Pages from Spellbooks (part III)

Five years ago, your humble host published two posts (here and here) providing examples of what pages in spellbooks might look like.  Below are nine more examples derived from 'real world' sources; however, not all of these sources are associated with magic in the real world.  As usual, Thoul's Paradise disclaims any responsibility for circumstances arising from the use or misuse of the following material.

Spells have to come from somewhere.  For a warlock with a “Fiend” patron, perhaps the “Fiend” possesses the body of the warlock and inscribes a new spell in the Book of Shadows.  How might such an inscription look?  Well, a 17th century nun was said to have been possessed by the Devil himself.  Of course, having possessed a nun, Satan indulged in the scandalous behavior of writing a letter.  This is the result.  Presumably, a warlock would know how to decipher it but then again, Old Scratch might just be playing a prank.  Seriously, can you trust someone known as the Prince of Lies?

Speaking of the Devil, the cover of Secrets of Black Art makes some bold promises, but does it deliver?  If it were legitimate, wouldn't it be Secrets of ye Olde Black Art ?  In actuality, the first half of the book is a hodgepodge of topics like mesmerism and folk magic written in the Victorian era.  A clever spellcaster might use this cover for his or her actual spellbook; anyone coming across the tome would assume it was useless in terms of genuine magic and disregard it.  The second half of the book is a novelty item catalog, which stands to reason given it was published by a company that sold novelty items.  If we assume that Secrets of Black Art somehow imparts magical abilities to its owner, perhaps the 'novelty items' are material components.

Speaking of spell components, when dealing with eldritch energies, every nuance is important.  A finger quivering incorrectly may effectuate an undesirable result.  (“...hand movements are usually required in order to control and specify the direction, target, area, etc., of the spell effects.”  – DMG 1e, p. 40)  As such, spellbooks should address somatic components.  Here we see notes on thumb rotation – and none of that high-falutin' theory, just honest-to-goodness praxis.

Utriusque Cosmi Historia

Each spellbook has a “unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it.”  Not only are spellbooks encrypted, but they must convey abstruse information.  Wizards might express such knowledge in imaginative ways.

Picatrix

'Pattern poetry' presents different 'layers' of information to those in the know.  This method may be an efficient means for a wizard to encode the various particulars of a spell.

De laudibus sanctae crucis

Esoteric imagery may be a useful way (or perhaps the only way) to impart thaumaturgical concepts.

Cabala, Spiegel derr Kunst und Natur in Alchymia

This next page has a hole.  Is it due to wear and tear of an adventuring spell caster's lifestyle?  Or was the name of an ultramundane entity written on this segment of parchment?  An entity so horrific – so abominable – that its very name is rejected by our reality?

Book of Ballymote

Sometimes spells written in or on items other than spellbooks.  Here is how a spell scroll might appear.

Ripley Scroll (detail)

In a previous post, we explored the possibility of spells being recorded on alternative media.  A lazy wizard might want to forgo a spellbook altogether.  Why bother with tediously turning pages when you can just inscribe all of your pertinent spell information on your staff?  It will never leave your side; security and convenience both.

Santiago Staff (detail)

Pages from Spellbooks (part II)

As a continuation of last week's post, here are nine more spellbook pages.  All of these images are adapted from 'real world' sources.  Again, Thoul's Paradise bears no responsibility for magical complications caused by its readership.

The Watchtowers of the Order of the Golden Dawn (such as the Great Western Quadrangle of Water, below) remind me of circuit board diagrams – as though a wizard could use such a talisman to trace a thought process for fashioning various magical effects.

The Great Western Quadrangle of Water

Similarly, the 'spirals' below might indicate the required sequence of concepts for casting a given spell.

The Dragon-Book of Essex (collage)

Spellbooks would likely provide information regarding the identification, cultivation, and preparation of material components.

Voynich manuscript

In the French role-playing game Rêve de Dragon, the spells that a magician may cast are limited by which “dreamland” the magician's astral body occupies.  For game purposes, there is a map of the Dreamlands where each dreamland is represented by a hex.  The so-called Zoroaster's Telescope reminds me of the Rêve magic system.

Telescope de Zoroastre (collage) and Enochian characters

Here are a variety of images for which I do not have particular commentary.

Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis (collage)

Sefer Raziel HaMalakh

Crowley's Goetia

Sphinx Mystagoga (collage)

Tabula Smaragdina

Pages from Spellbooks (part I)

Magic is a significant – if not essential – element of fantasy role-playing game settings.  Spellbooks are the primary means by which wizards are associated with magic.  Therefore, spellbooks, and the pages they contain, ought to enhance the color and flavor of a campaign.  In this post, we see what spellbook pages might look like in a fantasy campaign.  These examples are compiled from 'real world' materials, although some of the materials are not associated with magic in the real world.  Thoul's Paradise disclaims any responsibility for the injudicious use of magic by its readers.

Spellbook pages need not contain words exclusively.  A picture is worth a thousand words and, as such, symbols, diagrams, and images may be a more efficient means of conveying information for wizards.

Trésor du Vieillard des Pyramides Véritable Science des Talismans (collage)

Seals from The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses

Galdrabók (and other manuscripts) (collage)

The Dragon-Book of Essex (collage)

Ars Notoria

A spellbook would be reflective the spellcaster's school or type of magic, the spellcaster's culture, and the spellcaster's individual personality.  Below we see a page appropriate for a court magician.

The Miscellany of Iskandar Sultan

Contrast the above with the page below, which is more like a page from a murderhobo's grimoire with its gruesome imagery and jagged script.

Ardā Wīrāz-nāmag

Somewhere in between:

Codex Argenteus

Page 40 of the (1st edition) Dungeon Masters Guide states:

All magic and cleric spells are similar in that the word sounds, when combined into whatever patterns are applicable, are charged with energy from the Positive or Negative Material Plane. When uttered, these sounds cause the release of this energy, which in turn triggers a set reaction. The release of the energy contained in these words is what causes the spell to be forgotten or the writing disappear from the surface upon which it is written.

Spells are “forgotten” as a check against the power of spellcasters; spellbooks are necessary so that magic-users can memorize “forgotten” spells. In the 5th edition rules de-emphasize the memory aspect of spellcasting; instead the rules focus on “energy.” According to page 78 of the (5th edition) Player's Basic Rules :

...a caster...can cast only a limited number of spells before resting. Manipulating the fabric of magic and channeling its energy into even a simple spell is physically and mentally taxing...

Instead of using spellbooks to memorize forgotten spells, 5th edition wizards use spellbooks to recoup energy. Regarding wizards, page 31 of the PBR states: “You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook.”

The Earthdawn role-playing game adopts the notion of a “spell matrix.” Per page 153:

A spell matrix is an astral construct linked to the intelligence of the magician, energized by the magical energies of the astral plane. Magicians in Earthdawn use spell matrices as a conduit through which they can transfer the energy of a spell from astral space into the physical world. (Emphasis in original.)

To me, the matrix paradigm makes more sense than forgetting spells or gaining energy through study.  Let's assume that each spell requires a psychic construct that becomes spent when the spell is cast.  The construct must be reconstituted through visualization and concentration before it can be used again.  With this paradigm, a wizard must study his (or her) spellbook as part of the necessary mental effort to (re-)formulate the construct or matrix (as opposed to memorizing a spell or recovering energy).  Such a spellbook might easily contain 'perception exercises', like those below, which would allow the spellcaster to access the cognitive state needed to manipulate magic.

Spells in The Arduin Adventure

Art by Stephen Fabian

A common misgiving of the (early) D&D magic system was the 'Vancian' paradigm wherein a magic-user must 'forget' a spell upon casting and then re-memorize the spell before it could be cast again.  (Of course, contrary to the notion of 'forgetting' a spell, a given spell could be 'memorized' more than once.)  Different 'spell point' systems were devised as alternatives to the unsatisfactory Vancian method.  In The Arduin Adventure, Dave Hargrave employs a system of 'mana points' for magic magik spells.  However, in The Arduin Adventure (hereinafter ArdAdv), mana points do not obviate the 'forgetfulness' imposed by the Vancian philosophy, but merely act as an adjunct.

In ArdAdv, there are two types of magik:  Thaumaturgical (cast by Mages) and Priestly (cast, appropriately enough, by Priests).  When a mage memorizes a spell, he (or she) must invest an amount of mana specified in the spell's description.  At any point after the spell is memorized, the mage can cast the spell by speaking a trigger phrase.  All thaumaturgical spells take a combat round to cast.  (Apparently, material components are not required.)  “Once used,” the rules tell us, “mana takes 10 hours to 'recharge' to working level.”  Does this mean that if a mage casts a one mana point spell, he (or she) regains that point ten hours later?  If a mage uses half of her (or his) mana points at once, will all of those points will be available after ten hours?

