Known Books of the Realms

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From the sidebar 'In The Stacks' on page 162 of Faiths and Pantheons, these books are known to exist within the War Library of the Abbey of the Sword.**

A Warriors View - by Galgarr Thormspur, Marshal of Maligh

An Old Warriors Way - by Dathlance of Selgaunt

Ballads of Lore and One Dusty Road - by Sharanralee

Battered Bones and Scattered Skulls - by Rauthglur Ormyndake

The Deepwalker Chronicles - by Halgar "Deepwalker" Ankarkyn of Tethyr

Fallen Legacies - by Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun

Folio of Brass - by Tellar Moendath of Luskan

The Golden Age of Goblins - by Artur Shurtmin, Loremaster of Berdusk

I Am Reminded: Memoirs of a Dragonslayer - by Aernstag Oeblym of Starmantle

Imaskari Book of War - by Unknown Author, only exists in common and dwarven translations, not original text.

None but the Undying: My days - by Alabaer Dree, Scourge of Undead

Of the Clans and Clashes of Shanatar - by Bryth Tolar of Clan Ironhelm in Miribar

One Warriors Life - by Azlundar, Lion of Neverwinter

Praise for the Fallen - by Delder Morgblade, Sage of Telflamm

Raging Blades: A Tale of the North - by Halvidon Maeraed, Bard of Elturel

The Red Book of a Thayvian Mage - by Thaelrythyn of Thay

The Steel Princess's Field Guide - by Her Royal Highness Princess Alusair, The Steel Regent of Cormyr

Tactics of the Purple Dragons - by Nacacia Obarskyr of Cormyr

Treatise Against Blood-Metal - by Fairin Icemantle

Twenty Winters a War Wizard - by Estimyra of High Horn

Valorous and Vanquished - by Glimmerdarth Gulprin, "The Gnome Sage"

Wandering with Quill and Sword - by Mirt the Moneylender

The Ways of the Gods - by Thaldeth Faerossdar

The Wizard's Armory - By Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun

Yellow Stars Above My Grave - by Indrikh Darsiir, "The Deathless Gnome"

Zelthor's Blade and How I Broke It - bu Haldegon Marpiir, Lord of Hardcastle

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

The Hate of the Cobra

The Hate of the Cobra is a collection of papyrus pages bound to a sun-bleached bone and wrapped in a black and green snakeskin. Leather straps keep it tied closed.

Last Record: Thah Rahalar, hound archon and divine minion of Set, present day.

Description: This "book" is a collection of Mulhorandi papyrus sheets tied to a human arm bone with leather cords and wrapped in the skin of a fiendish snake. Thick leather cords tie together to close the collection. No writing is on the snakeskin, but the first page of papyrus shows a coiled cobra symbol and several lines of Mulhorandi text explaining that the book is a collection of spells brought together by the priests of Set. The pages are frequently illustrated in the archaic style of the Mulhorandi people.

History: The Setite priest Aap Nura, born about four hundred years ago, created this book by collecting and inscribing several spells appropriate to the worship of his evil god. He eventually rose to a prominent position in his church, and, in his waning years, his deity turned him into a divine minion (a special servitor of one of the Mulhorandi deities, see below) for his service. The book passed through the hands of many priests in the intervening years and was lost several times because of attacks from the servitors of other Mulhorandi gods. In 1300 DR, a Setite priest presented it to a divine minion of Set as payment for services.

Since that time the minions have guarded the book and taken responsibility for lending it to mortals so the spells remain in circulation among the faithful. Now anyone who knows the prayers to summon or call a divine minion can request the bearer of Hate of the Cobra so he or she can study the spells within it. Its current guardian is Thah Rahalar, who was once a hound archon in the service of good but is now corrupted into an evil creature by Set's magic.

Contents: The book's 31 pages hold six spells, the title page, and one page of prayers that details how to use summon monster V and planar ally spells to summon or call a divine minion (see the divine minion creature description, below). The spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Divine Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook. The spells are inscribed in the order listed. Note that these spells are known by more complex names in Mulhorand, and while they are identical to the named spells developed in western Faerûn, they were developed independently by Mulhorandi priests.

faith healing (Magic of Faerûn)
snakebite (Magic of Faerûn)
incarnation of evil (new spell, see below)
spell phylactery (Player's Guide to Faerûn)
undeath after death (Player's Guide to Faerûn)
stormrage (Magic of Faerûn)
Incarnation of Evil
Transmutation
Level: Cleric 5
Components: V, S, DF
Range: Personal
Target: You

This spell functions like polymorph, except as noted above and as follows. You can assume the following forms only: crocodile, jackal (dog), Medium scorpion, or Medium viper. You can change form to a different animal once each round as a standard action. The spell ends when you return to your own form. The first time you change shape, you regain lost hit points as described in the polymorph spell, but later changes in shape do not heal you.

Price: 1,450 gp (spellbook value only). As an example of an old Mulhorandi spellbook, a scholar or collector (including the scribes of Candlekeep) would pay an additional 500 gp for it. The church of Set would pay 5,000 gp over the spellbook price to a potential ally of the church, though if the bearer is an enemy of Set, the church is more likely to send assassins (including divine minions of Set) to kill the bearer and reclaim the book.

Last Known Bearer: Thah Rahalar, hound archon/divine minion of Set.

When the Mulhorandi incarnations traveled to Faerûn thousands of years ago to liberate their kidnapped worshipers from enslavement by the Imaskari, some of the Mulhorandi deities remained behind, sending only some of their divine servants. One of these gods was Anubis, a benign jackal-headed god whose portfolio included guarding the dead. He sent a cadre of jackal-headed hound archons with the goddess Nephthys. Thah Rahalar was one of these archons, and he served Nephthys faithfully. About sixty years ago a group of powerful minions of Set fought a pack of hound archons and captured Thah Rahalar. The minions delivered the hound archon to their superiors, who tortured him for years and finally infused him with Set's essence, converting him into a divine minion of that god. A few years ago the divine minion guarding Hate of the Cobra received a promotion, and Set chose Thah Rahalar as the book's new guardian, appreciating the irony of having a fallen celestial protecting a book of spells of his evil faith.

Now Thah Rahalar is a twisted version of his former glory. Although he always had a jackal-head, now his flesh is sunken, his eyes glow a dull red, and he is taller and leaner than other hound archons.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Kaupaer's Quick Book

This book is the size of a human hand. Two stiff leather plates, which four metal rings along the long edge hold together, cover the book. Two lines on the cover spell out something in the Draconic alphabet, and the orientation of those words indicates that the book should be read with the rings held away from the viewer rather than to the left. The pages are thin leather sheets likewise attached to the rings, and some pages have a tab protruding from the bottom; each tab has Draconic writing on it.

Last Record: Teresken, wandering banelar, 19 Kythorn, 1372 DR.

Description: This book is about 7 inches wide and 4 inches tall. The four metal rings pass through the covers and the leather pages along the long end. The writing on the cover and interior runs parallel to the spine rather than perpendicular to it, and the book's construction makes it easy to flip through all of the pages continuously.

The cover text spells Kaupaer's Quick Book in the Halruaan tongue (which uses the Draconic alphabet) and the interior is all in Halruaan as well. The handwriting is erratic and sloppy, as if the writer completed the book quickly, and errors are crossed out and corrections filled in by the same hand in several places. The few illustrations are rudimentary and barely adequate for explaining the gestures needed to cast the book's spells.

Each page has writing on only one side and the pages are so small that each page in this book is the equivalent of only half a page in a normal spellbook. Each page that starts a new spell has a leather tab sewn to it; the tab bears the name of the spell (in Draconic writing) that begins on that page.

History: Kaupaer was an energetic and talented Halruaan wizard who was born about 1302 DR. He developed an interest in rapid motion and fast magic. He is best known for his spell Kaupaer's skittish nerves (which lets a creature react more quickly to threats) but he actually penned at least a dozen unique spells, most of which are lost because he never took the time to transcribe them and give them to others. (Kaupaer's skittish nerves is something he developed as an apprentice and his master was so impressed with it that he sent a copy to one of Halruaa's academies, and from there the spell spread to other parts of Faerûn.) The Quick Book is one of the few known copies of his spells that he wrote in his own hand. Nobody knows why he wrote the book; it may have been for his personal use while traveling (it reads as if he expects the reader to already be familiar with the spells within it) or if he planned it as a gift or payment to another spellcaster.

Always restless, Kaupaer traveled through most of southwestern Faerûn, including Tashalar, Chult, Calimshan, and Tethyr. His actual fate is unknown, but he was last seen in Tethyr during their civil war, and he may have thought he could outsmart or outrun Balagos the Flying Flame or one of the dragons of the Wealdath. The Quick Book turned up in the hands of another Halruaan wizard, Athym Gedreghost, who traveled northward after a disagreement with his homeland's ruling council. Athym says he sold the book to a banelar named Teresken whom he encountered in the Snowflake Mountains; the wizard needed information about Cormyr and the Dalelands, and the banelar was on the lookout for interesting spells to sell to its allies.

Contents: The book's fourteen small pages hold six low-level spells. There are no other pages in the book other than the spell pages. Two of the spells (cat's grace and expeditious retreat) are common spells and require no special effort to learn. The others (including Kaupaer's skittish nerves, which is still somewhat uncommon) are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Arcane Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook.

The spells in the book are scribed in the following order -- apparently in no particular order of importance. Perhaps the author felt that the tabs on the pages allowed him to find the spell he wanted easily and thus he didn't bother to organize it better.

Kaupaer's skittish nerves (Magic of Faerûn)
cat's grace
Kaupaer's reflexive strike (new spell, see below)
expeditious retreat
speed swim (Magic of Faerûn)
Kaupaer's quickblast (new spell, see below)
Kaupaer's Quickblast
Transmutation [see text]
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 free action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

A tiny sphere of cold, electricity, or fire speeds from you to the target and deals 1 point of appropriate energy damage per caster level (maximum 5 points). The spell has the descriptor for the kind of energy you select; for example, this is a [cold] spell if you choose a sphere of cold.

You can cast this spell with an instant utterance. Casting the spell is a free action, like a quickened spell, and it counts toward the normal limit of one quickened spell per round.

Material Component: A drop of quicksilver and a blue, yellow, or red glass marble.

Kaupaer's Reflexive Strike Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 10 minutes/level or until discharged
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You heighten the target's aggressive reflexes, allowing her to react more quickly when opportunities arise in combat. The target can make one more attack of opportunity per round than normal. The target can also make attacks of opportunity even if flat-footed. When the target makes the attack of opportunity provided by this spell, it is discharged. (Making attacks of opportunity does not discharge this spell until the target makes an attack of opportunity he could not have made without this spell.)

Example: A fighter without the Combat Reflexes feat normally can make only one attack of opportunity in 1 round, and never while flat-footed. With this spell he can make up to two attacks of opportunity in 1 round or even make one while flat-footed. The spell remains in place until its duration expires or until he makes two attacks of opportunity in 1 round or one attack of opportunity while flat-footed, since only in either of those situations is he drawing upon the spell to let him make an attack of opportunity he couldn't normally make.

Example: A ranger with 14 Dexterity and the Combat Reflexes feat normally can make up to three attacks of opportunity in 1 round (one normally, two from the feat) and can make an attack of opportunity while flat-footed. With this spell he could make up to four attacks of opportunity in 1 round. The spell remains in place until its duration expires or he makes four attacks of opportunity in 1 round, since only in that situation is he drawing upon the spell to let him make an attack of opportunity he couldn't normally make. (He can already make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed, so doing so never triggers this spell unless his enemies provoke four attacks of opportunity in 1 round while he's flat-footed, which triggers the first part of the spell.)

Material Component: A small, gold spring.

Price: 350 gp (spellbook value only). As a historical reference it is worth another 1,000 gp to a mage-scholar, Candlekeep, or most wizards from Halruaa.

Last Known Bearer: Teresken, wandering banelar.

Teresken hatched about 100 years ago in caves under the Sunset Mountains. He has always been involved with the Banites closely, acting as a guard, mentor, scout, and courier for Bane's priests and temples. He was saddened when the Black Hand was destroyed during the Time of Troubles, and though he was disappointed with Iyachtu Xvim's attempts to claim Bane's legacy, unlike most banelars he did not throw in with the Cyricists. Teresken spent several years exploring the Underdark with a group of charmed slaves, and he made contact with at least one Vhaeraunian drow outpost. When he returned to the surface in Ches of 1372, he learned that Bane had returned. Intrigued, Teresken visited some of his few surviving Banite contacts and traded information, then met with his clutchmate (sibling from the same clutch of eggs) Sebesken at the Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse in Amn. Teresken decided to remain neutral until the interfaith conflict sorted itself out. Now he spends his time making trips between Darkhold and the Twin Towers, with an occasional stop in the Underdark, passing messages and trading interesting magic items to any interested parties. When traveling, he uses disguise self to appear as a guardian naga and misdirection to hide his true alignment. It was on one of these trips that he met Athym Gedreghost, who traded him the Quick Book in exchange for information on the nearby countries. He may sell or trade it to the Twin Towers, to Darkhold, or the drow, and he may already have done so.

Teresken may have his eyes on taking over Darkhold, either for his own purposes or to re-establish it as a Banite stronghold rather than just a Zhentarim stronghold. He prefers Bane to Cyric and Banites to Cyricists, and at some point he may decide to journey to Zhentil Keep and use his knowledge and experience to get Darkhold back in line, with himself as the leader. Nobody knows how long Teresken is willing to tolerate the infighting in Darkhold; he might arrange to have his drow allies attack the fortress, killing all inside and leaving it open to repopulation by Banite-Zhentarim (assuming he can get the drow to leave after the attack, of course . . .).

Teresken rarely travels alone; a gang of evil humanoids, an ogre, and some other large monster, all charmed with his magic, usually accompany him.

Teresken: Male banelar naga wizard 3; CR 11; Huge aberration; HD 7d8+35 plus 3d4+15; hp 88; Init +6; Spd 30 ft., swim 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +6; Grp +22; Atk +12 melee (2d6+8 plus poison, sting); Full Atk +12 melee (2d6+8 plus poison, sting) and +7 melee (1d8+4 plus poison, bite); Space/Reach 20 ft./10 ft.; SA poison, spells; SQ darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2, immunities (acid, poison), magic items, resist petrification; AL LE; SV Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +13; Str 26, Dex 14, Con 21, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 16.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +14, Diplomacy +12, Hide -6, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (religion) +8, Knowledge (Underdark [Northdark] local) +12, Knowledge (Western Heartlands local) +11, Listen +5, Spellcraft +8, Spot +12, Swim +16, Use Magic Device +12; Eschew Materials, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (enchantment).

Poison (Ex): Bite or sting, injury or contact, Fortitude DC 18, initial damage 2d4 Con, secondary damage unconsciousness for 1d3 hours. As a side effect of the poison, the victim's skin turns blue around the wound until the secondary damage ends.

Spells: Teresken casts spells as a 6th-level cleric with access to the Evil, Magic, and Water domains and as a 9th-level wizard (six effective levels of wizard as a racial ability plus three actual wizard class levels). He can cast a single spell every round as a free action while attacking.

Fast Healing (Ex): Teresken regains hit points at the rate of 2 per round. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation, and it does not allow a creature to regrow or reattach lost body parts.

Magic Items: Teresken collects magic items and uses them freely. His tentacles can wear or manipulate amulets, rings, wands, rods, potions, and similar small items.

Resist Petrification (Ex): Teresken gets a +3 racial bonus on saving throws made to resist petrification.

Cleric Spells Prepared (5/4/4/3; caster level 6th): 0 -- cure minor wounds (4), purify food and drink; 1st -- cure light wounds, divine favor, obscuring mist, summon monster I; 2nd -- bear's endurance, desecrate, hold person (2, DC 15); 3rd -- cure serious wounds, dispel magic, summon monster III.

Wizard Spells Prepared (4/5/5/4/3/1; caster level 9th): 0 -- detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic; 1st -- charm person (2, DC 17), disguise self, Kaupaer's quickblast (DC 15), mage armor; 2nd -- cat's grace, invisibility, Melf's acid arrow (+8 ranged touch), misdirection (DC 16), resist energy; 3rd -- fly, haste, Mestil's acid breath (DC 17, Magic of Faerûn), stinking cloud (DC 17); 4th -- charm monster (DC 20), dimension door, greater invisibility; 5th -- acid storm (DC 19, Magic of Faerûn).

Spellbook: as above plus 0 -- acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mending, message, open/close, ray of frost, resistance, touch of fatigue; 1st -- comprehend languages, corrosive grasp (Magic of Faerûn), expeditious retreat, feather fall, hold portal, Kaupaer's skittish nerves, magic missile, sleep, summon undead I (Magic of Faerûn), unseen servant; 2nd -- Aganazzar's scorcher (FRCS), death armor (Magic of Faerûn); 3rd -- fireball,slow; 4th -- Darsson's potion (Magic of Faerûn), solid fog.

Possessions:Ring of protection +1, dusty rose ioun stone,wand of cure serious wounds (6 charges), wand of blacklight (3 charges), 375 gp.

Note: The banelar above utilizes the base version found in Serpent Kingdoms.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Nybor's Small Codex (Spells from a Former Zulkir)

This red book is no larger than a standard spellbook. Bound in red leather, it has burned into its cover a picture of a bald, tattooed woman of exotic but attractive looks. Burned under the picture is a row of evil-looking letters. The edges of the pages are normal parchment, and a red silk bookmark hangs from the spine.

Last Record: Unknown Halruaan wizard, 14 Marpenoth, 1372 DR.

Description: This book is about the same size as a typical wizard's spellbook, including the number of pages. The burn image on the cover depicts a Thayan woman, normally obvious because of the bald head and the tattoos, but also revealed in her facial features. The letters on the cover are in the Infernal alphabet, spelling out "Nybor's Small Codex" in the Thayan variant of the Mulhorandi language. The lettering on the inside uses a different handwriting than the cover (possibly because of the means used to burn the letters in the cover, whether magic or heated wire), with large calligraphic letters that make even the Infernal script look pleasant.

The book seems old (at least eighty years) but is in very good condition. It has the major resistant, pungent, and waterproof spell protections from Magic of Faerûn, which means that to normal tests the book seems fireproof. (It can easily withstand burning in a stove or campfire.)

History: While many scholars in Faerûn know the name Nybor because of the wicked spells bearing that name, few know much about the woman who created those spells or where she is now. Those few who study Thayan history say that she was once the zulkir of enchantment, seizing that position at an early age by clever manipulation of lovers, servants, spies, and assassins. The young Nybor used her new power to indulge her magical whims, wiping out an entire army of human and monstrous soldiers in testing will-sapping spells and other mind-reaving magic. Unlike other Red Wizards who hoarded their magic, she gave copies of her now-famous spells to many key teachers and as a result her name is famous in Thay and elsewhere. She dabbled in item creation, particularly animate and intelligent weapons, and the few who know anything about her believe she was working on a way to animate a battlefield full of weapons with the stolen minds of enemy soldiers.

What little else is known about her is that she disappeared in 1296 DR (the Year of the Black Hound), leaving her mansion unexpectedly in the middle of the night without instructions. Her senior waited a week before entering her inner sanctum, and there he found two large pools of blood. Her work table had been used recently but whatever she was working on was gone. After six months of mundane detective work and repeated divinations showed she was either dead or not on Toril, a new zulkir was appointed to her position.

A few years after her disappearance, a Thayan wizard in Thesk claimed to have a magic dagger with all of Nybor's memories. He was found dead in his room, burned to a crisp and dismembered, and his bodyguards turned to stone. Every few years someone else claims to find this dagger and usually comes to a foul end shortly after, and the dagger is nowhere to be found. Included in the ranks of the unfortunate victims of the dagger's "curse" are Lerem the Lucky (an adventuring rogue of Luskan), who was found stabbed to death in an alley of Calimport; Saint Schend of Waterdeep (an aasimar paladin of Ilmater), who was nearly killed in Menzoberranzan when an unknown attacker's spell left him paralyzed just before a drow assassin's attack; and Maurgus the Black Bolt, a skilled but secretive Zhent assassin, who was seen screaming in fear and running directly into the conflict between Cyric and Xvim that moments later destroyed much of Zhentil Keep.

