D&D 5E Bag book!
abe ray
Explorer
What if it’s a magical coloring book?
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
Tell your kids to 'draw a monster' in the book, take the book over to your enemy's place, rip out the page and throw it over the fence. 2D drawing made of fangs and claws and spikes tears up castle.
MarkB
Legend
To take a different angle, how about a Ledger of Quartermastery. You keep a record of the items you have gathered but have no immediate use for, and each one that is inscribed into the ledger fades from existence. Reading the entry aloud calls the item back into your possession and erases the text.
A couple of wrinkles: You can use shorthand, encryption or similar means to obscure the text. It must be correctly deciphered to retrieve the items.
Also, you can magically bind the ledger to a vehicle or vessel. This grants the ledger storage capacity equal to the cargo capacity of the vessel, effectively doubling its capacity.
Players must write down a record of each item they store, and can only retrieve it by reading back their notes.
A couple of wrinkles: You can use shorthand, encryption or similar means to obscure the text. It must be correctly deciphered to retrieve the items.
Also, you can magically bind the ledger to a vehicle or vessel. This grants the ledger storage capacity equal to the cargo capacity of the vessel, effectively doubling its capacity.
Players must write down a record of each item they store, and can only retrieve it by reading back their notes.
MarkB
Legend
The Pamphlet of Adventure! Upon reading the outlandish tales depicted in this volume, the reader gains a perfect recollection of the events recounted therein, as though they had participated in them themselves. This can extend to picking up some of the skills involved, though such proficiencies fade in time. The tricky part about creating the Pamphlet is that its events must be both incredible and true, as dictated by one who experienced them. As a result, they are most frequently crafted by bards, who have experience in seeking out those with strange tales to tell.
Game-mechanically, the Pamphlet is a consumable magic item that must be activated as part of a short or long rest, during which the user reads through it. For the following 24 hours they gain a perfect recollection of the events recounted therein, as though they were the comic's protagonist, and also gain a combination of three specific skill, tool or weapon proficiencies, as decided by the item's creator when it was written, all of which must have been possessed by the protagonist. Activating the Pamphlet expends the magic therein and it becomes a mundane item thereafter, though it is still readable.
Notably, though its primary game-mechanical purpose is to grant temporary access to a specific skill-set, the memories provided by the Pamphlet are specific and accurate, so for instance, if one were to read a Pamphlet that depicted the perilous trek through a trap-infested temple, the reader would be able to navigate that same temple with ease - though after the first 24 hours those recollections would fade in intensity and detail. The memories only convey the protagonist's sensory perceptions and surface thoughts at the time of the events in question, so the reader doesn't gain any particular deep understanding of the subject of the tale.
Bacon Bits
Hero
The bag book is a large and otherwise normal looking book with a sturdy cover. There are five common varieties of the bag book, each with a slightly different function. Each variety is a book roughly 8 inches by 12 inches.
Each book contains multiple pages, each of which can contain items of a different type and store them in an extradimensional space, similar to a quiver of ehlonna.
Exactly what can be stored depends on which type of book is discovered. This also determines the time required to retrieve such a book.
There are five known versions of the bag book:
Type A: The cover of this book is either a depiction of a gigantic demon statue with one of it's ruby eyes being stolen, or else an imposing, aged, white bearded wizard. Both covers of this book are identical, though the cover with the wizard is twice as common. This version of the book has 6-36 pages. Tearing a page from the book causes all items stored in that page to be irrevocably destroyed or lost (artifacts are never destroyed). Items stored in the book must fit the dimensions of a page (roughly 12 inches by 8 inches). Thus, a sword can be place in lenthwise, but not horizontal to the page. Fully 80% of books are found with 3-18 pages already filled.
Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, the contents of both and all characters within 10 feet of the book, to be scattered across the Astral Plane.
Use the following table to determine what each page can store:
No single object stored in the book can weight more than 50 lbs. The book itself never weighs more than 5 lbs.