Priestly spells (sometimes called “rituals”) also have a mana cost, but spells need not be memorized.  Mana is expended when the spell is cast.  Priestly spells take an entire minute to cast:  “This is because priestly magic also requires proper obeisance (kow towing) to the god in question and certain rituals (variable according to the spell).”  Priestly spell listings do not describe the particular rituals to perform, so it is safe to assume that – for game purposes – ritual activity is not distinctive.  Regardless, casting a priestly spell during a combat situation would not seem to be a feasible option.  Presumably, mana expended via priestly spells is 'recharged' in a fashion similar or identical to how mages recover mana.

Mage characters begin with a number a mana points equal to their Intelligence plus five points as a result of training:  “A mage must spend years learning his craft, either as an acolyte with an already established mage or at a 'College of Magik.'”  Priest characters begin with a set amount of fifteen points of mana.  Both types of character gain three additional points of mana for each experience level gained.

Rather than spell level, ArdAdv uses the term “order of power (or OP).”  The highest 'order of power' to which a mage has access is equal to half of the mage's experience level, rounded up.  So, through the second experience level, a mage only has access to 'first order' spells; starting at the third experience level, a mage can use 'second order' spells, etc.  The rules do not comment upon the schedule by which priests access successive orders of power.  One could assume that priestly 'spell progression' uses the same formula that applies to mages.

Each mage has a 'book of power' in which the mage writes his (or her) spells.  For each order of power of the spell, at least three pages are required.  There is no other mention in ArdAdv about pages in mages' books.  It takes a mage an amount of time to memorize a spell equal to thirty minutes for every order of power of the spell.  Memorization time is “reduced by half per (experience level) earned over the (experience level) needed to cast the spell.” 

For both thaumaturgical and priestly spells, ArdAdv presents four orders of power – enough for eight experience levels.  There are 32 thaumaturgical spells and 29 priestly spells.  In general, the ArdAdv spells are reminiscent of their D&D counterparts, but typically with suitable name changes.  For example, instead of “Silence 15' Radius,” ArdAdv has “Sound Wipe”; instead of “Web,” there is “Tangle Trap”; and instead of “Mirror Image,” there is “Multiple Image.”

Aside from spells, priests have spell-like abilities.  They can “Turn Away” undead:

Priests have a 10% chance of success for each 10 HP less than 100 the undead have.  Thus, a priest has a 100% chance versus 10 HP undead but only 10% chance versus 100 HP ones.

Evidently, a priest's experience level does not modify this chance.  Also, “A priest can 'Lay on Hands' to heal those of his faith.”  (To use this ability on a character not of the priest's faith, the priest must succeed with “a 'God Reaction Roll'...to see if the priest's patron deity will allow this to happen.”)  It is quite taxing for a priest to 'Lay on Hands,' but all wounds (other than fatal) will be completely healed.  (This ability is distinct from the healing spells to which priests have access.)

Take a Troll to Lunch

Before engaging upon an exploration of The Arduin Adventure, it is necessary to understand the beginnings of Arduin.

In 1977, prior to the release of the Advanced D&D books, Archive Miniatures published Dave Hargrave's The Arduin Grimoire.  This work was followed by several other volumes and adventures, but those later books are not the subject of this post.  In the “Forward,” Hargrave presented the book as an amateur effort with no intention “to replace or denigrate any other fantasy role playing supplement or game, either professional or amateur.”  There was an unstated presumption that the Grimoire required the Dungeons & Dragons rules as a foundation.  In terms of appearance, the Grimoire was quite amateurish and doubtless was a seminal influence on the ambiance of Encounter Critical.  However, to its credit, the Grimoire featured the early artwork of Erol Otus.

As a supplement, The Arduin Grimoire included new classes, new spells, new magic items, new player character races, new monsters, and an assortment of other new rules.  The advertisement reproduced below appeared in issue #6 of The Dragon (April 1977).  Counting its covers, the Grimoire indeed spanned one hundred pages.  There was something on every page, even if only artwork, but we must indulge “jam-packed” as an article of hyperbole.  In your humble host's salad days, photocopies of the special abilities charts and the critical and fumble tables made the rounds and were accorded “official” status without quite knowing their provenance.  The special abilities charts had titles like “Special Abilities Chart for Thieves, Monks, Ninja, Highwaymen, Corsairs, Assassins, Traders, Slavers, and All of Those with a More or Less "Secret" Nature” and included results such as “+1 to all character attributes but –2 versus all magic (even clerical)” and “Woodsman, +1 dexterity, +3 with all missile weapons, hide like angels.”  The critical table included effects like “Forehead...Gashed, blood in eyes, can't see” and the fumble table had results like “twist ankle...lose first attack, and one half of agility/5 min.”

