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  • Writer's pictureMark S. Cookman

A Library for Your Haunted Castle


We're here again to discuss more scary things to use for your own horror games in whatever setting they might be in. The usual number of items for these posts is 20, but because I have been so lax in posting lately I thought you deserved more, so I decided to give you a library of spooky tomes. If you mix and match the elements below, you will be able to create a wall full of interesting books to be found in a spooky old manor, alchemist's lab, or wizard's tower in nearly no time at all. There are 2 tables. The first contains names of works, authors, and the format for the work. The second table shows the condition that a book (or books) is in, and something a little bit weird about the book(s). The tables were split up for ease of reading. Enjoy and Happy Hauntings!

  1. Silver Razor: A Guildmaster's Tale Stephanie Regina Frost A Sheepskin Scroll

  2. Arcane Material Component Substitutions Kelson Gryffineous Loose Pages Stuffed inside a Book Cover

  3. The Ancient Prayers of Creation Father John Dickerson A Large Leather-Bound Book

  4. A Conclusive Study of the Hive Mind Pierre Picot Deboufollet Floyd II A Set of 6 Small Books

  5. The War Atlas of Cyregar Sir Benjamin Button A Single, Locking Tome

  6. The Legend of Khem-Ra-Sen-Khek Wajeeb al Fayad A Bag with 8 Scrolls

  7. Death Eternal: The Blessed Peace Sultan Abdur Rahmaan Basi A Huge Illuminated Book Open on a Table

  8. The Canticle of the Lost Knight Sultana Quisma Assan A 16 Book Set Bound in a Tapestry Cloth

  9. The Myserious Caves of the White Sea The djinn Haajid Khamal A Large Papyrus Scroll

  10. Frozen Sunrise of Ancient Ones The priestess Yolyamanizuma A Fancy Illuminated Manuscript

  11. The Ledger of the Damned Grand Lichtor Zolan Dax A Set of 4 Large Books, each 5" thick

  12. No Title is Listed No Author is Listed A Small Volume, less than 100 pages

  13. The Title is Obscured The Name is Obscured A Collection of 50 Volumes containing Rubbings from Stone Tablets

  14. Tea for the Soul The sage Xin Yang An Engraved Wooden Puzzle Box with a Complex Solution

  15. The Life and Times of Aldar the Fifth Lord Fong of Jinhai Detailed on a Wall-Sized Tapestry

  16. The Blood Rituals of the Saanga Tribesmen The alchemist Sorek ben Yigal Hand-Written on 11 Large Pigskin Scrolls

  17. The Final Prayer of the Tengu Fa The wise mother Shirat bat Yidi A Huge Papyrus Scroll, 28" in Diameter

  18. The Grand Encyclopedia Arcania The sorceror Hun Batz A Set of 30 Hand-Bound Volumes

  19. A Whispering in the Night Tiberius Gabinius Vergilius A Magical Tome that Reduces in Size for Carrying, then Expands again for Reading

  20. Secrets Beyond the Golden Ratio Lord Simon Pascal 36 Small Clay Tablets

  1. Completely Unreadable due to Age The Character Holding this book Feels Cold and Wet.

  2. 75% Unreadable due to Water Damage The Character Holding this book Suddenly Reeks of Liver and Onions.

  3. 50% Unreadable due to Dry Rot The Character Holding this book Smells Cinnamon and Vanilla.

  4. 25% Unreadable due to Insect Damage The Character Holding this book Smells Sulpher and Pitch.

  5. 10% Unreadable and 10% Missing due to Fire Damage The Character Holding this book Hears a Cleric Giving a Sermon.

  6. 25% Missing -- Pages Torn Out The Character Holding this book for Greater than 5 Minutes Becomes Invisible.

  7. 50% Missing -- Pages Covered with Ink The Character Holding this book Smells Blood and Offal.

  8. 75% Missing -- Purposely Redacted The Character Holding this book Suddenly Tastes Raw Sewage.

  9. Extremely Sloppy Text is Hard to Read The Character Holding this book Sees a Demon Clown Juggling.

  10. Text is Faint but 100% Intact The Character Holding this book Turns the Color Purple for 10 Minutes.

  11. Clear Solid Text that is Easy to Read The Character Holding this book Suffers No Effect

  12. Sections of the Text are Underlined The Character Holding this book Smells Wet, Rotting Material.

  13. 10% of the Book has Margin Notes The Character Holding this book Feels Like he (or she) has been Dipped in Cold Slime.

  14. 25% of the Pages have Notes on them The Character Holding this book Becomes Argumentative.

  15. 50% of the Pages are Annotated The Character Holding this book Sees a Flash of Past Events.

  16. 75% of the Book is Filled with Notes The Character Holding this book Feels a Hot, Dry Desert Wind Blow Across their Face.

  17. The Book has been 100% Annotated by a Previous Reader The Character Holding this book Tastes Bananas and Coconut.

  18. A Stand-Alone Analysis of the Book by Another Author is also here The Character Holding this book Feels Full, as if he (or she) just ate a Huge meal.

  19. The Text in the Book is Clear, But Means Nothing (Magic is Needed) The Character Holding this book hear Children Singing a Nursery Rhyme.

  20. The Book is Unreadable. Its Pages are Covered in Blood! The Character Holding this book Tastes a 9 Volt Battery

#dnd #october #horror #gmadvice #dmadvice #rpg

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