d100 Books Found in the Mad Wizard's Tower
It can be difficult to know what types of books are stocked in a wizard’s tower (or really, anywhere). Below are strange and esoteric books on the occult and the strange, on histories and romances, and on the planes themselves. This d100 list is perfect for those looking for a little bit of light reading material while trying to defeat the mad wizard who rules the tower!
d100 Books
A Person is Smart, People are Stupid: A Researchers Look At How Ghosts Cause Mass Hysteria - This book offers interesting insights on how ghosts infect the brain and cause fear to become a physical manifestation that you can harvest from the brain.
The Metaphysical Manifestations of Ethereal Protomatter - A book diving into how the different states of existence for protomatter found on the Ethereal Plane.
A Psycho-Therapist’s Rap Guide to Healing Possession - A deep dive into how you can use less than traditional methods to perform an exorcism.
Hypergeometry and the Power of Spells - An advanced mathematics textbook claiming that all spells could be broken down into algebraic formulae and geometric shapes.
30 Spells to Cast to Ward off Demons - Useful spells to ward off demons, there is a small chance that one of them actually works.
Flannigan’s Final Tome - An arcane grimoire that contains 1d12 1st-level, 1d10 2nd-level, 1d8 3rd-level, 1d6 4th-level, 1d4 5th-level, and 1 6th-level spells.
A Light in the Dark: Holding Back Evil with the Hymns of Angels - A book of music transcribed by a bard who was known for a beautiful singing voice. Died under mysterious conditions.
Brick-by-Brick: Your Guide to Building Fortified Walls of the Soul - This book dives into how the soul is a physical component of your body, and demons and undead can cast magic that dissolves that physical component and causes you to suffer terrible suffering.
Goodman’s Good Guide to Grimoire - A spellcaster’s first book of spells, explaining how to write spells and create a spellbook. Contains a common 1st-level spell.
X - This old, leather book has a large “X” cut into its cover that sometimes bleeds black in. When opened, its pages are filled with black ink smeared pages, preventing a reader to read its words.
The Demon’s Exorcism - A clerical book that deals in exorcisms, but from the perspective of trying to trick exorcists and infecting exorcists with evil spirits during the exorcism.
The Faces of Evil - A lore guide on various Devil Princes, though it is out of date and many of the devils have been permanently killed. Any devil that is dead has a small red ‘x’ handwritten next to its name.
Carnal - With a series of anatomical cut-aways, this book dives into almost every aspect of the sex lives of humanoids, monstrous humanoids, and even celestials and fiends. It provides very detailed diagrams and step-by-step guides.
The Invisible Spell - This book goes into great depth about the power of money over people, and how currency must have an innate magic to it. Several arcane formulae populate much of the last third of the book, but it is largely incomprehensible.
The Dragon’s Delight - A short fantasy novel about how a bard charmed a dragon over several months in an intricate courtship. The story ends with the bard stealing the entire dragon’s hoard, the bard living happily ever after, and the dragon dying from heartbreak.
The Black Book - This book doesn’t have a name, but rather is a pitch-black book. The cover seems to be leather, but feels elastic and slimy when wet. Flipping through the book are pages covered in black with white lettering. The book details the dark society of underwater psionic creatures, though never provides a name for them. The opening sentences claim that any mention of their name must be kept secret or else this book will be discovered.
Poisoner’s Journal - This small book holds complex formulae and is a poisoner’s journal. All information in encrypted in a cipher and a creature must attempt an Intelligence check against the journals DC (typically 12). On a success, the creature can understand one poison recipe in the journal and must attempt the check again for another poison recipe. A typical poisoner’s journal has 3d4 poison recipes.
Clyde’s Coffee Cicerone - This ostentatious and gilded book provides detailed information about coffee, where it is grown, and what to look for in properly roasted beans. In addition, it provides excerpts from Clyde about favorite coffee shops in various cities and pretentious statements about those who don’t drink ‘true’ coffee.
An Account of Unfortunate Demise in the Royal Family - Within these pages are detailed histories of every death in the royal family, with great emphasis on which ones are seen as suspicious, how these deaths were due to poor luck, and who they author thinks is to blame. The last page provides information on the current royal family and how the author believes they will meet their unfortunate end.
Victor Von Victor’s Counsel - A self-important advice book on how to live your life, influence those around you, and become a better person.
