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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Some Dude" data-source="post: 7855523" data-attributes="member: 6980080">CHAPTER 10: THE GRIMOIRE (CONTINUED YET AGAIN...)A few more words about Spells Arcane and Divine: each list of spells, that is to say, each Arcana and each group of Prayers, can generally be expected to contain spells that are offensive, defensive, and "other". WHile each list of Spels/Prayers is centered around a certain Arcana or Diety, there is still variety, even with the relatively small number of spells available to each caster.Next we come to the subject of Wytchstone. Wytchstone is a Magickal substance that has fallen to earth in a long ago cataclysm (meteor shower?). It is embedded in the earth in places. It has many strange qualities and powers. Which, in Zweihander, also means that it's pretty freaking dangerous. From what little I've read, this is analogous to something called "Warpstone" in WFRP. It is used in everything from Magickal charms, to medicines, to potent weapons.Wytchstone is rare, unstable and unsafe. But if one is "lucky" enough to find it, and "brave" enough to handle it, it can be used in several ways, including:"Essence" which, when inhaled, grants one a Critical Success to any one Incantation Test for 24 hours. Aaaaaaaaand you get 9 Corruption. Say no to drugs, kids!"Pabacea", a disease-curing agent."Wytchfyre", incendiary ammo for Gunpowder Weapons."Elixirs", 25 different types, each posessing a different effect/benefit (or drawback, if you allow one to exceed its shelf life, it becomes "cursed").Rules are given for crafting each of these, and follow the same general pattern as the Crafting rules from Chapter 7: Trappings.Rituals are covered next, which make use of Wytchstone to marshall raw Magickal power. These are powerful, and can produce great Magick. Some may have more than one possible effect. But they also have negative consequences every time you perform them. The use of some rituals is even possible by those without inherent Magickal Skill. However, no one should attempt any Ritual unless they are swhatever they hope to gain is worth the certain negative Consequences they will suffer. Whether using "Blessed Sacrament" to Create Holy Water, or using "Call Demonic Servant", there is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to Rituals.Rituals follow the same game mechanics that are used throughout Zweihander. Each is listed in the book using the following format:-Casting Time-Reagents-Conditions (which must be met prior to conducting the Ritual)-Channel Power: This tells you what type of Magick the Ritual is treated as for purposes of determining Chaos Manifestations (i.e., Petty, Lesser, Greater)-Difficulty Rating-Consequences (the bad stuff)Characters can Inscribe Magickal Runes, which can be done with (permanent) or without (temporary) the use of Wytchstone.Characters must have the Tradecraft Skill Focus of "Runesmith" to be able to do this at all. Learning new Runes follows a very similar path as that of Learning New Spells, and the descriptions of the various Runes likewise follows a similar format as the Spell Descriptions.There are three Types of Rune: Apprentice, Journeyman and Master. As you may have guessed, these correspond to the Skill Level of the Runesmith. And, there is an ascending level of power and effect.While learning and Inscribing new Runes seems to be a long and expensive process, it doesn't seem yo have the same dangers as other Magickal pursuits.Chapter 10 ends with descriptions of Magick Circles, which will help Shield the Spellcaster from the effects of Chaos brought about by the working of Magick. This is described as a Ritual, and is described in the same format, but it has been kept separate from the other Rituals for some reason.There are instructions for Summoning Aetheric Spirits, in case you need to kill your character commune with the creatures from beyond the Material Realm.And, finally, there are rules for Imbuing and identifying Magickal Talismans (which can grant benefits to the wearer).And that's it for Chapter 10: The Grimoire. 74 pages of Magick and how to use it in the Grim & Perilous world of Zweihander. Very good stuff, and covers all of the bases. Like the rest of the book so far, the information isn't always presented in an intuitive or easy to parse manner. I'm guessing this is because these rules grew out of a set of houserules for WFRP 2e, and perhaps the developer(s) didn't realize that what seemed obvious to a group that had been gaming together for years might not be so plain to others.I'll say it again, I really like this game so far (just GMed my third session, finishing our first adventure). But I don't always like trying to find stuff in the book.Well, we've reached about the halfway point of the book. Three chapters left. Thanks for sticking around.NEXT - CHAPTER 11: GAME MASTERY</blockquote>

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