Gramarye

File:Gramarye.jpg

Those with Gramarye have found for themselves an identity which is difficult to classify.

Gramarye

 Gramarye is a term for every form of 'lesser' Arcana. Deriving benefit from a Gramarye may require spending a Minor Merit or Major Merit.

History Antarok is home to all manner of Arcana, and a wide variety of potent personal powers capable of conferring unnatural abilities to those that wield them. Gramarye is the distinction used for so-called lesser forms of Arcana, borrowed powers that might hinge upon greater things or the natural workings of the world. Each Gramarye is classified as one of three categories: Wild Glamour, Goetia, or Thaumaturgy. Wild Glamour is Saol-derived Gramarye stolen from beasts by a Maltrician, Draoidh Florabinding, or Animist Saolbinding. Goetia refers to Gramarye derived from esoteric, often spiritual sources. Memorare and Scourges are capable of altering the soul itself while Mystics, Faustians, and Vemana might devise Rituaali which confer unnatural abilities in exchange for some form of sacrifice. Thaumaturgy Gramarye is contrived from natural phenomena, or multiple sources layered into one. Alchemists fine-tune potent Mutagens from many sources at once, while Terra might incorporate the latent Arcana found within minerals to their bodies in order to create an Earthbind.

Obtaining Gramarye Gramarye may be obtained through any method appropriate, as one would initiate into any Arcana. Some materials or components with a Challenge Rating may require spending Seasonal Points on obtaining. It is possible to start with Gramarye, and one does not need permission to pursue any of these unless otherwise stated in the write-up for that specific Gramarye. Gramarye which require a Merit confers Spell Reserves in the same way a skill would, just as Gramarye expend Spell Reserves to cast their active abilities. The volume of conferred Spell Reserves scales based on XP investiture; something with 100 XP would only grant up to Expert Spell Reserves, for example. Progressing Gramarye Each specific Gramarye comes with benefits and possible drawbacks, progressing along an XP track from Novice at 0 XP through at most Master at 250 XP just like a Skill. Notes: On your character sheet, include Gramarye progression in your skill ledger, like so: Saolbind: Dragonbound 0/250 XP and paste a copy or summary of the abilities for that Gramarye somewhere on your character sheet. Make sure you update your appearance with any aesthetic changes so your fellow authors don't have to read your Gramarye traits to figure out what you look like. Gramarye List Wild Glamour Saolbinds Förengsrit is a special bond shared between Æld'Norai pairs. See Förengsrit. Dragonbound is a special bond shared between a Dragon and a non-Dragon, usually its Dragon Rider. See Dragonbound. Beast Magic CR3 Ælshiver A parasite capable of imparting its bioelectric gifts onto its host through symbiosis. CR4 Glawackus One may integrate the Glawackus' eye into their own anatomy to gain its ability to fascinate. CR4 Embrowl One may gain the Embrowl's abilities to weave flame. CR5 Coastal Siren One may gain the siren's voice. CR5 Ælin'dalor Hydrokinetic flight and the ability to create sudden squalls. CR5 Felinog Allows a Changeling access to a Felinog's healing capabilities. CR6 Grovebane Allows the wielder to teleport to shadows and make use of a Grovebane's puppeteering. CR6 Thunderoc Allows the caster to both wield and protect themselves from lightning and storms. Flora Magic CR0 Luminpetal Binding with this plant allows a Draoidh or Animist to grow and utilize its luminous petals as wings. CR0 Pheremona Those bound to this will find themselves able to produce an irresistible scent. CR5 Death's Mist creates magical, deadly poison from its namesake. CR5 Cættle Wreath A powerful tool for 'peaceful' subjugation. CR6 Whispering Yew Binding to this confers the tree's stormbound power unto the wielder. CR6 Thrystingr Those bound to Thrystingr can produce its pacifying pollens as well as bind others to their will. Goetia Dominion Shadow Craft - By establishing Dominion over Anathema, Abraia weaves this shadowy and oft destructive Metaphor to empower her Smithing crafts. Fighter - By establishing Dominion over Saol, a fighter may push their Fitness to a preternatural level. Rituaali Familiarists are Mystics who spawn a being sharing their own soul as a close companion and proxy. Non-Merited. Ash Magic None so far. Thaumaturgy Mutagens The Servitor are special investigators tasked with hunting illegal Arcana within the Republic of Dullahan. Earthbinds None so far. Creating Gramarye Creating a new Gramarye in or out-of-character requires submitting a proposal to the Submissions Forum. Include how to perform the ritual if its a Rituaali or a Saolbind, and how the ability might be garnered otherwise. They can also be attached to a Fauna or Flora, and fauna are assumed to be able to use it at a level of competence and Spell Reserves equal to their Challenge Rating. Structure Include which Metaphor a Gramarye is using. If the Gramarye has any lifestyle or aesthetic changes to the character, add a 'Living as' section. If it hinges upon something the Gramarye expands upon, add a Concepts section. Abilities should be explained by a medium-sized paragraph of text . Let your skill tiers explain how powerful it is for that level of skill. Note that all Gramarye submitted must have its skill tier capabilities written up to be valid; look to Devorare for an example of this. Definitions A Gramarye will possess between 1 and 5 abilities from the following ability types. Active An Active ability does something in exchange for a use of Spell Reserves at the tier it is cast. :Active abilities for crafting might be more about tracking their items or materials, manipulating their shape. Supernatural materials or additional properties would be Passive abilities, not Active ones. A Gramarye may have 3 Active abilities. Passive A Passive ability does something idly without the expenditure of Spell Reserves, either all of the time or when its conditions are met. This ability should be explained in one paragraph, not too powerful for its skill tier, and easily understood. Passive abilities should influence or confer something singular and specific, avoiding the use of ‘and’ this ‘and’ that and so on. If you wish for two passive abilities upon one person or object at a time, then foster an additional Gramarye. A Gramarye may have 1 Passive ability. Example: A smith could use Aeris to imbue the weapons they make with added velocity from wind to heighten the material it may reliably damage, or else surround it with a maelstrom of that wind for extra durability. But not both, without an additional Gramarye. Buff A Buff ability does something in exchange for a use of Spell Reserves at the tier it is cast. Examples include being unable to drop a weapon, improving your capability to smash or cut, improving one’s physiology, surrounding oneself in material, or else granting some supernatural sense. Combat-applicable buffs last for at most a few minutes. a Gramarye may only have 1 Buff ability. Aesthetic An Aesthetic ability is something which changes the appearance or form of a character or object in a specific way, sometimes permanently or passively without the need for using Spell Reserves. Having non-specific control over an aesthetic would change this into an Active ability with a duration. A Gramarye may have 1 Aesthetic ability. Limitations Gramarye is essentially a custom Arcana allowing players to create personalized magical abilities, and is subjected to several restrictions for fairness of play. Several concepts are forbidden from being incorporated into a Gramarye solely for fairness of play. You may use these concepts only if they are included in other Arcana write-ups, and only under equivalent circumstances. Piercing Effects e.g. "Pierces Steel" Invulnerability Immunity Total Invisibility Mind/Memory Reading Auto-Hit Offensive Abilities Anti-Magic Magical Detection or Truesight Spell Reserve Efficiency or Bonus Meditation and Resistance are the only Skill Checks. Changing the Metaphor of an Arcana; Variants are for this purpose. Extra Seasonal Points Any Alkahest generated by an ability must still be purchased with (up to 50% discounted) Seasonal Points. Creating your own form of special Pseudo-Alkahest like Gristle or Soul Stars would take up your Passive slot. Encounter/Material Discounts should be specific like the Hunting/Deepcraft ones are, and these are considered Passive abilities. Nothing interacting with Seasonal Points may stack with its equivalent. Non-Merited Gramarye Limit the functionality of non-merited Gramarye severely to just a few concepts. It will not confer Spell Reserves, any passive benefit it offers will need to be limited, and it will need to consume Spell Reserves or Alkahest for what it does. Non-Merited Gramarye such as Familiary will require Expert or Mastery in its source skill. Not-Merited Gramarye faces a heavier review process. Analogy Gramarye should be made from precedent without directly copying or invalidating the original; you should aim for something unique. While we will accept new ideas, using re-skinned abilities you like from other Arcana while preserving any trade-offs will ease the balancing and approval process, especially for complicated ideas. You are free to borrow any ability from Antarok written by Aster (Haruspex) or Vicissitude and preserve its language so long as it is aesthetically revamped for the Metaphor you have chosen. You may adapt your own version of Gramarye or Gramarye developed by others to use their approved ideas. Scaling Gramarye may defend from or damage equivalent skill tiers, materials, or Arcana within reason. Below are the limitations for how strong a Gramarye can be at each skill tier. This applies to any Active, Buff, Passive, or Creation. Novice: Wood & Bone Apprentice: Stone Journeyman: Iron Expert: Steel Master: 1.5x Steel Ascended: 2x Steel Caveats On Antarok, there are dozens of ways to mask a penalty or obsolete it. Trade-offs will not be considered when balancing an Arcana, nor will we accept plot reasons or promises that the interactions breaking it will not be abused. Everything that is made should fall within Antarok fairness-minded balance ideology. NPCs You may only spend Seasonal Points Experience on NPC Gramarye that your Player Character also possesses, but you may still do so with earned Experience from other sources. Review Process Gramarye will first be reviewed by a Principal Storyteller at a minimum before passing it on to someone else. It will also need to be reviewed by the Regional and City Storytellers where this content is hosted within the setting. Two sets of eyes will need to review a Gramarye in any case. Some Storytellers may rubber stamp things very quickly, while others may take a long time to do so with multiple passes or changed minds. We apologize for this, but such is bureaucracy.

