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Lost Books 11: The Cannibal Tome
The Cannibal Tome
History of the Tome
The Cannibal Tome is the creation of Vazag
Herathi, the legendary Mage King of Athemore.
Vazag was famous for his insatiable appetites
for both power and the flesh of the living, and is
often referred to as the Cannibal King in the
myths that surrounded his reign. He is
remembered as one of the greatest masters of
blood and bone magic to have walked the earth,
and for his spellbook containing a seemingly
limitless amount of arcane lore.
Originally raised by the barbarian tribes of
the jungle coast, Vazag was intimately aware of
the power that resided in the flesh and bone of
his victims. By the time he was crowned King,
he had learned dozens of ways to manipulate the
life force of the dying to enhance his own
power, and his position allowed him ample
opportunities to refine his research.
Vazag’s reign was cruel and deadly, with
many of his subjects disappearing in order to
meet the demands of his appetite. Many of the
greatest warriors and wizards of his era
challenged him, but all of them fell before
Vazag’s power. Every hero that fell before him
only served to increase Vazag’s stranglehold on
the kingdom, as he used long-lost rituals to feats
on their hearts and absorb their knowledge and
power.
Decades of feasting on the spirits of the fallen
eventually took their toll on Vazag’s mind,
leaving him haunted by the hundred of
fragmented psyches he had absorbed. He grew
paranoid and suspicious, forever afraid that a
new champion would appear with the power to
cast Vazag down using unfamiliar spells he
couldn’t counter. The idea gnawed at his sanity,
eroding even the pleasures of his weekly feasts,
and Vazag developed dozens of schemes to
ensure to learn the secrets and unique spells of
his enemies.
He started small, hiring assassins and
summoning demons that hunted the apprentices
of the wizards he saw as rivals. Scouring the
spellbooks of the fallen he learned several minor
magics he hadn’t yet encountered, but this
merely served to heighten his fears that a more
powerful spell existed that would mean his
doom.
The Cannibal Tome was the most expensive
of the plans Vazag hatched to gather arcane lore,
and ultimately proved to be the most effective. It
was filled with the greatest of the spells that
Vazag had mastered over the course of his
career, all scribed onto pages made from flayed
flesh.
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Lost Books 11: The Cannibal Tome
Carefully planned rumors hinted at its
existence in the Kings castle for years before
Vazag allowed it to be ‘stolen’ from his tower,
fully intending for it to fall into the hands of
those that opposed him once they knew his
secrets were available.
While many of Athemore’s wizards had a
chance to study the tome over the three decades
that followed, few of them learned the true
nature of the book they acquired. Vazag had
bound a spirit from the netherworld in the flayed
pages, giving it a malevolent sentience that had
to be mastered before it would yield any of the
lore it contained. Many wizards left it in their
library for weeks, waging a battle of wills
against the Tome in order to unlock its secrets.
Many were left physically exhausted by the
struggle, often falling asleep at their desks or
spending days in their beds after the ordeal.
The physical effort of unlocking the tome
ensured that many wizards were too tired to
notice when their other spellbooks went missing.
Those that did often blamed thieving apprentices
or their own forgetfulness, rather than the open
Tome that lay on their desks. Very few were
alert enough to discover the true nature of
Vazag’s possessed book, and fewer still saw it
grow fangs along its graven covers and devour
nearby spellbooks to absorb their knowledge.
By the time they realized what had happened,
many had lost valuable sections of their libraries
to the Cannibal Tome and Vazag had used his
magic to call the book back to his tower and
unlocked the secretsit had devoured.
As the book was passed from collection to
collection, gathering even more spells than
Vazag had thought possible, the alien will that
possessed it grew ever more powerful. It
eventually gathered enough strength to resist the
considerable willpower of its creator, and the
bloody revolution that Vazag had long feared
came while he himself was weakened by an
obsessive battle to unlock the secrets of his
creation.
Both Tome and creator survived the
destruction of Vazag’s crown. The Tome
disappeared into the collection of one of the
wizards that lead the result, and legends
continue to circulate about its continued
existence. It is eagerly sought out by many
wizards, and rumors that a new arcanist has
acquired the Cannibal Tome circulate every few
years.
Vazag was transformed into a unique form of
ghoulish undead by rituals he had conducted
prior to his death, disappearing into a hidden lair
deep beneath the earth. Those few scholars who
are aware of his continued existence believe that
he retains the ability to call the tome to his
hidden lair at will, routinely scouring it for any
new knowledge before returning it to the world
above.
Knowledge Checks
Characters with the Bardic Lore ability or
Knowledge (arcana) may be familiar with Vazag
and the rumors that surround his tome. The first
time such a character hears about the Cannibal
Tome or the name Vazag or have them make a
check and consult the following table.
DC 15: The Cannibal Tome is the work of
the Mage King Vazag who ruled the kingdom of
Athemore over a thousand years ago. It is said to
record a copy of every spell that has ever been
written.
DC 20: The tome takes its name from
Vazag’s dietary habits, as well as the dominant
theme that appears in many of the spells he
created. Among the unique spells that appear in
the tome are a number of Vazag’s own creations,
created to allow him the ability to steal or
manipulate the life force of others.
DC 25: The Cannibal Tome possesses a
crude sentience that guards its contents
jealously. Only those who possess the willpower
to dominate the Tome can hope to learn more
than a fraction or its lore.
DC 30: The Cannibal Tome was a weapon as
well as a tool, and it has the ability to devour
any spellbook left close by and steal the spells
contained within for its own pages.
