The Foul Power
of the Grimoire
Greetings kind traveller, what a pleasure to have you in my company again. Here, let me treat you to a fine glass of wine. What is this leather parcel, you ask? Well, suffice it to say it's a book. What book you ask? Ahh, now that is an interesting question. Very well, I'll tell you what I know. The peddler that handed me this book certainly suspected nothing of the power held within, but I am quite sure this is a genuine grimoire...
What is a Grimoire?
Many spellbooks or other tomes of obscure occult or arcane lore are called “grimoires,” and in this way the word has taken on a variety of meanings. But while a wizard with a flair for the dramatic might insist on referring to his spellbook as a grimoire, there is a different class of tomes altogether to which this word, and this word alone, applies. It is of these specialized grimoires that we speak today.
Fundamentally, a grimoire is a nexus, providing a connection between a potential user and an outsider. At the very least, a grimoire contains the ritual required to bind the user to the associated entity. This permits the user to make use of the arcane knowledge hidden in the pages of a grimoire, empowered by the patron entity, which, in turn lays claim over the user's soul, or, more rarely, receives other benefits. Besides the binding ritual, a grimoire contains a number of spells which can be used by those bound through the grimoire, even if they lack spellcasting ability. Finally, most grimoires contain information, typically obscure and arcane, ranging from academic or philosophical treatises to memoirs of the writer or even information about the entity invoked in the binding ritual. Although the binding ritual is not required in order to understand the mundane writings of the book, more often than not, they are written in obscure languages, usually matching those known by the bound entity, such infernal, abyssal, or ignan.
Above all, a grimoire is a dangerous, if potentially powerful, tool. On one hand, since they permit non-spellcasters an easy route to magic, such texts are extremely valued even in magic-rich worlds, to say nothing of their worth in worlds where magic has fallen into obscurity. On the other hand, access to the power of a grimoire requires a binding ritual, a sort of pact made between the user and the outsider who serves as the source of the grimoire’s power, and the price is almost always far greater than the gain. Thus, grimoires function as soul traps, ensuring an outsider's access to the mortal world millennia after such an entity has fallen into oblivion. Each grimoire is a unique item, and the exact nature of one can be vastly different from the next. The following paragraphs explain each element of a grimoire, including its construction.
The Basics
A typical grimoire is hardly distinguishable from any other book, except that it is usually made to endure the test of time, and, indeed, many grimoires are very old. The language of the text is almost always one spoken by outsiders, and in particular, a language that the bound entity knows. On the other hand, the binding ritual is often given in a less obscure language, so as to make the ritual more accessible, although depending on the age of the book, such a “less obscure” language may still be long-dead. The Linguistics skill is almost indispensable to access the secrets of the average grimoire. Rarely, the text of the binding ritual is enchanted, permitting understanding of the writing by anyone. Other common enhancements include spells that protect the book, such as resist energy. Note, however, that the grimoire itself is not a magic item, and while any enchantments on the book would not be transferred to a copy, the other properties of the grimoire (such as the ability to use it to perform a binding ritual) can be transferred in this way, allowing for multiple copies of a single grimoire to be made from the original. Unless the book has some other enchantment on it, a grimoire does not radiate a magic aura and cannot be detected with detect magic.
The Binding Ritual
Typically found in a position of significance within the book, such as the beginning, the end, or the exact middle, the binding ritual is a set of instructions, usually involving the loud and clear reading of a passage over and over again. A typical binding ritual takes 1 hour to perform. Other requirements might be present, such as a specific sacrifice or a particular hour and place, but note that the only requirement to gain the entity’s attention is the reading of the text. Any further requirements typically exist to appease the entity, and those who would perform the pact without these additional steps often find themselves the objects of the entity’s wrath. In some cases, the entity simply extracts its price from the binder without giving up anything in return. In most cases the bound entity is a powerful devil or demon. Elementals and genies (such as djinni and efreeti) are less common, and celestials are almost never bound in such dealings. Other outsiders are extremely rare.
Once the binding is complete, if the bound outsider still exists somewhere in the multiverse, then it can either accept or reject the binding. Rejecting the binding will provide no indication to the performer, who most probably will dismiss the validity of the text. Accepting the binding can mean any number of things, depending on how the binding ritual is worded, but typically permits the bound outsider to travel to the location of the performer at will, either physically (as plane shift, except that the outsider always arrives within 60 feet of the binder) or mentally (in which case the outsider is able to project his consciousness to the binder’s location, appearing as above but in an invisible, incorporeal state. While in this state, the outsider’s body remains in its location, but it can see and hear through its projected consciousness, can communicate telepathically to the binder, and can choose to appear visible—albeit still hazy and insubstantial—to the binder). This also enables the binder to use the spells held within the book. The exact identity of the outsider, whether or not it can break the binding, what happens as soon as the binding ritual is accepted, and at what length is the binding enforced, are details that the game master should consider before introducing such an item in his campaign.
Arcane Power
The spells contained in a grimoire are not unlike a typical spellbook. In fact, a spellcaster of the appropriate type and level can use this spell as though as it was any non-magical recording of a spell. This means that although a wizard can copy the spell to his spellbook, he cannot actually cast the spell from the grimoire as though it were a scroll. On the other hand, any character who has used the grimoire’s binding ritual can use the spells in the book, regardless of his normal spellcasting ability. Each of these spells is usable at a certain frequency, such as once per day, once per week, once per hour, at will, three times per day, and so on. Different spells can have different frequencies associated with them, so that a single grimoire might allow fireball once per day but burning hands at will.
