[magic item] Manuals of Lasra

After Lasra had received a magic quill by an elven witch he did not write poetry, only. A collection of manuals is attributed to his authorship, as well. These manuals had been written by device of the quill and enhanced with several obscure enchantments that allow students of the manuals to make rapid learning-process by following the given instructions, affirmations, and exercises. Powerful mind-altering magic is said to be at work here, casting the reader into a realm of altered dreams, and daydreams where he is confronted with different tasks to solve in order to practice his skills, and gain higher understanding of the cosmos and its laws, and the perception of the self within and the connection to others.

The manuals are written on fine enchanted papyrus, and leather-bound as books. There exist several copies of most of the manuals. Each one is highly sought-after. Some of the guilds want them out of circulation. The Library of Harmony is rumored to have many volumes of Lasra's manuals stored in its vault.

A Selection of the Manuals of Lasra

• Geometry, Cartography, and the Great Cities, and their Temples
• The Fine Art of Fencing
• The Fine Art of the Quarterstaff
• The Good Recipes for Feast, Lunch, and Campfire
• The Bestiary of Woods, and Hills
• Sailing Sea, and Swimming River
• Elven Runes, and Dwarven Riddles
• Writing Anecdotes, Witty Songs, and Love Poems
• The Art of Music
• Of Gods, and Godlings, and the Hierarchy of the World
• Seven Engineers: Building Ship, Bridge, Fort, and Town

Note that simply browsing through the manuals does not affect skills, or understanding. Each manual sets differents tasks and challanges with the dream realm, that have to be bested. There is no limit to the number of attempts at the different tasks.
Students of the manuals often took notes, tested problem-solving strategies beforehand, and pondered the mistakes of previous attempts at the tasks. These notes are quite precious for those who seek quick and easy progress with the manuals. But the eager student be warned. It is reported that cheating students were afflicted by some kind of curse, and rarely made profit of their skills. Or maybe it was only because of shame that they never put their aquired skills to much use.

In the Game

Most of the skills aquired by using the manuals are secondary skills. So, the manuals after extensive use and study, will grant the player characters new secondary skills, or allow mastery of those they had previously learned.
In some cases an Attack or Damage Bonus might be applicable, e.g. after studying the Fine Art of the Quarterstaff. Special maneuvers for use with the Hit Points as Currency Rule can be used, as well.

The dream realms created by the enchantment of the manuals can be explored as a mini-adventure.