Loot The Room’s Manual of Mystical Manuscript Monikers
It’s RPG Blog Carnival time, and this month we’re tackling the theme of Journals, Grimoires, & Spell-Books set by the folks over at Hereticwerks. Check in with their anchor post throughout the month to read all of the entries as they come in!
This month’s theme is one I always enjoy writing about and it lines up nicely with the post that was meant to form this past Monday’s Stat Boost, in which I’m once again revisiting this post of books and their contents. I’ve already revisited The Blasted Lands (twice, in fact) and on Monday I had planned to give you more from Ironstride’s Compendium of Jinxes & Hexes. Since the post schedule went out of the window over the past few weeks, I’m dedicating this coming weekend at Loot The Room to all things books!
First, though, a shameless plug. Since the whole point of the Carnival is to bring in new readers, I hope the long time supporters won’t mind me taking a moment to direct the new folks to some past book-related content here. Namely:
- Matt Sanders’ recent post of 10 Bookish NPCs
- Magic and Data Storage: 5 ‘Mundane’ Magical Items
- Some books and their contents
- 1d10 Books
- This library map
And, of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Matt Sanders’ Trinkets – Books, which we’ve recently released over on DriveThruRPG as a Pay What You Want title.
But let’s move on from old content, and get to the reason we’re here – new stuff!
Starting today with this post and going until Monday, I’m going to be bringing you daily posts on the theme of Journals, Grimoires, and Spell-Books. Here’s what’s coming up over the next few days:
- Tuesday is what should have been this month’s Stat Boost. I’ll be bringing you some new 5th Edition spells from Ironstride’s Compendium of Jinxes & Hexes.
- On Thursday I’m revisiting some old edition material and updating it to Fifth Edition.
- Friday is map day, and we’re heading to the library.
That’s what the rest of this week looks like. Since Wednesday is the final one of the month, it’s reserved for this month’s DMs Guild roundup. But what about today?
Today we’re taking names. Or, more accurately, generating them. I proudly present to you…
Loot The Room’s Manual of Mystical Manuscript Monikers
Your party have slain the wizard in his tower and set to work looting his vast library. You hastily conjure together a description of the slim green tome bound in thorns and fairy wings that they pull from the shelves, only to have a player turn to you and ask, “What’s it called?”
Generating a name for a book is easy. The following tables will help you determine the type of book, the name of the author, and the topic of the book. Then, simply piece these elements together in whatever order you desire in order to create the name of your book. There’s also a bonus table of descriptors to add a little variety and spice to your names.
Don’t feel bound by these suggestions. In some cases – especially when determining the topic of the book – you may generate a number of words (e.g. “beasts/creatures/monsters” or “venoms, poisons, and toxins”) when you only want one. In those cases, simply pick the word you like best. You get bonus points for egregious use of alliteration in your titles. You should also feel free to discard any rolls you don’t like, and skip tables you don’t want to include.
Book Type (1d20)
1. | Book | 11. | Scroll |
2. | Compendium | 12. | Enchiridion |
3. | Codex | 13. | Folio |
4. | Bestiary | 14. | Directory |
5. | Grimoire | 15. | Encyclopaedia |
6. | Anthology | 16. | Handbook |
7. | Tome | 17. | Textbook |
8. | Digest | 18. | Guide |
9. | Manuscript | 19. | Manual |
10. | Catalogue | 20. | History |
Book Topic (1d100)
1. | Jinxes and Hexes | 21. | Magic | 41. | Chaos | 61. | The Elements | 81. | Beasts/Creatures/Monsters |
2. | Venoms, Poisons, & Toxins | 22. | Dragons and Dragonkin | 42. | Thaumaturgy | 62. | The Deep Places | 82. | Aberrations |
3. | Names | 23. | The Outer Planes | 43. | Invogoration | 63. | Dungeons/Dungeoneering | 83. | Tricks & Traps |
