Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-208.102.128.79-20140103211941/@comment-3524435-20140410071418

I'm guessing that Barenziah had a hand in writing it.

My personal theory is that Barenziah had this scandalous book published for at least one reason, but there could be several. I'd guess that she was trying to divert attention away from something even more scandalous than what was written in the book. (Spoiler Alert) At least one of those things could be the child that she had with Drayven Indoril, aka the Nightingale. The book established this character as an alias for Jagar Tharn, but this is clearly not true. After all, that child could have changed the balance of power in the right hands.

The thing is, you don't mess with that family without repercussions. A Game at Dinner is a book that paints Helseth in a negative light, but Helseth was obviously okay with it being published. It sends the message that he's a badass you don't wanna piss off. Similarly, The Firsthold Revolt demonstrates that his sister, Morgiah, is an equally devious and ruthless ruler. The Real Barenziah clearly isn't meant to strike fear into peoples' hearts (unless your career is preaching abstinence) but there may be some message or idea that the Royal family wanted to get across. Heck, they may have even been trying to undermine the integrity of Talos. But I don't see Barenziah or Helseth allowing this book to get as far as it did without a clear and bloody message to someone.