5e Homebrewed magic manuals

[Clockwerk66]

Hello everyone!

I'm pretty new to this site, but I thought I'd submit some homebrewed "manual" items that I've been drafting up for 5e, including one that would allow a PC to potentially create his/her own helmed horror servant. They sort of act as "lower-tier" versions of the manuals of golems that exist in the DM handbook, but for some of the lower-CR animates that we know are created through magical means. They're still very much in Alpha, so any feedback would be appreciated. The instructions shown for each construct are more akin to what a PC might read if he/she were able to decipher the relevant manuals in question.

In addition, if anybody else has his/her own magic manual/book items that they have home-brewed for 5e, then feel free to use this thread to bounce your ideas off other people.

Happy reading!


Mordenkainen’s Manual of Lesser Constructs

Create Flying Weapon
Casting Time: depending on rarity of weapon

Focuses: The exact pages of the manual containing the ritual itself

Sacrifices:

• One (1) weapon of choice (melee/ranged, mundane or magic (any rarity))
  • Cost depending entirely on the quality/rarity of the weapon.
  • Artifacts and sentient magic items are not compatible with this ritual.
• One (1) scroll containing ALL the verbal components of the spell, Animate Objects
• Biological ritual components, which must be either: A) taken from the fresh corpse of a sentient humanoid creature, or B) well-preserved specimens.
  • One half of a brain, to understand and comprehend, without true will.
  • A single eye, to grant blindsight.
  • A single ear, to grant perception.
  • A single finger, for touch.
• Optional components:
  • A tongue, for the spoken word.
• Powdered silver and iron worth at least 100 gp, for the creation of a ritual circle.

Recipe:

1. Place your weapon of choice on a flat surface (open floor is ideal).
2. Place your scroll of Animate Objects flat on top of the weapon, facing up so that you can see the written words. It is IMPERATIVE that you are able to see the verbal components of the spell before beginning the main ritual!
3. Begin chanting the incantation, while pouring powdered silver and iron in a circle surrounding the weapon and scroll, in such a way that it lies directly in the circle’s center.
4. Place remaining ritual components on top of the powder circle, evenly spaced surrounding the weapon and scroll.
5. Sit directly in front of the ritual site, and continue with the ritual’s incantations. The caster must complete the rest of the ritual without pause or interruption. The ritual’s total casting time will depend on the weapon’s quality. The higher the quality, the more hours will be added to the cast time.
   1. Common/Normal --> 1 hour
   2. Uncommon --> 2 hours
   3. Rare --> 3 hours
   4. Very Rare --> 4 hours
   5. Legendary --> 5 hours
6. At the end of the final hour, regardless of length, you must IMMEDIATELY recite the entire verbal component of Animate Objects to complete the ritual’s final step, either by memory, or by looking directly at the scroll that you placed on top of the weapon.

Effect:
Upon ritual completion, all ritual components, including the scroll of Animate Objects, will be consumed to bring the weapon to life as a permanent animate object, bound to the will of the ritual caster. Your flying weapon will follow your every command until rendered inert by its destruction. When not commanded, it will follow your last order to the best of its ability, and can act independently to fulfill simple instructions.

1. Normal flying weapons possess 5d6 hit dice and a challenge rating of ¼. Flying weapons made from magic weapons will have higher ratings and more hit dice, starting with 1 and +1 hit die at uncommon, with both increasing by 1 for every level of rarity above uncommon.
2. Flying weapons made from magic weapons will have access to all of their magical properties, regardless of attunement requirements.
3. Your flying weapon’s Strength, dexterity and constitution scores will also increase by +2 for every level of rarity above mundane/common, up to a maximum limit of 20.
4. If optional component is used, your flying weapon will also possess the ability to verbally communicate in scripted speech, in any language known by the ritual caster.

Create Animated Armor
Casting Time: depending on rarity of weapon

Focuses: The exact pages of the manual containing the ritual itself

Sacrifices:

• One (1) full suit of heavy armor (Type can be ring mail, chain mail, Splint or plate; mundane or magic (any rarity))
  • Cost depending entirely on the quality/rarity of the weapon.
  • Artifacts and sentient magic items are not compatible with this ritual.
• One (1) scroll containing ALL the verbal components of the spell, Animate Objects.
• Biological ritual components, which must be either: A) taken from the fresh corpse of a sentient humanoid creature, or B) well-preserved specimens.
  • One half of a brain, to understand and comprehend, without true will.
  • A single eye, to grant blindsight.
  • A single ear, to grant perception.
  • A single finger, for touch.
• Optional components:
  • A tongue, for the spoken word.
• Powdered silver and iron worth at least 100 gp, for the creation of a ritual circle.

