gvdammerung writes "Presented herein are 109 wizardly grimoires, each presented in a card catalog format. No longer must one guess at what is on a wizard's bookshelf or what is between the covers of a particular tome.
The Wizards Library Part 4 of 6
By: Glenn Vincent Dammerung, akaGVDammerung
Posted with permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.
Lakharemtolma Zalarem (Zala’s Book of Barriers)
Written by Zala the Red
Age - 2nd
Notes - The sorceress Zala hailed from the Baklunish nation of Komal, west of what is commonly thought of as the Flanaess proper. Her speciality related to defenses and barriers. Little is known of her life or fate but it is believed her studies were intended to either protect her life against unknown threat or to allow her to pass to other planes of existence in safety.
Unique Spells - Zala’s Ice Jacket/Compose Mind/Zala’s Lifeforce Guardian/Zala’s Forcebuckler/Zala’s Amberhelm/Repulse Metal/Thunguul’s Preservation/Zala’s Deception/Zala’s Disruption/Tobian’s Ultimate Circle
Source - Dragon 221, p. 33
Legendry of Great Arms and Fabulous Heroes
Written by Kas
Age - 1st
Notes - Much debate continues as to the true identity of the author of Legendry of Great Arms and Fabulous Heroes. Was it Vecna’s faithless lieutenant? The earliest known manuscript is of sufficient age but the discussion of magical arms would seem somewhat questionable coming from Kas, as he did not create his great sword, and the discussion of "heroes" seems entirely out of character. Yet, in the selection of arms and heroes, no preference is demonstrated for those whose nature favors weal rather than woe. As well, neither was Kas noted as a spellcaster of any meaningful kind. The debate continues.
Known Spells - Armor/Phantom Armor/Stoneskin/Protection From Normal Missles/Shield/Force Cage
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Legendry of Phantoms and Ghosts
Written by Evard
Age - 4th
Notes - Written by one of the most noted figures of recent times, Legendry of Phantoms and Ghosts is a grimoire but may also be understood as Evard’s attempt to explain himself and his methods. The author stands revealed as perhaps the foremost practitioner of an amalgam of illusionary, necromantic and shadow magics.
Known Spells - Phantom Armor/Phantom Steed/Phantom Wind/Evard’s Black Tentacles/ Wraithform
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Libram of the Dark Wing
Written by Hathareen of the Three Circles
Age - 3rd
Notes - An interesting volume, the Libram of the Dark Wing is a grimoire that at first glance is of the ponderously self-important sort which has become almost a cottage industry among the black cloak set. Closer reading, however, reveals that the author, one Hathareen, an undistinguished character if ever there was one, wrote over the top of a more ancient grimoire. Now all but obscured by Hathareen’s banal dweomercraft and doomed prose, the older tome was retained in places and is yet discernable, if with difficulty, in others. The Libram of the Dark Wing then holds out the possibility of future discoveries.
Spells - Unknown
Source - Living Greyhawk Journal 2, p. 20
Libram of the Great Paravisual Emanations
Written by Nystul
Age - 4th
Notes - Gaxx’ apprentice, Nystul continued in the line of his master’s researches in Repertoire of Subconscious Apparitions, but avoided his master’s fixation on the Plane of Shadow. Now semi-retired, Nystul is still occasionally heard from. Among his few close friends that reliably know of him is Leomund. Nystul, however, avoids most other wizards of note in the 4th Age, keeping a particular distance from any of the Circle of Eight for reasons that are obscure. At times found in the City of Greyhawk, the location of Nystul’s tower is unknown. It is similarly unknown if he has taken any apprentices.
Known Spells - Nystal’s Magic Aura/Shadow Magic/Demi-Shadow Magic/Shades/Leomund’s Trap
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Life of Nature, Its Secrets
Written by Caligarde
Age - 2nd
Notes - One of the more notable of the mages of the 2nd Age, Caligarde of Nyrond was a contemporary of Lhegrand, having a relationship with that worthy not unlike Tenser’s relationship with the redoubtable Mordenkainen. Like Lhegrand, however, few of Caligarde’s works have survived to the present time.
