ST Forge Spotlight: How Would We Run ‘The Libram of Lost Spells’

Good evening adventurers! Adam Ray has returned to look at what some dear friends at TPK Games are doing. Cast your mind to the before times in Dungeons and Dragons history. Spells lost to time (or the R&D’s cutting room floor) have been brought back in The Libram of Lost Spells. Now on Kickstarter, this handy dandy codex is packed with content old reworked for fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Let’s peek behind the curtain!

Spells Recast

An accurate image of me looking at their Kickstarter for the first time - Image by TPK.

The Libram of Lost Spells is a collection of numerous new magic options and monster options for its players.

According to their Kickstarter page, they have over 300 fan favourite spells from earlier editions brought into 5E. The supplement also seeks to bring its readers: arcane arcane monstrosities, magic items, spellbooks, quest spells, legendary locations and more.

Some examples of vintage spells include Ball Lightning, Chain Missile, Greater Mage Armor, and more. I've not heard of many of these. My own repertoire is spread across many systems, with Dungeons and Dragons being my personal favourite. These all add up to wild and unlikely additions to any arcane caster.

With magical power, we can expect there to be guardians of the secrets. Monsters such as Intelligent Spellbooks, Living Spellbooks akin to those from Eberron, and something called The Libraxat. Creatures of this kind all sound to be bringing a great deal of highly arcane whimsy and mystery.

On top of this, we get some very new items for us players. Magic Items are to be expected in a supplement like this, but TPK are treating us to items like Spellbooks and Quest Spells. Spellbooks are probably the welcome relics of long lost Wizards that are filled with these spells, utterly new to the player base.

I'm wondering what a Quest Spell is? Is it a scroll or a spell in its raw mana form, waiting to be absorbed by the next eager Sorcerer in your party. That mystery alone will draw my interest into The Libram of Lost Spells.

Bringing the Magic

So how would I incorporate Libram of Lost Spells into my Dungeons and Dragons games? I'm sure that many Storytellers would absorb all the new items and mix them into the swirling vat of material their players have access to day by day, session by session.

But no. I can make it weirder.

Brian Berg, and the fine team at TPK were kind enough to include Legendary Locations in The Libram. Given the historical nature of the other materials in this book, they may be places from established games lost to time and memory. They could bleed into my homebrew setting, or the established worlds by nature of the ancient magic they contain.

In a wider homebrew setting, much like mine, there are vast and unknowable lands beyond the endless oceans. There could be civilisations waiting to be discovered by a band of adventurers brave enough to venture out there. In new lands, this could be the magic that they've been living on, while classics in Dungeons and Dragons like Magic Missile, Fireball, or even Wish are utterly unheard of.

Adding Forbidden Magic To Your Game.

Rick Here! I wanted to chime in on this. Forbidden magic in RPG’s should FEEL Forbidden. They should be powerful. They should be broken, and they should be rare. So how do you create that tangible feeling for your players? Here are some quick tips I’ve used in my house games over the years!

• Take the spells from the Libram of Lost Spells and retype them up on a sheet of 11x17 paper. Use a strange ass font. Seriously (just not comic sans), and then lay the paper in a baking sheet and piss off your local British person by pouring tea all over it. Set it in your oven for 15 minutes. When it comes out, dry it for an hour, then burn all the edges. Roll it up and you officially have a scroll that you can wax seal. When your players learn the spell, they must actually use the scroll. For wizards who are going to transcribe it into the spell book - during gameplay, actually have them scribe it down in their notebook! If they miss a material component… whoops.

• Make these spells illegal in your setting. Every spell has some story components behind it, so grab those and twist them. Don’t beat the players over the head with the plot of them, rather, just have town rumors and whispers that something was stolen and is being used in play again. Have people negatively impacted and imagine a reason why such things are illegal in your world.

• Add an agenda. Warlocks, Patrons, Gods of Magic, Devils, Demons, and even Celestials all have agenda’s of their own. Brian and Mark certaintly won’t mind if you take these ancient spells and secretly alter a mechanic behind them. Perhaps every time they cast a spell, it has double the potency, but brings that entity one step closer to reaching out. Once players start abusing the spell to trounce your regular campaign… you can start adding signs and portents over each casting of the spell.

These quick methods add a little… esoteric nature behind the occult and divine spells contained within the Libram and could help enhance the mood at your table. Rick out!

I have no inkling as to what this creature is. - Image by TPK.

Learning the Magic Yourself

You can put your pledges in for Libram of Lost Spells right now on their Kickstarter page. As of the time of writing this blog post, they're about three quarters funded.

For Mages who want to splash even more, one of their add-ons brings you our book, The Black Ballad, a high stakes adventure perfect for testing these powerful magic options.

Now we want to hear from you! Are you backing this exciting new project to level up your party’s magical abilities? Which classic spells from D&D’s past are you hoping have made it into the Libram? Let us know in the comments below and keep your eyes on Storyteller’s Forge for everything you need to know in the wide wild world of TTRPGs.