The Book of Death

[Amiel]

Appearing as an unassuming tome, the Book of Death (not to be confused with the Book of the Dead) is encased between protective covers of hardened, sullen black flesh and fastened along the left side with the bones of celestials and fiends.

For those of a certain mental fortitude, the Book of Death opens readily, almost eagerly. Scrawled within its pages are thousands, millions of notes and scribbles, a literal black morass of names and circumstances of their deaths. For it is said that the Book of Death confers the power to kill a being almost instantly.

Even illiterates are able to scrawl a name into the book for this name is burned supernaturally into their minds so that they may fastidiously copy.

There is only one constant however. The one whose name is written shall die.

The Book of Death is able to snuff out the existence of any being whose name is inscribed onto its pages. Within 6 minutes and 33 seconds, as they feel excruciating pain beginning in their extremities and ultimately culminating near their midsection, that being's existence will be ended; the Book of Death is considered a DvR 20 deity with a Cha of 52 for purposes of a Fort saving throw: Fort DC 70.

The name however has to be one that the author is familiar with, the degree of familiarity is not relevant; made up names are instantly rejected.

If however, the owner of the Book of Death does not author a name after 13 hours, he or she will die and the tome will be automatically sent to the next willing or unwilling recipient; such victims are chosen at random by the tome.

Those seeking to bring harm or damage to the Book or its many pages are targeted by a focused Hand of Death and must succeed on a Fort DC 70 or die.

[Lord Loss]

Cool! it's Like death note but a bit more limited in use!

[Amiel]

I'm not too familiar with The Death Note, but the premise remains the same....causing the death of a being via the transcription of its name...actually, it began as a thought exercise of what'd happen if Santa Claus, or Sinterklaas, got his hands on something equivalent and starting trimming his 'Naughty n Nice' list.

The Book of Death is intended as an epic artifact, and is able to snuff out the existence of any being whose name is so written across the boundaries of realities and planes.
It rejects made-up names because it 'knows' instantly those names are false; this was also a fail-safe to ensure that individuals possessing said artifact do not prolong their possession by giving the Book misleading information and thus avoid their own demise.

[Lord Loss]

To inspire you with ideas for the book here are the rules in death note:

(VERY SHORT VERSION)

If a name is written within the note, he will die of a heart attack within 40 seconds, unless the conditions of death are specified. the death may take place up to 23 days after writing 9as specified with entry. Once the conditions of death are written specifics may be added within 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

The possesor of the death note is followed at all times by a Shinigami, who posesses a notebook of his own. Most Shinigami will not aid the owner of the death note (although exceptions, such as Rem, exist). The Shinigami can see the Name and Life remaining of people they see. When shinigami write a name in the notebook, they gain life equal to the life that was supposed to remain for the person they wrote in their note. They may not die except under 2 conditions:

If they intentionally kill someone with the purpose to save another (if they kill a man would would kill a human they fall in love with), or they forget to write a name for a long period of time and they run out of life.

Shinigami (or death gods) can only be seen by possesors of death notes. They love earth apples, and live in another world, but can come to our world at will (Through a portal)

Humans may trade half their remaining life away for Shinigami Eyes. These eyes work like Shinigami's but

1) they do not gain life from killing others,

2)they may not see their own life expectancy

3) They do not see the life remaining of other owning death notes



There's like 20 pages of rules but that's the general idea also, in the manga (this is a comic): Ryuk, a Shinigmi added a false rule (which didnt work): If no name is written in the death note within 13 days, the owner of the death note will die.

[Amiel]

Thanks! :)

When I had the initial idea, the book was intended as a supremely malicious artifact rumored to be created within the Grey Wastes (of Despair; the home of pure evil) or within the Negative Energy Plane (or Oblivion as it is known); scholars are divided over which creation story is less truthful).

It is speculated that the act of its genesis, to parallel the power of a divine being in ending mortal and immortal existence, caused the permanent death of a divine being or overgod or archfiend, its powers cannibalised into the book.
The book was meant to be rule-less bar the single act of ending the existences of others and cursed the 'wielder' in such a way that the act of writing names in order to cause that beings' death became addictive; it is the book rather than an external source that is subtly influencing the actions of the wielder. The wielder had the options of giving up another's life or giving up its own; all chose to 'allow' another to die.
The wielder of the pen of death knows no other information of who he or she wishes to end but may be familiar with that person; once said person dies the name is scrawled repeatedly over the same words and in heavy black ink.

I may edit the descriptor for length of time taken to die and reduce it...although I don't want to make it too unbalancing; I also wanted the death to be extremely and terrifyingly excruciating as the book relieves the permanent destruction of the entity that made it. And clarify that specifying the details of how the named one was to die caused its death in that fashion.