Nybor's Simple Codex is the only known book written in her hand that has ever left Thay. Second- and third-hand copies of her spells have trickled from the east for many years (usually in black market deals between Thayans willing to break the old ban on exporting magic and desperate mages in need of fast magical power) but the Codex is the only verifiable book she wrote that is known to be outside Thay. Presumably her remaining spellbooks and notes are in the hands of her former apprentices or their heirs. In addition to its value as a spellbook, the Codex has great historical value, since its composition and arrangement show it is a personal spellbook of a zulkir, probably intended as a traveling spellbook but never completed. How it made its way out of Thay and its present whereabouts are unknown. Those searching for it should know that the cursed dagger that bears her memories always knows the exact direction to the book as long as both are on Faerûn. Those seeking the Codex should find the dagger, use it to locate the book, and get rid of the dagger as quickly as possible. The last person believed to possess the book is a Halruaan wizard seen in the border kingdoms asking after an exiled Thayan wizard trying to establish a barony there. The last person known to have the dagger is Graytooth, a Theskan orc (a Zhent soldier of the Horde Crusade, settled in his new homeland) who disappeared later in 1372 (and was found dead in the forest a week later), almost at the same time the Halruuan wizard was seen in the Border Kingdoms.

Contents: The book has no title page or descriptive text. The first 33 of its 100 pages contain six spells, the rest are blank. These spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Arcane Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook. Nybor's gentle reminder (Magic of Faerûn/Player's Guide to Faerûn)

Nybor's joyful voyage (see below)
Nybor's mild admonishment (Magic of Faerûn/Player's Guide to Faerûn)
Nybor's psychic imprint (new spell, see below)
Nybor's stern reproof (Magic of Faerûn/Player's Guide to Faerûn)
Nybor's wrathful castigation (Magic of Faerûn)
Nybor's Joyful Voyage
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Effect: Creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will partial (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell functions like teleport, except that it teleports another creature (willing or unwilling) rather than yourself, and the target location is random (you do not need to visualize the destination). Determine the destination with the following table.

d% Teleport Direction
01-10 North
11-20 Northeast
21-30 East
31-40 Southeast
41-50 South
51-60 Southwest
61-70 West
71-80 Northwest
81-90 Diagonally down (roll again; 80+ means straight down)
91-100 Diagonally up (roll again; 80+ means straight up)

The distance traveled is always 1d100 miles. Upward teleportation means the target arrives in thin air and probably falls to its death. Downward teleportation normally means the target is encased in rock. If the destination is within a solid object, the target takes 1d6 points of damage and is shunted to a random open space on a suitable surface within 100 feet. If no free space exists within 100 feet, the target takes an additional 2d6 points of damage and is shunted to a free space within 1,000 feet. If there is no free space within 1,000 feet, the target is fused with the solid matter and dies instantly.

If the target succeeds at its Will saving throw, the target instead takes 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +25) from teleportation feedback.

As with all touch spells, you can cast this spell on yourself, using it as an error-prone teleport in an emergency.

Nybor invented this spell as a creative way of dealing with people who bothered her. The "joy" in the spell's name refers to her joy at seeing them leave rather than the target's joy for the journey.

Nybor's Psychic Imprint
Transmutation [Evil, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous and see text
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You create a magical field in the mind of the target creature, then use that field to recreate the target's mind in a gem. The stress of this mental attack knocks the target unconscious and deals it enough ability drain to reduce his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma to 0, leaving the subject comatose.

The psychic imprint stored in the gem is unstable and dissipates after 1 day per caster level unless the gem is crafted into a magic item or becomes part of a magic item. If so used, the item becomes intelligent (gaining the personality, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, alignment, general memories, and languages known of the target creature). Any other properties associated with an intelligent item (such as empathy, speech, or telepathy, senses, and capabilities) must be crafted and paid for appropriately using the costs listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The psychic impression has no ranks in any skills or any other abilities other than what is described above (so an item made with the impression of a powerful cleric has only general knowledge pertaining to the target's religion); to tap into these abilities the item crafter must add appropriate item capabilities (in the cleric example, the item crafter would need to pay for the "item has 10 ranks in Knowledge" lesser power).

Since the gem retains the target's personality, any feelings the target had toward you are echoed by the gem and the crafted item. For example, if the target of the spell hates you, the item will hate you as well. This attitude includes any temporary modifiers to the target's mental state (since the magical field copies the target's current mental state), so a charm person spell on the target makes the item always view you as its best friend.

The target can recover from his ability drain as normal, and he and the item bear each other no ill will and have no unusual reaction to each other or way to recognize each other (in a way, their minds are similar but not identical in the same way as identical twins).

Note: Normally this spell is used to recreate the mind of a loyal vassal in a magic item to ensure similar loyalty in the item. Nybor used it to create spies in the households of her rivals, duplicating the minds of her charmed apprentices and presenting the crafted items as gifts to those she wished to observe. Some who have heard of this spell believe it can be used on creatures that died recently, and, in such cases, serves to preserve the legacy of a dead hero without imprisoning her actual mind within the item. Others believe this spell can press the target's mind into a body of inert flesh (similar to a clone spell, except it works even if the original subject is still alive) and that has been used this way in the past to trick and subvert the unknowing.

Material Component: A gem of any type worth at least 250 gp times the total of the target's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma ability bonuses (so a target with Int 12, Wis 12, and Cha 10 requires a 500 gp gem and one with Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 10 requires a 2,000 gp gem). If crafted into a magic item, the cost of the imprinted gem counts toward the total price of the item. A gem can hold only one psychic imprint at a time, but if its current imprint is allowed to fade, it can be reused as a focus for this spell.

Price: 7,650 gp (spellbook value including 3,000 for major resistant, 2,000 for pungent, and 1,000 for waterproof spellbook-protection properties). As a unique spellbook by a (presumed dead) Thayan zulkir, it is worth 1,000 gp to a historian collector (such as those in Candlekeep) or Thayan enclave, or 2,000 gp to a Thayan enclave with strong ties to the zulkir of enchantment. An enclave is more likely to offer magic items or services rather than gold for the book.

Last Known Bearer: Graytooth, Theskan (formerly Zhent) orc soldier

Graytooth was a disciplined orc soldier formerly stationed at Zhentil Keep and assigned with many of his fellows to travel east to stop the Tuigan Horde. He remained in Thesk (like the surviving members of the Zhent orc army), found a human bride, and raised a family on a small farm. None of his neighbors know how he found the strange dagger, only that one day he was wearing it on his belt and wasn't afraid to show it off to anyone who asked -- or who crossed him. In early autumn of 1372 he awoke early as normal, but instead of tending his fields he wandered into the forest without saying goodbye. His garroted body (sans dagger) was found a week later. Because of the means of his death, most believe some thief or assassin killed him to bring the dagger to a guild, possibly the Shadowmasters of Telflamm. The lack of a trail leading away from Graytooth's body supports this idea, since the Shadowmasters are rumored to have the power to transport themselves through shadows.

Nybor, Wandering Zulkir of Enchantment:+3 defending spell storing dagger; AL NE; Int 19, Wis 12, Cha 17; Speech, telepathy, 120 ft. darkvision, blindsense, and hearing; Ego score 23.

Languages Known: Abyssal, Common, Infernal, Mulhorandi, Thayan; the dagger can read all languages and use read magic.

Lesser Powers: Knowledge (arcana) +14, Knowledge (local -- Thay) +14, Spellcraft +14, detect magic at will. Nybor does not shed light.

Greater Powers:Cause fear at will, dismissal 1/day, hold person 3/day.

Description: This dagger looks like a well-crafted terkoum (a Thayan ceremonial dagger used in rituals and spellcasting). Its black hilt is wrapped tightly in a bright red leather strap and its blade is carved with magical symbols. The crossguard has a small icon of a woman's face on one side, with diamonds for eyes and a sapphire at the center of power on the forehead.

Personality: Nybor, like the Thayan archmage who bears the same name, is a cruel and domineering thing, and she enjoys using her power over others. (The dagger's physical and mental voice is definitely female.) In the hands of someone she considers inferior, she quickly uses her powers to drive them to suicide (such as using cause fear when climbing a cliff wall) or cripples them in dangerous situations (such as using hold person in a dangerous part of town or in the middle of a fight). She considers it beneath herself to be wielded as a weapon and becomes disgusted with anyone who suggests it. When carried by someone sympathetic to her personality and outlook, she easily slips into a mentoring role, though she is still stern and intolerant of negligence, just like a Thayan wizard dealing with an apprentice. She gets excited when facing enemy wizards, particularly Thayans who specialized in something other than enchantment.

The origin of the dagger is unknown, and her own memories are fuzzy on the subject. She may be an experiment by zulkir Nybor to transfer her consciousness into an object to make a like-minded ally. She may be the zulkir's attempt at immortality without resorting to lichdom (and seeing as she worked with and against Szass Tam when she was a zulkir, she knew what lichdom entailed). Perhaps a spell went awry in the attack that caused her disappearance and an echo of the dead zulkir's mind was trapped in her terkoum. What is certain is that the dagger calls herself Nybor, knows personal details of Nybor's life that only someone close to her would know, and is well-versed in magic and Thayan lore.

Strong enchantment; CL 20th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, cause fear, comprehend languages, detect magic, dismissal, hold person, read magic, shield, creator must be a caster of at least 12th level; Price 122,102 gp. Cost 61,202 gp + 4,872 XP.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Treasure of the Golden Hills (Spells from Gnome Pantheon)

Bound in sturdy brown leather, this small book's cover bears a drawing (inlaid in gold) of a cluster of small hills dotted with trees. Underneath the picture is one line of Dethek runes, also gold-inlaid, which is repeated in smaller form on the spine. The pages are vellum but unadorned. The book smells of old dry leaves, though it is not an unpleasant aroma.

Last Record: Valem, troll priest, 13 Alturiak, 1373 DR.

Description: This book is approximately the same size as a gnome spellbook. The gold-inlaid drawing on the cover features a group of small hills dotted with trees. Any character with a gnome patron deity recognizes the drawing as a representation of the Golden Hills, the plane where the gnome pantheon resides; other characters may attempt DC 15 Knowledge (the planes) or Knowledge (religion) checks to recognize the symbol. The lines of gold-inlaid Dethek runes on the cover and spine are the title, Treasure of the Golden Hills, written in Gnome. The cover bears no other adornment. The pages are simple but high-quality vellum. The cover page says "Treasure of the Golden Hills -- Anecdotes of the Lords of the Golden Hills, and magic pertaining to their stories and worship." The cover and interior pages are lettered in a fanciful but readable script (in Gnome). Small illustrations of the gnome gods adorn these pages, acting out the events of their stories or illustrating the use of the spells described in the book.

The book is slightly worn but seems much older than it appears, as if it has been passed from gnome to gnome over several centuries and always treated with care and respect, though it is a bit battered from recent use.

History: This is one of at least four copies of this book, all written long ago by a gnome religious scholar who wanted a way to introduce gnome religion to younger gnomes in the hopes of inspiring more of them to become priests. Most copies of Treasure of the Golden Hills have never been out of gnome hands, since gnome communities value them highly as historical and religious documents. The one copy that has popped up from time to time can be traced back to a clan from the southern Far Hills, which was driven out of their home in 1305 DR by a young red dragon and his pack of kobold fighters (all bound to him with magic and an oath sworn on the dragon's own blood that gave them strange powers). One of the fleeing gnome priests took the book with him in the wake of the clanhome's destruction; unfortunately his small group was overtaken by raiding bugbears, who brought the gnomes back to eat at the raiders' cave lair. Lacking a cleric or even an adept, the bugbears tossed the book into a pile of debris and forgot about it. Years later when the raiders had gained enough allies to be particularly troublesome, a group of Neverwinter mercenaries called the Iron Crows wiped out the bugbears. The mercenaries found the book, threw it in with the rest of the bugbear treasure, and went to Baldur's Gate to celebrate their victory. Thick-headed with too much ale, they agreed to take on a job from a mysterious merchant (now believed, after several divinations, to be an agent of the Red Wizards) who sent them into the Troll Hills, which is the last anyone ever heard of them.

In 1370 DR, a gnome priest of Gaerdal Ironhand (and descendant of the clan driven out by the dragon 65 years before) named Dorgannan Blackwood discovered via magic that the missing book was in the hands of a troll living in the Troll Hills. Gleeful at the prospect of returning the book to his people after decades of being lost, he recklessly started off on his own, pausing only to inform some of his friends of the general nature of his quest and that it was important to gnomes as a whole. That was the last time he was ever seen alive. Recently his friends raised enough money to purchase a minor divination and verify that he was in fact dead, and the creature responsible for his death is a troll named Valem. The Red Stallion adventuring company from Baldur's Gate went into the Troll Hills with a dozen cattle and parleyed with the first group of hungry trolls who attacked. The trolls, momentarily sated by the meal of easy beef, said they knew of a troll priest named Valem from a differing tribe, but the last they had heard he had gone north into the Trollbark Forest for some unknown reason. The adventurers left before the trolls grew hungry again and are currently debating whether they wish to brave the Trollbark Forest in search of this strange troll and the treasure he almost certainly carried.

Contents: Each spell in Treasure of the Golden Hills is prefaced with a short story about one or more of the gnome gods, which serves as a teaching tool for the gnome faith. Each story takes 4-6 pages. Those stories plus the 14 pages of actual spells in the book and the title page mean the book is 86 pages long.

The 14 spell pages describe seven divine spells originating from or particularly relevant to the gnome pantheon. These spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Divine Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook. Some of the spells have different versions for clerics, druids, or even rangers, but the differences to each type of caster are explained within the spell, taking up no extra space.

The spells in the book are scribed in order of the name of the story pertaining to that spell."Baravan and Chiktikka Escape the Orc Army," lesser tree healing (new spell, see below)

"Callarduran and the Sneaky Thief," stalactite trap (new spell, see below)
"Gaerdal and the Kobold Spy," deafening clang (Magic of Faerûn)
"Garl and Arumdina Teach Kurtulmak a Lesson," weapon of the deity (Magic of Faerûn)
"How Flandal Invented Smithing," steelskin (a variant form of the silverbeard paladin spell from Magic of Faerûn, giving the caster metallic skin instead of a metallic beard)
"How Segojan Helped Mrs. Badger," burrow (Races of Faerûn, cleric version only)
"Segojan's Clever Defense," Segojan's armor (new spell, see below)
At least one copy of this book is rumored to have been made by a cleric of Urdlen (presumably copied from one of the original versions). It supposedly contains an additional spell called blood frenzy, which causes the caster to enter a berserk state similar to that of barbarian rage and gives them the ferocity ability (they fight without penalty while disabled or dying). The rumors do not say if the spell is prefixed with a story.

Segojan's Armor
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 1, Druid 1, Ranger 1
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Effect: One suit of armor for a Medium or smaller creature
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You fabricate a suit of armor from natural materials that is suitable for a creature of Medium or smaller size (you determine the armor's size at the time of casting, and it cannot change after that). The armor is equivalent to leather except that it grants a +4 armor bonus. That is, it has a maximum Dexterity bonus of +6, an armor check penalty of 0, and an arcane spell failure chance of 10%. It weighs as much as leather armor of similar size weighs (for example, 15 pounds if the armor is made for a Medium creature). The armor has a trace amount of metal in it (see material components section); however a druid can wear it without penalty.

When the spell ends, the armor falls apart, breaking back into the materials from which you made it. The armor's remains cannot be reused for another spell.

Material Component: A handful of grass, a handful of roots, and a pinch of powdered iron.

Stalactite Trap
Transmutation
Level: Cleric 1, Druid 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One Small stalactite
Duration: 1 hour/level or until triggered
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)

You imbue one stalactite with limited mobility and sentience. The stalactite remains in place until an enemy creature moves beneath it, at which point it hurls itself at that creature as a touch attack (attack bonus equals your base attack bonus). If it hits, it deals 2d6 points of piercing damage plus 1d6 for every 30 feet the stalactite falls beyond 30 feet (+1d6 for 60 feet, +2d6 for 90 feet, and so on). The spell ends when the stalactite makes its attack; if no enemy passes underneath before the spell ends, the stalactite remains attached.

If cast on a stalactite currently positioned over an enemy, the spell causes the stalactite to immediately make an attack on that enemy.

This spell was developed by the priests of Callarduran Smoothhands.

Tree Healing, Lesser
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Cleric 4, Druid 3
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You enter a normal tree, which must be large enough to accommodate your body in all three dimensions. You can remain hidden within it for as long as you desire, up to 1 hour/level. While you remain inside it, the tree nourishes and heals you. You have no need to breathe or eat, and you regain 5 hit points for each hour spent in the tree. The tree also grants you total cover and concealment and protects you from extreme heat or cold, rain, sunlight, snow, and all other environmental conditions. You can hear but not see what occurs outside the tree. Minor physical damage to the tree does not harm you, but its partial destruction (to the extent that you no longer fit within it) expels you and deals you 5d6 points of damage. If the tree is totally destroyed (by a forest fire or a blight spell, for example), you are expelled from the tree and instantly slain unless you succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save.

This spell was developed by the priests of Baervan Wildwanderer, who call it tree nap.

Price: 700 gp (spellbook value only). As a collection of gnome religious stories, it is worth 100 gp to a collector of such things. A gnome aware of the item's historical and religious significance -- which is any gnome cleric or druid and any other gnome who succeeds at a DC 15 Knowledge (history) or Knowledge (religion) check -- knows gnome clans or churches are willing to pay 1,000 gp or more just for its nonspellbook value, or up to 2,000 gp in magical or crafting services (such as spellcasting, providing masterwork armor or weapons, and so on), plus the value of the spells if they can use them. Anyone who returns the book to such a group is likely to receive honors or some other form of reward in addition to monetary or material compensation.

Last Known Bearer: Valem, troll priest of Talona

Valem was a hardy but otherwise unexceptional troll living with his tribe in the Troll Hills. A raid by a rival tribe drove his tribe into a part of the hills that had already been depleted of game. All his people could find were the rotting carcasses abandoned by another group of trolls who were scared off by a wild magic effect. Valem's tribe ate the rotting meat, and one by one they succumbed to horrible stomach pains and a wasting disease that interfered with their natural ability to regenerate. Only Valem was unaffected, and eventually he ate his own dead and dying tribemates. Alone and starving, he wandered in a delirium and received a vision from Talona, who appeared to him in troll-shape and said she had picked him to be her speaker among the trolls, that the troll gifts of strength, hardiness, and rapid healing were from her many generations ago but forgotten after a battle between her and Vaprak, god of trolls (lies, but a believable lie to a dumb troll).

She awakened parts of his mind, taught him the rudiments of her religion, and turned him loose to teach other trolls about the Talonite faith (more as an experiment than anything with a real hope of success, though if it annoys Vaprak, it's enough for her). So far he has met with little success; most trolls care little for religion as it doesn't fill their bellies, and those tribes with an adept are resistant to changing their religion. Valem has been spreading disease among these tribes, planning to return later to cure them and show Talona's power. As disease follows in the wake of his failures to convert the tribes, other trolls are starting to see him as bad luck. Recently he turned northward to the Trollbark Forest, hoping to find others more accepting of his teachings.

Valem has the missing gnome book. Dorgannan Blackwood found the tribe that had the book (as with the bugbears, it was discarded in a pile of refuse), sneaked into their lair, and stole it without them noticing, only to run into Valem an hour later while trying to get out of the hills. Valem, on his way to the recently thieved tribe to preach, attacked the tasty-looking gnome; Dorgannan was no match for the troll and was killed and eaten. Valem can't read the book (he can't read at all, despite having levels in the cleric class) but keeps it because he likes the pictures and carries it in a sack with his other valuables.

Valem: Male troll cleric 5; CR 7; Medium giant; HD 11d8+77; hp 126; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 24, touch 13, flat-footed 22; Base Atk +7; Grp +13; Atk +13 melee (1d6+6, claw); Full Atk +13 melee (1d6+6, 2 claws) and +8 melee (1d6+3, bite); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA rebuke undead 1/day (+0, 2d6, 5th), rend 2d6+9; SQ darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision, regeneration 5, scent; AL CE; SV Fort +16, Ref +5, Will +9; Str 23, Dex 14, Con 25, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 6.

Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +7, Spot +8; Alertness, Combat Casting, Iron Will, Track.

Rend (Ex): If Valem hits with both claw attacks, he latches onto the opponent's body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an additional 2d6+9 points of damage.

Regeneration (Ex): Fire and acid deal normal damage to Valem. If Valem loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 3d6 minutes. He can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

Cleric Spells Prepared (caster level 5th): 0 -- create water (5); 1st -- command (4, DC 12), protection from good[D]; 2nd -- resist energy (2), shatter[D]; 3rd -- contagion[D] (DC 14), cure serious wounds.

[D] Domain spell. Domains: Destruction (smite 1/day, +4 on attack, extra 5 points of damage), Evil (cast evil spells at +1 caster level).

Possessions:+1 chainmail, ring of protection +1, 300 gp worth of assorted coins, gems, and small valuables. Tactics: Valem has learned from experience that adventurers usually bring fire, so if he hears or scents humanoids in the area, he casts resist energy (fire) on himself and tries to find a way to attack from hiding or at least in a place where his enemies can't shoot at him many times while he closes for melee.

NOTE: Valem's CR is lower than normal for a creature of his race and class, since his low Intelligence prevents him from utilizing his spells in the most effective manner and he has less gear than normal. At the same time, cleric is a nonassociated class for a troll, which also affects the CR.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Guildbook of the Watchful Order
(Volume 1: Spells from the "Watch Wizards" of Waterdeep)

This book is bound in brown leather, stitched in large purple silk thread, and marked with an upright white hand on the front cover. The vellum pages are edged with gold, and a leather bookmark hangs from the spine. The spine bears a white number "1" in Thorass.

Last Record: Bren Greycastle, Waterdhavian sorcerer, 7 Mirtul, 1373 DR.

Description: This book is about 1 foot square with sturdy leather covers sewn together with thick purple silk. The front cover bears an upright white hand symbol, identical to that on the livery of the Watchful Order of Magisters and Protectors, a guild in Waterdeep that hires itself out to protect the city from crime, fires, and other dangers. On the spine is the number "1" in Thorass runes, and its hue matches the white of the hand on the cover. The interior pages are high-quality vellum, inked in black and carefully illustrated with diagrams and pictures showing the material components and effects of the spells.

All of the text is in Chondathan with a Waterdhavian dialect. The cover page bears the title Guildbook of the Watchful Order, Volume 1, with the subtitle Exclusive Property of the Watchful Order of Magisters and Protectors, Waterdeep. The book appears well-handled but kept in very good condition; clearly this book has never been dragged through a dungeon or spent a long time moldering on a wizard's corpse somewhere in the wilderness.

History: The Watchful Order of Magisters and Protectors is a guild of arcanists that was formed in Waterdeep over fifty years ago. They hire themselves out to protect the city from dangers, particularly unruly spellcasters, and they encourage local and visiting mages to be prudent and conservative in their use of magic in public so that the people of Waterdeep will respect mages for their restraint rather than fearing them for their power. Over the years they have created or acquired a collection of nonlethal spells useful for detaining criminals inside the city without causing damage to property and innocent bystanders. These spells were eventually collected into a pair of books called the Guildbooks of the Watchful Order. Members of the guild are given access to the books so they can safely protect the city. Some believe that three copies of each of the two volumes exist: one kept at the guild headquarters, one kept in the home of the guildmaster (currently Mhair Szeltune, who has been guildmaster for over twenty years and is considering retiring soon), and one kept in a secret location.

The sorcerer Bren Greycastle was one of many young mages who grew up in Waterdeep and joined the Guild, serving his home city for several years as a Watch Wizard, occasionally delving into Undermountain in search of loot and glory. Bren is the most recent person to borrow the copy of Volume 1 kept in the guildhouse, and when he left with the other three members of his adventuring company, he apparently took the book with him, since it was not returned to the guildhouse. The guild is protective of its custom spells (as well as the other information the book contains; see below) and wants the book returned; senior members of the guild are using magic to track Bren's location, and as soon as he rests in a destination they are familiar with, they plan to use teleport to reach him and take back the book and bring him to Waterdeep on a thieving charge. If some other group finds Bren and the book before they do, the guild would be quite grateful if both are turned over, especially if it is done quietly.

Contents: The first ten pages of the book describe various portals in, under, and near Waterdeep known to the guild; these descriptions include all information about the portal that can be determined with an analyze portal spell. The guild magisters use these portals to get about the city in a hurry, such as when they need to converge on a disturbance.

The next four pages describe metamagic theory on how to convert an energy spell so that it deals nonlethal damage instead of normal damage (as per the Subdual Substitution spell from Tome and Blood, though in the D&D 3.5 it should be called Nonlethal Substitution). Many members of the Watch Wizards take this feat to let them utilize their damaging spells in a nonlethal way.

The remaining twenty-three pages describe fifteen arcane spells often used by the guild to subdue, detain, and incapacitate troublemakers without harm to locals and property. Two of the spells are new; the new spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Arcane Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook.

The spells in the book are scribed in order of spell level and alphabetically within that spell level.

color spray
comprehend languages
disarm (new spell, see below)
hypnotism
mage armor
protection from evi1
trembling horn marker (new spell, see below) (City of Splendors page 88 1st)
arcane lock
battering ram (Magic of Faerun)
see invisibility
hypnotic pattern
Igedrazaar's miasma (Magic of Faerun)
knock
locate object
pyrotechnics
(Volume 2 is believed to be of similar length and hold the following spells, plus notes on other portals known to the guild: deep slumber, dispel magic, flashburst (Magic of Faerun), hold person, ray of exhaustion, summon monster III, tongues, and arcane eye.)

Disarm
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One object up to 50 pounds
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None (see text)
Spell Resistance: No

You create a ramlike force that can strike with considerable power against an object, whether unattended or held by a creature. If the target is an unattended object, the force knocks the object in a direction of your choice, with the maximum distance determined by the following table:

Object Weight Maximum Distance
0-5 pounds 40 ft.
6-10 pounds 30 ft.
11-20 pounds 20 ft.
21-30 pounds 10 ft
31-50 pounds 5 ft.

If the target object is held by a creature, you initiate a disarm attempt against the creature holding the object. The creature does not get an attack of opportunity against you or the force. You and the target then make opposed attack rolls; your attack bonus is equal to your caster level plus your Int bonus or Cha bonus (for wizards or sorcerers, respectively). The force is treated as a one-handed weapon wielded by a Medium creature. If you win the opposed roll, the target is disarmed and the object is knocked in a direction of your choice as if it were an unattended object (see above). If you lose the opposed roll, the target does not get an opportunity to disarm you.

Trembling Horn Marker
Illusion (Figment)
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 10 minutes/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

By sounding a watch horn and pointing at the target creature, you mark the creature with an invisible figment of a signal horn. This horn becomes visible, glows, and sounds a call if the target comes within 30 feet of a signal horn of the type carried by the City Watch of Waterdeep (called a trembling horn), repeating every round the horn is within that range and fading to invisibility 1 round after it is no longer in range. This allows the Watch to home in on the marked individual without the target initially being aware that he is so marked.

The people of Waterdeep have learned to recognize this spell and are quick to point the Watch in the direction of any person they spot with the trembling horn marker.

Focus: A signal horn.

Price: 1,150 gp (spellbook value only). As a reference for Waterdeep's portals it's easily worth another 1,000 gp. The guild is willing to pay an additional 1,000 gp over that value to get the book back in their hands (and they will use magic (such as contact other plane,legend lore, or vision, among others) to make sure no copies were made and to locate anyone who may have read it), or it grants the bearer approximately 4,000 gp worth of common spell scrolls.

Last Known Bearer: Bren Greycastle, Waterdhavian sorcerer

Bren grew up in Waterdeep, the son of a wealthy architect. Sending him to the best schools, his family expected him to become a scholar or city official, and they were quite surprised when his sorcerer talent manifested. The family arranged for Bren to be apprenticed to a retired member of the Watchful Order of Magisters and Protectors, who nurtured her young student in the subtler forms of magic and (based on comments he has made to his adventuring fellows) intimacy. Bren completed his apprenticeship and hired himself as a guard for middle aristocrats and wealthy merchants, eventually saving enough of his own money to fund a short expedition into Undermountain. That taste of adventure and dramatic magic sparked a hunger for more.

When he was more experienced, he joined the Watchful Order, more to please his mentor than of any great interest in the guild. He grew bored with the rather mundane and subdued uses of magic the guild practiced in the interest of protecting property and citizens, and longed for breaks from the guild when he could plan another sortie into Undermountain. He and his fellow delvers -- Doren Stonebreaker (a dwarf berserker) and Thol Darkwood (half-orc cleric of Tymora) -- made several successful trips to Faerun's most dangerous dungeon, but these delves became less fun after a strange monster dragged off their scout. They hired a replacement (a gnome bard named Zel Whitehorn) and did a couple trips after that, but they began to look for less dangerous work (since Undermountain is lethal, and they were lucky).

When the group heard about a castle available from the crown of Cormyr, they set out for that land to try to acquire a free castle. Just before leaving, Bren borrowed the Guildbook to refresh his memory of what magic he might want to develop next. In the rush of packing and traveling, he didn't realize he had packed the Guildbook along with his own belongings, and he has no idea that the guild is after him for stealing their property. Bren was last seen in Arabel with Doren, Thol, and Zel, having failed in their bit to acquire castle E'undsul in the Stonelands from the regent of Cormyr. Bren's plans are unknown at this time, though it's likely he'll be looking for adventure and the opportunity to use destructive magic openly. The longer he is away, the guiltier he looks, and the angrier the guild becomes.

If confronted about the Guildbook, Bren is surprised to find he still had it and is happy to turn it over to anyone he believes is a trustworthy agent of the guild. He has no plans to return to Waterdeep in the next few months and does not want to make the long trek back to the western coast of Faerun, though he would accept if one of the people pursuing him were willing to use teleport to get there so he could explain his case. He and his friends are more than competent adventurers, and if they are attacked by overzealous searchers, they'll respond in kind.

Bren Greycastle: Male human sorcerer 8; CR 8; Medium humanoid; HD 8d4+11; hp 31; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +4; Grp +4; Atk or Full Atk +5 melee (1d4+1/19-20, +1 dagger) or +5 ranged (1d8/19-20, light crossbow); AL NG; SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +6; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18.

Skills and Feats: Bluff +10, Concentration +10, Diplomacy +7, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +4, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (nature) +3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Sleight of Hand+4, Spellcraft +10, Spot +2; Education (Knowledge [arcana], Knowledge [dungeoneering]), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness.

Sorcerer Spells Known (6/7/7/6/4 per day; caster level 8th): 0 -- daze (DC 14), detect magic, disrupt undead (ranged touch +5), light, mage hand, message, open/close (DC 14), read magic; 1st -- color spray (DC 15), disarm, hypnotism (DC 15), mage armor, true strike; 2nd -- detect thoughts (DC 16), Melf's acid arrow (ranged touch +5), resist energy; 3rd -- dispel magic, greater magic weapon; 4th -- fear (DC 18).

Possessions:Amulet of natural armor +1, +1 dagger, light crossbow with 50 bolts, cloak of Charisma +2, potion of cure moderate wounds, 758 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Master Tactician (Spells from the Church of the Red Knight)

This book is as large as a spellbook, with a metal cover stamped with a knight chesspiece in profile. The heavy parchment pages have block letters written upon them, and smaller writing runs down the margins.

Last Record: Knight Artula Porolos, cleric of the Red Knight, 3 Mirtul, 1373 DR.

Description: This 1-foot-square book has covers made of metal shields beaten flat and cut to size. Both covers bear faint scars from battle. The front cover is stamped with the Red Knight's symbol (a red knight chesspiece in profile with stars for eyes).

All of the text is in Chessentan. The cover page reads, "Master Tactician -- Magic to Aid the Art of War, Penned by Nicos Nathos, Priest of the Lady of Strategy, Praise Her and the Lord of Battles." The remaining pages are heavy parchment horizontally ruled, with large block letters in black ink. The margins are wide, and at least two other people (based on different handwriting styles) have left comments in the margins.

The book is in very good condition and is probably less than thirty years old.

History: Nicos Nathos was an adventuring cleric of the Red Knight, earning money and fame for his church by serving as a mercenary commander in various military operations on the Dragon Coast. Chessentan by birth, he returned to his home city of Cimbar when age began to weaken his body. Once there, he wrote a book summarizing his campaigns and the tactics he used to achieve victory. (The book was built to resemble The Red Book of War, a holy text of Tempus' faith that Nicos had heard about in his travels.) At the end of the book, he scribed three spells of interest to his faith, preserving their use for future officers of the church. Ten years later Nicos came out of retirement during the Time of Troubles to help deal with the riots and panic, but the exertion proved too much for his ailing heart and he fell dead on the street while directing a group of city guards to rescue people from a burning building. Though he had spent little time in Cimbar since he came of age, for his efforts during the Godswar he was named a War Hero of Chessenta.

His book remained in the Cimbaran temple of Tempus until a small temple to the Red Knight was built the next year (for it was only shortly after the Time of Troubles that the Red Knight started to become known as a separate deity rather than just an aspect of Tempus). The book started being used as a teaching tool for priests of the faith, both in war and the Red Knight's secret magic. Other adventuring clerics and paladins of the Red Knight have added to Nicos' wisdom written in the book, adding their own comments in the margin about certain strategies against some humanoids or in different weather conditions.

A few months ago the book was stolen by Artula Porolos, a haughty young cleric of the Red Knight. Some believe that she intends to found or seize control of one of the territories in the Border Kingdoms in the name of the Red Knight and then set herself up as a theocratic leader. Though no official confirmation of her arrival exists, rumors have spread of a new warlord in the Border Kingdoms who calls herself the Red Dragon, and her soldiers are well-trained and obey her orders unquestioningly. If the Red Dragon is actually Artula Porolos, she almost certainly has the copy of Master Tactician with her.

The church of the Red Knight would like the book back. (All of her temples want the book back in a safe place, and most of them agree that it belongs in the Cimbaran temple.) Even if Artula is the Red Dragon, the church doesn't want her killed since she is still a member of the faith, and military conquest in the name of creating order is something of which they approve. Their preference is for her to give up the book, accept some kind of censure from the church, and continue with her plans to secure a territory in the Border Kingdoms.

Contents: The first forty pages of the book describe military formations, group fighting tactics, and advice for dealing with enemy war strategies. Given that the author is talking about dozens if not hundreds of troops in formation, most of this information isn't particularly useful to a typical small adventuring party. However, someone familiar with the book's contents (after a thorough read) gets a +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (local) checks made to identify humanoids and their abilities and a +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks to identify animals (and their abilities) commonly used by humanoids as warbeasts (see the Knowledge skill for more information).

The last few pages describe three divine spells often used by members of the church of the Red Knight. These spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Divine Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook.

The spells the book contains are as follows:

Checkmate's light (new spell, see below)
know protections (a cleric 1 version of the spell from Magic of Faerûn)
telepathic aura (new spell, see below)
Checkmate's Light
Evocation [Lawful]
Level: Cleric 3, Paladin 3 (Red Knight)
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: One melee weapon in your sole possession
Duration: 1 min./level (D)

You surround your weapon with a bright red aura that illuminates an area equal to a torch. This aura gives the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus and the axiomatic property, and any creature within the radius of its full light (including you) gets a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects.

If the weapon leaves your grasp, the aura immediately disappears (and its associated effects pause), though it appears again (and its effects resume) if you or another worshiper of your deity picks it up. Time that passes while the spell's effects are suspended counts against the spell's duration.

This spell is named for the Red Knight's personal weapon, Checkmate.

The spell has no affect on natural weaponry.

Telepathic Aura
Divination
Level: Cleric 5, Paladin 4 (Red Knight)
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 100 ft.
Area: 100-ft.-radius emanation centered on you
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You can mentally communicate with all allies within range, though this is one-way communication. (You can send thoughts but you cannot receive thoughts in response.) Anything you choose to send is received by all allies within the emanation (you cannot send thoughts to only certain allies), and they all understand you regardless of language. Allies with Intelligence lower than 3 (such as animal companions, certain monster cohorts, and so on) understand basic commands but not complex information ("attack" is understood, but "ignore the foot soldiers and attack the spellcasters" gets the same reaction as "attack").

This spell normally is used to broadcast orders to officers or large numbers of troops when silence is key or when the chaos of combat makes it difficult to hear those orders.

Price: 450 gp (cleric spellbook value only). A buyer interested in warfare and tactics would pay up to 100 gp for the book just on its value in that field; a Chessentan buyer of this kind would offer up to 100 gp more for the privilege of owning a book written by a War Hero of Chessenta (plus an additional 100 gp if the buyer is from Cimbar). The temple of the Red Knight in Cimbar is willing to pay 1,100 gp for the book, either in coin, masterwork weapons or armor, or temple services (including mercenary work by soldiers of the faith). Other temples of the Red Knight would generally offer 700 gp for it, and the church of Tempus would pay up to 500 gp for it so that they could turn it over to the Red Knight's church.

Last Known Bearer: Artula Porolos, cleric of the Red Knight.

Artula was born in Cimbar, and she is the only daughter and the youngest of three children. Her father is a traditionalist and believes that her purpose is to get married and have many children to increase the prosperity and numbers of the family. She disagrees, since she feels that her brilliant mind is wasted on washing the floors and chasing after a half-dozen children. While still young, she secretly began meeting with members of the church of the Red Knight in her city, and they invited her to join them after she impressed them with her raw natural talent for tactics. Though her father was very angry, at his wife's insistence he eventually agreed to let her go. Artula quickly proved herself to the church elders and rapidly earned the rank of Knight, but her father still considers her as something less than her older brothers, who are both stonemasons.

Incensed at the old man's stubbornness, she recently decided that the only way to prove her worth to him is by making her name famous, and the easiest way to do that (in her mind) is to take over one of the Border Kingdoms and rule it as a queen. She knew of the Master Tactician book, having studied it as part of her education in the church, and she wanted to have it on hand to plan her battles against raiders and rival warlords in her new land. The book was available for viewing by any cleric or paladin of the faith, but removing it from the temple was forbidden without special permission from the temple elder and she knew she would not convince him of her justifiable need. Instead, she stole it from the locked storage room where it was kept and she left before she was discovered. Since she had already rounded up a few dozen mercenaries she knew through the church, she gathered her troops and began the overland trip to the Border Kingdoms. She wanted to find an abandoned castle that she could use as her fortress and palace, or clean out a monster-infested one if an empty castle was unavailable. As luck should have it, she stumbled upon a small monster-held keep that had recently been attacked (unsuccessfully) by adventurers, and she and her troops killed off the remaining defenders while the creatures were still recovering from the adventurers' attack. Now she has an entire adventuring party's worth of items distributed among herself and her lieutenants, and she also has a full payroll chest to keep her troops happy. Already she has begun fortifying her keep, sending patrols into the immediate territory in search of hostile monsters, and making plans to take on some of the nearby "rulers" after she has had time to covertly and magically analyze their defenses.

Artula believes that might makes right and believes even more strongly that her mind can overcome any challenge presented to her. She sees herself as a champion of her faith and a future hero of Chessenta, which is why she chose the name "Red Dragon" for herself -- an homage to the red dragon symbol used by Chessenta's national hero-god Tchazzar. She has no wish to harm the common people of the Border Kingdoms, and in fact believes herself to be their liberator, freeing them from the constant cycle of self-crowned but always-temporary leaders that claim to rule this land in bits and pieces. Artula hopes to draw all of the Border Kingdoms under her banner eventually, though she knows that achieving this goal is years away. Right now she knows she needs to focus on smaller victories.

Artula Porolos: Female human cleric 6 of the Red Knight/fighter 1; CR 7; Medium humanoid; HD 6d8+12 plus 1d10+2; hp 46; Init +3; Spd 20 ft.; AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 21; Base Atk +5; Grp +5; Atk or Full Atk +7 melee (1d8+1/19-20, +1 longsword) or +4 ranged (1d8/x3, longbow); SA turn undead 4/day (+3, 2d6+4, 6th); AL LN; SV Fort +9, Ref +1, Will +7; Str 10, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 12.

