In my recent adventure I introduced my characters to their first taste of profane knowledge (and they haven't even met their Inquisitor yet)

In the Adventure, I ran a modifed shattered hope/Pax Calixis adventure. The characters were investigating the trail of a new drug found on a smugglers ship. (The farcosia). The ship was transported aboard the Pax Calixis, and the characters are riding it back to Scintilla. Anyway during the investigation, the smugglers dropped off a package with a "Xerks" who turned out to be a Heretek, and seemed to be the cause of an unidenified malfunction of the warp system and gellar field by an unstable Xenos device. So the characters engaged him and his warp tainted servitors, and lead to the ship be forcfully dropped out to the warp. After defeated the enemies and trying to remove the device the players found a small bound pamphlet and a dataslate. They are as follows:

Fragment of the Tome of Ammicus Tole

Fragment #1:

Tests: Challenging Literacy Test, a Hard Logic Test, and a Hard Common Lore Tech Test.

Results: Literacy or Tech Use failure has not effect, no knowledge gained

Two Tests Successful: 1d5 Insanity Points, and access to Talent: Sorcecery as an Elite Advance for 200XP

Three Successes: As above plus access to fragment #6:

Fragment #6:

Test: an Additional Hard Common Lore Tech Use

Results: an additional 1d5 insanity points, and the Chaos Ritual Create Bronze Malifects

Sorry the Dataslate contained the following text:

Collected Theories of Multi-dimensional Warp Systems by the Dastrom Institute (sub-author LaForge)

Test: Challenging Literacy Test, Very Hard Logic Test

Result: 1 Insanity Point, and Forbidden Lore: Warp as an Elite Advance for 100 XP

Good concept! But a book that opens "sorcery" to you should not only give you "insanity" but "corruption" as well.

i have to agree with gregorious.

there should be atleast 1d10 Corruption points if it opens up sorcery to the character.

Aside from the blatant star Trek references it sounds pretty cool. I agree that the books should give corruption rather than insanity though.

Yeah I had though about that after the fact. I also just looked up the sorceror talent, and figured the characters would still have to meet the basic requirements for the talent. I should have used corruption, but it is a little late to slap them with it now.

Salcor

Good stuff.

I'm contemplating a "tome" that's an homage to the interlocking discs that made up the githyanki's philosophical book from Planescape: Torment. I'm contemplating making it a xenos work of art, to prevent the PCs from purging it outright like if they found it in a cultist cell say.

The "book" itself has an unknown number of chapters (as many as I need), and is itself a puzzle to work out. Each "solution" to the puzzle allocates corruption, insanity, and whatever "benefit" I deem fit. It seems a fitting tribute to Chaos that a dozen metal plates can spin and interlock to create a theoretically absurd number of chapters. I'm also thinking of your corruption points giving a bonus to your roll, encouraging you to give yourself fully over to Chaos to better understand the trove in your hands.

Salcor said:

It is never to late for corruption

1) Role 1d10 in secret. This is the number of corruption they gain
2) Now, start giving the player using this one on a margin of one every day. Allow him IN/CH-roles everytime. Or allow his peers "scrutiny" roles everytime. Success means he/they notice that his "behavior changes". If the character passes the test, he also recognizes his CP and that it is from his dealing with this book. If he throws it away, fine. Do not give him those still "on the shelf". Things done. But hammer them back all in one packet as soon starts again.

If he simply shrugs and goes on...hammer them on him. All in one package.

"Case closed".

TheFlatline said:

As a massive Planescape fan, considering this idea blatently stolen. You know, I can very much see some of D&D's creepier creatures making for outstanding xenos. The ethergaunt are the ones that primarily come to mind.