Worldly Mechanics (Grisaire Supplement)

Grisaire is a world inextricably tied with various forces that cause otherwise impossible things to happen. As people have lived alongside these various powers, a lot of problems have been fleshed out and laws have been put in place to minimize their use. While Grisaire is a high-fantasy setting, a lot of the world mirrors earth's history and politics, as well as ideas and philosophies on supernatural phenomena and the nature of the forces that cause them. The very basis of magic and similar energies originate from the supposed death of Primus. As his consciousness was torn apart, his imagination and dreams, raw and unformed, were used by the Twelve Thrones to construct the network of material generally called the Veil which envelops the world of Grisaire. This power, which supposedly created the gods themselves, is incredibly potent and impossible for mortals to harness entirely. It is considered a component of creation itself, alongside the other 11 or so elements.

As the Veil existed through the years, the power which it has provided has changed as well. Over time, as the world underwent its course, the Veil's embrace suffused into many things in the world, living and not, creating the potential for magic in creatures as well as objects that usually become sacred and sought after. In nature, the Veil manifests as primal energy, drawn upon by nature spirits, fey creatures, and the like. When exerted by living beings, psionic powers of the mind and arcane formulas are expressed through their bodies. The Veil comprises thus the basis for primal energy, psionic ki, and arcane magic. These are also known as the three Veil powers. Those who can use these powers are called Veiltouched.

While the Veil is infused into all of creation and thus in all creatures, the degree to which it manifests varies wildly. Most people in the world have little to no ability to utilize the Veil component. This meant they could not harness any of the three forms of the Veil. In prior times, this was an incredible disadvantage for those who were not Veiltouched. However, as technology advanced, manpower came to be required only in smaller amounts to have greater efficiency. The use of such technology has greatly altered the world. People have used Veil powers and technology for unspeakable things that eventually became outlawed as incorrigible. Due to the non-intervention of the gods, few hard limits have been enforced on magic, and man resorts to law to rectify his mistakes. The influence of the Veil remains an important part of most of life on Grisaire one way or another, whether in the earth, the tools, or the fauna.

The Veil

This omnipresent force weaves through all existence. It is said to have been the raw imagination of Primus. Tribore seized it and grappled it to fit his uses, creating the first uses of intentional magic. Non-intentional effects include the infusion of the Veil into other things, changing lifeforms and objects. The Veil is thus the source of all fantastic things in Grisaire. Those are sensitive to it are the ones who can use magic, though this sensitivity comes in a variety of degrees. Even those not sensitive to the Veil know of it and can used objects which have imbued properties from it.

Veiltouched

The Veil's influence in all living things is comparable to a well. It is a limited resource that can be drawn from. Through awareness and discipline, one can deepen this well and improve their control over it. Those who can do this are the Veiltouched, encompassing spellcasters, monks, and any who are proficient with any of the three Veil powers.

Arcane Magic

See also Spells in Grisaire
Arcane magic primarily deals with what is associated with traditional magic archetypes. There is a great emphasis on theory in the arcane, as well as secrets. People focus on scrolls and learning arcane magic through studying and practice, usually. The use of theory extends to practical applications, like using arcane formula to power a cannon. Most practitioners of arcane magic are wizards, warlocks, and artificers. Sorcerers are considered a special case, being viewed as living arcane formulae. Some argue that sorcerers are manifestations of primal powers, even. The term "spells" in its truest sense is applied solely to arcane magic.

Arcane magic

Patrons

Tribore

Spellcasting

The use of spells is sanctioned by the god Tribore, who casted the first spell after wrestling the Veil into a form which could be twisted according to one's mental fortitude. It requires knowledge or at least the acknowledgement of formulae to give shape to the limitless powers of the Veil. This creates spontaneous effects that would otherwise be improbable, like making a fireball in the middle of nowhere, or lightning from a sunny sky. However, some are born knowing such, like sorcerers, while others gain this power through other means, like warlocks.

