Tomes and Scrolls by Joe Adams, Jim Chokey, Rebecca Downey and John Sgammato is a role playing game supplement published by Columbia Games Inc. for use with Hârn and HârnMaster.
The supplement is available as a 30-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $9.99 but was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special discount.
The opening page explains that written works have been produced in the civilised parts of Lythia for centuries and, though they can contain almost anything, as most people are illiterate, most contains poems, songs, stories and religious doctrine. Some contain valuable specialised knowledge and are either unique or have closely guarded copies. Books are not mass-produced, but some are commonly copied by scribes. Most are expensive. The sidebar explains that oral tradition is still the dominant means of spreading information.
Common Types of Books list those types that are most commonly found, which are various types of mundane works. Mystic Tomes have other powers are well as the enclosed knowledge, and the sidebar looks at the different types of mystic tomes.
Versions of Books explains that different versions can arise when a book is translated or heavily edited, and may remove or add material. The books covered have information given for each; author, year, medium, pages, language/script, street value, copies and location. As all books are hand copied, fidelity is always suspect. The sidebar looks at libraries, palimpsests and glosses.
Reading a Book has game stats for reading one, and the sidebar covers how the condition can affect the difficulty of reading and how skills can be gained from reading.
The remainder of the supplement covers the different books, one to a page. Each book has a common layout, with modifications depending on specifics. There are details on the book, including its history, then on any copies and on any skill/lore details. The sidebar gives the various details as mentioned earlier, plus additional materials such as spells.
Tomes and Scrolls in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, given the length and the number of sections, these would have been useful. Navigation is poor. The text maintains a single column with sidebar format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of black and white and colour images, most of them books.
This supplement gives an overview of books in general, but the main part is the 26 books covered in detail. Each has an extensive writeup and game details, as well as details on copies where appropriate, and there are a decent variety of books covered, from the archive of Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel, a quarter ton of steel plates (it has proven resistant to theft) to books containing spells, useful information or other religious details. Tomes and Scrolls is a through detailing of different important books for the setting and it can be found by clicking here.
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