Veils of Knowing
  1. Objects

Veils of Knowing

Authored by the enigmatic sages of the Luminal College, this six-volume treatise explores the depths of divination magic, offering insights into the unknown and the unseen. Each volume contains a unique, rare spell that reveals a fragment of reality's hidden truths.


Volume I: The Art of Borrowed Aptitude

  • Signature Spell Included: Rary's Aptitude Appropriator
  • Additional Spells: Fortune's Favor (Wildemount), Mind Spike (Xanathar)
  • Summary: This foundational volume delves into the transfer of skill and talent, exploring the mystical resonance between individuals. The book discusses methods for identifying and harnessing the latent aptitudes of others through arcane touch.
  • Appearance: A well-worn leather tome with a clasp inlaid with a golden rune of a hand grasping a star.
  • Spell Description: Borrow the skill of another to achieve mastery in a non-magical proficiency.
  • Value: 1,200 gp

Volume II: Echoes of the Past

  • Signature Spell Included: Rary's Replay
  • Additional Spells: Clairvoyance, Tongues
  • Summary: This volume teaches the art of sifting through psychic impressions left in a place. The treatise explains how to focus on lingering emotions and events to uncover the truths of the past.
  • Appearance: A gray tome with a swirling silver sigil resembling a vortex, signifying time's spiral.
  • Spell Description: Replay vivid psychic impressions to relive moments embedded in a location's history.
  • Value: 1,400 gp

Volume III: The Answer Beyond the Veil

  • Signature Spell Included: Isolde's Answer
  • Additional Spells: Arcane Eye, Divination
  • Summary: This volume explores the enhancements of scrying devices, granting diviners the ability to ask questions and receive specific, visual answers. It provides anecdotes of how the spell solved mysteries for rulers and commoners alike.
  • Appearance: A sapphire-blue book with an embossed eye surrounded by question marks and runes.
  • Spell Description: Enhance a scrying device to ask a single question and view the answer as a vivid scene.
  • Value: 1,500 gp
  • SOLD to *Tailyn Blithe (Jay): See Pawnshop Corner

Volume IV: The Starry Compass

  • Signature Spell Included: Calder's Starry Sky
  • Additional Spells: Locate Creature, Commune with City (UA)
  • Summary: Focused on navigation and the celestial arts, this volume explains how to project a star map to guide lost travelers. The book provides practical applications for explorers and ship captains.
  • Appearance: Midnight-blue binding speckled with silver, resembling a starfield.
  • Spell Description: Create a magical starfield for navigation under any weather condition.
  • Value: 1,100 gp

Volume V: The Tether of Knowing

  • Signature Spell Included: Shandaril's TracerRastor's Mystical Spy
  • Additional Spells: Rary's Telepathic Bond, Scrying
  • Summary: This volume details how to place a mystical tracer on objects, allowing mages to track their movements across planes and learn about those who handle them. It is a favorite among adventurers and treasure hunters.
  • Appearance: A green tome etched with a geometric design resembling interlocking arrows.
  • Spell Description: Place a permanent tracer on an object to always know its location and condition.
  • Value: 1,800 gp

Volume VI: The Line of Pursuit

  • Spell Included: Tulrun's Tracer
  • Additional Spells: Find the Path, True Seeing
  • Summary: The final volume teaches the creation of a luminous pathway that follows a creature’s trail. The text emphasizes precision and patience, as even the faintest trail can reveal truths.
  • Appearance: A fiery orange tome engraved with a luminous trail that seems to shimmer faintly.
  • Spell Description: Follow the path of a creature, uncovering its route in glowing detail.
  • Value: 1,600 gp



Eyes of the Unveiled

Once-in-a-lifetime arcane apotheosis – Triggered by the bearer of all six tomes of the Veils of Knowing


"In the moment between the breath and the answer, you do not simply know truth—you become it."
—Final page of The Line of Pursuit


Activation:

Can be activated once, ever, by the attuned bearer of all six tomes. Activation requires an action and an unbroken chant of the true names of the volumes, taking 6 seconds (1 round). Once invoked, the bearer is engulfed in radiant script, their eyes becoming pools of starlit glyphs.


Effects – All Happen Instantly and Simultaneously

🔮 Eyes of the Unveiled

For 1 minute, the caster gains Truesight (120 ft), perceives invisible and ethereal creatures, sees through all illusions and magical darkness, and is immune to the blinded condition. They also gain advantage on all spell attack rolls and saving throws against magic.

🧭 Anchor of Awareness

Choose up to three targets (creatures, objects, or places) the caster has previously perceived. For the next 7 days, the caster knows their location and condition at all times, even across planes, and may teleport to one of them once during that time as if by plane shift (no components required).

