abstract
| - The Artifact of Doom version of the Great Big Book of Everything. An old leatherbound book, with engravings depicting unpleasant creatures, prophecies of certain doom, and spells that do everything from turning toenails green to stopping (or causing) The End of the World as We Know It. And don't ask where they got the leather unless you really want to know (and you don't). Villains collect these books for their step-by-step guides to bringing about The End of the World as We Know It. When read by the hapless, they tend to summon The Legions of Hell into the mortal realm. When the books are read by the comic relief, Hilarity Ensues. In Cosmic Horror Stories, they typically drive their readers into gibbering insanity, the title alone can make them hear voices. Normally these books are centuries old, but one common subversion is for them to be modern paperbacks with almost-familiar names -- e.g., The Idiot's Guide to Demonology, A Child's Garden of Gibbering Horrors, The Home Handyman's Guide to Building Gates to Hell, Chicken Soup for the Soulless. See Magic Hat and Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. Compare Brown Note. Not to be confused with the Great Big Book of Everything or Spell Book, which are more of a neutral nature. May overlap with Tomes of Prophecy and Fate if they have evil prophecies. Can involve The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You. Examples of Tome of Eldritch Lore include:
|