World of Grimoire

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Introduction

Grimoire is an original campaign setting by Wm Jay Carter III. This version of Grimoire is intended for the Pathfinder Role Playing Game and requires the Spheres of Power gaming supplement by Drop Dead Studios. Winner of the recent Drop Dead Studios' Worldbuilding Semi-Contest, Grimoire for Pathfinder/Spheres of Power will soon be available for purchase in PDF format from Drop Dead Studios!

And now, without further ado...

History

In the beginning, the animals of Athanasia knew of neither humans nor spellcasting. Then, the Strangers—semi-divine beings from another world—came and taught the animals how to harness mana and bend it to their will. Since that time magic has criss-crossed the land in rivers called ley-lines, fueling magic for both good and ill.

Thus empowered, the animals all began changing their shapes to look more like the Strangers, each to varying degrees of success. Those who achieved the transformation perfectly became known as humans, a race favored by the Strangers. Since the Cataclysm, however, the knowledge of how to change one’s shape has begun to fade, and the animal races remain in their hybrid states.

Magic is still available, however, waiting for those who discover their connection to it. Some seek out writings of Strange Wisdom and words of power; these are known as mages. Others find that magic literally flows from their souls like the ley-lines; these call themselves wunderkinder. Shamans commune with the world of spirits, especially those of their ancestors who learned wisdom from the Strangers. The dendrites believe they are the Strangers’ literal children, and are reborn century after century to ensure that Athanasia’s fate is guided by the Strangers’ will. Finally, exemplars make oaths to powerful beings in exchange for their magic, whether they devote themselves to a Stranger of Light or Darkness, or to the World Soul—the very spirit of Athanasia—thus harnessing its primal elements.

Athanasia itself is a young world, full of new beginnings. The first kingdom, Euzoria, was formed only a few hundred years ago. Euzoria is the home of humans, with the rest of Athanasia’s animal races living in their own communities. Thanks to the wisdom of the Strangers the denizens of Athanasia have enjoyed relative peace. But that peace is not without growing pains.

The córeans roost at Bristlebane, at the height of Mount Córea. Meanwhile their rivals, the seraphim, occupy the Pirium Spire, floating over the Eye of the World. The leonians roam the Ranai Forest, the sirens swim the Siren’s Sea, and the bóreans remain secluded in their tunnels near the outskirts of the Eye of the World. Many other animal races dot the planet, such as the merrows, draconians, ranai, and fenrir.

While none of the animal races share the organized government peculiar to humans, they are no less loyal to their own kind. Members of the animal races follow communally-respected leaders for as long as they remain relevant, and then govern their own local tribes internally when there is no immediate need for regional coordination. This has resulted in most of the animal races remaining localized to their own homelands, while the humans explore and expand year after year, spreading across most of the known world.

The Cataclysm

Thought to have been the result of a Stranger’s single word of condemnation, Athanasia was cracked like an egg roughly 400 years ago, creating a chasm from the Siren’s Sea to the North Axis, forming an ever-descending river into the Great Chasm’s depths. The North Axis itself was scooped away from the rest of the planet and flung into orbit where it now serves as Athanasia’s only moon. The resulting crater is now known as the Eye of the World.

The Cataclysm resulted in more than just devastation, however. The Eye of the World itself contains hundreds of miles of exposed pirium ore, a relatively rare substance in Athanasia. Known to turn black in the presence of daylight and shine with a silvery golden glow in the darkness, pirium is closely guarded by the seraphim, who only permit the bóreans to mine it. Magical experiments have revealed that pirium’s raw form shares a similar relationship with mana as it does with light, creating negative magic zones where mana is plentiful, and shedding forth an abundance of mana where none would normally be available.

In addition, the Cataclysm is said to have woken the Stone Spirits, who have slumbered since before the Advent of the Strangers. The soul of each Stone Spirit is housed inside its core gem, out of which it can also perceive the physical world, like an eye. Evidently nothing more than a collection of stones held into a vaguely human shape by force of will, some Stone Spirits are the size of a pet, while the greatest are larger than a castle. Unable to speak, the Spirits have not made their agenda known to the denizens of Athanasia, but they always seem to be present when significant events transpire. Word has it they can be killed, however, and there are some who seek to destroy the Spirits before they can enact their allegedly treacherous plans.

