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View Full Version : DM Help Looking for a book image I can write in



TheOneHawk
2014-12-21, 10:35 PM
I'm going to be giving my players some information from a library fairly soon, as well as a note, and I'm wondering if anyone knows where I can get my hands on images of old books/scrolls/pieces of paper that are blank and I can type into. Anyone know anything like that?

Thanks guys :)

Laughingmanlol
2014-12-22, 03:34 AM
Skyrim springs to mind, and a quick search for "blank book skyrim" in images has a few results that look useful.

TheOneHawk
2014-12-22, 03:50 AM
There's some great looking books there, that should work. There's also some good note images but none of them are blank :(

That's a great start though, thanks!

EccentricCircle
2014-12-22, 05:11 AM
If you're feeling crafty then there's a simple way to make old looking paper.

Boil some water then dissolve a teaspoon of sugar into it. obviously let it cool a bit so that it's safe to mess around with and then paint the sugar solution onto a piece of paper with a paintbrush or pastry brush.

place the paper on the metal tray and put it under the grill of your oven for a couple of minutes (keep a close eye on it so that it doesn't blacken), as the water evaporates the sugar will turn brown, creating crinkly golden paper, it gets quite brittle, so you won't be able to print onto it, but you can always scan the resulting parchment into a computer so that you have it as a digital resource.

You can make it more or less brown depending on how long you leave it in there, and if you let some become well done then bits of it will crack and crumble, which can be a good effect if you want a very ancient text which you're players will have to handle with care both in game and out.

Here are a few examples which I have scans of, feel free to use any of them if you don't fancy making your own. I've also included a few pages which i've made for past games which might be of use. A book, a sheet with a blob of sealing wax, parchment with blood etc.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/udlgugf2xa5p0oo/AACPZNlz_eEDUfYGmdAGaQRua?dl=0

Grinner
2014-12-22, 05:13 AM
EccentricCircle's ones are probably better, but I'll leave this here (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/95924/Inked-Adventures-Stock-Art--Parchment-Pages-and-Clawed-Paper) anyway.

TheOneHawk
2014-12-22, 05:33 AM
Oh that's brilliant! Thank you, those scans are fantastic.

EccentricCircle
2014-12-22, 10:57 AM
Oh that's brilliant! Thank you, those scans are fantastic.

Glad to help.

aspekt
2014-12-23, 10:51 PM
Never heard of that approach. I've always just drawn/written on the paper I'm going to use, then heated up an electric stove eye and held the paper over it. Also useful for burning edges and holes.

However! Your approach seems much more sound AND safe. I'll have to give it a try sometime.


If you're feeling crafty then there's a simple way to make old looking paper.

Boil some water then dissolve a teaspoon of sugar into it. obviously let it cool a bit so that it's safe to mess around with and then paint the sugar solution onto a piece of paper with a paintbrush or pastry brush.

place the paper on the metal tray and put it under the grill of your oven for a couple of minutes (keep a close eye on it so that it doesn't blacken), as the water evaporates the sugar will turn brown, creating crinkly golden paper, it gets quite brittle, so you won't be able to print onto it, but you can always scan the resulting parchment into a computer so that you have it as a digital resource.

You can make it more or less brown depending on how long you leave it in there, and if you let some become well done then bits of it will crack and crumble, which can be a good effect if you want a very ancient text which you're players will have to handle with care both in game and out.

Here are a few examples which I have scans of, feel free to use any of them if you don't fancy making your own. I've also included a few pages which i've made for past games which might be of use. A book, a sheet with a blob of sealing wax, parchment with blood etc.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/udlgugf2xa5p0oo/AACPZNlz_eEDUfYGmdAGaQRua?dl=0

TheOneHawk
2014-12-24, 07:41 AM
My issue is lacking a scanner and playing online from Canada while my party all lives in the USA. They definitely can't sneak a look at my DM notes though!

The note ended up looking fantastic, thanks again. Just need to get around to writing the journal entries that pertain to the party. How much text is too much text for them to read, though? I want to give a solid amount of information if they're so inclined, but not overload them with words.

EccentricCircle
2014-12-24, 08:08 AM
The note ended up looking fantastic, thanks again. Just need to get around to writing the journal entries that pertain to the party. How much text is too much text for them to read, though? I want to give a solid amount of information if they're so inclined, but not overload them with words.

I reckon it depends on the context. I often make handouts that are a couple of pages of A4, that's too long if the player is going to read it out loud to the rest of the group then and there, but if they mull it over and then pass it around, or summarise the information for their fellow party members then it tends to work. i did one game recently where they got information from a library. I had a range of handouts prepared for topics they might research and gave each to a different player, so they all wondered around the library, read up on one aspect of the issue from whichever section they chose to explore, then all came back and compared notes.