The Arduin oeuvre is unabashedly 'gonzo'.  One of Hargrave's goals was to provide options and inspiration beyond the standard “Tolkeinian” [sic] paradigm.  In a section of the Grimoire titled “Notes on Player Character Types,” Hargrave lectured readers about limiting themselves to “classical” character tropes:

Never will you hear the complaints of Brownie infantry squad as they whine about that stupid half-ogres cheshire cat that keeps looking at them and licking his chops.  And never is such a lonely word.  Don't be lonely, take a troll to lunch.  The world is a small place but is even smaller still in relationship to the myriad worlds of the entire Alternity (alternate eternities).  Do not be a small player from a small world, embrace the whole Alternity and give the different types a chance.  I think you will find that the world your game is in will become a lot more fun if you do.

The Man, Myth & Magic Grimoire

“Sorcery is not a bowl of cherries,” remarks the Man, Myth & Magic rules.  The successful casting of a spell is dependent upon overcoming the Fundamental Failure Rate.  For “every activity,” (Advanced) MM&M characters have a Fundamental Failure Rate.  By default, this rate is 50%; meaning “you will have to throw 50 or better on the percentile dice to score a hit [or otherwise succeed].”  (I know, that's a 49% chance for failure.  What difference does a single percentage point make?  A great deal actually; read on.)  Circumstances can modify the Fundamental Failure Rate.  For example, a warrior's SKILL characteristic affects his or her Fundamental Failure Rate for striking a foe in combat.  According to page 12 of Book II:

For every 10 SKILL points above 50, subtract 1 from your basic 50 needed to hit.  For every 10 SKILL points below 50, add 1 to the score you need to hit.

So, a warrior with a SKILL value of 40 would succeed in a combat strike by throwing 51 or better.  The rules would have been better served by having a Fundamental Success Rate instead of a Fundamental Failure Rate.  High SKILL values increasing success rate with low values decreasing success rate is a more intuitive concept.

The rules explaining the Fundamental Failure Rate and how it is affected by SKILL are provided in the (Advanced) Combat section.  Evidently, these rules are meant to be extrapolated to 'Prime Abilities' other than combat.  Each class has a Primary Ability; for warrior-type classes, it is combat.  The African Witch-Doctor, Egyptian Sorcerer, Hebrew Sorcerer, Oriental Shaman, and Hibernian Leprechaun all have 'magic' as their Primary Ability.  As such, they are capable of casting all of the spells in the Grimoire.  Each of these classes also has a set of spells exclusive to that class.  Other classes (e.g., Sibyl, Priest) have “spells,” but these are considered to be psychic or divine powers and such classes do not have access to the Grimoire spells.  There are 37 distinct character class/nationality combinations in the standard (AD 41) MM&M setting, so only about one character in six will have Grimoire spells.  The ratio is even less in the ancient (1375 BC) setting, with 43 distinct character combinations and only three of which have a 'magic' Primary Ability.  (The Shaman and Leprechaun classes are not available.)

For (Grimoire) spells users, the Fundamental Failure Rate can be altered by both SKILL and INTELLIGENCE.  Assuming ±1 per ten points above/below a value of fifty, there is – at most – a mere 19% difference in the Fundamental Failure Rate between the smartest, most competent spell caster and the dumbest, least competent spell caster.  Thus, a single percentage point becomes significant.

Each spell has a 'casting cost' in POWER points; the points are spent whether or not the casting roll is successful.  Of course characters (not just spell casters) can increase their chances of success (for one roll) by 1% per ten POWER points spent.  Additionally, for 250 (permanent) POWER points, a character may increase a characteristic value by one point.  Given that reincarnation costs 200 POWER and that characteristic values will be redetermined as part of reincarnation, this may not be a wise investment.

According to the rules, “if you are using a spell which takes effect at a distance, there is no immediate way of discovering whether or not it was effective.”  This suggests that the Lore Master makes all spell casting rolls.  However, for all but two of the Grimoire spells, the maximum distance at which a spell can take effect is fifty feet.

Any gold pieces within fifty yards of the caster will mumble “Here I am” upon the successful casting of Gold Sniffer (10 POWER).  The same thing happens with Treasure Finder (15 POWER) except gems speak, not gold pieces.  With Lie Detector (10 POWER), the caster may “detect falsehood in any one given statement.”  Does “statement” mean one item of information?  One sentence?  How does one target a “statement”?  Is it retro-active?

