[v.3.5] Campaign Guide: Heroes of Carnell PbP Game!

[Knightfall]

10. Giant Blood
Age: Unknown
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Arcana); Knowledge (Nature)
— Kulan Sub-Skill: n/a
Condition: Poor to fair
Content: A detailed account of sorcery from the point of view of those with giant ancestry. The book focuses primarily on the bloodlines of true giants. In the back of the book is a chapter that warns the reader to be careful when dealing with sorcerers whose origin lies with ettins or ogres.
Pages: 75
Type: Softbound
Extras?: There are extra pages, in Dwarven, that have been inserted into the book using both glue and stitching. These extra pages are high biased.
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Author: Unknown
Language: Giant (some Dwarven pages)
Date Written: Unknown
Est. Value: 50 gp, 2 sp
Origin: Unknown (but likely written by a Giant)
Publicly Published?: Unknown
Rarity: Rare

 

[Knightfall]

11. Hidden Ruins of the Chara Coast
Age: 354 years old
Associated Skills: Disable Device; Knowledge (Dungeoneering); Knowledge (Geography)
— Kulan Sub-Skill: Knowledge (Geography [Chara Coast])
Condition: Good
Content: A very detailed account of every hidden dungeon/ruin discovered (sixteen in total) by the Boots along the Chara Coast, as well as half-a-dozen other ruins that they searched for but never found. The book goes into details about the traps that needed to be bypassed and the treasures that the Boots discovered. The book is written as if it was meant for the Boots alone. There are many notes written in the margins, by Dustchaser, regarding his thoughts on whether or not a particular dungeon/ruin could have had more levels or secret rooms. In the back of the book is a detailed list of all the treasure the Boots discovered in each dungeon’ ruin, as well as casualties suffered. The treasure list is twenty pages long while the list of dead is on the last page.
Pages: 310
Type: Tome
Extras?: Some notes, written by Maria Wildraven, concentrated in select sections of the book, that have nothing whatsoever to do with the book's contents.
DM’s Note: In the book, the two authors are notes as being lovers; however, Maria is not Dustchaser’s wife in the Charan Castes book. He was already married by 414 N.C.
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Authors: Dustchaser (as Txaran the Blackthorn) and Maria Wildraven
Language: Charan
Date Written: Est. 414 N.C.
Est. Value: 2,990 gp
Origin: Fellowship of the Boots
Publicly Published?: Unknown (very unlikely)
Rarity: Unique

 

[Knightfall]

12. Into the Great Expanse
Age: Unknown (likely very old)
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Geography); Knowledge (Nature)
— Kulan Sub-Skills: n/a
Condition: Fair
Content: A strange take on the denizens and dangers of Harqual’s largest desert, The Great Expanse. There is a lot of bias in the writing. The author has little respect for anyone living in that desert, except for the desert elves. What makes this book stand out is the beautiful illustrations of known locales in the desert that were painstakingly hand-drawn in colourful inks. These illustrations are on every second page.
Pages: 30
Type: Chapbook
Extras?: Many anecdotes, counterarguments, and notations by Jorziza. The desert-kin lizardfolk was not impressed with the author’s knowledge of the desert. He has crossed out many sections and wrote in corrections.
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Author: An elf from the Far South who went by the name Ayre Shadowarrow
Languages: Draconic and Elven
Date Written: Unknown
Est. Value: 194 gp, 6 sp
Origin: The Far South
Publicly Published?: Likely
Rarity: Rare (north of the Great Expanse)

 

[Knightfall]