Recipe:

1. Assemble your chosen suit of armor, and lay it down facing up upon a flat surface (open floor is ideal). Arrange the assembled suit into a “T-Pose”, as per diagram 2-A.
2. Lay your scroll of Animate Objects upon the armor’s breastplate, facing up so that you can see the written words. It is IMPERATIVE that you are able to see the verbal components of the spell before beginning the main ritual!
3. Begin chanting the incantation, while pouring powdered silver and iron in a circle surrounding the armor, in such a way that it lies directly in the circle’s center.
4. Place remaining ritual components on top of the powder circle, evenly spaced surrounding the suit of armor.
5. Sit directly in front of the ritual site, and continue the ritual’s incantations. The caster must complete the rest of the ritual without pause or interruption. The ritual’s total casting time will depend on the weapon’s quality. The higher the quality, the more hours will be added to the cast time.
   1. Common/Normal --> 1 hour
   2. Uncommon --> 2 hours
   3. Rare --> 3 hours
   4. Very Rare --> 4 hours
   5. Legendary --> 5 hours
6. At the end of the final hour, regardless of length, you must IMMEDIATELY recite the entire verbal component of Animate Objects to complete the ritual’s final step, either by memory, or by looking directly at the scroll that you placed on top of the armor.

Effect:
Upon ritual completion, all ritual components, including the scroll of Animate Objects, will be consumed to bring the suit of armor to life as a permanent animate object, bound to the will of the ritual caster. Your animated armor will follow your every command until rendered inert by its destruction. When not commanded, it will follow your last order to the best of its ability, and can act independently to fulfill simple instructions.

1. Normal animated armor possesses 6d8 hit dice and a challenge rating of 1. Animated armor made from magic armor will have its challenge rating and number of hit dice increased by 1 for every level of rarity above mundane/common.
2. Your animated armor’s Strength score will also increase by +2 for every level of rarity above Normal, up to a maximum limit of 20.
3. Animated armor made from magic armor will have access to all its magical properties, regardless of attunement requirements.
4. If optional component is used, your animated armor will also possess the ability to verbally communicate in scripted speech, in any language known by the ritual caster.

Create Rug of Smothering
Casting Time: 2 hours

Focuses: The exact pages of the manual containing the ritual itself

Sacrifices:

• One (1) rug or carpet of your choice. Can be of any type, but must at MINIMUM be large enough to completely engulf a human head.
• One (1) scroll containing ALL the verbal components of the spell, Animate Objects.
• Biological ritual components, which must be either: A) taken from the fresh corpse of a sentient humanoid creature, or B) well-preserved specimens.
  • One half of a brain, to understand and comprehend, without true will.
  • A single eye, to grant blindsight.
  • A single ear, to grant perception.
  • A single finger, for touch.
• Optional components:
  • A tongue, for the spoken word.
• Powdered silver and iron worth at least 100 gp, for the creation of a ritual circle.

Recipe:

1. Take your rug of choice, and lay it down on a flat surface (open floor is ideal), as per diagram 3-A.
2. Lay your scroll of Animate Objects on top of the rug/carpet, facing up so that you can see the written words. It is IMPERATIVE that you are able to see the verbal components of the spell before beginning the main ritual!
3. Begin chanting the incantation, pouring powdered silver and iron in a circle surrounding the rug/carpet, in such a way that it lies directly in the circle’s center.
4. Place remaining ritual components on top of the powder circle, evenly spaced surrounding the rug/carpet.
5. Sit directly in front of the ritual site, and continue the ritual’s incantations. The caster must complete the rest of the ritual without pause or interruption.
6. At the end of the final hour, regardless of length, you must IMMEDIATELY recite the entire verbal component of Animate Objects to complete the ritual’s final step, either by memory, or by looking directly at the scroll that you placed on top of the carpet/rug.

