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Message: <blockquote data-quote="robowieland" data-source="post: 9554355" data-attributes="member: 7026452">[ATTACH=full]394230[/ATTACH]Read any evil books lately? Spellbooks and grimoires are often at the center of horror stories. They make good treasures to seek, whether to learn more about the monsters ravaging the countryside to potentially having a spell or some other means to take down the monster. This is most common in Cthulhu Mythos based games where books like the Necronomicon and The King In Yellow are central to the mythologies of some of the big players. Those books, and over 40 others are featured in <a href="https://store.hplhs.org/products/the-starry-wisdom-library?" target="_blank">The Starry Wisdom Library</a>, a fiction collection edited by Nate Pedersen. The presentation and format make it a unique resource for Call of Cthulhu Keepers even if it's not the typical thing I review on EN World. How does it stand out? Let’s play to find out.<a href="https://store.hplhs.org/products/the-starry-wisdom-library?" target="_blank">The Starry Wisdom Library</a> presents itself as an auction catalogue featuring the collection of the Church of Starry Wisdom that was held in 1877. Each book is covered with a short entry describing the book, what condition it's in, any unusual markings or pieces and a short essay on how it came to be in the library with notes on previous owners and important passages from the book itself. Many of the books featured in the Cthulhu Mythos make an appearance but there are also dozens of new books that provide their own unique chills and logistics. There are riffs on books like the (almost) complete set of the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan where one volume has been replaced by a later manuscript translation with the original book disappeared or destroyed. Another entry features notes from two translators who disagree on the contents of the book. The catalog was compiled in 1877 which gives plenty of time in most settings for the books to fall into the hands the story needs them to be in. Many entries include time in the unknown in the years leading up to the entry in the book.[ATTACH=full]394231[/ATTACH]The auction catalogue is done up as an in-universe artifact with everything inside presented as fact. Graphic Designer Andrew Leman makes the book look like an artifact from the era with proper typesets, smudges and even a bidding sheet included as part of the experience. His work is enhanced by illustrator Liv Rainey-Smith featuring reproductions of some of the art in these terrible volumes. The length of each entry also makes it easy to gobble up in a few sessions of reading. Even when a story doesn’t quite communicate the creepiness of an artifact, there’s another one a couple of pages away that might.While <a href="https://store.hplhs.org/products/the-starry-wisdom-library?" target="_blank">The Starry Wisdom Library</a> isn’t officially a supplement for Call of Cthulhu, I couldn’t help but think of it as one as I read it. Leman often works with the <a href="https://www.hplhs.org/" target="_blank">HP Lovecraft Historical Society</a> and his design work makes the book look and feel like one of their great artifacts. It expands many of the books included in Mythos games with ideas on what the books might actually look like. The histories also leave room for Game Masters to weave them into plots. The book itself could be plopped down on the table at the start of a campaign where players have to reassemble the library many years later. It could also be used as a reference for players when they find a strange book and want to know more about its history.Bottom line: For Cthulhu Mythos Keepers who want to add a touch of depth to their forbidden tomes, <a href="https://store.hplhs.org/products/the-starry-wisdom-library?" target="_blank">The Starry Wisdom Library</a> offers plenty of fine details to use in their games.</blockquote>

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