Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
[X][LIBRARY] Colleges of Magic: Liminal Pathways, Nehekharan Pantheon, The Mortuary Cult, Nehekharan Incantations
[X][COLLEGE] An Ulgu powerstone (5 CF)
[X] [DWARF] No purchase.
[X] [PURCHASE] No purchase.
 
The Citadel-We occasionally do, with the cost coming out of their silk fund. The LIbrary-We so far haven't, since the influx of books is far beyond what they can 'digest' and they don't seem to have grasped the concept of not reading a book.
Makes a fascinating sort of sense for them to not grasp that. They're a decentralised hivemind, so individual spiders that compose the We end up reading and recording books more or less autonomously. Asking them to not read a book is sort of like asking a person to not hear a waterfall. Sure, they could eventually tune it out, or focus on a different noise, but even the phenomenon of being saturated with incoming information is probably something of a novelty.
 
The Citadel-We occasionally do, with the cost coming out of their silk fund. The LIbrary-We so far haven't, since the influx of books is far beyond what they can 'digest' and they don't seem to have grasped the concept of not reading a book.
...we made sure that the We understand that books can contain incorrect information and lies, right?
 
Almost Forgotten
Almost Forgotten

Skavenblight was long dead.

The Pillar had been smashed. The council slain. The rats scattered and hunted. It was said that the Reborn Goddess did the deed, as she fought the horned rat- both as big as clouds across the sky! For fourteen days and fourteen nights they waged war as Gods once did at the dawn of the world, until she broke his power and cast him down. In the many years since, a new deep water port has grown up along the edge of the bay that was once a marsh.

Without the supernatural hand balancing treachery and reward, the rest of the empire almost immediately ate itself alive, and offered next to no resistance as their many enemies moved in for the kill.

It has been a hundred years since a skaven has been seen alive. The grudges, oh so very many grudges, have been struck out, and a celebration announced across the Karaz Ankor. Even now the merrymaking continues.

In the early morning sunlight, a bundled and hunched figure climbs towards the western gate of Karak Eightpeaks. The dwarven gatewarden, eyes bloodshot but not bleary, meets it a hundred paces from the closed gates. (Pre-sighted canon meant that with small numbers of unknown entities, getting them to stop in the right place was a greater challenge than protecting the dwarf.)

"Hail traveler! By the edict of King Belegar the Refounder, all those without grudge against them may enter upon swearing an oath of peace and stating their business. Remove your hood and swear."

The bundle bowed it's head and reached forward, slowly drawing it's hood back and down. First revealed was a nose, black and twitching. A snout, furred. Two beady eyes. And last, a pair of round, fuzzy ears that flipped down nervously.

The gatewarden rubbed his eyes, then reached for his ax.

The skaven drew a deep breath.

"I am Chirit, of no clan-lineage, and I swear that I shall stay-dwell peacefully and without offering offense-threat for as long as I am permitted-allowed. I hear that there are no longer grudges against-upon those of my kind, and so I come to seek-beg entrance."

At this the warden paused his swing.

"Aye, you speak the truth about grudges rat, but that was only because you were all dead. What in the ancestors names possessed you to just openly walk up here?"

"Almost all ARE gone-dead. I know nothing of those who schemed-existed before me, save the few sneak-rats who bore and taught-raised me, and they knew nothing either. We cannot even read the old language. But I hear-listen of those who hunted us, and their forgiveness-release, and the vast stores of knowledge they hold-guard behind their gates, about every thing that has ever been.

"So my business-quest, oh stern-fierce guardian, is to seek to know who-what we were, and what we made-did, and why the world hated us."

The warden slowly holsters his ax. The rat looks at him. He imagines it to have an air of resigned fatalism, whiskers twitching.

"We have no grudges against you, aye. You swore the oath, aye. There is at least one partial precedent, I suppose. And your goal is solid, the knowledge you seek exists within the Library. But you are skaven. This decision is one for the king. Wait here."


A/N- in which Mathilde's library becomes a way for skaven to claw their way back.
 
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A/N- in which Mathilde's library becomes a way for skaven to claw their way back.
Think that Mathilde revealed her source of Skaven information? Also, with Johann proving that wolf-rats are just as trainable as dogs, were some litters saved to breed them into a more... well maybe not "noble" but more acceptable form for the layperson to deal with? I imagine they make incredible companions while adventuring underground.
 
Thought just occurred to me @Boney do the Elementalists get access to our new texts on Elementalism? Because if so I imagine the leadership of their guild is suddenly quite happy they let themselves get bullied a few years ago.

More broadly how much of the new stuff is available to partner libraries? Does the Moot now technically have a backdoor for sending someone to study Old One texts? I am assuming it is something short of that, but curious to know what the parameters are.
 