Any “mortal human or beast” must succeed with a COURAGE roll in order to travel through a Circle of Fear (10 POWER per 20' radius).  Web (25 POWER) causes “a 10 ft. diameter vertical web” to come into being.  Assuming the the web is placed over an opening of less that ten feet in diameter, “mortal humans and animals” will not be able to pass (until the next segment).  Pathfinder (15 POWER) allows the caster “to retrace steps in any terrain.”  With Freeze (30 POWER), the caster paralyzes a target for the remainder of the segment.

Poltergeist (30 POWER) causes “an invisible imp” to come into being.  It “can throw small objects and set fire to easily burned materials.”  On any given turn, there is a 50% chance that the imp “will obey the caster's wishes.”  I suppose that means “obey the caster's wishes” to the extent the imp is able.  I also suppose that the caster must vocally command the imp, but I could be wrong.  Speaking of invisibility, the caster may cause “any object he may hold in his hands” to become invisible with a successful casting of Invisible Object (40 POWER).  A caster “may make himself invisible” with Invisibility (85 POWER), the most expensive of the Grimoire spells in terms of base POWER cost.  Note that the caster's clothing and accoutrements are not rendered invisible with this spell.

A Zone of Purity (40 POWER) is a 20' diameter circle in which “no spells may be cast until the end of the segment.”  Of course, spells already in effect remain unabated.  To stop an existing spell, the caster must successfully cast Terminate within twenty-five feet of where the effects of the target spell manifest.  The POWER cost is equal to the target spell's POWER cost, but in no instance may it be less than 10 POWER.

A successful Curse spell “causes magical weapons and artifacts to lose their magical properties” permanently.  The POWER cost of the Curse spell is equal to the POWER cost of the target object's enchantment (which, of course, the caster may not necessarily know).  If the caster does not have enough POWER to cover the cost, “the balance is taken from him in Life Points at a ratio of 3 Life Points for each POWER Point.”  For reference purposes, a harp that plays by itself costs an Egyptian Apothecary 25 POWER Points to create while a 'Blessed Bow' (-10 THN) costs an Oriental Shaman 100 POWER Points to create.

Character Classes in Man, Myth & Magic (part III)

Art by Angus McBride

The only Priest class available in the 'original' Man, Myth & Magic setting is Hebrew.  Once per segment, a Hebrew Priest has a 41% chance to “commune with his Deity” thereby obtaining a truthful yes-or-no answer to a question.  Once per adventure, a Hebrew Priest has a chance (based on the character's SKILL) to “work” a miracle.  For purposes of MM&M, a miracle must be expressed as a written statement of no more than twenty-five words and is subject to literal interpretation by the Lore Master.  With a POWER expenditure of only 150 points, a miracle costs less than a Leprechaun's wish.  The class description for the Hebrew Priest explicitly states, “Magical Abilities:  None.”  Regardless, several Hebrew Priest 'spells' are described in the back of MM&M Book II.  The spells are appropriately thematic:  Part Waters, Water from Rock, Manna from Heaven, Fiery Hail, Angel of Death, Pillar of Fire, and Lazarus Lives.  (For the sake of comparison, here are the spells specific to Hebrew Sorcerers:  The Ear of Baalam, Joshua's Tongue, The Eyes of Elija, Walk on Water, The Jug of Gideon, Conjure Cherub, Seeker, Conjure Demon, Sanctuary, and Bridge over Gehenna.)

'Lazarus Lives' is an interesting spell for a game where reincarnation is a primary feature.  At a cost of 30 POWER, the Priest has a 20% chance of restoring life to a character who died that same segment.  If successful, “the Priest loses an amount of POWER Points equal to the restored character's total Life Points.”

In The Egyptian Trilogy 'setting' for MM&M, several other Priest classes are introduced.  (Original MM&M takes place circa AD 41 while The Egyptian Trilogy transpires 1,400 years earlier.)  Specifically, the additional Priest classes are:  Babylonian, Egyptian, Minoan, Philistine, and Sumerian.  With regard to 'magical abilities', the description for Babylonian Priest states, “May not use Spells listed in Grimoire, only Special Character spells for this class.”  Seemingly, this is true of every 'nationality' of Priest, including Hebrew.  The Grimoire consists of thirteen spells “common to all Character Classes having magic as one of their abilities.”  Priests are evidently excluded, as are Apothecaries; some 'magic' classes – like Druid or Harper – don't cast spells per se and others – such as Soothsayer or Astrologer – are 'psychic' rather than magical.  Thus, the classes that have access to the Grimoire are:  Witch-Doctor (African), Leprechaun (Hibernian), Sorcerer (Hebrew and Egyptian), as well as Shaman and Zen Lama (both Oriental).  (It seems that the Zen Lama class has access to the psychic talents as well as the Grimoire spells.)

