Books and Maps Merchants

Shelves upon shelves of tomes line the walls of an old wooden scriptorium, and in the center of it all sits an improbably calm half-orc. As the aged scriptorium door creaks open, the half-orc adjusts his spectacles, staring into the bright daylight at those entering his shop.   With maps rolled and scrolled bristling from her backpack, a half-elf smiles cheerfully as she waves down travelers. One of the best cartographers in the land, she strides forward full of confidence, knowing that no matter where they are headed, anyone passing this busy crossroad could use one of her maps.   Not all books are magical, and indeed most are not. Books are always valuable, however, signifying a substantial amount of effort on the part of authors and transcribers across multiple ages. The same holds true for maps, and both are effective tools to ensure that the vital knowledge and stories of the past are never forgotten.  

Items for Sale

Tier	Item	Price	Notes
0	Book, mathematics	25 gp	Teaches everything from the basics to calculus
0	Calendar	5 gp	Contains all the days and months in a single year
0	Ink	10 gp / ounce	—
0	Ink pen	2 cp	—
0	Paper	2 sp / sheet	—
0	Parchment	1 sp / sheet	—
0	Newspaper	2 sp	Printed with the weekly news from a nearby city
1	Book, almanac	25 gp	Full of predictions important to farmers or astrologers
1	Book, area guidebook	50 gp	Pertains to a nearby city or location
1	Book, blank	25 gp	Suitable for writing or drawing; won’t hold spells
1	Book, brewing	25 gp	Explains the basics of creating your own alcohol
1	Book, cookbook	25 gp	Packed with delicious-sounding recipes
1	Book, dictionary	25 gp	Defines every word known to its author
1	Book, history	50 gp	Details the commonly-known history of a region
1	Book, legal code	50 gp	A comprehensive collection of the laws of a region
1	Book, local flora	50 gp	Pictures and descriptions of common local plants
1	Book, masonry	25 gp	Simple writings on sound construction techniques
1	Book, poetry	25 gp	Thought-provoking and full of complex emotion
1	Book, tawdry	25 gp	A gripping and bawdy story of steamy romance
1	Book, theological	25 gp	A common holy text for a popular god or faith
1	Book, thesaurus	25 gp	Indicate your intellect with this folio of synonyms
1	Case, map or scroll	1 gp	—
1	Map, accurate	25 gp	Portrays an important area within 7 days’ travel
1	Navigational chart	50 gp	A star chart showing how to navigate by the night sky
2	Atlas, known world	500 gp	Very accurate, but not overly detailed
2	Book, alchemy	75 gp	Contains alchemical scribblings; some in code
2	Book, armor making	75 gp	Teaches the basics of armor construction
2	Book, astrology	50 gp	A complete collection of star signs and their meanings
2	Book, bestiary	125 gp	Pertains to a specific type of creature found nearby
2	Book, biography	50 gp	Details the life of an important historical figure
2	Book, classic	100 gp	A book everyone wants to have read, but no one has
2	Book, exotic travelogue	100 gp	Tells of real journeys to a far-off land, with many details
2	Book, heraldry	50 gp	Describes several prominent family lines, with symbols
2	Book, herbalism	75 gp	Depicts the practice of collecting and processing herbs
2	Book, magic tricks	50 gp	Teaches non-arcane tricks of sleight of hand
2	Book, medicine	100 gp	Contains mundane cures for many common ailments
2	Book, memoir	50 gp	A historical figure reflects on their life and trials
2	Book, mythology	50 gp	Tells tales of gods, heroes, and other mythic figures
2	Book, novel	50 gp	One of several in a series of acclaimed genre fiction
2	Book, prayer book	50 gp	1 Full of ritual chants and liturgical prayers
2	Book, sheet music	50 gp	Holds several popular songs, on multiple instruments
2	Calligrapher’s supplies	10 gp	—
2	Cartographer’s tools	15 gp	—

 

Books

Some books pertain to specific topics, such as erbalism, heraldry, theology, or armor making. When aking a check to recount knowledge n a topic a book n your possession holds, you can choose to take one minute to flip through the book for pertinent information. If you o, you gain advantage on the check. You an only gain advantage in this way once, and you must inish a short or long rest before you can do so again.