Variant Rules (Grisaire Supplement)

The following variant rules can be implemented as the DM sees fit. Many of them are for more realistic effects or how the creator thought it would be more realistic. Some are also just unique to ideas of this setting.

General Variant Rules

• Alcohol Consumption
• Flanking
• Ignited and Soaked Conditions
• Terrain Difficulty
• Expensive Equipment
• Maintaining Items
• Mastercraft
• Lifestyle

Special Setting Variant Rules

Soul Enhance

As part of the Anti-Magic League efforts to undermine magic, they created a line of weapons that utilize the soul. These are weapons that use the soul as energy, rather than relying on magic from the Veil, thus making them distinct and immune from antimagic effects. However, they still deal damage as if magical, and can bypass all the immunities and resistances that magic can, and even more. Soul weapons deal spirit damage, which is essentially nonmagical force damage. Anything with a soul or a semblance of one is affected by spirit damage. However, soulless creatures, like certain constructs and undead are immune as a result. Some soul weapons are directly related in power to that of their user's soul. A weak person's soul will therefore perform less than stellar compared to a stronger soul.

This same logic was applied by arcanists of Khaire to enhance magic instead of weapons, leading to a small rewriting of magical application. However, unlike soul weapons, soul energy only augments the power of spells themselves, not granting them spirit damage. Some extreme methods of spellcasting include utilizing the soul of the caster entirely to cast magic. This is known as the soul category part of the larger body of "Life-casting." This area of magics is usually forbidden due to the volatile danger it poses both to the caster and in revealing disturbingly unethical magical potential. More on the actual rule page :P

Negative Abilities

The primal god is in everything and everyone in Grisaire. It is all made of it. To a degree, Primus still influences mortals to this day. The thirst for vengeance is subliminal in the dead deity's pieces, but they manifest themselves in imperfections found in all creatures. The following ability scores are called negative abilities, based on the system from 4th Edition Das Schwarze Auge. Each ability mirrors one of the six "positive" ability scores normal to DnD. You roll for these scores when you create your character, same as with the normal ability scores. The modifier for these negative scores increases the DCs for saves and checks of their correlated positive ability.

For example, Razier the elf ranger has a Rashness score of 12 and an Intelligence score of 14. He gets his usual +2 modifier to his History check to find information on the lost libraries of Ulgulothky. While the normal DC for such a situation was 13, his Rashness score modifier is +1, and so the DC for the check is increased to 14. This can be characterized as the character, while being adequately intelligent, having an impatience that can cost him success.

Such scores are meant to make characters more interesting as well as encourage roleplay of weaknesses. They can also be applied or withheld at the DM's discretion when it may not be appropriate. As prizes and boons, the DM can also grant decreases to these negative scores for players.

Stats

Positive Ability	Negative
Strength	Frailty
Dexterity	Clumsiness
Constitution	Hypochondria
Wisdom	Superstition
Intelligence	Rashness
Charisma	Cowardice

Firearms

Grisaire is a world on the verge of industrial revolutions. However, firearms are far from common in all nations. Many, like Zesh, do not have firearms save for rudimentary cannons. The concentration of firearms is within nations like Premius, Aerzale, and some in Lozor and the coastal trade nations. If you decide to include firearms in your game, it is highly recommended that you use only renaissance types from the Dungeon Master's Guide. Firearms display a certain level of wealth, but they also draw the ire from some who see such technology as only destruction.

Dietary Restrictions

Stuff like rations are actually composed of various vegetables, grains, and meats that are dried. Diets are a thing, like how wolves are carnivores. This is something that can affect what people eat and how it affects them.

Heavy Injury

A lite system change on how damage works can make it tougher for players or more fun overall in combat if you like to keep track of stuff but not too much.

Opposition of Faiths

If a table wants to better immerse themselves in some of the effects of religion, try this rule on for size! Some of the gods and their aspects in Grisaire inherently oppose each other due to past spats, ancient historical feuds, or just general issues of interaction. When a cleric, priest, or some other sworn member of one divine entity's following enters the stronghold of one that is opposed, it can result in some negative effects that range from pillorying to outright divine cursing.

Psychological Effects

You've heard of madness, but there are some more effects to be had in Grisaire, where the spectral threat of the Uncreated lurk within the depths of the mind. Various other psychological effects can be used to plague players, simulating crushing despair or paralyzing fear. These have some mechanical detriments as well as roleplay. On the other end of the spectrum, things like inspiration can be further explored in almost shounen-like ways as players can find newfound strength to overcome thanks to a sudden rush of adrenaline and dopamine.

Worldbuilding Class Progression

As characters grow stronger in the world, they are not doing so without people noticing and things changing around them. The most boring kind of progression in videogames sometimes is no one realizing that you're 20 levels higher than some mook. Taking a leaf from 2nd Edition, some classes have additional progression effects in the world that will be listed under their sections for Grisarian Classes and official Classes.

Event-based Leveling Only

Based on what kind of class you are, it makes sense you might not progress the same way! A wizard and fighter would not equally gain the same amount of experience in battle to improve their skills from the same challenges. A warlock and rogue also would not share similar ways of improving their abilities. Using just things like experience points makes it all kind of dry. It would make more dramatic effect if your warlock absorbed the essence of a genie the party slew, thus empowering their own patron more. Not all classes will necessitate this, since martials feasibly would level up easier due to just by simply working out more.

Diversifying Casters

Casters are a meta term for people with access to spells. Well, technically, from a narrative perspective, "spells" are only effects of an arcane origin. Effects of divine would be called "prayers", for example. Anyway, when thinking about how wizards are the intelligence casters, it makes more sense that they can access spell scrolls better than many other classes. But other classes have unique flavor that warrant them special treatment as well. This supplemental rule doubles down on narrative differences between casters and the sources of their power to make them more unique and different from one another in a pseudo-mechanical way. This primarily deals with goodies for casters!

Limiting Casters and Low-Magic Alternatives

Due to the imbalance of caster and martial power in 5e, it is recommended that certain restrictions be used for tables where this is particularly egregious. Refer to tables in Spells and Magic for how to limit spellcasting by using consequential rolls! Also, for low-magic settings, it is recommended to completely eliminate access to spell levels above 3rd-level by class. Keep in mind that this severely changes the nature of class progression, particularly for casters! Additional finagling will be needed...

Extra Goodies for Martials

Maneuvers and shonen powah. Also, proficiency slots... and stuff.

Different Materials

Metals vary, even nonmagical ones. Introducing things like hardness and also some oldies

Substances

These are extremely optional rules on identifying and using certain original tinctures in Grisaire.

Grisaire Navigation

Grisaire Campaign Settingv
	Players Guide	Races, Backgrounds, Classes, Spells & Magic, Downtime Activities, Feats
	World of Grisaire	History, The World, Society, Cosmology, Religion, Worldly Mechanics, Languages
	Dungeon Master's Guide	About, Treasure, Bestiary, Tables, Help, Adventures, NPCS, Variant Rules,
	“ The heart of the world is crying for justice! Come heroes, fulfill the hunger! ” —Archmage Heimelichus

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