Schools

• Conjuration.
• Necromancy. The million-dollar question is often "Is raising the dead okay" when it comes to this school. The answer is largely "it depends." While there were attempts to form a cohesive law surrounding necromancy and its use across all of Grisaire, particularly after the March of Gears, there was ultimately no consensus save for a base that necromancy had to be allowed for the bare necessity of healing. The fine specifics regarding other uses, like raising dead and talking to dead are defined within the laws of individual countries, meaning it is largely inconsistent. You can find out more about how necromancy is treated in codified law within the individual pages of the countries.
• Evocation.
• Abjuration.
• Transmutation.
• Divination.
• Enchantment.
• Illusion.

Restrictions on Magic

Dunamancy

The school of dunamancy, with spells in chronurgy and graviturgy, is absent in Grisaire. These spells may be used by gods, but not by others. However, there are supposedly artifacts and secrets hidden in the world which can impart this power. Players therefore cannot learn spells of these schools.

Spell Drain

The Veil is a finicky thing that can potentially cause more trouble than it's worth to use. That is because, like a piece of flowing cloth, the ripples through it can cause unintended consequences. People have observed that casting certain powerful spells will actively drain the life of another. This is because the Veil seeks to balance the immense magic expended by taking the life from the caster. See the table below for how spells drain from their caster. The spell levels also apply to spells that are upcasted. In this way, interpretations of spell slots skew towards a caster's life energy and their ability to bear the brunt of drain more than anything else. Dropping to 0 hit points or expending more than your maximum hit dice as a result of spell drain is catastrophic and you start with 1 failure in death saves and you roll with disadvantage to become stabilized.

Spell Drain Table

Spell Level	Hit Point and Hit Dice Drain
5	1d6 hit points × spell level
6	1d8 hit points × spell level
7	1d8 hit points × spell level, expend 4 hit dice
8	1d8 hit points × spell level, expend 6 hit dice
9	1d10 hit points × spell level, expend 8 hit dice

Spell Consequence

In addition to drain, the Veil sometimes fluxes when spells are cast and can cause something entire strange other than the intended consequence to occur. These can be used in tandem with fumbles, or replace spell fumbles. Or, if you want your players to be more reserved about spells in general, DMs can use the below table for that, too. These effects primarily occur when people use magic in places that the Veil is unstable in. These can include areas where the flow of magic has been disrupted by mass death and destruction, or where the Uncreated influence is particularly powerful. To use this table, whenever a player uses a spell, they must also roll a d20. The DM can refer to the table below for what consequence ensues, or they can add their own effects as necessary:

Spell Consequence Table

d20	Consequence
1	The spell, no matter what level it is, costs you drain of a 5th level spell.
2	Whatever was casted fizzles and does nothing.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12	1d8 hit points × spell level
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Arcanish

The language of magic was originally only spoken. Writing it down into script thus allowed it to be recorded in spellbooks and spell scrolls. This was all due to the work of the god Tribore, the same god that created the Veil and its effects on the world. However, the studious god was not one to easily share power even after inventing the magical scripts that would allow mortals even a semblance of control over magic.

Arcanish is the spoken and single language of magic. Spells use Arcanish as their verbal components, regardless of the source one has spells, be they sorcerer or wizard. However, Arcanish is written into three known scripts: Renr'A, Luk Ta, and Koubres. These three scripts are the written forms of all runes and symbols that compose spell scrolls and books that have actual magical power. A book with spells written in Commontongue would not hold any magic, for example. Wizards are usually schooled in Arcanish and the three scripts, though many may choose to specialize based on their school. Other spellcasters may not be able to read as wizards can if they have not put in the years of studying required. A creature that does not know the script within a scroll cannot cast it.

All three written forms of Arcanish are naturally imperfect in their construction, as they are limited in span and application. Additionally, because these languages lack the full berth of Arcanish, spell scrolls with spells higher than 3rd level in Grisaire are considered extremely rare. Spell scrolls with 5th level spells or higher are nonexistent. Rumor has it that Plegothos is the only god other than Tribore that can tell of the necessary writings to inscribe spells of 5th-level and higher. This constraining rule extends to magic items like tomes and even magic items that grant the use of spells.