Mystic Recall

Regain one expended spell slot of 6th level or lower. In addition, for the next 1 minute, the caster may cast one divination spell per turn as a bonus action, if it is of 2nd level or lower.

⏱️ Time Stop Reversal (Reaction)

As a reaction, if the caster becomes aware that Time Stop has been cast, they may trigger a burst of anti-temporal resonance.

  • Roll 1d4 + 1. This is the number of turns you remove from the Time Stop caster.

  • If your total equals or exceeds their rolled turns, Time Stop ends immediately.

  • If your roll exceeds theirs, you gain Time Stop for the remaining difference in rounds, acting immediately.

  • This ability may be triggered any time in the future, even after the rest of the power has faded. It is a one-time-use Reaction stored within the caster like a ticking spell bomb. It is usable, regardless of whether the caster has used their Reaction that round. 

The Final Dispersal

As the effect ends, the books glow with inner fire, humming in resonance. One by one, they vanish—shimmering motes spiraling away like fireflies escaping the grasp of fate itself. Each volume teleports to a new hidden location across the planes, protected by arcane wards and veiled from divination—until the next Seeker is called.


🔹 Legendary Echo

Any character who used Eyes of the Unveiled is forever changed. They gain the following passive traits:

  • Veilmarked: You may cast Detect Magic and Augury once per long rest without components.

  • Sagefire Memory: Once per long rest, you may ask the DM a single yes/no/meta-question about something your character perceives. The answer is always mysterious, cryptic, and true.


🕯️ Properties of the Set – The Veils of Knowing

Scholarly Value

Each volume of the Veils of Knowing is a masterwork of arcane scholarship. The tomes are filled with intricate diagrams, cryptic essays, and poetic meditations on the nature of truth, perception, and fate. Studying any one volume for 7 uninterrupted days grants inspiration for arcane research, allowing a caster to roll an Arcana check with advantage once per downtime project related to divination.

Arcane Synergy

When all six volumes are possessed and attuned to a single caster, they resonate in perfect harmonic convergence. While attuned to the complete set, the caster gains:

  • Advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) checks related to scrying, tracking magic, telepathic bonds, and divination rituals.

  • The ability to cast one divination spell of 3rd level or lower once per long rest without expending a spell slot, so long as the caster consults the tomes as part of the casting.

Eyes of the Unveiled – Final Mastery

Once the full set is studied and attuned, the caster unlocks a one-time, world-shifting ability known as Eyes of the Unveiled, which unifies all six volumes into a surge of transcendent clarity. It grants the bearer:

  • Truesight, perfect awareness of chosen targets, and temporal manipulation against Time Stop.

  • A restored spell slot, enhanced divination casting, and legendary insight.

  • See full details under Eyes of the Unveiled above.

Once used, the volumes vanish in a burst of shimmering glyphs and soft chimes, teleporting to safe but random arcane vaults, forgotten sanctums, or extraplanar caches. The caster may never gather them again, and the path to the tomes resets for a new generation of Seekers.

Hidden Secrets

Though the six volumes are complete in their brilliance, rumors persist of a Seventh VolumeThe Origin of All Eyes. Whispers say it was penned by the founder of the Luminal College, a figure erased from most records. This lost tome supposedly contains a spell so powerful it merges perception, fate, and will into a single act of absolute knowing.

Should it be found, it may require the sacrifice of all six previous volumes—or unlock an even greater revelation.


Complete Set Value (Before Activation):

8,600 gp, though any true sage would claim the collection’s worth cannot be measured in coin. After Eyes of the Unveiled is used, the set is rendered priceless and irretrievable.


Pricing Details:

  • Individual Total Value:

    • Volume I: The Art of Borrowed Aptitude - 1,200 gp
    • Volume II: Echoes of the Past - 1,400 gp
    • Volume III: The Answer Beyond the Veil - 1,500 gp
    • Volume IV: The Starry Compass - 1,100 gp
    • Volume V: The Tether of Knowing - 1,800 gp
    • Volume VI: The Line of Pursuit - 1,600 gp
    • Total: 8,600 gp

Spells

Calder's Starry Sky

2nd-level divination

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (an unblemished silver mirror worth at least 50 gp, which is not consumed)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour per level

This spell creates a magical projection of the night sky, showing the correct positions of stars for navigation. The starry display appears in a 30-foot radius centered on a point within range, up to 10 feet above the caster or projected onto a surface such as a ceiling. The display is accurate to the stars' positions for the current time and location, regardless of weather conditions or obstructions like clouds or storms.