Skills and Feats: Climb -3, Concentration +9, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +2, Heal +9, Intimidate +2, Jump -10, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +3, Knowledge (religion) +7, Listen +5, Perform +2, Ride +1, Spellcraft +8, Spot +6; Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (longsword).

Cleric Spells Prepared (caster level 6th): 0 -- create water, detect magic, detect poison, light, purify food and drink; 1st -- divine favor*, know protections (Magic of Faerûn), obscuring mist, shield of faith (2); 2nd -- bull's strength, Checkmate's light, delay poison, hold person (DC 14), spiritual weapon*; 3rd -- daylight, magic vestment*, prayer.

*: Domain spell. Domains: Nobility (inspire allies) and War (proficiency and Weapon Focus with longsword).

Possessions: Masterwork full plate, +1 light steel shield, ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, +1 longsword, longbow with 20 arrows, 31 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Obsul Ssussun, "The Door to Light"
(Drow Spells for the Surface World)

This black book is small -- barely wider than an elf's hand. A black rothé leather cover painted with two Elven runes encloses pages of fine thin parchment. Tiny Elven letters written in a jagged hand form words on the pages.

Last Record: Zulifein T'orgh of Sshamath, Vhaeraunian drow wizard, 7 Hammer, 1373 DR.

Description: This small book was designed for elven hands -- drow elf, but elf nonetheless. The Elven runes on the cover spell Obsul Ssussun, meaning "Door to Light" in Undercommon. The writing inside is in Undercommon and in a masculine hand, with small but jagged letters. The text is black, with a few small notes in the narrow margins made in red ink. No illustrations break up the jagged text. The book is in good condition and of recent manufacture. It does not radiate magic.

History: One of the bands of Auzkovyn drow roaming the forest of Cormanthor was led by a veteran drow wizard known only as the Widower. According to the rumors about him, he once served as the consort and house wizard to a matron mother in a Lolth-controlled city. Vhaeraun spoke to him in his dreams, guaranteeing escape from the city and a position of status among free drow if he assassinated the matron mother. The wizard agreed, and he throttled his lover in her sleep, fleeing under the Masked Lord's shadow, never again speaking his name to any other drow and binding his identity tightly with spells Vhaeraun placed in his mind. Vhaeraun led him to a group of Auzkovyn drow who had recently lost their leader in a clash with a group of Spider-Kissers. The Widower, as he now called himself, took control of the leaderless group and kept it safe from its enemies for nearly two years. The Widower had a friendly (for drow) relationship with Jezz the Lame of House Jaelre, and from time to time the Widower's group would team up with warriors from that house in raids against enemy drow camps or dangerous elven sites. He worked with a Vhaeraunian cleric to create at least two spellbooks of the Masked Lord's favorite spells, giving both arcane and divine versions so clerics, sorcerers, and wizards of the Auzkovyn drow could use them. Door to Light is one of these books.

The Widower abandoned camp one night late in 1372 DR without a word about his destination. He left behind a small bundle of papers and Door to Light; the contents of the papers are unknown other than they said that followers of Vhaeraun were to use the book in their war against Lolth. The book was given to the Widower's secondwizard, a promising student named Zulifein T'orgh. The most recent sighting of Zulifein places him in the Far Hills, in the general area of a known tunnel to the Underdark. He was alone (rather than with other members of his nomadic group) and his purpose near the city remains unknown.

Contents: The opening pages of Door to Light describe three spells, all of which have arcane and divine versions. These spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Arcane Magical Writings and Divine Magical Writings sections of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook. Following the spell pages is a page of notes on the vhaerath (a type of outsider created by Vhaeraun to serve him on Faerûn) as well as notes on how to summon them using summon monster II or similar spells.

The spells the book contains are as follows:

elf disguise
soul charge
Vhaeraun's nightshield
Elf Disguise
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Bard 1, Cleric 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, DF
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)

This spell works much like disguise self, except that you cannot change your height or build. Instead, you can change only hair color, eye color, and complexion to match a particular kind of Faerûnian elf (moon elf, sun elf, wood elf, wild elf, or drow). The specific coloration is limited to common colors for that type of elf. For example, if you chose to disguise yourself as a moon elf, you cannot give yourself tan skin (because moon elves have fair skin), red hair (because most moon elves have black, silver-white, or blue hair), or brown eyes (because moon elves have blue or green eyes). You are easily recognizable as yourself to anyone familiar with your normal appearance. Unless you normally have an elflike build, this spell does not help Disguise checks to appear as an elf.

If you are an elf, this spell lets you easily pass as a different kind of elf, although height differences may give away the disguise. (For example, drow are significantly shorter than other elves, and a very short drow disguised as a sun elf will attract attention for his remarkable shortness.)

The drow name for this spell is golhydarthiir, meaning "surface-elf disguise." They invented the spell, and while they have no use for the ability to disguise themselves as drow, they found it easier to finish the spell research with the drow option included than to extend the research to exclude it.

Soul Charge
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 3, Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 24 hours or until discharged
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You steal a portion of the target's soul and use it to activate a wand or other spell-trigger item. The spell bestows one negative level to the target (with the normal repercussions of gaining a negative level, including the possibility of losing a level 24 hours later) and transfers the soul's energy to a crystal you carry. When the crystal holds a charge, you can use the energy in it to power a spell effect from a wand or other spell-trigger item instead of using a charge from the wand. Even if the spell normally expends two charges from the item, soul charge can add only one charge per use.

To use this spell to active an item, you must be able to activate the item yourself. That is, the spell effect you activate must be on the spell list for your class. The spell also must be 3rd-level or lower, and the item's caster level must be less than or equal to your caster level.

Example: A 13th-level wizard with a staff of defense wants to use this spell to trigger the staff. Only one of the staff's powers -- shield -- meets the requirements for soul charge. The other powers, shield of faith, shield other, and shield of law, aren't on the wizard's spell list.

Focus: A piece of crystal worth at least 100 gp. The crystal receives the energy stolen from the soul. A single crystal can hold only one charge. A character can carry more than one charge at a time, but must have a separate crystal for each charge.

Vhaerath

A vhaerath is a planar servant of Vhaeraun, created from the soul of one of his petitioners. It looks like a normal drow (male or female) except that its body and equipment are utterly black -- as dark as a shadow. Vhaeraun uses them as his mortal agents in Faerûn. A typical vhaerath is a 1st-level drow warrior (as presented in the Monster Manual). The Masked Lord's followers can summon these "common" vhaeraths with a summon monster II spell if they know the proper magic keys. (Door to Light contains this information.)

Creating a Vhaerath

"Vhaerath" is an inherited template that can be added to any drow of nongood alignment (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A vhaerath uses all the base creatures' statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The base creature's type changes to outsider. Vhaeraths are always extraplanar outsiders.

Skills: Vhaeraths have a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. The Hide bonus increases to +8 in shadowy conditions or darkness.

Alignment: Any evil.

Summoning a Vhaerath: A divine spellcaster who has Vhaeraun as a patron can use a monster summoning II spell to summon a 1st-level drow warrior vhaerath, provided that the character can cast monster summoning II and provided the character has read the summoning notes in Obsul Ssussun.

Vhaeraun's Nightshield
Abjuration
Level: Cleric 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute/level or until discharged (D)

You protect yourself with a cloaklike aura of black energy. This aura has two effects. First, it absorbs 5 points of magic missile damage per caster level, similar to a brooch of shielding. Second, it provides a +1 resistance bonus on saving throws; this resistance bonus increases to +2 at caster level 6 and +3 at caster level 9. The spell ends if it absorbs its full capacity of magic missile damage.

Price: 550 gp (spellbook value only, though as its pages contain arcane and divine versions of spells, a buyer who can use only one or the other type would offer much less). A buyer interested in planar lore might pay up to 100 gp more for it (or only 100 gp if the buyer can't use it as a spellbook). The church of Vhaeraun is willing to pay a flat 2,000 gp for the book, no questions asked. If presented to a group of Auzkovyn drow, they would offer to pay in drow goods and throw in lifetime safe passage through Auzkovyn-patrolled territories in Cormanthor. (The booksellers in question would receive tokens of passage representing this agreement.)

Last Known Bearer: Zulifein T'orgh of Sshamath, Vhaeraunian drow wizard

Zulifein was born in the male-dominated drow city of Sshamath, a younger son of a middle-ranked city wizard. Raised in an environment where his gender and his profession made him superior to the common folk of his home, Zulifein grew bored and sought interesting ways to entertain himself. Starting with torturing animals, he advanced to torturing slaves and eventually drow commoners. After a series of torture-murders that his father covered up with bribes to the city guards, Zul made the mistake of abducting a plaything of Ryld Coborel, one of the city's most powerful wizards, and when he realized his error he fled before Ryld discovered the offense. Heading upward, he threw in with a group of Auzkovyn drow, selling his services as a wizard in exchange for his life. Zul came to the surface via portal like many of his adopted clan and has spent dozen months living in Cormanthor. When his group was attacked by a team of Lolth-worshiping drow and their leader was killed, Zul was pushed into a leadership role by the survivors but was saved from that task by the appearance of the Widower. The mysterious senior wizard took Zul under his wing and named him as his secondwizard.

When the Widower left in the middle of the night, Zul inherited the Door to Light and some of the Widower's notes. Some in the group pressured him to be the new leader, but Zul wanted neither the responsibility nor the attention and deferred to Divolg Luen, the leader of the group's rangers. With Door to Light in his hands (a prized item for its religious and arcane value even if its sale value is significantly less), Zul felt he could buy off Ryld's desire for vengeance by presenting the book as a gift. At the next opportunity, he left his fellows and fled to Cormyr, using the elf disguise spell to avoid attention. He then traveled via trade route to the Western Heartlands, researched the location of a tunnel to the Underdark, and is now looking for that tunnel so he can follow it to his home city. When he gets there he will remain in disguise so he can learn if Ryld's anger has cooled and if there is a bounty on his head; once he finds out, he'll figure out the best way to present the book and extricate himself from this tangle.

Zulifein T'orgh: Male drow wizard 6 (transmuter); CR 7; Medium humanoid (elf); HD 6d4; hp 15; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +3; Grp +2; Atk or Full Atk +7 melee (1d6-1/18-20, rapier) or +8 ranged (1d4/19-20, masterwork hand crossbow); SQ darkvision 120 ft., drow traits, light blindness, spell resistance 17; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +5; Str 8, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 14.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +9, Decipher Script +8, Hide +6, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8, Knowledge (nature) +6, Listen +3, Move Silently +11, Profession (torturer) +5, Search +5, Spellcraft +8, Spot +3; Daylight Adaptation, Scribe Scroll, Stealthy, Still Spell, Weapon Finesse.

Languages: Common, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Elven, Goblin, Undercommon.

Drow Traits: Zulifein has immunity to magic sleep effects. If he merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door, he is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if he where actively looking for it. He has Martial Weapon Proficiency (rapier), Martial Weapon Proficiency (short sword), and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (hand crossbow) as bonus feats. He gets a +2 racial bonus on saves against enchantment spells and effects and a +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks (already figured into the statistics above).

Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds Zulifein for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, he is dazzled for as long as he remains in the affected area.

Wizard Spells Prepared (5/5/5/4 per day; caster level 6th): 0 -- detect magic (2), mage hand (2), message; 1st -- disguise self (2), expeditious retreat, ironguts (Magic of Faerûn), Vhaeraun's nightshield; 2nd -- cat's grace, false life, invisibility (2), spider climb; 3rd -- analyze portal (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), fly, slow (2) (DC 16).

Spellbook: 0 -- As above plus acid splash (+6 ranged touch), arcane mark, detect poison, disrupt undead (+6 ranged touch), ghost sound, mending, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost(+6 ranged touch), read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue (+6 ranged touch; DC 13); 1st -- As above plus cause fear (DC 14), color spray (DC 14), elf disguise, identify, launch item (Magic of Faerûn), low-light vision (Magic of Faerûn), magic weapon; 2nd -- As above plus minor image (DC 15), rope trick; 3rd -- As above plus soul charge (DC 16).

Possessions:Bracers of armor +2, ring of protection +1, rapier, masterwork hand crossbow with 50 bolts, boots of elvenkind, 2 potions of cure light wounds, 2 pearls (for the identify spell; 100 gp each), rope, 194 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Earthmother's Weapons
(Druid Spells from the Moonshaes)

This broad book is bound in thin leather and embossed with a picture of a sheaf of grain. Its pages are tightly woven strands of dyed plant fiber that form a small tapestry of pictures and magic symbols. Due to wear and tear, the book gives the impression of being very old. A thin shard of bone tied to a leather thong serves as a bookmark.

Last Record: Galast of the Beastlord, Malarite druid, 16 Ches, 1373 DR.

Description: A stamped picture of a sheaf of grain graces the thin but sturdy cow leather of this book. This symbol signifies the Earthmother, which is a wilder, more natural aspect of Chauntea. Rather than vellum, paper, or some of the strange materials wizards are fond of in their spellbooks, this book's pages are carefully-woven works of art, showing pictures of natural creatures (including the Earthmother's three Children -- Leviathan the whale, Kamerynn the unicorn, and the Pack of awakened dire wolves), druids casting spells, nature scenes, as well as magical symbols and passages written in Illuskan. The pages have been soaked in a fireproofing substance (fire resistance 10), and it is resistant to water as well. The bone bookmark is carved from a human jawbone.

The book does not radiate magic.

History: The history of the Moonshaes is filled with war. Human kingdoms fought each other. Agents of Malar and Bhaal fought the civilized peoples. Druids of the Earthmother participated in these battles, seeking to minimize the damage to nature and actively striking against those who would despoil her sacred places. Several hundred years ago, a druid named Bryn Kernwyld created several new spells she thought might be useful in the battles to protect and avenge nature (particularly against Malar, a constant foe of her deity), and collected them in a book she called Earthmother's Weapons. Kept secret among the members of her circle, the knowledge in the book was passed down to other druids in an oral tradition in the following centuries, with the book used as a reference by the senior members of the circle. In 1278 DR a band of Malarite berserkers found the hidden tree-home of the current leader of the circle, Marath Haldewn, and, though she slew half of them, the remainder overpowered her, staked her to the earth under the full moon, and tore out her entrails, murdering her in the name of the Beastlord. The other members of the circle tracked the Malarites for two weeks before finding and killing them, and while they found other treasures from Marath's home, the copy of Earthmother's Weapons was not with them.

The book remained undiscovered until 1358 DR when an adventuring company searching for monsters in the southern parts of the mountain range on the isle of Gwynneth came across it. Unfortunately, the Time of Troubles happened very shortly after the discovery, and before the adventurers could bring the book to Caer Corwell or any druids of note, one of the party wizard's spells went awry and wiped them out. All magic items the adventurers bore were teleported in random directions, so the book could be almost anywhere, even underwater or on mainland Faerûn. While they try not to spread work of the book, the church of Chauntea is looking for it and would reward anyone who turned it over to them, since they wish to return it to the high druids of the Moonshaes. Rumors exist of a Malarite leader in the High Forest who has been using spells similar to those contained in the book, though it is not confirmed that he actually has it, and his exact location cannot be pinpointed for more than a few days at a time because he travels a lot.

Contents: The first few pages of Earthmother's Weapons are prayers to the goddess, asking for her blessings in times of war when the devout must protect her and her favored children. The remaining pages describe four druid spells researched by Bryn. These spells are considered unusual spells, and any spellcaster who wishes to use them must first decipher them as described in the Divine Magical Writings section of Chapter 10: Magic of the Player's Handbook. The spells the book contains are as follows:

bone talisman
frostbite
horrible taste
wolfskin
Bone Talisman
Necromancy
Level: Druid 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Bone touched
Duration: 10 minutes/level or until discharged
Saving Throw: None (object)
Spell Resistance: No (object)

You channel divine power and life energy into a bone from an animal or humanoid, giving it limited power against undead. Once cast, it may be used for two purposes (decided at the time of casting).

Bone of Turning: You or another druid may present the bone in the manner of a holy symbol and use it to turn undead. The effective turning level is equal to your caster level. All normal turning effects apply. For example, if your turning level is twice the Hit Dice of the turned undead, they are destroyed instead of turned. After one turn attempt, the bone talisman loses its power (but you can cast the spell on it again).

Bone Weapon: The bone is treated as a weapon that deals +1d6 damage to undead creatures, similar to but weaker than an undead bane effect. The bone is treated as a simple weapon appropriate to its shape, such as dagger or dart (small and sharp), club (if large and blunt), or spear (if small and sharp and fastened to a haft) and deals normal damage for its type. The spell does not grant proficiency in the weapon. The spell is not discharged when the weapon hits and this aspect of the spell lasts until the full duration (10 minutes/level) expires.

The spell has no effect if you cast it on a bone taken from an undead creature. The bone must be at least 8 inches long and may be straight or curved; normally bones from the arm, leg, or ribs are used. You may carve, drill, or otherwise shape the bone before or after the spell is cast; the spell functions as long as the bone remains bone (not turned to wood or metal, for example).

Frostbite
Transmutation [Cold]
Level: Druid 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You rapidly cool the target so it suffers the effects of frostbite -- just as if he were exposed to severe environmental cold (see Cold Dangers in the Dungeon Master's Guide, page 302). The target creature must succeed at a Fortitude save or suffer 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character with the Survival skill cannot use that skill to receive a bonus on this saving throw because its effects are instantaneous rather than accruing over time. A creature that takes nonlethal damage in this manner is beset by frostbite (treat as fatigued). The fatigue ends when the character recovers the nonlethal damage he took from the spell's cold. Characters wearing winter clothing suffer frostbite (fatigue) only if they took 4 or more points of nonlethal damage from the spell.

Horrible Taste
Transmutation
Level: Druid 1, Ranger 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 minutes/level

Drawing upon the talents of some creatures of the insect world, you change your flesh to make it unpalatable to other creatures. Any creature that bites you must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or be nauseated until the end of its next turn. Nauseated creatures cannot attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a creature can take is a single move action per turn.

Most creatures of animal or otherwise low Intelligence will not willingly bite you a second time (whether or not they failed their first saving throw); someone trying to direct the creature to bite you again must make a Handle Animal check as if they were trying to "push" the creature. This check must be made every time she tries to make the creature bite.

Creatures immune to poison or lacking the ability to taste are unaffected by this spell.

Wolfskin
Transmutation
Level: Druid 2, Ranger 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute/level (D)

You take the shape of a normal wolf as if you had the wild shape ability of a 5th-level druid.

Focus: The skin of a wolf, dire wolf, werewolf, worg, or winter wolf. The skin melds with your body while the spell is in effect, and it returns to normal when you assume your own shape.

Price: 1,000 gp (fireproofed and waterproof spellbook value only). A buyer interested in religious lore might pay up to 200 gp more for it. The church of Chauntea is willing to pay up to an additional 1,000 gp for it. A member of the church who finds and returns the book would be rewarded a like amount in wealth, magic, or services; if the bearer is a worshiper of the Earthmother and returns it to the druids of the Moonshaes personally, the rewards will be more significant (+500 gp) but mostly in terms of services rather than goods or wealth.

Last Known Bearer: Galast of the Beastlord, Malarite druid.

Galast is the son of human outlaws living in the High Forest. Raised by evil-thinking folks who needed to hunt to survive, it is natural that he gravitated to Malar's faith. Though he began his adult life as a tracker and scout (handy when trying to evade and outfox bounty hunters in search of his parents), he became a druid of the Beastlord after seeing the man who would become his mentor single-handedly destroy an elven warband. The elder druid, who calls himself "Wolf Dragon," arranged for Galast to become a werewolf, but for some reason Galast never fully succumbed to the curse of lycanthropy. Wolf Dragon turned out his protégée in disgust, and since then Galast has wandered the High Forest, occasionally hooking up with other Malarites but leaving before his private shame is revealed. He discovered Earthmother's Weapons buried in debris at the back end of a bear cave, and he has since deciphered the spells in it. Since he has no idea that the Earthmother is an aspect of Chauntea (and thus an enemy of his god), he doesn't know he has been holding onto Chauntean spells. Malar finds the spells useful in the hands of one of his people and has granted Galast access to the spells. He uses his speed (from longstrider and the Run feat) and maneuverability (from the woodland stride class ability) to make hit-and-run attacks, relying on his damage reduction to absorb most attacks against him.

