Flying books are imbued with potent magic to follow the commands of their creator. Often, flying books protect studies, libraries, and other places of great knowledge in great swarms. Most flying books are simple automatons, however, some spellbooks are given magical sentience and the ability to defend itself.
These flying books for 5e Dungeons and Dragons are available for you to use free in your own D&D campaign. Just not commercially! And the art is not mine. Borrowed!
Flying Book
Tiny construct, unaligned
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 1 (1d4)
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft.
Abilities Str 2 (-4), Dex 15 (+2), Con 9 (-1), Int 1 (-5), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 1 (-5)
Damage Vulnerability fire
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 0 (10 XP)
Antimagic Susceptibility. The book is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the book must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
False Appearance. While the book remains motionless and isn’t flying, it is indistinguishable from a normal book.
Actions
Pelt. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage.
Flying Spellbook
Tiny construct, unaligned
Armor Class 12 (15 with mage armor)
Hit Points 35 (10d4 + 10)
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft.
Abilities Str 2 (-4), Dex 15 (+2), Con 12 (+1), Int 16 (+3), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 1 (-5)
Saves Con +3
Skills Arcana +4, Perception +3
Damage Vulnerability fire
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 11
Languages –
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Antimagic Susceptibility. The book is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the book must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
Spellcasting. The flying spellbook is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no components to cast its spells. The spellbook has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, ray of frost
1st level (3 slots): magic missile, mage armor
2nd level (2 slots): darkness, mirror image
3rd level (1 slot): lightning bolt
False Appearance. While the book remains motionless and isn’t flying, it is indistinguishable from a normal book.
Actions
Pelt. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage.
Swarm of Flying Books
Swarm of Tiny constructs, unaligned
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft.
Abilities Str 5 (-3), Dex 15 (+2), Con 10 (+0), Int 1 (-5), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 1 (-5)
Damage Vulnerability fire
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Antimagic Susceptibility. The swarm is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the swarm must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
False Appearance. While the books remain motionless and aren’t flying, they are indistinguishable from normal books.
Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny book. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
Action
Pelts. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage, or 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.