100 books you might find in a fantasy setting

Books, scrolls, parchments and paper are pretty common in a fantasy setting like Rolemaster’s Shadow World or HARP’s Cyradon. Whether your PCs are talking to book dealers, perusing a library or finding things in abandoned dungeons, having some generic texts that can pop up in your fantasy setting could be quite useful. That’s why we put together this list of 100 books you might find in a fantasy setting.

 

  • A ‘history’ book which chronicles a collection of events that only occurred in the disturbed mind of the author
  • A detailed history of the use of wicker
  • A tome from another plane that no one has ever managed to translate
  • Tales from an ancient civilisation that is so long dead no one knows if the amazing tales are legend or truth
  • 101 different ways to cook and eat turnips
  • An autobiography of someone who never did anything interesting
  • The life and deeds of kings and queens
  • A complete history of a noble house
  • A book of the greatest songs and ditties from all corners of the earth
  • An ancient recipe for the tastiest ale to ever be brewed
  • The detailed notes of magic users’ experiments into the origins and limits of magic
  • A selection of books detailing flora from different continents and their uses (not always accurate)
  • Adventurous farming methods for the adventurous farmer
  • Using magic to improve crop yields
  • Medicinal plants and where to find them
  • A selection of books detailing animal life on different continents including some that are now thought to be extinct
  • A sure-fire way to learn any language in three days (it doesn’t work)
  • What the planets position at the time of your birth mean for the rest of your life
  • How to raise otters as livestock
  • A history of dragons and dragonkin
  • An encyclopaedic guide to creatures from other planes
  • Evidence for the existence of an elusive creature (it doesn’t exist)
  • The pets of Sir Durnstrum Wippledip and their amazing adventures
  • Detailed drawings of dissections of several magical creatures
  • Ghosts, ghouls and spirits; catching them, killing them and controlling them
  • Rural flora of this century
  • The (very) in depth notes of a fanatical horticulturalist who cultivated several rare plants and bred their own species into creation
  • Whittling with magic
  • Wheels: The future of transportation
  • The greatest potters of these isles and their works
  • Learn to play the lute without ever touching one
  • How to treat some of the world’s most deadly diseases
  • The holy text
  • The holy text of a long dead religion
  • Architectural plans for the lost city
  • Local law enforcement logbooks containing notes on all crimes committed that year
  • The greatest painters of all time and their works
  • A book of local folklore
  • The history of the church
  • The librarian’s autobiography (it is terrible)
  • A book of military history
  • Advanced siege strategies
  • Building the weapons of war
  • Castles and how to overcome them
  • Observations on the stars and their movements
  • A local (and quite incomplete) dictionary
  • Children’s tales
  • The benefits of irrigation and plumbing
  • Every fight in the local arena logged and described since the arena opened
  • A beginners’ guide to magic
  • Magic your way to love
  • Local trade logs
  • Channelling magic
  • Mentalism for the ages
  • How to make a living as a mage
  • Staying on the right side of God
  • Naturally occurring magical phenomenon
  • A book of ‘lost’ magics
  • A spell book detailing a plethora of forbidden magic
  • Making friends and influencing people with magic
  • The evils of magic
  • The diaries and observations of one of the world’s greatest explorers
  • Secret cults of modern times
  • Census results dating back generations
  • The bardic tradition
  • The religions and customs of faraway places
  • An account of an ancient battle
  • The teachings of a great philosopher
  • Why nothing really matters – A fatalistic approach to everyday life
  • Does this world exist only in the mind of another, unknowable creature?
  • The complete rules of a local sport or game
  • A book of common spells
  • Recent advancements in modern technology (it’s very old)
  • The wonders of a foreign world
  • Historical political manifestos
  • A book of prophesy
  • A book of prophesy written for a specific individual
  • An encyclopaedia of goat breeds
  • A log of all marriages and deaths in a town or city
  • Architectural drawings of all the buildings in town
  • Finding and eliminating vampires
  • Teach yourself magic (widely regarded as one of the most dangerous books ever written)
  • A book of forgotten gods
  • Local maps from long ago
  • An account of an expedition to the edge of the world
  • Surviving in the wild with magic
  • The rise and fall of an ancient dynasty
  • A tome chronicling the existence of ancient relics and revealing their suspected whereabouts
  • A guide to local law enforcement for guards
  • Maps of areas of increased natural magical activity
  • A biography of a local prince
  • A book of ‘comedies’ by the world’s greatest author
  • A play about a king tormented by ghosts
  • A play about the rise of the ruling dynasty (and how great they are)
  • The diaries of a little-known farmer (which brings to light the huge part he played in saving the world)
  • How to fight dirty
  • Using mentalism to always get what you want
  • The experiments and findings of a master blacksmith
  • Weapon designs and usage from across the world
  • A list of this country’s guilds and their headquarters and leaders