Galast: Male human quasiwerewolf ranger 1/druid 3; CR 5; Medium humanoid (shapechanger); HD 1d8+2 plus 3d8+6; hp 26; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +3; Grp +4; Atk +5 melee (1d6+1/x3, masterwork shortspear) or +6 ranged (1d6/x3, masterwork shortbow with masterwork arrow); Full Atk +5 melee (1d6+1/x3, masterwork shortspear) or +6 ranged (1d6/x3, masterwork shortbow with masterwork arrow); SQ animal companion (Fang), damage reduction 10/silver, disguise self, favored enemy (animals +2), nature sense, trackless step, wild empathy +3, woodland stride; AL NE; SV Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Climb +5, Handle Animal +6, Heal +5, Hide +8, Knowledge (nature) +7, Knowledge (religion) +2, Listen +6, Move Silently +8, Ride +4, Spellcraft +4, Spot +6, Survival +11, Swim +5, Point Blank Shot, Run, Stealthy, Track(B).

Animal Companion: Galast has a wolf named Fang as his animal companion. Fang grants him the following benefits.

Link (Ex): Galast can handle Fang as a free action, or push him as a move action. Galast gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks concerning Fang.

Share Spells (Ex): At Galast's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts upon himself also affect Fang, as long as the wolf is within 5 feet of him at the time of casting. If a spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting Fang if he moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect him again, even if he returns to Galast before the duration expires. Additionally, Galast may cast a spell with a target of "You" on Fang (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. Galast and Fang can share spells even if they normally do not affect animals.

Disguise Self (Su): Galast has been infected with lycanthropy by werewolves three times, but because he was born a quasiwerewolf, he has not contracted lycanthropy. Galast can shift his own form ever so slightly, growing wolflike hair all over his body, changing his eye color to wolf-blue, and elongating his canine teeth. This ability works just like a disguise self spell (caster level 4th). He cannot change body types or give himself natural weaponry. Though he has the shapechanger subtype and a lycanthrope's damage reduction at all times, he cannot take hybrid or animal form. Galast uses the wolfskin spell (from the Earthmother's Weapons book) to assume wolf form and pretend to be a full werewolf.

Favored Enemy: Galast gains a +2 bonus on his Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against animals. He gets the same bonus on weapon damage rolls against creatures of this type.

Nature Sense (Ex): Galast gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks (already included in the statistics given above).

Trackless Step (Ex): If Galast desires, he leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked.

Wild Empathy (Ex): Galast can use body language, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude of an animal (such as a bear or a monitor lizard). This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. His bonus on the check is +3. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. Galast and the animal must study each other for 1 minute. This ability can also be used to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but the ranger takes a -4 penalty on the check.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Galast may move through natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain at his normal speed and without suffering damage or other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.

Druid Spells Prepared (4/3/2; save DC 12 + spell level): 0 -- cure minor wounds (2), flare (DC 12), light; 1st -- cure light wounds, frostbite (DC 13), longstrider; 2nd -- barkskin, wolfskin.

Possessions:+1 leather armor, masterwork light wooden shield, masterwork shortspear, masterwork shortbow, masterwork arrows (50), holy symbol, potions of cat's grace, potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of resist energy, elixir of hiding, 52 gp.

Fang: Male wolf companion; CR --; Medium animal; HD 4d8+8; hp 26; Init +7; Spd 50 ft.; AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +3; Grp +5; Atk +6 melee (1d6+3, bite); Full Atk +6 melee (1d6+3, bite); SA trip; SQ evasion, low-light vision, scent, tricks (attack, defend, down, guard, heel, seek, stay, track); AL N; SV Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.

Skills and Feats: Jump +10, Listen +4, Move Silently +5, Spot +3; Improved Initiative, Track(B), Weapon Focus (bite).

Trip (Ex): When Fang hits with a bite attack, he can attempt to trip his opponent (+1 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip Fang.

Evasion (Ex): If Fang is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, he takes no damage if he makes a successful saving throw.

Quasilycanthropes

Quasilycanthropes are giants or humanoids with a trace of lycanthropy in their bloodlines. A quasilycanthrope is indistinguishable from other members of its humanoid or giant kind until it is exposed to lycanthropy from a lycanthrope of the same kind as the quasilycanthrope, whereupon its latent lycanthropic traits emerge. For example, a quasiwerewolf requires exposure to lycanthropy from a werewolf. When a latent quasilycanthrope is exposed to the curse of lycanthropy and fails its saving throw (see the Lycanthrope entry in the Monster Manual), it does not become an actual lycanthrope; instead, its quasilycanthrope abilities emerge.

Creating a Quasilycanthrope

"Quasilycanthrope" is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or giant (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

Size and Type: The base creature's type does not change, but the creature gains the shapechanger subtype. The lycanthrope takes a few characteristics of some type of carnivorous or omnivorous creature of the animal type (referred to hereafter as the base animal).

The animal can be any predator, scavenger, or omnivore whose size is within one size category of the base creature's size (Small, Medium, or Large for a Medium base creature).

A quasilycanthrope uses the base creature's statistics and special abilities in addition to those described here.

Special Qualities: A quasilycanthrope retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains those described below.

Disguise Self (Su): A quasilycanthrope can shift its own form ever so slightly. This works just like a disguise self spell cast at the quasilycanthrope's character level except that the guises the quasilycanthrope can assume must involve some aspect of the base animal. For example, a quasiwerewolf can grow shaggy hair and pointed canine teeth. A quasiweretiger can grow whiskers and a tail. The quasilycanthrope cannot change body types or give itself natural weaponry.

Damage Reduction (Ex):A quasilycanthrope has damage reduction 10/silver.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.

Treasure: Standard.

Alignment: Any. Noble creatures such as bears, eagles, and lions tend to produce good-aligned quasilycanthropes. Sinister creatures such as rats, snakes, and wolves tend to produce evil-aligned quasilycanthropes. This tendency is a reflection of how these animals are perceived, not any innate quality of the animal itself, so the alignment of the animal form can be arbitrarily assigned.

Advancement: By character class.

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +1.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

The Codicil of White (Cold Spells for Auril's Wizards)

A wooden cover bound in white ermine fur binds this tall, thin book. A clasp and lock of tarnished silver locks away a series of vellum pages. The fur is somewhat worn around the edges from long use.

Last Record: Cefra Windrivver, Aurilian cleric, 13 Hammer, 1372 DR.

Description: The book's cover is a single piece of white ermine fur cut to size and sewn onto a pair of seasoned white pine boards. A clasp and lock of tarnished silver normally holds the book closed, though the key is missing and the lock has been forced open. The vellum pages are inked in dark blue with silver painted around the edges, although two pages at the end look as though someone added them after the book's creation, and these pages lack the silver border of the first thirty-eight pages). The pages are sewn to a leather spine with strips of sinew, and the spine in turn is sewn to the covers underneath the ermine. The cover has no markings identifying the book, but the first page bears the book's title and Auril's holy symbol.

The book radiates faint abjuration.

History: Auril's faith is strongest in the colder lands of Faerûn, and she has many secret temples along the Spine of the World that bring terror and dominion to small settlements of people trying to eke out a living. The priestess who created the Codicil remains unknown, but, given the book's contents, she may have been both a cleric of Auril and a wizard of some power. This wizard-priest created the Codicil as a repository of Aurilian rituals and arcane magic appropriate to the Frostmaiden's temperament. (Several similar books of rituals exist, though the Codicil is the only one known to have arcane spells in it) For at least a hundred years, the book was passed down from cleric to cleric and kept secret within the church hierarchy; it never passed into the hands of the unfaithful. In late 1348 DR, a group of adventurers called the Company of Seven Stars obtained the Codicil from some bandits who attacked a Neverwinter caravan the Company guarded. They sold it to the sage Erpalio of Neverwinter, and Erpalio's writings made its description known to those outside of the faith. Later that winter, someone found Erpalio frozen to death in his (otherwise warm) home that winter, and nobody could find the book among his possessions. Many presume the church discovered its location, murdered Erpalio, and recovered their property.

The book has not had a confirmed sighting since that time, though a lone survivor of a bugbear ambush in the hills north of the Cold Wood (in the Silver Marches) reports seeing a woman in the distance shouting at the bugbears with her arms raised holding a square piece of white fur. A magical search of the man's memories shows the woman is a cleric of Auril and the object she held may be the Codicil. What she is doing in the company of bugbears, why she carries the book (if it is the book), and whether she has the church's approval is unknown.

Contents: After the title page, the next thirteen pages of the Codicil cover the basic rites, rituals, and services of Auril, including the proper phrasing needed to summon an ice para-elemental (see Manual of the Planes) with divine summon monster spells. Most of these rituals are cruel and depraved. Good individuals may find them too distasteful to use, but the rituals have no alignment descriptor and characters of any alignment can use them.

The next thirteen pages describe major ceremonies of the faith, including coming of age, burial, ordination as a cleric or druid, investiture of authority, dedication of holy sites, and special vows for unusual services or contracts.

The material on these pages contains enough information of the church of Auril to grant anyone a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks relating to Auril's faith, provided the character has the book on hand for reference. The bonus also applies on unskilled Knowledge (religion) checks (Intelligence checks) relating to Auril's faith.

The remaining pages of TheCodicil of White are devoted to arcane magic. The creator wanted Aurilian wizards and sorcerers to use the book as a primer so that they could gain a better understanding of the faith and of the goddess' favorite magic. These last pages contain the following arcane spells in order:

chill touch
frost fingers (new spell*, see below)
gust of wind
shatter
wall of ice
*This spell is an unusual spell as noted on page 54 of the Player's Handbook. Sorcerers can learn the spell only if they research it independently or obtain a written copy of the spell.

After the last spell are two pages of notes in a different handwriting. The notes explain how to prepare the frost fingers spell in such a way that its area is increased. Treat deciphering these notes as a 2nd-level spell (DC 22 Spellcraft check to decipher, see Player's Handbook page 178). Once a wizard deciphers the notes, she can prepare the frost fingers spell as if she had modified it with the Widen Spell feat, except that it uses a 3rd-level spell slot (instead of the typical 4th-level slot for using the Widen Spell feat on a 1st-level spell). This counts as a metamagic effect and all normal metamagic rules apply. The notes apply only to the frost fingers spell; they can't be used to make Widen Spell or any other metamagic feat more efficient with any other spells. These notes can be copied to another book just like any spell, though they have no effect unless used with the frost fingers spell.

The book grants cold resistance 10 (as a ring of minor energy resistance) to anyone carrying it. It is completely waterproof.

Frost Fingers
Evocation [Cold]
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 15 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

A cone of blistering cold shoots from your fingertips. Any creature in the area of this cold takes 1d4 points of cold damage per caster level (maximum 5d4). Small volumes of water-based liquids such as puddles of water, flasks of wine, and potion vials freeze solid if the cold touches them, though this does not cause the container (if any) to crack or break.

Price: 1,600 gp (waterproofed spellbook value only). If the cold resistance ability is known, add 24,000 gp to the price. A buyer interested in religious lore might pay up to 500 gp more for it. The church of Auril is more likely to try to take it than buy it, especially if they believe the bearer has read of the secret rituals within, but in the hands of a powerful buyer they would pay an additional 5,000 gp for it. A member of the faith who finds and returns the book would be rewarded a like amount in wealth, magic, or services.

Last Known Bearer: Cefra Windrivver, Aurilian cleric.

Cefra was born in a remote town ruled by a lawful evil sect of clerics of Auril. Raised in the harsh and stern environment of the church, she was chosen to enter the clergy because of her snow-white hair and ice-blue eyes. Cefra became an acolyte of the church and learned early on that being slack in her duties resulted in beatings and being tied up outside overnight. After just two of these near-fatal exposures she buckled down, though she kept her thoughts to herself, particularly her resentment of the extremely strict senior priestesses. She eventually was ordained as a cleric of the Frostmaiden and began a slow crawl upward through the ranks. Her inner desire to run things her own way rather than obey the sometimes impractical edicts of the town high priestess limited her advancement.

Two years later in 1371 DR, the town church made preparations to ordain its newest member, a young man named Tamall Horndusk, son of the high priestess. To honor her son in the name of the Cold Goddess, the high priestess sent a request to the House of Auril's Breath in Glister (north of the Moonsea) that he be ordained with the Codicil, the very same book used to ordain her thirty years before; they honored the request and an air elemental delivered the book. Tamall was due to be ordained at the next new moon. However, on the last night of the full moon previous to that, a large pack of Malarite werewolves attacked the town. These lycanthropes had been sniffing at the edges of town, and, once they realized the town belonged to Auril, they couldn't resist the bloodlust. When the werewolves struck, the townsfolk and the clerics rushed to defend themselves against the lycanthropes. In the confusion, Cefra stole the Codicil from the high priestess' house and ran away into the night.

She wandered for several weeks, using her magic to hunt animals and to protect herself from the cold. When she started seeing bugbear tracks, she formulated a plan. Through clever use of her magic and careful bribes of items taken from the high priestess' home, she introduced herself to the bugbears, made an alliance with the chief, and set herself up as their priestess. The bugbears had recently lost their spiritual guide, and it took little to convince them to accept her as a replacement.

Now Cefra has her own group of converts, and she has been teaching them her outlook on the worship of Auril, using the Codicil as a reference. In recent months she has provided magical enhancements to their hunting and raiding parties. Additionally, at least one member of the tribe shows promise as a potential acolyte. She assumes everyone in her old town is dead and doesn't miss them.

However, some townsfolk survived, including Tamall Horndusk. The young man saw Cefra fleeing during the attack and feels she may be responsible somehow. Since all the true clerics were dead or missing, the townsfolk saw that they were free of the priestly stranglehold that had plagued them for years and chased him out of town. With luck, Tamall hooked up with a caravan and reached another place of civilization. He has been on the lookout for information about anyone matching Cefra's description since then. In the meantime, he has studied the arts of war, feeling he is not worthy to join Auril's clergy until he avenges his mother's death by killing the woman he feels is responsible. (Also, Auril's dogma prevents him from acting against another cleric, so being ordained at this time would prevent him from finding vengeance.)

Cefra Windrivver: Female human cleric 6 of Auril; CR 6; Medium humanoid; HD 6d8+12; hp 39; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +4; Grp +3; Atk +3 melee (1d8-1/x3, battleaxe) or +5 ranged (1d8/19-20, masterwork light crossbow); Full Atk +3 melee (1d8-1/x3, battleaxe) or +5 ranged (1d8/19-20, masterwork light crossbow); SA rebuke undead 5/day; AL CE; SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +10; Str 8, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +8, Diplomacy +6, Heal +6, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (religion) +5, Listen +6, Spellcraft +5, Spot +6, Survival +4; Alertness, Iron Will, Martial Weapon Proficiency (battleaxe), Quick Draw.

Cleric Spells Prepared (5/4+1/4+1/2+1; save DC 12 + spell level): 0 -- cure minor wounds (2), detect poison, light, purify food and drink; 1st -- chill touch*, endure elements, faith healing (Magic of Faerûn) (2), obscuring mist; 2nd -- aid, aura against flame (Magic of Faerûn), cure moderate wounds, delay poison, wind wall*; 3rd -- prayer, sleet storm*, summon monster III.

*Domain spell. Deity: Auril. Domains: Air (turn earth/rebuke air 5/day), Cold (turn fire /rebuke cold 5/day).

Possessions: Masterwork breastplate, battleaxe, masterwork light crossbow, crossbow bolts (50), cloak of resistance +1, wand of cure light wounds (35), wand of bear's endurance (16), wand of bull's strength (11), wand of chill metal (20), silver headband (50 gp), silver holy symbol, white wolf fur cloak (50 gp), cold weather outfit, 89 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Tar'Ael Veluuthra (Whetstone of the Blade)

A thin, strong vine ties together this collection of half-circular papers. An oil of some sort keeps the cover, which is a large, dried leaf folded along the center, supple enough to bend without cracking. Scratched into the front cover is a circle of Espruar characters. The whole thing looks like it is normally rolled up and carried in a scroll tube.

Last Record: Threlya Dlardrageth, fey'ri scout, outside Evereska, 5 Alturiak, 1371 DR.

Description: The book's cover is a particularly large green leaf from a silverbark tree (known for its large oval leaves) folded in half along the central vein. The Espruar characters on the front spell out the book's name in Elven. Its few pages are sewn to the spine with a thin vine. The whole book has a gentle bend to it as if it is normally kept coiled in a roll (back cover on the inside) and carried in a scroll tube.

The pages are made from plant pulp soaked in water, beaten into a mush, and dried on flat pieces of wood. (They retain faint remnants of the drying surface's texture.) The writing on the pages is in a delicate elven hand, written in the Elven tongue with pleasant aromatic ink. While it possesses no cover page, the first page has a sentence above the first spell:

"May we drive the cursed vermin from our blessed land, may they despoil it no longer with their sweat, axes, and blood."

The back cover of the book radiates magic (faint transmutation).

History: The Eldreth Veluuthra is a secret group of elves who wish to eradicate all humans from Faerûn. Having seen how humans treat each other, elves, and the plants and animals of the world, these extremist elves see no other way to preserve their chosen land than to commit genocide. To this end, they gather in small cells and make deadly ambushes on human settlements, scouts, and other folks who stray too near elven territory. Though their attacks have done little so far to deter human expansion, the Eldreth Veluuthra (the name means "Victorious Blade of the People" in Elven) are undaunted. (More information on this group is in the book Lords of Darkness.)

Most elves consider the Eldreth Veluuthra an embarrassment and don't acknowledge their existence; in fact, few humans know about this secret group (though the Harpers have clashed with them many times). Because of their unpopular ideas, the extremists meet in secret to teach each other the ways of stealth and the best techniques for eliminating humans without being discovered. To this purpose, one of the wizards of the group wrote a spellbook he calls the Tar'Ael Veluuthra, or "Whetstone of the Victorious Blade." In this book he copied key arcane spells of stealth, spying, and maneuverability, so that it could be passed from cell to cell and educate other members of this group. He also included a secret magic on the back cover with the keys to crafting human-bane arrows. Others may have duplicated this book and its special magic, and nobody knows how many copies exist. (None know how old the original book is, though mentions of it in journals and other notes appear as early as 1345 DR). Certainly the spells within it are valuable, though human churches and nonhumans who don't hold the same grudge as the Eldreth Veluuthra might object to the discovery and use of the back cover's formula.

The current bearer is a fey'ri named Threlya Dlardrageth. Most recently someone spotted her outside of Evereska (well before it was attacked by the phaerimm), afraid to enter the elven sanctuary for fear of the elves discovering her true nature. While waiting outside the city wall, she was approached by the Green Blades of Corellon, a group of elven adventurers. She mistook one of them for Herianamae, and when they pointed out her mistake, she blurted out a question about the Eldreth Veluuthra. This caused some alarm among the Blades, and she panicked, assuming her winged form and fleeing into the forest. Though the identity of the "demonic flying elf" is not known, the Blades circulated her description among Evereskan elves (and presumably the survivors of the attack on the city would remember their story and her description).

Contents:Tar'Ael Veluuthra contains the following arcane spells in order:

clairaudience/clairvoyance
climb (new spell*, see below)
expeditious retreat
invisibility
jump
message
*This spell is an unusual spell as noted on pages 54, 179, and 180 of the Player's Handbook. Sorcerers, druids, and rangers can learn the spell only if they research it independently or obtain a written copy of the spell.

The back cover has a special ability. If someone drips blood from the heart of a freshly-killed human (dead no more than 10 minutes) on the outside back cover, the blood twists to form Elven letters spelling out a magic item formula. If the instructions are followed, the formula allows a spellcaster to craft up to six +1 human-bane arrows over the next 8 hours, as if he had the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat. For each arrow to be crafted the character must provide a masterwork arrow, 160 gp worth of materials, and 7 XP. He does not have to meet any other prerequisites (such as caster levels, prerequisite spells, and so on); the words of the ritual and the human blood provide the rest of the necessary power to craft the arrows. All other rules for crafting magic items apply (the character cannot be interrupted, and so on). Each freshly killed human can activate the book only once and the blood from that human can create up to six +1 human-bane arrows only. After the crafter uses the formula to craft arrows, or if 8 hours have passed, the blood-writing fades and the crafter must use another human heart's blood to activate it again.

