Books as Treasure - SS&SS 2e Preview

Time for another quick preview of what is coming in Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells.

I always liked the concept of questing for knowledge. Trying to rob that forbidden tome from the Tower of Scrolls to learn the secrets the powerful want to keep hidden from our eyes. So I made a tool to transform Books into treasure and making them useful in the game!

Books

Books are a great treasure, both for those who seek wealth and for those who want knowledge and secrets. They can contain all kinds of information and knowledge, from the records of past civilizations, to recipes, to magical formulas written by the powerful Sorcerer-Kings. The table below helps determine what the book contains.

d66	Book Subjects	d66	Book Subjects
11	Astrology	41	Jewelry
12	Astromancy	42	Prophecy
13	Biology	43	Laws
14	Biomancy	44	Art
15	Herbalism	45	Demonology
16	Beasts	46	Witchcraft
21	Ancient Civilization	51	Battles
22	Archeology	52	Poetry
23	Geography	53	Traditions
24	Legends of a Region	54	Diary
25	Religions	55	Monsters
26	Necromancy	56	Empire’s Conquests
31	Architecture	61	Pornography
32	Alien Technology	62	Anthropology
33	Psionism	63	Linguistics
34	Elemental Magic	64	Illusions
35	Death	65	Lost Places
36	Forbidden Cults	66	Music

Using Books in Game

Books can be used as a source of information and a resource that can be depleted with use. Each tome usually have a Durability score of 2 or 3, and each time the players seek an information inside it, a Durability Roll is made. If it’s a succesful roll, they find an answer to a question (even though that might not be as clear as they want). A failure on the roll reduces the Durability score by one and the answer is not there, as the author of the book rambles about a pointless subject.

If you like what you've just read, check out my books over DriveThruRPG and Lulu.

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Old Skulling

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