]]. Within the pages of this forbidding book are spells and incantations to bring the dead to life, control the elements, and to summon extraterrestrial demons from the Outer Darkness, the black gulfs of space, and the pits of Arallu. In Conan's age, only three complete copies are known to exist: one is beneath a royal crypt of Aquilonia (probably guarded by the priests of Mitra), another in a remote temple in jungled Vendhya. The third copy was found by pirates on the Nameless Isle, below an idol of the toad-god Tsathoggua, and brought to Thoth-Amon, master of the Black Ring.
** Single pages from incomplete copies of the Book of Skelos sometimes also find their way into sorcerers' hands. These usually contain a spell or two, or the true name of a powerful demon. According to Thoth-Amon, at least one incomplete copy exists in Kheshatta, the Stygian City of Magicians. The Book of Skelos is also referred to as the Iron-Bound Book of Skelos. On a small island in the Western Ocean far to the west of the coast of Stygia, the lore of the Black Coast claim that demons guard the bones of the long-dead mage Skelos. It is believed to be inspired by the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Necronomicon]].
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles,'' the Necronomicon ''once'' had real power, but the rituals' power loses effectiveness as the number of users increases, making it a ''literal'' example of ItsPopularNowItSucks. Publishing it widely has rendered everything in it entirely useless.
* In Creator/RebeccaLickiss's ''Literature/EccentricCircles'', Larkingtower is very protective of his tomes.
* In Creator/StephanieBurgis's ''[[Literature/KatIncorrigible A Most Improper Magick]]'', their mother's books are a source of knowledge for both Kat and Angeline.
* The Gray Book from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' is dedicated to the [[GeometricMagic Angelic Runes]] used by Shadowhunters, and the Book of White with spells [[TheNecromancer affecting life and death]] among other things. Shadowhunters and Warlocks are prone to collecting spell books, the former to keep them under lock and key, the latter in order to use them.
* Technically, Willie Connolly's [[SecretDiary journal]] in J.R. Lowell's ''DaughterOfDarkness'' is a grimoire, although a very irregular and not very explicit one. Uncle Jonathan finds the entries sufficient for him to know what's going on, though.
* In Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' septology, the Book of Magic plays a central role in the good guys' strategies throughout. Subtle hints in the book suggest it's really an advanced mathematics and science compendium, or an amalgam of science and magic. A robot whose mind is sharing a human body goes from talented but clumsy amateur to the greatest Mage in the world in 5 days using the book. His mother (also a robot) pretty much does the same thing 20 years earlier in less than an hour.
* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': Since the most common form of magic is acquired through study and practice, there are a lot of these.
** Eric receives two of these: The Spirit and Its Power for general spirit powers and Introduction to Magecraft, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
** Basilard carries around Advanced Magecraft.
** Nolien has one for his WhiteMagic; it doubles as a medical textbook.
* Caster's magic book in ''LightNovel/FateZero'' is his Noble Phantasm. Specifically, it's the [[TomeofEldritchLore Necronomicon]], identified as the ''Spiral Text of the Sunken City.''

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' each spellcaster's (save for Druids and Blessed, who follow oral traditions and don't even need to be literate) trappings Gift includes one copy of a published spellbook. ''On Elementalism'' for Elementalists, ''Thamauturgoria'' by Kyndranigar the Shadow Magus for Thaumaturge's, an anonymous treatise on Green and Purple magic for [[PsychicPowers Cognoscenti]], ''Ye Book of Black Magic'' for Necromancers, and [[strike: a Bible]] ''The Testaments of Helloise'' for Clerics.
** 1st edition had an advancement system that required wizards to either find a mentor or read the appropriate spellbook (requiring a literacy check) to improve their spell skills or career trait. 2nd edition converted many [[SkillScoresAndPerks skills to perks]], including literacy and all spells, and made the aforementioned trappings the base of each school's spell tree.

* A crucial component of ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries'', as Ernie Eaglebeak can't cast a thing unless he's got his spellbook in his hands. Any new spells he finds automatically transfer right onto the pages - unless you forgot to bring it, in which case, [[PermanentlyMissableContent the spell flies off into space]], and [[{{Unwinnable}} you get to look for the 'load save' button.]]

* In some iterations, Alice Margatroid from the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series uses her grimoire to shoot or cast spells.
** Patchouli Knowledge does this as well in the fighting games, though she also [[ThrowTheBookAtThem throws it at her opponents]].
** Byakuren Hijiri stores her spells in a scroll which is itself a spell, taking the form of multicoloured HardLight symbols stretching between two rods. She can also make it recite spells by itself.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', the Spell Books seem to be (or contain) consumables used to cast spells.

* ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII its sequel]] have books to cast magic. The magically-gifted mutant/esper race can also use naturally-learned magic, but the draw is that spell books (A) have more uses than a natural spell; (B) can be found/bought and replaced; (C) are usually stronger than natural spells; and (D) feature some spells that can't be learned naturally, like the powerful Fog and Prayer spells.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'':
** The original game has one of the less abstract uses of the spell book trope in video games. A spell book, when read, simply adds that spell to your repertoire so that you can use it as much as you want in future (as long as you have enough {{mana}}). If you find another book of the same spell at a higher level, reading it will let you cast a more advanced version of the same spell.
** ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' bypasses the use of spell books. There are single-use scrolls for certain universal spells (Identify and [[WarpWhistle Town Portal]]), and if the scrolls take up too much room in your inventory you can store up to twenty of them in a book.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Throughout the series, there are spell ''scrolls'' which essentially act as one-time-use magical spells which cost no [[{{Mana}} Magicka]]. The spell is not learned from the scroll, however, and the scroll is destroyed through use.
** Through vanilla ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', the series lacks true spell books. Instead, spells are taught by purchasing them from a vendor, who presumably teaches it to you directly. That said, magical tomes can be found which [[RitualMagic lay out the items/actions needed to perform a ritual]], such as permanent [[SummonMagic summoning]]. (The PlayerCharacter is unfortunately [[GameplayAndStorySegregation unable to perform these rituals]], however.) ''Oblivion''[='s=] ''Spell Tomes'' DLC adds the eponymous spell tomes to the game world which can be read to learn new spells.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' builds onto these spell tomes, which become the new standard way of learning spells. You can now purchase the tomes from vendors or find them in the game world.

* ''VideoGame/CastleOfTheWinds'' uses a method effectively identical to the original ''Diablo'', except there are no levels for spells, though the cost of a spell can do down as one goes up in level.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}''': The Velvet Room Attentdant's "Le Grimoire", aka the Persona Compendium. It can record the many myths and legends within the hero's mind and summon them. They can also use the tome to fight. First wielded by Elizabeth from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', then her brother Theodore from the PSP port of that game, then their older sister Margaret from ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and their little [[spoiler:sister Lavenza from]] [[spoiler:''VideoGame/Persona5'', although she only fights in the ''Royal'' re-release and when transformed into LiteralSplitPersonality twins, the tome becomes a clipboard.]]

OlderThanDirt, as the {{ancient Egypt}}ians thought magic could be performed by [[RitualMagic reading and performing specific incantations]], and used collections of written spells in various forms. Writing itself was considered a magic art. See also LimitedUseMagicalDevice.

OlderThanDirt, as the {{ancient Egypt}}ians thought magic could be performed by [[RitualMagic reading and performing specific incantations]], and used collections of written spells in various forms. Writing itself was considered a magic art. See also LimitedUseMagicDevice.

OlderThanDirt, as the {{ancient Egypt}}ians thought magic could be performed by [[RitualMagic reading and performing specific incantations]], and used collections of written spells in various forms. Writing itself was considered a magic art.