Esoteric Libraries.pdf

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons ® Player’s Handbook

Libraries

Robert Emerson

Esoteric

Athenaeum Arcane:

esoteric libraries

Introduction

Libraries are wondrous places. In fact,

most can remember the first time they

walked into a library, often as a child, and the

odd silence that fills them. Libraries are

places that invoke in us a calm sense of won-

der that reaches into our hearts and minds,

stirring our desire to explore their textual

landscapes.

What would a library of the fanciful be

like and how would the differences in mate-

rials, locations, and design affect the awe-

inspiring atmosphere held within?

Detailed herein are 12 entries, which

include not only libraries of various designs,

but also books of lore, tomes of knowledge,

and magical items that would be useful in

any library. From the arcane to the mundane,

the collections, items, and texts offered here

can fit into any campaign, in pieces or whol-

ly, so as to add depth or a needed encounter,

or flavor to an existing location or world.

“ Athenaeum Arcane… ” is Ronin Arts’

latest series of magic and mundane items,

spells and spellbooks, and DM aids designed

for the D20 System.

libraries

Often sought in seeking knowledge and

lore, libraries are the dungeons of the mind,

with information as their treasure, and sys-

tems to master as their foes.

The following five repositories may fit

into any campaign, as the DM wishes, be it a

world deep below the Earth or an urban

cityscape.

Within, as well as without, the Aviary is

a most unusual storehouse of legend and

lore maintained by a sect of illuminating

druids. These druids, known as the Aviaria

( Knowledge Arcana or Nature DC 20 ),

are master illuminators who are assisted by

their avian companions in dissemination,

protection, and storing of the collected

works held in the canopied library.

Admission to the library is an honor

bestowed on few, as it takes careful negoti-

ation ( Diplomacy DC 18 ) with the druids,

who are very watchful for intruders ( Hide

DC 20 and Move Silently DC 24 ).

Upon review of the master index

( Search DC 15 ), a druid-librarian will send

his avian companion to retrieve the tome

for the requestor, which must be reviewed

within the library. No works are to be taken

from the Aviary, under any circumstances;

canine companions trained to track a spe-

cial scent placed on all works within the

library may be used.

T HE A VIARY

OF L ORE

Within the high canopy of this temperate

rainforest, suspended upon timber held aloft

by sturdy hemp, lies the Aviary of Lore

( Knowledge Arcana DC 25 ). A grand

forum is the central point of the library.

Created around, as well as within, a great

redwood, it is from this point that all access

to the collection is coordinated. Upon other

great trees, ranging from birch to willow, the

collected works are shelved and stored, tend-

ed often by animal and humanoid hands.

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D EEPENSTORE

Down a series of twists and turns, con-

tained by an expansive cavern deep below

the surface world, is the Deepenstore,

library of the subterranean realm

( Knowledge Dungeoneering DC 30 ).

Dark earthen pathways and granite shelves

litter the cave floor, acre upon acre of

stonework shelves contain hundreds of

thousands, if not millions, of books, texts,

and tomes.

However, within the dark and silent

library dwells more than just tomes, as var-

ious subterranean creatures and humanoids

can be found within the cavern. Many are

simply searching for texts, but as is com-

mon to this harsh realm, others seek what

may be an easy meal, or may be competing

for access to a rare tome.

Echoes of violence occasionally break

the silence ( Listen DC 12 ), which lends an

eerie edge to the normally tranquil silence

and overbearing darkness. It is not unusual

for a searcher to turn a corner, while quest-

ing for a rare volume, to find themselves

faced with a life of death situation

( Random Encounters with DM discre-

tion). A heavy feeling presses down upon

those unaccustomed to the subterranean

world ( Will DC 18 ), those of weak drive

are often driven from the library by omi-

nous sounds or the claustrophobic

ambiance.

wooded lakeshore, save for the metallic

boughs and lubricant dew.

Straining aloft some sixty feet in the air,

each of the twelve great shelves form a loose

dodecagon, with the form held together from

the rails within. Each shelf is forty feet wide

with depths ranging from six feet at ground

level to a foot and a half at its apex.

Handcrafted from a deep, blackened oak and

framed with heavy brass, the shelves are

spaced so that each one has a walkway of five

feet between them.

Ladders and spiral staircases aplenty rise

and fall within the floors of the library, its

levers and pulls aiding in their guidance and

accuracy in plumbing the heights of this great

room. Intimidating at first, the controls

require only a cursory review before their

methods are understood by a rider ( Search

DC 12 ).

Ladders swiftly glide along lubricated

rails, or stairways spin upwards with casual

alacrity, if the rider is not careful, they made

find themselves flung earthward ( Balance

DC 15 ).

K HADE ’ S

C OLLECTION

The library before you is wrought from a

somber burnt cherry, it is a circular form

stretching several stories high before ending

at a mural ceiling depicting a storm-torn sky.

Concaved bookshelves make-up the walls of

the textual reliquary as the pungent smell of

desiccated air assaults your nostrils. Layer

upon layer of documents lay before you,

ranging from rolled up scrolls to heavily

bound tomes whose thickness should be

measured not in inches, but feet.

