The Library in the Ditch

Modron Librarian
Krauss
Ayryn
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In the library, we will meet a modron librarian who will task us with collecting books for his archive. The volumes you can find in the base PS:T campaign are:

  • Grimoire of Pestilential Thought – in the possession of the wererat Mantouk, located in the catacombs of the Weeping Stone;
  • Codex of the Inconceivable, which can be purchased from Vrishika’s shop (Clerk’s Ward);
  • The Tome of Bones and Ash – in the possession of Zombie #732 in the Mortuary;
  • The Mortuary Receiving Room Log Book – found near Dhall in the Mortuary;
  • Strahan Runeshadow’s Diary – in the possession of Strahan himself, in the Mausoleum in the Hive;
  • Finam’s Book and Fin Andlye’s Notes (both items are tied to the quest to decipher the dodecahedron) – you can try handing them to the librarian, but he will not accept them;
  • The Bone-Framed Journal, which can be found in the Player’s Maze – after we anger the Lady of Pain.

In the Blizzard in Baator mod locations, you will find the following books, which the modron librarian will gladly accept:

  • The Plane Truth – located on a bookshelf in Kabatum’s residence by the Vertical Sea;
  • Fire and Dust – during one of the random encounters, we will come across a merchant selling goods on a bridge who possesses this book (random encounters happen to the Nameless One while traveling between areas);
  • The Seafarer’s Arch or Final Port-of-Call – found in the backstage area of the „Under-mast” Theater by the Vertical Sea;
  • The Ditch – Of Sigil and the Sea – found in one of the containers on the beach;
  • The Day of Grace – this book can be found in a locked container in the kuo-toa lair;
  • The Analects of Sigil – can be received from, stolen from, or looted off the corpse of Tasselknot Drohm in Ysgard;
  • The Seven Wonders of the Multiverse – found in a container inside the The Division of Debt Collection in Ysgard.

Additionally, if we are carrying the Tome of Cheats, we can also present it to the modron (keep in mind that this item was originally cut from the base game and is available through restored content mods like Unfinished Business). Turning in the Tome of Cheats will reward you with Maslow’s Pyramid, an item that reduces fatigue and alcohol intoxication.

If we bring the modron at least seven books, he will reward us with a grimoire that has a very familiar-sounding name. The item can be opened directly from the inventory.

In the library, we will also meet the scholar Krauss, a specialist in madness. With a high enough Intelligence attribute (18+), we will be able to understand his foreign-language interjections. Krauss will also tell us more about the plague of threes (if we are currently tracking the quest given by Poirat from the „Rat and Splat” Tavern). The scholar possesses a mysterious sensory stone. He wasn’t brave enough to examine its contents himself, but he can hand it over so we can do it ourselves. The Nameless One can use the sensory stone from his inventory to replay the memory. In it, he will witness fragments of the life of a man nicknamed „Paw” (whom we know today as the skeleton „Tripler”).

By speaking to Krauss again, we can reveal the story hidden within the sensory stone (the more details we provide, the more experience points we earn). We can also lie and encourage him to use the stone himself, which will lead to his death. Ultimately, we can smash the stone or return it to the scholar.

We will also encounter Ayryn Farlight here, an air genasi and a member of the Society of Sensation, who is studying the history of the Greater Coin of Fate in the library. If we carry this coin (which could be obtained by buying a bag from the Ware-shack Manager in the Hive Port), Ayryn will offer us a barter and trade an Empyrean Diamond for it (the gem is worth a solid ~25,000 coppers). We can also give her the coin without expecting any payment.

Among other things, Ayryn will tell us about the Sensate Factol – Erin Darkflame– as well as several goddesses: Tyche, Selûne, Beshaba, and Tymora. If we reveal to her that we are heading on a mission to Mephistar, she will inform us that the Society will handsomely reward any useful information about Tyche we manage to gather there.

On a platform, on one of the bookshelves, we will find a bizarre book that can be opened from the inventory. If we examine it closely, we can recognize that the book is actually a mimic (requires 17 Wisdom and Intelligence). Attempting to open it will trigger a fight – when the book is on the brink of destruction, wanting to save its life, it will reveal its secret page. On it, we will see a temple with a statue of a powerful-looking wererat, an old chest, and a key (essential for opening the portal to the The Rat God’s Temple – a secret location from Act I). We can take a closer look at the key, and then finish off or spare the mimic.

In the library, we will also find several other books, including Fiendago, which describes the hierarchy of the baatezu, yugoloths, and tanar’ri. One of the fragments, „Tractatus de Tribus Daemonibus,” is written in a more difficult dialect (understanding it requires 13 Intelligence) and tells the story of a Blood War deserter named „Four Selves.” Another book, The History of Interfactional Diplomacy, can help us understand faction alliances (which will come in handy later in the act).

On a table near the modron librarian lies a mysterious scroll with an unknown spell. If the Nameless One recites it aloud („Mah Abdiluom Harakat Calaveras!”) while Morte is with him, the skull will lose his voice. Fortunately for Morte, the spell is only temporary – however, with a high enough Intelligence (18+), we can break its effects much faster.