This version lacks an index, so it takes 2-20 rounds for an inexperienced user to locate the correct page to retrieve a stored item from the book. An experienced user requires 1-3 rounds. A user must study with the book of this type for two weeks to become experienced with it.
Type B: The cover of this book is either a human warrior riding a horse and brandishing a sword, or a human barbarian smashing through a door and wielding a battleaxe. Tearing any page from the book destroys the book entirely and causes all items contained in it to be lost on the Astral Plane. Items stored in the book must be able to fit in one hand and weight 50 pounds or less. Thus, a sword can be place in lenthwise, but not horizontal to the page. The book always weighs 5 pounds.
This version of the book contains 4 pages of each type. Use the following table to determine what each page can store:
The books are nearly identical, with a difference only in the time it takes to retrieve an item. For the human warrior book, an inexperienced user requires 1d6 rounds to retrieve an item; an experienced user requires only 1d3 rounds. The barbarian book is longer, though it contains no additional pages. An inexperienced user requires 1d6+1 rounds to retrieve an item; an experienced user requires 1d3+1. A user must study with this book of this type for a week to become experienced with it.
Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, the contents of both and all characters within 10 feet of the book, to be scattered across the Astral Plane.
XP Value: 1,500
Type C: The cover of this book is covered in many gem-like baubles and metal tooling. There are multiple versions, and while upon initial inspection they appear to be different, they are identical in function. The baubles have no value, but the book appears to me extremely valuable to a casual observer. Inexplicably, this type of book can only be used by a spellcaster.
Items placed in the book must be be able to be carried in one hand. Containers may be stored as a single item, provided they can be held in one hand. Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, and the contents of both, scattering them across the Astral Plane.
This book contains 1d20 + 50 different pages. Each page can store up to one hand-held item.
Retrieving for an inexperienced user takes a full round action using the index. Using the index, an experienced user can do the same with a move action. A character must read the book entirely or else use an identify or similar magic to become experienced with using it. The index is written in Draconic.
There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Plane.
Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item, secret chest; Price 2,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Type D (Level 8):
The cover of this book depicts two adventurers of various races.
Wonderous Item 3,400gp
Property: This book can hold up to 60 items each weighing 50 pounds or less, but always weighs 5 lbs. Drawing an item from this item is a minor action.
Special: There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Sea.
Type E:
Attuned Item
The cover of this book depicts a frost giant engaged with a party of adventurers. The book contains many pages, but only 50 are magically enchanted. Each enchanted page can store one item (including another container) of up to 50 pounds. Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, and the contents of both, scattering them across the Astral Plane. Any character may store an item in the book as an action. A character may retrieve an item as an action, or as a bonus action if they are attuned to the book. However, the index in this version contains many pointless cross-indexes, so that whenever a player attempts to retrieve an item, they must make a DC 15 Intelligence save. On a success, the item is retrieved. On a failure, the character fails to retrieve the item, and must spend an action to successfully retrieve the item.
There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Sea.
Each book contains multiple pages, each of which can contain items of a different type and store them in an extradimensional space, similar to a quiver of ehlonna.
Exactly what can be stored depends on which type of book is discovered. This also determines the time required to retrieve such a book.
There are five known versions of the bag book:
Type A: The cover of this book is either a depiction of a gigantic demon statue with one of it's ruby eyes being stolen, or else an imposing, aged, white bearded wizard. Both covers of this book are identical, though the cover with the wizard is twice as common. This version of the book has 6-36 pages. Tearing a page from the book causes all items stored in that page to be irrevocably destroyed or lost (artifacts are never destroyed). Items stored in the book must fit the dimensions of a page (roughly 12 inches by 8 inches). Thus, a sword can be place in lenthwise, but not horizontal to the page. Fully 80% of books are found with 3-18 pages already filled.
Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, the contents of both and all characters within 10 feet of the book, to be scattered across the Astral Plane.