Each time someone activates the magic formula, it takes into account local fluctuations in the Weave and the amount of innate power stored within the blood of the slain human. If copied from the back of the spellbook, the formula is useless because each human's blood is different, and the ebb and flow of the Weave makes each ritual unique. The ritual provides no benefit to anyone who already has the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, although the arrows it creates are equivalent to those created with the feat and such a character could use the feat to add additional enhancement bonuses or weapon properties to the arrows. The ritual does not allow a character to create anything other than +1 human-bane arrows, and it does not allow a character to add enhancement bonuses or the human-bane property to existing magic arrows.

Climb
Transmutation
Level: Drd 1, Rgr 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes

The subject gets a +10 enhancement bonus on Climb checks. The enhancement bonus increases to +20 at caster level 5th, and to +30 (the maximum) at caster level 9th. Unlike with spider climb, this does not allow the target to climb on ceilings, and it does not give her a Climb speed.

Material Component: A drop of tree sap or equally sticky material.

Price: 1,200 gp, though as a spellbook the tome is worth only 450 gp. Few characters would be willing to pay the full price if they already can craft magic arrows. Few buyers of good alignment would be willing to buy the book even if they didn't plan to make any arrows of human slaying (except, perhaps, to get the book out of circulation).

Last Known Bearer: Threlya Dlardrageth, fey'ri (daemonfey) scout.

(More information on the daemonfey, an exiled house of evil noble elves who have crossbred with demons to produce fey'ri and half-fiend elves, is in Lords of Darkness. Fey'ri originally appeared in Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn and were presented as a PC race in Races of Faerûn.

Threlya is a fey'ri, a third-generation fiend-tainted sun elf, born of a half-fiend elf father and a gold elf mother. She spent centuries imprisoned in a magical slumber, bound with her kin by outraged elves who discovered their demonic breeding. Freed when Hellgate Keep was destroyed, the fey'ri have remained in hiding, knowing that their numbers are too few to survive should elves or other demon-hating groups discover them. Threlya is the youngest grandchild of the leader of the daemonfey, and her family has put her under a lot of pressure to succeed and become powerful. Unfortunately, she is still very young and has much to learn about the world, although she already knows much about the exercise of power and obeying your elders. (When your elders can smite you with unholy fire, obedience is learned quickly.)

Since she only recently came of age, she has been given limited tasks in the outer world. Most of them are simple espionage like interacting with elves in public places to learn more about their culture and mannerisms (which she does in the guise of a tall, beautiful gold elf). Still adjusting to life in the outside world, her aloofness and awkwardness was noticed by one older elf in particular, who thought she looked uncomfortable being around so many humans. This older elf, Daryngrynth Sharparrow, is a member of the Eldreth Veluuthra, and after conversing with her privately, he decided to introduce her to Herianamae of Evereska, the wizard member of his cell. The wizard, happy to have a new pupil in magic and racism, lent Threlya the Tar'Ael Veluuthra, advising her to study its pages and guide her inner powers of sorcery to attune themselves to its teachings. Shortly thereafter, Threlya found herself called away to report to other daemonfey, who listened avidly to her reports about surface elves taking part in active evil and racism. They bid the young fey'ri to reunite with her tutors and find out more about this group (for the daemonfey are looking for potential allies and/or breeding stock). However, she hasn't located Daryngrynth or Herianamae and is trying to find some way to reach them. Remembering Herianamae's city of origin, she traveled to that place in hopes of finding her new ally, and a bad turn of events resulted in her taking wing. Her current whereabouts are unknown, especially after the phaerimm onslaught.

Though silver-tongued among her own people, Threlya is ignorant of many aspects of normal human and elven culture, and she prefers to keep quiet rather than speak and make a fool of herself. She is careful around people and creatures she recognizes as powerful. She eagerly learns more about people, acquires more magic, and finds weaknesses in her elven enemies. Though (like all of her people) she feels betrayed by normal elves, she has found herself attracted to the propaganda of the Eldreth Veluuthra and is similarly contemptuous of humans, unlike the other fey'ri who see them as potential slaves but not scum. She hides her loathing well, however, and can speak or listen to elves or humans without revealing her dislike.

Threlya Dlardrageth: Female fey'ri rogue 1/sorcerer 1; CR 3; Medium outsider (native); HD 1d6-1 plus 1d4-1; hp 3; Init +7; Spd 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (poor) in winged form; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +0; Grp +0; Atk +1 melee (1d6/19-20, masterwork short sword) or +4 ranged (1d6/x3, masterwork shortbow); Full Atk +1 melee (1d6/19-20, masterwork short sword) or +4 ranged (1d6/x3, masterwork shortbow); SA sneak attack +1d6, spell-like abilities; SQ change shape (Medium humanoid forms only), damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., elven blood, enchantment resistance, fire resistance 10, immunities (sleep spells and effects), low-light vision, trapfinding; AL CE; SV Fort -1, Ref +5, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 17, Con 8, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 14.

Skills and Feats: Bluff +4, Diplomacy +6, Gather Information +6, Hide +9, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Listen +7, Move Silently +7, Search +4, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +4, Spot +7, Tumble +7, Use Magic Device +6; Improved Initiative.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day -- charm person (DC 13), suggestion (DC 15). Caster level 2nd.

Change Shape: At will, Threlya can assume any humanoid form of Medium size and can remain in that form indefinitely.

Elven Blood (Ex): For the purpose of all special abilities and effects, Threlya is considered an elf. She can use or create elven weapons and magic items with racially specific elven powers as if she were an elf.

Enchantment Resistance (Ex): Threlya has a +2 racial bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects.

Trapfinding: Threlya can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20.

Sorcerer Spells Known (5/4; save DC 12 + spell level): 0 -- acid splash, mage hand, mending, read magic; 1st -- mage armor, magic weapon.

Possessions: Masterwork short sword, masterwork shortbow, arrows (50), +1 human-bane arrow (1), ring of protection +1, potions of cure light wounds (3), potion of cat's grace, 47 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Lesser Testament of Vraer

The Lesser Testament of Vraer is about 1 foot across and 2 feet high, and it possesses a textured black rothé-hide cover with no title. The spine is a long, straight human thighbone, with knobbed ends that extend beyond the covers. Each end is carved into the shape of a grinning human skull.

Last Record: Dasmer Stamaraster, Halruaan thief, Baldur's Gate, 21 Uktar, 1371 DR.

Description: The book's cover is heavy black leather made from rothé hide, which makes it quite sturdy, and it is oiled to prevent damage from water. Since the book is not much more than a year old, it still smells of the glue used to bind the leather cover to the thin wooden plates underneath.

The interior pages are vellum bleached to a clear, bright white. The black-inked Chondathan text on them is written in a clear, patient hand by someone almost certainly trained in calligraphy. The first page contains an illustration of a human skull, underneath which is written the book's title and this comment:

"A derivation of the important sections of the cursed tome The Testament of Vraer, which should not be handled except with extreme care. That tome and this belong to the Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead."

The book has a magical aura (moderate necromancy).

History: The Lesser Testament of Vraer was written by Prendael Bardlinel, a Kelemvorite cleric of Baldur's Gate. A cloistered and scholarly member of his faith, Prendael's passion was cataloging books and lore relating to helpful necromancy and the office of the Lord of the Dead. These issues were of particular concern to him as a priest of Kelemvor, for many former clerics of Myrkul (the previous god of death) joined Kelemvor's clergy when the young god gained the portfolio of death, and their philosophical and doctrinal differences with the mainstream faith caused a few conflicts in the church. Prendael catalogued the more famous episodes of these conflicts.

One of the more famous troublemakers of this type was Vraer of Scornubel, a proud Myrkulite cleric whose mind apparently shattered when Myrkul was destroyed and his portfolio passed to Cyric and then Kelemvor. In 1368 DR Vraer was "wildly inspired" and created a book he called the Testament of Vraer, which he claimed was proof of Kelemvor's favor in him and established that he should be the supreme cleric of the faith. Another cleric named Nalauthiir of Reth disagreed, claiming Kelemvor spoke directly to him and that the book was a fraud. Vraer publicly challenged Nalauthiir to read the Testament and still maintain that view; Nalauthiir had no choice but to accept and was found dead in his chambers the next day. It turns out that Vraer had bound magic into the Testament that he could activate against the next person to peruse it, and over the next few years he used this secret to eliminate several rivals within the church (meaning any cleric of power who disagreed with him or merely seemed indifferent to his plans). Vraer was last seen in 1370 DR. The location of the Testament was unknown for several years but was believed to be somewhere in the Western Heartlands. It came to Prendael in 1371 DR.

Prendael had heard the stories about the Testament and eventually discovered the keys to the traps on it (some of which conjured undead to attack a reader who examined the pages without the proper precautions). He found several valuable spells in its pages and decided to transcribe them into another book; this book he later dubbed the Lesser Testament of Vraer. The location of the original Testament is unknown, but Prendael may have turned it over to senior officials of the church for safekeeping or destruction.

Prendael made the Lesser Testament to resemble the book it is based on. The main physical differences are the original's cover and three of its interior pages. The original's cover appears to be very old, with fissures in the leather like the bark of an old tree, while the Lesser Testament looks new. The original's title page is glossy black with a painted image of a human skull, and no text whatsoever. Another black page halfway through the book shows a skeletal human right hand (and attached to the bottom of this page is a black ribbon bearing Kelemvor's holy symbol multiple times), and the last page is also black with a skeletal tail from some sort of mammal or sea creature. Treasure-seekers should beware should they find what they believe to be the Lesser Testament and discover these black interior pages, for it means that somehow the original Testament has been liberated from the church of Kelemvor and may be primed to kill those who read it. However, the Testament contains all the prayers listed in the Lesser Testament, as well as a few rare and destructive spells.

Unfortunately, Prendael was found murdered on 21 Uktar 1371 DR, and the Lesser Testament was one of the items missing from his ransacked room. Church authorities suspect one of Vraer's disciples (for there are still a few like-minded former Myrkulites in the church) or an agent of Velsharoon are responsible for the murder and robbery. It turns out the latter supposition is true, and a clever thief named Dasmer Stamaraster is now bearing the Lesser Testament back to his masters somewhere in Faerûn. (So far divinations from the church have given only the man's name).

Contents: The Lesser Testament of Vraer contains the following Kelemvorite prayers in order (though specifically written to call upon the power of Kelemvor, the wording of the prayers is adapted easily by other faiths).

Hide from undead
Death dragon (Magic of Faerûn)
Death ward
Ghost knight (new spell, see below)
Kelemvor's grace (new spell, see below)
Undeath to death
As a book of clerical prayers instead of an arcane spellbook, this book serves mainly as a learning tool. A divine spellcaster who has access to the spells on the cleric spell list can learn to cast the two new spells (ghost knight and Kelemvor's grace) just as though that character had independently researched those two spells (see page 180 in the Player's Handbook). It takes one day to learn each new spell from the book, and the reader must be of high enough level to cast the spell to be learned (otherwise, the effort is wasted). The remaining spells in book provide no benefit to the reader. (The author included them to provide the reader with a context for understanding the two new spells.)

The book has only one secondary ability, which is more of a magical lock than a useable power or a trap. While anyone who can read Chondathan can translate the titles of the prayers, the specific words beneath them appear to be nothing but blurs. To make the text readable, a person must use a turn undead attempt; if the turn attempt would affect an undead of 5 or more Hit Dice, the text on all pages becomes readable for 24 hours. Rebuke attempts cause the text to become blurry again (or have no effect if the text is already blurry). Prendael included this protective feature in the hopes of keeping evil clerics from accessing or using the spells within it.

Ghost Knight
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Cleric 4 (Kelemvor)
Components: V, S
Effect: One ghostlike armored servant

This spell functions like unseen servant, except you create a mindless servant that resembles a transparent armored and helmed human. Though the ghost knight appears as an incorporeal creature, it is only a harmless creation of energy and cannot harm or interfere with incorporeal creatures. If ordered to attack, it "draws" an insubstantial weapon and strikes once per round with your base attack bonus, but its attacks deal no damage other than a harmless feeling of cold, and it cannot convey spells, poison, or any other effects; at best its attacks serve as a distraction; the ghost knight can use the aid another action to assist with one character's attack or defense. The ghost knight cannot make attacks of opportunity and does not threaten any spaces.

A ghost knight dissipates if it takes 10 or more points of damage from area attacks.

You can create one ghost knight for every 4 caster levels (maximum 5 knights). You can command them singly or as a group.

Kelemvor's Grace
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 5
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The subject is immune to all death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects. In addition, the subject is immune to undead special attacks that deal ability damage, ability drain, and magical disease (such as mummy rot), even if these attacks do not have a magical source. (For example, the spell prevents poison damage from the poisonous bite of an undead creature.) This spell does not prevent such attacks from undead originating from spells, magic items, or class abilities; only the special attacks from the undead's base nature are affected.

The subject's armor or clothing is considered ghost touch armor, and its armor bonus counts against incorporeal attacks. (A suit of clothing is considered armor that gives +0 AC for this purpose, though it can be enhanced with spells such as magic vestment.)

This spell doesn't remove negative levels that the subject has already gained, nor does it affect the saving throw necessary 24 hours after gaining a negative level.

Kelemvor's grace does not protect against other sorts of attacks even if those attacks might be lethal.

Price: 1,350 gp (spellbook value only), assuming the buyer knows how to make the text readable and has access to the "key." As a book of blurry prayers (if the buyer doesn't know how to unlock it) the LesserTestament is worth no more than 100 gp. Members of the Church of Kelemvor who recognize the book would pay an additional 25% over the book's full value. Members of evil churches, particularly those that use undead, might pay up to 1,000 gp so they could destroy it.

Last Known Bearer: Dasmer Stamaraster, Halruaan assassin.

Dasmer grew up in Halruaa, where he received the standard magical testing and training, but he never felt like putting effort into learning more than the most rudimentary aspects of arcane magic. He was more inclined to sneak into places where he didn't belong and interfere with wizards' experiments. He eventually found himself exiled from Halruaa for such activity (and bears a quest spell that prevents him from returning home). His talents for infiltration and dabbling in magic let him fall in with a group of Velsharan necromancers, who eventually introduced him to some of their religious leaders. These leaders saw Dasmer's potential for spying and stealing from enemies of the faith, and he has been employed on many successful missions of both types. The church elders learned of the Lesser Testament in their searches for the original book and sent Dasmer to infiltrate Prendael's temple as a lay guard with the intent of grabbing the book; killing its creator was just a side benefit. Dasmer is making his way south with the book to a rendezvous point where he'll turn it over to a Velsharan cleric or wizard and get news of his next assignment.

Dasmer has a very casual attitude about everything. He doesn't seem to care about the state of the world, or other peoples' rights to property, or loyalty. His indifference can irritate those with whom he works and socializes. The only things that truly interest him are playing with magic items -- having the fun of being a wizard without all of the work in becoming one -- and visiting his homeland. Dasmer hopes that if he continues to serve the Velsharan church well, they'll remove the spell preventing him from going home and possibly even magically disguise him so he can visit without being recognized. Until that time, he is content to sneak into places of magic, sometimes pocketing choice items for himself as well as the object of his mission. He prefers to work alone, but he has hired local thieves to cause distractions while he makes his entrance. He has no loyalty toward these hirelings, though, and doesn't hesitate to leave them in the path of enemy guards or spells if a job goes bad.

Dasmer Stamaraster: Male human rogue 8; CR 8; Medium humanoid; HD 8d6+8; hp 36; Init +7; Spd 30 ft.; AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 18; Base Atk +6; Grp +6; Atk +7 melee (1d6+1/19-20, +1 short sword) or +7 melee (1d4/19-20, masterwork dagger); Full Atk +7/+2 melee (1d6+1/19-20, +1 short sword) or +7/+2 melee (1d4/19-20, masterwork dagger); SA sneak attack +4d6; SQ evasion, improved uncanny dodge, trap sense +2, trapfinding, uncanny dodge; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +6; Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +5, Balance +6, Climb +11, Diplomacy +1, Disguise +10, Gather Information +3, Hide +12, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +11, Move Silently +14, Open Lock +11, Search +11, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Spellcraft +6, Spot +12, Use Magic Device +12; Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Magical Aptitude, Magical Training.

Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, Dasmer takes no damage with a successful saving throw.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Dasmer can no longer be flanked, since he can react to opponents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single attack. This defense denies another rogue lower than 13th level the ability to sneak attack him by flanking him.

Trap Sense (Ex): Dasmer gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Dasmer can react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even while flat-footed or when struck by an invisible attacker.

Magical Training: Dasmer can cast dancing lights, daze, and mage hand once per day as an arcane spellcaster. Caster level 1st (save DC 12 + spell level; arcane spell failure 15%).

Possessions:+1 studded leather, +1 short sword, masterwork dagger, ring of protection +1, boots of elvenkind, striped toadstool poison (3 doses, see DMG), wand of cure light wounds (4 charges), wand of detect magic (5 charges), wand of invisibility (3 charges), wand of cat's grace (2 charges), 25 gp.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Barb of the Mind (Destructive Enchantment Spells)

The black leather binding of this book is painted in thin wax to protect it from the elements. On the cover is a wizard's rune. Purple stains run across the sides of the pages, as if ink had been spilled upon it when opened to one of the early pages.

Last Record: Baskor Tranth, Waterdeep, 11 Hammer, 1373 DR.

Description: The book's cover is heavy black leather, worked supple but strong. The thin layer of wax over the leather is cracked along the spine in many places from the opening and closing of the book, though this does not reduce its protection. The book is less than ten years old and does not have the fragile feeling of older spellbooks. Originally the rune on the cover was a kind of starburst around an oblong circle, but one of the book's secondary powers has changed that (see below) and now the rune looks like the personal rune of the last sorcerer or wizard to touch it.

The spells and comments within are written in purple ink identical to that spilling down the outer edges of its pages. The first page bears the title of the book and the name of the author, though a large blot of spilled ink warped the page and completely obscured the author's name to an extent that only divination magic can make it possible to determine the name. The handwriting is tight and jagged, as if the words were put on paper in a great hurry.

The book radiates magic (moderate enchantment).

History:Barb of the Mind was written by an unknown Cyricist wizard in the past decade. Given the contents of the book and its secondary powers, the writer may have received a command from Cyric while the god was still mad or perhaps in some prophetic state prior to Cyric's madness. In any case, the name of the wizard remains unknown, and some believe he went insane or died in one of the purges, for which the church of Cyric is known. The book's value as a spellbook kept it in the hands of powerful wizards of the faith (despite the "heresies" of its creator), no doubt supported by delusions of predestination inspired by the changing rune on the cover. It vanished along with its then-current bearer Vhandrast Wyvernscloak, a Cyricist necromancer with ambitions of becoming something he called a "mind-lich." It turned up in the hands of a cleric of Thoth who was going to turn it over to his temple in Mulhorand, but at a stop in Unthalass (Mulhorand-occupied Unther) he discovered the book was missing and presumed it stolen, perhaps by agents of the Northern Wizards of Messemprar. Baskor presumably bought it from a young Untheric wizard named Kazzum of Ungreth, who had come to Cormyr in search of martial-minded adventurers willing to help protect his homeland against Mulhorandi invaders. Baskor left shortly thereafter for Waterdeep, and Kazzum is believed to have returned to Unther with several mercenary adventurers via a portal.

Contents:Barb of the Mind contains the following spells (one of which isn't an enchantment), in order.

Feeblemind
Tasha's hideous laughter
Suggestion
Nybor's mild admonishment (Magic of Faerûn)
Confusion
Nybor's stern reproof (Magic of Faerûn)
Crushing despair
Mind poison (new spell, see below)
Rage
Insanity
Nybor's gentle reminder (Magic of Faerûn)
Interspersed with the spell notations are a total of ten pages of strange delusional rants and five pages containing apparent gibberish. It's possible that these impenetrable passages are actually some kind of code, but to date neither magical nor mundane attempts have deciphered them.

