A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Pilfered Tomes: Diplomat’s Study

Pilfered Tomes: Diplomat’s Study by Dave Woodrum is a generic fantasy role playing game supplement published by Fishwife Games.

This is a six-page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for $1.50 but was purchased at the reduced price of $1.13 during a sale. One page is the front cover and one the front matter.

The Introduction explains that the supplement has twelve different tomes on the general subject of diplomacy that can be found, providing more valuable and more interesting books to flesh out a bookshelf. There is a d12 table that can be used to roll up a random tome. Next is another d12 table to roll up a book’s condition, with an adjustment to the book’s value based on its condition.

The books are then described. Each has its title given, with a paragraph giving an overview of the contents, followed by the book’s author, page count, weight and base value in gold. As mentioned, each book is generally on the topic of diplomacy and most are non-fiction, although there is a work that imparts lessons through fiction.

Pilfered Tomes: Diplomat’s Study in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and is short enough that it doesn’t need them. The text follows a single column format and appeared to be almost free of errors. There are a few stock colour illustrations that are roughly applicable to some of the nearby text. Presentation is okay.

This supplement provides more detailed overviews that can be used to make books a bit more interesting, rather than the usual “You find some books” statement. No game effects are given for any of the books, but these could be created with a bit of work; a GM would have to infer what could be learned from the book by the description of the contents, which could be tricky but is definitely not impossible. It would have been nice to see some suggested in-game practical value. As-is, the books are more interesting bits of treasure with some variable monetary value. Pilfered Tomes: Diplomat’s Study is a nice, inexpensive way of fleshing out a bookshelf and it can be found by clicking here.