Wielders of the book cannot use the book to prolong their lives or gain any other benefit from the act, it is only to be used to cause pernicious death upon someone else.

[Lord Loss]

Does that last rule mean that they are not allowed to kill people that would cause their death (Like if their son comes after them with a shotgun can they kill him, or would this prolong their life, threby stoppping them from writing his name?)

[Amiel]

Hmm...well, the book desires the transcription of names for terminating existence as its primary aim; however, there are several limitations, although these limitations are only to the detriment of the wielder not the book.

If someone wishes to cause the wielder's death, then the wielder needs to take pains to identify, unmask or otherwise know who wishes to kill them.
The book disallows the death of strangers to the possessor of the book. This is part of the curse of the book, in that possessors who have no other being to 'sacrifice' cause their own demise...although they are able to 'make new friends' and ultimately betray them; the book confers a grossly inflated ego upon its current possessor and an addiction to the act.

So, yes in a limited way, the possessor is unable to stop their own death if someone wishes them ill will (all of the liabilities none of the benefits), however this only applies to strangers. To those the wielder is familiar with he or she has no such limitation.

[J.Gellert]

The 13 hours rule is very restrictive... The user would have to keep a dungeon full of enslaved goblins/kobolds/halflings just to stay alive, and he'd have to find a new dungeon every month...

You're basically as good as dead if you don't know what the book is, because by the time you can research anything about it, 13 hours are long gone.

[Amiel]

That's the power of the considerable strength of the curse. The book is an epic artifact coupled with the powers of divine rank 17 entity. There'd better be hefty drawbacks for the power it gives.

The bearer of the book does usually know the basic functions of the book - that it can be used to end another's existence, although this is usually discovered through trial and error as the 'owner' of the book experiments by writing down names; this is probably the only useful information the artifact imparts. And he or she can't just keep just any dungeon filled with a menagerie of beings to 'sacrifice' in his place. He needs to at least be familiar with the individual in question.

It's a cursed, extremely malicious epic artifact, there should be no happy endings.

[J.Gellert]

He keeps a dungeon - two hours before time's up, he ties down a goblin, interrogates it about its life until he's 'familiar', then writes down its name.

I see what you mean about it being dangerous, but it's not dangerous... it's problematic. If someone gets his hands on it, he'll usually die within a week. 13 hours is a very short time. He will have to write down a name before going to bed, and another shortly after breakfast.

Soon he'll be out of people he knows (even assuming he's going to sacrifice his own mother and children to gain... five more days?) and he'll die. Then the book auto-passes to someone else, everyone he knows dies, and repeat.

How many years ago was this book created?

[Bouregard]

mhm sounds a bit to good to me... you can use it to just off your current bad guy... How with that:


Book of Death:

If a name is written in the book the bearer of the name will instantly know that he will die in 7 days and will know who has written his name in the book. He can save himself if the writer dies.
If the bearer of the book didn't write a name in the book he will die in 7 days.
The book can not be lost/sold/give away till the current holder write a name down or dies himself.
If it gets farther then 100y away or is not on the same plane as his last holder it will instantly teleport to the location. However it can be destroyed -see consequences in the first post.
All persons the books magic involves are unable to use it again. Victim and writer.
If either the victim or the user dies the book will teleport to the corpse, whoever dies first.

[Amiel]

He keeps a dungeon - two hours before time's up, he ties down a goblin, interrogates it about its life until he's 'familiar', then writes down its name.

Only if the character has or has access to a dungeon. Only if the character keeps said dungeon stockpiled with a menagerie of creatures at any given time and with the 'right' assortment and amount.

In any event, the character is unaware of the stipulation of the book, or manipulation by the tome as it were; this information is purposely kept hidden from the user.


I see what you mean about it being dangerous, but it's not dangerous... it's problematic. If someone gets his hands on it, he'll usually die within a week. 13 hours is a very short time. He will have to write down a name before going to bed, and another shortly after breakfast.

Yes, that was the intended aim. It is the addictive quality of transcribing their names and thus the act of their death that so enraptures the user. The curse of the book is such that the wielder of the book unwittingly causes the death of more innocents or not-so innocents to fuel that addiction, to spread that curse. That is the nature of the book. That is the reality of evil.


Soon he'll be out of people he knows (even assuming he's going to sacrifice his own mother and children to gain... five more days?) and he'll die. Then the book auto-passes to someone else, everyone he knows dies, and repeat.