Guide to Finesse - This small booklet provides detailed instructions on how to properly exercise and stretch for limber movements. A creature that spends an hour in the morning performing these exercises gains advantage on a single Acrobatics check made that day.
Guide to Beasts - This small booklet provides detailed instructions on animal husbandry, tricks to teach pets, and how to approach wildlife. A creature that spends an hour in the morning performing these exercises gains advantage on a single Animal Handling check made that day.
Guide to Exercise - This small booklet provides detailed instructions on how to properly create muscle, as well as training exercises for heavy lifting. A creature that spends an hour in the morning performing these exercises gains advantage on a single Athletics check made that day.
Guide to Glib - This small booklet provides detailed instructions on how to trick people, get what you want, and avoid repercussions. A creature that spends an hour in the morning performing these exercises gains advantage on a single Deception check made that day.
Guide to Archival - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on historical events, lineages of royalty, and political machinations of past years. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single History check made that day.
Guide to Emotions - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on how to read people, micro-expressions, and how to spot a tell. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Insight check made that day.
Guide to Study - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on how to find clues, notice small changes, and how to research. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Investigation check made that day.
Guide to Fear - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on fear, how to scare others, and act powerful. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Intimidation check made that day.
Guide to Pharmacy - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on treatments and drugs, as well as practice courses on stitching and wound care. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Medicine check made that day.
Guide to the Outdoors - This small booklet provides detailed lessons on identifying plants, trees, and wildlife, as well as diving into common uses for flora. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Nature check made that day.
Guide to Discernment - This small booklet provides information on how to see beyond your immediate surroundings, how to spot traps, and training courses to strengthen your eyes. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Perception check made that day.
Guide to Oration and Music - This small booklet provides courses and lessons on how performing music and strengthening your voice. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Performance check made that day.
Guide to Candor - This small booklet provides lessons on how to speak using powerful words, utilizing emotion, and meeting people where they are at. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Persuasion check made that day.
Guide to Divinity - This small booklet covers a wide range of organized worship and fiendish cults, providing insights into their practices. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Religion check made that day.
Guide to Escamotage - This small booklet provides lessons on juggling, subtle hand trickery, and hand exercises. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Sleight of Hand check made that day.
Guide to Subterfuge - This small booklet provides lessons on slinking, using the shadows to your advantage, and how to move with practiced and quiet steps. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Stealth check made that day.
Guide to the Wild - This small booklet provides information on how to survive in dangerous terrains, how to find water and food, as well as information on proper clothing and keeping yourself from getting lost. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Survival check made that day.
Guide to Health - This small booklet provides lessons on taking care of your body, strengthening your mental and physical health, as well as important lessons on health. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide gains advantage on a single Constitution check or a single Constitution saving throw against poison made that day.
Guide to Skillful Training - This small booklet provides information on a random skill. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide can add half their Proficiency Bonus to that skill for 24 hours, so long as they are not proficient with that skill.
Guide to Expertise - This small booklet provides deep insights and true lessons on a random skill. A creature that spends an hour in the morning reading this guide can double their Proficiency Bonus for that skill for 24 hours, so long as they are already proficient with that skill. If they are not already proficient, they gain no benefits from this guide.
The Prophecies - This book somehow slipped through the realms of existence from the Akashic Records. Within its psychically-created pages are prophecies for the the worlds that span eons. While the information is incredibly important, many of the prophecies are difficult to understand unless you can see the multiverse from a large-scale viewpoint.
Welcome to Aurora - This small pamphlet is a welcome guide to the city of Aurora. The pamphlet offers interesting restaurants and museums to visit while in the city, as well as the favorite sites and viewing parts in the city. On the back of the pamphlet is a thank you message from the board of Visit Aurora.
Incomplete Arcane Workbook - This simple workbook was created by a wizard hoping to help more people unlock latent magical abilities. The book provides arcane formulae that are almost fully complete, offering practice problems, hints on how to perform magic, and more. Each workbook is designed to teach a single cantrip, typically a harmless cantrip like light or prestidigitation. A creature with an Intelligence score of 10 or higher that spends 5 days (minus their Intelligence modifier) working on the book, completes the exercises and gains access to a single wizard cantrip of the GM’s choice.
