Twumke’s Chronicle of Mazes
In the AD&D universe one of the most prized treasure items a magic-user character could discover was a book of magic, because it gained access to a range of spells and not just the one or two that the player gained with each level. That’s the way it started out, anyway. Things might have changed.
With the years, as new campaigns were introduced by TSR, and later Wizards of the Coast, the concept of spell book began to change. I guess someone, somewhere, got tired with the printed model and decided to what-if. What if the spells were written on papyrus and rolled up in a dragonhide? What if they were etched on metal and clenched together with adamantite clasps? What if they were written between the furls of a flag? And on and on. I found this tiresome.
Of more interest to me were books that were magic, but not necessarily spellbooks. Early AD&D had a range of these, essentially ways for a player to level up in class or abilities when they read the whole thing. For example, The Manual of Steadily Pilfering, once read and studied by thieves, gave them enough experience points to reach the next level. There were also books for different alignments and books to gain points in basic abilities (intelligence, strength, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, and charisma.) These I felt were more democratic as anyone could use them.
Taking this to the next level, I’m sure there were hybrid magic books, magic books to gain other abilities, cursed magic books, and magic books that have no clear purpose at all.
Unusual Magic Books
| The Bitter Book of the Peach: A leather-bound tome with the image of a peach and peach leaves embossed on the front. Contains a good number of handwritten, mid-level spells, but all of them run off the page and aren’t continued on the other side, rendering them useless, and the owner, embittered. However, skilled mages have a 25% of having enough knowledge to complete any single spell themselves.
The Blissful Libram of Knots: Contains instructions to tie dozens of different knots, some of them magical. In addition, the exercises are so soothing and intricate the reader actually gains a temporary hit point from being so relaxed. Book of Sprouts: A small but very thick book that identifies plants through their sproutlings, with hundreds of beautiful watercolors painted on thin paper that looks to be made of pressed fairies’ wings. Very valuable to druids. Studying the book improves one’s botany or horticulture skills up to 35%. Catalog of Elven Stool: Contains pictures of Elven excrement and how to analyze it to determine health problems. Of not much interest to other races, but Elven healers prize it. Owners will see their diagnostic abilities raised by 10% – 25%. A Comic Guide to Rum: A history of this alcoholic beverage written in such a humorous tone the reader will start to laugh, and the magic effect will cause those around them to start laughing drunkenly, too, as if they all had a swig from the same bottle. The Eldritch Monograph of Eyes: Contains detailed drawings of Accursed creatures’ eyes, providing a means to identify them even when they are in disguise (as Accursed creatures can never change this facial feature). Fegwen’s Fragrance Folio: This book looks full of blank pages, but looks are deceiving – each page references a specific scent, and putting one’s nose to the paper allows the reader to experience that scent and know immediately what it is. The Fragrance Folio contains only pleasant and neutral smells. Its twin volume, Fegwen’s Odor Omnibus, contains foul smells, some of them so awful they can make the reader pass out. Anyone who reads the whole of either book will be able to correctly identify those smells in the future. A Guidebook to Wizardly Skullcaps: Wizards, especially older ones, are fond of wearing skullcaps that convey their place of origin, power level and magic specialties to other magic-users. This book, laden with full-colour pictures, allows the novice adventurer to do the same thing. Manual of Harness and Tunnel: A book about Dwarven mining techniques, including their use of donkeys and mules to aid in hauling rock to the surface. There’s an aura of magic about it but little actual magic in it. Know, however, that the Dwarven clan whose secrets were stolen have been actively tracking it down for decades, and are not above murder to get it back. So buyer beware. A Robust Guide to Mercenary Employment: A self-help book for sell-swords and other mercenaries on finding profitable employment. After reading the book, their charisma is raised in the eyes of prospective employers and they are 50% more likely to book a job. The effect lasts for a number of months. After gaining a job the mercenary has no more use for the book and usually sells it or gives it away to a friend, keeping it in continuous circulation. Sephran’s Book of Death Rituals: Scholarly book about burial rites of different civilizations. Any necromancer worth his or her salt will have this in their library. Studying it gives any magic they do a 10% greater success rate. It has no effect on other types of magic-users. Twumke’s Chronicle of Mazes: Thick, chunky reference book that contains a history of mazes and labyrinths, a listing of some notable ones, and lastly, how to build one. At the end are several maze-related spells that are of interest to mages but gibberish to everyone else. The Wondrous Omnibus of the Orb: Contains a variety of articles, each by a different mage, concerning the creation of orbs, drifting balls of luminous light. The articles range from theoretical ruminations to spell tips and variations. This book was created to be in the library of a now-vanished school of magic and is larger and heavier than usual. |
