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| Volume 1, Number 3 | August/September 1999 |
| Realms Magic - Ebonchill's Grimoire |
Magic: Ebonchill's Grimoireby Tony O'BrienDescription:Standing roughly two hands high by one and a half across, Ebonchill's Grimoire consists of 98 frail vellum pages sewn into a leather spine. The spine is affixed to wooden boards covered in human skin, which have thinned over time creating small tears. The only distinguishing characteristic on the exterior of the tome is at the top right hand corner (front): a tattoo of Myrkul Lord of Bones. The book opens to the mage sigil of Daramas Ebonchill and the text within is laid out in a steady flowing hand.Powers:The tome acts as a Libram of Ineffable Damnation. If a wizard of evil alignment spends a full week cloistered and undisturbed, pondering the contents, he gains experience points sufficient to place him at the midpoint of the next higher level. A curios twist was built into the tome however. Upon gaining the benefits associated with study of the work it does not disappear, but the same person cannot make use of its power more than once. Those of non evil alignment lose one level of experience merely by looking inside the tome's covers. In addition they take 5d4 points of damage and fall unconscious for a like amount of turns.Secondly it contains spells recorded by various owners throughout the years. These take the form of notes scattered throughout the text. The spells are Find Familiar, Cloak Undead (FRA) and Vampiric Touch. A penalty of 5% should be applied to learning any of the above spells, as the format is often hard to follow. Finally, any mage gaining an extra level of experience from the tome, who is not a follower of Myrkul, invokes its curse, becoming bound by a variant of the Geas spell. The mage feels compelled to take the tome to the nearest site sacred to Myrkul, normally a church, but with the passing of the Lord of Bones most likely The Mere of Deadmen, where Myrkul's lingering presence still remains. The location is revealed through a series of intensifying dreams that continue until either the mage begins his trek or the owner dies. Failure to comply manifests itself as a deadly wasting disease, usually fatal in 23-28 days. History:Ebonchill's Grimoire was created in 1167 DR by Daramas Ebonchill, a rising power in Thay's the school of Necromancy, who coveted Szass Tam's title as Zulkir. The mage was also a paranoid man and this character flaw led to the creation of the tome. At the time spell traps involving life draining undead seemed the fashionable way of eliminating rivals. Daramas created the tome as a last resort in a string of established safeguards to ward against such attempts by his peers.The necromancer hoped to invoke (his patron deity) Myrkul's favor during the creation process, the book being bound in the skin of a recently deceased priest of Myrkul and the final enchantment's laid during the astronomical event 'The Eye of Myrkul'. The ceremony most likely played a role in the book's success, judging from the powerful curse built into the tome. It was ironic that the necromancer fell shortly after its creation to the blade of an aspiring assassin during an embarrassing moment with a slave girl. After the assassination of Daramas the book vanished, resurfacing fifty winters later at a bazaar in Calimsham where it was purchased by the necromancer Muham yr Fahd el Calibe. Muham, not a follower of the Lord of Bones surrendered the tome to the Skullspire in Tulmon, much to the astonishment of the Myrkulites there, who sacrificed the mage. The tome remained in The Skullspire nearly 70 years before being stolen by thieves (rumors speculate that the crime was committed at the behest of Mendel Flamestar, a mage visiting the city). The tome was never recovered after the death of Mendel at the hands of angry Myrkulites. It most likely has been passing through a succession of owners, though it is likely the tome never made its way back to the church. The tome's whereabouts today remain a mystery, if indeed it still exists, knowledge being scarce and virtually no written records of its existence. If the tome where to resurface and come to the attention of the malicious power groups throughout the Realms, obtaining it would be a boon to any such organization. The Harpers on the other hand are enthusiastically seeking its destruction. Mail author (tony_susan@primus.com.au) |