1

An autobiography entitled “My Life As A Gnome Bodyguard”. According to the author, most hostile beings belittled or overlooked her right up until she loosed a gauntleted haymaker into their crotch. This technique along with common sense and basic bodyguarding strategies (Which are described in detail) allowed her to protect her charges for decades.

2

A sacred hymnal dedicated to a God of Roll on "Random Godly Domains" , bound in oiled leather.

3

An autobiography entitled “From Urchin to Merchin”, one man's account of how he rose in prominence from a orphaned street rat with nothing but the rags on his back, to becoming the most successful and widely respected merchant and businessman in three realms. The book is bound in fine leather with gemstones embedded in the spine and contains little useful advice on how to become successful. Insightful PC's will deduce that the book is little more than a way of bragging about his success and advertising his businesses while simultaneously making more money from book sales.

4

An informational textbook entitled “The Arts Alchemical: A Primer”. The book is mostly unreadable as its center has been deliberately hollowed and contains a Roll on "All Sealed Glass Vials"

5

The Hellbound Path: A dread tome penned by the foul Daemonologist Adel Alsden of Wolfenburg some 200 years ago, this book exudes raw malevolence. The cover is a strange red leather covered in coarse, black hair that feels warm to the touch and almost seems to pulse. The pages are made from human skin, and the words are written in a perverse mixture of human blood and dust made from ground demon’s bones. In the reader’s peripheral vision, the text sometimes appear to writhe on the pages. The object is an instructional manual on the many ways to guide pure souls to hell by corrupting humans through rhetoric, sinful indulgences and logical justifications for immorality. According to the text, any living creature can be set on the path to the warm embraces of the demons of hell if they are attended to by a devout adherent of the inferno.

6

A tome of forgotten love ballads written by a legendary bard.

7

Great Book of the Lawgivers: A convoluted lexicon that boasts of over 1,000 pages of text written in the tightly packed and precise dwarf style that outlines the entire dwarven legal code as well as all instances of case law and legal precedent ranging back thousands of years. Difficult enough for dwarfs to understand, even those experienced with the laws of other lands can rarely decipher the true meaning of the dwarf statutes.

8

An 11 step formula for business success, entitled “The Art of the Deal.” authored by Don Aldus Drumpf. Knowledgeable PC's will know that the book was infamously ghostwritten and the named author was never a good businessman and was given “small loan” of a million gold by his father and was able to capitalize on it.

9

A large brown book with an unknown demonic symbol of an upside down pentagram and skull on the cover. It's pages are blackened by its evil and knowledgeable PC's will recognize this as a warlock's grimoire. It contains a list of evil spells and foul rituals written in the language of demons and even a casual perusal of the tome seems to taint the reader's soul.

10

A traveler's journal, embossed with an abdomen of a large arachnid, with a clasp sealing the book. The clasp is actually the head of the spider, its jaws bite around a telson upon its rear.

11

A thick volume bound in a dark hide etched with elaborate silver symbols. The stretched-skin pages and tightly scrawled writing are bathed in shadow, even under the brightest light.

12

Power Beyond The Grave, Using Undead As Workforce: A book that describes the best uses and most efficient application of undead labor. The book's tag line written in bold bright red letters reads; “They Don't Tire, They Don't Complain, And They're Low Maintenance! (Banned In Three Kingdoms)”.

13

A leather bound travel journal with a tree design on its front that produces a slight blue glow from between the pages.

14

The Call to Avelier: A collection of stories of many countless failed explorers' journeys to the mythical holy city of Aveleer, lost somewhere within the serpent-ridden plain known as the Long Grass. A veritable sea, where green stalks quaver as three-meter waves midst ungulates like roaming, tree-topped islands of fur and thew. A collection of wonders, but mostly of disappointment and fear. In the end, it is a cautionary tale. To a rare and foolish few, though, it is an invitation.

15

A large heavy tome entitled “How To Spot An Assassin: A Critical Analysis”. The book does give helpful advice but quickly gets cut off as towards its middle there is a hollowed out section. In this hiding place the reader will find a razor sharp dagger made purely of black ceramic.

