D&D 5E Books! I need books to get into Candlekeep!

[darjr]

I keep finding out about treasures! But each time it leads me to a darn book burried in the depths of Candlekeep! Arg! First time I went I took a copy of Volo’s guide to monsters that he hornswaggled me into buying! They said NO! They had too many! That is until they noticed the blood, Volo’s blood I said! Then they took it with a wierd glee that I’ve not seen in a humanoid face till now.... eh but I digress.

I shouldn’t have left, now some other trinket or another leads to ANOTHER darn book in that dusty page ridden cobwebbed librarians best dream, er, or worst nightmare.

so, right quick, gimme a book that’s good enough for the likes of those book hording dragon wannabes? Aye? Do it for your good ole darjr?

 

[tommybahama]

so, right quick, gimme a book that’s good enough for the likes of those book hording dragon wannabes? Aye? Do it for your good ole darjr?

Uh, some vampire lord wrote a book about his tragic downfall. But you'll have to travel to Barovia to get it. Be warned: no adventurer has ever returned from Barovia. Ever.

 

[ccs]

Uh, some vampire lord wrote a book about his tragic downfall. But you'll have to travel to Barovia to get it. Be warned: no adventurer has ever returned from Barovia. Ever.

That'd make for an awesome adventure hook. "Go get us the 1st edition of the Tome of Strahd".....

In my own campaign the party used two books unique to our games.

*"The true account of the adventures of Bartholomew Smythe, Vol.1 (levels 1-6)"
This one is the compiled account of the parties initial adventures, as recounted by the ex-Paladin Bartholomew Smythe. The character actually commissioned it & had it published. He presented a copy to the Keep.

*"The Wolf & the Horse".
This one? It was written by a Chevelier character in a previous PF campaign as part of him qualifying for some prestige class (had to write a book of x value ??) It's described as either a "choose your own adventure" childrens book about the friendship between a knight, his warhorse & a Winter Wolf, - or some sort of weird erotic fantasy. Depends upon how it's read & how high an insight check the reader makes. Or is that how bad an insight check is made? (you know, seeing crap that's really not there)
It too got published & sometimes copies show up in later games/campaigns.
More deluxe copies/editions are fully illuminated. Some have animated illusionary pictures. At least one version also includes a pop-up section.

Both are available for use in your games.

 

[MarkB]

Demogorgon's Tome of Protagonists
A handy guide for monsters, villains and innocent bystanders, this tome details the habits and proclivities of typical adventuring parties and methods of dealing with them. Includes:

• Breakdowns of most classes and subclasses with a view to their vulnerabilities and limitations.
• Tips on artificially lowering your Challenge Rating (i.e. vulnerability to lesser-used damage types such as Poison, or a penalty to Intelligence saving throws) so that you're more likely to face lower-level parties.
• Methods of diverting protagonists away from your activities, such as bribing nearby quest-givers or hiding the princess in another castle.

Punctuated throughout with commentary and marginalia from Demogorgon's left head and Demogorgon's right head. Careful reading of their bickerings may yield valuable nuggets of wisdom.

 

[Rune]

How to Curse Yourself by Reading this Book

 

[Rune]

How to Curse Yourself by Reading this Book

True story.

 

[Stormonu]

From Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh:

Spoiler

The Magical Properties of Gemstones - written by the archmage Tenser, there is a sidebar on a strange sapphire which holds a powerful deamon, lost in an abandoned temple on the Plateau of the Scarlett Brotherhood

The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers - again, written by Tenser, someone has scribbled notes about a strange plant called a "Gulthias Tree" and notes indicating an ancient citadel where it resides.

The Metaphyics of Mathematics - written by the archmage Nystul, there are numerous notes written in invisible ink throughout the book. A bloodstain on one of the pages has partly revealed one such passage, in which "-hind the smo-" can be made out.

Sanbalet's Verses of Exquisite Love - this book of erotic poetry contains blackmail notes in the margin against several individuals in Saltmarsh and Seaton

Ye Secret of Ye Philosopher's Stone - contains a list of exotic items to retrieve and rare monsters to face

To be found in the Yawning Portal

Spoiler

The Forge - a dwarven travelogue focusing primarily on rating and discussing various blacksmiths, foundries and other forge-related topics. Copious notes on the pages discussing a meeting in Khundrukar and ending with "must meet again at Highforge."

The Book of Keraptis - this book of magical notes and diagrams of odd trap-like contraptions is itself a trap. Imbued with a sort of trap the soul, the more someone reads, the more the individual takes on the personality of Keraptis and becomes infactuated with locating White Plume Mountain, and convincing their comrades to "seek out the items within" - while actually seeking the indoctrination center themselves.

The True and Complete History of Acerak the Mighty - a cryptic tome purporting to be the autobiography of Acerak and his rise to archmage and eventual seeking of immortality. Filled with all sorts of misinformation about Acerak himself meant to mock and incite do-gooders, it also "hides" information on the location where Acerak plans to build his temple "tomb".

 

[Stormonu]

Other interesting titles...

I am Volo Geddarm - Volo's autobiography, penned at an early age. Being the original manuscript it is filled with scraps of paper notes on places he visited. One fire-singed note is a mess of near-indecipherable scribbles written in haste. The bottom of the note, in much cleaner and slower-written longhand reads "do NOT print!"

Monster Hunter Association Volume IV - Ettin to Ghoul one of several volumes written by the wizard Dreelix, and early in the series, this book contains a late, out of order entry on the Catoblepas with bookkeeping notes in the side margin about a large sum of money lost in a catoblepas-infested swamp.

Secrets of the Magister This book, written by Maxiladanarr Torstren, is a catalog of undead, their creation and notable undead individuals. A worn bookmark within is actually a folded parchment letter from a knight pleading for forgiveness of several murders "while under the moon's influence". Astute readers will note that the signature on the bottom matches one of the unique undead entries near the back as the "Knight of Nights".