Sanackranib
First Post
and what liburary could be called complete without an authentic copy of "the book of vile darkness" 
-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Help me create an Arcane Library
- Thread starter Herremann the Wise
- Start date
Most of my libraries in fantasy games have books without titles. I can't imagine most wizards publishing titles that sound like modern theses, unless they actually are members of genuine university-style wizard colleges. Otherwise, they'll probably just be their own personal notebooks.
Of course, ones that have been recovered and distributed in said wizard colleges may have picked up names, such as 'Demoniaca's Black Tome' or 'Mordenkainen's thousand conjurations.' But I see a lotta arcane libraries as having the sole copy of many tomes... in which case, many of them will not be titled at all. That's how it works in my game, anyway - while the Wizard Convention is alive and well, and wizards engage in all kinds of learning and collegial sharing of knowledge, new developments are jealously guarded, and those who don't participate in day-to-day sharing keep their stuff to themselves.
So, just a short way of saying, don't feel you need to have every book have a name. Or for it to be a descriptive name. Don't feel you need to have 'books' as we understand them, either. Most of the books in the libraries in my game are in fact five to fifty scrolls, rather than any bound work.
Just a way of adding flavour to an arcane collection without it feeling too much like walking through the chemistry section of a modern university library.
Of course, ones that have been recovered and distributed in said wizard colleges may have picked up names, such as 'Demoniaca's Black Tome' or 'Mordenkainen's thousand conjurations.' But I see a lotta arcane libraries as having the sole copy of many tomes... in which case, many of them will not be titled at all. That's how it works in my game, anyway - while the Wizard Convention is alive and well, and wizards engage in all kinds of learning and collegial sharing of knowledge, new developments are jealously guarded, and those who don't participate in day-to-day sharing keep their stuff to themselves.
So, just a short way of saying, don't feel you need to have every book have a name. Or for it to be a descriptive name. Don't feel you need to have 'books' as we understand them, either. Most of the books in the libraries in my game are in fact five to fifty scrolls, rather than any bound work.
Just a way of adding flavour to an arcane collection without it feeling too much like walking through the chemistry section of a modern university library.
Gez
First Post
The books in Nystul's library (Ultima Underworld 2):
Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov
101 Avatar Jokes, by Chuckles the Jester, autographed by the author.
On the properties of runestones, second edition, annotated by the mage Nystul.
Key to the Black Gate, by Anton of New Magincia.
The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum.
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss.
Collected Historical Plays of Raymundo of Britain.
At the Mountains of Madness, by H.P. Lovecraft.
Something Under the Bed is Drooling, by Bill Watterson.
Neuromancer, by William Gibson.
Swords against Death, by Fritz Leiber.
The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith.
Mysteries of the Abyss, being a chronicle of the hubris of Tyball, and of his defeat by the Avatar in the Great Stygian Abyss.
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman.
Sex, by Madonna.
The last being hidden in a secure chest.
Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov
101 Avatar Jokes, by Chuckles the Jester, autographed by the author.
On the properties of runestones, second edition, annotated by the mage Nystul.
Key to the Black Gate, by Anton of New Magincia.
The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum.
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss.
Collected Historical Plays of Raymundo of Britain.
At the Mountains of Madness, by H.P. Lovecraft.
Something Under the Bed is Drooling, by Bill Watterson.
Neuromancer, by William Gibson.
Swords against Death, by Fritz Leiber.
The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith.
Mysteries of the Abyss, being a chronicle of the hubris of Tyball, and of his defeat by the Avatar in the Great Stygian Abyss.
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman.
Sex, by Madonna.
The last being hidden in a secure chest.
I've already put a lot of work into books.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=284&
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2670&
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2291&
Over 100 books.
And in print at www.badaxegames.com (The Book of Unusual Treasures).
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=284&
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2670&
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2291&
Over 100 books.
And in print at www.badaxegames.com (The Book of Unusual Treasures).
Cthulhu's Librarian
First Post
there are about 10-20 books that I created a few years ago in the NBOBooks. I don't know if Dominique ever finished the revised version before he stopped working on the NBOBooks, but even if he did not, it's still a great resource.Sanackranib said:
Last edited:
tarchon
First Post
lupus said:
That's generally the way real-life occult works were. The ones with titles usually acquired their titles as nicknames, Lemegeton, the Key of Solomon, the Zohar.
For games, the style of title is just so dependent on the setting and the particular library that I'd probably never use a compiled list. Just too easy to make up yourself.
THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVES
by SABINE BARING-GOULD
Check out this link for some historical sacred and obscure texts: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
by SABINE BARING-GOULD
Check out this link for some historical sacred and obscure texts: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
Last edited:
Flyspeck23
First Post
Here's how I'd do it (and actually have done so on two occasions):
Go to RPGNow.com, and browse. Browse some more. Sooner than later you should find some cool books. Most of the time the product's description will help you come up with an interesting topic/content, but not always
Go to RPGNow.com, and browse. Browse some more. Sooner than later you should find some cool books. Most of the time the product's description will help you come up with an interesting topic/content, but not always
EN World Thread titles make good books. 
The Ethical Application of Necromancy by Monsignore Giovanni Ellio Pelligrino
Tobin's Spirit Guide by Alexander Tobin (Suprised nobody has suggested this...)
Thurmaturgical Study of Sulfur as a Component by Claude Villion
Virtues of Alchemical Silver by Brannon Dirksmith
Non-Dimensional Theory and its Practical Uses by Winard Thrope
Wizards' First Rule by Zeddicus Zul Zoriander
A Novice's Primer to Cantrips, VI Edition by Esther Ogg
My Unlife by Jefferson McClintock
How to Enchant Friends and Enspell People by Oscar Imbleton
The Mind's Eye: What Divination Truly Reveals to Us by Ing the Hag
The Form of Formlessness by Waide the Transmuter
Removing Arcanists: A Practical Method of Spellcaster Assassination by Anon.
Mind-Affection and its Effect Upon the Caster by Tybal Endemon
Tobin's Spirit Guide by Alexander Tobin (Suprised nobody has suggested this...)
Thurmaturgical Study of Sulfur as a Component by Claude Villion
Virtues of Alchemical Silver by Brannon Dirksmith
Non-Dimensional Theory and its Practical Uses by Winard Thrope
Wizards' First Rule by Zeddicus Zul Zoriander
A Novice's Primer to Cantrips, VI Edition by Esther Ogg
My Unlife by Jefferson McClintock
How to Enchant Friends and Enspell People by Oscar Imbleton
The Mind's Eye: What Divination Truly Reveals to Us by Ing the Hag
The Form of Formlessness by Waide the Transmuter
Removing Arcanists: A Practical Method of Spellcaster Assassination by Anon.
Mind-Affection and its Effect Upon the Caster by Tybal Endemon
Similar Threads
