PDA

View Full Version : Magical Books For Treasure Pile? *



seedjar
2007-12-18, 10:33 PM
I'm looking for interesting magic items in the form of books. No particular theme, except that it looks and functions more or less like a book, and is created through the use of the Craft Wondrous Item feat. Items from published books would be good, Wizards books even better. Homebrew ideas are cool, but try to keep your explanations simple. I already have the 'flavor' items I'm looking for; I just need some plain-old bonuses-and-spell-effects loot.

I've come up with what I think is a clever puzzle for my party's next encounter. We never really bothered with encumbrance and carrying capacity before, but some of the assumptions that decision was based on have become invalid. So, the PCs will encounter a big boatload of magic items, free for the taking, in a pile. Whatever they can carry, they can take. No one has any ranks in Appraise or much beyond Detect Magic to give them more than a vague sense of each item's respective value. Bickering, scheming and elaborate explanations of how to make loot carts out of assassin vines will ensue. But mostly I just want to see what things they're really attached to, and how they think their characters could be improved through gear.

In any case, I want lots of different books in this particular pile. One major patron of the party is an arcane library, so even if some of the books aren't magic items, or aren't the Manual of Gainful exercise type of book per se, they're still worth good money and possibly valuable information once deciphered for the party. But tomes of ancient knowledge I can do. I need some real wondrous-item-style books to throw at my PCs. Tome of Worldly Memory, Brass Book, etc. Not really interested in anything game-breakingly epic, but I'm not worried about value or caster level or anything like that; they won't be able to carry much anyways.

Thanks,
~Joe

Citizen Joe
2007-12-18, 10:40 PM
I think there was a Sean Connery flic called Name of the Rose. It was set in a monastery and in the end there was a fire threatening the library of books.

By that same idea you could force the PCs to choose from a host of priceless works. What do you save and what to you consign to the fire?

Mewtarthio
2007-12-18, 10:48 PM
Define "game-breakingly epic." The Codex of Infinite Planes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/artifacts.htm#codexoftheInfinitePlanes), for instance, is epic, but not game-breaking: Anyone with the audacity to open it pre-epic will either be annihilated or driven insane before getting any benefit from it. :smallbiggrin:

On a more serious note, how about tossing in a vacuous grimoire (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#vacuousGrimoire) or two to keep them on their toes.

You could also go with an intelligent book (handwave away the normal requirements... say, it's a book of an at-will cantrip that lets you write in it) that serves not as an immediately powerful item, but rather as a source of advice on certain subjects. See if they go with the instant gratification (the inherent skill bonuses or the cheap spell scribing or whatnot) or with the delayed reward (whatever they get from any plot hooks the book drops).

Arbitrarity
2007-12-18, 11:09 PM
A friend of mine wanted to make a book based on reading and books. Lesee if I can remember some of his ideas...

Weaker "learning" effects, i.e. 1 rank in some skill (generally knowledge). Or just a +1. Cheap, easy, and you can improve it. Probably, if magical, divination. 200gp*+toskill^2.

There is, of course, just simple history, or other things. Fluff explanation of how something works. The problem is, you still don't have a full book at your disposal.

Actually, tomes can do a lot. HP, save, stat, skill boosts, you can make a book to do it. The problem is, you can't take it away as easily, but it's still pretty useful.

Tomes could contain scrolls (or just spells) which is useful for a wizard.

How about taking 20 on some form of knowledge check? Limited uses per day, time restrictions, etc.

Prometheus
2007-12-18, 11:24 PM
I had an abandoned library for my PCs. One of the books was on Alchemy, and provided the "recipes" for certain alchemical substances (provides a strong alchemy check bonus for that item only and can be done untrained). It was only about construction, but they found uses for making adhesive and a flamable and waterproof resin.

Maybe one of the books is from the future and offhandedly mentions the PCs (who are well-known for the events that occur in your campaign).

Perhaps one of them provides a translation between two languages, or if you want to make it harder, the same story in multiple translations. They could then use an Int check or sufficient time to communicate with it.

Put a treasure map that is dated like 30 years back and has anotations written over it. Are the PCs skeptical of it still being there or willing to explore?

Perhaps the blueprints of a building the reveal a hidden passage or information such as the organization of important catacombs.

If the PCs are good enough to find it, one of the books describes one of the most valuable items there (maybe its full abilities can't be revealed via identify anyway).

