You can buy spell books for mage skills only.
I maxed several skills with just books, and got a level or two for some. There are a couple spells which seem to be offered more (or less) frequently than others, though this can vary in different games. I do not remember seeing spell books for Seeking Flame, Master Summoner, Transfer Powers or Summon Demonic Aide; in my case, it would be relatively easy to max Telekinesis, Aura of Guarding, Spellshield, Fade From Sight, Freeze, Summon Skeleton, Banish and Resurrect.

There is a random spell book in the back of Kistandalius' shop in Ars Magicana. Save, then pay the minstrel outside to recite some poetry. The mage will come out to listen, giving you just enough time to run in and grab the spell book, and the knife from the chest.

There is a Restoration spell book in the sewers somewhere, which needs Telekinesis (or a teleporter stone tossed down beside it) to get.

There is a Fear spell book in Iona's dungeon, by the house of madness.

I vaguely recall a couple others....


The best people to buy spell books from are Kistandalius or Blake in Ars Magicana and Corinna or Mpenzak in Verdistis. Any NPC has a chance to offer one, though, so it can help to try trading with everyone you can. If you Quick-Save before talking to a merchant, hitting the alt key or running your mouse over them, you can Quick-Load if they don't have what you want. After you talk to them, their inventories will be reset some time later (length seems to vary a bit between NPCs).


Also, (slightly modified) from the post on the old forum;
"(¯`*.§þîЀ(r)еЀ(c)¤²°`¯Devine FAQ) *WARNING!* BIGGEST SPOILER ON THE FORUM!!!!!!!!!

Free Skills

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minor spoiler

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• Trader's Tongue: At the blue boar inn talk to a trader named El'Gammon, standing in front of the bar. Buy all 5 useless items he offers you, then talk to him again.
• Trader's Tongue: read 3 books in the Merchant guild library. 1st book, bottom left-hand room, middle table. 2nd book, on top of bookshelf in north part of same room. 3rd book, northwest door, behind one of the covered chairs near the north wall.
• Identify: gained from doing the broken wheel quest for the stuck cart drivers.
• Alchemy: do easy quest for the alchemist in the dark forest.
• Restoration: learn from Goemoe in Aleroth after you heal both sick soldiers
• Restoration: talk to the statue in Nericon's garden and correctly answer 3 questions (based on the book from its followers outside)
• Restoration: Tell Mardeneus who killed George and why.
• Lock pick: learn from rob after joining thieves guild (can also choose Evade Trap or Pickpocket)
• Lock pick: Agree to a lockpicking bet in the thieves' guild, then speak to him again without opening all of the doors. The four doors to the right of the corridor require Lockpick levels 1-4, the door to the left requires level 5.
• Aura of command: side with the bees when you go to retrieve the imp council member, then defeat the wasps without killing any bees (ie no warrior's spin attack, or area effect spells).
• Banish: Summoner in Verdistis.
• Bless: Save the kid from Vampire in the Dark Cave, then help the Knight fighting Trolls.

Also

• Boomerang: complete both warrior guild tests
• either Augment Defense or Augment Damage (game can give either): defeat the instructor in the warriors guild
• Elemental Strike: equip all 5 pieces of the Dragon armour set

There is also the book of telekinesis in Stormfist Castle , in one of the houses inside the walls by the castle itself (if i remember correctly, then wasn't it the south-eastern house...)

Free Polymorph skill book - spoiler

This topic has screenshots of the Polymorph spell book location, as well as the 3 book set in the merchant's guild for Trader's Tongue.

I don't know if all bookcases can spawn spellbooks, but I've gotten random spellbooks from Landilor's House & Mardaneus's House in Aleroth right at the beginning of the game. It seems more common to find one at Mardaneus's house but reloads will give you both if you have time.

My warrior has gotten the spellshield spell which helped immensely in the catacombs vs. Skeletal Conjurers and the other big skeleton warriors, my wizard once got Elemental Hail from Mardaneus's and that made the catacombs and most orcs around Aleroth a complete joke.

I also get a spellbook (Bless) from one of the abandoned houses in Wastelands. It was in a bookcase or wooden cupboard...

it would seem bookcases spawn for me and charms chest. Um save and load a lot causing items to spawn, test it yourself.

I love that fact that you can buy them off farmers who usually only have 5 gold pieces worth of food on them.

I know, or just get it off a dwarf. I was lucky and got two of Geome in his cubord at the begging.

Hmm, actually i was about to make a new topic and ask my question there but i think it fits well here...

i finally got this game to work yesterday (been playing since) and created 3 characters (male survivor, female survivor and male warrior)... with each i have solved these quests: the unfreezing of lanilor, getting george his weed (found a clever trick to doing that), and healing both simon and the other dude... i've also killed all the rabbits in the area and the rats and skeleton in the well... this means each of the characters have gone past lvl 1 and are halfway past lvl 2... i've also completely explored the town without entering the catacombs (gone through each house, looked at everything...)...

SOMEHOW my male warrior's primary skills both gained a level without my spending a single skill point... this hasn't happened to my other 2 characters and i've just spent the last few hours trying to figure out why and how it happened in the first place... as you might have guessed from my first line, i've still no clue...


any ideas dudes? this is driving me nuts (not in a bad way, but not really in a good way either)!

as i recall, for my warrior i proceeded in this order... first i explored the whole town (without going near mardaneus' front door or entering george's home) killing all the rabbits i could find, then i solved lanilor's lil freezing problem, got george his herbs and cured the 2 sick men, goemoe's and the dwarf's in that order... i took care in stealing everything i could find (of course when the npcs aren't in the immediate vicinity) along the way...

<shrug> i just have no idea how i doubled my skill levels... plz help?


EDIT: warrior not wearing or using "special" items...

This is a known bonus (bug?) for the male warrior; you just have to save and re-load for Sword Expertise and Augment Damage to get another level. This also works for other characters, but you have to put the first skill point in these two skills yourself (unfortunately, their own starting skills do not get a bonus).

Sometimes I found also a skillbook on a shelf in the catacombs beneath Aleroth (level -1, in chamber where you must summon a skeleton (Hostile) by lighting 5 candles).

But most of the time No skillbook.
I remeber I found there once a time a skillbook for "Hell Spikes".

That's not a special shelf. You can do that for EVERY SHELF IN THE GAME.

In fact, it my "Let's Play" (see link in signature) of the game, that's pretty much what I did. I maxed out a TON of Wizard's spells without ever investing one single point into them, and I did it with plenty of shelves to spare. I could have maxed out a few more spells, but they weren't that great, so I didn't want to bother. (Poison Cloud, Deadly Discs, Resurrect, Banish(?), Wizard's Sight) If there was a spellbook for it, I found it on a shelf.

Hi Stabbey,

indeed, every shelf! Now I remember I found a Skillbook in Jorams house too!
and I go to your link & it's great stuff ;)!

Normally I never "reload" (each) save before looking on shelfs (or chests) for having the best loot, but maybe occasionally I go for it next time I play on "Hard". Only for having more Skills, what will be fun!

Thank you Stabbey

hell i got a Restoration spellbook right in the house where the game starts... And reloaded for some reason, cause i was stupid then.

O, but "Restoration" you can have, I believe, 3 points in only by Questrewards, so NOT so "hell" you missed this spellbook

There's a fourth free skill point in Restoration - a skillbook in the Rivertown Sewers, but you need 2 points into Telekinesis to get it.

You can also toss a teleporter stone into the sewer close to the book, teleport down to get it, then pick up the teleporter stone and teleport out (not that it is difficult to get a couple levels of Telekinesis with purchased spell books, if you check merchants periodically; I maxed it that way).