Running Grimoire

Grimoire is a story about a world emerging from childhood into the turmoil of adolescence, with anthropomorphic animals, prevalent magic, and wonder discovered on every page. With the help of ambient intelligences, mages are always searching for some lost word or artifact. Ambitious wunderkinder are constantly on a path of self-discovery and self-mastery, and honorable shamans reconnect their tribes with the wisdom of the past. Awakened dendrites shepherd the land through its many changes, while devoted exemplars seek only to transcend Athanasia and become one with the powers they serve. With so many who seek to write their own story, the tales of many are bound to intertwine. How will your story be told?

Traditional adventures are a must in Grimoire, and every session should feel like one chapter of a larger story. Those chapters might focus on one or two characters each time, but every character should have their moment to realize his or her ultimate goal before the end of the campaign.

Campaigns should be a combination of a main plot (composed by the GM—even if it closely follows a module!) and several character plots (composed by the players for their PCs). Players are encouraged to write an outline for their character’s plot from beginning to end and submit it to the GM before the campaign starts. The GM in turn should draw from these outlines to craft a main plot that carries out as many character plots as possible. The GM should also feel free to throw twists into the plot and give the players something they asked for, but not in the way they expected.

Some of the most satisfying stories (and campaigns) are the ones where each character can benefit from the others’ strengths, and be challenged by their differences. For this reason, players are encouraged to be different from one another (in some aspect besides class). Perhaps they are each a different race, or a different age. Perhaps they are from different areas of the world, or worship different eldritch patrons. Whatever the case, the GM should focus on the differences between characters and use those to create conflict as well as opportunities to support one another. (These moments are excellent fuel for pushing character plots along!)

Any XP progression is permitted, provided it serves the plot.

Magic and Technology

As a relatively young world, most of Athanasia operates in the late Stone and early Bronze Ages. The animal races are little more than primitive tribes, many of which function like humanized versions of their animal counterparts—alpha males lord over the leonians, schools of sirens wander the sea without a dominant leader, and so on. Lacking more complex problems to cope with, the animal races see little need to advance their level of technology as a general rule. As usual, however, there is an exception to every rule.

The most advanced technology comes from the teachings of the Strangers, which has been scarce ever since most of the minor deities left Athanasia’s surface (around the time of the Cataclysm). The Strange Wisdom was primarily recorded and kept by the humans, which affords them technology well into the Iron Age, despite the Strangers’ absence.

Mages are the most organized and curious among the spellcasting classes, and are the most likely to know about and use technology. Shamans and dendrites have access to Strange Wisdom, but they do not use it for technological purposes on a regular basis; only when needed. Exemplars of the Light or Dark may be gifted some level of technological proficiency by their eldritch patron, but devotees of the World Soul shun technology in favor of raw elemental forces. Wunderkinder are often too preoccupied with the challenges posed by their magic to contribute to technological advances, but they are more than willing to take advantage of every edge they can get.

Magic, on the other hand, is used by mages on a professional basis to accomplish many tasks at the level of modern-day convenience. Where the appropriate Mage’s Guild is present, coaches can be enchanted to drive without horses, stone bowls can warm food, and alchemical products can be purchased like medicine from a pharmacy. While other spellcasters might come up with similar conveniences, none are so interested in distributing their inventions as mages.

Necromancy (the Death sphere) has been formally forbidden by the Wizard’s Tribunal, so consorting with undead and raising the dead is taboo in Euzoria. While Restoration (the Life sphere) is not outlawed, the Resuscitate talent resembles Necromancy so closely to the lay observer that no professional practitioner will perform it; once a PC is dead, it’s extremely problematic to bring them back within the boundaries of Euzoria. This doesn’t stop those outside Euzoria from practicing the necromantic arts, however. Leonians, seraphim, shamans, and dendrites are the most reliable sources of this sort of restorative magic.

Among NPCs, advanced talents and rituals are only available to the elite members of a class; archmages (mage), magisters (wunderkind), mystics (shaman), elders (dendrite), and avatars (exemplar) have spent more time and devoted more resources to perfecting their craft. PCs should have access to advanced talents no sooner than 5th level, and even then must learn them from NPCs who know them. Their scarcity or prevalence is entirely within the hands of the GM.
Some spheres are more thematically appropriate for specific races and classes. These are discussed in the Races and Classes sections, below. 

