Good books to find a the library of a wizard/lord?

[odinfellhammer]

alt: Fifty Shades of Grey : OD&D Guide to the Ethereal Plane
Grimoire Grammaticus by Adjusius Verbanov A guide to the grammer and pronunciation of Magical Runes and Glyphs.
The Sylph and the Knight: A tragic comedy where the Knight is slowly eaten by the sylph and she learns to love the Knight

 

[odinfellhammer]

Double post

 

[Razjah]

The Ethical Guide to Summoning by Senior Priest Roger Delane
Crossbows, the Apprentice's Contingency by Dead-Eye Fischer
Components and Where to Find Them by Professor T.J.J Rolkiien
Treaties on Dragons: Common Abilities to the Uncommon Reptiles by Sir Walter Thorntiketike
Astral Projection Vol. I-IV by Dolorus Day Dilbury
Architecture, Engineering, and Masonry: Building the Perfect Tower by Felicity MacLeon
Blacksmith's Annually Vol I-XII by Staff Authors
Creative Cantrip Conventions​ by Cook et Al.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Remember that wizards are also people. The library could/should also include non magic/skill related books. Drama, comedies, whatever he liked.

definitely - that is exactly the kind of flavor I would love to add into the mix. Any ideas?

 

[Derren]

definitely - that is exactly the kind of flavor I would love to add into the mix. Any ideas?

I currently can't come up with names. It also depends a lot on your setting.

Some examples:
Ancient heroic sagas of elven demigods similar to Hercules or Illias.
Religious books, at least the "bible" of the faith he belongs to.
Old, worn children books from his childhood warning of the dangers of orcs and kobolds (red riding hood style).
Theater plays. The Shakespeare or Goethe of your world.
"Skill books" not connected to magic but representing a hobby. Astrology, botany etc.

Also, keep in mind that unless the printing press has been invented books are all hand made and expansive.

 

[Razjah]

Dragon Slaying: A History from Participants and Spectators by D.K. Syrge
Books on Metallurgy and Jewelry
Anatomy books discussing anatomical and physiological difference between the humanoid races

 

[amerigoV]

Use your Words! A Wizard's guide to interacting with people without the use of Enchantment (Charm) spells.

 

[Razjah]

Courtly Love: How to Woo the King's Wife and Keep Your Head by Geoffrey Saucer
A collection of poetry from various races: human, elven, dwarven, halfling, gnomish, and some surprising ones- gnoll, dragonic, and giant poems too
Heraldry: A guide to Nobility- handy for a circumstantial bonus in researching the nobility
Works of philosophers of the campaign world, astrology, astronomy, discussions of the planes and their interactions
A collection of letters from the wizard to his or her mentor, colleagues, respected clerics and druids, and other brilliant thinkers
A collection of attempted spells, things that did not work or did not work as intended, these could be captured and modified to allow new spells
Maps, always fun and can lead to some nice plot hooks, or just help the party get to a new place for an adventure
False books- with fun things hidden inside like an imp bound to a small disk, or a statue that can be animated and enlarged with command words
The Annotated History of Water Travel in the Dulrath Empire after the Reign of Celuptus the Tyrant and Before the Coming of Grag-dur the Orc Warlord ​by E. Marcus Philge

 

[Derren]

I forgot, for titles you probably look at the names of real medieval books and then modify them as most of the titles here do not fit into fantasy settings where books are rare and valuable. Really, why all the two part titles? That fits for bargain bin books only as it makes them sound like self help books.
A title should not need explaining.

 

[Razjah]

I don't know any medieval books, but all the really old books I have seen have some crazy titles. I was going along with those, plus the titles can always be condensed into the part before the colon. Also I think the Hogwarts: A History style naming is amusing enough for the players to remember.

In reality, with books being so rare, the "Library" would probably be huge piles of paper (of whatever fit the period vellum, papyrus, etc) which the character has taken notes on of copied from a real book. A staff of scribes may work for the wizard copying and binding books for the wizard which could explain the ridiculous number of books given the time period. Or the "Books" may not be books at all, but collections of scrolls like those that would have been found in the Library of Alexandria with true codices coming for more recent works or copied and bound this way as the scrolls aged.