[Sigh again. I wanted to encourage people to send in rules-oriented articles, The list of Mythos books in the CoC rules is quite large; experienced players, Mythos texts have a number of investigatoristics that you must determine. Mythos Tome Characteristic Table<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you have chosen a rank, decide on how this book will fit into your With the specialization and focus of the book in mind look at the range Knowing what sort of contents it may have, decide on the book’s reading Now step back and look at your campaign again. You need to work up the book’s If the book contains spells, you should decide what sort of spells it should Lastly, you may want to make some special notes about the book. There is Let’s create a sample book by going through this process. First, assume Rank<\/strong>: 3<\/p>\n Area of Specialization<\/strong>: Hastur and his worship<\/p>\n SAN Lost<\/strong>: 1D8 (solid information in a disturbing narrative)<\/p>\n Spell Multiplier<\/strong>: x1 (one spell is present)<\/p>\n Mythos Points<\/strong>: 6 (a spell multiplier of x2 would rate 7 points; a Reading Time<\/strong>: (rank 3, multiplier 1, difficulty +1) = 5 months – This book is a slim hardbound diary; similar blank ones can be purchased For some excellent examples of well-thought-out books, there is an unlikely
\nso I wrote one. This system for creating tomes is one that I created for
\nTUO1. I never used the darn thing. Why bother? It more or less works, at
\nleast as a good guideline. Just one of those useless articles about game
\nmechanics that populate so many magazines.]<\/em><\/p>\n
\nhowever, are probably familiar with most of them. And anyone can look them
\nup. To give your campaign some flavor and keep your players on their toes,
\ntry creating some new books more in line with the parts of the Mythos that
\nyou plan to emphasize. Giving your books some background and flair will
\nadd coherency and originality to a campaign. The CoC rules are sketchy in
\nthis area, however; some more detailed instructions are in order.<\/p>\n
\nFirst is the book’s rank. The chart nearby breaks down the CoC list into
\nranks; take a look at it, and decide about what level of power your book
\nshould be. First or second rank books are probably known, published works
\nthat make an incidental reference to the Mythos. An unusual one might contain
\na spell, accidentally presented as a ritual chant or somesuch. Third and
\nfourth rank books are the meat of the Mythos. They are not powerful enough
\nto be a real threat or object of desire, but will give investigators a foothold
\nto confront the forces of darkness with. Books of the fifth or sixth rank
\nare major tomes. They will be found only rarely, and will be jealously guarded.
\nTheft of such a tome will not go unpunished. The seventh rank will be extremely
\nrare, but at least has a chance of being found, often in the library of
\na high-ranking cultist. At the eighth rank, however, resides the Necronomicon.
\nIf you create a book for your campaign at this level, bear in mind that
\na great deal of responsibility goes with it. Miskatonic University librarians
\ncan testify to the problems they have encountered with such tomes. Mere
\npossession of a book of this rank is bound to draw unwanted attention.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Rank<\/th>\n Mythos Points<\/th>\n Multiplier<\/th>\n SAN<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n 1-2<\/td>\n x0<\/td>\n 1D2, 1D3, 1D6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n 3-4<\/td>\n x0-x1<\/td>\n 1D3, 1D4, 1D6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n 5-7<\/td>\n x1-x2<\/td>\n 1D4, 1D6, 1D8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/td>\n 8-10<\/td>\n x1-x3<\/td>\n 1D6, 1D8, 1D10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n 11-12<\/td>\n x2-x3<\/td>\n 1D8, 2D4, 1D10, 2D6, 2D8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6<\/td>\n 13-14<\/td>\n x2-x3<\/td>\n 2D4, 1D10, 2D6, 2D8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7<\/td>\n 15<\/td>\n x3-x4<\/td>\n 2D6, 2D8, 2D10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8<\/td>\n 16-18<\/td>\n x5<\/td>\n 10+Special<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\ncampaign. Specifically, what portion of the Mythos does it deal with? Is
\nit a wizard’s journal of his experiments with Yog-Sothoth? The trial transcript
\nof a witch of Shub-Niggurath? The diary of a doomed poet who dreams of sunken
\nRl’yeh? Deciding what area of specialization the book will apply to is important,
\nsince for the investigators it will become a known work (once read) to which
\nthey can refer to for specific information. You can place hints and revelations
\nwithin the book that lead to your campaign; should the investigators encounter
\nthe Yellow Sign, and they have a book that refers to Carcosa, you can use
\nthe opportunity to point them to a related adventure. A book’s value to
\ndifferent groups will also vary with its specialization — cultists of Yig
\nwill be only marginally interested in a book devoted to Azathoth. Should
\nunknown enemies become interested in a book, its specialization may give
\nthe investigators a clue as to who their opponents are; finding a tome of
\nNyogtha worship in your mother-in-law’s home may raise suspicion. Books
\ncan also be broad or narrow in their focus; broad ones will give a smattering
\nof info on a number of obscure topics, while narrow ones will be dangerously
\nspecific.<\/p>\n
\nof options listed next to the book’s rank. From this, decide how much SAN
\nthe book costs to read. At the same time, decide the spell multiplier. This
\nwill help define the book and how many Mythos points it should contain;
\nbooks with high SAN and a low multiplier must have a good deal of Mythos
\ninformation. Books containing little but spells will be so sketchy in their
\nMythos information that few SAN will be lost, but the multiplier will be
\nhigh. Books with both high SAN and a high multiplier are a special threat.