16

A leatherworking manual entitled “The Art of the Quickdraw: How to Strike First and Ask Questions Later”. The book explains in great detail how to create, modify and maintain all manner of sheaths, quivers, braces and holsters in order to be able to minimize the time and energy required to draw a weapon. The book shows the many different areas to keep a sheath weighs the pros and cons of the locations and their ergonomic potential based on where the bearer typically keeps their hands. An example from the book mentions that boot knives are a nightmare to unsheathe in combat but are among the last to be found during a casual search and it is possible to draw them even while tied up, crouched down or both.

17

A small travel handbook filled with dozens of dichotomous keys of poisonous and edible plants in rarely traveled parts of the world.

18

Leaves of Stone: An impressively heavy “book” bound in stone slabs with the titles carved into the front. The object is more of a door stop, though the author would likely protests to its use as such. Its stone pages are bound by think iron rings and engraved with the musings of the great dwarven poet Wilk Whetstone.

19

A Treatise on Tortoises: A religious text whose first twenty pages feature a selection of drawings, essays, and descriptions on and of the large saltwater tortoises that were once prolific around the subtropical islands of the south. The thin folio's following pages, however, seem to be written by a different hand, and while at first they follow the same structure, cryptic notes in the margins begin to overtake the text and illustrations, until they make up the entirety of the pages near the end of the book. The meaning of the notes (Which largely consist of long strings of seemingly nonsense words) has been rigorously debated within the scholarly community, but at least four disparate religions and cults have been founded based on various interpretations of the text. Notably, all agree that the last page (Which is naught but a tangle of scribbled, barely legible mass of ink) depicts the same thing; the face of a long dead God.

20

The Compendium of Magical Treasures from the Third Kingdom of Lundor Compiled by Sir Davrick Ostagar: An old tome chronicling dozens of long-forgotten magical relics, ranging from the mundane to the fantastic. The description of a ring meant to imbue the element of fire to the bearer seems to stand out as the page has been dog-eared and seems quite worn. Another remarkable find is near the end of the book. It's a plain bone wand that is described as having "Petty and amateurish effects of prestidigitation and minor illusions," but off to the side, written in what seems to be a hastily scrawled ink, is the phrase "Death conquers all."

21

A Sibylline Tome; Collection of Past Events: A book containing an extremely detailed description of the events the party of PC's has gone through in the past, filled with insights and facts that nobody but them could possibly know, and even ones they didn't. ---Note: A DM can feel free to poke fun at things the party misinterpreted/failed to realize during the campaign. Also encourage your players to come up with things the tome says about them before they joined the party themselves.

22

A pocket book of stage magic entitled “1001 Simple Legerdemaine Tricks to Amaze Your Friends” authored by the wondrous bard, Longfingers.

23

A pocket notebook with cryptic phrases scrawled haphazardly on most of the pages.

24

A bound collection of pressed plants from all over the realm, with notes scribbled in druidic runes.

25

A battered leather-bound book written in a long forgotten language.

26

A leather bound volume of great age, the writing mostly worn away and the covers falling apart.

27

A monster hunter’s journal edited for publication entitled “Squishy Bits: A Catalog of Vital Organs and Where to Find Them” by Victor 'Pokes' Mackenzie.

28

A large compendium simply titled “The Big Book Of Cons”. The inside cover promises a myriad of money making strategies including but not limited to: Pyramid schemes, letters from Chultan princes who need your gold pieces to send you back their fortune and vials of cure-all elixirs made from water, cheap herbs and a dash of color.

29

A cheap primer entitled “You Are A Thief, Now What?”, an entry-level instructional handbook for beginner thieves and those who are interested in thievery.

30

Conversations with a Dead Magician: A book thought to be untrue, despite its pretensions otherwise, the publisher will not reveal which is the case. Conversations with a Dead Magician tells of the author's time spent researching and conversing with a magical incunable, reportedly among the last of its kind to be created, found buried in an estate auction. It tells first of his original fascination with the blood-fed tome, his time spent recovering it from its unused ages of madness by hours of conversation. Only later does it describe how he eventually came to hate the stodgy and quarrelsome mind within the book, how he dearly wished to shut it forever. How he would, if not for some sense of responsibility to that captured mind, a responsibility he'd not dare share with any other reader. Despite its unverifiable nature, the book contains usefully-true notes on the nature and use of sorcerous incunabula.

31

Crust and Crumb. A traditional baker's guide, the copy is thin, bound in white linen, and found with copious jam stains. Contains recipes, primarily for breads of a common variety, but also for biscuits, scones, and cakes.