Perhaps some of the books could be like scrolls, but instead of detailing just that spell, it details several metamagic versions of the spell so that a spellcaster can use it without the feat but only for that spell.

Maybe you can add one scroll of identify, just to see what they use it on.

SilverClawShift
2007-12-19, 12:13 AM
Once upon a time, our DM gave us a book called "Marble Pages". It was mostly empty, with only the first few pages containing anything (and the pages were most decidedly paper).
Those first few pages were ink illustrations of dead bodies, not all of them human. Each illustration had a few lines of descriptive text.

Very morbid journal, right?

Turns out, the book was heavy black magic. It was a portable graveyard, and it was ripe with necromancy.

Three times a day, you could open the book over a fresh corpse, and it would not only remove any evidence of them being there, it would "Catch" them in the book as a page (sometimes two) which was an illustration of their corpse and a few lines about them.
Three times a day, you could open the book and bring one of those corpses back as an undead creature who would fight for you for 10 minutes, before turning to ash like a page of paper burning in the wind.
Anyone/anything you summoned from the book was 'used up' leaving a blank page. The book had 100 pages, but we never actually filled it.

Over time (as we leveled up basically) the one who kept it realized they could tweak it magically, breating more powerful undead by altering the descriptive text before 'catching' the corpse, and catching more than one in a day using black onyx stones.

Sorry if that wasn't a brief enough concept, but Marble Pages is a group favorite. :smalltongue:

Also, use index cards to keep track of what you can summon out of the book. Not only makes it easier to keep track of, it gives it a realistic feel (er, 'realistic' fantasy, that is).

Hunter Noventa
2007-12-19, 12:34 AM
If you want to be really generous, have a book that has to be read like one of the stat-enhancing manuals, but instead have it grant a specific feat that could feasibly be learned from a book.

Or a book that once finished adds a skill to your skill list as a class skill, or gives a +1 or +2 bonsu if you already had it as a class skill.

seedjar
2007-12-19, 12:39 AM
Define "game-breakingly epic." The Codex of Infinite Planes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/artifacts.htm#codexoftheInfinitePlanes), for instance, is epic, but not game-breaking: Anyone with the audacity to open it pre-epic will either be annihilated or driven insane before getting any benefit from it. :smallbiggrin:


While not a threat to the rules, killing off my PCs by giving them treasure would effectively break my game. Nice thought though. Likewise, I like the Marble Pages idea, Silver, but it think it's a little high-power and game-altering to fit in with the rest of the items for this particular giveaway. The point isn't to give the players new, more powerful stuff; it's to let them consolidate their inventory into things they need, and then drive them a little crazy trying to figure out which baubles will fetch the most at the pawn shop. I'll probably hide a few things they've been hoping for in there, but I don't intend to give out any Rings of Three Wishes.

I guess, another point is to bring home the icky weirdness of the BBEG living in this particular dungeon, a dragon that collects dead adventurers to use with Speak With Dead as a historical record.

~Joe

Superglucose
2007-12-19, 01:04 AM
Something even cooler would be a book where as long as the spellcaster has it, the spellcaster can use it as a circumstance bonus to a spell. Like, say, a Cleric found something like "Tome of Life" and by reading from the rituals inscribed in it, and invoking the power of the book itself, only needed half the time/material components for the resurrection spells.

Xefas
2007-12-19, 01:44 AM
I'm planning to toss in a homebrewed book in with my next treasure hoard called the "Black Lexicon of Unleashed Agony". It's very large, taking a total of 10 hours of study to learn its secrets.

The book details the exact nuances in pronouncing a single word of the Dark Speech. The word is a very precise kind of pain. Anyway, after reading the book, the reader permanently gains the ability to, as a full-round action, say the word, forcing everyone (including themself) in to a 10ft radius around themself to make a will save or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage and collapse (effectively "prone").

It's a new campaign, and everyone is liable to be lvl 1, possibly 2. So, I figure it'll make the person who gets the book feel special for a little while, the word'll get used a few times, and then become useless, possibly resurfacing 8 months later after I've forgotten about it, and accomplish some amazing unforeseen feat of heroism.

herrhauptmann
2007-12-19, 02:27 AM
I'm planning to toss in a homebrewed book in with my next treasure hoard called the "Black Lexicon of Unleashed Agony". It's very large, taking a total of 10 hours of study to learn its secrets.