13. Mages of the Thunder Lands
Age: 287 years old
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Arcana); Knowledge (History)
— Kulan Sub-Skills: Knowledge (Geography [Thunder Lands]); Knowledge (Sexuality)
Condition: Pristine
Content: This book gives a highly detailed account of the most famous wizards and other arcane practitioners of the Thunder Lands (and their personal relationships). The author (a bard of some renown) has only written about mages who agreed to be in book or are believed to be dead, however. The author notes in the introduction that there are dozens of others who refused to be in her book and threatened to kill her, if she mentioned them at all. There is a chapter on Arixon and a handful of other wizards and warmages who were noted as being members of the Boots. There is an entire section devoted to her fellow bards and some of their unique songs. There aren’t any spell in the book. In all, the book details thirty unique individuals with all of them getting 10 pages each. The rest of the book is the table of contents, known mage taverns, and important arcane schools, as well as detailed appendix.
Pages: 310
Type: Tome
Extras?: There a handwritten thank you letter to Arixon in the back of the book where Rhamari thanks him for his help researching material for the book (and being a go-between her and several surly mages). The letter notes that the copy she set him was the second book printed of the first printing. (She, of course, kept the first printed copy.) There is a notation on the back of the letter by Arixon that he inherited that first copy after Rhamari was assassinated in 481 N.C. He kept that copy for himself and gave the version she gave him to Stratesus.
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Author: Rhamari Rambuvès
Language: Draconic and Old Norrish
Date Written: 472 N.C.
Est. Value: 1,250 gp (there would be some who would pay more to have the book destroyed or use it for leverage)
Origin: Thunder Lands
Publicly Published?: Yes (several printings); the book is considered scandalous
Rarity: Rare in the Thunder Lands; very rare everywhere else

 

[Knightfall]

14. Magical Denizens of the Heartwood
Age: 1,019 years old
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Arcana); Knowledge (History); Knowledge (Nature); Knowledge (Geography)
— Kulan Sub-Skills: Knowledge (Ancient History)
Condition: Good
Content: This book details a time in the ancient history of the Strandlands when the forest known as the Heartwood (now known as the Halfling Woods) was much larger and more untamed. It describes the Heartwood as being a large forest that once stretched from the Bearwood Mounts in the southeast to the Snow Wolf Woods and Tisleglen Woods in the north. The Heartwood was a highly-magical forest filled with dire animals, magical beasts, wild fey of every sort, and an ancient sect of grey elves called the Ten’oiofea (the Forever Spirit in Old Norrish). The forest was called Draushumgra'kul by the dragons, which meant the Dragon’s Heart in Old Norrish. (It would be Dragonheart in Anorian.) The forest was home to a magnificent elven city named Yhelona, which was founded around -2,500 N.C. When the book was written, the city was just starting to decline as the youngest grey elves left the Heartwood for the Great Forest.
Pages: 190
Type: Softbound
Extras?: Bookmarks marking informative information. Some personal notations written by Stratesus, unrelated to the book, that are concentrated in the back of the book.
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Author: A halfling sorcerer named Merovech Kerrain
Language: Old Norrish
Date Written: Est. -260 N.C.
Est. Value: 3,080 gp
Origin: Strandlands
Publicly Published?: Unknown (very unlikely)
Rarity: Very rare (probably would be considered unique by many scholars)

 

[Knightfall]

I was going to to get done up book 15, but I'm out of energy. I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Must sleep now.

 

[MetaVoid]

I will provide more details about The Twenty (at the very least), at some point. I'm not sure how much I will detail the other books. Note that for the PCs to continue to gain the +2 bonuses to Arcana, Nature, and Geography checks for the two geographical regions, the library must be kept together. The Extras can be removed from the library without having any effect on the bonuses, however.

If the PCs make the temple a base of operations, then they can all use the library, borrow a handful of books, and even take specific books with them without issue. Basically, as long as the PCs don't lose them or sell them, it's all good. Lose or sell too many and the bonuses go away.

It might be better if the PCs move the library elsewhere. (Carnell?) The lands around the Temple of Bogphin are quite dangerous and without the temporal stasis to ward the Chamber of the Boots, it will be a risk to leave them in the old ruins. Of course, taking them to Carnell could also be an issue. I know there was a plan to buy the Willowchild Farm and turn it into the group's stronghold in Carnell. Once a fort or fortified manor house is built there, it might be a good place for the library.