Thought just occurred to me @Boney do the Elementalists get access to our new texts on Elementalism? Because if so I imagine the leadership of their guild is suddenly quite happy they let themselves get bullied a few years ago.

No, because fuck 'em.

More broadly how much of the new stuff is available to partner libraries? Does the Moot now technically have a backdoor for sending someone to study Old One texts? I am assuming it is something short of that, but curious to know what the parameters are.

If a member of the organization of a partner library is allowed access to a book, then the partner library is allowed to copy it.
 
Thought just occurred to me @Boney do the Elementalists get access to our new texts on Elementalism? Because if so I imagine the leadership of their guild is suddenly quite happy they let themselves get bullied a few years ago.

More broadly how much of the new stuff is available to partner libraries? Does the Moot now technically have a backdoor for sending someone to study Old One texts? I am assuming it is something short of that, but curious to know what the parameters are.
The Bookflex was entirely one-sided, none of the Nuln libraries actually have the right to copy stuff from KAU that they didn't themselves provide. This would be the case even the Elementalists were entirely different and we liked them.

Like, yes, the library itself is open to any individual from polite society, but that doesn't mean that any John or Jane Wizard can just walk in and read actual magic books unless they're vouched for.
 
Like, yes, the library itself is open to any individual from polite society, but that doesn't mean that any John or Jane Wizard can just walk in and read actual magic books unless they're vouched for.
Elementalist? Sorry, the magic section is only open to real wizards. Yeah, no, sorry, can't do anything about that the law is the law.

Delivered in this tone:
 
Elementalist? Sorry, the magic section is only open to real wizards. Yeah, no, sorry, can't do anything about that the law is the law.

Delivered in this tone:

Elementalists: Please!

Mathilde: Rules are rules.

(Horned Skaven with Groucho Marx glasses walks in)
Skaven: Greetings-salutations, fellow wizard. I hear you have magic books-tomes regarding the usage of Dhar and also Skaven Warp Magic. Maybe-perhaps I could peruse them?

Mathilde: Well, you don't seem like an Elementalist, so sure!
 
Jokes about how much the Elementalists suck aside, I wonder if Elves, being Wind users who tend to live in much more Wind-rich environments, have insights on making Elementalisem function in closer proximity to Winds. If they do, that's just another reason for to Colleges to keep them from the Elementalists.
More broadly how much of the new stuff is available to partner libraries? Does the Moot now technically have a backdoor for sending someone to study Old One texts? I am assuming it is something short of that, but curious to know what the parameters are.
Even if they have clearance to do so, I can't imagine the Moot sparing anyone to study Old Ones texts; all available Mootish scholars will probably be tied up for years digging through the stacks for elvish cook books.
 
One thing I am wandering is what the hell is up with Wizarding Hats from an in universe perspective? Are they an abstraction for a goblin big boss that also happened to be a metal wizard somehow, or are there magic hats out there that can turn anyone into a (quite powerful) wizard?
 
Jokes about how much the Elementalists suck aside, I wonder if Elves, being Wind users who tend to live in much more Wind-rich environments, have insights on making Elementalisem function in closer proximity to Winds. If they do, that's just another reason for to Colleges to keep them from the Elementalists.

Even if they have clearance to do so, I can't imagine the Moot sparing anyone to study Old Ones texts; all available Mootish scholars will probably be tied up for years digging through the stacks for elvish cook books.

Keep in mind the College of Elementalists already had Asur lore +1, this would take them to Asur +3 (Obscure). I would imagine if they elves had some easy way to make their elementals not melt around other magics besides Git Gud Scrub that would be in the basics of their elementalism understanding.
 
Nonsense! When he got the book it became part of his hoard. He may have the contents memorized, but the physical book is still part of his hoard. And as any dragon will tell you, hoards aren't for using, they're for having.
Well, perhaps we can convince it to let us copy those books.
Did you just called Moot librarians short? You're banned from Moot library forever.
Nah. Halflings do not take offence for being called short. Tgey are instead offended by being called fat.
 
Yeah, but as common magic item. Actually, I checked around, and the new Old World rules actually has fluff for it "This splendid hat, once the property of a long dead Wizard, is still haunted by their ghost
The wearer is a Level 1 Wizard and knows one randomly generated spell from a Lore of Magic of your choosing. However, the whispers of the ghostly Wizard haunting the hat are often confusing. Therefore, the wearer also becomes subject to the Stupidity special rule."
So yeah, the proverbial wish.com crown of sorcery


The 8th edition version made you a full level 2 wizard of a battle magic lore.
 
I have to wonder what the Colleges broadly will make of Mathilde buying a bunch of Nehekaran books this turn?

Dragomas: You don't think she'll try to go tomb raiding do you? She has more sense than that.
Algard: Raiding? I'm concerned she'll try to walk up to Setra and propose a library partnership at this rate. And he might take it. :V
 
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