Pages from Spellbooks (part II)

As a continuation of last week's post, here are nine more spellbook pages.  All of these images are adapted from 'real world' sources.  Again, Thoul's Paradise bears no responsibility for magical complications caused by its readership.

The Watchtowers of the Order of the Golden Dawn (such as the Great Western Quadrangle of Water, below) remind me of circuit board diagrams – as though a wizard could use such a talisman to trace a thought process for fashioning various magical effects.

The Great Western Quadrangle of Water

Similarly, the 'spirals' below might indicate the required sequence of concepts for casting a given spell.

The Dragon-Book of Essex (collage)

Spellbooks would likely provide information regarding the identification, cultivation, and preparation of material components.

Voynich manuscript

In the French role-playing game Rêve de Dragon, the spells that a magician may cast are limited by which “dreamland” the magician's astral body occupies.  For game purposes, there is a map of the Dreamlands where each dreamland is represented by a hex.  The so-called Zoroaster's Telescope reminds me of the Rêve magic system.

Telescope de Zoroastre (collage) and Enochian characters

Here are a variety of images for which I do not have particular commentary.

Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis (collage)

Sefer Raziel HaMalakh

Crowley's Goetia

Sphinx Mystagoga (collage)

Tabula Smaragdina

Some Notes on Dragons

Many of the cherished readers of this blog are doubtless familiar the myth of Sigurd and how he became invulnerable by bathing in dragon’s blood. This sort of behavior is acceptable in mythology; however, in real life, the blood of dragons is quite leathal. Thoul’s Paradise recommends caution when dealing with dragons in general, but special care is warranted regarding their bodily fluids.

We owe this insight to Athanasius Kircher, one of the finest minds of the 17th century.  Kircher did not doubt the existence of dragons and in his 1665 work, Mundus Subterraneus, stated that any person “who denies their veracity must be himself completely mad - unless, that is, he is one who...cannot accordingly be categorized as a human being with a brain.”  Of course, Kircher wrote in Latin; this quote is a translation.  In honor of Kircher's birthday – May 2 – let us review some of the 'factual basis' he recorded about dragons.

Kircher related a story about a knight named Winkelkried.  (As a side note, if your name is Winkelkried and you want to become a knight, you may want to consider an alias.)  Anyway, Winkelkried killed a dragon.  Upon withdrawing his sword after the killing stroke, the dragon's blood splashed on him.  He soon perished due to the toxic nature of that substance.

Another incident Kircher wrote about supposedly transpired in 1660.  A man was trapping birds in the marshes and shot at what he assumed was a large bird.  Actually, it was a dragon and the shot only wounded it.  The dragon attacked and the man managed to cut its throat, killing it.  The man returned home and died.  It was found that the man's body was permeated with poison as a result of exposure to the dragon's blood.  The body of the dragon was recovered and put on display.  Kircher neglected to mention if the man's body was put on display.

Kircher also repeated a story from Bosius.  Evidently, on the island of Rhodes in the year 1345, a knight named Dieudonné de Gozon made careful preparations to confront a dragon (illustrated above) that had been 'terrorizing the countryside' so to speak.  To make a long story short, Gozon overcame the dragon, but not without being exposed to the noxious fumes emitted from the dragon's wounds.  Fortunately, Gozon's preparations included providing his servants with medicines for just such a contingency.  His servants observed the battle from the cliffs (just as Gozon had instructed them) and, upon seeing the results of the conflict, they recovered their master's body and managed to revive him.

Surely, these occurrences are sufficient to convince any reasonable person of the pernicious nature of dragon blood.  Yet how can such abominations as dragons come into being?  Kircher was not silent on this matter.  Like many scholars of his era, Kircher was a proponent of spontaneous generation and he noted that dragons are often found in the same areas as eagles, vultures, and other large birds of prey.  The prey these birds capture can accumulate into mounds of rotting flesh.  Such mounds can generate 'worms' with the characteristics of the animals whose flesh is included in the mound.  For example, a fermenting pile with the remains of a rabbit might produce a quadruped 'worm' with long ears.  So, different animals contribute various characteristics to the worms which, eventually, grow into dragons.  This explains why dragons are not uniform as a species – some have wings, others may not; some have four legs, others only two.

Well, it sounded reasonable in the the 17th century.  Anyway, who's to say that this isn't the process by which dragons are born in any given fantasy setting?

Even More Magic Items (and Monsters) in Empire of the Petal Throne

Amulet of Venus and Mars from Oedipus Ægyptiacus by Athanasius Kircher

Previously, I wrote about “Eyes.”  Among “other types of ancient mechanisms [that] are encountered [in the underworld],” there are Amulets.  With Eyes, a referee is encouraged “to insert other types into the game as he sees fit.”  Not so with Amulets; Barker describes exactly twelve types and does not suggest that others might exist.  Of course, there is nothing to stop a referee from inventing other Amulets, yet that was not Barker's intent.  Barker treated Eyes and Amulets differently and must have had a reason to do so.  Many of the Amulets could just have easily been Eyes, some even have 'charges' that are recharged in the same manner as Eyes.

