Grimoire Speculation and Ideas

[mstark]

I would say that the Mage Spellbook is an item. It just doesn't show up in your inventory. In the UI it has its own category, but where does he keep the book, is it not an item he carries with him? Is it void in existence? Doesn't you need the Spellbook to be able to cast spells in the IE games?

My point is that the DnD spellbook, being abstracted from inventory management, essentially means it's an item 'bound' to the character. You never see the 'item', you can't move it around. The character can't get rid of it, swap it for another one, or give it to another character. A scroll learned and then unlearned is lost. You actually have to sacrifice something in order to learn new spells, and make meaningful choices for how you wish to develop your character. Because the abilities are tied to the character, not a removable item.

 

If the spellbook was a manageable item carried around by your character in their actual inventory, as the grimoires seem to be, it means it can be swapped between characters at your whim, removed, or replaced. Tying your characters core abilities to an item devalues the meaning of the character. If there's a significant drawback to exchanging your grimoire for another one, this issue might be moot.

 

The system might have a solution to all these concerns, but I think it's a good to bring them up for discussion.

[Umberlin]

This is interesting to see discussed . . . I'm curious, have you played D&D as a tabletop game, as a Wizard, and not just the IE interpretations - First Edition specifically?

[Osvir]

I would say that the Mage Spellbook is an item. It just doesn't show up in your inventory. In the UI it has its own category, but where does he keep the book, is it not an item he carries with him? Is it void in existence? Doesn't you need the Spellbook to be able to cast spells in the IE games?

My point is that the DnD spellbook, being abstracted from inventory management, essentially means it's an item 'bound' to the character. You never see the 'item', you can't move it around. The character can't get rid of it, swap it for another one, or give it to another character. A scroll learned and then unlearned is lost. You actually have to sacrifice something in order to learn new spells, and make meaningful choices for how you wish to develop your character. Because the abilities are tied to the character, not a removable item.

 

If the spellbook was a manageable item carried around by your character in their actual inventory, as the grimoires seem to be, it means it can be swapped between characters at your whim, removed, or replaced. Tying your characters core abilities to an item devalues the meaning of the character. If there's a significant drawback to exchanging your grimoire for another one, this issue might be moot.

 

The system might have a solution to all these concerns, but I think it's a good to bring them up for discussion.

 

The Fighter often carries a sword and shield, no? These items define the Fighter many times. Samurai live by the way of the sword, I don't mean to sound rude by the way (I'm just trying to get a point across), shouldn't the sword in this case be its own "Tab" in the UI? The same thing still applies for the Wizard, you throw the Grimoire on another character they won't know what to do with it. Do you have two Wizard's then you can swap books between them, but that wouldn't mean that both Wizards actually can cast all the magic within them (One might be a higher level, one of them might be a Fire focus Wizard, and the other is Ice focus or whatever).

 

: I was a bit worried about Grimoires too for a bit when I thought about "Looting" other Wizards and getting a full book with spells. Hence why I suggest some sort of "self-destruct" mechanism in the Grimoire, you only get a couple of pages (1, 2 or 3) from another Grimoire exactly like in Baldur's Gate. Late game Wizards gave more though, I think the maximum of scrolls I picked up was about 5 or 6?

 

That's why I'm suggesting several different objects here,

 

* Grimoire; The Spell Book, a tangible inventory/equippable item. Off-Hand.

* Scrolls; Pages of the spell book, can be used to learn new spells and/or as Quick Items.

* Quarter Staves; Bind scroll magic to the Staff. Limited, but more powerful. Two-handed

* Wands; Shoots a low level spell/bolt at the enemy, equippable on Main-Hand.

 

So when you kill a Wizard you don't get a Grimoire, but you get Scrolls. Same thing as IE games, no difference really. Let me explain the additions tho, staves and wands:

 

In Baldur's Gate my Mage always carries either a dagger or a quarter staff and he stand off in the distance, almost never close combat except in rare occasion. Having a Wand and Tome sounds about proper. Having a Dagger and a Tome sounds about right too (Blood Magic). In Baldur's Gate I would only have the Dagger equipped, making the Grimoire basically an Off-Hand Utility Item (a Fighter wears a Shield). Perhaps even a Wizard with Sword and Tome, or Sword and Wand, now wouldn't that be cool? :D

 

However, like you say you don't want to be "stuck" with having to have the Grimoire equipped, that's why I am suggesting the idea of being able to bind magic spells to your Staff, creating a unique personalized enchanted staff <3 perhaps you become so good with the lower level spells (That Obsidian said you will be able to cast abundantly) that you might not even need a Grimoire for the lower level spells, or a Staff. Perhaps you are capable of throwing those spells with full plate armor and sword and shield, "Like a boss". However, ultimately the most powerful spells would be locked out unless you use the Grimoire. That's kind of the feeling I get from the usage of it.

 

You really need those long 2-page incantations in front of you to be able to cast them-

 

The Grimoire, as an item, gives so much more explaination and so much more can be done with it. In Baldur's Gate the spellbook is just there, it is never really explained. Not much information. It just sits there in your UI, no idea how your Wizard got the spell book or how he uses it to cast magic. In Planescape: Torment the spell book is at least tangible in a sense. You have to craft it before you can access it in your UI... which makes it (very much so) into an item.

 

This is interesting to see discussed . . . I'm curious, have you played D&D as a tabletop game, as a Wizard, and not just the IE interpretations - First Edition specifically?

 

Nope, I've never played tabletop games at all to be honest.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Osvir

[Osvir]

* Wands; Shoots a low level spell/bolt at the enemy, equippable on Main-Hand.

