"I didn't mean... it could be a, like, librarian golem. Or undead. Or just a really old wizard. I'm just saying, it couldn't hurt to ask."
"It can always hurt to ask," Jhonto muttered. But looking around, it was clear that the party had already decided. As the party's face, it was his responsibility. He took a tentative step toward the desk and cleared his throat.
"Shhhhhh!" The librarian didn't even look up from its book.
He tried again, taking two more confident steps forward. "Excuse me, I was wonderi-"
"SHHHHHH!" The librarian looked up, one skeletal finger pressed against its lipless mouth, glowing yellow lights burning in its cracked eyesockets. In a rush of air, the skeletal monk and his desk and the bookshelves and Jhonto's companions all disappeared. Jhonto clasped his head and stifled the urge to vomit - that queasy feeling he got every time he teleported. The only light now came from his glowing sword, its pale blue nimbus flickering across the spines of hundreds of dusty tomes and scroll cases. So he was still somewhere in the library.
"Guys?" he gave an exploratory shout. Then louder: "GUYS?" No response. "All right, I guess I'm on my own then. Just you and me, Nightcleaver." He flicked his sword lightly through the air as if it were responding to him. A glimmer of reflected light caught his eye. One of the books was bound in silver with inset gems. "Is this... Did that crusty old librarian send me to the right place after all?" He reached out for the book, but just as his finger brushed the spine, it shot off the shelf, its ornate cover flapping like the most awkward pair of wings. Reams of yellowing paper - seemingly more than the book contained - flew out of the book and swirled about it in a whirlwind, expanding to engulf Jhonto. The paper edges cut at his face and hands like knives. The book was glowing from within now, brighter than Nightcleaver. Abruptly, it turned to face Jhonto and opened to a specific page. Swirling orange runes lifted off the page and hovered in the air before exploding in a blast of force that knocked Jhonto back against a stack, sending lesser scrolls showering off the top shelf.
"Oh, your gonna get it now, book!" Staggering to his feet, he clasped his amulet and thrust it forward. Seven glowing pink missiles shot out, arcing toward the hovering book, but seven floating sheets of paper moved automatically to block them. "What the... Oh come on!" He squared himself, took Nightcleaver in both hands, and charged the book. It blasted him with a spray of clashing magical colors, but he ploughed through, bursting into the storm of swirling pages and cleaving into the offending tome.
When the rest of the party found him, he was fire-scorched and bleeding from a hundred shallow cuts, hunched in the middle of a mess of old papers, his sword thrust clean through a bejeweled grimoire. The ruined shelves around him, blasted apart with countless spells, spoke of a long and furious battle, but all he said when they appeared was, "Couldn't hurt to ask, huh?"
Today's Monster Monday is the living grimoire, an animated spellbook that flies in a swirling cloud of paper and unleashes the spells inscribed on its pages. Included below is an example Caster Level 1 living grimoire, along with rules for creating any living grimoire from Caster Level 1 to 20.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.
An ancient tome flaps off the shelf, loose
papers swirling in a storm around it
Living Grimoire (Caster Level 1) CR
1/2
XP 200
N Tiny construct
Init +5; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60
ft.; Perception +3
Aura swirling paper aura
DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1
Dex, +2 size)
hp 11 (2d10); fast healing 1
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2
DR 5/+1; Immune cold, construct
traits
Weaknesses fire vulnerability, vulnerability
to erase
OFFENSE
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft. (clumsy)
Melee slam +2 (1d2-2)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Spells Prepared (CL 1st)
1st
– color spray, magic missile
cantrips – flare, mage hand, ray of frost
STATISTICS
Str 6, Dex 12, Con --, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 11
Feats HoverB, Improved
Initiative
Skills Fly -1, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Perception
+3, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +4
Languages telepathy 100 ft.
SQ poor attack
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poor Attack (Ex)
Unlike most
constructs, a living grimoire has a slow base attack bonus progression, giving
it a base attack bonus equal to one half its total Hit Dice.
Salvage (Ex)
If the
living grimoire is destroyed in such a way that would leave the following items
relatively intact (per the GM’s discretion), they may be salvaged from the
living grimoire as follows. Any spell
pages not expended by the living grimoire that day may be used as one-use
scrolls. Any recall gems not expended
that day (see below) may be used as one-use pearls
of power of the appropriate level, after which they return to their
nonmagical state. Expended recall gems
are worth at least 500 gp each.
Spellcasting(Ex)
The living
grimoire is able to draw upon the spells inscribed within its pages to gain a
sort of spellcasting, similar in principle to that of a wizard but quite
different in practice. The living
grimoire can only hold as many spells as its caster level and intelligence
modifier allow (see Table A below).
The living grimoire can cast any spell
inscribed on its pages once per day. It
eschews any material components costing under 1 gold piece (as per the feat
Eschew Materials) and does not need to perform any verbal or somatic components
during casting. In the process of
casting, it must hover in place and flip to the page the spell is inscribed
upon, provoking an attack of opportunity just as a normal spellcaster would;
the living grimoire may also choose to cast defensively. Any commands required by the spell are
delivered via the living grimoire’s telepathy.
After each spell is cast, the writing on those pages fades to
illegibility, and is only restored after the living grimoire undertakes nine
hours of uninterrupted dormancy, at which point the spell is regained.
Cantrips inscribed in a living grimoire can
only be cast once per day per inscription, unlike how wizards can spontaneously
cast any cantrips they know.
Swirling Paper Aura (Su)
A living
grimoire is surrounded by a swirling cloud of magically treated papers out to a
distance of 10 feet. Any creature
starting its turn in the swirling paper aura automatically takes slashing
damage equal to one half the living grimoire’s HD (minimum 1). The swirling paper aura also grants the
living grimoire a +1 deflection bonus to its AC vs. ranged attacks, and
immunity to the spell magic missile.