The book has several secondary powers. The first is that the sigil on the cover changes to that of the last wizard or sorcerer who touched the book. This often causes certain egomaniacal mages to believe the book was stolen from them (and forgotten), was presented as an unexpected gift, or was fated to come to them; more mentally balanced mages usually recognize it as a lure or trap. This change has no magical effect on the bearer or any other effect at all. Casters who have not chosen runes for themselves do not trigger this ability.

Any arcane spellcaster who touches the book is subject to a magical compulsion that resembles a suggestion spell. Unless the character makes a Will save (DC 15), the character becomes convinced that the book is valuable and that he should keep it at all costs. A character under this compulsion will not allow the book to leave his possession. The character must touch or carry the book, have it in sight, or keep it secured in a safe place where it is not likely to be stolen. Even so, the character cannot go more than 12 hours without seeing or touching the book. If the character fails to do so, he gains 1 negative level, which cannot be removed until the effect is broken or the character sees or touches the book. Once the compulsion takes effect, it lasts for a day. Each day the character owns the book, however, the save must be repeated. A remove curse spell breaks the compulsion.

The bearer of the book gains the benefits of the Spell Focus (enchantment) feat. This effect also applies to the suggestion spell the book casts on its handler. Furthermore, arcane casters find it surprisingly easy to learn the magical notation used for the spells in this book; after one day of study, any wizard can use the Barb as if it were her own spellbook (no transcription to her personal spellbook is necessary).

The spells prepared from the book are tainted with madness; each time a wizard prepares a spell from the book, she must make a Will saving throw (DC 15) or gain 1 madness point. Once a character's madness points equal her Wisdom score, she goes insane. Usually this madness takes the form of an insanity spell, which pauses only when she no longer has any spells prepared, allowing her time to rest and prepare more spells, only to go mad again once the rest and preparation is finished. During these semilucid moments, she doesn't realize that her behavior the rest of the day was abnormal. A wizard isolated in her tower will believe she fended off invaders with her spent spells, used magic to craft an item she later sold, and so on.

On a failed save, the user notices nothing amiss. With a successful save, the user notes some unidentified magical assault upon her mind, similar to what the character feels when making a successful save against a harmful spell. A Spellcraft check (DC 32) allows a character to determine that some variant of the insanity spell was involved, but not an actual spell

Sorcerers do not get their spells from books, but a sorcerer who adds one of the spells contained in the book to his personal spell list while owning the book is assumed to have been influenced in his spell selection by what he read in the book. The sorcerer risks madness every time he casts one of those learned spells. Once he runs completely out of spells, he gains a respite from the madness, but he once again falls prey to the madness effect right after he has readied his daily spells (see Chapter 11 in the Player's Handbook for more on readying daily spells.)

Neither madness points nor madness from the books can be dispelled, nor can they be detected as functioning magical effects (treat them as instantaneous effects). Madness points can be removed as if they were points of ability drain. However, unless the curative magic automatically eliminates all ability drain at once, the caster has to specifically target the madness points. For example, while a greater restoration spell (which removes all ability drain) automatically removes all madness points, a restoration spell cast on a mad or partly-mad target must be used specifically against the madness. A heal spell removes insanity and any madness points the victim has gained.

Only the unique notation of Barb of the Mind carries this taint. If the spells are copied to another spellbook (and thus written in a wizard's personal notation), or a wizard or sorcerer who knows this spell creates a spellbook, scroll, or other magic item using these spells, their effects are normal and do not cause madness.

Mind Poison
Necromancy
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

Similar to the divine spell poison, you inflict a mentally debilitating poison upon the subject by making a successful melee touch attack. The poison deals 1d6 points of temporary Wisdom damage immediately and another 1d6 points of temporary Wisdom damage 1 minute later. Each instance of damage can be negated by a Fortitude save (DC 10 + one-half caster level + caster's Intelligence or Charisma modifier, for wizards and sorcerers, respectively).

Material Component: A stalk from the poisonous striped toadstool fungus.

Price: 11,000 gp (2,100 gp as a spellbook, 10,000 gp as a spaceless magic item that grants Spell Focus, discounted 1,100 gp for a slow, avoidable curse). Buyers unaware of the secondary powers of the book are unlikely to pay more than the base spellbook cost for it. Members of the Church of Cyric who recognize the book might pay an additional 25% over the book's apparent price. The church of Bane might pay up to normal price to see it destroyed, as would most good temples and organizations.

Last Known Bearer: Baskor Tranth, Cormyrian wizard.

Baskor used to be a confident, swaggering wizard sure of his spellcraft and a veteran of several dangerous quests as a member of the Brightstar, an adventuring company centered out of Priapurl (in the Dragon Coast). A few years ago all of his companions were killed during a disastrous foray into Myth Drannor, and since then he has grown paranoid and cowardly. Fascinated and enamored of the thought of adventuring, he would never consider doing it himself any more after seeing the gruesome deaths of his friends at the hands of demons and phaerimms. Now he drinks heavily and verbally tears into anyone who asks him about his old adventuring days. He is more than happy to aid novice wizards by selling them spells or training them in certain aspects of spellcasting, though he requires that they pay up front. Originally a braggart with a good heart, he is now more selfish than anything else.

Baskor's paranoia shows up in odd ways. He becomes alarmed when he hears people talking about his past, and he has an obsessive need to acquire new combat spells. When he was living in Cormyr, he made a habit of getting less powerful mages drunk, keeping them incapacitated for a week or more, and scouring their spellbooks for new spells. (He never tried this with those he felt were as powerful as he; instead he preferred to trade spells outright.) With the recent war in Cormyr, he found the number of weak mages in the area too few for his tastes, and the number of powerful rivals too many, and he was considering moving to better pastures. When Kazzum the Untheric mage offered to sell Baskor the book, the suggestion spell caught him and he agreed to purchase it. The book fueled his paranoia about hostile spellcasters (such as the War Wizards) who might try to take the book from him or destroy it (which they would do if they knew about it). Shortly after buying the book from Kazzum, he relocated to Waterdeep to protect his new book and to continue his illegal steal-scribings. He might stay in Waterdeep for a few months, then move back to his tower in Suzail once he feels that he is under less scrutiny.

(Baskor's alignment used to be neutral good, but in the past year, fueled by his experiences and mental influence from the Barb of the Mind, his alignment has shifted to neutral.)

Baskor Tranth: Male human wizard 10; CR 10; Medium humanoid; HD 10d4+10; hp 35; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +5; Grp +5; Atk +5 melee (1d6, quarterstaff); Full Atk +5 melee (1d6, quarterstaff); AL N; SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +10; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 11.

Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Craft (alchemy) +10, Decipher Script +8, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Listen +4, Spellcraft +17, Spot +5; Alertness, Bullheaded, Combat Casting, Improved Counterspell, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Still Spell.

Wizard Spells Prepared (4/5/5/3/3/2; save DC 12 + spell level or 13 + spell level for enchantment spells when he carries Barb of the Mind): 0 -- detect magic (2), read magic (2); 1st -- charm person*, comprehend languages, ironguts (Magic of Faerûn), magic missile, protection from evil; 2nd -- Aganazzar's scorcher (Magic of Faerûn), invisibility (2), protection from arrows, web; 3rd -- dispel magic, fly, stinking cloud; 4th -- charm monster*, phantasmal killer, stoneskin; 5th -- baleful polymorph, hold monster*.

Spellbooks**: 0 -- acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, silent portal (Magic of Faerûn), touch of fatigue; 1st -- charm person*, color spray, comprehend languages, detect secret doors, expeditious retreat, feather fall, ironguts (Magic of Faerûn), Kaupaer's skittish nerves (Magic of Faerûn), launch item (Magic of Faerûn), magic missile, mount, protection from evil, shield, Tenser's floating disk, true strike; 2nd -- Aganazzar's scorcher (Magic of Faerûn), battering ram (Magic of Faerûn), bear's endurance, command undead, continual flame, Gedlee's electric loop (Magic of Faerûn), invisibility, life bolt (Magic of Faerûn), protection from arrows, shroud of undeath (Magic of Faerûn), summon undead II (Magic of Faerûn), web; 3rd -- dispel magic, fireball, fly, hold person, lightning bolt, Mestil's acid breath (Magic of Faerûn), scintillating sphere (Magic of Faerûn), spider poison (Magic of Faerûn), stinking cloud, summon monster III, summon undead III (Magic of Faerûn), vampiric touch; 4th -- charm monster*, Darsson's potion (Magic of Faerûn), dimension door, explosive cascade (Magic of Faerûn), fear, phantasmal killer, spell enhancer (Magic of Faerûn), stoneskin, thunderlance, wall of fire; 5th -- baleful polymorph, cloudkill, cone of cold, dismissal, firebrand (Magic of Faerûn), hold monster*, lesser ironguard, shadow hand (Magic of Faerûn).

* Enchantment spell.

**Baskor has also learned all 2nd- through 5th-level spells from the Barb of the Mind book, which he is using as a personal spellbook.

Possessions:Bracers of armor +2, ring of protection +2, quarterstaff, cloak of resistance +2, 80 gp. Baskor also has an extensive collection of scrolls, and he normally carries at least seven attack spells on scrolls with him at all times (drawn from the spells in his spellbooks). These scrolls are always spells he hasn't prepared that day. Additional scrolls are kept in a safe area known only to him.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

A Harper's Companion, Volume III
A Collection of Bard Songs, with a
Touch of Magic for Ease in Use

This leatherbound book has its title burnt into it, and its title uses an old Cormyrian dialect of the Common tongue. Glued to the front cover are five parallel harp strings running left to right, like the lines of a musical staff.

Last Record: Halarim Threesilver, the Thunder Peaks of Cormyr.

Description: The book's soft cow leather cover is protected with some sort of alchemical hardener to prevent scratching from day-to-day wear. The title was burned into the cover using a set of small hot wires shaped into Thorass characters, which resulted in black marks that stand out well from the tan-colored leather. The five harp strings crossing the cover are from some kind of handharp in common use around 150 years ago. The steady-handed inscriptions on the vellum interior pages were made with fine black ink, and the text is easily readable at arm's length due to the large script used. The book radiates magic (moderate transmutation).

History:A Harper's Companion is a series of songbooks assembled by Cressaed Wood, a skilled Cormyrian bard who lived around 1200 DR. Though talented in magic, his interests were more in music and teaching than adventuring, and after he made a name for himself he founded a small school in Arabel to teach music and magic to persons of talent. He wrote A Harper's Companion as a teaching tool for his students, and he presented each one with a copy of the first volume upon graduation. Wood gave out later volumes to students as they proved themselves of sufficient skill. Each volume is presented as a songbook with notes on how to derive bard spells or musical magic from the song, and each covers a different level of power (Volume I contains cantrips, Volume II has 1st-level spells, and Volume III has 2nd-level spells).

Because he preferred smaller groups to large classrooms, he taught only about a dozen students before he was found dead in his bed, a victim of poison. Some suspect that an evil group had him killed because they suspected he was a Harper, though no known Harper has declared whether he was or not. Most of the dozen finished copies of Volume I have been located and exist in various private libraries (including Candlekeep), and of the five presumed copies of Volume II, three are known (one in Candlekeep, one in the hands of a Master Harper, and the third in a private collection in Waterdeep). Some believe that Wood finished only two copies of Volume III; one of those disappeared with its owner shortly after it was presented, the other became a family heirloom to the Ironclaw family of bards in Suzail.

Scholars think that Halarim Threesilver found the missing copy of Volume III in 1371 DR, for he hinted as much in a letter home dated 21 Eleint of that year. In his letter he mentioned returning home after a planned short foray against an orc tribe in the Thunder Peaks of Cormyr. Since that time he and his companions (a half-orc, dwarf, and Waterdhavian wizard, according to previous letters) have not been seen and are presumed dead at the hands of the orcs; many assume that their belongings, including the copy of A Harper's Companion, now are with the orcs.

Contents:A Harper's Companion contains seven folk songs that were well-known at the time Wood wrote the book, and all have notations on how each can be used as a bard spell or as part of bardic music. They are presented for singing or playing on a handharp, though transposing the notes allows each piece to be played on most other instruments. The first few pages are a brief introduction to the subject matter, and Wood wrote this text for readers with some skill in music. The appendix explains how the secondary power of the book is activated (see below). The book is not trapped.

The book's songs (and the spells they represent) are as follows.

Arveene the Suspicious Wife (invisibility)
Ballad of the Mad King (rage)
The Doom of Steddman Dunn (nightmare lullaby from Magic of Faerûn)
Hastel's Drinking Song (delay poison)
O, Were that I a Bird (animal messenger)
Rand the Auspicious Beggar (tongues)
Take My Hand, My Love (cure moderate wounds)
These songs are not scrolls, but rather something similar to the magical notations in a wizard's spellbook. Wood wrote this book as a primer that included low-level bardic music he thought useful. He intended to have it work as a guide for young bards by steering their spell selection in a way he felt was appropriate. If a bard gains a level that allows him to learn a new 2nd-level spell, he can learn any of the listed spells. (Though most of them are common spells, nightmare lullaby is uncommon enough that some bards might not know about its existence until seeing the book). Spellcasters who do not possess the ability to gain bard spells cannot use the spells, though the spells in this book may serve as inspiration for spell research.

The secondary power of the book is available only to bards. If the book is held in hand and opened to the song "The Doom of Steddman Dunn," a bard can expend an available spell slot of 2nd-level or higher to cast the nightmare lullaby spell as if it was on his spells known list. For example, Lithuila is a 5th-level moon elf bard who doesn't know the spell nightmare lullaby. With the book in hand and opened to the right song, she can expend an available 2nd-level (or higher) spell slot to cast nightmare lullaby as if she did know it. She can continue to do this as long as she holds the book open to that page and has spell slots available. She can apply metamagic feats and other feats (such as Spell Focus) as normal, just as if she were casting a spell she actually knew. There is no limit to the number of times per day the book can be used in this fashion, since its magic merely provides the knowledge of the spell rather than the ability to cast it or the power of magic. Removing the pages containing the nightmare lullaby song from the book destroys the secondary magic of those pages.

Price: 5,000 gp. This includes the book's secondary ability; if those pages were removed, it would be worth approximately 100 gp per spell remaining, similar to a wizard's spellbook. The Threesilver family would be willing to pay slightly more for the book if proof of Halarim's death can be verified to their satisfaction (otherwise they are mostly uninterested in the book). Candlekeep would pay about 10,000 gp to complete their collection or would accept it as a payment for the library's entrance fee. Certain Cormyrian scholars and bards might pay around 6,000 gp for the book due to its historical significance.

Last Known Bearer: Halarim Threesilver, Sembian bard.

Halarim, the fourth child of six, comes from a moderately wealthy family that owns several Sembian jewelry shops. The youngest son in the family, he knew his older brothers would inherit the family business. As a result, he had little drive to learn much about business and instead focused his efforts on music and telling grand stories so that he could entertain women. He has little natural talent for music but works hard to maintain his skill with the harp. He fell into adventuring after meeting a beautiful young wizard from Waterdeep, who rebuffed his advances but intrigued him enough to join her friends (a dwarf and a half-orc) on various trips. He and his new companions worked as mercenaries in Sembia, Cormyr, and the Western Heartlands, which he wrote about in letters home to his family. According to his letters, the team took on several scouting missions in Cormyr and western Sembia so that they could give reports regarding the aftermath of the war against the Devil Dragon and the ghazneths. Presumably it was on one of these forays that he acquired A Harper's Companion, possibly from one of the gangs of orcs fleeing to the Thunder Peaks. The last letter from Halarim describes their intent to find the lair of those orcs and shows how they hoped to find similar items of interest. (Though the tribe is not mentioned in the letter, Halarim's half-orc ally probably knew where to find them.)

Halarim Threesilver: Male human bard 5; CR 5; Medium humanoid; HD 5d6+5; hp 22; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; Atk +6 melee (1d6+1/18-20, +1 rapier); Full Atk +6 melee (1d6+1/18-20, +1 rapier); SQ bardic knowledge +6, bardic music (countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire courage) 5/day; AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +5; Str 11, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12.

Skills and Feats: Appraise +3, Balance +3, Bluff +11, Concentration +6, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +5, Intimidate +4, Jump +1, Knowledge (local -- Sembia) +9, Listen +8, Move Silently +3, Perform (string instruments) +11, Sense Motive +2, Sleight of Hand +4, Spot +3, Tumble +5, Use Magic Device +5; Dodge, Silver Palm, Weapon Finesse.

Bardic Music: Halarim can use his song or poetics to produce magical effects on those around him.

Countersong (Su): Halarim can counter magical effects that depend on sound by making a Perform check for each round of countersong. Any creature within 30 feet of him that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack can use Halarim's Perform check result in place of his or her saving throw if desired. Countersong lasts for 10 rounds.

Fascinate (Sp): Halarim can cause a single creature within 90 feet that can see and hear him to become fascinated with him. Halarim's Perform check result is the DC for the opponent's Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascination lasts 5 rounds.

Inspire Competence (Su): Halarim can use his music or poetics to aid an ally with a task. The ally must be within 30 feet and able to see and hear him, and he must be able to see the ally. The ally gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as he or she can hear Halarim's music. The effect lasts as long as Haralim concentrates, up to a maximum of 2 minutes. Haralim can't inspire competence in himself. Inspire competence is a mind-affecting ability.

Inspire Courage (Su): Any ally who can hear Halarim receives a +1 morale bonus on saves against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear him.

Bardic Knowledge: Halarim can make a bardic knowledge check with a bonus of +6 to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places.

Bard Spells Known (3/4/1; save DC 11 + spell level; 0% chance of arcane spell failure): 0 -- daze, detect magic, ghostharp (Magic of Faerûn), light, message, prestidigitation; 1st -- charm person, cure light wounds, harmony (Magic of Faerûn), herald's call (Magic of Faerûn); 2nd -- heroism, invisibility, nightmare lullaby (Magic of Faerûn).

Possessions: Masterwork chain shirt, +1 rapier, cloak of resistance +1, masterwork handharp, elixir of love, oil of bless weapon, potion of cure light wounds, potion of eagle's splendor, potion of shield of faith +2, 275 gp worth of coin and small gems.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**A link below to the Candlekeep collection of tomes from the Wizards of the Coast Official Website**

www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/FR_20001129b_P2.asp

[ancientempathy]

feanorre said:

**A link below to the Candlekeep collection of tomes from the Wizards of the Coast Official Website**

www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/FR_20001129b_P2.asp

Now thats awesome

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**The Savage Frontier 2nd ed. AD&D page 60**

The Tome of Twelve Seals

Thick, red dragon hide covered book with 12 leather pages that contain a single rune inscribed on a gold or lead seal, the 7 remaining gold seals summon an entity under the user's command for 3d6 turns: page 1 summons a 16 HD air elemental, page 2 summons an 8 HD fire elemental, page 4 summons a 12 HD earth elemental, page 5 summons a dragon horse, page 8 summons a gibbering mouther, page 9 summons a jann, and page 10 summons a marid, when used a gold seal turns to lead in a blinding flash.

See reply #25 below for the most updated version of this item.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**DM's Sourcebook to the Realms, Second ed. AD&D**

The Alcaister

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, read magic; 1--charm person, erase, hold portal, identify, magic missile, protection from evil; 2--arcane lock, darkvision, detect thoughts, gust of wind, locate object, magic mouth, mirror image, pyrotechnics, rope trick, spider climb; 3--clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, flame arrow, haste, hold person, slow, water breathing; 4--arcane eye, charm monster, dimension door, ice storm, remove curse; 5--bigby's interposing hand, cone of cold, feeblemind; 6--antimagic field, geas/quest, reconstruction (unique); 7--finger of death, reverse gravity, simulacrum; 8--body sympathy (unique); protected by a permanent coating of contact poison; last page contains a magical rune that casts plane shift (to a random plane) when the command word is spoken.


Aubayreer's Workbook

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--dancing lights, light, message, read magic; 1--burning hands, enlarge person, identify; 2--arcane lock, detect thoughts; 3--dispel magic, explosive runes, fireball; 4--hailcone (unique), phase trap (unique), thunderlance (unique).