Only Hebrew Priests are entitled to miracles.  Maybe if the other gods were less stingy with their miracles, their respective religions would have persisted.  Each variety of Priest has its own selection of spells, but instead of invoking miracles, non-Hebrew Priests can craft magic-like items; specifically...
Babylonian:  Can create charms that offset Basic Failure Rate (10 uses)
Egyptian:  Can create a 'Focus' that magic-class characters can use to reduce Basic Failure Rate (10 uses)
Minoan:  With a two week preparation, can enchant a weapon (+1 damage per 25 POWER spent)
Philistine:  Can create an ointment that allows the user to fly
Sumerian:  Can create a personal focus that reduces Basic Failure Rate  (permanent, but costs 50 POWER and takes two weeks)

Instead of being able to commune with their various deities, non-Hebrew Priests have an aptitude with divination – an aptitude shared by Hittite Seers and Sumerian Astrologers.  There are many, many forms of divination; however, MM&M limits itself to nine methods.  In listing the divination types, sometimes the rules use the high falutin' term (e.g., 'hepatoscopy') and sometimes a common descriptor (e.g., 'smoke').  The methods are:  Rhabdomancy (use of divination rods), Incubation (sleeping overnight in a temple), Tarot (a.k.a. Taromancy), Augury (“The study of birds in flight”), Smoke (a.k.a. Capnomancy; +10% chance of success if smoke is narcotic), Dog Howlings (a.k.a. Ololygmancy), Casting Lots (a.k.a. Sortilege), Hepatoscopy (“The study of the liver of an unblemished sacrifice”), and Horoscope.

Aside from Rhabdomancy, which is used “to locate water, oil or a particular type of ore,” and Smoke, which gives “a clue to a future event,” the various divination methods provide a yes/no answer to a question.  For most methods, the question must pertain to the future; however, Incubation allows for “any one question” while with Dog Howlings, the question must regard “another individual.”  Hepatoscopy actually answers six questions and Horoscope, three questions.

The 'Divination Table' shows which classes are capable of performing a given type of divination as well as the POWER cost and Basic Failure Rate modifier.  POWER cost is usually 10 or 15 points, but there are two instances of a 5 point cost and one instance of a 20 point cost.  Modifiers are more often detrimental than beneficial; however, the modifier for Hepatoscopy is beneficial for all classes that can perform it.  An unblemished sacrifice really is the most economical means of gaining knowledge about future events.  The only class that can engage in all forms of divination is the Sumerian Priest.

A Glimpse at Zorin Greystar's Grimoire

copyright 1984 by V Autumn, S Scherf, and K Autumn

          I have held the title of archmage for many, many years, and there is almost nothing I have not seen and done regarding magic and adventuring...I cannot in good conscience keep this wisdom to myself, so as writing is the only lasting way to spread ideas, I write this manuscript.

– Zorin Greystar

The Complete Works of Zorin Greystar – Book One, by Steve Scherf and Kellar Autumn, adopts the conceit that it is a commentary by characters “in a Fantasy Gamer's imagination.”  Archmage Greystar himself acts as an editor of sorts and contributes 'Chapter V – Spells,' briefly mentioned in last week's post.  Zorin provides a “small excerpt from [his] spellbook freely,” yet he refrains from giving “anything with which you could do widespread and long-lasting damage such as [his] more powerful temporal acceleration and reversal spells, and the ever-feared Storm of Chaos.”

Instead of one 'Dispel Magic' spell, Zorin has 'Dispel Type I' and 'Dispel Type II.'  Dispel Type I is a first level spell and works only on the caster's own spells.  Dispel Type II, like Dispel Magic, is a third level spell and works similarly except the formula for success is more complex and magic items can be neutralized temporarily.  'Anti-Magic Shell,' 'Permanency,' and 'Time Stop' also get the 'Type II' treatment from Zorin.  'Time Stop Type II' is a twelfth level spell that shrinks a target and places it into “temporal stasis” inside “an indestructible...sphere.”  “Indestructible” is defined in another twelfth level spell by the name of 'Indestructability' [sic].  When cast upon a “creature,” the 'Indestructability' spell is fatal to that creature in 1 - 10 turns.