The book details the exact nuances in pronouncing a single word of the Dark Speech. The word is a very precise kind of pain. Anyway, after reading the book, the reader permanently gains the ability to, as a full-round action, say the word, forcing everyone (including themself) in to a 10ft radius around themself to make a will save or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage and collapse (effectively "prone").

It's a new campaign, and everyone is liable to be lvl 1, possibly 2. So, I figure it'll make the person who gets the book feel special for a little while, the word'll get used a few times, and then become useless, possibly resurfacing 8 months later after I've forgotten about it, and accomplish some amazing unforeseen feat of heroism.

10 hours isn't much study time for an entire book.
I can see the owner of that book getting the crap kicked out of him (not his character) the first time he uses it to incapacitate the entire party, but not the BBEG.
Now, if the owner is a bard who uses a spell to make the sound originate elsewhere (forget which spell), it could be pretty useful, and potentially broken for many levels.
Before I add anything to a party, I ask myself if I'm adding it solely because "it's cool". If that is the main or only reason, I don't do it. But that's just me.

Xefas
2007-12-19, 02:57 AM
10 hours isn't much study time for an entire book.
I can see the owner of that book getting the crap kicked out of him (not his character) the first time he uses it to incapacitate the entire party, but not the BBEG.
Now, if the owner is a bard who uses a spell to make the sound originate elsewhere (forget which spell), it could be pretty useful, and potentially broken for many levels.
Before I add anything to a party, I ask myself if I'm adding it solely because "it's cool". If that is the main or only reason, I don't do it. But that's just me.

Well, I haven't given it to them yet...so, how much time do you think it should take?

Also, I'm of the mind that giving them something cool and/or entertaining that has very little direct mechanical effect on the game is a very good thing to do.

Often, my players will fight over the odd nigh-useless bauble I add into a hoard, completely ignoring all the mechanically effective things. As a "for instance", last campaign, I gave one of my BBEG's lieutenants a rusty old iron crown in addition to all his crazy magical equipment. This crown did absolutely nothing except that, when worn, levitated a few inches over your head and became a badass flaming halo that slightly illuminated a few feet around the wearer.

Even the rogue, whose hiding would be pretty ineffective if he were to be wearing a flaming halo, was willing to give up all of his share of the treasure from not only the boss fight, but the adventure itself, to get that halo.

The same goes for everything like that; a pipe that never runs out of tobacco, ioun stone that make your eyes glow, purse that turns copper coins into chocolate, gauntlets that continuously crackle with illusory electricity, really freaking huge pauldrons for your armor, etc...

I guess their characters are like Barbie Dolls, only their objective after dressing them up is to save the world instead of attempting to mate with Ken.

herrhauptmann
2007-12-19, 04:53 AM
Ahh I see your point. Most of what you're putting in are minor effects that look neat. I usually have to stop myself putting in enemies, allies or things that are just too badass to describe with words.

Tome of understanding requires 48 hours over 6 days, as does Manual of Gainful exercise and the rest of the series.
So I'd say at least 24 over 3 days since it's a much lesser effect. Maybe even fewer hours, but requiring a int to truly understand the phonetically spelled dark speech. I can't give too much more direction than that, because I'm crappy at balancing. (The hallmark of a bad DM)

edit: Can I join your group? It sounds like fun.

Feralgeist
2007-12-19, 05:35 AM
in my campaign i have these magical earrings that an evil cult that's the PC's enemy wear to communicate on like radios, and the PC's have obtained some, allowing them to (if they pass a listen check) tune in past the static. Also one of the PC's has a ring containing a cosmic being (he doesnt know what kind) who is trying to persuade one of the PC's by telepathy to say his name 3 times and free him. In exchange, each time the player says the creatures' name, he can ask one question that will be honestly answered by a being with thousands of years worth of knowledge. In addition, when he is freed, the creature will grant a wish

Tengu
2007-12-19, 05:52 AM
I think there was a Sean Connery flic called Name of the Rose. It was set in a monastery and in the end there was a fire threatening the library of books.

By that same idea you could force the PCs to choose from a host of priceless works. What do you save and what to you consign to the fire?

The idea is very good, but dude - the movie is based on a book, and a rather famous one. The book is much better than the movie, too, and seeing that the movie is already very good (though some things, like the peasants killing the inquisitor in the end, make me cringe), you are obliged to read it. And everyone else who hasn't read it, too. It's one of the classic "almost fantasy" books.