Book of Num "The Mad"

Unique Spellbook; Druid Spells: 0--purify food and drink; 1--faerie fire, hide from animals, obscuring mist, pass without trace; 2--fire trap, hold animal, tree shape; 3--snare, water breathing; 4--briartangle (unique), summon nature's ally IV, thorn spray (unique); 5--commune with nature, control winds, tree stride; 6--repel wood; 7--control weather, death chariot (unique), transmute metal to wood.


The Book of the Silver Talon

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--detect magic, message, read magic; 1--burning hands (unique variant), comprehend languages, erase, identify, ray of enfeeblement, shocking grasp, shield; 2--arcane lock, darkness (unique variant), darkvision, gust of wind (unique variant), knock, protection from arrows, web; 3--blink (unique variant), dispel magic.


Bowgentle's Book

Unique Spellbook; Cleric Spells: 1--detect evil; Spells: 0--light, mending, prestidigitation, read magic; 1--hold portal, identify, magic weapon, sleep; 2--arcane lock, bull's strength, continual flame, darkness, darkvision, detect thoughts, dispel silence (unique), knock, levitate, locate object, magic mouth, protection from arrows, pyrotechnics, rope trick, see invisibility; 3--blink, dispel magic, fireball, fly, hold person, leomund's tiny hut, lightning bolt, magic circle against evil, slow, tongues, water breathing; 4--arcane eye, bowgentle's fleeting journey (unique), charm monster, confusion, dimension door, fire shield, lesser globe of invulnerability, polymorph, remove curse; 5--bigby's interposing hand, cone of cold, hold monster, passwall, wall of force.

Briel's Book of Shadows

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--prestidigitation; 1--scatterspray (FRCS 73), shield; 2--pyrotechnics; contains information on the magical and medicinal use of unicorn horns and instructions for constructing a homunculus.

The Chambeeleon

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 3--water breathing, fly, lightning bolt; 4--fire shield (chill shield only), ice storm; 5--cone of cold, summon monster V (water elemental only); 6--disintegrate, control water; 7--banishment, drawmij's instant summons, reverse gravity, sequester, summon monster VII; 9--imprisonment, prismatic sphere.


Glanvyl's Workbook

Unique Spellbook; Druid Spells: 4--smoke ghost (unique); Spells: 0--detect magic, ghost sound, prestidigitation; 1--nystul's magic aura; 2--leomund's trap; 3--haste, lightning bolt.


The Nathlum

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 3--glyph of warding: zuth (unique variant), glyph of warding: yammas (unique variant), glyph of warding: hlack (unique variant), glyph of warding: curtal (unique variant); 8--maze; contains recipes for the following poisons: Lhurdas, Varrakas, Prespra, Belpren, Orvas, Huld, Jeteye, Ulcrun, and Dwarfbane; causes 2-4 points of damage to those of good alignment who touch or read the evil book.


Nchaser's Eiromancia

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 4--nchaser's glowing globe (unique); 5--nulathoe's ninemen (unique); 6--control water; 7--statue; Protected by a poison needle trap.


Orjalun's Arbatel

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--mending; 1--charm person, identify; 3--dispel magic; 4--encrypt (unique), secure (unique); 6--guards and wards.


The Red Book of War

Unique Spellbook; Cleric Spells: 0--detect magic; 1--bless, command, cure light wounds, remove fear; 2--augury, hold person, resist energy, spiritual weapon; 3--animate dead, continual flame, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, holy flail (unique), locate object, magic circle against evil, prayer, remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, remove disease, speak with dead; 4--discern lies, divination, neutralize poison, restoration, reveal (unique), tongues; 5--atonement, commune, dispel evil, flame strike, raise dead, true seeing; 6--blade barrier, geas/quest, heal, wind walk, word of recall; 7--bladebless (unique), regenerate, resurrection, sacred link (unique); 9--gate; Druid Spells: 6--stone tell; Spells: 3--feign death (T&B 89); glows with a permanent red faerie fire, sacred relic of the Temple of Tempus.


Sabirine's Specular

Unique Spellbook; Cleric Spells: 1--detect evil; Ranger Spells: 3--blade thirst (MoF); Spells: 0--catfeet (unique), light, open/close, prestidigitation, snatch (unique), spark (unique); 1--comprehend languages, enlarge person, nystul's magic aura, sleep; 2--detect thoughts, gust of wind; 3--clairaudience/clairvoyance, tongues; 4--charm monster, merald's murderous mist (unique), polymorph; 5--bigby's interposing hand; 6--disintegrate, geas/quest; 7--phase door; 8--spell engine (unique); contains an unknown magical useful item, as in a robe of useful items.


The Scalamagdrion

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--message; 1--erase, identify, unseen servant; 2--arcane lock, invisibility, levitate; 3--blink, dispel magic, flame arrow, fly, tongues; 4--lesser globe of invulnerability, remove curse; 5--feeblemind, permanency, summon monster V, wall of force; 6--disintegrate; 7--delayed blast fireball, finger of death; contains a portal to an unknown plane or extradimensional space where a Scalamagdrion (MoF 188) dwells.


Seven Fingers (The Life of Thorstag)

Unique Book; Detailed account of the life of the adventurer, Thorstag. Contains detailed description of the Void card from a deck of many things, a recipe for making Keoghtom's Ointment, and a detailed inventory of the dowries belonging to the missing princesses Elmyra and Hlassela of Cormyr.


The Spellbook of Daimos

Unique Spellbook; Druid Spells: 4--reincarnate; Spells: 1--identify, magic missile, summon monster I; 2--invisibility, levitate, web; 3--fireball, slow, suggestion; 4--animate dead, confusion, fear, fire trap, polymorph; 5--cloudkill, feeblemind, flame shroud (unique), watchware (unique); 6--antimagic field, disintegrate, geas/quest, globe of invulnerability, repulsion; 7--bigby's grasping hand, sequester; 8--greater shout, incendiary cloud, mind blank; 9--astral projection, gate, imprisonment, power word stun; protected by a permanent magic mouth which says, in common, "Put me down or die" when touched by a creature.


The Tome of the Covenant

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 2--aganazzar's scorcher (FRCS 66); 4--ilyykur's mantle (unique), presper's moonbow (unique); 5--grimwald's graymantle (FRCS 71).


The Tome of the Unicorn

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 1--charm person; 2--darkness, detect thoughts, scare; 3--dispel magic; 4--animate dead, arcane eye, charm monster, fear, fire trap, polymorph; 5--permanency; 7--finger of death, phase door, power word blind, statue; 8--clone, trap the soul; 9--gate, imprisonment, power word kill; contains information on how to construct stone and iron golems; reflects magical damage as spell turning; 7% chance readers of the imprisonment and power word kill spells will suffer effects of an imprisonment trap; back cover contains an extradimensional space that lairs the demilich, Shoon.


The Workbook

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 3--laeral's dancing dweomer (unique), tasirin's haunted sleep (unique); 4--archveult's skybolt (unique), caligarde's claw (unique), spendelard's chaser (unique), tulrun's tracer (unique); 9--dismind (unique).

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From: The Magister, 2nd ed. AD&D**

The Book of Bats

Unique Spellbook; Cleric Spells: 4--censure (unique); Spells: 3--feign death (T&B 89), magic circle against good, slow; 4--beltyn's burning blood (UE 48), dimension door, fear, polymorph, animate dead, wall of fire; 5--cloudkill, cone of cold, feeblemind, hold vapor (unique), telekinesis; 6--antimagic field, geas, shaeroon's scimitar (unique), wall of iron; 7--finger of death, project image, summon monster VII.


Book of Thorns

Unique Spellbook; Druid Spells: 3--call lightning, greenwood (unique); 5--control vapor (unique), wall of thorns.


Caddelyn's Workbook

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 5--caddelyn's catastrophe (unique); 9--spell ward (unique); includes details for constructing a magemask.


Detho's Libram

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--dancing lights, detect magic, light, mending, read magic; 1--burning hands, catapult (unique), detho's delirium (unique), enlarge person, erase, feather fall, hold portal, jump, unseen servant; 2--continual flame, decastave (UE 49), flying fist (unique), knock, see invisibility, spider climb; 3--clairaudience/clairvoyance.


Jaluster's Orizon

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 2--rope trick, quimby's enchanting gourmet (unique), waves of weariness (unique); 3--feign death (T&B 89); 4--adelimer's aural augmentor (unique); protected by a Tome Guardian.


The Libram of Lathintel

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 0--ghost sound, light, read magic; 1--enlarge person, feather fall, sleep, spider eyes (unique), unseen servant; 2--invisibility, locate object, arcane lock; 3--dispel magic, fly, ghostpipes (unique), hover (unique), tongues.


Selvar's Ineffable Conjurations, Magicks and Phantasms

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 1--color spray; 2--silent image, hypnotic pattern, invisibility, magic mouth, mirror image, plague (unique), see invisibility, web; 3--Blacklight (FRCS 67), dispel magic, haste, mailed might (unique), major image, hold person, water breathing; 4--fear, ice storm, phantasmal killer, remove curse; 5--hold monster, shadow evocation, wall of force; 6--globe of invulnerability, power word silence, shadow walk, turn shadow (unique); 7--khelben's warding whip (unique); 8--maze.


The Shadowtome

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 3--dispel magic, missile mastery (unique), night scar (unique); 4--animate dead, polymorph; 5--cloudkill, lesser ironguard (FRCS 71); 7--finger of death.


Shandaril's Workbook

Unique Spellbook; Cleric Spells: 1--detect evil (botched); Bard Spells: 2--circle dance (MoF 84); Spells: 0--dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound; 1--burning hands, hold portal, shocking grasp, sleep (botched); 2--gust of wind, rope trick, shatter, skyhook (unique); 3--dispel magic, leomund's tiny hut, suggestion, tongues; 4--confusion, dimension door, polymorph, wall of ice; 5--firebrand (MoF 94); protected by the magical glyph Shandaril's Tracer.


The Tome of Rathdeen

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 2--ray of ondovir (unique); 3--icelance (unique); 4--polymorph (partial); 5--xult's magical doom (unique).


Unique Mageries

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 1--magic missile; 2--arcane lock, gust of wind, darkvision; 3--dispel magic, feign death (T&B 89), stinking cloud, tongues, water breathing; 4--arcane eye, fear, polymorph, remove curse, wall of sand (unique); 5--telekinesis; 6--anti-magic field; 7--nezram's ruby ray (unique), spelltrap (unique), power word blind; 9--spellstrike (unique).


Vaerendroon's Ineffable Enchantments

Unique Spellbook; Spells: 2--dire charm (unique); 6--anti-magic field, disintegrate; 7--vipergout (MoF 130), the simbul's synastodweomer (unique); 9--astral projection.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From: Magic of Faerun 3rd ed.**

Book of Blood

Spellbook; can summon a yeth hound 1/day, casts finger of death 1/day which permanently drains 1 hp from the reader, can contain up to 45 spells, waterproof and fireproof; Weight 3 lb.
CL 13th; Craft Wondrous Item, finger of death, summon monster V.21,300 (3rd)


Joyous Star Song

Silver scroll displays symbols of Milil and Lliira, when inscription is sung the scroll grants a bard one additional use of the bardic music ability per day with a +5 sacred bonus on the Perform check. CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, enthrall, suggestion, creator must be a bard of at least 10th level. 5,800 (3rd)

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**Wizards of the Coast Official Website, Mintipers Chapbook www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mc/mc20011031a**

Ghost Stories of the Great Forest

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**Wizards of the Coast Official Website: Mintipers Chapbook www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mc/mc20010829c**

The Nether Scrolls

The Nether Scrolls are 100 sheets of platinum and gold whose discovery precipitated the rise of Netheril as an empire of human wizards. Consisting of two sets of 50 scrolls each, the Nether Scrolls are believed to have been penned by the Creator Races and collectively compose the foundation on which the Art of modern wizardry is built. One entire set, known to the elves as the Quess’Ar’Teranthvar and said to have been transformed by an elven High Mage into a slim, golden beech tree with leaves of gold, was held in Myth Drannor in Windsong Tower ere the City of Song was overrun by fiends, but its current location is not known. The fate of the other set of Nether Scrolls is wholly unknown, but, at various times over the years, a series of unsubstantiated claims have been made that one or two of the Nether Scrolls have been recovered, leading some sages to speculate that this set is no longer a single collection but individual scrolls scattered about the Realms.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From: Code of the Harpers 2nd ed. AD&D**

Scroll of Xornform

Reading Time—6
XP Value: 2,000 GP Value: 18,000
This scroll can be activated by whispering or mouthing its words silently; it need not be read aloud, full-voiced. It enables the reader, or another being touched by the reader and willed to be the magical recipient by the reader, during reading, to phase through stone and metal. This effect extends to any non-living items attached to, or carried by, a single living being (i.e., all clothes, weapons, gear, and carried treasure, even a carried corpse). It lasts for 1d4+12 rounds, and permits the affected being to pass through shackles, bars, chains, and stone wall (typically being used to escape prisons). Its name comes from the shadowy, xorn-like illusory form that the scroll's magic creates around the actual body of the affected being. The magic does not allow sight through stone, but it does allow MV 9 through rock, and the retention of a sense of direction (i.e., the way I was heading, or that direction in which I intended to move when I entered the stone; so that a prisoner in a cell could move upward to a higher floor, or down to a lower one, even though he had no room to move in that direction in the cell prior to use of the scroll). A being still encased in stone when the magic expires is affected as if by an imprisonment spell. A being partially free of stone when the magic expires is ejected from the stone, but suffers 5d6 points of damage and must roll a successful system shock survival roll to remain alive. A move earth spell cast on the area in which the phasing being is located hurls him backward 30 feet through the rock and stuns him for one round. If a passwall spell is cast on the immediate volume of rock or metal that contains a phasing being, he is exposed by the magic (the rock or stone is shoved back from around him, allowing other attacks to reach him), and he suffers an immediate 1d10+10 points of damage. If the phasing being is struck by a phase door spell (direct touch contact is required; an attack roll is normally necessary), he is instantly slain.


Scroll of the Harpers

Reading Time—2
XP Value: 2,000 GP Value: 8,000
This scroll displays the symbol of the Harpers (the crescent moon and harp inside four stars), encircled by 12 command words. If the moon or harp is touched while one of the words is spoken, the scroll takes effect. Any Harper pin(s) within 60 feet of the scroll are transformed into the form of a real, magical sort of harp for 2d12 rounds. The type of harp is determined by which word is read; each word corresponds to one of the ten magical harps that appear in this chapter, plus the two magical harps detailed in the Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set (DMs lacking that source should substitute the two magical harps detailed in the DMG.) Any Harper pins involved are not damaged by the magic, and return to their own forms upon expiration of the magic. If none are within range of the scroll, the magic does not work, but it is not wasted or discharged. Such a magical harp form has all of its usual powers, plus the power to function as a musical instrument of the finest make and tuning. It is weightless and will float, stationary, if released. While playing music (not chords or tunes that unleash magical attacks), it can be released by its player and left to play on by itself, repeating whatever tunes were played earlier (if none were, the music is the last tune played by the harp's activator, on anything, or sung) with minor variations. It plays on by itself until the player who released it touches it again, or the magic expires; whereupon it turns back into a pin and drops to the ground. (To make a scroll, a wizard must be familiar with all of the magical harp types. Such mages' beyond the obvious ones such as Elminster, Khelben, Laeral, Alustriel, and Shambarin of Berdusk are rare indeed. A wizard familiar with only a few of the harp types could make a scroll that permits transformation into only those fewer types with which he is familiar, which would have correspondingly lesser XP and GP Values.)

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From: Elves of Evermeet 2nd ed. AD&D**

Book of Eons

This massive book is a full three feet wide by four feet tall when closed, weighing more than 200 pounds. It is bound in silver, gold, and electrum, and each page is hand-illuminated with bright colors and phantasmagorical images. Among other things, the book is a grand history of the elves on Toril, with much valuable information about ancient deeds and heroes. The book also provides considerable magical knowledge and wisdom. Persons reading the book (regardless of class) receive a permanent +1 bonus to their Wisdom. In addition, the magical procedures described in this book increase a mage’s chance of successfully creating a magical item by an additional +1 per level (DMG, Chapter 10). Elves reading the entire book (a task that will take at least a year of continuous study) will receive 100,000 experience points.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

**From: Volo's Guide to all Things Magical 2nd ed. AD&D**

Latheebree's Folio of Reversal

XP Value: 4,000 GP Value: 20,000
At least six of these reddish brown, nondescript, oxhide-bound chapbooks exist, although the true number of copies may be 10 times that or more. A Latheebree's folio of reversal is two handwidths across by three handwidths in height and about as thick as a large human male’s little finger. It contains only three pages of the finest vellum. The front and back pages are blank, and the middle one contains beautiful swash calligraphy that sets forth words of utter nonsense. If and only if, a being reads (looks at) every single character on the page and is a creature who has been affected by magic during its lifetime, the power of the folio is awakened. Cursory examinations of the book or detailed perusal by creatures who have never been touched by magic have no effect. An activated folio removes the effect of the last magic cast on the reader and then itself teleports away. A folio of reversal glows with a sudden blue light as it teleports away. Readers are warned that its flight breaks magical barriers, bindings, and tracers. There is no known way for any creature to travel with it or follow it. It is this property of teleportation to random locations elsewhere in Faerûn that makes counting the number of Lathebree's folio of reversal in existence so difficult. The magic the folio of reversal reverses can be anything from the damage caused by a magic missile to a curse and can have affected the reader as from one second to over hundreds of years ago, but the folio removes its effects in the present rather than returning the reading creature to its condition at the time the magic affected it. For example, a female bard who was sorely wounded and received multiple healing spells would lose the hit points bestowed by the last of those spells, but would not be returned to her life-threatening state of the time; any system shock survival rolls would not have to be repeated. Lathebree's folio of reversal cannot reverse the effects of a wish, limited wish, reincarnation, raise dead, or resurrection spell, or, obviously, any magical effects imposed directly upon a creature by a divine being; however, it can reverse the effects of a slay living or destruction spell.

Latheebree's Pantograph Pages

XP Value:6,000 GP Value:30,000
A Latheebree's pantograph pages is a tome bound in polished slabs of duskwood with its corners capped in copper and with pages of the finest parchment. Over 40 copies of this useful tome are known to exist, and some sages put the number as high as 70. Mages who have such books tend to hold onto them; and keep their possession as secret as possible. All known copies of this work are three handwidths across and four-and-a-half handwidths high, but they vary in the number of their interior pages, having 1d10+6 when found. When a Lathebree's pantograph pages book was made, all its pages were blank, but whenever a blank page is placed face-down and flat over a complete, functional written spell in another book, on a scroll, or even graven in stone, the page acquires a copy of the spell without altering or discharging the original. The pantograph pages books can thus be used to make (possibly unauthorized) copies of the magic of others or build a library of spells that the book's owner is not yet powerful enough to use. However, writings (even nonmagical ones) concealed by a secret page spell, explosive runes and other harmful written traps, and similar encryptions and flourishes in an original are precisely and perfectly copied without being discharged or activated. They await the reader in the pantograph pages as well as the original when copying is complete.

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

Tome of Twelve Seals:

This strange book has a cover made of red
dragon hide and 12 pages made of thick black leather. Each leather
page has one rune-inscribed metal disk attached to it, like a seal on
an urn, door, or drawer. Although all 12 seals were originally shiny
gold, now seven have turned to dull, charred lead, their magic spent.
Each seal contains a summoning spell tied to a different creature,
and the runes on the seal are the command words to activate the
seal. An activated seal summons the appropriate creature, which
serves for 17 rounds as if conjured by a summon monster spell. Once
used, a seal’s gold turns into lead and loses its power.
Although only one tome of 12 seals has been found, other forms
of this book may exist with different creatures bound into its seals
or with a different cover. Some versions may even contain normal
spellbook pages or maps to old treasures.
The remaining five seals of the one known tome summon the following
creatures: huge air elemental, large fire elemental, huge
earth elemental, gibbering mouther, janni.

From the More Marches Web Enhancement

[Masterbard Alyster Darkharp]

From the Leaves of Learning Web Enhancement