There is a fifth level 'Improved Fly' spell with a tripled movement rate compared to the third level 'Fly' spell.  Zorin's 'Teleportation Type II' spell (ninth level) has “no chance of error” and his 'Teleportation Type III' spell (eleventh level) takes effect upon the caster's demise. 'Final Strike' (ninth level) is another spell triggered by the caster's death; it allows a number of spells to be stored “in stasis” and then released when the caster dies.

Zorin offers a variety of 'protection' spells:  'Protection from Gases' (fifth level), 'Protection from Liquids' (fifth level), 'Protection from Cold/Fire/Lightning' (sixth level), 'Protection from Curses' (seventh level), 'Protection from Normal Weapons' (seventh level), and 'Protection from Detection/Location' (tenth level).  'Tactile Protection' is an eighth level spell that “creates the illusion that the caster cannot be felt.”

'Secret Writing' is a third level spell that “alters writing so as to make it unreadable by any but the caster.”  The effect “cannot be dispelled because the writing is actually changed, and the magic is gone once cast.”  However, a mage of a level at least equal to the original caster can use the reverse of this spell, 'Manifest Writing,' to make the writing normal again.

Some spells are based upon mana use and the cosmology of Greystar's universe.  'Interrupt' (fourth level) causes all spellcasters to save vs spells or roll on the 'Spellcasters' Fumble Chart.'  'Negative/Positive Projection' (eleventh level) opens a rift to the negative or positive force.  If a rift is opened to the negative force:  (i) living things within the area of effect will “have their souls obliterated and their bodies shriveled” (unless they succeed in a saving roll vs magic) and (ii) undead spellcasters “will have all of their mana restored.”  In the case of a rift being opened to the positive force, the converse occurs:  undead beings will be destroyed and living spellcasters will recover mana.  In either situation, there is a chance of “overloading” the brains of the entities recovering mana.  Also, there is a not insignificant chance “of contacting the wrong force” when casting this spell.  The twelfth level 'Contact Positive/Negative Force' spell restores the caster's mana (evidently with no chance of overload); however, there is a possibility “of bridging to the opposite force,” which would be especially ruinous to the caster.

Some of the other spells Zorin provides include: 'Breathe/Suffocate,' 'Cat Sleep,' 'Elessa's Adamantine Arrows,' 'Empathy/Atrophy,' 'True Sight,' 'Zaardoz's Spell of Soul Stealing,' and 'Zorin's Spell Storing.'

copyright 1984 by V Autumn, S Scherf, and K Autumn

More Magic with Zorin Greystar

copyright 1984 by V Autumn, S Scherf, and K Autumn

Scherf and Autumn 'supplement' the 1e AD&D rules in their The Complete Works of Zorin Greystar - Book One.  Their efforts extend to the handling of saving throws, although in the Greystar system they are called 'saving rolls' and they are categorized differently.  The 'Saving Roll Table' on page 69 lists nine categories of saving rolls which, one presumes, are meant to replace the five types of saving throws.  These nine categories are:  Magic/Spell, Poison, Breath, Gaze, Magic Item, Small Missile, Large Missile, Cleric Spell, and Illusion.  Indexed against these categories are rows of numbers for each of the eleven classes/sub-classes from the Players Handbook (and a twelfth row for 'Normal').  Saving rolls improve by one for every three levels of experience.  Also, saving rolls are penalized by one for every three levels of the spell being saved against.  Finally, the difference in levels between the spellcaster and the saving character influences the roll.

If a mage uses all (or more) mana that he or she currently has available, the 'Overmana Chart' on pages 37 - 38 is to be consulted.  Going down to '0 mana' causes “Extreme lassitude, mage must rest no less than 10 hours and regains lost mana at 1/2 normal speed.”  Starting at negative seven mana, the mage enters a coma for a variable amount of time and there is a possibility of losing a percentage of mana permanently.  Using even more mana can result in permanent loss of spell casting ability, insanity, Constitution loss, and Intelligence loss.  Going to -31 mana is not recommended, death ensues with no apparent saving throw roll.