Concerning Classes

All non-magical classes are allowed in Grimoire, but any spellcaster should follow the rules for one of the five Grimoire-specific spellcaster classes. In-game, these classes are known by the following names: mage (wizard variant), wunderkind (sorcerer variant), shaman (shaman archetype variant), dendrite (druid variant), and exemplar (cleric/witch variant). Multi-classing is permitted, but should be directly linked to a PCs character plot, a plot-twist, or other story device. Classes can be found among the tabs at the top of this page.

Special Material: Pirium (+ Expanded Rules)

            Known to turn black in the presence of daylight and shine with a silvery golden glow in the darkness, pirium is closely guarded by the seraphim, who only permit the bóreans to mine it. Magical experiments have revealed that pirium’s raw form shares a similar relationship with mana as it does with light, creating negative magic zones where mana is plentiful, and shedding forth an abundance of mana where none would normally be available.

            Weapons and armor without metal parts cannot be made from pirium. An arrow could be made of pirium, but a quarterstaff could not. Armor or weapons made from pirium are always considered masterwork, and the masterwork costs are included in the listed prices. Pirium has the same hit points and hardness as steel.

            Raw pirium has the following properties:

Light Absorption

            Raw pirium absorbs photonic energy proportionate to the amount of light it is exposed to, and sheds that light proportionate to the relative darkness. For each full minute it is exposed to normal light, any amount of pirium stores up 1 minute of photonic energy. For each full minute it is exposed to bright light, it stores up 2 minutes of photonic energy instead. Raw pirium can store up to 8 hours of photonic energy.

            In dim light, pirium with at least 1 minute of stored photonic energy automatically sheds light as a torch in a radius of 20 ft and raises the light level by one step to a maximum of normal for 20 ft beyond this. For each minute or part of a minute this effect continues, the pirium loses 1 minute of stored photonic energy until it has been depleted.

            In darkness, pirium with at least 2 minutes of stored photonic energy automatically sheds bright light in a radius of 30 ft and raises the light level by one step to a maximum of normal for 30 ft beyond this. For each minute or part of a minute this effect continues, the pirium loses 2 minutes of stored photonic energy until it has been depleted.

            The light shed by raw pirium is unlike other forms of light and even in its brightest forms does not have any negative effects on creatures with light sensitivity, light blindness or the like.

If pirium is brought into an area of normal or bright light before its stored photonic energy is fully depleted, it immediately begins storing energy again. Pirium that has been depleted of all photonic energy appears dull and sheds no light.

Cold-forged Pirium

            Pirium’s raw form naturally drains magic, possessing the same attributes as cold iron, making it especially lethal to fey and demons. While hot-forging pirium robs it of this property, it can be forged at a lower temperature to craft a variety of items. Cold-forged pirium retains its light absorbing abilities.

            Besides weapons, cold-forged pirium can also be crafted into circlets, torcs, bracelets, rings, belts, anklets, and cloak-clasps (occupying their respective slots). Most notably, peace-keepers in Euzoria often use cold-forged pirium manacles to apprehend rogue spellcasters, and wunderkinder are expected to wear pirium torcs within city limits.

A creature with a spell pool that wears or holds any cold-forged pirium item is severely limited in her spellcasting abilities. Spending a spell point for any reason while touching a pirium item requires a minimum of a full round action. In addition, any time the bearer would spend a spell point, she must succeed on a DC 17 Will save or that spell point is absorbed into the pirium item instead, wasting the ability or talent it might have been used to cast.

            For every full minute the bearer remains in contact with the pirium, she must succeed on a DC 17 Will save or the item drains 1 spell point from her spell pool and it gains 1 mana point. If a creature is wearing or touching multiple cold-forged pirium items, only one of them induces a Will save at a time. Those not already holding mana points drain spell points first.

            Cold-forged pirium items can store a maximum of 1 mana point at any given time, but those already holding mana points still induce Will saves as normal. Whenever a pirium item that already has a mana point would gain another mana point, that mana point dissipates into the environment instead. In magical dead zones, stored mana points dissipate into the environment at the rate of 1 per round.

