📚 Books of Midkemia

“A sword may win a battle, but a book wins the war that follows.” —Patrus, Scholar of the Abbaye Ishap

In Betrayal at Krondor, books are more than inventory items—they are vessels of knowledge, memory, and transformation. Each title offers skill advancement, emotional insight, or factional doctrine. In Fables.GG, books are fully integrated into the narrative framework, allowing players to study, reflect, and evolve through reading.

🧠 Overview

Books are readable items that increase the Skills of party members. Each book:

Occupies one inventory slot
Has a maximum of 100 uses
Requires a set number of hours per reading
Offers a guaranteed skill boost on first read
Has a chance to boost skills on subsequent reads
May be found in shops, caches, or as quest rewards

Reading is not passive—it is a ritual of growth. The skill increase depends on the book’s subject and whether the skill is selected at the time of reading.

📖 Notable Titles & Effects

Here are key examples of books and their associated skills:

Accounts of the Shamata Garrison Trains: Assessment Boost: +5% on first read Duration: 6 hours per read
Chapel’s Rmur n Whepuns Trains: Armorcraft & Weaponcraft Boost: +3% Duration: 7 hours
Dorcas’ Treatise on the Animation of Objects Trains: Accuracy: Casting Boost: +5% Duration: 10 hours
Kalem’s Dialectic on Arrow Flight Trains: Accuracy: Crossbow Boost: +5% Duration: 6 hours
Psalms of Dala Trains: Defense Boost: +4% Duration: 2 hours Emotional Note: May trigger divine favor or insight when read in Dalan temples
Strategies of Trading Trains: Haggling Boost: +10% Duration: 3 hours Narrative Use: May unlock merchant dialogue or alternate quest paths
Thiful’s Bird Migrations Trains: All skills Boost: +5% Duration: 15 hours Side Effect: Every 30 days of game time, health/stamina increases by +1

🏪 Availability

Books may be:

Purchased in specialized and general shops
Found in caches, chests, or hidden locations
Granted as quest rewards
Traded between factions or gifted by NPCs

Some titles, like Lorgan’s Journal and Abbot’s Journal, are nonmarketable and do not affect skills—but may contain lore, emotional insight, or divine secrets.

📘 Narrative Integration in Fables.GG

Books are more than stat boosts—they are emotional and factional artifacts. In Fables.GG, reading may:

Unlock hidden memories or suppressed truths
Trigger divine responses or factional sympathy
Reveal alternate quest paths or puzzle solutions
Deepen character arcs through reflection and study
Influence NPC behavior based on what the player has learned

Reading in specific locations (e.g., temples, gravesites, battlefields) may alter the book’s effect or reveal new verses.

📚 Closing Note

In Midkemia, books are the quietest weapons. They shape minds, shift loyalties, and preserve what war tries to erase. By expanding their role into emotional and narrative systems, Fables.GG transforms reading into a ritual of growth, mystery, and transformation.

Let me know if you'd like to design faction-specific tomes, divine codices, or a modular reading system that evolves based on character alignment and emotional state.