The actual casting of the spell follows a process that is similar to that of casting a scroll. The grimoire’s user, as part of the pact, is granted an effective caster level and Spellcraft score, which apply only to casting spells from the grimoire (and not to any other spells or uses of the Spellcraft skill the grimoire’s user may have). These effective caster level and Spellcraft scores vary from grimoire to grimoire, and may or may not be high enough to guarantee success with all of the grimoire’s spells. If the grimoire’s user has a caster level or ranks in Spellcraft of his own, he can use his own modifiers instead of those granted by the pact, if he so desires.
As with scrolls, if the user’s caster level is less than the minimum caster level required to cast a spell that the user is trying to cast from the grimoire (or if his caster level is less than the caster level the grimoire specifies for the spell, if any), then he must make a Spellcraft check in order to cast it successfully. The DC for this Spellcraft is equal to 20 + the spell’s level. If the grimoire’s user succeeds, he casts the spell successfully. If not, nothing happens (and that use of the spell is not wasted). If he fails by 5 or more, that use of the spell is wasted. Unlike with scrolls, it does not matter whether or not the spell in question is on the user’s spell list, if any. No matter what happens, the magical text in the grimoire is not destroyed or consumed, though the user can still only cast the spell so often based on its frequency. A typical grimoire contains 4 to 12 spells, usually ranging from level 3 to 5. The game master should pick spells appropriate to the type of the bound entity.
Mundane Knowledge
Besides spells, most grimoires contain academic recordings which, when properly understood, can provide a bonus to certain Knowledge checks. A typical grimoire contains between 1 and 3 such topics, each one providing a bonus from +1 to +5, to a particular Knowledge skill (or, in some cases, a specific use of that skill. For example, the Demonomicon of Horace the Black provides a +5 bonus on Knowledge (the planes) checks made to identify demons, but does not provide any bonus on checks made to identify other outsiders). Other skills that can benefit from such contents are Appraise, Heal, and Spellcraft. Memoires of the writer, details of the bound creature, notes on other grimoires, and “fair warnings” are common subjects in the pages of a grimoire. Once again, a game master should give some thought as to the contents of the book before introducing it to the campaign.
Crafting a Grimoire
Much like a spellbook, a grimoire is not a magical item in and of itself. The entire book or individual pages can be enchanted, but the actual functionality of a grimoire does not require any magical expenditure, and it would be theoretically possible for such a text to be mass produced with a printing press. Certainly this would make any devil a very happy outsider indeed. That said, in order for the binding ritual to be valid, the writer must in some way contact the outsider, converse with the entity, and secure his cooperation. Beyond that, any spells provided must be known by the writer.
Grimoires as Treasure
While you should never throw a grimoire randomly into a pile of treasure, it’s worth knowing roughly what a grimoire is worth, if it is given out as part of a treasure, so you have a rough idea of how much of a balancing effect it will have on the game, and how much treasure to withhold to make up the difference. Since grimoires primarily give access to spells, the table in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook devoted to estimating magic item gold piece values is helpful here, because it gives a formula for the prices of items that let you duplicate a spell effect as a command word, with adjustments based on how often it can be used each day. With a little bit of algebra, you can use this to determine the costs of spells on a weekly basis as well (divide by 5/1/7, or, in other words, divide the cost by 35). Simply determine the cost of each individual spell, then add them together. Depending on how difficult it is for the user to successfully cast the spells using the caster level and Spellcraft modifier the grimoire grants, you should also add a discount of somewhere between 10% and 20%.
Example Grimoire
There are many mystical books that qualify as grimoires, the most known certainly being the Necronomicon, but Libre de Vermis and De Tenebris Praeceptor are far from unknown. The following example is based on a much more obscure title:
Sigil Serpentis
Covered by snakeskin and bound in silver, this book counts a little over 500 pages. Besides the exotic crafting and the incomprehensible reading, there is nothing else to indicate the nature of the book. Carefully browsing the pages will reveal that the inside part of the back cover, is written in Common. The foul text of the binding ritual, hints at the calling of an infernal serpent, ancient by any measure of time. Performing the ritual permits the reader to access both the spells held within, and the rest of the text, which is otherwise completely incomprehensible and impossible to derive its origin, with anything less than powerful divination magic such as legend lore. Umar Numei, the outsider associated with the book, will not appear in front of the reader, but the shared bond manifests in subtle ways. When the owner of the book shuffles through the pages, occasionally he can hear a faint hissing sound in his mind, without a discernible source. Upon death of the owner, Umar Numei will drag the owner’s soul to her abyssal realm of endless darkness and gleaming scales.
Sigil Serpentis contains the following elements.
- A treatise on the major political and metaphysical events during the author's life, granting a +2 bonus to Knowledge(history)
Detailed, if somewhat cryptic, passages related to the birth of many evil deities, granting a +3 bonus to Knowledge (religion).
The story of Umar Numei, the bound outsider, when she was still a mortal creature, queen of a long forgotten civilization.
Access to the following spells, all of which are cast at caster level 8: acid arrow (3/day), alter self (1/hour), arcane sight (1/week), charm person (1/day), summon monster IV (always summons a CE fiendish python [constrictor snake]) (2/week).
Epilogue
I feel that the best approach to handle grimoires is to treat them like artifacts, lest they ruin the balance of a campaign. Certainly they can function both as powerful weapons, plot hooks or objects of desire and ruin for players, much like lovecraftian protagonists. Thus, as a game master, use this article as a guide to carefully design your own grimoire, and under all circumstances avoid delivering such an item through random treasure. The ideal environment for such objects is in low-magic worlds, where the possession of such an item can be the “power source” of an arch-villain, or the destruction of grimoires the objective of the group. Placing a grimoire in the hands of a player should only be done with the utmost consideration for the consequences. That is all for today kind traveller, have a great day and do not forget to come back for more.