Effect:
Upon ritual completion, all ritual components, including the scroll of Animate Objects, will be consumed to bring the rug/carpet to life as a permanent animate object, bound to the will of the ritual caster. Your animated armor will follow your every command until rendered inert by its destruction. When not commanded, it will follow your last order to the best of its ability, and can act independently to fulfill simple instructions.

 

[Clockwerk66]

Manual of Helmed Horrors

Prerequisites
To decipher and use this manual, you must be a spellcaster with at least TWO 4th-level spell slots, otherwise take 4d6 psychic damage.

Create Helmed Horror
Casting Time: 4 hours

Focuses: The manual itself

Sacrifices:

• One (1) full suit of heavy armor (Type can be ring mail, chain mail, splint or plate; mundane or magic (any rarity))
  • Cost depending entirely on the quality/rarity of the armor in question.
  • Artifacts and sentient magic items are not compatible with this ritual.
• Three (3) spell scrolls, each one containing the verbal components of a spell you wish your creation to be immune to.
• Biological ritual components, which must be either: A) taken from the fresh corpse of a sentient humanoid creature, or B) well-preserved specimens.
  • One (1) fully-intact brain, to understand and comprehend commands, with greater intelligence.
  • A pristine pair of eyes, to grant blindsight.
  • A pristine pair of ears, to grant perception.
  • A pair of unbroken hands, for touch.
  • A pristine pair of eagle’s wings, to grant the power of flight.
    • Small pouch of pixie dust an acceptable substitute.
• Optional components:
  • One (1) fully-intact tongue, for the spoken word.
• Powdered silver and iron worth at least 200 gp, for the creation of a pentagram ritual circle.
• One (1) unused elemental gem. The gem in question MUST be a yellow diamond, containing a mote of elemental earth.
• The manual itself, upon completion of the ritual

Recipe:

1. Begin chanting the incantation, pouring half of the powdered silver and iron to create a circle large enough to completely surround and encircle the armor of your choice. Use the rest to draw a five point star inside the ritual circle, making sure that each point touches the circumference of the circle.
2. Fully assemble the suit of armor, and carefully set it down, face-up, in a “T-Pose”, so that it lies directly in the pentagram circle’s center.
3. Take each of the three spell scrolls you have chosen, and wrap them around the armor’s breastplate, face-down.
4. Begin placing the biological ritual components along the ritual circle. Each of the five mandatory components MUST be placed at each of the five points of the star, so that they are in contact with both the pentagram, and the boundary of the circle.
   1. If adding the optional component, the tongue may be carefully placed inside the helmet of the armor, to ensure that it will also be consumed in the ritual.
5. Sit or stand directly in front of the ritual site, and continue the incantations, while also gently clutching the elemental gem in your most dominant hand. From this point onward, it is IMPERATIVE that the ritual caster maintains absolute awareness and concentration, without dropping the gem at any point, throughout the entire duration, lest the ritual end prematurely.
   1. The total cast time for this ritual is 4 hours for a single caster. If time is of the essence however, other ritual casters of equal or greater power may carry out the verbal and somatic phase alongside you, reducing the total cast time by half for each additional caster.
   2. Incorporating the optional ritual component will add 1 extra hour to the cast time, regardless of how many casters partake in the ritual.
   3. At any point during this phase of the ritual, you must also include the entire verbal components of the three spells you wish your creation to be immune to.
6. At the end of the final hour, the ritual’s magic will begin consuming the ritual circle, along with every component used thus far. As this happens, the ritual caster currently holding the elemental gem must IMMEDIATELY crush it in his/her hands, and scatter the pieces over the suit of armor.
   1. If done correctly, the magic of the ritual will prevent the elemental energy from escaping, and instead will draw and seal the elemental spirit into the armor, imbuing it with magical protection, and resulting in the final creation of your helmed horror.

Effect:
Upon completion of the ritual, this manual will be consumed by eldritch flame, leaving a pile of ash behind. Only the final pages, detailed below, will remain for your personal reference. Whoever used the gem must then awaken the helmed horror by sprinkling these ashes over its body.

Final Pages – Post-Awakening Notes:
Upon its awakening, your helmed horror will serve the manual’s owner without ambition or emotion. It will possess intelligence, the ability to reason and adjust its tactics, and an unswerving devotion to you that will persist even after your death.