32

Culto Delle Fate Nel Nord: An obscure druidic text, published only in that tongue, which provides an analysis of the superstitions or "fey-worship" of the northern folk. It describes their offerings, their year-walking, and their establishment of apparent familial links with the fairies of a given land for purposes of mutual peace and protection.

33

Death's Head: An anthrobotanist's consideration of the mandrake, that motile and aurally-deadly creeper in the night. A tuber of deadly wont, fond of planting itself in the skulls of dead men. The writer finds it a fascinating study, spends near two hundred pages detailing its ways, its intellect, and the difficulties of its cultivation for medical purposes.

34

Half Again Around: A memoir of an elite guard within an infamous spy organization. His station: the remote, freezing Keep at Doorneagle; a great, circular wall built about the lip of a sinkhole of seemingly-bottomless depth. He recounts his days spent endlessly walking that round walk, staring and wondering down at the black he and comrades were told to watch. Never were they told what was within. Never did they find out. The book does not say, either. What it does describe is the ways of folk left in weird solitude. Their behaviors and rituals, seemingly mad to outsiders, made up and practiced on shifts long as 48 hours. Strange walking patterns round the walls, mainly. Half around, a quarter around, all the way about and back again: All in increments like a clock. Rituals enacted to stave off the compulsions of paranoia and sleeplessness, bloomed like the cold wind from that unknowable sinkhole.

35

Wulgarn's Yum Yums: A simple notebook bound in scrappy leather with yellowed pages. The writing is surprisingly easy to understand considering that it was written by an Orc. The book contains 20 basic campfire recipes for the every day adventurer or traveler (Though vegetarians will have almost nothing to gain from the book). The recipes are simple enough to make and all of the ingredients are easy to identify and use.

36

Hostelpoft the Wanderer: A work by noted Lothrheimer novelist Grestle Seiderberg. It described the journeys of the eponymous Hostelpoft, an awakened mouse traveler renowned for his thick dialect and red bindle, who journeyed all across the kingdom in search of fortune. He found not riches, in the end, but knowledge and friends along the way. The book describes major landmarks, cities, and, most notably, pubs and hostels visited by Hostelpoft in exceedingly clear detail.

37

Ironclad: A bound collection of field-memoirs by a knight under service to the Crown. A Ser Estle of Kernow, attached with her retinue of keepers to a heavy infantry battalion on the Northern Moors. Ironclad features, among musing about poetry, patriotism, and the meaning of service, enlightening details about the ways of glutted goblins, many of whom fell neath Estle's titanic blade. It also provides insight into the ways and tactics of Northern knights.

38

See Dad Forge: A Dwarven children's book perfect for teaching children to read. Includes pictures, and provides information such as basic mining tools, what gems are valuable, what stones are best for building, the legend of the first Dwarven city, and, of course, the difference between beer and ale.

39

La Nome, il Nome, the Name: A recent catalogue of kingdom names, taken from censuses, military rosters, and interviews collected in three countries. All are listed by commonality, meaning, and popularity. Merely a linguist's textbook, to be certain, but a useful one.

40

Leifson's Fairytales. A recent collation of traditional Northern fairy stories by Leifson, a scholar of applied folklore. Including Askel and the Knockers, Wee Tom fiddle, and The Serpent's Bow, this tome recalls the tales in all their terror and odd power. Curiously illustrated with depictions of fairies deemed scandalously frightening for children, and filled with ancient proverbs and superstitious, the books contents are disturbing, fascinating, and strangely applicable in their lessons.

41

Lorn's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage: A genealogical record of the kingdom. It concerns and lists the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of the capital city and all its associated lands. Alphabetized and recorded by family name. Any important personage to have lived in the last century will have his or her name in Lorn's most recent edition.

42

A Sibylline Tome; Collection of Current Events: A book containing an extremely detailed description of the events the party currently find themselves intertwined in, filled with insights and facts that nobody but them could possibly know, and even ones they didn't. ---Note: A DM can feel free to ruminate on the possible options and their pros and cons and what you think the might choose to do as a DM here. Also encourage your players to come up with things the tome says about their characters thoughts and feelings about current events that they haven't shared yet.

43

Matches: A popular book amongst adventurers, Matches describes how to catch nearly anything on fire, given a light and enough tinder. Many a chilly adventuring team has thanked this thin folio for its tips on how to start a blaze in rain, wind, or meager lands. Many an arsonist has, as well.

