Grimoires

[Alex Chesterfield]

Can I attune to a grimoire if I'm already attuned to another or do I have to wait for the attunement to fully fade before attuning to another grimoire? In other words, is there any benefit to having multiple grims?

[J4bberw0ck]

If you attune to a grimoire you’re automatically un-attuned to any others, so no benefit. That’s what manifested powers are for, and certain talents from magical pursuits like Dabbler (Mastered Magia/Immuto, for example).

[Alex Chesterfield]

But theoretically I could have several grimoires at my home and change attunement for each given session to give access to different magic, is that accurate?

[Ebb]

2 hours ago, Alex Chesterfield said:

But theoretically I could have several grimoires at my home and change attunement for each given session to give access to different magic, is that accurate?

Yes, that is very much an option. You should also check out the "Craft Grimoire" General Talent (From Nightmares pg. 129) which does allow a second Grimoire to be attuned.

[J4bberw0ck]

Yup, multiple grimoires is a nifty way to allow primary spellcasters to really mix up their play styles. In the past I’ve given spellcasters one grimoire for combat-heavy sessions, and another for more investigative adventures. 

[Wakshaani]

Here's a question that came up the other day and I was stunned i didn't find an answer.

Are Grimoires locked to magical traditions?

That is to say, if my Oxford Mage finds a Grimoire that's full-blown Whisper, what with the gnawed0on bones and teh skull that you shake and that whispers secrets in your ear ... can I attune to it and cast it my way? Or can you only attune to a Grimoire in your tradition?

It would seem *odd* that you could, since the wild voodoo traditions of the Gremlin Houngan we just bonked and my proper Guild Thalarian caster shouldn't be compatable at *all*, but it would seem that I could pick it up and staple it into my own casting just fine.

And that strikes me as off.

Yet I'll be buggered if I can find anything that disallows it.

Ack!

[Ebb]

Grimoires are not locked to magical traditions.

I have a theory as to why this is the case.

Core Rules pg. 260 "In a way, Grimoires want to be found and used"

When the the character creates their own Grimoire with the Craft Grimoire Talent, it specifically states that no other characters can attune to the Grimoire. My expectation is that all Grimoires start out as being uniquely attuned to the person that created it, but if that person stops using it (they lost it, died, etc), then it changes itself to be available to anyone who picks it up. This might occur gradually, so after some time, the Grimoire can be attuned by others, but perhaps only those who follow the same Magical Theory, or perhaps it starts with only being available to a blood relative or something like that; but at a certain point it can just be attuned to by anyone.

It's just an idea, but I like it =P

[Procrastinating Gamer]

On 5/1/2021 at 4:47 AM, J4bberw0ck said:

Yup, multiple grimoires is a nifty way to allow primary spellcasters to really mix up their play styles. In the past I’ve given spellcasters one grimoire for combat-heavy sessions, and another for more investigative adventures. 

It kind of reminds me of how the Pillars of Eternity games handle a wizard's spellbook in that.  In PoE1 you could carry multiple spell books, each with their own customised loadout of spells and switching from one to another would just lock you out of your spellcasting for a little bit.  PoE2 changed to, now that I think about it, pretty much exactly how grimoires work in TtB - their spells are fixed and unchanging but the character can know a few spells of their own independent of what's in the book and you would loot multiple spellbooks over the course of the game.

As a bit of a tangent, regarding grimoires, I've been listening to the Breachside Broadcast and would you say that the Blind Man's Iron (Tales from Malifaux 43 and 44) would be a good example of a grimoire?