The final book of our Carrion Crown prop collection is a bit of a mystery to the group. It is presented as a locked tome, bound in leather, and in good condition – unlike most of the rest of the items. On the cover, is a single golden scarab, but no other notes or indicators.
For the prop, my prop master collected a lot of specific, custom material – I am not going to go into detail here, since my group may be reading. But the content is general is similar in scope to that of the other props. What distinguishes this one is that the group is unable to access it as such – the book is locked physically. The scarab is a 3d-printed piece, which was then coated in real gold-foil, the locking mechanism is similarly printed and then glued to the book with strong adhesive. The lock is a simple luggage lock, and the hinges on the latch are reinforced with paperclip wire. The contents are unknown, but the pages are torn and aged, though not as extensively as the rest of the collection.
Utilizing a bit of 3d printing, and a rather modern (could not locate an old style lock), we physically locked the book – and in the professor’s collection they have not yet been able to find a key that fits. As a stipulation, I did inform the group that any real-world forcing of the book would result in the in-game destruction of the book – ie, no cheating and breaking it open, since the construction is really just plastic and glue.
The group did of course try to pick the lock – that is a valid option. However, despite a group of 10 players, not a single one is a rogue, and none have significant thievery training. As such, the lock has defeated them thus far.
What mysteries might lay within the covers of this book? And what is the meaning of the golden scarab? These and other questions may be eventually answered, but for now the group is left curious and wondering.
