ConquerorThe Library of Verendel
Every wrong book costs a night you never get back
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Endless Shelves. The Library knows every location within its walls and can instantly teleport there as a bonus action.
Book Curse. A creature that is hit by Sealing Pages and drops to 0 hit points while the effect is active turns into a book instead of dying; this can be undone by destroying the book or defeating the Library.
Magic Resonance. When a creature within 30 feet expends a spell slot, the Library can use its reaction to cast Page Storm against that creature.
Multiattack. The Library makes two Shelf Claw attacks.
Shelf Claw. Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) bludgeoning damage.
Sealing Pages. One creature within 60 feet must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed for 1 minute by raging text swirling around it; the target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect.
Page Storm. A cloud of slashing pages fills a 20-foot-radius sphere within 60 feet. Each creature in the area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) slashing damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
The Story
The doors slam shut behind you and the Bibliotheek van Verendel stretches out farther than should be possible. Books turn their own pages, corridors you just passed now end somewhere else, and dust dances in columns of filtered light. It smells of old parchment and ink, and between the stacks glides a translucent librarian whispering for silence.
This is no building but a living thing. De Levende Bibliotheek is a gathering of every story ever written, and it hungers for one particular book lost centuries ago. Those who get lost here slowly become a story themselves, bound in leather and shelved. The librarian was once a living scholar; now she guards the very stacks that devoured her.
You must cross the reading hall without opening the wrong book, for every volume chosen in error erases a night from your memory. You decipher catalogs that reshuffle themselves, bargain with ink spirits, solve riddles that shift the corridors, and follow the faint trails of those who lost their way here before you.
Deep in the forbidden wing lies the book De Levende Bibliotheek seeks, and it holds her true name. Read it aloud, and you can command her to let you go, or seal her away forever. But the librarian will do anything to protect her mistress, and the final chapter decides whether you find the exit, or become a new spine on the shelf.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is this adventure in?
This page is in English. DM Shots adventures are crafted in clear, ready-to-read prose so you can run them straight from the table.
Which edition is it for?
The fifth edition (5e). It is compatible with the common 5e rules and includes stat blocks and encounters.
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An instant-download PDF with the complete adventure, a cinematic map, NPCs, encounters, printable loot cards and a DM guide.
How long does it take to play?
A typical DM Shots one-shot runs in 3 to 4 hours, perfect for a single evening at the table.
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