There are several wheeled ladders, railed

to the shelves before you, and their narrow

form hints at the potentially treacherous

climb into the great heights above ( Climb

C LOCKWORK

ANNALS

Amidst the whirring and muted click-

clacking of gears, an acrid smell of grease

and refined oil fills the air of the library

around you. Mechanical ambiance holds

the normal, stark silence of a literary repos-

itory, the movement of gears akin to a

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Athenaeum Arcane:

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DC 12 ). Brass handles, similar to nautical

cleats, allow ease of purchase to move the

ladders upon their rails.

With books mixed in with scrolls, the

library seems without order, until some

investigation is applied ( Search DC 15 ).

Upon investigating the shelves further, you

notice that their ascending order is based

upon a lower foundation of common works

that climb higher towards the elder, more

esoteric, works.

Almost without direction, the watery

ravines of the repository snake back and

forth, however it slowly becomes evident

( Knowledge Architecture and

Engineering DC 18 or Knowledge

Geography DC 15 ) that the library is laid

out as per the compass points, with each

subject being shelved in specific regions of

the canals.

At the foot of each shelf within the

library is a mooring point, to secure the

punt at the shore and allow the occupants to

retrieve a book. Each shelf has its own

pole-ladder ( Climb DC 12 ) that assists in

reaching the texts that lie beyond a visitor’s

grasp.

Within the center of the library is a

large, grassy island that allows visitors to

lounge within the repository and read from

selected tomes. A small meal is provided

for a fee of four silver pieces ( 4 sp ), and

normally it consists of a meat-filled pastry

and pint of ale, or other drink.

M OORED

R EPOSITORY

The gentle sounds of water lapping at the

banks of the canals of the library known as

the Moored Repository ( Knowledge Arcana

DC 23 ).

Unless visitors wish to swim ( Swim DC

10 ) the broad lanes, the repository is naviga-

ble only by the small, flat-bottomed boats, or

punts, that are provided by the library.

However, the water is chilly and could

exhaust a swimmer rather quickly

( Wilderness Survival DC 18 ).

Books

Unlike precious metals or coins that

often populate a monster’s treasure horde,

books and texts of knowledge spark a fore-

boding sense of awe and wonder.

Knowledge, like a double-edged blade, can

cut both ways and it is this fact that causes

such a mix of caution and excitement

whenever a lost tome is found.

The following four books may be

dropped into any campaign to add flavor to

either the encounter or the world.

Abhorrence and Dread

in the Subterranean

World

This eldritch tome, bound in darkwood,

delves into the sunless worlds below and

their inhabitants. This includes an exami-

nation of the various aberrant cultures,

species, and environments underneath our

feet within the world of stone.

Reading of this tome takes one week’s

time, and upon completion of it the reader

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gains +5 Ranks in Knowledge

(Dungeoneering), permanently. The book

becomes a richly illustrated text of

knowledge with no further magical abili-

ties. Currently, it has not been used.

Strong transmutation; CL 17th; Craft

Wondrous Item, wish; Price 47500 gp;

Weight 1 lb.

Originally, only a dozen of these

tomes were crafted as rewards for a party

of adventurers, but now, they are dead or

retired many years past. Recently,

( Knowledge Arcana DC 28 ), there has

been rumor of a gathering of these books

for duplication. How the craftsmen

gained access to the originals is highly

suspect.

Strong divination; CL 13th; Craft

Wondrous Item, alarm, greater scrying;

Price 125,000 gp; Weight 1/2 lb.

The Nature of

Adventure: Speculative

Incursions for Profit

Written by the gnomish adventurer,

Seamus Gimstel, this authoritative work

can be found in the possession of many

academics and armchair adventurers.

Subjects such as hamlet protection

schemes, the morality of goblinoid con-

trol, and common items that every adven-

turer needs, but often forgets, are detailed

within the slim, red-leathered manual.

Personalized and autographed, with

rich illuminations and heavy parchment,

make this edition not only rare, for a com-

mon text, but a collector’s item.

Price: 250 gp

Telesthetic Tomes

Within a metalwork shell, comprised

of brass plates framed in mithral, this

book is actually a form of long distance

communication. Bound pages of silver are

held within the book that, when gazed

upon, will locate a person as if a scrying

was cast by powerful arcanist.

Twice per day, the user may focus the

books scrying upon a target, as per greater

scrying , for thirteen (13) hours. If the tar-

get of the greater scrying possesses one of

these tomes, then a –10 modified is

applied to their Will save. However, they

are also notified that they are being scryed

upon by a chime only they can hear.

To Illume Thievery

Finely bound in grey cat skin, this

book is actually one of ten located within

the shelves of Khade’s Collection and is,

in fact, a security measure.

Each copy of To Illume Thievery is

set to mentally notify their owner of the

attempted theft when pulled from the

shelf by unapproved hands, and encases

the malcontent with a fiery aura of light.

When fully charged, each tomb contains

50 charges.

If the textual purloiner notices the

books title ( Spot DC 15 ), it could lead to

them deduce the meaning of the world

play, or a successful detection of the mag-

ical trap ( Search DC 26 ) would also lead

to avoiding this pitfall.

At DM’s discretion, the faerie fire may

have permanency included.

CL 3rd (9th); Craft Wondrous Item,

alarm, faerie fire, (if 9th CL) permanen-

cy; Price 2000 gp (9th CL Price 20000

gp); Weight 1/2 lb.

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