Rules

Unlike most Wonders, a Grimoire doesn’t function on command. Instead, it gradually expands a mage’s consciousness, opening mental doors that may otherwise remain locked. A properly studied Grimoire (see below) can, at the Storyteller’s discretion, bestow one or more of the following benefits:

• Abilities: Grimoires often teach the deeper levels of a “mundane” Ability – a Knowledge, Skill or (rarely) Talent linked to the nature of the book. In most cases,

this involves some specialty of Esoterica or Occult related to the Grimoire; other tomes, however, help a student understand Meditation, Martial Arts, or other associated disciplines. System-wise, you can purchase a new dot in the appropriate Ability at one-half its normal cost, with a minimum cost of one experience point, upon successful completion of the Grimoire.

• Spheres: Many Grimoires (though not all of them) expand upon the principles of a given Sphere. A reader who comprehends these teachings might be able to purchase her next dot in the appropriate Sphere at the cost of her current Sphere Rank x 7 - the Grimoire level. An Affinity Sphere costs the current Sphere Rank x 6 - that Grimoire level instead. The new Sphere Rank, however, cannot exceed the level of that Grimoire; a three-dot Wonder, for instance, could reduce the cost of Sphere Ranks 1-3, but could not raise that Sphere Rank above 3.

• Arete: Likewise, a Grimoire may (Storyteller’s call) allow the reader to raise her next dot of Arete without undergoing a Seeking in order to do so. The new point of Arete must still be purchased with experience points before it becomes permanent, but it may function for a week or so after the character reads the Grimoire. After that, the illumination fades and the mage returns to her previous level of enlightened “excellence.” As with the Spheres above, the level of the new level of Arete cannot exceed the level of the Grimoire; a three-dot Grimoire could help a reader rise to Arete 2 or 3, but not above that point. (In order to access this benefit, the reader must already have at least one dot of Arete; certain “Awakening” tomes, called Primers, are described below.)

Individual Grimoires may have other benefits, depending upon the book in question. The reader may gain only one benefit per reading, and may expand her Arete only once with a given Grimoire. A reader can benefit only once per year from a given Grimoire. All of the benefits described above (and rules below) have been revised from the systems presented in the sourcebook Forged by Dragon’s Fire, in order to balance and simplify their effects.