100 Books To Find In The Miskatonic Library (That AREN'T In The Restricted Section)

100 Books To Find In The Miskatonic Library (That AREN’T In The Restricted Section)

100 Books To Find In The Miskatonic Library (That AREN'T In The Restricted Section)The town of Arkham, Massachusetts is the backdrop of many Cthulhu Mythos stories, both those written by H. P. Lovecraft and the authors who came after him. The same is true of RPG campaigns that take place in this setting. While the town itself is rather sprawling, one of its central features it boasts is Miskatonic University… and one of the university’s central features is its library. Or, more specifically, the restricted collection found within the Miskatonic Library. Many stories in the mythos are focused on the books kept under lock and key behind the gates of the library’s restricted section, from the dread Necronomicon, to tomes like Unaussprechlichen Kulten, to translations of the book of Eibon, these dangerous grimoires are often the centerpiece of a particular plot arc, or even an entire campaign.

This supplement, though, is for filling out the rest of the library.

The books contained in this list largely reference various parts of the Cthulhu Mythos, events mentioned in Lovecraft’s fiction or they’re homages to the time period, conspiracies that might play into a given game or just red herrings that can be used to throw players off track if their research skills aren’t up to par. But if you don’t want your investigators to conduct a full heist to try to get their hands on one of the relics held in the restricted section, many of the books in this supplement can be used to give them necessary pieces of information to solve their current plot… or to at least set them on the right track.

To use the list, either roll d100 for a random result or select appropriate ones manually.

Here are some sample results:

82. Parish Nightmares: A memoir written by retired New Orleans detective John Raymond Legrasse, this book discusses the most unsettling and macabre cases he ever investigated. Wedged in between tales of murder, fraud, abuse and worse is the very strange case of a cult that operated in the area. Legrasse was one of the officers on-scene when the cult’s members were arrested, its ritual paraphernalia taken as evidence, and the site locked down. According to him, though, the bizarre idols went missing from lockup, along with the dagger, medallions and other evidence the police had collected, which resulted in many of the charges being dismissed due to “departmental negligence,” though he maintains the belief that the case was sabotaged by unknown persons for reasons he can only speculate about.

83. An Esteemed Foundation: A dry-as-dust text on the founding and history of Miskatonic University itself, this book focuses on the origin of the campus library, and the earliest donations made to it by the college’s first president, Ward Phillips. While many of the books listed in the exhaustive record are simple texts (many of which are laughably out of date in this modern era), others remain part of the library’s restricted section to this very day.

84. Sign of The Skull: A book written by occult and esoteric symbolism scholar Morgan Smith, Sign of The Skull details a variety of historical practices from across the globe over the past several centuries. He covers a number of mystic orders such as the druids of Ireland, the Kabbalah-practicing sects of the Middle East, as well as modern secret societies like the Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn, and the Rosicrucians. Though this book is written quite matter-of-factly, the contents have actually led to many of the organizations who still exist threatening legal action due to their secret practices being exposed to the general public.

Released: 25th January 2025 Pages: 16

PDF ($2.99): DriveThruRPG

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