Ye Olde Shoppe of Magicks – Monster Manuals – Nineteen Eighty-Four

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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.

Nineteen Eighty-Four
(Monster Tome)

Medium Construct, lawful evil

Armor Class 15 (iron binding and watchful glyphs)
Hit Points 127 (15d10+45)
Speed 20 ft., hover 20 ft.

STR 12 (+1) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3)
INT 20 (+5) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws Int +8, Wis +6, Cha +7
Skills Deception +7, Insight +6, Arcana +8, History +8, Perception +6
Damage Resistances psychic, force, radiant
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned, prone, exhaustion
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages all; telepathic projection within 120 ft.
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)

Traits

  • Observe and Alter. The first time each round that a creature looks directly at the tome (voluntarily or not), it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or suffer a memory overwrite. The GM secretly changes one detail about the creature’s knowledge (for example, the name of an ally, the location of a door, or even the party’s current goal).
  • Reality Redacted. Illusions created by the tome appear as tangible truths. Investigation checks to disbelieve its illusions are made at disadvantage.
  • The Ministry of Truth. The tome can cast Modify Memory at will, but only affects a single sentence’s worth of recollection per casting. The spell requires no concentration.
  • Doublethink Field (Aura, 20 ft.). While within 20 ft. of the tome, creatures have disadvantage on Insight, Investigation, and Perception checks. A creature can willingly fail this save if it wishes to “accept” the book’s version of events.

Actions

  • Psychic Redaction. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d8+4) psychic damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw or lose proficiency in one random skill for 1 hour.
  • Erasure (Recharge 5–6). The tome targets one creature it can see within 60 ft. That creature must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or be erased from all allies’ memories for 1 minute. While forgotten, the creature cannot be targeted by attacks, healing, or spells that require awareness. The creature can still act normally, but no one perceives it until it deals damage or casts a spell.
  • Rewrite Reality (1/day). The tome alters a small portion of the world’s logic — doors become walls, allies become enemies, or names swap meanings. Choose a 30-ft. area. The GM describes how the environment subtly changes (maps, notes, and even players’ descriptions may be “rewritten”). This lasts for 10 minutes or until the tome is destroyed.

Reactions

  • False Report. When targeted by an attack, the tome can force the attacker to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a fail, the attacker perceives that they hit successfully — but the damage is negated as the tome rewrites the moment.

Legendary Action (Signature Spell)

  • Big Brother Is Watching You (Costs 2 Actions).
    The tome opens to reveal a single glowing eye that locks onto a creature within 60 ft. The target must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed by oppressive scrutiny until the start of its next turn. While affected, the creature hears whispered accusations and sees invisible watchers lurking nearby.
  • On failure, the target also takes 14 (4d6) psychic damage and becomes frightened until the end of its next turn.
  • On success, the creature takes half damage and resists the gaze, but feels an echo of paranoia.
  • When this ability is used, all creatures within 30 ft. feel the chilling presence of surveillance; for the next round, all Wisdom (Perception) and Charisma (Deception) checks are made with disadvantage as the air hums with unseen eyes.

Behavior & Narrative Hooks

  • Found chained to a podium under constant watch, whispering “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.”
  • Its pages rearrange to fit the reader’s beliefs, weaponizing confirmation bias.
  • Destroying the book doesn’t kill it — it merely relocates its consciousness into the next book someone opens. That new book rewrites itself to become Nineteen Eighty-Four

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

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