The Codex of Unspeakable Damnation has a lot to offer the aspiring Chaos worshipper. Inside this book are all sorts of terrible secrets, from rituals to candid suggestions for building a Cult from scratch. In addition, there are techniques for binding Chaos familiars, conjuring Daemons, and instructions for casting spells from a variety of sources. Reading this book requires 30 days of careful study. After that time, the reader can become a Cult Acolyte, Chaos Warrior, or Maledictor. The pages are covered in Warpstone powder, which can induce mutation on the reader.[1b]
History
The Codex of Unspeakable Damnation is an old and highly-sought treatise on mastering Chaos. Within its blasphemous pages are instructions on drawing power from Human sacrifice, a variety of dangerous rituals, advice for using Warpstone, details on the minions of Chaos, and a guide to founding cults. It’s not known who penned this book, but its pages are all carefully illuminated with perverse images framing each page.[1a]
The last owner of this book was a petty, mostly harmless man named Hans Kreig, a failed apprentice turned book collector. Though he lacked the talent for magic, he was keenly interested in the subject. So, while he worked as a bureaucrat for the local government, he also maintained a library of magical tomes. Such interest was not to be overlooked by the authorities, who frown on unsanctioned use of magic. And despite Kreig’s best efforts to hide his treasured tomes, he knew the Witch Hunters were close. He didn’t care if he was burned, but he feared for his collection.[1a]
As the noose tightened, Kreig snuck out of his offices early one afternoon and crept home, somehow evading the darkly-clad men who watched his building. Alone, he looked through his collection with loving care. He passed his most treasured volume, a grimoire written by Teclis two centuries previous, which Hans stole from the Colleges of Magic before he left. Beneath it, he found a book he had never before seen. It was black with a worn cover that prominently featured a real, horned skull. He had no idea how it came to him; he didn’t recall purchasing it, and given its sinister appearance, he likely would have passed it up had he come across it. Still, he must have picked it up somewhere. Unable to resist his curiosity, he opened it and began to read.[1a][1b]
Three days later, the Witch Hunters broke into Kreig’s home. What they found defies description. Kreig was nowhere to be found. Instead, they discovered a swollen sack of flesh sprouting tentacles all over its spheroid body. Nine weeping eyes stared fearfully at the intruders, and the entire bulk shifted and farted from its many orifices in a feeble attempt to back away. The Witch Hunters slew the thing, confiscated the books and burned the building down to cleanse it of its taint.[1b]