44

Advanced Spellcraft: A mage's tome that explains advanced spellcasting techniques written by Evanora Graceeris. It is extremely dull, boring and takes a lot of concentration or persistence to get through. It explains the fundamentals of warding and magical circles expanding upon them to cover protection wards and shields.

45

Magic and the Weave: A tattered leather journal containing a full breakdown of gnomish scholar Flit Hipwits studies on magic and the weave and his findings into the subject. The book is mostly nonsensical and illegible ramblings on the weave of magic, bragging about how he managed to persuade a group of mages to work for free for over six months and of his favorite taverns and inns through the land but does have some useful insights to the subject.

46

Mease, Yeast, and Culture: A tome containing the complex biological wisdom of a baker, brewer, and spore-magister, all of whom contribute fascinatingly to form a treatise both historical and practical on fungus' use and role in society. Describes with minute measures the required procedure for producing loaves, mease porridge, and beers alike

47

My Liege: A novel that is the most popular and the most reviled entry in the budding genre of romance to have ever been sold in the kingdom. My Liege describes the hidden, scandal-worthy affair lead by two queens; characters modeled none-too-subtly on actual, popular young royals of two different nearby kingdoms. It is pulpy, nigh-unbelievable, and uncommonly popular despite having no redeeming value save entertainment.

48

The Argentine Manual Of Arms For Noble Gentlemen: A handsome volume, bound in decorated leather, with an inlaid picture of two men in court dress dueling with thin rapiers. The book details a complete fencing style specifically for court duels. It is lavishly decorated with beautiful illustrations of the positions and techniques of the Argentine style. It is not particularly suited to warfare or dungeon delving, but will allow you to avenge insults to a lady's honor while retaining your courtly poise.

49

My Sister Wears Hobnails: A slice-of-life account by a mundane florist of his elder sister: An experienced and ceaselessly-cheery, despite the nature of her profession, adventurer. My Sister Wears Hobnails, is, above all, an entertainment piece, more full of tales of amusingly awkward returns by the scarred adventurer to family dinners and weddings than real accounts of the horrors of adventuring. Many blame claim this book as a foul influence, as the reason for many a son or daughter's foolish travel to frontier towns in search of fame and fortune. Few know the sister in question went missing in action mere months after the book's publication, disappeared on a raid sent to clear a lich’s tomb. No truthful impressions of adventuring may be found within.

50

On Salt and Welfare: An old medical text, still well-read, known for being both the first and most comprehensively sourced analysis multiple types of alchemical salt and their effects on and use in human physiology and medicine. Widely accepted for its well-reasoned, regular prescriptions of salt for many purposes, such as wound cleansing, plague prevention, and fertility management.

51

Great Musicians of the Modern Period: A leather bound encyclopedia of famous bards that is a veritable "who's who" of modern musicians, almost all of whom are still alive and trying to make a living today. Although thoroughly researched, the book suspiciously goes on at great length about one Aloysius Fernangeles Compodius VII, describing his musical style in flattering, flowery language. Also suspiciously, one of the most popular musicians in the region is consistently referred to as "The Drunk," and his musical style described as "crude fare for the masses."

52

Partizan: A popular, recent release written by a soldier active in and injured on the frontlines of a kingdom border conflict. It provides an unparalleled look at the novel and terrible thing that is modern war. Descriptions of crossbow fusillades, magic used to pulverizing effect, and the tactical advent that the sniper are given in horridly fascinating detail. Due to its release so early in the war, the book is supposed by some to be at least partially fiction; padded on all corners by make believe. Despite, its view of modern conflict remains unparalleled in its clarity.

53

Piedmont's Guide to Monsters: A premiere guide to monstrosity, beast, and fiend, collated by none other than its most esteemed explorer and cartographer: Professor Wallace Piedmont. Though now sadly out of date and no longer updated in its editions, due to the Professor's disappearance, the book contains unrivaled descriptions, both verbal and visual, of the ways, habitats, and omens of monsters large and small.

54

Untitled Poems of the Kywirk Gurr: An oversized, fur-bound tome of 14 goatskin pages, contains the only known example of Yeti poetry, from a highly socialized band on the leeward side of the Bittersnap Mountains. Its topics include seasonal shifts, territorial disputes among bands, and prime hunting grounds. The language is idiosyncratic and pictographic in nature.

