Ok, please explain slowly to me how secret page helps wizards in pathfinder?
Pathfinder
Secret Page
School transmutation; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, M (powdered herring scales and a vial of will-o'-wisp essence)
Range touch
Target page touched, up to 3 sq. ft. in size
Duration permanent
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Secret page alters the contents of a page so that it appears to be something entirely different. The text of a spell can be changed to show another spell of equal or lower level known by the caster. This spell cannot be used to change a spell contained on a scroll, but it can be used to hide a scroll. Explosive runes or sepia snake sigil can be cast upon the secret page.
A comprehend languages spell alone cannot reveal a secret page's contents. You are able to reveal the original contents by speaking a special word. You can then peruse the actual page and return it to its secret page form at will. You can also remove the spell by double repetition of the special word. A detect magic spell reveals dim magic on the page in question but does not reveal its true contents. True seeing reveals the presence of the hidden material but does not reveal the contents unless cast in combination with comprehend languages. A secret page spell can be dispelled, and the hidden writings can be destroyed by means of an erase spell.
It seems to me that a wizard could cast secret page on say a page containing
Haste and change it to say
Fireball if and only if he already had a spell book scribed by him with
Fireball, right?
Now this is useful in generating spell book copies, but not in gaining new spells, unless you paid another caster who had that spell to cast secret page on your spell book, correct?
Cost to get a casting of secret page is 150 gp (Wizard), 180 gp (Sorcerer), or 210 gp (Bard).
Cost of scribing a spell from another spellbook is (spell level squared) * (1.5 if courtesy cost). So even with wizard casting and an NPC having the spell you want it is not cheaper until 4ths right?
So this is basically a way to save a very small amount of gold on gaining new 4th + spells in a spellbook or a way to create duplicate spell books? Not such a huge deal right?
Also would this not require the wizard to make spellcraft checks on all of the pages created with purchased secret page? Or perhaps not?
Arcane Magical Writings
To record an arcane spell in written form, a character uses complex notation that describes the magical forces involved in the spell. The writer uses the same system no matter what her native language or culture. However, each character uses the system in his own way. Another person's magical writing remains incomprehensible to even the most powerful wizard until he takes time to study and decipher it.
To decipher an arcane magical writing (such as a single spell in another's spellbook or on a scroll), a character must make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the spell's level). If the skill check fails, the character cannot attempt to read that particular spell again until the next day. A read magic spell automatically deciphers magical writing without a skill check. If the person who created the magical writing is on hand to help the reader, success is also automatic.
Once a character deciphers a particular piece of magical writing, he does not need to decipher it again. Deciphering magical writing allows the reader to identify the spell and gives some idea of its effects (as explained in the spell description). If the magical writing is a scroll and the reader can cast arcane spells, he can attempt to use the scroll.
Wizard Spells and Borrowed Spellbooks
A wizard can use a borrowed spellbook to prepare a spell he already knows and has recorded in his own spellbook, but preparation success is not assured. First, the wizard must decipher the writing in the book (see Arcane Magical Writings, above). Once a spell from another spellcaster's book is deciphered, the reader must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level) to prepare the spell. If the check succeeds, the wizard can prepare the spell. He must repeat the check to prepare the spell again, no matter how many times he has prepared it before. If the check fails, he cannot try to prepare the spell from the same source again until the next day. However, as explained above, he does not need to repeat a check to decipher the writing.
P.S. To the gentleman who stated just memorize from scrolls I do not belive you can do that in Pathfinder. Do you have a citation? As far as I can see you need a spellbook.
Spellbooks: A wizard must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook, except for read magic, which all wizards can prepare from memory.
A wizard begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from his prohibited schools, if any; see Arcane Schools) plus three 1st-level spells of his choice. The wizard also selects a number of additional 1st-level spells equal to his Intelligence modifier to add to the spellbook. At each new wizard level, he gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that he can cast (based on his new wizard level) for his spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards' spellbooks to his own (see Magic).