Dragon hoard is also good place for them

 

[Knightfall]

15. The Patron Mountains
Age: 269 years old
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Geography), Survival
— Kulan Sub-Skills: Knowledge (Geography [Great Expanse])
Condition: Fair
Content: This book appears to be a signed first printing of the, once, definitive guide for adventuring and exploring in the Patron Mountains of the Great Expanse. Its origin is the Chara Coast and it continues to exist and be used to the current day. Since its first printing in 490 N.C., the book has been printed at least a dozen times over the centuries, but the authorship changes and more detail are added (making the newer versions completely different than the original). As a first printing, it is considered a valuable look the mountain range from a man who grew up wild in those desert peaks and was a staunch friend to the desert elves of the Expanse.
Pages: 96
Type: Softbound
Extras?: No
DM’s Note: Quinn has not only heard of this book, but also seen printings by later authors who have increased the page count of their versions to hundreds of pages.
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Author: Armand “Lionmoon” Thimmesch
Language: Charan
Date Written: 490 N.C.
Est. Value: 137 gp, 8 sp
Origin: Chara Coast
Publicly Published?: Yes (dozens of printings)
Rarity: Uncommon (Chara Coast); rare (Far South); very rare (anywhere north of the Great Expanse)

 

[Knightfall]

16. Peoples and Places: From the Chara Coast to the Strandlands
Age: Originally (434 years old); Dustchaser’s additions (unknown; best est. 300+ years old)
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Geography); Knowledge (History); Bardic Knowledge checks regarding history
— Kulan Sub-Skills: Knowledge (Geography [Chara Coast]); Knowledge (Geography [Thunder Lands]); Knowledge (Humanoid Culture)
Condition: Fair
Content: A highly-detailed travelogue that shows several ways to travel back and forth between the Chara Coast and the Strandlands. The main chapter details with the easiest and safest way to get to and from the two lands. There are other chapters with more dangerous routes meant for adventurers. Descriptions of specific cities, towns, and villages that existed between the two lands. Significant content on the cultures of the humanoids who live in the two lands and the various lands in between. These locations and cultures are detailed as they existed in 350 N.C. (with some key changes noted by Dustchaser over a century later).
Pages: 220
Type: Unfinished manuscript; finished and bound in leather by Dustchaser (as Aizo Viteri) and a bard who chose to remain anonymous.
Extras?: Hand-written accounts by Dustchaser that have been added to the books margins or inserted as loose pages. Hand-drawn pictorials of various cities and towns (not drawn by Dustchaser). An old song entitled “Night Of The Night”, which is written on the last two pages of the book.
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Author: Original author unknown (finished by Dustchaser [using the name Aizo Viteri] and an unnamed author)
Language: Primarily Old Norrish (several sections written in Charan)
Date Written: Originally (325 N.C.); additions by Dustchaser (unknown)
Est. Value: 967 gp
Origin: Thunder Lands
Publicly Published?: Originally (yes; limited); Dustchaser’s version (no)
Rarity: Unique

 

[Knightfall]

17. Scorpion Heritage
Age: 331 years old
Associated Skills: Knowledge (Arcana); Knowledge (Nature)
— Kulan Sub-Skills: n/a
Condition: Good
Content: Everything that Stratesus ever learned about scorpions whether it was monstrous scorpions or normal scorpions. There is a detailed chapter in the back of the book about Shouzas. That chapters talks about the scorpion’s natural awakening and his eventual immortality. However, Stratesus doesn’t say how Shouzas became immortal.
Pages: 145
Type: Softbound
Extras?: Intricate diagrams of various types of scorpions. Beautifully hand-drawn borders on every page. Each border is unique. Fold out map in the centre of the book that shows where scorpions are most often encountered in the Strandlands.
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Author: Stratesus the Hermit
Language: Druidic
Date Written: 428 N.C.
Est. Value: 568 gp, 6 sp (the druidic circles of the Strandlands are less likely to fight over this book)
Origin: Fellowship of the Boots
Publicly Published?: No
Rarity: Unique