West Kan’s Steps to Business - This book is filled with hacks on how to be a productive entrepreneur. From communicating effectively to proper ways of brainstorming, the chapters in the book have plenty of inspiration to help entrepreneurs thrive in the fast-paced world of business.
Gideon’s Flower Guide - This elegant and dainty book smells of perfumed flowers and has extraordinary drawings of flowers, their petals and stems, as well as the seeds. Gideon offers guidance on how to use flowers, what the meaning of flowers are, and the history of how they are used across the world.
The Necromancer’s Garden - A detailed guide for growing and cultivating fungi, molds, and slimes that thrive on negative energies generated by undeath. Many of these plants grow on skeletons, ghouls, and other undead and it provides instructions on how you can blend plant and undead to create powerful hybrids.
The Arcanist’s Alphabet - Within this tome, written by a bard who had studied the songs of harpies and sirens, each letter of the alphabet is dissected from its powerful magical properties. The book provides different tonal shifts and pitches that a letter must be spoken to maximize it’s full potential and create ever more powerful songs and magic.
Chronicles of the Lost Wars of Giants - A historical account of a series of ancient wars fought between man and giants. This book provides detailed battle strategies and descriptions of lost magic that the giants have long forgotten that had gifted many of them with unique power over frost, fire, clouds, and storms.
The Anomalies of Elemental Confluxes - This slim book discusses the rare and unstable elemental intersections that occur in nature, such as ley lines, shadow portals, and fey crossings. In addition, it provides case studies of how these anomalies are related to natural disasters, like volcanoes exploding or avalanches suddenly appearing.
The Undying and Their Long Lives - This compendium of undead creatures includes obscure and bizarre facts about the undead, and how many common variations of undead, like fast zombies, can be created by clever necromancers. The book goes on to explain the benefits of undeath, the life that the undead lead, and how no one truly understands the every day torment undead face from the living.
Ecosystems of the Ether - Within this book are detailed, handwritten notes about the various ecosystems that can be created within the Ethereal Plane. It goes into great detail to list the flora and fauna unique to the plane, and the surprising look at how a plane of protomatter makes for a hospitable home for many.
Treatise on Temporal Weavings and the Effects of Hourglasses on This Reality and its Remaining Moments - This treatise is a massive tome of archaic words diving deep into the realm of time. Most who read this tome rarely make it past a single page as the author only uses dense and unapproachable language when discussing their very important opinions about the dangers of hourglasses, how magic like time stop is disrupting the natural flow of things, and how time is running out for the universe.
Invoking the Void Vessels - This transcription details an interview that an arcanist had with ancient beings that seem to exist between the minute space between the planes. It provides cryptic warnings for mortals about how the boundaries along the planes are like prison walls and that they are weakening.
Geomancy for Beginners - This practical guide is a beginner’s first book to learn how to manipulate earth and stone.
The Prime Powers of Primordials - This book is often seen as heretical by clerics and priests of gods and deities that exist in the Upper Planes. The book claims that primordials are also deific beings that have as much control over souls as the divine, and that primordial religions are listed as cults in an effort to stop the primordials from achieving true divinity.
Veins of the Earth - This geological study provides a detailed section on the many magical minerals and ores founding within the world. In addition, it provides ways to properly excavate a land, check for rare minerals, and utilize the minerals in spellcasting.
When the Stars Aligned - This astrological manual focuses on the influence of celestial bodies and their effects on magic. It includes detailed star charts, prophesies based on planetary alignments, and how divination is altered when a mythical black star corrupts the flow of magic and foresight.
Fantastic Phantasmic Feats - This cookbook is filled with divine recipes for creating illusory and enchanted foods. Many of the recipes deal with the psychedelic effects of shrooms, plants, and other material to make a truly unique culinary experience.
The Mad Echoes - This collection of fragmented writings and prophecies are collected from those who have touched minds with eldritch beings. Many passages are cryptic and defy comprehension by mere mortal minds.
The Eternal Mazes - This book claims that it is written by someone who survived being Mazed by the Lady of Pain. It offers tips on how to survive mazes, labyrinths, and twisting underground passages. Whatever happened to the author is unknown.
Mirroring the Moon - This treatise discusses the magical properties of the lunar phases and its reflection on waters. Within are detailed rituals that take advantage of this reflection, empowering magic beyond their typical level and ability.
