Mól Encyclopædia

Description

The Compendium of the Mol Empire is an imposing collection of thirty volumes, each aged and richly detailed with centuries of wear. The volumes are bound in sturdy, once-elegant leather that has long since faded to a deep, mottled brown. Each spine is embossed with intricate, almost imperceptible filigree patterns that have dulled with age, but the faint traces of their original colors: green, blue, orange, purple, and red.

When aligned correctly on the shelf, the spines reveal a subtle, continuous symbol that spans the entire set, depicting a stylized emblem of the Mol Empire itself: a pentagon set with a pentagonal star. This is subtly overlain with the outline of a honeysuckle flower. Though worn, the symbol can still be made out, and it serves as the signature of Telvanius’ work.

Finding a volume at all is rare. Finding one still fully legible is exceedingly rare.

Common Knowledge

Telvanius, a renowned naturalist and scholar, served as a trusted advisor and historian within the Mól Empire. Initially an enslaved servant, his scholarly aptitude earned him a rare status that few could rival. Over the years, Telvanius became one of the empire’s most celebrated naturalists, traversing lands and documenting his discoveries with an unparalleled eye for detail. Known for his keen insight and methodical research, he became the author of Telvanius’ Compendium of the Mól Empire, later referred to simply as the Mól Encyclopædia. This work stands as his magnum opus, a monumental 30-volume encyclopedia of the empire’s life and culture, chronicling subjects like social customs, education, flora and fauna, the empire’s intricate economy, and more.

With unrestricted access to imperial libraries and resources, Telvanius was uniquely positioned to compile an exhaustive archive, unlike any before or since. His access extended well beyond the confines of typical scholarship; during his service, the emperor allocated him a staggering annual budget surpassing even that of the empire’s top three generals combined. His high standing granted him freedom to travel, explore, and conduct research across the empire.

Hidden Purpose

The true purpose behind Telvanius’ compendium was more than mere scholarship. A covert ally to the Peren resistance, Telvanius used the work as a vessel for secretly recording crucial information about the empire’s most sensitive subjects. Beneath the innocent-seeming entries on fauna or trade routes, Telvanius embedded knowledge that was only accessible to the trained eye: hidden codes, cryptic symbols, and archaic references that would allow the Peren rebels to piece together insights about the empire’s strengths, weaknesses, and secrets.

In collecting and deciphering a complete set of the encyclopedia, readers gain access to the full breadth of Telvanius’ subversive annotations, which contain strategies, weaknesses, and hidden truths about the empire. Only those with the knowledge to decode Telvanius’ writing and contextually understand the hidden lore can uncover these dangerous secrets. For the empire’s enemies, the compendium is not merely a reference but a trove of the keys needed to bring down the Mól Empire’s iron-fisted rule.

In total, Telvanius’ Compendium of the Mól Empire holds two distinct purposes: a public-facing historical reference for future generations, and a clandestine guide for dismantling the empire’s control.

Game Mechanics

Hidden in the Mól Encyclopædia are five core subjects (Alchemy, Emperor’s Court, Faith, Foreign Affairs, and Military), each represented across six volumes, identified by the subtle hue of filigree on each binding.

• Alchemy
• Emperor’s Court
• Faith
• Foreign Affairs
• Military

Knowledge Bonuses

For each volume of a specific color collected, a character gains a bonus to appropriate Lore or Knowledge skill checks relevant to that subject:

1 Volume: +0, unlocks the ability to attempt Lore skill checks on the subject.

2 Volumes: +1 bonus

3 Volumes: +2 bonus

4 Volumes: +3 bonus

5 Volumes: +4 bonus

6 Volumes: +5 bonus

Deciphering Secrets

Each volume requires a Linguistics check to decipher the hidden messages within. After successfully deciphering the volume, the hidden knowledge within it becomes accessible permanently.

• Language: You must be able to read/write a Mól-family language.
• Check DC: 30, made in secret.

Action

Each Linguistics check to decipher the hidden messages in a volume requires 3 days of focused study.

Retry? Yes. You may attempt again once per month.

After a volume has been deciphered, referencing it as often as you like. The time it takes to locate and interpret the relevant information within the text requires 10 minutes per check.

Modifiers

• If you speak Taal, you gain a +5 Circumstance bonus on the check.
• Someone else that speaks a Mól language may provide assistance with Aid Another.
• If an earlier volume of a particular subject has been deciphered, you gain a cumulative +1 bonus on subsequent checks for that subject.

Campaign Updates

The code is in the bindings. The filigree on each spine is not decoration but an index: five colors, five subjects, six volumes apiece: Alchemy, the Emperor’s Court, Faith, Foreign Affairs, and the Military. Thirty volumes, and a reader who knows the scheme can tell from across a room which part of the empire a book is really about.

The party worked this out the hard way, in the cursed keep where the first volumes turned up. Gwenivere has helped with the decoding since, and the alchemy volumes were cracked by Ashanti, whose trade they are.

The set has been assembled by theft as much as by scholarship. The heist under Haudh-Gwenn brought in several more, including an Emperor’s Court volume and a run of alchemy volumes, some of them duplicates worth thirty or forty gold apiece to the right buyer. The alchemy subject was finally completed at the Crack, when Elliot turned over ten more he had got from a collector: at cost, or on credit, and to Ashanti’s irritation.

Finding a volume is rare. Finding one still legible is rarer. Finding one nobody else has already noticed is rarer still, and the company reads booksellers’ inventories looking for them.