Use the following table to determine what each page can store:
| 1d20 | Page Type |
| 1-2 | 1000 to 10000 coins of any type or coin-sized objects |
| 3-5 | 2-4 potions or scrolls or potion-sized or scroll-sized objects |
| 6-10 | 1-2 weapons or roughly weapon-shaped objects |
| 11-18 | 2-4 miscellaneous mundane or magic items or any hand-held item |
| 19-20 | Roll again twice or DM's choice |
No single object stored in the book can weight more than 50 lbs. The book itself never weighs more than 5 lbs.
This version lacks an index, so it takes 2-20 rounds for an inexperienced user to locate the correct page to retrieve a stored item from the book. An experienced user requires 1-3 rounds. A user must study with the book of this type for two weeks to become experienced with it.
Type B: The cover of this book is either a human warrior riding a horse and brandishing a sword, or a human barbarian smashing through a door and wielding a battleaxe. Tearing any page from the book destroys the book entirely and causes all items contained in it to be lost on the Astral Plane. Items stored in the book must be able to fit in one hand and weight 50 pounds or less. Thus, a sword can be place in lenthwise, but not horizontal to the page. The book always weighs 5 pounds.
This version of the book contains 4 pages of each type. Use the following table to determine what each page can store:
| Page Type |
| 1d10 x 1000 coins of any type |
| 1d3+1 potions or scrolls |
| 1d2 weapons |
| 1d3+1 miscellaneous magic items |
The books are nearly identical, with a difference only in the time it takes to retrieve an item. For the human warrior book, an inexperienced user requires 1d6 rounds to retrieve an item; an experienced user requires only 1d3 rounds. The barbarian book is longer, though it contains no additional pages. An inexperienced user requires 1d6+1 rounds to retrieve an item; an experienced user requires 1d3+1. A user must study with this book of this type for a week to become experienced with it.
Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, the contents of both and all characters within 10 feet of the book, to be scattered across the Astral Plane.
XP Value: 1,500
Type C: The cover of this book is covered in many gem-like baubles and metal tooling. There are multiple versions, and while upon initial inspection they appear to be different, they are identical in function. The baubles have no value, but the book appears to me extremely valuable to a casual observer. Inexplicably, this type of book can only be used by a spellcaster.
Items placed in the book must be be able to be carried in one hand. Containers may be stored as a single item, provided they can be held in one hand. Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, and the contents of both, scattering them across the Astral Plane.
This book contains 1d20 + 50 different pages. Each page can store up to one hand-held item.
Retrieving for an inexperienced user takes a full round action using the index. Using the index, an experienced user can do the same with a move action. A character must read the book entirely or else use an identify or similar magic to become experienced with using it. The index is written in Draconic.
There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Plane.
Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item, secret chest; Price 2,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Type D (Level 8):
The cover of this book depicts two adventurers of various races.
Wonderous Item 3,400gp
Property: This book can hold up to 60 items each weighing 50 pounds or less, but always weighs 5 lbs. Drawing an item from this item is a minor action.
Special: There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Sea.
Type E:
Attuned Item
The cover of this book depicts a frost giant engaged with a party of adventurers. The book contains many pages, but only 50 are magically enchanted. Each enchanted page can store one item (including another container) of up to 50 pounds. Storing a bag of holding or other extradimensional item in this version causes a rift to the Astral Plane to open, drawing in the book, the bag, and the contents of both, scattering them across the Astral Plane. Any character may store an item in the book as an action. A character may retrieve an item as an action, or as a bonus action if they are attuned to the book. However, the index in this version contains many pointless cross-indexes, so that whenever a player attempts to retrieve an item, they must make a DC 15 Intelligence save. On a success, the item is retrieved. On a failure, the character fails to retrieve the item, and must spend an action to successfully retrieve the item.
There is a 5% chance that this type of book is cursed. Seven days after storing an item, the book's spine disintegrates, destroying the book and scattering all items stored within it across the Astral Sea.
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