            Items made of cold-forged pirium cost twice as much to make as their normal counterparts (after which any other price increases are added). Also, adding any magical enhancements to a cold-forged pirium weapon increases its price by 2,000 gp. This increase is applied the first time the item is enhanced, not once per ability added. A double weapon with one cold-forged pirium half costs 50% more than normal.

Mana Absorption

            Whenever a cold-forged pirium item absorbs a spell point from a creature touching it, that item automatically converts it into 1 charge of mana. Cold-forged pirium is ill-suited to retain even small amounts of mana; if the item already had a charge of mana when it would gain another, the first charge vanishes into the ambient manaflow and is replaced by the new one. Cold-forged pirium is also quite mana-phobic, and releases any mana charges it may have gained after 1 round.

            As long as a cold-forged pirium item has a mana charge, a creature with a spell pool who is touching the item may, as a swift action, make a magic skill check against MSD 17. If successful, that creature may absorb the mana charge from the item and convert it into 1 spell point. If this check is failed by 5 or more, the pirium item immediately absorbs another spell point from the creature touching it (provided there are any are left in that creature’s spell pool) and converts it into 1 charge of mana, causing the stored mana charge to vanish.

            In this way a spellcaster could participate in a magical tug-of-war with a cold-forged pirium item over her spell points. If she is careful not to spend spell points and consistently succeeds on her magic skill checks, she might be able to last until she is able to break free of the cold-forged pirium item with her spell pool intact. On the other hand, foolishly pressing her luck to take her spell points back could result in her losing them faster.

            If two or more creatures are touching the same mana-charged pirium item and attempt to absorb mana from it at the same time, all participating creatures make opposed magic skill checks. So long as one creature’s result is 17 or more, the creature with the highest result may absorb the mana and convert it into a spell point. If any creature’s result is 12 or less, the pirium item immediately absorbs a spell point from that creature and converts it into 1 mana charge. Otherwise, nothing happens. Creatures may always choose not to attempt to absorb mana from a mana-charged pirium item they are touching, but they are still subject the item’s other magic absorbing properties.

            When in dire need of more spell points, particularly powerful and unscrupulous mages have been known to bind themselves to magical creatures—such as fey—with cold-forged pirium in order to harvest their arcane potential. In some barbaric arenas, where spellcasters are treated as gladiatorial slaves, two spellcasters are sometimes shackled together using cold-forged pirium chains to see who can hold onto their spell points the longest. These practices are explicitly condemned by the Wizard’s Creed, and the Wizard’s Tribunal is quick to hold accountable those responsible for such heinous acts.

            Like other corporeal weapons, cold-forged pirium weapons normally do not harm fey-shifted creatures. However, magical cold-forged pirium weapons automatically deal full damage instead of half damage to fey-shifted creatures on a successful hit.

Hot-forged Pirium

            While cold-forged pirium absorbs magic involuntarily, hot-forged pirium only conducts magic under very specific circumstances and does not impose any negative consequences on the bearer. Creatures touching a hot-forged pirium item may spend spell points as normal with no ill effects.

            Hot-forging pirium deadens its innate relationship with both magic and light. Hammer-welding and repeated heating and forging leaves the metal blackened with a wavy surface pattern. The process strips the material of all light-related features and robs it of its latent ability to bypass damage reduction as if it were cold iron, but grants it a whole new property that makes it potentially more deadly against fey and fey-shifted creatures than its cold-forged counterpart.

            Like other corporeal weapons, hot-forged pirium weapons do not normally harm fey-shifted creatures. However, when a weapon made of hot-forged pirium confirms a critical hit against any fey—including fey-shifted creatures—it absorbs some of the raw magical substance of the creature struck. The struck creature is unharmed and the pirium weapon gains 1 charge of mana.

            As long as a hot-forged pirium weapon has at least 1 mana charge, it may bypass fey DR as if it were cold iron and can harm fey-shifted creatures as if it were magic (half-damage on a successful hit). On a successful hit against any fey creature, it also deals an additional point of damage for each charge of mana it holds. Mana-charged pirium weapons can be picked up and moved by a fey-shifted creature at any time. A fey-shifted creature can wield the weapon against corporeal foes.

