The Tome of Strahd is an ancient work penned by Strahd, a tragic tale of how he came to his fallen state. The book is bound in a thick leather cover with steel hinges and fastenings. The pages are of parchment and very brittle. Stains and age have taken their toll, but several paragraphs at the beginning are plainly readable. The rest of the book is filled with a mixture of ciphers, fictional stories, and notes written in a curious shorthand that only Strahd employs.
Book (legendary, requires attunement)*
Hidden Secrets. A character may attempt to find meaning in the illegible portions of the book. This action can be taken as part of a Long Rest, or during a day of downtime. At the end of that activity, the character may make an Investigation or Arcana check, summarising that time, to reveal a new entry.
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Reveal the section headings to the players (they have already been decoded by some mysterious third party, along with the first entry). At each long rest they may choose one section to study and must beat the DC of the next entry to decode it.
*Attunement is only required to use the Tome as a spellbook, once that section is decoded.
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