55

Prince, Poisoner, Pariah: A biography of Price Alvon the Terrible, of Adaleutia, an utterly mad monarch, twisted in form and mind by centuries of royal inbreeding, who cleverly executed his entire court by tricking them into kissing poisoned rings. For this, the mad Prince was sent to exile, later found himself a mere murderer-oddity, a refugee, in the kingdom Court.

56

Pseodomonarchaea Daemonum: A book of unknown authorship that is currently banned in all Southern coastal countries. It depicts, with dubious accuracy, the power structure and supposed hierarchies of the viral entities known as hemorae, or, as the Southerners know them, demons.

57

Ruislip the Whistler: An old biography of Ruislip of Lissp, a minstrel of yore who delivered coded messages by the notes of his penny whistle and bagpipes. Ruislip played in courts kingdom wide and was never once caught in his dispensation and collection of secrets to and from embedded spies. Only in his final days, preceding retirement, did Ruislip submit an expose to all those he'd betrayed as performer and as a double or even triple agent. The book contains examples of his coded song, and the fingerings required to transmit it.

58

Unshameful Names for Your Child, A Parenting Book: A heavy tome bound in stone with thick iron rings holding it together. After learning that his traditional Dwarven name is highly embarrassing to those who speak only Common, Shi'Teater Stunck sought to ensure that no other child would suffer the same public ridicule as him. This book is the culmination of that work.

59

Searess: A biography of Amile Firense Opal Clereau, the Emperoussin engineer notable for refining original crossbow blueprints into more reliable, deadly irons of war under the instruction of armsmith Eventine Munitions. Both a scholar of armaments and a philosopher of life, Clereau was continually wracked by conscientious premonitions of what her developments would wreak upon humankind. The engineer predicted that in the decade following the release of her crossbow designs, several specific instances of sectarian violence, including strikes by the Holy Inquisition, would flare, Coast-wide. She predicted each, and watched as each, aided by her product, enacted fresh violence over long-stirring tensions. The book provides, along with its miserable supposition, the original, true notes Clereau made in her improvement of the crossbow.

60

Sparrow's End. A novel, which depicts in detail both painful and sensuous the life and demise of Elivabet Ellimere Adele Sidova, a duelist and renowned lover also known by a flighty nickname: The Sparrow. The bastard child of a high priced courtesan and noble lord, she led a violent, lustful, and sensationally short life in all the high aristospheres before meeting an excessively ugly end orchestrated by a union of her enemies.

61

State of Exurgency. A much-derided treatise by scholar Leelander of Sortz on observations of the Fey’s expansion in realms abandoned by mankind. Extensive, but unclear and mainly ridiculous, as Leelander was a noted laudanum addict; apt to dream an encounter with fey more often than actually observe one. Still, the book inadvertently serves as a handy guide to the maintenance of an opium addiction for as long as one may before going utterly mad.

62

The Love Poetry of Dryads: A bark-bound book that is a little rough in the reader's hands, and according to verse #163, that's how the dryads like it. However, verse #77 suggests a gentle rustle through her leaves will set her desire ablaze. It's all more complicated than peasant girls, so be careful when trying to make a move on a prickly lady friend. This version is a new edition of an old book of poems, chock full of translations from ancient and modern Sylvan. This edition has a new forward written by the celebrated elvish bard Lorendel Woodswhisper.

63

The Abattoir at Ilkreat: A horror novel based on true events. Namely, on the discovery of chilling graves under the slaughterhouse on the isle of Ilkreat, a remote and rocky place used to raise hordes of swine for consumption. Neath that bloody place were discovered dozens, scores of twisted skeletons: young, human frames with the rotted heads of swine. What occurred at Ilkreat, in reality, was never discovered. This novel puts a twist of supposition on the evidence, spins a tale of modern sorcery and horrid pigmen.

64

The Black Handbook. A regulation guidebook carried by most licensed medical practitioners, coroners and plague doctors. Advises how to address and medicate any given situation involving corpses, plague, or zombies. Civilian versions are usually available at slightly marked-up prices.

65

A Sibylline Tome; Collection of Future Prophecies: A book containing a vast number of prophecies about future events that the party might find themselves in. Offering suggestions as to how they might overcome these events and insights into how they might be caused or avoided. ---Note: A DM should feel free to utilize a mix of things that you have already prepared for and vague hints that could mean anything that you can link back to later after the fact. Also encourage your players to come up with things that the tome say about their future themselves.

