In The Shattered Lands, books are valuable objects. Literacy is uncommon outside nobles, priests, Watchers, scholars, artificers, and wealthy merchants. Even ordinary literary works possess worth simply because they preserve knowledge, stories, or craftsmanship.
Price Range: 1–5 Gold
Cheaply copied or mass-produced books commonly found in villages, temples, inns, and traveling caravans.
Usually:
Thin parchment
Crude bindings
Simple ink
Worn or incomplete
Folk tales
Children’s stories
Religious pamphlets
Farming guides
Local poetry
Price Range: 10–35 Gold
Well-made books owned by merchants, educated travelers, clergy, and minor nobility.
Usually:
Leather bound
Professionally copied
Durable pages
Decorative script
Historical accounts
Popular novels
Military manuals
Regional bestiaries
Academic texts
Price Range: 50–150 Gold
Luxurious or prestigious works commissioned by nobles, wealthy collectors, and major libraries.
Usually:
Illuminated pages
Rare inks
Gold embossing
Exceptional craftsmanship
Royal genealogies
Noble poetry collections
Famous epics
Ancient philosophical writings
Courtly romances
Price Range: 200–750 Gold
Extremely difficult to replace due to age, rarity, political sensitivity, or historical importance.
Usually:
Ancient
Restricted
Handwritten originals
Stored in vaults or archives
Pre-Shattering records
Lost expedition journals
Forbidden histories
Cult writings
Original Watcher manuscripts
Price Range: 1,000+ Gold
These are effectively relics of civilization itself. Kingdoms, Watchers, cults, and collectors may kill to possess them.
Titan-era scripture
Original Light Bridge accounts
The only surviving copy of a forbidden text
Lost royal archives
Divine revelations
Condition | Modifier |
|---|---|
Ruined | Half value |
Weathered |
|
Preserved | Normal value |
Collector’s Condition | +50% to +200% value |