Let's see if we can think up some interesting books, that would be unusual but that could have potential for a fantasy party to end up getting ahold of in an adventure. The wierder the better, but it has to somehow be useful or provide adventuring possibilities.

Mine:

The Book of False Maps
The book is filled with a certain number of treasure maps, or maps of distant lands with navigational charts, but for some reason they've all been done wrong.  They're still usable to a certain extent, but many key figures will be incorrect or  lead to dangerous detours. But the trick is that the book says that the maps are all wrong, and that there is a secret way to "decode" the maps so that they become "right".  The PCs then have to figure out that method, or have to trudge through incorrect and possibly dangerous errors in cartography!

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditThe PCs then have to figure out that method, or have to trudge through incorrect and possibly dangerous errors in cartography!

Or they have toilet paper for the party for a whole month!  

The Book of Lost Souls
It isn't so much a list, as it is a set of directions that leads the PCs to the closest person who is about to make that critical choice that will doom their soul to eternal chaos.  If the PCs do not reach that person in time, or they ignore the possibility of saving the person in time, the book switches to the next nearest soul.  If the PCs manage to save one of the souls, the book screams an unholy and bloodcurdling scream and crumbles to dust in their hands.

Quote from: RPGPunditLet's see if we can think up some interesting books, that would be unusual but that could have potential for a fantasy party to end up getting ahold of in an adventure. The wierder the better, but it has to somehow be useful or provide adventuring possibilities.

Mine:

The Book of False Maps
The book is filled with a certain number of treasure maps, or maps of distant lands with navigational charts, but for some reason they've all been done wrong.  They're still usable to a certain extent, but many key figures will be incorrect or  lead to dangerous detours. But the trick is that the book says that the maps are all wrong, and that there is a secret way to "decode" the maps so that they become "right".  The PCs then have to figure out that method, or have to trudge through incorrect and possibly dangerous errors in cartography!

RPGPundit

Maybe the map doesn't describe any place at all, despite its resemblance, and is a prophetic tome that "maps" the future.

Just a thought.

Yes or its some other kind of red herring that conceals a deeper secret message of importance, that's a good one.

RPGPundit

I suggest checking The Best of Ancient History. There's a ton of ideas worth using.

How about this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript

The Blind Vizier's grimoire

This 'book' comes in the form of a heavily engraved and decorated crystal ball. The Blind Vizier was an incomparable spell researcher who due to his blindness had to have his research and spell seeds stored in a different manner than most. Capable of reading the language of magic through feeling an engraving, he had his familiar scribe the ball with an index of his work. The Vizier could have the ball sing to him his research by wetting his finger and running it along the proper line of the index.

How about a book containing a complete bio of each of the party members, covering right up until next week, and also containing the bio of another person who is described as also being a friend and party member, but who nobody in the party has ever heard of.

Quote from: SigmundHow about a book containing a complete bio of each of the party members, covering right up until next week, and also containing the bio of another person who is described as also being a friend and party member, but who nobody in the party has ever heard of.

Fucking hell. I love it!

RPGPundit

So these last few days I've begun reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
For those of you who don't know, this is the Sikh holy book.  Its some three thousand pages long.

Again, for those who don't know, the Granth is a book that was compiled by the last living Guru of the Sikh tradition.  Rather than choose a successor, he tried to collect all of the wise teachings he could find, everything that Nanak (the first Sikh Guru) had written, but also the mystical poetry of Kabir, the writings of other sages, both hindu and muslim, Farid, and others. Its a big hodgepodge of absolutely everything that could be found that represented a wisdom that supports/is compatible with the basic tenets of Sikh philosophy.

Then he declared that after him, the book itself would be the Guru.  Today, Sikhs treat the book in the same way that other indian religions treat the Guru, bowing before it, showing the same obeisances as hindus would in front of their swamis or buddhists in front of their bhikkus. As if the book is a living teacher.

And as I read the Japuji (the first part of the Granth, a mystical treatise on the secret word of God), I thought to myself: "there's some kind of possibilities for gaming inspiration here".

RPGPundit

If you guys can get a total of twenty of these, and it's all original material, this would make an excellent Chartphilia article. I'd be more than happy to edit it up and toss it up there for posterity.

I think that's a great idea; and while we're at it I think it would be a truly great idea if you (or anyone else who can come up with it) were to post more threads on this forum detailing other possible "tables" that could be made up, for everyone to contribute entries for.
Every twenty entries, and boom, you have another table!

RPGPundit

Book of Holding

A magic book that, when an item is placed on an open page and the command word is spoken, changes the item into a picture that appears printed on the page. Only items that will fit on the book's pages can be placed within the book, but a book can have up to 300 pages, and the item is placed in a type of suspension that preserves it in the condition it was when it was placed into the book (for example, a steaming bowl of stew will still be steaming hot when retrieved). Simply thinking about an item and then opening the book will allow the user to find the correct page, and speaking a different command word will change the picture back into the item that was placed there. If a page is ever ripped from the book, it becomes a nonmagical sheet of paper with any picture(s) (potentially one on each side of the page) printed on it becoming nothing but a picture permanently.

Books of Learning

The idea of a well-learned magus seeking to educate her lazy children, a book of learning can be written about any subject the creator knows about. To use it, the person simply lays the book under their head when they take their rest. After six nights sleep, the knowledge within the book is wholly theirs, the book becoming blank underneath them.

The Scroll of Non-Compete
This is an extremely wordy and detailed scroll written in an obscure language only known to a few.  It has a blank line near the top and a signature line at the bottom.  The blank line at the top is the name of a class/race/culture or other classification of a group of people.  After the top line is filled in and the bottom of the document signed, an ethereal copy of the document is teleported to an administrative office in a closed dimension.  From this point forward, the character who signed the document cannot switch from whatever classification written at the top without losing all their belongings, every stitch of clothing, every account holding, etc.  In short, they can switch, they just lose everything when they do.

This is best used when the character agrees to perform a certain mission.  He is required to sign the document to gain the benefits offered for the completion.  (e.g. "Sign this document to affirm that you will carry out the mission to receive your just reward.")

It's best used in a semi-humorous manner, to lock players who like to dodge class/culture/race etc. conventions.  As soon as they do, you can have the ethereal forces arrive on the doorstep with a copy of the document in hand, demanding that the character "cease and desist" or face the consequences.