This curious book captures a black and white image of anyone who opens it; the image appears on the first page of the book, before any other images that may already be in the book. However, anyone opening the book so must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or become monochrome and linked to the book; in addition, they must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or become fascinated.

If the creature fails the Will save, it is fascinated by the book and will stare at it; if appropriate tools are to hand, it will use them to colour the image of itself in the book. If the book contains other images, it will colour these as well until there are no remaining uncoloured images, at which point the effect ends. It takes about one minute to colour an image; if the image was already partially coloured, it takes about half as long. A found book typically contains 1d6 images already in it (not including already coloured images or the new image of the fascinated person), but may sometimes contain more. The spells Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, and Break Enchantment can counter the effect before the creature finishes colouring, even leaving an image only partially coloured.

If the creature succeeds the Will save and leaves the book open, anyone else looking at the book must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or suffer the same fascination effect. This also happens if the fascination effect was dispelled and someone else looks at the book. A successful Will save renders the creature immune to the effect until the book is closed, but if the creature was dispelled they can become affected again after one round.

If the creature fails the Fortitude save, they become monochrome (which means that all colour leeches from their body except for black outlines defining their features) and linked to the book. Even if they succeed on the save, an image of them appears in the book; however, in this case the image is mundane.

While linked to the book, any colours applied to their image in the book will also be applied to their physical form, rendering them coloured instead of monochrome (or partially coloured if the colouring process was interrupted). The link cannot be broken by any means if the creature is monochrome, coloured, partially coloured, or fascinated by the book. The link cannot be dispelled, but can be broken with a Remove Curse, Break Enchantment, Wish, or Miracle spell. Multiple creatures can be linked to the book at the same time. While the book is closed, the link is inactive and the colours are fixed. If someone who is linked opens the book, they do not need to make a Fortitude save, but they do need to make a Will save (DC 14 as usual). Once the link is broken, that particular image becomes mundane and will never again affect the creature; if they later open the book again, a new image of them will appear.

A monochrome creature takes a -5 penalty to Hide checks. If the creature is coloured in garish colours, this penalty persists; if it is coloured in normal colours, the penalty is negated. If the creature is partially coloured in normal colours, the penalty is reduced to -3. (Normal colours does not necessarily mean the creature's natural colours.) A coloured creature can gain up to a +5 bonus on Hide checks if coloured in appropriate colours (what's appropriate depends on the environment). A monochrome, coloured, or partially coloured creature can be restored to their normal colours with a Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, or Break Enchantment spell, provided the creature is not fascinated with the book (if they are, that must first be separately dispelled).

If a monochrome, coloured, or partially coloured creature is dispelled, their image in the book goes white. If the link is not subsequently broken and someone applies colour to the image, the linked creature must succeed on a new Fortitude save (DC 22) or become monochrome once more. If they succeed on this save, the link remains, but they are not affected by the colouring until the book is closed, at which point their image will once more go white. They do not need to be anywhere near the person applying the colour to be forced to make this save; in fact, the do not even need to be on the same plane.

If a creature linked to the book is subject to Polymorph or any similar effect, their image in the book changes to reflect this; any parts which do not exist on the new form turn white, leaving the creature partially coloured. When the polymorph wears off, the creature (and their image) returns to how it was just before the polymorph took effect.

If a creature affected by the book is exposed to Mage's Disjunction, then all effects are instantly broken. The book does not burn and is unaffected by acid. It has 60 hit points and hardness 10; if reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it is torn in half (but this does not destroy it; see below). A creature may tear it in half in a single action by succeeding on a DC 25 strength check. The only way to destroy the book is with Mage's Disjunction (which carries the usual risks of destroying artifacts) or a rod of cancellation. If the book is destroyed by this means, all creatures linked from the book are obviously released, but if they're still monochrome, coloured, or partially coloured, this effect becomes permanent and Dispel Magic no longer affects it; Remove Curse, Break Enchantment, Wish, or Miracle is required to remove it.

If a page (even a mundane page, but not a blank page) is torn out of the book, it generates a new cover over the course of one minute, creating a new book with the same properties. The new book has only the one page, while the old book now lacks that page. If the book is torn in half, each half generates a new cover over the course of one minute; again, both resulting books have the same properties as the first. If subject to a disintegration spell, the effect is the same as simultaneously tearing out all pages. Blank pages when torn out behave as ordinary paper. You can draw on blank pages, but the drawing will be erased when the book is closed (unless the page is torn out).

If immersed in water, any pages with mundane images become blank, while pages with linked images return to their monochrome state. You can also apply water to a specific image to wash away just the colours in that image.

The book contains at least 30+1d20 pages, of which some might be blank; each time a new image is added, a blank page disappears, but images can still be added once there are no blank pages remaining. The book is about one-quarter of an inch thick and measures about two feet by one foot. You can distinguish a mundane page from a linked page by succeeding on a DC 18 Spellcraft check or (if you have the Trapfinding class feature) a DC 28 Search check; if you fail the check, you can't tell what type of page it is, and no retry is possible for 12 hours. (However, if you fail a Search check, you can try again with a Spellcraft check.)

Strong transmutation and enchantment; CL 20th; Weight 1lb