Effects and Uses:

  • Navigators can use this magical star field to maintain their bearings and travel even during cloudy nights or stormy days.
  • The stars can be projected indoors, such as within a ship's cabin or a building, for decorative purposes or study.

Limitations:

  • The spell fails if cast outdoors on a clear, cloudless day, as the actual stars are already visible.
  • The spell does not provide illumination and cannot be used to light dark areas. It is purely a visual aid for navigation or aesthetic purposes.

At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the range and area of effect increase by 10 feet per slot level above 2nd.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination


This 5e adaptation simplifies the mechanics while staying true to the intent of the original spell, making it an elegant navigation aid with practical and decorative utility. Let me know if you'd like any additional adjustments!

Rary's Aptitude Appropriator

2nd-level transmutation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute per level

By casting this spell, you temporarily acquire the skill or proficiency of another creature. You must touch a creature that possesses the desired proficiency. The spell does not transfer the proficiency from the target, but instead allows you to gain its benefits as if you were proficient yourself.

  • If the target is willing, the transfer occurs without resistance.
  • If the target is unwilling, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw to prevent the transfer.

Once you acquire the proficiency, you use it as if you were proficient in the same way as the original creature. For the duration, you use the target’s proficiency bonus and any additional modifiers (such as an ability modifier) that the proficiency would normally use.

Limitations:

  • This spell only applies to skill or tool proficiencies; expertise or other abilities beyond proficiency (such as class features or innate talents) cannot be transferred.
  • The spell does not grant you the target's knowledge or experiences; you gain only the mechanical benefits of the proficiency.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one additional creature for every slot level above 2nd, acquiring one proficiency from each target.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Transmutation


Isolde's Answer

3rd-level divination

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a magical scrying device such as a crystal ball, mirror, or pool of water, which is not consumed)
Duration: Concentration, up to 2 minutes

This spell enhances a magical scrying device, allowing the caster to ask it one question and receive a visual answer. The enhanced device displays a clear scene that answers the question, provided the subject or relevant location is within the spell’s range.

Effects:

  • The caster may ask one specific question upon casting the spell, such as:
  • “Where is the object I last used?”
  • “What is happening in the throne room?”
  • “Where is the nearest source of freshwater?”
  • The scrying device shows a scene or provides a visual depiction relevant to the question, limited to the spell’s area of effect.

Range:

  • The spell has a range of 1 mile per caster level (e.g., a 5th-level wizard has a range of 5 miles).
  • If the subject of the question is outside this range, the scrying device does not provide an answer.

Limitations:

  • The scrying device must already be active and functional at the time of casting. This spell does not activate or repair a non-functional scrying device.
  • The spell cannot provide detailed or abstract information; it relies solely on showing a relevant visual scene.
  • The spell does not interpret the scene for the caster; understanding what is shown requires the caster’s insight.

At Higher Levels. When cast with a 4th-level or higher spell slot, the caster may ask one additional question for every slot level above 3rd, with each question consuming an additional minute of concentration.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination


Rastor's Mystical Spy

4th-level divination

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (copper brooch within reach)
Components: V, S, M (a copper brooch, which is not consumed)
Duration: Concentration, up to 30 minutes per level


This spell imbues a copper brooch with divinatory magic, transforming it into a mystical spy. When the enchanted brooch is pinned to another creature, you can see and hear everything the creature experiences for the duration of the spell, as long as it remains within range.


Effects:

  • The caster perceives the world through the senses of the creature wearing the brooch (similar to the effect of clairvoyance or scrying).
  • The caster is blind and deaf to their own surroundings while focusing on the brooch’s perspective. Returning to their own senses requires an action.

Range:

  • The spell functions as long as the brooch remains within a range of 1 mile per 5 caster levels (e.g., a 10th-level wizard has a range of 2 miles).

Limitations:

  • If the brooch is removed or the creature moves out of range, the spell ends.
  • The spell cannot penetrate areas blocked by lead or magical barriers that block divination effects (such as nondetection or antimagic field).

At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the maximum range increases by 1 mile for each slot level above 4th.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination


Tulrun's Tracer

4th-level divination

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (10-foot radius)
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of phosphorus or a glowing life form like a glowworm or bioluminescent fungus)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute per level


This spell creates a continuous, luminous pathway that reveals the most recent route of a creature specified by the caster. The caster must verbally describe the creature in detail during the casting. If the described creature has not passed within 10 feet of the caster's location within the past 24 hours per caster level, the spell fails.


