> Zzaburite Grimoires are not religious books, but collections of
"mathematical"
> theories and formulas. These formulas allow the
> zzaburite to easily open a pathway to the adept plane and channel
> some of the energy residing there into a spell.
Formal logic ? Theorems, lemmas, and so on (even algorithms , brr) ? I'd better not show this to some of my friends...
> Grimoires are
> often quite messy, with scribblings all across the notes. No two
> grimoires are the same, for each owner will make various sidenotes
> and alterations during his/her research.
Sounds like real scientific resaerch to me :-) It fits well with this magic being a kind of proto-science.
I can imagine discussion in windy towers, late at night, between zzaburites discussing the merits of applied or theoretical magic :-)
>An average
> zzaburite has at least a couple of various grimoires, if not on
> different subjects, at least by different authors. The HP price
> of increasing a Read Grimoire -ability should depend on the
> complexity of the theories listed.
And it means the student can generalize (develop its own spells) only
at 1M2 ?
What about not a new spell as in your example, but variations of a
known spell (a corrolary ?)
That should be easier or at least cheaper ?
Light Candle,
Light Torch,
Light Candelabra,
yes, master, but what about the Fiery Conflagration of ...
Shut up, and listen to me, I'll now teach you the dreadful spell of
Light Cooking Fire...
It still is very mechanical, and not as 'dynamic' as feats and
affinities ...
And, without a master, there are limits to the generalizations you can
reach, I suppose.
>a complete failure should result in either a magical
> catastrophe or the realisation that the desired effect is
> completely unattainable with the grimoire in question.
Yes. Or, to continue the mathematical parralel : a Godelian Spell,
more or less proving it can't exist.
Hmm. I can imagine paradoxical formulas, dealing with way of thinking
not done for a normal mind (fragment of the Blue Book ?). Maybe
strange grimoires written by illuminated persons or Moonie Mages.
But I think that a complete failure (or learning a spell coming from a complete failure) should get the mage some strange new mental flaw (and here is why they are all so loony). After all, magic is dangerous. And how would you know that the very last spell your kind dead master scribbled in his book isn't like that ?
I suppose that when acquiring a new grimoire, a zzaburite may scan it briefly to see if there is anything dangerous in it...
But for some really powerful grimoires, there may be no way around this dilemma : you know that, trying to use Brithini grimoire (for example) tend to make you rigid and logical (at least from time to time) In game terms : you get a mental flaw, at 12-13. It may be a way to give a grimoire and/or spells to your favorite characters with a lower cost on the short term (say, half cost, but a flaw) but with a normal cost (5/10) on the long term (after buying back the flaw)
>Grimoires can be of varying sizes, though, so a very
> small one might encompass the formulas for only one spell. Such
> grimoires are usually far too brief to allow creation of new
> spells, but they can help in such activities if combined with
> various other grimoires. The largest grimoires can consist of
> several huge tomes, but they often include thorough descriptions
> of various parts of the adept plane, with only part of it listing
> formulas.
That's a idea I like very much ! I was wondering how to give some new grimoire to the sorcerer in my game, but feared the resulting boost in power. I could indeed give him a little grimoire, but which helps casting some other kind of spells or gives a bonus to enter the adept plane. Yes, thanks,
Philippe
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