Barker states that, “Like the 'Eyes,' Amulets are rather rare.”  Interestingly, when describing Eyes, he writes that Eyes are the “most frequently encountered” ancient devices with which “Tékumel abounds.”  I suppose the professor meant that most people neither own nor have access to working ancient technology/magic items.  Compared to Eyes, Amulets are much less common.  A 2nd level Non-Player Character Priest or Magic-User has a 13% chance of having – at most – one Amulet; however, that same character has a 20% chance of having at least one Eye (and possibly as many as six).  Also, according to the Treasure Determination Table, Eyes are more likely than Amulets to be included in any randomly generated treasure hoard.

It is assumed that if a character wanted to buy an Amulet, the likely way to purchase one would be from a temple (except there is only a ten percent chance that the temple would be willing to sell any given Amulet).  Prices for Amulets are determined like prices for Eyes; rare types can be more expensive than relatively common types by an order of magnitude.

The Amulets are described below.  They are grouped according to rarity.

Relatively Common Amulets
The Amulet of Finding Treasure in the Underworld:  This is a one use item.  Within a range of three hundred feet, “It infallibly guides the user to the nearest treasure hoard in the Underworld.”  What constitutes a treasure hoard?  Two thousand copper Qirgál?  A flask of water would be treasure to a man dying of thirst.  What does “nearest” mean?  Let's say there is a hoard 150 feet to the west and another 250 feet to the east.  To get to the western hoard, the party would have to traverse 500 feet of corridors but only 300 feet of tunnels to get to the eastern hoard.  Which is the nearer hoard?  What if, when infallibly guiding the user to a hoard, the Amulet detects another hoard that was previously out of range but is now closer than the original hoard?
The Amulet of the Good God:  Hrá are undead entities that can only be destroyed be depleting their hit points, then touching them with this Amulet.  Because of this, Hrá in the presence of the Amulet are likely to retreat; even other undead might retreat.  “[A]n evil being picking it up suffers 1-6 6-sided dice of damage...”
The Amulet of Mastery over Rényu:  Rényu (mentioned previously) are humanoid 'animals' that can be trained to speak and use tools and weapons.  This Amulet allows the wearer to control 1-3 Rényu without going through the process of subduing or training them.  What happens when a character removes the Amulet?  Does it still work as long as it is in his or her possession?
The Amulet of Perceiving the Scintillation of Metal:  By expending a charge, this Amulet “will point to the largest hoard of metal of any kind within [20 feet].”  'Largest' hoard in volume or mass?  What about degree of refinement of the metal?
The Amulet of Power Over the Undead:  This Amulet gives a Magic User an 80% chance to cause various forms of undead to retreat.  An Amulet can attempt to affect any given undead being only once.


“Rare” Amulets
The Amulet Against the Iniquitous Nshé:  A product of ancient sorcery, a Nshé is a being composed entirely of viscous, watery liquid.  It sometimes assumes a 'solid' form.  A person reading the inscription on this Amulet (written in the Language of Tsáqw) will cause Nshé to retreat automatically.  This is ineffective against any Nshé that “has taken on its man-like form.”  (The Nshé creature listing implies that the Amulet is ineffective after the Nshé adopts any form.)
The Amulet of Invincible Steel:  Ngáyu are “flattish crustacean creatures” that can “squirt some 20 feet” a liquid that destroys metal.  I think of them as the Tékumel equivalent of a rust monster.  This Amulet protects the wearer's belongings from the Ngáyu's secretions.  (The description of the Amulet makes specific reference to steel, but I suppose all metals are protected.)
The Amulet of Warding Off Thúnru'u:  Thúnru'u are known as 'the Eaters of Eyes' and they are “somewhat manlike, doughy and blubbery looking.”  Appropriately named, “This amulet causes 1-6 Thúnru'u...to flee.”  If one does not have access to this Amulet, Tsúral buds can repel Thúnru'u 80% of the time.


Very Rare Amulets
The Amulet of Peace Amongst the Servers of Ksárul:  As indicated previously, Ksárul is one of the 'evil' gods.  The Priests of Ksárul 'create' various Underworld creatures.  By expending a charge, this Amulet causes such creatures “to cease hostility against the user” for three turns (although they will defend themselves).
The Amulet of Protection Against the Grey Hand:  'The Grey Hand' is a potent spell learned by Magic-Users no earlier than eighth level.  It can be used once per day.  If the victim is successfully touched by the Magic-User, “the victim is reduced to a heap of greyish dust” – no saving throw.  The wearer of this Amulet, however, is immune.  Each Amulet attunes itself to its owner; until the owner dies, no one else can benefit from the Amulet.
The Amulet of Ruling the Ru'ún:  The Ru'ún are described as “manlike bronze demon-automatons some seven feet tall.”  They have three attacks per round:  “a powerful electric shock,” “a +1 sword,” and a “device...which casts steel bolts 30 feet.”  They cannot be surprised.  Anyway, assuming the owner knows the Llyáni language, this Amulet gives the owner a 60% chance of controlling 1-4 Ru'ún for two turns.
The Amulet of Safety Amidst Putrefaction:  The Shunned Ones are an intelligent race that has been on Tékumel since before the arrival of humans.  “This Amulet allows the wearer and 1-6 comrades to move unharmed among the Shunned Ones.”  Each charge lasts four turns.  My interpretation is that this Amulet counteracts the Shunned Ones' “terrible and repellent stench which drives off humans and non-humans alike.”  Let's say you have this Amulet and you have seven comrades.  At least one comrade will succumb to the Shunned Ones' odor.  When do you know how many are protected?  What decides which are protected and which aren't?