4. | Fables & Folk Stories | 24. | Mechanisms | 44. | Silence | 64. | Rage | 84. | Runes |
5. | Songs & Tunes | 25. | Halflings | 45. | The Elder Gods | 65. | Conspiracies | 85. | Witchcraft |
6. | Local History | 26. | Herbs & Remedies | 46. | Cults | 66. | Gemstones | 86. | Transmutation |
7. | Defense | 27. | Transmogrification | 47. | The Mechanics of Flight | 67. | Feathers | 87. | Drowned Civilisations |
8. | Palmistry & Divination | 28. | Tales of Flight & Fancy | 48. | Forgotten Constructions | 68. | Numerology | 88. | Chains |
9. | Archery | 29. | Questions | 49. | Riddles | 69. | Reptiles | 89. | Golems |
10. | Lost Worlds | 30. | Vengeance | 50. | Destruction | 70. | The Apocalypse | 90. | Conjuration & Conflict |
11. | Answers | 31. | Abandoned Hope | 51. | Persuasion | 71. | Lost Lexicons | 91. | Soul-binding |
12. | Souls | 32. | Pyromancy | 52. | Power | 72. | Symbols & Signs | 92. | Arms & Their Maintenance |
13. | Omens | 33. | The Fiend-Touched | 53. | Battle | 73. | Doom | 93. | Glamours & Enchantment |
14. | Fungi | 34. | Astronomy | 54. | Dispelling & Countercharming | 74. | Chronomancy | 94. | Non-Magical Explosives |
15. | Rite & Ritual | 35. | Aethermancy | 55. | Inventions | 75. | Teleportation | 95. | Technomancy |
16. | Merfolk | 36. | Glyphs | 56. | Portals & Doors | 76. | War & Conquest | 96. | Warding |
17. | Triumphs | 37. | Trees & The Treefolk | 57. | Funerary Rites | 77. | Echolocation | 97. | Bending |
18. | Psionic Potential | 38. | Silence/Silent Spellcasting | 58. | The Spaces Beyond the Stars | 78. | Ancient Libraries | 98. | Mimicry |
19. | Blossoms & Blooms | 39. | Deception | 59. | Mental Etiquette | 79. | Milestones & Markers | 99. | The Stalactite Singers |
20. | Ruins | 40. | Familiars | 60. | The Fey Folk | 80. | Solar Magic | 100. | Cave Crystals |
Who Wrote It?
The addition of a person’s name to the title of a book instantly makes it more interesting. Who was this person, and why did they see fit to write about whatever the book contains? What happened to them to cause the book to be lost, and what other knowledge did they possess that isn’t contained in this tome?
This section contains two short list. The first names specific people. No details of who these people actually are; they are left purely as names so that you can invent a history for them as fits your campaign. The second is a list of generic types of people – rather than specific names – in case you would not rather answer questions on the fly about who a named author might be.
Specific People (1d10)
- Netherbane
- Ironstride
- Barnum Rekel
- Phantomsong
- Silverglow
- Amana Ravendown
- Whisperwind
- Pureheart
- Sister/Brother Pevranom
- Theodoric Norwood
Who (Generic People) (1d10)
- The Archmage
- The Archfey
- The Necromancer
- The Vindicator
- The Anointed
- The Arbitrator
- The Witch
- The Patrician
- The Alchemist
- The Inquisitor
Descriptors (1d20)
This is a bonus table, which you can use to spice up your book titles. Have you rolled up a “book of magic”, and don’t think that’s very interesting? This is where you fix that.
1. | Dangerous | 11. | Enriching/Enriched |
2. | Unequaled | 12. | Malevolent |
3. | Boundless | 13. | Holy/Unholy |
4. | Hidden | 14. | Cruel |
5. | Dark | 15. | Callous |
6. | Fragile | 16. | Detailed |
7. | Forgotten | 17. | Exquisite |
8. | Volcanic | 18. | Remorseful |
9. | Fantastic | 19. | Illuminated/Illuminating |
10. | Hungering | 20. | Secret |
Sample Names
If you don’t feel like rolling for a book, here are some titles I generated earlier:
- Sister Pevranom’s Digest of Hidden Arms & Their Maintenance
- Phantomsong’s Guide to Omens
- Ironstride’s Compendium of Jinxes and Hexes
- A Grimoire of Psionic Potential
- The Folio of Feathers
- Whisperwind’s History of the Fiend-Touched
Tome of Naming – Loot The Room
April 25, 2018 @ 12:37 am
[…] grimoires, and spell-books and spreading it out across multiple posts. Yesterday I posted a book title generator that I hope you’re enjoying. Today I promised to post some spells from Ironstride’s Compendium […]