Renr'A

The most general and versatile of the Arcanish writing scripts, Renr'A is commonly used over all of Grisaire for writing simple incantations like trinkets that cast cantrips and various minor effects like cleaning and for playing pranks. The highest extent of Renr'A is its use in enchantment spells, particularly that of ever popular charms and love spells. Renr'A is also used for spells of the divination and abjuration schools. The script for Renr'a is phonetical clusters. Each cluster can be either a connecting sound or an entire word and concept. A cluster can have up to 8 phonetic components selected from an alphabet of 360 symbols. The various combinations of clusters often sound like mashing consonants and vowels in ways that defy normal speech.

Sample Spells: Rrsuga'h (create bonfire), Dougahnhanha (animal friendship), S'wuer'R'Pun (prestidigitation)

Luk Ta

Luk Ta is the Arcanish writing script commonly specialized in evocation and transmutation. The reading of its script is almost always loud, with abrupt and harsh stops after syllables. The script itself is pictographic, with entire symbols composed of strokes in eight possible arranged quadrants. Luk Ta is not as common as Renr'A due its possible destructive tendencies of use.

Sample Spells:

Koubres

Koubres is an uncommon Arcanish writing script, specializing in necromancy and conjuration. Necromancy magic as it is bears a lot of history and is sparsely disseminated in writing, be it healing or raising the dead. One may find these in the churches or cults dedicated to Survelem. Conjuring is also a rare kind of magic to be written into scrolls. Koubres is considered the most difficult of the Arcanish scripts, being written in a non-linear fashion without obvious direction of flow in its wording. Its form appears to be a web of various lines and smaller symbols that connect at junctions. Rather than interpret it part by part like we might a sentence, those who know Koubres must know its meaning from its whole.

Sample Spells:

Primal Energy

Primal energies (sometimes also called "ether") encompass natural forces that druids usually utilize in casting. These energies are directly tied with the world around, rather than the artificial cities created. Primal abilities are sometimes referred to as "callings" instead of spells.

Wild "Magic"

The variability of primal ether is well known to be very unpredictable. It is free-flowing in characteristic, not as tied down or disciplined like arcane and psionic. As such, those who attune themselves to this "wild magic" (the more correct term is "primewild") generally adopt more unpredictable traits to their personality.

Ley Lines

Psionic Ki

Psionic power is described as the Veil's expression as born from flesh, as they are inherent from energies of the living. Undead cannot use psionic powers. These abilities are sometimes referred to as "extraordinary self powers" or ESPs. This is also a primary foundation for the power known as soul enhance, a means of empowerment popularized by the Anti-Magic League but with an already deep history in Grisarian mysticism.

Supernatural Powers

Divine Power

These are distinct from magic in that they require actual reliance on deities and something more intangible than natural world or formulae. Faith is a tricky concept that eludes definition, but is the often given answer of what makes divine power different. This power is often used by clerics and paladins. Divine abilities are often called "prayers."

Divine Language

While onomancy is commonly considered arcane, it is a divine power in Grisaire. The use of onomancy requires usage of the divine language devised by Tribore, which cannot be used as a whole by mortals. Only runepriests are known to safely use even a minuscule fraction of the deified runes as a whole; most others are unable to wield them at all. The runes of the gods are said to contain a meaning for everyone and everything and so their usage can manipulate the essence of that which exists as well as that which is metaphysical.

Divine Caprice

The power of gods relies on the god and their temperament. Divine users like clerics need to be wary that their god's blessings can change on a whim. When using their channel divinity, clerics are particularly vulnerable to the caprice of the gods, as it can entirely deny or even distort their plea. When a cleric uses channel divinity, or when a paladin uses a smite, the DM can roll a d20 and refer to the below table for any unintended consequence as the situation may call for:

Divine Caprice Table

d20	Consequence
1	The spell, no matter what level it is, costs you drain of a 5th level spell.
2	Whatever was casted fizzles and does nothing.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12	1d8 hit points × spell level
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Divine Taboos

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,
	“ There is no better world than where we are now, where we can live along with space and what is not. ” —Engim, Void Society

---

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → Grisaire