Khanderas
2007-12-19, 06:13 AM
Abjuration for Beginners

Can grant +4 to a Knowleadge (Arcana) with regards to the Abjuration school. This includes theorem, applications and the like. Its user must have Knowleadge(Arcana) at 1 or higher rank to benefit. It must be read for 10 minutes to give this benefit however, as the bonus isnt magical, but the book just helps find the right pages. As it is a book for beginners, only basic stuff (DC 10 and less, I guess) are written inside.

The book can also cast any Abjuration or Protection cantrips 5/day upon command. There is a chapter that can contain one 1-st level spell (Abjuration) that may or may not have been scribed in by the previous owner. If it exist, that spell may be called upon as well 1/day.


This book is made for beginning students in the Arcane, made to benefit a rich Noble who sent his kids to wizardschool.




Stats and whatnot (including school) can be altered to whatever fits. Just an idea that popped up.

Talic
2007-12-19, 06:30 AM
The Tome of Talic Brightmoor (name can be changed to fit campaign)
* Blank book, but if you write a question in it, the answer will appear on the following page, if in possibly cryptic terms. Pages erase themselves on the stroke of midnight, each night.

Alternately, for a cursed book, consider a variant on the Diary of Tom Riddle. The Horcrux, as it is known in that series, could loosely be known as a phylactery. Make it one of a dracolich, for fun times. Throw in a couple dashes of power, and the ability to communicate, and it's good clean fun for everyone.

Self Help book of some sort
* Upon reading, make a Will save, or have alignment shifted one step towards Lawful. Usable once per character only.

Mammoth Cookbook
* When used while cooking, provides a +8 competence bonus to all profession (gourmet chef) checks. Note that it doesn't add anything to profession (cook).

Audio Bookmark
* When placed in a book, and the book is closed, with a command word spoken, the bookmark will begin speaking, dictating the book in a pleasant baritone, or a light alto tone, at the user's option.

Book of painful osmosis
* Written on a random skill (pick one), hitting someone over the head with this book will impart some of its knowledge to the victim. (1d4+ str nonlethal damage) This results in a +2 circumstance bonus on all checks involving that skill for one day. -The best lessons learned are painful ones.

Mr. Friendly
2007-12-19, 07:35 AM
Dummie's Guide to (skill):

Applicable for most skills, mostly Professions and Crafts, can only be used on skills taking longer than 1 round. (Cooking, Survival, Alchemy, whatever)

So long as the book is open and being read by the skill using character, it gives a +2 Competence bonus to the check. The bonus could be higher. The books could be either individual, or could be a single book that magically changes everytime it is called upon to assist in skill use.

Necronomicon/Book of Seven Seals:

A strange book in an alien language (Decipher Script DC Arbitrary); when read successfully the reader must make a Will Save DC also arbitrary, or become insane, devoted to resurrecting a race of dead alien gods. The book contains instructions on performing an Epic Ritual, which requires specific material components that the Servant of the Book must gather. When the ritual is complete, the entire world will move from the Prime Material to the Far Realm. Merry Christmas. It also gives the reading character access to a special PrC called Servant of the Old Ones/Book/Thoon/Whatever that gives them enough mojo to kill the rest of the party if they try to stop them.

:smalleek:

Raum
2007-12-19, 08:32 AM
I'm looking for interesting magic items in the form of books. No particular theme, except that it looks and functions more or less like a book, and is created through the use of the Craft Wondrous Item feat. Items from published books would be good, Wizards books even better. Homebrew ideas are cool, but try to keep your explanations simple. I already have the 'flavor' items I'm looking for; I just need some plain-old bonuses-and-spell-effects loot.

I've come up with what I think is a clever puzzle for my party's next encounter. We never really bothered with encumbrance and carrying capacity before, but some of the assumptions that decision was based on have become invalid. So, the PCs will encounter a big boatload of magic items, free for the taking, in a pile. Whatever they can carry, they can take. No one has any ranks in Appraise or much beyond Detect Magic to give them more than a vague sense of each item's respective value. Bickering, scheming and elaborate explanations of how to make loot carts out of assassin vines will ensue. But mostly I just want to see what things they're really attached to, and how they think their characters could be improved through gear.Be ready for the party to surprise you and find a way to either cart it all out (shrink item and floating disks come to mind) or simply return for what they couldn't carry the first time. Some of the groups I've played with have been pathologically incapable of leaving even a copper behind. :)