Known Spells - Feather Fall/Levitate/Spider Climb/ Web/Fly/Mount/Caligarde’s Claw/Bind
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Livre d’Aquatha
Discovered by Eves Riddlebone
Age - 1st
Notes - The Livre d’Aquatha, first discovered in the Olman Islands, is ostensibly a text concerned with all matters aquatic. It has, however, garnered something of a more sinister reputation in some circles. The precise character of the book appears to be in much, and dangerous, doubt.
Unique Spells - Scyllan Scream/Float/Shark Bolt/Geyser/Lash of the Kraken/Curse of Split Water
Source - Dragon 334, p. 74
Lore of Subtle Communication
Written by Tasha
Age - 2nd
Notes - Tasha is by varying accounts the apprentice of Kwalish and a contemporary of Iggwilv, before the latter had risen to great prominence. There are suggestions that Iggwilv and Tasha may have, in fact, both been apprentices together before going their separate ways. Of Tasha’s subsequent history much less is certain. The Lore of Subtle Communication is, however, a foundational text in many magical curriculums.
Known Spells -
Vol.1 - Message/Write/Illusionary Script/Tongues/Audible Glamor/Magic Mouth
Vol. 2 -Ventriloquism/Message/Comprehend Languages/Legend Lore/Tasha’s Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Lost Spellbook of Rary the Traitor, The
Written by Rary
Age - 4th
Notes - Of the arch-mage Rary and his actions in the month of Harvester in the Common Year 584, little need be said. Of Rary’s motives much has and might be said. The Lost Spellbook presents a case in point. Is the Lost Spellbook truly lost? Is its ill-starred history proof of Rary’s ill intentions or is there more at work than meets the eye? There remain more questions than answers.
Unique Spells - Rary’s Empathic Perception/Rary’s Mind Scan/Rary’s Hesitation/Rary’s Protection from Scrying/Rary’s Urgent Utterance/Rary’s Vicious Missiles
Source - Dragon 249, p.90
Manual Powers Beyond Life
Written by Bigby
Age - 4th
Notes - Bigby’s masterpiece and chief academic work, Manual Powers Beyond Life introduces the reader to Bigby’s unique force spells. Incomplete copies are, however, notorious. Bigby’s actual grimoire and the closest copies are noted to contain significantly more and more unusual spells.
Known Spells - Burning Hands/Bigby’s Interposing Hand/Bigby’s Forceful Hand/Bigby’s Grasping Hand/ Bigby’s Crushing Hand/Bigby’s Clenched Fist
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Mental Impressions of the Retina
Written by Johydee
Age - 1st
Notes - A remarkably clear and concise work, Mental Impressions of the Retina grows complicated only when consideration is given to its author. Who was Johydee? By some accounts she was Oeridian. Other accounts hold her as Flan. In either case, what was her relationship with Ye’Cind and with Rialissom? Was she the apprentice of either? Was she the rival of either? Was she either’s colleague? That there was a connection is all but certain from an analysis of Mental Impressions of the Retina, the Theory of Occult Visual Shock and Representations of the Sentient Plane. Joyhdee remains, however, one of the more baffling figues in the history of spellcraft in the Flanaess.
Known Spells - Phantasmal Force/Improved Phantasmal Force/Permanent Illusion/Programed Illusion
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Midnight Book, The (aka Sorrel’s Treasury of Haunting Melodies)
Written by "Sorrel the Song Mage"
Age - 4th
Notes - A book of dark musical magics, the Midnight Book is widely attributed to one "Sorrel," which would not prove a problem except that there is no record of a "Sorrel" anywhere to be found. Thus, while commonly accepted as the work of "Sorrel," scholars look for other possible attributions. Tvash-Prull appears the most promising candidate for authorship and, indeed, such authorship would fulfill much of the promise that in Prull’s "Symphony" seems to go unfulfilled. This is, however, an unproven theory.
