Sometimes I just get the urge to write something purely
for the heck of it. So, here are ten non-magical books that can be included in any
fantasy role-playing campaign. The next time one of your players wants to know the the title of every book on the bookshelf, you can just hand them this.
1. Glassblowing
by Vim Messis
Bound with bright blue cloth covers, this folio contains
detailed instructions on the art of glassblowing, including techniques for
making a wide variety of bottles and ornaments. The printed text is accompanied
by numerous wood-cut diagrams. In many places the book has been annotated in
green ink by one of the previous owners in neat script. The last page of the
book has been torn out, but it does not appear that anything was printed on
this page.
Price
10gp.
2. Giant Arachnids by
Anonymous
This thin sextodecimo claims to be a detailed and
authoritative study of giant spiders, but in fact, is really a collection of
sensationalist tales mixed in with a few facts. The text, which features both
black and red ink, has been poorly applied to the paper so that in some places
it fades almost to illegibility. The book is bound in stained, brown leather.
Price 5gp.
3. Villains of the
Sea by Tekroth Larn
This thick, octavo book is bound in red cloth and
features a black ribbon sewn into the binding. The title has been pressed into
the cover with gold foil. It was printed on a traditional press in black ink
and includes a number of wood-cut portraits. The book is a collection of short
biographies of 23 notorious pirates who sailed a hundred years ago or more.
Each entry includes details of both the pirate and their most famous vessels.
Price 20gp.
4. The Cranium
by Victurn Lessten
This striking octavo is bound between two ivory plates
with a heavy leather spine. The names of the book and the author have been
carefully carved into the cover and then stained with ink. The text, which is
accompanied by a large number of sketches, is a lengthy examination of the
different skulls of sentient races. While all of the factual details are
incredibly accurate, it is mixed in with incredibly racist statements about the
maximum potential intelligence of the various races.
Price
50gp.
5. The Second
Dragon War by Captain Sederick
This lovely duodecimo is bound in black leather with a
highly-detailed impressed dragon on the cover. The texted is printed in black
ink in a small copperplate, and gives a detailed history of an otherwise
unknown war. None of the place names in the book have been identified and the
dates are given in an unknown calendar. It is thus unclear if this is a work of
history or fiction.
Price
15gp.
6. Keys by
Anonymous
This tiny book is of a non-standard size, but can
comfortably rest in the palm of most people’s hand. It is bound in a
reddish-brown leather. The book has no text other than the title on the first
page. Instead, every page contains a detailed, ink drawing of a key. There are
296 keys in total, representing numerous different styles and designs. The last
three pages and the back cover have slight water damage in one corner.
Price
5gp.
7. The Animated
Dead by Kenth Zandimere
A heavy, octavo containing nearly 900 pages, this book is
bound in red velvet cloth over heavy wooden boards. The entirety of the dense,
small text is devoted to the advantages and disadvantages of reanimating the
skeletons of different creatures. There is no discussion of necromancy or the
magic necessary to actually preform the reanimation, just an exhaustive
discussion of the practicalities when it comes to such things as number of
legs, opposable thumbs, total size, etc. A couple of the species discussed in
the book are otherwise unknown.
Price
5gp.
8. Paints and
Pigments by Helbreth Givorn.
This octavio is bound between wooden covers that are
painted with swirling colours. Each of the pages contains detailed instructions
on how to create specific colours of paint, including what ingredients are
necessary, the best ways to mix them, and, in a few cases, cooking
instructions. Each page also contains a small circular sample of the colour
being discussed. At some point the book had a small hole drilled through it near
the bottom of the spine. This was likely done so that the book could be chained
to a shelf.
Price
40gc.
9. The Magic of Sea
Glass by Dafrinth T.
The covers of this octavo are made out of thin sheets of
metal. Tiny bits of sea glass have been inset onto the front cover to form a
colourful mosaic square. The printed text, which seems overly large, and
occasionally switches between black, green, blue, red and purple with no
identifiable pattern, purports to tell the numerous ways that sea glass can be
used in spellcasting, including as a spell component, as a focusing device, and
as a target of specific spells. Unfortunately, none of the results purported in
the book can be replicated.
Price
25gp.
10. Edible Underground
Fungus by Humster Flinn
A thin, duodecimo bound in green cloth, this hand-written
book details over thirty varieties of edible fungus that can be found growing
underground. While the hand-writing is clear and extremely precise, the same
cannot be said of the accompanying illustrations which look somewhat childish,
and are of little help in identification. Many of the fungi mentioned can be
dried out and preserved for significant amounts of time.
Price
10gc.
* Artwork by Barrett Stanley, created for the game
Rangers of Shadow Deep.