The user of the book often debases himself in unspeakable acts to further gorge his addiction. He unwittingly kills others, the innocents and not-so innocents to fuel this addiction. It is the addiction that drives him to write ever more names rather than any desire to prolong his life; he is unaware that to avoid or rescind from the act will cost him his existence, and so cannot stall his fate.


How many years ago was this book created?

Eons at the least, millions of years. It may be as old as some worlds, it might be as ancient as some pantheons. The book was created with the death-scream of a true greater entity, along the lines of an overgod, greater deity, cosmic entity. It predates history if not being at least as old as it.



mhm sounds a bit to good to me... you can use it to just off your current bad guy... How with that:

Well, that was an intended aim, although the 'considerable benefits' conferred by the book also convey a terrible curse.


Book of Death:

If a name is written in the book the bearer of the name will instantly know that he will die in 7 days and will know who has written his name in the book. He can save himself if the writer dies.
If the bearer of the book didn't write a name in the book he will die in 7 days.
The book can not be lost/sold/give away till the current holder write a name down or dies himself.
If it gets farther then 100y away or is not on the same plane as his last holder it will instantly teleport to the location. However it can be destroyed -see consequences in the first post.
All persons the books magic involves are unable to use it again. Victim and writer.
If either the victim or the user dies the book will teleport to the corpse, whoever dies first.

The intention was that the demise was both exceedingly quick and painful, with the unfortunate recipient being intimately aware of the excruciating pain while being ignorant of their extinction or who was responsible within the allocated time frame.
The intention was also that the recipient cannot prevent this in any way, and the wielder remains ignorant of his own death if he has not authored another name within 13 hours.
Once in the possession of the wielder, it cannot be moved out of his possession through any means. Both the recipient and wielder still has access to and will continue to use magic.
The book works across realities and planes and cannot be destroyed short of another divine rank 17 interceding on that someone's behalf.

The book is an epic artifact with equivalence to a divine rank 17 being after all.

[Stormthorn]

Eons at the least, millions of years. It may be as old as some worlds, it might be as ancient as some pantheons. The book was created with the death-scream of a true greater entity, along the lines of an overgod, greater deity, cosmic entity. It predates history if not being at least as old as it

So this is the sort of thing everyone in the world would know about since it probably kills a few dozen people a year as owners and several hundred other through its usage? After a few hundred million deaths people would know.

[Amiel]

Looks like I misspoke; I was confusing the Book of Death with the Fleshvats of Nocture (which possess DvR 17). The Book of Death incidently has a 20 DvR.


Not unless the Book has contravening methods to suppress or negate any limitations that possession of knowledge may entail.
It is also within reason that since the book can affect victims across realities and planes that the tome can transport itself directly or indirectly unto willing or unwillingly recipients across realities and planes as well, via esoteric methods.

It may also be within the bounds of possession that the wielder willingly or unwittingly suppresses any knowledge of acquisition or use. The curse and the act of termination of existence may be in such a way that inference and implication that the book is committing the offenses through what amounts to a puppet is unachievable.

[readsaboutd&d]

Well, planes are a pretty good idea too limit the number of deaths but you should only allow mortals to have it. Imagine if it fell in the hands of a god. Other gods and probably half of their followers dead. Also, how big must be the relationship be?

[The Rose Dragon]

What if I write John Smith? Jane Brown? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people with that name? Which one of them dies? If you must be familiar with the client as well, what if you know three John Smiths?

[Amiel]

Well, planes are a pretty good idea too limit the number of deaths but you should only allow mortals to have it. Imagine if it fell in the hands of a god. Other gods and probably half of their followers dead. Also, how big must be the relationship be?

Yes, the book is available to mortals and only mortals. All others are denied access to the book. For these individuals, the book appears locked and no amount of force used will the book yield its secrets. It also appears as if silently mocking, although this could be the paranoia flaring up.

What do you mean 'how big must the relationship be? Do you mean the degree of familiarity?
If yes. There must at least be a degree of familiarity; the one wished to be destroyed via the transcription of their name needs to be known to the wielder of the pen of death. Note: the wielder does not have to be overly familiar with the individual, the degree of familiarity doesn't have to be full blown exact knowledge of everything in that person's life.


What if I write John Smith? Jane Brown? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people with that name? Which one of them dies? If you must be familiar with the client as well, what if you know three John Smiths?

As long as you are at least familiar with the individual in question, ie know him or her vaguely, it will seek out the name and finish the/that specific person.
Of the hundreds or indeed thousands of people with the same name, it only ever goes for the personages that you know - if only vaguely -the others, strangers all, are left alone by the book.

If, however, you know three John Smiths, then all three are destroyed by the book if they fail the save.