Request for plot help from the Excellent Egos of Enworld.

[Gothmog]

Well, a liche needs a phylactery, right? How about a book involving how to purify and distill various substances to prepare them to to accept the soul of a sentient creature? Certainly a black market type of tome, and one they would want to keep out of the hands of the bad guys.

Maybe this particular book was sold to a wizard/cleric who wants to craft an item that will imprison the soul of a demon/devil/daemon in the object, allowing him to use some portion of the fiend's innate powers and give him long life/immortality. Obvously, most fiends wouldn't be too keen on being imprisoned in an object, so if the adventurers can find this book and somehow sabotage the bad spellcaster's item creation, he might have one VERY upset fiend on his hands.

 

[Macbeth]

I have no idea if you use the Psionics Handbook, but that book has the Auothypnosis skill, whic allows memorization of very long strings of text. Maybe one of the adventurers (or somebody the sold the books to) memorized the entire the book with the skill, then destroyed the original. Now the PCs have to get information that only exists in this guy's memory.

 

[ConnorSB]

Well, maybe the books are general necromancy books from long ago. Perhaps the lich once read of some ancient mages who did some powerful things invovlving undead, and tracked down what were either thier triatieses on undeath, thier notebooks, thier journals, etc.

Perhaps one or two are tomes written by a Van Richter like person- the definitive source on slaying undead.

Books of prophesy are always good- I'd throw in a few various editions of "Interpretations of the Mad Wizard Who Thought up all the FR Year Names", the lich having aquired them as a tool for prophesy, or maybe for good reading material.


Perhaps he finds out that a long time ago in "The Year of Growing Darkness" or somesuch, there was a particularly high rise in ascention to Lichdom, and the Lich wants to know why. So he goes of to investigate the "ancient artifact of evil" that turned a bunch of people undead.

Basically, I think the books a lich would have would drop into these catagories:

1. Books about magic in general. A lich is a wizard/mage/cleric first, and undead second.
2. Books on lichdom, if any exist at all.
3. Books on undead in general, and along with that negative energy, the shadow plane, and all related necromatic paraphenilia.
4. History books that include various liches and powerful immortals, and perhaps how they ascended to such power.
5. collections of maps/notes on various places related to that history. "The Codex of Castle Blackdoom" or somesuch...
6. The obligatory "unholy evil book of doom"

 

[Agback]

Perhaps one or two are tomes written by a Van Richter like person

Que?

Who is or was Van Richter?

Regards,


Agback

 

[diaglo]

Who is or was Van Richter?

2ed days..Ravenloft campaign specifically.

 

[Mexal]

Perhaps there is a paladin around who has managed to get hold of one of these books, has realised just how evil it is, and is now ALSO hunting for them with the intent of destroying them. Your players may think this is a good idea and help him, or may be reluctant to see them destroyed when they might be sold (or made use of for hopefully more beneign purposes).

Perhaps there is a scholar in a nearby town, a wealthy one, who has circulated word that he'll pay good money for books. Such good money that he's been inundated, and the target books are buried somewhere at the bottom of a pile that he hasn't got round to looking at yet.

2 thoughts, if I have more I'll come back and throw them in.

Hugs and kisses,

Mexal.
http://www.rpg-resource.org.uk/

 

[Marimmar]

There was another low-level adventure in a Dungeon magazine about a bunch of kobolds stealing a book of love poems that they mistook for a book of magic writings. Very funny stuff IIRC.

~Marimmar

 

[Death_Jester]

Greetings,

I found the d20 Scriptorium web site. It has the rules for making new books and really cool information for making them unique. I made this book using that system and wanted to post it to see if it seems a little overly powerful.

Also does this particular book inspire any plot ideals about how to use it?


Demonapocrypha - The book of lost demonstrations.

AUTHOR: Unknown
PUBLISHER: None (handwritten manuscript).
TYPE/ASPECT: Richly decorated and sumptuous tome of great size with precious bindings.
CONDITION: Damaged and fragile, but still readable provided it is handled with care.
LANGUAGE: Netherese (Draconic Alphabet)
SUBJECT: Knowledge (Arcana: Necromancy, Ancient Mysteries, Magic Traditions,).
ORIGINALITY: Really Original work that brings a new perspective on the subject.
CLARITY: Confused (Int. check DC=15 to benefit from book's contents).
LENGTH OF STUDY: 1 or 2 week (provided Intelligence check succeeded - see above).
BENEFIT FROM STUDY: Tutorial to learn specific feats (Spell Focus Necromancy and Greater Spell focus Necromancy). Excellent tutorial to get up to 15 ranks in the relevant skill (requires normal expenditure of skill points).
BOOK'S MONETARY VALUE: Invaluable (over 1000 gold-piece).
NOTES: This is the legendary Book of lost demonstrations from the book set of the same name. The subjects detailed in this book include information about the uses of Necromancy. It was written in the Netherese language and takes a read languages or a Language Netherese skill check of (DC 15) to use be able to gain the benefit of the skill ranks. Once the material is comprehended it gives insight to the nature of Necormancy and how one can master its power.

 

[Agback]

2ed days..Ravenloft campaign specifically.

Okay, thanks.

Now: what would a Van Richter-like character be like, other than coming from Ravenloft and being statted in an OOP version of D&D?

Regards,


Agback