The last three pages of the book are careful notes on the preparation of magical inks for all the first-level spells in the book. Users of the art will notice that these are not the only known ink formulas for these spells. Note that the formula for Burning Hands will probably not work for writing the spell in its usual form.
Asmiak’s notes follow: The following instructions in each case will make ink sufficient to write a single spell. In such writing a quill from a magical beast must be used. (Asmiak does not define “magical beast”; refer to p. 117 of the DMG for what is actually meant.)
Read Magic 1 ounce giant squid sepia 1 large blue sapphire, powdered 1 medium carbuncle, powdered (or substitute: 1 large rock crystal and 1 eagle’s eye alternatively: blue quartz equal in size to a man’s fist and 2 eyes from a black falcon) 1 drop of the writer’s blood 1 pinch of earth 1 sprinkle of water Powder the rocks and gems in a mortar, and to them add the blood, the earth, and the water. Stir with a finger or a stick (or anything, so long as it is not metal) and mix into a paste. Put this into a crucible, and pass it into the tongue of an open flame. If eyes are used, hold these in the flame just above the open crucible and allow them to be consumed, so that any ash or juices produced will fall into the crucible. Allow the crucible to cool in a dark place. Then, under the light of a waxing or full moon, pour the brew into a flask or vial and stir in the sepia with a finger or other non-metal object.
Burning Hands 1 ounce giant octopus ink 3 drops gold dragon or red dragon blood or: 2 ounces fire elemental phlogiston or: 6 salamander scales or: 1 efreeti horn 2 ounces green plant matter 4 ounces flesh (from a meaty mammal, but not human or humanoid) wood, 1 plank or log cloth, 1 scrap parchment, 1 sheet A fire must be built in a brazier, stoked until hot, and fed in full sunlight with the wood, cloth, parchment, flesh, plants — all types of flammable or burnable things the spell will be able to affect. To this add the dragon blood or an alternative ingredient. Allow the fire to burn down, then remove one ounce of coals from the fire bed by hand and immerse them in the ink. The mixture should be stirred to break up the ash, but do not remove the sediment from the ink container — let the undissolved solid settle to the bottom and remain there. Cover and keep from air until cool. Comprehend Languages 1 ounce giant squid sepia 1 fresh tongue (from any mammal) 1 medium sard (onyx), or powdered sard of equivalent amount the brain of a sage (see note below) The sard should be crushed into powder if it is not already in that form. The brain should be placed in a crucible and boiled, while the preparer sprinkles the powdered sard into the fluid thus produced. The tongue (and any parts of the brain not reduced to liquid) should be put whole into the heart of afire, perhaps suspended in a metal pot or otherwise contained — the ashes of those ingredients must be kept separate from the ashes of the fire’s fuel — and when the fire burns down, the ashes should be stirred into the fluid first obtained. Allow this mixture to stand for 13 hours, and then pour it into a flask containing the sepia. Place the flask over a fire and bring the mixture slowly to a boil — do not stir. When the vapor given off darkens from red to black, take the flask away from the heat and seal the contents from the air until use. Note: Some users of the book report that the brain of any intelligent creature which uses and understands languages may be used with success. Detect Magic 1 ounce giant squid sepia oak, ash, and thorn branches sufficient for a small fire 1 small sapphire, powdered 1 drop of the writer’s blood 1 drop of spring water 1 object which radiates a dweomer Heat the squid sepia in a fire built of oak, ash, and thorn. Place the object or creature partially or wholly in the sepia, and let it remain there until the fire has burned out and the sepia is cool. While the fire is strong, add first the powdered sapphire, then the drop of water, and then the drop of blood, stirring the mixture once after each is added with a thorn branch. Ensure that the branch is produced, but the quantities for sand, then consumed in the fire. Let the fire water, mistletoe, lead, and the gems othburn out, remove the cooled mixture, er than the sapphires, remain the same. and pour it into a flask, taking care that 1 ounce giant octopus ink the object with the dweomer is not ad- 1/2 ounce ichor of slithering tracker mitted into the flask. 1 owl eye Erase 1 ounce of giant squid sepia 1 ounce acid 3 dozen caraway seeds, crushed 1 chrysolite 1 black pearl The gems must be placed whole into the acid and allowed to dissolve. This can take up to two days. When the last trace of the gems is gone (there must be no precipitant), the acid should be boiled, and while it is boiling vigorously, the caraway should be added. It will neutralize the acid and leave the resulting liquid slightly hued, with a small amount of precipitant matter. This must be allowed to cool slowly, and then be stirred into the sepia with a rod or bar of cold iron. Write To set down the spell itself, the ink must be made as follows: 1 ounce giant octopus ink 1 pinch graphite 1 drop of the writer’s blood 1 basilisk eye 1 whole plant (including roots), lady’s mantle Chop up the basilisk eye and the plant together, cover in a crucible, and burn to ash over a slow fire of seaborne driftwood or acorns. Add the graphite to the ink, and then the ash. Stir once with a wooden spoon or rod and then add the drop of blood. Cover quickly, shake, and let stand in the moonlight for a night. When employing the spell, the desired writing must be copied with a special ink.