Template

Below is a basic template for Gramarye with 5 abilities; you may have less if you feel this is appropriate. Aesthetic - Ability Name Description (may be transferred into the 'living as' or introduction section of the write-up) Passive - Ability Name Description Buff - Ability Name Description Active - Ability Name Description Active - Ability Name Description Active - Ability Name Description Novice Description Passive Ability: A Novice at Gramarye may. Buff Ability: A Novice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Novice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Novice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Novice at Gramarye may. Apprentice Description Passive Ability: An Apprentice at Gramarye may. Buff Ability: An Apprentice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Apprentice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Apprentice at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Apprentice at Gramarye may. Journeyman Description Passive Ability: A Journeyman at Gramarye may. Buff Ability: A Journeyman at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Journeyman at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Journeyman at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Journeyman at Gramarye may. Expert Description Passive Ability: An Expert at Gramarye may. Buff Ability: An Expert at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Expert at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Expert at Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Expert at Gramarye may. Master Description Passive Ability: A Master at Gramarye may. Buff Ability: A Master at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Master at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Master at Gramarye may. Active Ability: A Master at Gramarye may. Ascended Description Passive Ability: An Ascended of Gramarye may. Buff Ability: An Ascended of Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Ascended of Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Ascended of Gramarye may. Active Ability: An Ascended of Gramarye may.

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