Books

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Yeah, I guess I'm also excited about being one of the first to try this particular forum. So I've dug out an old system I thought up for codifying the benefits that can be gained through using a book while making Knowledge checks.

I originally submitted this system to rec.games.frp.dnd on Usenet. I was inspired by another poster's description of how books are handled in Call of Cthulu. So if the system seems similar, that would be the reason why.

But here's your chance to tell me what you think:

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Each book has is associated with a difficulty, bonus, subject, and condition. The subject is the Knowledge skill covered by the book. The condition says what specific type of information about the subject that the book contains. For example, A History of House Klethira, would have subject: Nobility and Royalty, and condition: House Klethira. The book could be used on Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks, but only if they involved House Klethira.

The bonus is the bonus you get for consulting the book just before making a knowledge check. The bonus is reduced by 1 for every 2 ranks of skill you have away from the difficulty. For example, if A History of House Klethira is difficulty 6 and bonus +2, and I have 4 ranks in Knowledge (nobility and royalty), using the book only gives me a +1 bonus to my check because the book is a little too advanced for me. Likewise, if I had 8 ranks, the book would be below my skill level.

You can only gain the bonus from actively consulting the book. Any benefit gained from reading through the book is assumed to be included in the next rank you gain in the Appropriate Knowledge skill.

A comprehensive book could have multiple subjects and conditions, each with their own associated bonuses and difficulties.

The more subjects and conditions associated with a book, the larger and more expensive it becomes. Likewise, a larger bonus also implies a heavier and more expensive book. You can only fit so much knowledge on a given number of pages.

On a similar note, larger bonuses tend to be associated with narrower subject and condition.

The last two comments on size, price, and bonus restrictions can be thrown out in the case of a magical book, of course.
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After posting the above, I got some useful feedback from a poster regarding pricing the books. I figured it sounded reasonable.

A book in this system would cost a number of gold pieces equal to 25 + (bonus ^ 2) * 5 + bonus * difficulty.

So some books covering House Klethira would be priced in the following fashion:

A History of House Klethira
subject: Nobility and Royalty
condition: House Klethira
bonus: +2
difficulty: 6
price: 25 + (2 ^ 2) * 5 + 2 * 6 = 57 gp

Recent Events of House Klethira
subject: Nobility and Royalty
condition: House Klethira
bonus: +2
difficulty: 2
price: 25 + (2 ^ 2) * 5 + 2 * 2 = 49 gp

On the Rise of House Klethira
subject: Nobility and Royalty
condition: House Klethira
bonus: +5
difficulty: 8
price: 25 + (5 ^ 2) * 5 + 5 * 8 = 190 gp

House Klethira and the Origins of Empire
subject: Nobility and Royalty
condition: House Klethira
bonus: +8
difficulty: 12
price: 25 + (8 ^ 2) * 5 + 12 * 8 = 441 gp
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There are three primary things that I never really decided upon.

First is a formula for deciding on the book's wieght. Currently, I'm thinking something like 1 lb. per point of skill bonus. So House Klethira and the Origins of Empire would be a whopping 8 lbs.

Second is how long it takes to consult the book to gain the bonus. The above rules were written assuming one would be using the book as a reference source, only reading the part(s) relevant to your current query. So you don't have to read the entire book every time you want the bonus.

Third: How do multiple books on the same subject stack? My current thoughts are that books with the same difficulty rating and condition don't stack. There's just too much of the same information. Books of differing difficulty and different but related conditions should probably partially stack.

What do you think?

[Brickwall]

Actually, I believe libraries themselves give circumstance bonuses. For a single book to give a bonus, it would have to be large and well-written (read: heavy and expensive). Reading time, if such a tome had an index or something, would probably be 30 minutes per point of bonus you wish to receive.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Actually, I believe libraries themselves give circumstance bonuses. For a single book to give a bonus, it would have to be large and well-written (read: heavy and expensive).
I took my cue from the Book Lot rules in Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. The "Book Lot" you get from a library is something granted to an entire knowledge branch. A single book here has a more narrow focus.

For instance, you could purchase an entire book lot on Knowledge (nobility and royalty). That covers all Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks, no matter the subject. However, a single book under this system would only allow bonuses on a certain subset of Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks.

Incidentally, a single book lot only takes up a third of the book space in a 400 square foot Fancy Library. Remember also that there has to be room for a few small tables, chairs, desks, and even a ladder.

Of course, that should probably be reflected in any rules about prices and book weight, though it would also require some standards for assigning "Knowledge Breadth" categories.

Going back to the examples used in my original post: How narrow a topic is House Klethira? Well, that depends. Is it a minor house with limited influence in the small capital of an equally small province of a young country? Or is it a large trading empire, similar in the scope of the Dragonmarked houses of Eberron?

I'd expect a smaller, cheaper book for the former and a larger, more expensive book for the latter. At least, assuming similar bonuses.

[Fax Celestis]

I'd venture to say that multiple books like this would provide the largest bonus from all books on the subject, +1 for each additional book. So, if you have all 4 books you detailed above, you'd get a +11.

As for study time, I'd say fifteen minutes per +1. So, with the above example, it'd take 2 hours 45 minutes.

I'd also put in an addendum that says that any book that provides greater than a +5 bonus is divided into two smaller volumes, each of which is half of the total bonus, and don't provide stacking bonuses with each other.

So if you had a +15 Libris Ignis: The Big Book Of Fire, it'd be in three volumes (perhaps Volume 1: Burning Things, Volume 2: Cooking Things, and Volume 3: Keeping Yourself Out Of The Eyes Of The Gods (And The Police)), each of which are a +5 bonus to a particular aspect of a knowledge skill (volume 1 gives a +5 to spellcraft; volume 2 gives a +5 to cooking; volume 3 gives a +5 to forgery). Having all three does nifty stuff.