• Unlike lesser constructs, your helmed horror will require less direction and maintenance as it carries out its appointed tasks. Your construct will follow and obey any and all commands and orders with complete loyalty. It will also be intelligent enough to understand the difference between an order’s intent and its exact wording, and as such it will seek to fulfill the former rather than slavishly follow the latter.
• If the optional component was added to the creation ritual, the helmed horror will also possess the ability to speak fluently in every language known to the manual’s owner, as well as use any magic items that require command words or phrases.
• Your helmed horror will fight enemies with all the cunning of a skilled warrior, taking to the air as it attacks spellcasters and weaker foes first.
• Your helmed horror will awaken with proficiency in all weapon types, and is also intelligent enough to make use of the magical properties of whatever items, and weapons you provide for it to use:
  • If the armor used for the helmed horror’s creation possesses magical properties, it can only make use of them if they are NOT already provided by the construct’s base magical properties and traits.
  • The properties and functions of any magic item must be explained to the helmed horror in sufficient detail before use.
  • Items that require attunement can ONLY be used by the helmed horror if they fall under the category of weapons, armor or shields. Upon the orders of its master, a helmed horror can spend a minimum of one hour engaging in weapon practice to attune itself to the item in question.
    • The helmed horror cannot attune to any items that are restricted by class or alignment, nor can they make use of sentient items.
    • The helmed horror can only attune to two items any given time. Any attempts to attune to a third will always fail.
  • The helmed horror cannot make use of magic items that would require the user to be able to breathe, contract disease, eat, drink or sleep, nor can it benefit from any magic items that would require the user have emotions, imagination, skin, a physical mouth, spell slots, or physical eyes to see with.
    • As a construct, it also cannot gain benefit from manuals of bodily health, gainful exercise, or quickness of action. Nor can it benefit from any other magic books, or items capable of providing temporary hit points.
    • It also does not possess the insight required to use items that summon other creatures, nor is it capable of any form of wishing.
• In spite of the helmed horror’s several resistances and immunities, like all constructs it is not infallible. The weaknesses possessed by your helmed horror are as follows:
  • The helmed horror is still susceptible to common forms of elemental damage, such as fire, lightning, cold, and acid.
  • Asides from the three spells chosen for spell immunity, the helmed horror can still theoretically be damaged by spellcasting strong enough to overwhelm its resistance.
  • Under normal circumstances, the helmed horror is also not immune to being slashed, stabbed and bludgeoned by magical weapons, and is especially vulnerable to weapons specifically designed to fight constructs.
  • In spite of its tactical cunning, the helmed horror lacks the insight to change its environment, fortify it, or otherwise take active measures to improve its defensive position.

 

[Clockwerk66]

Hey there! Got another manual for y'all! I've also made some format changes to the previous two that I posted.


Manual of Shield Guardians

Prerequisites
To decipher and use this manual, you must be a spellcaster with at least TWO 5th-level spell slots, otherwise take 6d6 psychic damage.

Construction
To create a shield guardian, you must spend a grand total of 60 days, working without interruption with the manual at hand and resting no more than 8 hours per day. You must also pay a total of 50,000 gold to purchase the required supplies, as follows:
• One (1) unused Elemental Gem worth 500 gp. The gem in question MUST be a yellow diamond, containing a mote of elemental earth.
• One (1) unattuned Ring of Spell Storing worth 5,000 gp.
• 1,000 gp worth of components required to create a binding amulet. One week out of the 60 days must be spent crafting the amulet.
• The remaining 43,500 gp goes toward the raw materials required to construct the shield guardian itself.
Once construction is complete, you must enact the ritual below to bind your amulet to the shield guardian.


Bind Shield Guardian
Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (the inactive shield guardian, the amulet being linked to it, and the manual used in its creation)

Effect:
You successfully attune your magic amulet the shield guardian, ensuring that it will obey the commands of its wearer, and that it will follow and guard the wearer against attack. Once you finish this ritual, the manual is consumed in eldritch flames. The shield guardian becomes animate when the ashes of the manual are sprinkled on it. It is under your control, and understands and obey your spoken commands.

 

[Clockwerk66]

i commend you for the effort. Good formatting too!

Thank you shintashi! I'm planning on using at least one of these in a PbP campaign I will be DM'ing later this month, which is why I was looking for some feedback on them.