66

The Cant of the Errant Brickman: An expensively assembled collection of woodcuts and definitions describing the system of marks left by traveling bricklayers, itinerant laborers, in communication with each other. These marks denote such concepts as danger, direction, or the generosity of nearby folk to wanderers.

67

The Casque of Life: A now-debunked phrenological guide. Once, used by crackpots in an attempt to attest the mental and spiritual faculties of a given being by the shape of their skull. Now, an adventure’s oddity. The book is useful now only for the identification of skulls to glean additional information from skeletal remains, such as species, sex and approximate age.

68

The Mapping of Portents, Vol. II: A single, thinner tome, bound in leather, with its name in silver gilt on the spine only. The swirled, deep blues and blacks on the cover are only broken up by a scattering of reflective dust, appearing as stars in the night sky. After a brief foreword, where Prof. Ensarai Dorough graciously accepts the praise from her first volume, and then outlines the need for a second volume, covering the most recent era gone past. This entire volume provides hand-drawn positioning of stars and bodies in the heavens, juxtaposed against the occurrence of certain, major events and upheavals in recorded history. Though in her acknowledgements, she admits these connections could be entirely spurious and unfounded, the professor also points out even savage warlords pay attention to the omens the stars foretell.

69

Two Centuries of Tragedy: A curated folio of two hundred years’ worth of the greatest works of famous playwrights whose calamitous tales have ever graced a stage. Beginning with the metrical tragedians of antique vogue, and ending with the very-real horror which befell the Royal Opera. Read entirely, this great brick of a book provides a comprehensive standard to the critique of grim theater, as well as an impending, melancholy sense of doom.

70

What I Saw on the HMS Learbatton: A tale of a journalist attached to the eponymous Learbatton, a battleship which went missing for three weeks midst the misty Trackless Isles: A sea of rocks, looming mountain isles, and grabbing sargasso feared and rarely escaped. Only by the luck of a rite called the Dorndallow method did the ship return at all to port. When she did, she came to rest in Belvirine, a half-Coast away from her port of exit. When arrived, her crew learned she'd been away six months, not the three weeks they'd perceived. This recounting is the most modern of tales to dare speak of what occurs in the vast and trackless sea.

71

What Lies Below: A true novelization of an alcoholic adventure’s time in Elastor Bay: A wet and shallow inlet-town littered with sea cave-mouths and palls of endless fog. It describes his signing with a band of specialized delvers under the seal of Lagão Treasury, of his ventures with them into the pelagic reaches of sea caves. Sea caves, littered with riches untouched, save by the squelching caress of zombies and other, worse pelagic nightmares.

72

A small travel book full of delicately preserved wings from butterflies and other small insects.

73

A journal by a young lass from a hundred years ago. The entries are positive, optimistic, romantic. Somewhere in the her late teens she falls in love for a fellow and at the same time she’s visited by nightmares, headaches and visions. Strangely the visions darkly warn her that her lover is dangerous, something she refuses to believe even when other things she sees in them come to pass. She writes that she plans to run away with him before the journal abruptly ends. Knowledgeable PC’s will recognize that the symptoms she describes are signs of a changeling coming into her power on the path to becoming a hag.

74

A book with an interlocking pattern of gears on the front and back. The gears lock together, stopping the book from being opened unless the opener can puzzle out the correct way to spin each gear to unlock the book. Once opened, the book appears to be a detailed technical treatise of the legendary flying city of Serraine, supposedly built by gnomes after the gnomish diaspora in an attempt to create a homeland for their race. Extensive focus is given to the crafting of the airships in their "Top Ballista" air force.

75

The Rise of Magical Species: A thin book bound in animal hide written by a ranger, it provides a straightforwards examination of the way strong magical fields can alter animal evolution to create magical species, such as giant-sized animals or oozes. The knowledge in it can be used to help gain insight into any creature that is either descended or created from mundane beasts.

76

Thoughts and Speculations: A grey book with a plain looking cover, although a small dark stain on the back cover looks suspiciously like dried out blood. It is the diary of the early days of the dark lord Vecna, a powerful wizard who eventually became a lich (And whom some say later became a god). The book is helpful in understanding all type of undead. However, the things described in this book are both terrible and maddening and it is to be read at one's own risk.

