This holy book is sacred to clerics of Good alignment. Reading of the work will require 1 week, but upon completion the Good cleric will gain 1 point of Wisdom and experience points sufficient to place him or her exactly half way into the next level of experience. 

Clerics neither Good nor Evil will lose 20,000-80,000 experience points from perusal of the work (a negative x.p. total is possible, requiring restoration but not lowering level below 1st). Evil clerics will lose 1 full experience level, dropping to the lowest possible number of experience points possible to hold the level; they will furthermore have to atone by magical means or by offering up 50% of everything they gain for 2-5 adventures, losing the appropriate number of experience points as well, or gain no further experience. Fighters who handle or read the book will not be affected, although a paladin will feel it to be Good. Magic-users who read it will suffer the loss of 1 point of Intelligence unless they save versus magic; and if they do save they will lose from 2,000-20,000 experience points. A thief who handles or reads the work will sustain 5-30 hit points of damage and must save versus magic or lose 1 point of Dexterity and have a 10%-60% chance of giving up his or her profession to become a Good cleric if Wisdom is 15 or higher. Assassins handling or reading the book of exalted deeds will take 5-40 hit points of damage and must save versus magic or commit suicide. Monks are not harmed by the work, nor can they understand it. Bards are treated as Neutral clerics, experience point loss being from bard experience only. 

Note that except as indicated above, this writing cannot be distinguished by cover or scansion from any other magic book, libram, tome, etc. It must be perused. (This applies also to other magical writings detailed hereafter.) 

Once perused, the book vanishes, never to be seen again, nor can the same player character ever benefit from perusing the like a second time.