I am not very well versed in the lore of Golarion yet, but one thing I liked about the Forgotten Realms is that that setting always had a large range of "famous spellbooks" by well-known mages that the PCs could find as treasure and learn new spells from - as well as possibly other important lore information about the world.
Yes, Pathfinder has something like that in the pre-constructed spellbooks in Ultimate Magic - but these are awfully generic and don't really tie into Golarion.
So... are there any sourcebooks and supplements that do list such spellbooks with better tie-ins to the setting?
And failing that, which famous historic mages might have left behind such spellbooks that adventurers could find, and what precisely might those spellbooks contain?
I'm sure there are plenty of high-level mages with their (many) backup spellbooks laying around somewhere.
I, for one, would love to get my hands on a copy of Tar-Baphon's spellbook. I assume it would have every necromancy spell known to everyone on the planet, and quite a few he made himself. The ritual could increase how many HD of undead you can control or something otherwise undead-related.
The Runelords' spellbooks would certainly be worth a look, as one of them (
This page has a list of wizards in canon Golarion, organized by level. Most of the higher level ones are Runelords, but TB is there, along with Nex, Geb, Arazni, Old Jatembe, and many more.
Just check the list out for the level you want, and create a spellbook for their specific school/occupation.
The Arcane Anthology player companion has a lot of Golarion-specific spellbooks detailed in it, as well as a bunch of neat spells that relate to their creators. From what you've said, it's exactly what you're looking for.
The reason the spellbooks in Ultimate Magic don't tie into Golarion, I believe, is that they keep the rulebooks setting-neutral.
Thanks! I will check the Arcane Anthology out.
Do any other products feature Golarion-specific spellbooks?