The Librum Secerno

Dark tomes and musty books often hold secrets of great darkness. These secrets can hold hidden lore which will open a scholar's eyes to the mysteries of the planes, or they can proclaim dark secrets to which none should ever gain access. The god of secrets, Vecna, has few true divine followers. As a god of secrets, it would be against his nature to have an order that instructed others in his ways. Instead, Vecna recorded a number of secret tomes which hold the secrets of his dark powers. In order to follow the lord of secrets, you have to discover one of his ancient books and discover the secrets yourself. The power the lord of the undead has secreted away is great, but the cost of that knowledge is also great. 


Anyone who dares open the book of the dark god Vecna, will discover the pages to be empty. Only by offering a sacrifice of the flesh to the god who was maimed will reveal the full text of the Librum Secerno. If an offering of willfully given flesh is made, the giver will gain the ability to read the text of the otherwise blank book. Inside are many secrets and powerful spells that would otherwise take a lifetime to learn. Vecna offers this power to those who prove themselves worthy and who will take his secrets to the world and bring death to those who would stand against him.

The Librum Secerno is a powerful artifact that will grant incredible, dark powers to any divine character who seeks to attune themselves with the power of the book and the dark deity who scribed it. A magical character may use the tome to channel their arcane might and learn the deep spells of Vecna, but a follower of a god may also attune themselves to this dark text. By giving of themselves a sacrifice that Vecna would find fitting and pleasing, a divine character may gain access to the powers that wizards would spend centuries compiling. The secrets of Vecna will be laid bare, but at what cost? Any who discover someone with this blatantly evil text would be quick to judge and there have been many mages who lost their lives for lesser actions. Guard yourselves closely for the powers that the dark god may grant may not be worth the cost of life and reputation. The book is also rumored to be strongly attuned to Vecna himself and may resonate with the undying lord. Users should be cautious when using its power as the Lord of Secrets may be unamused with those who choose to associate with him and they way they use his power.

Ideas for DM's: 

• Players who want to use the book to learn more about Vecna could  be presented with information from the History Check article from Dungeon, Kas and Vecna to get a greater picture of just what they are dealing with. 
• If a player tries to use the power to sense the Hand or Eye of Vecna, what great adventure opportunities would present themselves if the players discovered the location of not the artifacts, but of Vecna himself? Just a thought, an evil, evil thought.