SPELL SCHOLAR + ASTRAL GRIMORE = 3 or 6 Spells to start?

question
#1

If a new mage character chooses these two:

SPELL SCHOLAR: If you find a written SPELL, gain an extra SPELL
+
ASTRAL GRIMOIRE: Your SPELL book is drawn to you by a subtle kinetic force.
Gain any 3 INT SPELLS instantly. The book will slide toward you if it can

Is the intent that the player then gets to pick 6 spells from the list?

Side Q: when playing with SPELL SCHOLAR, if a spell is rolled on the LOOT table (i.e. roll a 12 on EPIC LOOT), does the player decide the 2nd spell? Or DM? Or random? (I suspect all work great, I’m more curious what experiences other folks have had and what worked vs. didn’t)

#2

I think it would be counter to the spirit of the starting ability to claim that an item you begin play with is “found”. As for the side question, I have no relevant experience.

#3

I think the wording of “find” vs “gain” is significant so you wouldn’t double dip.

Second Q sounds like something you would just decide for your game. There’s also the evergreen practice of deciding the question with a diceroll- roll d6: 1-2 player’s choice, 3-4 MC’s choice, 5-6 random.

#4

No.
They gain an extra spell when they “find” a spell.

#5

I agree with the above it comes down to wording and the spirit of the game.

As for the second/side question, it depends on the circumstances surrounding how and where the spell was found. Most of the time it will likely be randomly rolled for “random” (non-story specific) encounters.

For story-specific encounters where the players are facing a mage-like or spell-casting monster, I will likely feature the most prominent spell of the foe’s arsenal as the “found” Loot.

If there is a quest-specific requirement for a spell in a long-forgotten dungeon, ruin, or other such places of magical importance the story-specific spell may be carved into a wall for the player to discover. This is my GM way of placing a Loot Clue as to what the PCs may need to do to, more easily, succeed at a task.

OR it is the spell is a reward at the end of a dungeon or specific Mage TYPE quest to attain “the lost power of Xander the mage of the white tower”.