Wizards' of the Coast's next Dungeons & Dragons module is Candlekeep Mysteries. The book contains a series of 17 different short adventures, all intended to be run in one session. They all start with the discovery of a book, and it's from there that the overall module draws its name. Candlekeep is perhaps the most famous library of the Forgotten Realms setting, home to thousands upon thousands of different histories, songs and even recipes. It is a place devoted to the accumulation of knowledge for its own sake.
Created along with the rest of the Forgotten Realms setting by Canadian author Ed Greenwood, Candlekeep is a collection of spires all rising atop a central crag. Each spire is lit at night, and as such the complex is said to look like a "cake decorated with too many candles." This is where the keep draws its name from, although it's also worth noting that the candle is also the symbol of the God of Literature, Deneir. The library was originally created to house the prophecies of the great seer Alaundo, to whom the castle originally belonged.
Any traveller in the great lands of Faerun may come to Candlekeep, although only those who bring with them an offering to the library will be permitted to enter. That gift can be any text, so long as it is one not already contained within the keep's walls. This can be incredibly difficult to accomplish, as Candlekeep already holds a massive variety of knowledge, and its collection only grows each year as more and more visit with their own contributions.
Those who enter its walls they are referred to as "Seekers," and may stay within its walls for ten days before they are asked to depart. However, for that ten-day period, Seekers have full access to the library's services and may read any text within.
The judgement of whether a text is worth admitting to Candlekeep's collection is carried out by its librarian-monks, known to the wider world as The Avowed. They hold no particular shared creed or faith beyond their devotion to the shared principles of Candlekeep. First among these is the protection of the library's existing collection. After all, there are many pesky adventurers that might want access to all kinds of powerful grimoires and forgotten secrets.
Secondly is the acquisition of new knowledge, which is represented by the price to enter Candlekeep, but also by the monks' willingness to buy new tomes. A new edition of a particular text certainly serves to expand Candlekeep's collection, even if it would not suffice as a price to enter its walls.
The Avowed also have their own internal politics, as their dual purposes can often lead to conflicts between them. On one side is the Keeper of Tomes, whose aim is to guard Candlekeep from outside threats, both mundane and magical. On the other is the First Reader, whose goal is to further the library's goal of obtaining knowledge.
These roles often come into conflict, as the Keeper of Tomes might seek stability and safety, while the First Reader pushes forward progress and innovation. Canny adventurers visiting Candlekeep might even seek to play them against each other to their own advantage -- although in doing so they'll risk angering the most powerful monks of the ancient institution.
But even with all that knowledge, it's currently unclear if Candlekeep itself will serve as host to the many adventures contained within Candlekeep Mysteries. Each might start off with a book contained within the library's vast collection, but will also likely lead players to other parts of Faerun. As such, knowledge of the library and its many secrets might only prove essential for a few of the "mysteries" contained within the new module.
And even if you don't pick up Candlekeep Mysteries upon its slated release, the idea of a place such as Candlekeep can still be hugely useful to Dungeon Masters -- both those running a game in the world of Faerun and those who need a library to slot into their own worlds.
Candlekeep Mysteries will be available on March 16.