Effect:

  • The tracer manifests as a glowing line within 10 feet of the caster, tracking the path the described creature last traveled.
  • The line moves at a rate of 60 feet per round, tracing the route taken by the creature, provided the creature was in contact with the ground or a living mount.
  • The tracer is intangible and cannot be physically interacted with, disturbed, or destroyed by mundane means.

Special Conditions:

  • Creature Contact: The spell cannot track creatures traveling entirely through the air or other mediums without touching the ground. It can track through water and will cross physical barriers and gaps of up to 15 feet.
  • Resilience: The tracer is unaffected by pass without trace or other spells of 4th level or lower that would obscure the path. It can be disrupted by spells like dispel magic or areas of magical darkness.
  • Teleportation and Plane Shift: If the creature teleported or plane-shifted, the tracer ends at the point of departure, and the caster receives a mental image of the destination. If the creature boarded a conveyance (e.g., a ship, cart, or flying carpet), the tracer ends there, and the caster receives a mental image of the act but not the final destination.

Spell Termination:
The tracer fades when the duration ends, the path reaches the target creature, or it encounters a condition it cannot follow (e.g., teleportation or planar travel).


Identical Creatures:
If multiple creatures match the description, the tracer attempts to follow all paths simultaneously. The caster must focus on a single path within 1 round; otherwise, the spell follows all paths, splitting its remaining duration proportionally among them.


At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the tracer’s tracking speed increases by 10 feet per slot level above 4th, up to a maximum of 90 feet per round.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination

Rary's Replay

5th-level divination

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Self (20-foot radius)
Components: V, S
Duration: Special


This spell allows the caster to perceive and experience residual psychic impressions left behind in a location. These impressions are remnants of past events, lingering as echoes in the area. The stronger or more significant the event, the clearer and longer-lasting the impressions.


Effects:

  • Upon casting the spell, the caster mentally witnesses the strongest psychic impression currently lingering in the area within a 20-foot radius. This replay occurs in real-time and is as vivid as if the caster were present at the original event.
  • The caster can clearly identify individuals, creatures, or objects involved in the event, provided they are visible within the replayed scene.

Replaying Additional Events:

  • If the spell is recast in the same area, the second strongest psychic impression is revealed. Each subsequent casting uncovers weaker and less distinct impressions until no impressions remain or the caster chooses to stop.
  • Each casting reveals one event, and the time required depends on the length of the original event.

Limitations:

  • The spell only reveals impressions from events that occurred within the area covered by the spell’s radius.
  • If no significant events occurred in the area, the spell provides no results.
  • Impressions fade over time; mundane events might linger for days or weeks, while significant or traumatic events may leave impressions lasting years or longer.
  • Events obscured by powerful magic (such as nondetection or antimagic field) cannot be perceived.

At Higher Levels. When cast with a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the radius of the spell increases by 10 feet for each slot level above 5th.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination


Shandaril's Tracer

5th-level divination

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a shard of quartz and a drop of ink, neither consumed)
Duration: Permanent (until dispelled or the object is destroyed)


This spell allows the caster to place an invisible, magical tracer rune on a single nonliving, solid object no larger than 1 cubic foot. The tracer remains on the object indefinitely unless dispelled or destroyed, at which point the caster becomes instantly aware of the event.


Effects:

  • Awareness of the Object:
    • By concentrating for 1 minute, the caster gains precise awareness of the object's location, including its direction, distance, and whether it is being handled or used by another creature.
    • This awareness extends across planes, though interplanar distances are vague (e.g., "very far" or "on another plane").
  • Knowledge of Creatures Handling the Object:
    • The caster receives hazy impressions of any creatures currently in contact with the object, learning their alignment, race, and whether they have magical abilities. This knowledge is limited and does not include names, specific descriptions, or levels.

Additional Features:

  • Teleportation and Focus:
    • The caster can use the object’s location as a focus for teleportation spells, enabling precise arrival near the object.
    • The tracer also serves as an anchor for other spells that rely on knowledge of an object's position (e.g., scrying or locate object).
  • Revealing and Countermeasures:
    • Magical detection, such as detect magic or true seeing, can reveal the tracer's presence, though its specific function may not be clear.
    • The caster is immediately aware if the tracer is detected or probed magically and can take precautions to prevent being traced in turn.

Limitations:

  • The spell cannot target living creatures or magical constructs.
  • The tracer is a subtle enchantment, designed to blend into the object's magical aura if any, but sufficiently powerful detection magic can differentiate it.
  • The caster cannot trace multiple objects simultaneously; only the most recently applied tracer remains active if cast again.

At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the caster can place tracers on an additional object per slot level above 5th, with each object requiring its own casting.

Classes: Wizard
Spell School: Divination