Thurl says there are at least four known formulas for this ink; the intent is to create a neutral ink receptive to a dweomer, so as to capture the essence of a spell. The following ingredients will produce ink sufficient to write one spell, and they may be increased proportionally; add extra owl’s eyes, spikenard, and sapphires to increase the quantity of ink 3 blue-green sapphires, as large and as fine as possible 1 ruby (deep crimson) 1 piece of jet 1 piece of obsidian 1 spikenard (root) 1 pinch of sand 1 drop of water 1/4 ounce of lead 1 sprig of mistletoe Boil the spikenard, mistletoe, and owl eye in the ichor over a blazing fire. Pulverize and add the lead and the gems when the mixture is at a full boil, in the following order: sapphires, jet, lead, obsidian, and ruby, sprinkling each over the full surface of the boiling mixture. Take the mixture from the flames, stir in the giant octopus ink, and allow to cool uncapped in a windy place. Then add the sand and the water, and allow the container to stand for a full day, making sure it is exposed both to brilliant sunlight and bright moonlight. Identify 1 ounce giant octopus ink 1 clump of honey fungus plant 1 bunch of fennel 1 fist-sized piece of rose quartz 1 drop of holy water 1 saffron plant 1 small, flawless diamond Bottle the octopus ink in a silver vial, and take it to the woods at night. Live honey fungus is found on rotting bark and is readily identified by its pale green glow. Pluck it from the bark and submerge it straightaway in the vial, adding the drop of holy water immediately afterward. Cap the vial and warm it in a small fire. Meanwhile, crush and slice the fennel and saffron into a bowl of water, and powder the rose quartz. Add the powder to the silver vial, and shake. Then take the vial from the fire, and allow it to cool in a dark place. Place the bowl over the fire and let the water boil away. Powder the diamond and add it to the water during the boiling. Add the residue to the silver vial, seal, and place under pure, fast-running spring water for at least six days. Store the ink in the silver vial when not in use.
Message 1 ounce giant squid sepia 1 human or humanoid ear 1 human tongue (from a different body than the ear) 1 floral crown from an angelica plant 1 turnip 3 shoots of fox-tail grass 6 hedge mustard leaves 1 drop of dew Harvest a drop of dew from fern leaves beneath the light of the full moon. Place a cauldron of water over a fire, add the dew, and heat to a boil. Dice the organic ingredients separately, and add them to the boiling mixture in the following order: the tongue, angelica, hedge mustard, foxtail, turnip, and last the ear, stirring well with a wooden rod or spoon after each infusion. Allow the mixture to boil gently until the liquid is vaporized. Gently warm the sepia over a small flame. Scrape the residue from the inside of the cauldron and stir it into the sepia. Keep heating the mixture for one hour, stirring frequently. Allow it to cool slowly and stand undisturbed for one day.
Shield
1 ounce giant octopus ink
1 human thumbnail
1 pinch of iron (filings)
1 piece of rock crystal
1 pebble
1 beryl
1 star sapphire
Burn the thumbnail to ash. Pulverize
the rock crystal and the pebble separately,
then do likewise with each of the two
gems. Heat the octopus ink over a small
fire but do not let it come to a boil. Add,
stirring widdershins, the other ingredients
in this order: the pebble dust, the
iron filings, the rock crystal dust, the
beryl dust, and the dust of the sapphire.
Stir until all of these have been thoroughly
mixed and partially dissolved, and
then add the thumbnail ash. Allow to
cool slowly as the fire dies.
No comments:
Post a Comment