Overdue Books
Sssshhh!!! In case you didn’t notice, we’re heading to the library for today’s Magic Market, with a trio of scholarly sundries suitable for spellcasters of all sorts. Why should all the exciting books be spellbooks? These magic tomes (and one magic pen) offer plenty of opportunities for fun and intrigue.
LIBRARY BOOK PRICE 3,000 gp
Slot none; CL 5th; Weight 2 lbs.
Aura faint divination
These large tomes are bound in leather, and often have engraved metal decorations on their covers, though they never bear a title or an author. These books are linked to the contents of vast magical libraries, and copy the contents of the pages of various books within. By consulting the book for 1 minute, a character can gain a +5 bonus on a single Knowledge check of the type the book is associated with (arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, etc.). The character is treated as having access to a library for the purposes of this check (allowing the user to make untrained checks with a DC higher than 10).
However, the book’s contents change each day at dawn, taking completely different information from a new selection of books in the library it is linked to. Each day, when this happens, the book becomes associated with two of the following Knowledge skills, chosen at random: arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, geography, history, local, nature, nobility, planes, or religion.
Construction Requirements Cost 1,500 gpCraft Wondrous Item, creator must have at least 5 ranks in at least 3 different Knowledge skills.
PEN OF TRUTH PRICE 2,500 gp
Slot none; CL 5th; Weight —
Aura faint divination
These quill pens are often made with brightly colored and beautiful feathers, with peacock feathers being the most common. These pens cannot be used to write deliberate falsehoods, no matter how hard the author tries. Instead, whatever lie the author intended to write, he winds up writing the truth, instead. This does not prevent the pen from being used to write inaccurate information, as long as it is what the author truly believes. If the author is magically compelled to write a particular phrase, or is writing an obvious and clear work of fiction, this ability does not apply.
Construction Requirements Cost 1,250 gpCraft Wondrous Item, zone of truth
TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL PRICE 1,500 gp
Slot none; CL 5th; Weight 2 lbs.
Aura faint divination
These books are bound in plain brown or black leather, and are typically unlabeled, although some possess a blank space deliberately set aside for the owner to write in their name, and a few that are specially made for a certain individual will have that person’s name inscribed upon them.
As long as the book is in the possession of a creature, it automatically fills with narrative writing about everything that happens to that creature, updating magically as it occurs. In addition to providing a written transcription of all conversations the creature has, it provides a brief summary of any actions she takes, places she goes, or things she notices. The writing is written from a first-person perspective, although the owner does not actually dictate the exact writing, and cannot edit the book’s contents (other than through the normal means). The book does not record any actions that the owner takes that involve it (so it will not mention when the owner consults or reads it, for example), although it does clearly mark any time the book changes hands, and it includes the name of its new owner, beginning from the top of a fresh page. If the book is left unattended, it continues to function as long as it is within 60 feet of its owner, which it considers to be the last person that touched it.
The book has 500 pages, which is typically enough space to be used for about a month before its pages are filled, although depending on the person and the events that they undertake, the book may last for a longer or shorter period of time.
Construction Requirements Cost 750 gpCraft Wondrous Item, clairaudience/clairvoyance, unseen servant