Publication:Dread Codex 2/The Tome of Unlife

The Tome of Unlife
This is a small tome, bound in the black hide of a darkmantle. It is worn from use, and by the looks of it, has at least been in this world for over a hundred years. It has a small iron lock, and on the front is written in silverish letters, “T’lath Nae’Emyn”. These are abyssal words meaning the Tome of Unlife, a statement which only a true necromancer could have made. These letters are printed on the back of the book as well, along with the arcane sigil of the books author, Falnor of Elderbridge, also called Falnor the Ill-fated. The sigil is a series of twisted snake forms chasing each other within a circle.

History
Falnor lived over a hundred years ago, and although he is a child of Elderbridge, left the city in an early age. It is well-known that he travelled west to the Great Kingdoms, searching for a king who would own his service and his sword. He may have found a king, though Falnor ended up in the slave pits of Tâl Vorgath in the south, also named the City of the Ancients.

Passages in the tome tell of his master, Ilnioth of the Eluan Eye, and how Falnor came to be the necromancer’s apprentice and trusted servant. His blood was bound to his Master’s, and the two of them became friends and confidants.

Falnor may not have found a king to serve with his life, but he did find a purpose, and quickly grew in power. He served his apprenticeship in full, becoming a journeyman, after which Falnor travelled into the wide world. He was a free man now, and Ilnioth had no more to ask of him. The black tome details some of these journeys as well, and the patient reader will observe that he came to Fordrusil forest and was held captive by the Hunter of the Dead, Akeltor. He saw things there. Undead and demonic experiments, and even learned dark rituals as the Hunter used his blooded services.

From then on, the tome becomes strange. The passages are written in a different style and the words seem darker and sometimes confused. We can only imagine what actually happened in that dark forest, or whether Falnor has actually written these last words himself. There are many secrets hidden within this tome, and in order to read it, one must first becomes its master.

The Magic
The spellbook has strong necromantic magic within it, and even the hide, in which it is bound, has a strong aura, though one of abjuration. The iron lock is never fully locked, and it appears that one could easily open this tome and read its contents, yet this is not so. It takes a spectral hand spell to open the lock, as per the spell, but any who breaks this secret, will always be able to open the tome, without any problems. Of course, one could dispel the magic, but that would destroy the secret pages within the tome.

The Secrets
Inside, the reader will find many secrets, among those are all of the spells detailed in the next section, and other, more familiar spells as written below. This tome is not only a recollection of the life of Falnor the Ill-fated, it also bestows a strong knowledge of the undead.

Using this book to obtain undead lore gives the reader a +2 competence bonus to any check made while the book is in his possession. Though note that some of the information may just be the thoughts of the author, and not actual truths.

The last part of the book is the most dangerous part, and among the ramblings of some unfortunate soul, is hidden five secret pages containing the following spells; Akeltor’s Bolt of Animation, Corrupting Darkness, Death’s Hunger, Masks of Pain and Stillborn. These spells have been hidden for a reason, a good reason, and should be handled with great wisdom and care. To find these spells in the tome, the reader must make a Search check DC 25, and a Knowledge (arcana) check DC 20. After that, the secret pages will be revealed to the reader.

The Spells
These are the spells which can be found within the Tome of Unlife. Those marked with an * can be found in the spell section below, the rest are taken from the Core Rulebooks


 * 0 – detect magic, disrupt undead, mage hand, blood will tell*, track the blood*, ray of decay''*
 * 1 – comprehend languages, detect undead, chill touch, falnor’s ghostly armor*, undead servant*, soul of chaos*, ramble of the mad*
 * 2 – invisibility, command undead, false life, spectral hand, darkvision, fox's cunning, bolt of ghostslaying*, yarvol’s bonearm animation*, falnor’s guise of death*, ilnioth’s mark of life*
 * 3 – dispel magic, nondetection, gentle repose, halt undead, gaseous form, secret page, yarvol’s bane of touch*, ethereal sleep*, ruul’s skeletal wings*
 * 4 – remove curse, dimension door, arcane eye, locate creature, gift of life*, knowledge of the ages*, spellbreaker*, watchful ghost*
 * 5 – break enchantment, secret chest, contact other plane, nightmare, magic jar, waves of fatigue, bird of prey*, corrupting darkness*, mass ethereal sleep*, ilnioth’s greater mark of life''*
 * 6 – antimagic field, legend lore, circle of death, eyebite, undeath to death, akeltor’s bolt of animation*, death’s hunger*
 * 7 – insanity, control undead, sigil of death*
 * 8 – symbol of death, temporal stasis, stillborn*, vampiric lust*
 * 9 – astral projection, gate of bone*, masks of pain*