Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicks – Monster Manuals – 50 Shades of Grey

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In keeping with the Haunted Mansion our party is currently exploring, I came up with a WHOLE haunted library ala Gomez Addams

Encounter Mechanics

  • The books remain inert until one is pulled from the shelf. When disturbed, all awaken.
  • They can hover off the ground, flapping like birds. Some have the ability to run.
  • Their CR can be set between 2–3 each (slightly weaker alone, but dangerous as a group).
  • The fight can escalate as more books fall open—giving your party a frantic “stop pulling tomes!” realization.

Encounter Notes

  • Trigger: The fight begins when one book is pulled from the shelf. The rest join after 1 round, 1d4 books at a time, for rising tension.
  • Tactics: Books hover and swarm. “Art of War” boosts the others, “Odyssey” disrupts positioning, “Dracula” heals mid-fight.
  • Party Balance: Facing all 8 at once could overwhelm — consider staggering their arrival for a cinematic escalation.

50 Shades of Grey
(Monster Tome)

Medium Construct, chaotic evil

Armor Class 14 (iron-studded
leather cover)
Hit Points 88 (11d8+33)
Speed 20 ft., hover 25 ft.

STR 14 (+2) DEX 12 (+1) CON 16 (+3)
INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws Wis +5, Cha +6
Skills Intimidation +6, Deception +6
Damage Resistances psychic, necrotic, bludgeoning from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned, prone, exhaustion
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages understands Common and Abyssal; whispers in sultry tones
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Traits

  • Chains of Grey. At the start of its turn, one creature of the tome’s choice within 15 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or become restrained by spectral bindings until the start of its next turn.
  • Alluring Whisper. Creatures that begin their turn within 10 ft. must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the start of their next turn. While charmed in this way, they are compelled to move closer to the tome.
  • Shades of Control. Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against this tome, the tome gains 5 temporary hit points.

Actions

  • Lashing Pages. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6+4) bludgeoning damage as straps, chains, and bindings whip forth from the tome.
  • Grey Chains (Recharge 5–6). The tome lashes spectral chains in a 20 ft. radius. Each creature in the area must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be restrained for 1 minute. A restrained creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Overwhelming Submission (1/day). The tome targets one creature within 30 ft. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be dominated as if under dominate person for 1 minute. The tome can command only simple actions such as “kneel,” “drop your weapon,” or “don’t resist.”

⚖️ Design Notes

  • More of a controller/debuffer compared to your other tomes.
  • Plays with charm, restraint, and domination in a spooky, haunted way — no explicit content, just spectral bindings and whispers of control.
  • CR 6 makes it equal in power to The Wild Things Tome, but its strength lies in disabling the party rather than raw damage.

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Monster Tome base images were built using ChatGPT using prompts by Alien Graphics ©2025 Alien Graphics

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