Unique Spells - Chant of Dark Summons/Chorus of Wrath/Danse Macabre/Haunting Melody/Nocturne/Eerie Piping/Fiendish Fantasia/Keening/Melody of Madness/Nightmare Lullaby/ Siren Song/Sorrel’s Dirge/Swan Song
Source - Dragon 256, p.84
Minds of the Unknown
Written by "Lum" (Unknown)
Age - 3rd
Notes - Attributed to "Lum," scholarly opinion holds that the author is not Baron Lum, "The Mad." Baron Lum was not noted as a mage or spellcrafter of any sort. As well, the date of the earliest known manuscript of the Minds of the Unknown is of too recent derivation. While the identity of the actual author is not known, there is speculation that the author was, in fact, Rary’s master. This thought is founded on a textual analysis of the Minds of the Unknown, Arcane Puissance of Memory and the Treatise of Sublimated Oneiromancy. Not all scholars agree, however.
Known Spells - Feeblemind/Mind Blank/Dismind/Forget
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Murq’s Magica
Written by Murq
Age - 4th
Notes - Apprentice of Phade Evanshad, Murq never equaled his master or his master’s Visions of Fear. He did, however, achieve a greater notoriety for his serial attacks upon the City of Greyhawk. Indeed, Murq is after a fashion a magical serial killer in the mold of the criminals "Jigsaw" and "Arcane." Never caught, it is speculated that Murq’s magery has influenced, among others, Tvash-Prull. While he remains at large, Murq’s influence is otherwise confined to his Magica.
Unique Spells - Murq’s Mystic Missle
Source - Dragon 269, p.64
Myths of Shadow
Written by Unknown
Age - 4th
Notes - Compiled by a rival organization to the City of Greyhawk’s Thieves Guild, the Myths of Shadow was intended to lend to the rival thieves group an advantage. While it failed in its purpose and the "Black Cloaks" were destroyed to a person, the Myths of Shadow survived. It continues to plague the established thieves guild of Greyhawk and other cities wherever it turns up.
Unique Spells - Appraising Touch/Dead End/Marked Man/Serene Visage/Shock and Awe/ Spontaneous Search
Source - Dragon 325, p. 70
Ngrises’ Tome of Necromancy
Written by Ngrises
Age - 2nd
Notes - A necromantic tour-de-force, Ngrises Tome is a wonderful collection of necromantic spells and lore. Of particular interest are those spells styled "tomb spells." Originating in the far West, these funerary spells are seen nowhere else. Equally fascinating are the Moilian spells, after Drake’s Molian: A Treatise on Necromantic Alternatives, which appear to be later additions. Finally, there is the person of Ngrises. Of uncertain origin, there are tantalizing hints that he may have been a Hyperborean. Ngrises’ Tome is an altogether a fascinating and multi-faceted necromantic grimoire.
Spells - Unknown
Source - Return to the Tomb of Horrors, p.40
Notebooks, The
Written by Drenal Farkahn
Age - 3rd
Notes - An iconoclastic wizard, Farkahn spent the greatest portion of his career pursuing adventure in and around Veluna, Bissel and Ket. He his now known chiefly for his association with The Brothers Arcane, a Velunese wizard’s cabal about which much little solid information has come to light.
Unique Spells - Drenal’s Annoying Poke/Drenal’s Distraction/Drenal’s Dry Ink/Drenal’s Stone Flame/Drenal’s Amok Needles/ Drenal’s Eyesore/Drenal’s Sound Barrier
Source - Dragon 210, p. 73
Occult Observations on Fluids
Written by "Koorz" (Drawmij)
Age - 4th
Notes - Less well known and more difficult to acquire than the Repertoire of Illustrious Conjurations, Occult Observations on Fluids is Drawmij’s specialist tome on all matters aquatic. It obviously reflects his growing interest in the sea, which culminated with his leave taking from Greyhawk to take up residence beneath the Azure Sea. For those with an interest in water magics, Drawmij’s grimoire is essential reading.
Known Spells - Water Breathing/Airy Water/Lower Water/Part Water/Sink/Grease
Source - Dragon 82, pp.57-59
Oerthmagic
Written by Nazralte GrynClithe
Age - 3rd
Notes - Oerthmagic draws from the author’s mixed elven (Celenese), Suloise and Oeridian heritage and his wanderlust. Perhaps, the quintessential adventuring wizard’s spellbook, Oerthmagic reflects no single theme or obsession.
Unique Spells - Frostfire/Proficiency/Bands of Ice/Lightning Curtain/Lightening Cloak/ Deathshroud
Source - Dragon 200, p.38
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