Background#

The Chained Library is a new location with creatures, magic items, and stories. “If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, the Chained Library is a cataclysm lying in wait,” says Indratha Nevarre, an antiquarian and sage.

Library Description#

The Chained Library is a great fortress built into the black rock cliffs far from civilization. Spellbooks of liches and necromancers and ancient tomes of infernal secrets line the library’s prison-shelves, guarded by blind celestials. The library predates every known kingdom and even some of the younger gods.

There are as many stories about its origin as there are sages to tell them. The Chained Library’s own version, sealed in a marble vault in the deepest depths of the archive, attributes its founding to Archmage Valistus.

In time, other mages and scholars presented Valistus with dangerous texts that could damn the world. Now, the Chained Library sends out agents to find and claim more dangerous books.

Knowledge taken into the library is effectively lost forever. However, the library never destroys a text: knowledge is sacred, and any information might serve a purpose in the future.

Entrance and Access#

Even finding the library is a challenge. It’s not on any map, and the few travelogues that exist are cryptic at best. The journey is always perilous and long. Gaining access to the library is not as simple as knocking on the door.

The librarians may consider the writs of monarchs, but only out of politeness. No sum of money is ever enough, and no threat or show of force has ever intimidated the librarians. However, the pleas of churches and pious orders can open the gate.

Defenses#

The library’s external doors are impervious to magic, and the locks are inaccessible from the outside. Forcing the doors open would require a siege engine. The doors inside the library are almost as sturdy. They are resistant to magic and require a successful Dexterity check using thieves’ tools to unlock or a Strength check to force open.

The library’s strongest defense is the curse it bestows on thieves: a creature who leaves the library with one of its books must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw at dawn the following day or take necrotic damage as its hands start to blacken and rot.

Inside the Library#

There is one entrance to the Chained Library: bronze double doors set in the cliffside, inlaid with sigils of protection and runes to dispel magic—and sealed by thirteen locks both magical and mundane.

The Howling Shelves#

The Howling Shelves make up the majority of the collection. Here, the librarians store spellbooks and research notes, tomes of demonology, and other dangerous, but possibly useful knowledge. The eyeless guardians patrol the area, where each book is chained to the shelves with adamantium links. Librarians habitually enter this area in pairs, each watching the other to ensure they’re not tempted to read any of the books.

The Deep Stacks#

The eyeless guardians visit the Deep Stacks only when ordered to do so, and the librarians don’t come here at all: the books here are too dangerous, intelligent and malevolent to risk humanoid contact.

The Deep Stacks are the lowest level of the library, a sump of threatening arcane power. These malevolent prisoners long for someone to read them, hoping to possess a living creature who can leave the library.

Each book is capable of communicating and has its own agenda. The way the book communicates and its agenda can be chosen or rolled on the tables below.

Encountering the Chained Library#

Adventurers might encounter the Chained Library and its agents as allies, enemies, or both at different times. The first four adventure hooks below serve as introductions to the Chained Library; the last five are better used once a connection has been established.

• Allies of Convenience: The characters and one or more agents of the library explore the same ruin or tomb. It’s dangerous work, and the two groups are safer together. The agents get their prize, and the characters get theirs—unless one side is lying about what they really want.
• Master Thief: A friendly NPC patron employs the characters to catch a skilled thief plaguing the libraries of learned folk. Once caught, the thief explains her mission: she’s relieving a cult of infernalists of their source material and taking it into safekeeping at the Chained Library. What do the characters do with the knowledge that their employers are in league with fiends?
• Reclamation: The characters have come into possession of a book the library’s agents claim should be safely locked away. They’re willing to pay a significant price, but the characters need the book to defeat a great evil.
• Rivals: The characters want one or more books from the estate of a deceased mage. Agents of the Chained Library have their eyes on several of the same tomes. Social and political maneuvering, bribery, blackmail, and threats all follow… plus whatever chaos the characters inevitably add to the mix.
• Apostate: One of the library’s scribes read something they shouldn’t, and now they’re burdened by terrible knowledge that’s unraveling their mind and demanding to be used. If the characters don’t stop the scribe, the librarian causes terrible harm. To complicate matters, the library is loath to kill one of their own and wants to see the scribe protected and healed.
• Incursion: Either the characters failed the test in the “Prospective Readers” adventure hook, or the book they sought is in the Deep Stacks, never to be looked upon. They must infiltrate or breach the library by force.
• Prospective Readers: The characters need access to knowledge contained within the library. But to be admitted to the library, they must pass three trials to prove their virtue and moral fiber.
• Resale: Books from the library make their way onto the market. Why? Who is allowing this? Has a thief plundered the library, or is there a traitor inside?
• Unburdening: The characters have come into possession of a book full of vile secrets. They must find the library or its agents to get rid of the wretched tome. This adventure can lead into any other plot hook where the library requires the characters’ assistance.

