Desul, The Magical Organ is the Ear

 I want an alternative to spell books. I like the image of a mage carrying around a bookshelf of reading material, Death Stranding-style. I like Dungeons & Dragons and Knave and Cairn. The cloistered scholar archetype is intriguing. But I still want a creative alternative. 

How do wizards in traditionally wet or humid environments hold their magic? How does the magic-user in the wild — outside of their high tower, carrying all other manner of gear — find the cargo space to fit a few textbooks? And what really is magic? 

Waves. Vibration. Sound. Magic affects everything. Naturally, the magical organ is the ear. It keeps balance. It filters these waves, intoning them within the body and solidifying their magical effect.

Let’s create a “spell book” with these parameters. I’m going to call them “totems” instead. They are small, often hand-sized objects, perforated with holes that create unique sounds at specific volumes. Each totem holds one spell. Rolling a random spell in Cairn: “REPEL: Two objects are strongly magnetically repelled from each other within 10FT.”

The totem may be made of a magnetized steel that sticks to metal armor and weapons. It’s sculpted like a “Y” with holes along the base stem. Blowing through the bottom sends out a simultaneous high-pitched vibration out the left-most arm and a low-pitched vibration out the right-most arm. These are so high and low in frequency that it is nearly impossible to hear. Each vibration “hits” an object, vibrating one object at a new frequency that is opposed to the other object.

Try another: “SPELLSAW: A whirling blade flies from your chest, clearing any plant material in its way. It is otherwise harmless.”

The totem may be a leaf carved thinly out of pale wood. It can be blown like a reed or harmonica, emitting a grating buzzing sound. This vibration is the negative frequency plant matter vibrates at, so it can only be seen and felt by plant matter. It can be heard by everyone, and with practice can be a soulful instrument.

One more: “FLARE: A bright ball of energy fires a trail of light into the sky, revealing your location to friend or foe.”

The totem may be a flute-like rod with a cone at its top like a traditional firework. If hurled like a javelin it flies unnaturally far and high, the air traveling through its many holes creating a piercing screech that is deafening at close range.  Lights and fire spark out of the holes in spiraling patterns, bright red. The totem naturally propels upward at an angle, reaching a point that it flies completely vertical, slowing down as it reaches its terminus, and then descends. Now you must find where it landed.

I imagine totems mostly being palm-sized objects, but this might clash with the mechanic of some systems having spell books take up a full item slot. In that case, upsizing the totems to being around the size of a book, more in line with actual instruments, might work better. This makes spell books cross into the magical item neck of the woods, but I like the idea that these devices can still come about through research. Maybe a scientific-minded wizard creates their totems out of artificial metal boiled out of beakers. A humble artisan-mage whittles totems out of fallen logs. A guild of magic sculptors carve their totems-for-sale using market-standard branded motifs: The Merchant Caravan of the Hawk all incorporate a beaked hook into their totems. These are designed to be thrown, and fly to their target. 

I like the image of a powerful mage jangling through town, totems hanging from their bags and neck and ears like jewelry. Or if they seek to be clandestine maybe they have a folder like a card collector. If you opt to make totems larger it introduces its own interesting conflicts. How do you hide you're a magic user when you have a dozen obviously strange devices on your person?