Vulnerability to Erase
A living
grimoire targeted by the erase spell
must succeed at a Will save or permanently lose one inscribed spell chosen at
random.
ECOLOGY
Environment urban
Organization solitary, pair, collection
(3-6), library (6-12)
Treasure salvage
Living
grimoires are animated spellbooks that can cast the spells written inside
them. When they fly off the shelf and
begin flapping their covers like wings, a cloud of loose papers flies with
them, swirling around them to provide some minor protection. These highly specialized constructs are often
crafted as guardians for magical libraries or wizards’ studies. Some, however, are naturally occurring – an
abandoned spellbook given sentience by absorbing a large concentration of
magical energies, a spellbook animated by a vengeful fragment of the soul of
its slain owner, etc.
Higher Level Living Grimoires
Living
grimoires grow more powerful the more spells are written into them. When statting up more powerful living
grimoires, consult the following table.
Special Abilities
Spells:
The living grimoire has the same spellcasting progression as a wizard of the
same level (aside from cantrips). Bonus
spells from the living grimoire’s Intelligence score (including Intelligence
score increases gained over time) are included in the table above.
Recall
Gem (Ex): At caster level 3 and at every 3 caster levels thereafter, a
living grimoire is fitted with a recall gem.
This is a gemstone worth at least 500 gold pieces which the living
grimoire can use to store excess magical energies. The first gem gained is a level 1 recall gem.
Each subsequent gem is one level higher,
up to the level 6 recall gem gained at caster level 18. These recall gems can be used in a similar
manner to the pearl of power wondrous
item: the living grimoire can expend the magical energies stored in one gem to
cast one spell - of a level equal to or lesser than the level of the gem - that
it has already cast that day.
Additionally, if the living grimoire has any metamagic feats, it can
spontaneously apply such feats to any spell it has prepared, expending one or
more recall gems equal to or exceeding the change in spell level caused by the
metamagic feat.
For example, if a living grimoire had
already cast magic missile, it could
expend its level 1 recall gem to cast the spell again. If it wanted to apply the Widen Spell
metamagic feat to its casting of burning
hands, it could expend its level 3 recall gem to do so, or both its level 1
and level 2 recall gems simultaneously.
If it had already cast fireball
that day, it could expend its level 3 recall gem to re-cast it, and then
spontaneously apply the Maximize Spell metamagic feat by expending either its
level 1 and 2 recall gems or its level 4 or higher recall gem (note that it
could not simply expend a level 6 recall gem to recall fireball and spontaneously Maximize it; one recall gem must be
spent to recall the spell, and any other number of additional gems spent to
apply a metamagic feat).
Each recall gem is useable once per day,
regaining its powers when the living grimoire regains its spells. The creator of the living grimoire can add
additional recall gems to the construct above and beyond those automatically
gained above; each additional recall gem costs as much as an equivalently
leveled pearl of power.
Creating a Living Grimoire
A living grimoire must be constructed from
the finest spellbook-quality materials available, costing at least 100 gp per
caster level of the book (this cost is included in the construction cost). The recall gems that the grimoire gains at
caster level 5 and every 3 caster levels thereafter are also included in the
construction costs. The book itself is
inscribed with spells and infused with magical unguents and powders worth 3000
gp. Additional ceremonies must be performed
and magical inks, oils, and powders must be applied for each caster level
granted to the living grimoire at a cost of 1000 gp per caster level inclusive
(so 1000gp for a CL 1 grimoire, 3000 gp [1000+2000] for a CL2 grimoire, 6000 gp
[1000+2000+3000] for a CL 3 grimoire, and so on). For the total construction cost of a living
grimoire of any given caster level, see Table
C below.
The living grimoire can only contain as many
spells of as many levels as are allowed by its caster level (see Table A above). Each spell must be inscribed in it by its
creator at twice the cost of inscribing the same spell in a normal
spellbook. Any material components
costing between 1 and 100 gp must be expended twice over during this
process. If any spell calls for material
components costing over 100 gp, those material components must be expended once
during the inscription process, but the living grimoire is unable to cast the
spell more than once unless additional material components are supplied,
usually by incorporating them into the spine or cover of the book. If any spell requires a material focus, that
too must be incorporated into the book. The
creator may also apply metamagic feats to any spells that they inscribe,
increasing its cost and spell level accordingly. The living grimoire does not need to have the
metamagic feat that is applied to the spell by the creator; the living grimoire
only uses metamagic feats in conjunction with its recall gems.
CL A caster must be at least one caster
level higher than the caster level of the living grimoire they are
creating.
Requirements Craft Construct, Scribe
Scroll, animate objects, levitate, make whole, read magic, shield, telepathy
Skill Craft (bookbinding) DC 11 +
grimoire’s CL; Cost varies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I once played in a single session of a friend's campaign which culminated in a fight with a living painting and a flying book. It was an awesome encounter that stuck with me partly because of the unusual and creative adversaries. The idea of a flying book surrounded by a cloud of cutting papers stayed in the back of my mind for years. Eventually I added the idea that it was a spell book that could cast spells from its own pages. Now it was an infinitely versatile monster that could be of potentially any Challenge Rating, which meant that it would be really hard to stat up properly, which meant that I kept putting it off. When I finally did stat it up in October of this year, it took me probably ten times as long as it does to stat up most monsters, and I had to make an excel spreadsheet to keep the math straight for 20 caster levels of potential grimoires and to make sure that they would be relatively appropriately balanced for their Challenge Ratings. I hope you find the results as awesome as I do.
-your bibliophile d20 despot
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