Insights from the Chained Library#

The Origin of the Barrier#

1. The Ritual’s Founder:
   • The party learns about the late matriarch of the Winter Court who originally constructed the barrier. Her notes and instructions are stored in a hidden section of the library, protected by powerful wards and guardians.

Steps to Repair the Barrier#

1. Reconstruction Ritual:
   • The party finds a detailed account of the original ritual used to create the barrier. This includes the necessary components, incantations, and the precise alignment of celestial bodies required to channel the leylines’ power.
2. Restoration of Leyline Crystals:
   • Recharging the Crystals: The damaged leyline crystal must be recharged with pure arcane energy. The party must seek out specific locations where leyline energy is most potent and use a special conduit to siphon this energy into the crystal.
   • Cleansing Rituals: The crystal must be cleansed of any corruption. The party needs to gather sacred herbs, rare minerals, and perform a purification ritual at a consecrated site.
3. Ancient Artifacts:
   • Artifacts of Power: The ritual requires the use of ancient elven artifacts that were used in the original construction. These artifacts are scattered across the realm, hidden in forgotten temples, guarded by powerful creatures, or held by other factions.
   • Binding Talismans: The party must create or find talismans imbued with binding magic to stabilize the barrier. These talismans can be crafted using rare materials found in different elemental planes or ancient elven ruins.
4. Key Locations:
   • Elemental Nodes: The party must visit key elemental nodes where the barrier’s energy is weakest. These nodes are points where the Material Plane intersects with the Shadowfell and Feywild. Strengthening the barrier at these nodes involves performing mini-rituals to fortify the barrier’s presence.
   • Arcane Wellsprings: Hidden wells of arcane energy must be tapped and redirected into the barrier. The party will need to navigate treacherous terrain, solve puzzles, and combat guardians to access these wells.
5. Protective Incantations:
   • Elven Incantations: The library holds ancient scrolls with powerful incantations in the old Elvish dialect. The party must learn and perform these incantations at specific times, corresponding to celestial alignments, to reinforce the barrier’s power.
   • Chant of Unity: A specific chant requiring multiple voices harmonizing is needed. The party might need to enlist the help of elven bards or train in the art themselves.
6. Mythic Ingredients:
   • Essence of Light: The ritual requires the essence of pure light, which can only be obtained from celestial beings or rare celestial events.
   • Shadowbane: A mythical substance that can repel the influence of the Shadowfell. The party must locate and obtain this substance, often guarded by powerful entities or found in dangerous locations.

Challenges and Quests#

• Guardian Trials: To access the most sensitive information in the library, the party must pass trials set by the blind celestials. These trials test their wisdom, courage, and purity of intent.
• Protective Wards: The party must disable or bypass ancient wards protecting the crucial texts, requiring knowledge of complex arcane rituals or solving intricate puzzles.
• Ancient Enemy: An ancient enemy or rival faction may also be seeking the knowledge to control or destroy the barrier, leading to potential confrontations within the library.

Conclusion#

By piecing together this information, the party will have a clear roadmap of the tasks and quests they need to undertake to repair the barrier. This structured approach ensures a series of engaging challenges and adventures that are integral to the overarching narrative of their campaign.