77

238 Dwarf Bar Jokes and More: A sturdy book whose cover was made from an old tavern sign and bonded by scrap chain mail, it smells like the bar the cover is made out of. It has a bounty of bad jokes, mostly witty insults and lengthy puns.

78

Order and Chaos, a study into Mechanus and Limbo: A heavy tome bound with the hide of an ancient beast, locked with heavy brass locks, the book contains all the findings, experiments and secrets of Aldizar Vermont about the planes of Mechanus and Limbo. Written in a thick and heavy jargon, with some words and terms being invented by Aldizar as he progresses his research and scribbled down in a minute handwriting, it is an immensely hard book to read, but it contains a treasure of information for those wishing to read it thoroughly. Knowledgeable PC's will know that it is said Aldizar grew mad after he resided on the perfect order of Mechanus and then went into the Chaos of Limbo. Contained within the book is some of this madness, upon being read for too long, it has a chance to funnel some of Limbo's energies around the reader......

79

Kalar's Odyssey: A massive scroll inscribed on dragon skin, written by the ancient hero Kalar, the tale is an accounting of his travels and heroics. It's an autobiography of epic proportions spanning all his years delving in the Underdark, scaling mountain peaks, and sailing vast oceans. There are detailed notes on the nature of a variety of beasts, the locations of ancient artifacts, and the political and mythological origins of kingdoms (some of them long dead).

80

Ancestors of the Gods: A massive tome, bound in leather and written in a shaky hand, it tells the story of what existed before the gods created the universe out of formless chaos. It is written by a former cleric who was hunting a leader among the aboleths and conveys his descent into madness and finally the loss of his faith as he learned far too much for his fragile mind to handle. The tome contains a lot of information about aberrations of all kinds, but it is hard to unravel due to the author's fragmenting grasp on reality.

81

The Waters of Life: A book bound in shark skin that appears to have been written by a cultist who worshiped "Ol' Hydra, Queen Of The Waves." It recounts her travels on the Elemental Plane of Water as she traveled the islands there searching for a mythical "fountain of youth," only to discover that it was actually a metaphorical fountain that had been inside her all along.

82

The Abyssal Gourmet: An impressively large book, bound in fine embossed leather, lettered with exquisitely beautiful calligraphy, but written, possibly, in blood. This unique book details several elaborate recipes using rare ingredients and arcane methods by the infamous 'demon chef.' It is unclear if the author was a literal demon or if the moniker is merely a nickname. Some of the less mundane ingredients come from different planes of existence, but never fear, the demon chef provided an index of each ingredient and where to find them.

83

The Art of Musketry: A medium sized book written by dwarves (In Dwarvish) has two thin stone slabs as the front and back cover. It describes the art of crafting firearms such as flintlock pistols or muskets, although it also goes into detail about other types of weapons, both mundane and magical. ---Note: If firearms aren't common or don't exist in your campaign treat this book as a form of extremely theoretical and dangerously volatile alchemy.

84

Escapades of the Royal Household: A small set of papers, coverless and bound by small iron rings, it details the escapades of the court, written from the perspective of a (Since beheaded) servant to the king. The volume talks about the rumors surrounding the families methods on "keeping the bloodline pure" and other equally disturbing, but highly entertaining facts and gossip. The reader gains insight in the goings on of the court and may pick up some hidden details written between the lines.

85

Book of the Civilized Man by Daniel of Beccles: A "book of courtesy," or etiquette guide, this short book contains all the information needed by the "new man" who is rising in society. Studying this book allows the reader to fit into upper class society more easily. It is written in three parts: The first explains the social hierarchy and how to behave around those of lower or higher station, beginning "Reader, if you wish to be adorned with good manners, if you wish to be respected and lead a civilized life as a noble householder..." The second deals with self-control, especially in speaking and eating: "Be careful to whom, what, why and when you speak." The third deals with sexual morality, giving not only advice on seeking out a prostitute, but on choosing a wife.

86

The Cloud of Unknowing: A book of mysticism that does not provide answers to questions. Rather, it urges the reader to abandon consideration of the divine's particular activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the nature of the divine.

87

Beasts and Bindings: A thick leather tome with pages made from the hide of a beast, Beasts and Bindings details various mundane creatures and techniques to tame them. It's written by the practiced animal tamer Norvan Darkdraft, who, unfortunately, was eaten by a tiger.