\nLoaded with information and spells, these books should have the highest
\nnumber of Mythos points available within their rank.<\/p>\n
\ntime. Assume a base time equal to the book’s rank in months. If the book
\nhas spells, add the number of the spell multiplier. You can decide if the
\nbook is written clearly and cogently (as is more likely in a published item)
\nor if it is the mad scribblings of an insightful lunatic. With this in mind,
\nadd or subtract up to four months of time for difficulty. You may want to
\nadd a couple of requirements here for successful reading: access to a large
\nlibrary, for instance, or rolls on the investigator’s history or archeology
\nskills (which could be supplemented by consulting an expert). Anyone wishing
\nto read the book may subtract their EDU\/5 from the total number of months.<\/p>\n
\nbackground, language, and scarcity. Since you know what the book’s specialization
\nis, and what sort of contents (information, spells, or both) it contains,
\ndecide who wrote it. A wizard? A frightened monk? How old is the book? Is
\nit handwritten or printed? What language is it written in? These questions
\nwill give you a convincing backstory for the book and allow you to place
\nit firmly in the campaign.<\/p>\n
\ncontain. Powerful, god-summoning spells? Lesser protective magicks? By looking
\nat the book’s background you should be able to achieve a focus within the
\nspell list: a book that narrowly focuses on the worship of Hastur will not
\nhave Contact Deep One. Determining spells for your unique books now is essential;
\nit ensures consistency within your campaign and allows you to plant spells
\nthat you think the investigators may need later on.<\/p>\n
\nno reason why a book should simply be a book; some, such as The King in
\nYellow, actually cost SAN just to look at the cover. A book may have a guardian
\nor trap associated with it. For instance, a wizard’s spell book may be magicked
\nso that if it is not opened first from the back, a Hound of Tindalos will
\nbe released from the crease of the binding. Other books may be wanted by
\nsomeone special; a cult leader might have people looking out for an obscure
\ntext, ready to strike if it turns up. A book may also contain something,
\nsuch as an Elder Sign embossed in the cover or a slim ceremonial dagger
\nhidden in the binding.<\/p>\n
\nthat our campaign focuses on Hastur as the primary evil. We need a book
\nthat the investigators can find early on which will lead them into some
\nof the adventures planned and warn them of possible dangers. It should be
\na lower-rank book, second or third, not something that anyone is actively
\nseeking. The book will, by necessity, focus on the machinations of Hastur
\nin this world. It is primarily a book of information with perhaps one spell
\nand a x1 multiplier. The book is the diary of a writer who slowly grew under
\nthe influence of Hastur, written within the last fifty years. Only one copy
\nexists.<\/p>\nThe Diary of Randall Sylvester <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nlower SAN cost would rate 5)<\/p>\n
\nthe reader’s EDU\/5<\/p>\n
\nin any bookstore. It records the year-long disintegration of its writer,
\nRandall Sylvester, beginning with his reading of The King in Yellow. The
\nearly pages of the diary are easily read, but as Sylvester’s insanity grows
\nthe writing becomes increasingly difficult, degenerating into long ranting
\npassages and obscure poetry. Towards the end Sylvester records one spell,
\nEnchant Bone Whistle, which creates an item useful in the summoning of Byakhee.
\nThe last entry states that he is preparing to use this whistle in conjunction
\nwith a summoning spell cast by an unnamed associate to bring one of the
\nwinged horrors to their service. The results are unrecorded. This book will
\nserve the investigators well. Should they hear part of a ritual, or see
\na scrawled Yellow Sign, they may perform research in this diary to learn
\nmore. We can also plant an adventure hook here; with a successful INT roll,
\nit is possible to deduce where Sylvester lived from the contents of the
\ndiary. An adventure can be set there, in which the investigators may discover
\nwhat happened to the unfortunate man and perhaps who his mysterious associate
\nwas…<\/p>\n
\nsource: Dragon magazine. In issues 92 and 97, among others, writer Ed Greenwood
\npresented a series of “Pages From The Mages” which described the
\nphysical attributes of unique spellbooks, the story of their authorship
\n(when known), a history of their ownership, and a list of spells (some with
\nvariations) known to be within. While geared for a medieval fantasy setting,
\nthe descriptions presented in those articles are a great source of information
\nfor Keepers looking to add a little variety to their best-sellers’ list.<\/p>\n