This thick tome is covered in inky black nightmare hide leather and bound with iron overlaid with silver. Delicate silver runes are inlaid in a circular pattern across the cover. The pages within are written in silver ink on jet-black paper. The book is extremely well-crafted, durable and waterproof, and measures just over 12 inches tall, 9 inches wide and 1 inch thick. 

The Dusk Queen received the Shadow Grimoire as a gift from the Queen of Air and Darkness while she still dwelt in the Winter Court. It has found its way into the hands of Ariel Nathrach, after the Final Fall of the Fey.

Warded. The Shadow Grimoire is protected by a glyph of warding. The glyph is triggered by the Grimoire itself if it feels threatened. The glyph causes explosive runes to erupt in a 20-foot-radius sphere. Each creature in the area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 45 (10d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 

Bookish. The Shadow Grimoire can open and close itself and flip instantly to any page it desires, including the current scroll page (see below) as an action. A DC 30 Strength check is required to close it, pry it open, or tear out a page against its will. 

Scroll Page. The Shadow Grimoire always contains one spell, from among all the spells transcribed within it, that the owner may cast directly from the book as if it were a scroll. Once the spell is cast, another spell (other than the one just cast) randomly becomes the next spell that can be cast directly from the book. The owner must spend an action to flip pages and find the new scroll-page spell. Once found, the scroll page can be marked for future reference. The owner does not need to provide a material component if it costs under 100 gp, and casting the spell does not remove it from the spellbook. The Grimoire does not have the ability to cast this spell itself. 

Innate Spellcasting. The Shadow Grimoire’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. It can cast the following spells innately, requiring no material components: 

3/day: Misty Step (when in shadows, dim light, or darkness only) 

5th level: Cone of Cold, Dream Contact Other Plane

4th level: Black Tentacles, Phantasmal Killer, Shadow of Moil

3rd level: Phantom Steed, Feign Death, Hunger of Hadar

2nd level: Darkness, Darkvision, Blindness/Deafness

1st level: Color Spray, Ray of Enfeeblement, Fog Cloud

Cantrips: Chill Touch, Mind Sliver, Frostbite

Shadow Knowledge. The Shadow Grimoire’s secrets cling to its owner’s mind like the Shadowfell itself. As long as the owner is in possession of the Grimoire, he gains advantage on all skill checks pertaining to shadow or darkness magic or the geography, history, and denizens of the Shadowfell.  

Sunlight Vulnerability.  For every minute the Shadow Grimoire is exposed to sunlight, it takes 4 (1d8) radiant damage. If this damage exceeds the book’s total hit points, the Shadow Grimoire bursts into gray flame and is forever destroyed. 

Sentience. The Shadow Grimoire is a sentient neutral book with an Intelligence of 16, a Wisdom of 14, and a Charisma of 14. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 30 feet. The book can speak, read, and write Common, Elven, Sylvan, & Primordial and can communicate with its owner telepathically. 

Personality. The book is intelligent, haughty, and extremely proud of its abilities and its unique nature. Once it decides to reveal its sentience and awareness, it expects to be treated in every possible way like a highly regarded equal. As long as the Grimoire is confident its owner shares its outlook and goals, it reveals its abilities and complies with most requests. The Shadow Grimoire is often mysterious, cryptic, and prone to falling silent for long periods of time without cause or explanation. If it feels it is being mistreated or not shown the proper level of respect, the Grimoire snaps itself shut and refuses to open or use any of its abilities. If such behaviors persist, it attempts to hide itself or escape from its owner using MISTY STEP. It even shouts for help when the party encounters someone the Grimoire feels would be a more suitable owner. The Grimoire has little interest in good or evil, law or chaos. Its primary interests lie in magic, specifically shadow and darkness magic or anything pertaining to the Shadowfell and Winter Court of the Feywild. The Grimoire is single-minded in its desire to learn all it can about these forbidden magicks and it expects its owner to share this desire. It insists that its owner learn a darkness spell from among the highest level spells the owner can cast each day. If the owner refuses, the book finds a more suitable owner by whatever means necessary. 

Adapted from The Shadow Grimoire by Marc Radle for Kobold Press's "Shadow of the Dusk Queen"

Notes: Bonus: Charisma Score, If the book is destroyed by sunlight, it will find its way back to the Shadowfell and The Raven Queen within 100 years., As dictated by The Shadow Grimoire, Buff, Combat, Warding, Sentient