88

The search for Crimson, by Jankin Swiftstep: A book bound by crimson leather, sides of the pages covered in hastily written notes and ideas. The book contains the investigation notes and commentary of Jankin Swiftstep, a Halfling archaeologist trying to locate the Crimson Seekers, a group of adventurers that saved his town from a vampire threat years back. The book contains clues and last-known-location of the group's magical equipment, tales of epic fights, and an author's closing words disappointed that he couldn't find out what happened to his childhood heroes.

89

The Lullaby: A black covered book with relaxing mellow colors swirling over it in hypnotizing patterns. It contains the recipes of potions of sleep and spells of sleep of varying strength. But, the book is hard to read because it's fairly complexly written.

90

The Enchiridion of Nundecrum Vol. 1: A brown leather-bound journal with the title precisely burnt into the cover and along the spine. It appears weathered, some of the pages have gotten wet, making it difficult to decipher the entire volume. The journal of Nundecrum begins with a statement of motive: to uncover the nature of other-worldly beings not readily described by standard biologists and monster hunters, which he believed were responsible for a great deal of tragedy throughout history. It is a bestiary focusing on Aberrations and Fiends, including geographic occurrence, detailed sketches, physiology, as well as weaknesses of such beings.

91

Introduction to Evocatiodynamics by David J. Gryphon: A book bound by blue leather, with a glowing title that contains an introductory course to the workings of the weave applied to the School of Evocation. The writing is friendly to novices, explaining common rune notations and concepts, good for self-study. The author explains step by step the process of complicated incantations, as opposed to more convoluted texts like Jackson's Classical Evocationdynamics. This novice-friendliness comes at a cost, however, and some advance concepts and workings of the weave are given as mantras instead of rigorous demonstrations.

92

Flowers of the Elven Courts of Farithiandor: A book bound in grey leather decorated with dark blue flower patterns etched into the cover. This is a "fictional" story of the forbidden romance between a young human man and an older noble elven woman during the third age. If true the information in this book could disprove the noble lineage of the Silverleaf family. If not, its just a trashy elven love novel.

93

A Halfling Rum Runners Diary: A diary with a nondescript brown leather cover that details the accounts of Billion Sweetfoot, a famous halfling smuggler. Billion was best known for smuggling his home made rum into kingdoms throughout the world during the great alcohol ban of the second age. With proper study the reader can reproduce the famous Sweetfoot Rum recipe.

94

Johannes Grishamm; The Puffin Tort: A novel printed on cheap papyrus with a drawing of a puffin giving testimony on the front cover. On the back there is a small portrait of Grishamm. From the acclaimed scribe Johannes Grishamm, author of The Traffic Summons, and the Albatross Sub-Peona, comes another riveting tale of legal derring-do. Jeff Briefcase is a young halfling lawyer who’s just gotten a job with the law offices of Vlagnar, Stonecrunch, and James, Esq, and it seems like everything’s going his way. But what happens when it turns out that the firm he’s working for is...EVIL? And will he ever make partner? Aside from being a crackling good read, this tome also equips its readers with a thorough understanding of the legal system, as protagonist Briefcase moves through a fanciful world of filings, depositions, and court dates. The story is chock full of tips and tricks for dealing with judges, sheriffs, jailers, lawyers, and the other components of the legal system.

95

Eleddin And The Lamp: A book bound in a speckled blue material with gilded pages. The story is an autobiography of Eladdin, an Elvan scholar that befriended a Djinn and accompanied him to the Elemental plan of air. The handwriting is fine and flows beautifully telling the story of his journey through the plane including detailed descriptions of the Djinn, the locations he visited on the plane as well as the dangers one might face.

96

Book of Unspeakable Horrors: A book bound in the skin of an otherworldly, eldritch being. Inside is a truly terrible romance novel.

97

A slim, leather-bound journal. A fine-pointed stick of something like charcoal is tucked into its spine.

98

 A red and gold pattern decorates the lacquered cover of this heavy book, its corners protected by bronze. “The Book of Incense: Recipes from My Travels.”

99

A heavy warlock’s grimoire bound in leather and brass with a binding encrusted with fragments of human skull.

100

Introvert's Boon: A lightweight, leather bound traveller's book lacking both a title and the author's name. The book's writing changes whenever held, always becoming an interesting novel that the bearer hasn't read yet.