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The July 2004 issue of Scientific American has an article in the back about the Voynich Manuscript detailing some of the attempts to decipher the text and discussion about the actual age of the Manuscript as well as who might have written it.

If you're interested in using it in your game, SA seems like a good place to start.

As a point of clarification, the "Cipher Manuscript" of Jason Vey's Shadow of Light was supposed to be the Voynich Manuscript, but this got changed. PhishStyx is pointing interested parties to the real book.

That's true, somehow Voynich got turned into Venice for the non-existent "Venice Manuscript."

I think someone ran spellcheck and didn't know that Voynich was supposed to be spelled that way.

Presumably someone had just never heard of the damn thing before. God knows I'd never heard of it until this thread started.

Well, thats nice Rallan... just pay attention because this will be on the test. July's issue? And, how much info is on it?

Yep, July. The article is roughly 3,000 - 3,500 words, plus photos of some of the artwork in the Manuscript and diagrams detailing a method of producing it.

I care, really. Say don't you have to go use the phrase "kewl powerz" somewhere else?

Ok, I'll bite. This is more than I've heard about this ever. I've only heard a passing refernce to this before. Where can I find out more?

Will the article be available on the net, or will you have to get the paper edition of SA somehow?

I hadn't ever been to the Scientific Amercian website before but it turns out that you can get the entire article from there.
Voynich Article

Page 4 of the article also offers other sites discussing the Manuscript.

Thanks

I've used up my ironic misspelling quota for the month and don't have anywhere left to say Kewl Powerz any more, so I figured I'd chip in something like, not so bitter and scathing on this thread just to be different.

And meanwhile a pleasant afternoon has left me about as well informed as anyone should reasonably be expected to be on this topic. You can expect my complete and unabridged translation of the text plus a biography of it's real author on your desks by thursday




Rallan

Also, www.voynich.nu is a good resource.

Where did you find this Vey?

I first heard of the Voynich Manuscript while playing Call of Cthulhu years ago (later Mythos authors have deemed it a copy of the Necronomicon). I just started researching it, read everything I could get my hands on about it, and did some web searches for "Voynich Manuscript."

Ok so how do you use the book in Nightbane exactly. or what I should say is how could it be interpreted?

The adventure scenario in Shadows of Light entitled "The Cipher Manuscript" is centered around this very subject.

Ive also heard of it being called the "Emigre Document"

I especily like how is rumored to have been written by Roger Bacon, the alchemist.


while were on the subject of books...I might suggest the author Kenneth Grant

hes written some very....unique books.