By reading it from a spellbook, a mage can attempt to cast a spell that he or she has not learned.  If the attempt fails, a roll is made on the 'Overlevel Attempt Chart.'  If a mage is interrupted during casting, the 'Spellcaster's Fumble Chart' is used.  The fumble can be avoided if the mage succeeds in a Dexterity roll (for physical interruptions) or a save vs magic (for mental interruptions).  The Overlevel Chart and the Fumble Chart are consolidated on pages 34 - 35 because they share many of the same effects, but with different chances.  For instance, on the Fumble Chart there is a 40% chance of the spell simply failing and the mana consumed; the same can happen on the Overlevel Chart, but the chance is only 20%.  Not all effects are necessarily bad.  It's possible that, although the spell fails, the mage's mana is replenished.  Results from the Overlevel Chart can be more severe than what can happen with the Fumble Chart; results such as insanity, level loss, Intelligence loss, or death are possible.  My favorite result (4% chance on either chart) is “chance of a disturbance of the planes, resulting in an ethereal encounter.”

In Chapter V, Zorin states that he has “composed thirty-nine new spells” for mages (some of which can be used by clerics).  The back cover of the book says, “This supplement contains 39 spells” (without referring to said spells as 'new').  The back cover claim is more accurate; while many of the spells are new, some are merely 'alternative.'  For instance, Zorin describes “Magical Missile Type I” and “Magical Missile Type II.”  Sound familiar?  (I would have gone with Prestidigitator's Projectile, but that's just me.)  Type I is just like our old friend Magic Missile, except the range is limited to 5" and only one missile is generated.  Type II (a 2nd level spell) increases the range and number of missiles to the usual Magic Missile extent.  So, dividing Magic Missile into two 'new' spells – one of which is second level – is an 'improvement' by Zorin.  Thanks Zorin...NOT.  We will examine some of Zorin's other spells in next week's exciting column!

copyright 1984 by V Autumn, S Scherf, and K Autumn

A Wizard's Book

For good reason, magic-users in role-playing games are protective of their spell books. In HighFantasy, a wizard has an especially good reason to be protective of his or her spell book.

In fact, the book is a living entity that draws its life force from the wizard and is therefore attuned to its owner only. A book separated from its owner will actually die if the separation lasts over two weeks.

Furthermore:

The relationship between the book and a wizard is so strong that when the wizard takes damage there is a chance that the book will be harmed also.

The chances are rather low that any given successful combat strike upon a wizard will harm his or her book, but with enough combat the odds become palpable. If a wizard is burned, damage to the spell book is almost certain.  Most damage sustained by a spell book is represented as a loss of pages.  Although not expressly stated, it seems that each page represents a spell.  So, if a wizard takes damage, it is possible that the wizard also loses spells.

While damage to a wizard could impose damage to his or her spell book, the converse does not appear to be true (other than the loss of spells).  I suppose that rules could be established whereby damage to a spell book automatically inflicts damage upon the associated wizard.  Perhaps such a rule would be too harsh.

Anyway:

Wizards begin the game with a wizard's book...A person must be born with the talent to be a wizard. As they grow older the local witch maids and magic users nurture this ability along. The majority of the learning however, is self-taught. At birth each child is tested and those who are indeed magical receive the covers for their book. As the child grows he adds scrolls that are given to him or found by placing them inside the book, at which time they “heal in” and become part of his book and life force. More spells are found by searching, buying or questing for scrolls.

I would expect there to be some period of apprenticeship among (or at least an initiation into) “the local witch maids and magic users.”  Book covers have to be crafted and I assume that some sort of bonding ritual is necessary for the book and the wizard to become attuned to one another.  This attunement is such that a “wizard separated from his book should be able to sense the direction his book is as long as it is alive.”

Also:

Captured books cannot be read. The pages appear blank because the life forces are not identical between the new reader and the book. Whenever the wizard dies or whenever his book is separated from him for more than a two week period, the book disintegrates into a collection of pages known as scrolls. Another wizard finding a scroll may read the title of it only. In order to use the spell it must be incorporated into his book, taking on his life force, before it can be totally read.

An interesting aspect of a wizard's spell book is its relation to the wizard's familiar.  Creating a familiar requires “living pages from the Wizard's spell book...”  Additionally:

The pages that are used will become the Familiar's abilities.  For example, a Fly page will give the creature wings, a flame spell would make the creature fire based and able to use fire equivalent to the Wizard at the time of its creation.

Given the relationship between spell book pages and Familiar abilities, I would hope that spell books could contain more than one instance of a particular spell.  It would be a shame to forgo having access to a Fly spell simply because one's Familiar has the ability of flight.