The Testament of Vraer

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This rectangular, traditionally shaped tome is about a foot across and two feet high, with covers of black, textured rothe hide of unusual thickness. One sage described the fissures in them as “deep and ancient in appearance, like the bark of a walnut tree.” The covers bear no titles. The one visibly unique feature of the Testament of Vraer is its spine: the long, straight human bone, whose ball-like ends project beyond the book and have been carved into likenesses of small, grinning human skulls. The 27 pages of the Testament are thin sheets of parchment that display one spell each, with three exceptions: the glossy black pages at the front, back, and midpoint of the tome bear enchanted pictures rather than written magic. The front page bears a full face human skull, and is known (surprisingly enough) as the “Skullpage.” At midpoint, the “Handpage” shows the image of a skeletal human (right) hand. The end page displays the skeletal tail of some reptilian or marine creature, and is, of course, the “Tailpage.” A strip of black ribbon is attached to the bottom of the Handpage so the book can be opened directly to it. This ribbon is decorated with a row of Kelemvor’s holy symbols (an upright skeletal arm holding a pair of scales). These three enspelled pages can have powerful effects on readers of the tome. If anyone except a priest of Kelemvor examines any page of the Testament without first exposing two of these pages in the correct order, harmful magic is activated. Kelemvorite clergy can examine the tome freely, ignoring the three pages and their enchantments, without activating anything. Clergy of other faiths must look at the Skullpage first and then the Tailpage, to examine the “forehand” dozen spells between the Skullpage and the Handpage. To safely examine the “afthand” dozen spells (between the Handpage and the Tailpage), one must look at the Tailpage first and then the Skullpage. Nonpriests of all sorts must open the book to the Handpage and then look at either the Skullpage or the Tailpage. They can then freely examine spells anywhere in the book. Any other sequence of openings (opening the book to display a page is considered to be examining it, actual reading need not take place) causes the activation of its guardian magics. If a forehand spell is examined, a necrophidius (see “Golem” in the MONSTROUS MANUAL™ accessory) appears close to the reader and attacks. If the reader escapes or is slain, the “death worm” attacks all other living creatures within 90 feet, until destroyed or until no living things remain within range, whereupon it mounts a guard over the Testament. One necrophidius appears for each forehand spell examined after the book has been opened improperly. (Closing the tome and starting over in the proper manner ends the appearances of the necrophidius, but does not cause the death worms already present to vanish.) If a spell in the afthand dozen is examined, six 12-hit-point crawling claws erupt from the page, seeking to strangle the reader. Another six appear out of every page exposed thereafter. (Closing the tome and starting over in the proper manner ends claw appear¬ances, but those already present remain.) Any physical attack on the book or contact with any spell causes a chain lightning spell to erupt from the Testament whose initial arc deals 9d6 points of damage (later arcs decrease in efficacy by 1d6 in the usual manner). Its first strike, regardless of distance, is at the source of the attack, and from there it “jumps” as chain lightning normally does. Beings struck by this attack always appear skeletal for a round after contact with the lightning, but thereafter their flesh “melts” back into view. A wounded being who touches the Testament and calls on Kelemvor aloud acquires clairvoyance for three rounds. This power works only once every three months per individual. The tome may contain other, as-yet-unrevealed powers, according to the hints in the writings of Vraer, creator of the Testament. As more than one sage has commented, however, Vraer’s tenuous grasp on sanity makes all of his words suspect. Vraer of Scornubel, the self-styled First Lord Worshiper of the Dread Master of Death (a title Kelemvor now frowns upon), wrote the Testament during the winter of 1368 DR. Vraer was formerly a devout priest of Myrkul, and the ascen-sion of Kelemvor seems to have shattered his mind. He was “wildly inspired” in 1369 DR, according to the sage Kauldlonthas of Memnon, when he presided over the Council of Garaun and presumably when he was writing the Testament of Vraer. The secrets of its guardian enchantments died with him in 1370 DR when he challenged the beholder colony known as the White Fate to a duel for ownership of their home, a verdant valley somewhere south and east of Llorkh. At the Council, Vraer presented the Testament to the assembled Kelemvorite clergy as his “gift to the glory” (and proof that he was the First Servant of the god, rightly supreme cleric over them all). This claim was openly disputed by several priests, most notably Nalauthiir of Reth, who claimed that Kelemvor always spoke directly to him, and that the book must be a fraud. Vraer challenged Nalauthiir to maintain that view after he’d read the tome, and the Deadmaster of Reth had no choice (with the assembly looking on) but to accept. Although his chambers were guarded with spells and loyal bodyguards, Nalauthiir was found dead, the book open in his hands, the next morning—and the fell reputation of the Testament began. Elminster of Shadowdale believes that the Testament of Vraer has the ability to unleash a phantasmal killer (like the 4th-level wizard spell) on the first being (besides the acti¬vator of this power) to touch the book after a secret word of activation is uttered by someone touching the tome. He thinks that Vraer so “awakened” the book before handing it to Nalauthiir. This peril doesn’t appear, Elminster believes, until a specified number of pages have been examined or a set period of time has elapsed, whichever occurs first. Although Elminster seems certain that this power operates only once, and must be reawakened in order to endanger a second handler of the book, the Testament has left a trail of bodies in its wake. Reader after reader has been found slain by unseen hands, and the Testament acquired the repute that death would claim anyone who even touched it. It is widely feared among sages in the Heartlands to this day—most refuse even to examine it. After consultations with a reliable but secret source, Elminster believes Vraer maintained a personal portal or extradimensional link to the Testament, and could “touch” it even when he was hundreds of miles distant. This contention is supported by the fact that deaths of readers ceased in 1364, although the book’s dark reputation clouds this date—many disappearances and killings are still blamed on the Testament merely because of its proximity to the deceased. It is clear from church records that minor priests known to report to Vraer were present at the temples where such deaths occurred and could well have kept track of who took custody of the tome after each death. Vraer’s often incoherent writings display a hatred and mistrust of anyone in the church he saw as a rival (in other words, any Kelemvorite priest of magical power who disagreed with him or seemed cool to any of Vraer’s schemes and policies). It’s not unthinkable to conclude that Vraer deliberately used the book he crafted to eliminate as many priests he disliked as possible. The present whereabouts of the tome are unknown, but most sages believe it is somewhere in the Heartlands. The Testament of Vraer contains two dozen spells, divided (by the page known as “the Handpage”) into the “forehand dozen” and the “afthand dozen.” The forehand dozen consists of the spells age creature (a spell detailed in the Tome of Magic sourcebook), age dragon (Tome of Magic), age plant (Tome of Magic), animate dead, chilling scythe (a spell detailed in the Faiths & Avatars sourcebook), dead march (Faiths & Avatars), dispel magic, feign death, invisibility to undead, negative plane protection, reverse time (Tome of Magic), and speak with dead. In the afthand dozen are the spells breath of life (Tome of Magic), death dragon (detailed below), deny death (Faiths & Avatars), ghost knight (detailed below), holy word, Kelemvor's Grace (detailed below), mindkiller (Tome of Magic), raise dead, reincarnate, repeat action (Tome of Magic), undeath to death (detailed below), and undead ward (Tome of Magic).