            Armor and shields made from hot-forged pirium are especially effective protection against fey. When such a creature rolls a 1 on any attack made against a creature wearing armor or a shield made of hot-forged pirium, the attack deals no damage (even if the failure would cause the creature to harm herself or her allies) and the pirium item gains 1 charge of mana. Only one such item may gain mana in this way per attack.

            As long as armor or a shield made of hot-forged pirium has at least 1 mana charge, its armor or shield bonus counts against the attacks of both corporeal and fey-shifted creatures. It can be picked up, moved, and worn by corporeal and fey-shifted creatures alike. Fey-shifted creatures gain the armor or shield bonus against attacks from both corporeal and fey-shifted creatures, and they can still pass freely through solid objects. In addition, the wearer gains DR 1/– against fey and fey-shifted creatures. For each mana point the item has beyond the first, this damage reduction rises by 1 point. This damage reduction does not stack with itself (if the creature were wearing both armor and a shield made of pirium, for example), nor does it stack with other forms of DR.

            As a swift action, a creature with a spell pool who is touching a hot-forged pirium item with at least 1 mana charge may absorb 1 mana charge from it and convert it into 1 spell point.

            Most hot-forged pirium items can only hold 1 mana charge at a time, but higher-quality pirium does exist. The most powerful hot-forged pirium items can hold up to 3 mana charges at a time. Mana charges vanish from a hot-forged pirium item 1 hour after they were absorbed.

            Hot-forged pirium has the same hit points and hardness as steel. Metal armor or weapons made from hot-forged pirium are always considered masterwork. The masterwork cost is included in the prices given below. Items without metal parts cannot be made from pirium.

TYPE OF HOT-FORGED PIRIUM ITEM ITEM PRICE MODIFIER

Ammunition                                 +40 gp per item

Light Armor                                 +3,300 gp

Medium Armor                         +6,600 gp

Heavy Armor                         +10,000 gp

Weapon                                         +2,000 gp

Double-weapon (both ends)                 +3,000 gp

Hot-forged Pirium and Fey-shifted Creatures

            Soon after the Eldritch War began, a band of evil wizards proclaimed an extermination order on all fey and fey-blooded creatures—especially wunderkinder—in an effort to “cleanse” the world of “unnatural access” to magic. The wunderkinder responded by forming the Magisterium, the first unified body of sorcerers in Athanasian history. To better defend themselves, the Magisterium invented the process of hot-forging pirium. Crafting their weapons and armor from the tempered metal, they resisted the wizards’ initial onslaught. In the end, however, the wizards’ superior preparedness and tactics won out, and the founding members of the Magisterium were slaughtered.

            Now, centuries later, stories are told about how the founding members passed on to become the first fey nobles, establishing the Fey Courts and managing their affairs in Athanasia from behind a veil of magic, unbeknownst to the selfsame wizards who brought to pass their corporeal destruction. Little else is told about the band of evil wizards, for soon after the Fey Courts were established, they vanished without a trace. Some say the fey nobles took up their pirium arms once more in order to exact their vengeance. Others believe the whole legend was made up to scare young scholar magicians.

            Whether or not the stories are true, modern magical research has shown that, so long as a hot-forged pirium item has at least 1 mana charge, fey-shifted creatures can interact with it as if they had a physical body, enabling them to wear armor and wield weapons made from the charged metal. A fey-shifted creature may voluntarily imbue a hot-forged pirium item in its space with some of its raw magical substance as a standard action, granting the item 1 mana charge. This does not deplete the creature’s spell pool, if any; the magical potential is drawn directly from the creature itself.

            A fey-shifted creature may imbue a number of hot-forged pirium items with mana equal to its Hit Dice, or one for each of its slots, whichever is lower. If a creature ever imbues two items with mana for the same slot, the imbued mana immediately vanishes from the first. A fey-shifted creature may voluntarily release A fey-shifted creature may also imbue up to two melee weapons (or both ends of a double weapon), one ranged weapon (and any ammunition used by it), a suit of armor, and a shield. As long as a fey-shifted creature keeps an imbued item on its person, that item’s imbued mana charge doesn’t vanish over time. Imbued mana charges count toward the item’s maximum mana charge capacity and cannot be converted into spell points or stored in mana cells (see Mana Storage).