In any case, I want lots of different books in this particular pile. One major patron of the party is an arcane library, so even if some of the books aren't magic items, or aren't the Manual of Gainful exercise type of book per se, they're still worth good money and possibly valuable information once deciphered for the party. But tomes of ancient knowledge I can do. I need some real wondrous-item-style books to throw at my PCs. Tome of Worldly Memory, Brass Book, etc. Not really interested in anything game-breakingly epic, but I'm not worried about value or caster level or anything like that; they won't be able to carry much anyways.Similar to the Manual of Gainful Exercise, you could have book for learning specific languages (Tome of Undercommon), granting specific skill bonuses (Weaponsmith's Manual), or even feats (Guide to Being Alert). Non-magical books may be just as valuable. Research books halving the cost of spell research for a specific school and level of spell (On Teleportation, Methods of Short-range Extraplanar Movement), potential treasure maps (The Secrets of Laibrogh Ork Tribes), or even deeds to property.

Make em want to grab it all! :)

Mewtarthio
2007-12-19, 01:27 PM
I've also stumbled across this Brass Book (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20061218a). Just cut out all the clockwork aspects and reflavor it as a blank book that you can write questions in.

Prometheus
2007-12-19, 01:28 PM
Have an old wizard's spellbook....who trapped it with geas/quest. You will get many scrolls, but at a cost.

Book of Images: Functions somewhat as a camera. When you open the book to a blank page it copies the incoming light as an image onto its pages. When opened to that page again, it projects the image as light onto the room and subsequently forgets the image. Any tampering with the image while it is in the book causes the image to be lost also. Very useful for plot stuff since there is no magic that replicates the effect surprisingly enough.

Book of Legends: Historical book that talks about a magic item set (MIC) that has now been lost (with some mild hints as to where the set is).

Fuzzy_Juan
2007-12-19, 02:26 PM
Well, I have a couple of favorite homebrew books...

(forgive me but I didn't really read much of the above so some of this may duplicate what others ahve said in some way.)

Skill Books - Books that when read grant you rank 5 in a skill and make that a class skill from then on. If you already have 5 ranks, it grants you a permanent +3 bonus to your check (like skill focus)

Weapon/armor books - when read grant you proficiency with an exitic weapon, martial weapons, armor proficiency, stuff like that...

Guide to the awesome - a magical book imbued with a feat of some sort...reading the book will grant the character knowledge of a feat provided they meet the prereqs...if they lack a prereq feat, they gain a prereq instead...if they lack the ability score...nothing happens.

Spell knowledge/mastery - a book that grants a spellcaster an extra spell slot at some level, known spell for spontaneous casters, or the ability to cast a specific spell one extra time that day. (like, one that would allow an extra 2nd level spell could be the standard book of spells grade 2 :smallbiggrin: )

Basically...sometimes players feel really limited by the number of feats and class features...in a magical world where all manner of oddities are possible...why can't certian things be augmented by magical tomes? You just need to be very careful with who you allow to read certian books...you'd probably have no problem with a thief manual that would allow for an extra special thief ability...but not if any class could pick it up and also learn improved evasion. Books should also never allow for unique class features to be usurped...no sneak attacks for pure fighters/mages...perhaps limit them based on character level and class level. A 5+ level fighter may read this book...or require a BaB...so many levels in rougue...whatever...remember UMD and how it can be used to fool magic items...don't let that be a way to bypass things.

Craig1f
2007-12-19, 02:38 PM
Can grant +4 to a Knowleadge (Arcana) with regards to the Abjuration school. This includes theorem, applications and the like. Its user must have Knowleadge(Arcana) at 1 or higher rank to benefit. It must be read for 10 minutes to give this benefit however, as the bonus isnt magical, but the book just helps find the right pages. As it is a book for beginners, only basic stuff (DC 10 and less, I guess) are written inside.


We had a similar thing to that. It was a book that can be used to provide a +4 circumstance bonus to a knowledge check, once a day. It may have only been for Knowledge Arcana.

It wasn't overpowered, but it was very useful.

seedjar
2007-12-19, 05:39 PM
Oh, I'll just use the Brass Book as it is. There's junk from all over the place in this treasure pile, and one more weird thing isn't a problem. Anyways, I dig clockwork stuff. I was thinking about putting a Spider Thief in there too; see how long it goes unnoticed.
~Joe