Just Thinking... The Black Tome of Cordelia

Thinking about evil ways to twist things..

Idea:

The Black Tome of Cordelia, a compendium written upon silk pages. It was taken from the tomb of the vampire Rica.

This one really interests me.

The Black Tome of Cordelia. Silk pages. Taken from the tomb of the vampire Rica. That is the whole idea. No quest giver. No instructions. Just an object that should not be in anyone’s hands.

I always start by asking who took it. If it was the party, then there is already blood on the book. Even if no one died on “screen”, something woke up when it left that tomb. If it was stolen earlier, then the party is already late to the problem. Either way, the book being removed mattered.

The silk pages change everything. This is not a book you toss in a pack. Wet hands ruin it. Fire threatens it. Sunlight makes people nervous even if nothing happens. Every choice around the book becomes careful. Wrapping it. Hiding it. Deciding when to open it. Silk also implies age and cost. Someone paid dearly for this. Someone else wants it back. Ownership is never casual.

I would let the book help once.

Only once.

The first time it is opened, it offers something small and personal. A spell a character should not have. A cure for a problem that has been slowing them down. The fix works perfectly. No roll. No complication. Then the book asks for something simple. A name. A favor owed later. A little blood on the page. If they hesitate, the dreams start. Cordelia appears, not threatening, just familiar. A kind guide, who urges and asks you to consider things..

There is a scene I always come back to. The party camps in the rain. One character opens the book under a cloak. The silk pages feel warm. Words appear slowly. Somewhere nearby, an NPC wakes up screaming. A horse slips in the mud and breaks its leg. In the next town, someone greets the party by name without being told.

If the group tries to get rid of it, I let them. Burn it. Drop it in a river. Bury it deep. It always comes back, but never cleanly. Someone dies to return it to the world. Sometimes someone the party liked. The book does not punish. It balances.

This idea works when the book keeps offering reasons to hold onto it. It solves problems. It makes travel easier. It pushes danger onto other people. The cost grows slowly. By the time the players realize what they have been doing, they have already benefited too much to pretend otherwise.

I would run it slow. Let the pressure build. Let the book feel useful right up until the moment the party understands what keeping it moving has really been doing.