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Lost Books 11: The Cannibal Tome
Description
Assume that the majority of the spells presented
in the core rules are available to a caster that can
master the tome, alongside spells from other
sources at the GM’s discretion.
The Cannibal Tome can grow teeth and
animate at will, and it possesses the ability to
swallow and absorb the contents of an
unattended spellbook as a full-round action that
draws an attack of opportunity. The Tome
almost never animates when living creatures are
around, and seems to possess an almost uncanny
sense of when it is being watched. Particualrly
well-hidden characters may see the Tome
animate and attempt to devour other books, or
they may attempt to harm the book once they
discover its cannibalistic secrets. In these
circumstances, use the following statistics to
represent the animated tome.
The Cannibal Tome is a large book, nearly three
feet long and a little over two feet wide. It is
covered with a dark leather that possesses an
unusual texture, and its pages are made from
flayed flesh that has been carefully cured and
preserved. The spine of the book is reinforced
with bone, and the lining has been sewn with
strands of human hair.
Although the tome looks like any other book
while dormant, only the most dull-witted fail to
notice the palpable feeling of sentience that
surrounds it. The pages are filled with a spidery,
alien script that seems to dance and weave
across the page as the reader concentrates on the
tome.
Value: 5,200 gp (4,600 gp for the easily
legible spells, +600 gp for the Tome’s obviously
magical nature. Only use this price when
unwitting PC’s sell the Cannibal Tome without
exploring its true value – the Tome is an artifact,
and is effectively priceless)
Special: Any character capable of
understanding arcane spells can read the first
twelve entries in the Cannibal Tome. These
twelve spells were among Vazag’s most prized
creations, and the spiteful entity that animates
the Tome seeks to distribute them as widely as
possible in retaliation for its imprisonment. The
remaining spells that are within the Tome are
nearly impossible to read, causing headaches
and watery eyes if the reader concentrates on a
page for too long.
The secret to unlocking the rest of the
Cannibal Tome’s lore is to concentrate on a
specific spell, forcing the book to open by act of
will alone. The character can then make a Will
save (DC 10 + number of spells previously
learned from the book + level of the spell
desired). On a successful save, the Tome opens
to the correct page, allowing the user to access
that spell at will. If the save is failed, then the
spellcaster finds themselves fatigued due to the
mental strain of matching wills with the Tome.
After several centuries of devouring the
spellbooks of prominent mages, the Cannibal
Tome contains a vast array of magical lore.
The Cannibal Tome; CR 2; Small Construct;
HD 2d10+10; hp 25; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14
(+1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-
footed 13; BA/Grapple +1/-2; Atk/Full Atk +3
melee (1d6+1; Bite); SQ Construct Traits,
Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, hardness 5;
AL NE; SV Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +1; Str 13,
Dex 13, Con -, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 13.
Skills: Listen +3, Spellcraft +5, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness
Even if dropped to 0 hit points ore burned to
ash once it is defeated, the Cannibal Tome is not
truly destroyed. The magic that created the
Tome returns it to Vazag’s lair, where it reforms
whole and complete for the Cannibal Mage’s
perusal. It is only a matter of time before the
paranoid undead wizard sends the Tome back
into the world, and dedicated characters could
conceivably ‘destroy’ the book several times.
The only way to truly undo the magic that
preserves the Cannibal Tome’s knowledge is to
destroy its creator once and for all, freeing the
entity that he bound into the book.
The exact nature of the bound spirit, and the
effect being bound into a magic item that
absorbs arcane lore for over a thousand years
has on the creature, is left to the GM.
Strong transmutation; CL 25 th .
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Lost Books 11: The Cannibal Tome
New Spell Lists
3 rd -Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Abjur Aegis: Attacks miss you 50% of the time.
Trans
Cleric Spell Lists
Ghoulform: Gain +2 Strength, +1 natural armor,
Bite 1d6, Claws 1d3 and driving hunger for flesh.
1 st -Level Cleric Spells
Corpse Light: Dim radiance disguises the presence of
undead creatures.
4 th -Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Abjur Vazag’s Snapping Ward: Creates a swarm of
teeth that attacks creatures that try to touch you or
make melee attacks.
Necro Cannibal Harvest: Kills dying creatures; you
gain +1 bonus to Caster Level (+2 for
Necromancy spells)
4 th -Level Cleric Spells
Aegis: Attacks miss you 50% of the time.
Druid Spell Lists
Vazag’s Feeding Grasp: Gain bite attacks for
1d6; attaches when grappling.
2 nd -Level Druid Spells
Smoldering Flesh: Heat deals 1d4/round to subject,
may sicken them.
Vazag’s Soul Blast: Negative energy deals
1d6/level damage.
Paladin Spell Lists
5 th -level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Necro Shadow Maw: Fanged mouth attacks on its own
and swallows opponents.
3 rd -Level Paladin Spells
Aegis: Attacks miss you 50% of the time.
6 th -level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Ench Cannibalizing Ray: Target forgets memorized
spell and transfers it to you.
Sorcerer/Wizard Spell List
1 st -Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Necro Corpse Light: Dim radiance disguises the
presence of undead creatures.
8 th -level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Ench Ravening Curse: Subjects overcome with
cannibalistic hunger and rage.
2 nd -Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Necro Vazag’s Devouring Wound: Deals 1d6
damage/round and subject takes +1d4 damage
when attacked.
Trans
Smoldering Flesh: Heat deals 1d4/round to
subject, may sicken them.
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