The Grimoire that Breathes - This enchanted book’s cover rises and lowers, as if it is breathing. Once per day, its living pages morph, swapping one random spell written on its pages to a random spell of the same level.
The Alchemist’s Bestiary - This manual discusses the many creatures that can be created through alchemical means, such as homunculi, alchemical golems, and other creatures made of acids and formulae.
The Shattered Sigil - This book studies the nature of broken magical seals and wards, as well as providing methods for repairing or safely dispelling the broken sigils.
The Shadow’s Embrace - This guide to shadow magic and its various application, it includes a dossier on how shadows can be twisted to empower your physical body.
The Echoes of the Deep Waves - This diary turned manual describes the strange creatures and phenomena encountered in the deepest parts of the ocean by an explorer. It ends with a haunting story about how the explorer found a true god within the deepest trenches of the ocean and how the waves shudder at its every movements.
The Celestial Codex - This illuminated manuscript details the hierarchies and attributes of angels, divine powers, and celestial creatures. In addition, it provides summon rituals and how to deal with such creatures.
What’s In A Name - This collection of stories are from those who have dealt with the Fey and the tricks they use to steal and imprison mortal lives. In addition, it provides clues on how to predict the unpredictable behavior of fey creatures.
The Mirror to the World - This treatise dives into the use of mirrors as gateways and prisons. Instructions within include how to craft mirrors, how to travel between the planes utilizing them, and how some mirrors can be used as magical prisons.
The Dreamer’s Guide to Lucid Visions - This sleep journal provides information on the realm of dreams and how dreamers reach it every night. In addition, it provides techniques and spells dreamers can use to break free of their dream bubble and explore this realm.
The Clockworker’s Codex - This technical manual describes how to fuse magic and machinery, creating constructs made of clockwork machinery. It provides blueprints to produce simple clockwork servants and devices.
The Mages Cartography - This detailed map depicts the magical ley lines that cross the world, as well as other arcane phenomena. All other geographic terrains are crudely added in, almost as a second thought.
The Nameless Book - This book is purported to hold the true names of various creatures from across the planes, though each name is heavily warded by magic and in a cipher. To unlock the names, one must learn the true name of the book and command it to undue its wards.
Runes of Power - This guide details the creation and use of magical runes, a form of magic first discovered by giants. These runes provide access to a type of magic that must be unlocked through chiseled stone.
The Druidic Garden - This pleasant tome smells of floral scents. It provides a botanical guide to magical plants, their uses, and how druids utilize the power of nature to help them empower nature itself.
The Wandering Star - An elven astronomer has chronicled the journey of a star that moves across the sky across centuries. When it moves closer to the world, strange aberrations soon follow its path.
Blood, Bone, and Flesh - This magical tome details the study of blood magic and how mages can utilize their own flesh to increase their magic.
The Whispering Echoes - This multi-set tome provides detailed notes from someone who has claimed to journey to the Far Realm, and beyond it. It is largely incomprehensible with geometric shapes, mathematical fractal patterns, black hole event horizons magically woven into the pages, and a strange buzzing sound rises in volume the longer you read the books.
Immortality, A Book of Secrets To Life Eternal - This slender book provides various methods for achieving immortality, though many of the methods are untested or require incredible magic to perform. There are several pages on the process of dracoliches, liches, and the vampire curse.
The Cosmic Harp - This collection of loose-leaf papers in a simple binder provide a variety of musical compositions that are said to be able to influence the stars and planets if played perfectly. The gods are even said to provide their blessings to any master who can play the music to its utmost perfection.
The Lost Souls, A Practical Guide to Soulmongering - This blackened tome looks to have been touched by fire and provides ways of capturing souls from those who die. In addition, it provides ways of empowering yourself from the souls, destroying the souls permanently and obliterating them from the multiverse. It claims that all gods do this, and that is why they are so powerful.
The Easy Guide to Being an Alchemist - This simple guide provides very easy-to-use instructions on how to craft potions and elixirs. A creature that spends a week reading this book and practicing its lessons becomes proficient with Alchemist’s Supplies and how to craft a potion of healing.
The Book of Eternal Night - This odd treatise goes to great length to talk about the plane of shadows, as well as the type of darkness created when the sun disappears beyond the horizon. It seemingly conflates the two, as if the two realms are one and the same.
