Clean up your game with a few banned books! These can spice up rumors, random locations, and looking for lore in general.
For these to be the most impactful, you should consider how they connect to your world and your campaign specifically. The books don't need to be fully written out, just contain tidbits of lore/knowledge/secrets that are would stoke the flames of your players, and drive your campaign forward.
These books shouldn't be readily available, and just finding one could become an adventure in itself. But where to put them?
- Under royal lock and key, guarded at all times
- Lost with ancient civilizations, hidden amongst the ruins
- Hidden on a commoners bookshelf, a treasured family heirloom
- Amassed by a collector, possibly a dragon or power hungry mage
The possibilities are endless, and there should be both high risk and reward for acquiring one. Steal the examples here or use them to come up with your own!
The Dark Grimoire: This banned tome is said to contain forbidden knowledge of the darkest magics, allowing the reader to summon and control the undead with terrifying ease.
Legend tells it was penned by a powerful necromancer who sought to achieve immortality, by binding his soul to the world of the dead.
Those who have dared to open the book have met grim fates, consumed by the malevolent spirits they summoned.
The Elemental Codex: This banned text is rumored to contain knowledge of the ancient and powerful elemental forces that govern the universe. It is said that the book's secrets can manipulate reality itself.
Authored by a blind mage, who claims to have seen beyond all the planes of the Astral Sea
However, the book is also said to be cursed. Driving those who study its pages to madness, as they delve deeper into the unfathomable mysteries of the elemental planes
The Family Tree: This banned book contains a detailed genealogy of the ruling dynasty, tracing the family's lineage back hundreds (or thousands) of years.
However, the book is said to hold more than just names and dates - it also contains scandalous secrets and hidden agendas of various members of the family.
Fiercely guarded by the royal court, any revelations contained within it's pages could lead to political upheaval or even civil war.
No one knows this, but there is a spell that will summon a flaming visage between the pages that will answer your questions about the book.
The Scroll of Heavenly Souls: This text was written by unknown monks around the same time as the primary text of your campaigns major pantheon.
It doesn't contain any magic, ancient secrets, or latent powers; but it has been banned by the powers that be because the teachings could upset the power dynamics of your world.
It could be a tool to introduce complex moral dilemmas to your party based on motives, politics, and power structures of your game
Adventure on!