Transmutating Hearts and Minds - This tome describes the principles and techniques of transmutation, mostly transmutating those who disagree with you and twisting their bodies, and minds, in such a way that they become loyal followers. It does warn that this process permanently destroys their mental functions and they end up losing 8 points from their Intelligence score. If this causes a creature’s Intellignece to be reduced to 0, they die.
The Enchanted Isle - This diary describes a traveler’s voyage to a forbidden island taken over by a powerful archmage. Strange monsters lurk on this island, and the author believes they are plotting to attack nearby kingdoms.
Light and Dark: A Split Tome on Energy - This book is written in a peculiar way, half the book is written upside down and only on the back side of pages, the other half is written right side up and only the front side of pages. The back pages are black with white ink and talk about the Negative Energy Plane and the front pages are white with black ink and talk about the Positive Energy Plane.
So You Think You’ve Been Poisoned - This somewhat unhelpful book provides common knowledge on how to deal with being poisoned, either from a snake or spider or from someone slipping something in your meal. While the intent of the author is good, many of the remedies appear to be nothing more than snake oil. In addition, the author likes to provide anecdotes before every cure that can last several pages about trivial encounters with animals. A creature trained in Poisoner’s Kit may find a poison recipe if they study it long enough.
Healing Through Purifying Flames - This treatise on fire and healing provides information about the purifying qualities of fire, be it magical or non-magical. In addition, the last pages urge the reader to join a cult to a primordial of fire with the promise of great power.
The Moles in the Mountain - This book was written by someone who despised dwarves, simply listing them as moles or an infestation in the natural world. It goes into great detail about how the dwarves are looking to take over the world and how mountains are secret bases that can teleport around or disappear entirely. They list that one such mountain is completely gone but that everyone in the nearby village still acts like it is there, looming over them threateningly.
Pillars of Creation - With the elemental chaos are four massive pillars that stretch from the very bottom of the multiverse, to its top. While no one has ever found the bottom, or climbed up to the top, that has not stopped people from traveling to these pillars and attempting to unravel their meanings. Each pillar is located within a para-elemental plane: Ice, Magma, Ooze, and Smoke.
A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Owlbears - This thick tome provides helpful hints on how to train young owlbears, keep them from becoming territorial, and how to avoid having your fingers or arms bitten off during feeding time.
Olyphuses’ Recounts - This ancient tome holds the words of a well-known philosopher from eons ago. It tells the tale when gods roamed the earth and raised armies of paladins to fight against other gods and the primordials. Many of the tales are told about a single hero, though their name has been lost to time.
Testaments of the Faith - This tome holds a multitude of stories from paladins and clerics of a war deity as they waged war in the deity’s name. It goes to great length to share their glory and valor in battle, as well as a call for more paladins and clerics to take up the deity’s name and sword.
Instructions for Righting a Troubled Conscious - This book provides instructions on how to calm a troubled mind, like from anxiety or great trauma.
The Twelve Kings - This historical text details only a single king, but splits that king into twelve distinct parts of ‘greatness.’ Not only had the king conquered a huge swath of land, this is detailed in the War King section, the king was also generous, the Pauper King, and known for being a huge patron for the art, the Philosopher King. There are 9 other ‘kings’ detailed in the text.
A Summary of the Surrounding Lands of Rule - This dust-covered tome details the founding of the surrounding kingdoms and fiefdoms. It lists out a detailed history, though it is a dry and rambling document.
Stems of the Elemental Wood - This book provides information about a strange element known as wood. While the element itself is quite common, found in most natural trees, it details an entire plane made of wood and the creatures that reside there. While some may conflate it with the plane of faeries, it exists separate from it.
Dragons and Their Fire - This draconomicon dives into the literary fire of dragons, with an intense look at scale patterns, fire glands, claw markings, and mating habits. While the book talks of dragon fire, it conflates all elemental dragon breaths into ‘dragon fire’ and makes no difference between acid, ice, fire, or other elements.
The Lover’s Kiss - This romance novel may seem frivolous at first read, but subsequent readings prove that this pseudo-fictional recounting of a great love story is one of the greatest books ever written. It has sword-fighting, betrayal, manipulative princes, and details of the greatest kisses ever known to the world.
Gilded Treasure - This heavy tome is made of solid gold, from its cover to its leaf-thin pages. Words are etched into the gold, with promises of how to make wealth beyond your wildest imagination.
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