 

Not only just equippable on Main-Hand but on off-Hand too. Dual Wielding Wands f- yes please :D Wand Slinger

Edited October 23, 2012 by Osvir

[Kane_Severance]

I'd like to see grimoires add some kind of bonus like they held on to a remnant of the previous user's soul. If you find a powerful lich's grimoire maybe it boosts necromancy. One grimoire may make any illusion spell prepared in it more believable. Another may cause fire spells to use hellfire instead.

[HereticSaint]

I personally dislike the idea of having an inventory full of Grimoires. I like the idea of Grimoires being a magical item that you essentially sink power into from your souls and as such it gives you a stable conduit to more safely and reliably utilize spells and as you have to devote such power to it that explains why it would take restrictively long to swap between them, I'd honestly prefer it almost being impossible in combat and more take a ritual type situation that can only happen when you rest.

 

That wouldn't fully solve the issue of carrying around several Griomoires, but if you could change the spells within on rest anyway that could lead to other Griomoires you find just being used as a means to learn new spells (If finding one incarnation of a spell and learning it was overpowered maybe you'd need to find several Grimoires with the same spell before you could learn it, such as needing 3 Griomoires with Fireball before you could inscribe Fireball onto any Griomoire you find, or potentially even use it from the Griomoire you found it in) and then as sellable loot or potentially a quest item you turn into some kind of magic school or something.

[Osvir]

I personally dislike the idea of having an inventory full of Grimoires. I like the idea of Grimoires being a magical item that you essentially sink power into from your souls and as such it gives you a stable conduit to more safely and reliably utilize spells and as you have to devote such power to it that explains why it would take restrictively long to swap between them, I'd honestly prefer it almost being impossible in combat and more take a ritual type situation that can only happen when you rest.

 

I hardly doubt it, several solutions to restrict you from even being able to hoard Grimoires:

 

* A Tome should weigh some and thus make it hard for the Wizard to carry more than 2-3, of course you could build a more durable stronger Wizard capable of carrying much more but then you'd lose out on Magic damage. Take in mind that, in my opinion, they should weigh more the more scrolls you use/the more magic you learn (More pages).

* Another solution is a limited inventory, so you could practically only carry 2-3 Grimoires (1 equipped, 1 or 2 in backpack).

* Another solution, which I've tried to explain, is that when an enemy Wizard dies, his Grimoire "self-destruct", thus you won't be able to pick every Grimoire you find.

* Another solution is to have a code saying "You have 2 Grimoires already, you may not pick up a 3rd one" which is kind of boring and a little bit too blunt.

* Another solution is, there is only a couple of people in the game who knows how to make a Grimoire (Kind of like Oliander the Wandmaker in Harry Potter) and they won't make you more than 2 Grimoires, except that evil Grim Crafter who senses your lust for power and makes a 3rd one for you.

 

Now, I have no clue as to what Obsidian have in mind, so what I am suggesting here or speculating on might be totally out of the question too, we'll see what Obsidian reveals.

[HereticSaint]

I personally dislike the idea of having an inventory full of Grimoires. I like the idea of Grimoires being a magical item that you essentially sink power into from your souls and as such it gives you a stable conduit to more safely and reliably utilize spells and as you have to devote such power to it that explains why it would take restrictively long to swap between them, I'd honestly prefer it almost being impossible in combat and more take a ritual type situation that can only happen when you rest.

 

I hardly doubt it, several solutions to restrict you from even being able to hoard Grimoires:

 

* A Tome should weigh some and thus make it hard for the Wizard to carry more than 2-3, of course you could build a more durable stronger Wizard capable of carrying much more but then you'd lose out on Magic damage. Take in mind that, in my opinion, they should weigh more the more scrolls you use/the more magic you learn (More pages).

* Another solution is a limited inventory, so you could practically only carry 2-3 Grimoires (1 equipped, 1 or 2 in backpack).

* Another solution, which I've tried to explain, is that when an enemy Wizard dies, his Grimoire "self-destruct", thus you won't be able to pick every Grimoire you find.

* Another solution is to have a code saying "You have 2 Grimoires already, you may not pick up a 3rd one" which is kind of boring and a little bit too blunt.

* Another solution is, there is only a couple of people in the game who knows how to make a Grimoire (Kind of like Oliander the Wandmaker in Harry Potter) and they won't make you more than 2 Grimoires, except that evil Grim Crafter who senses your lust for power and makes a 3rd one for you.

 

Now, I have no clue as to what Obsidian have in mind, so what I am suggesting here or speculating on might be totally out of the question too, we'll see what Obsidian reveals.

 

- A Tome could weigh quite a bit, but how realistic is it for a book to weigh 30 pounds unless you have several thousand spells or it's unecessarily gigantic?

- Limited inventory... same issue with your first suggestion. How big are these really going to be? Having a separate inventory for them would feel like a cheap, "easy" way out, making them huge would likely not make sense either, meaning you would have to gimp everyones inventory size to accomidate this solution. Which doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

- This is a semi-reasonable solution, they would need to explain it in an incredibly good way to flesh it out though. When it self-destructs does it damage any living or non living things within the area? What happens if you were to try and take a Griomoire from an enemy you knocked unconcious? What about stealing one from someone who has it attached to them while sleeping? What about one owned by someone but it isn't attached to them at the moment?

- Not a good solution. I really, really hate, "Just because".

- They could do this, but you'd have to have a good reason for it, like, "It takes hundreds of years of practiced study to be able to do this" or something else equally ridiculous. That also doesn't solve the problem of obtaining Griomoires from fallen enemies unless you take your other solution, which again would require a ton of explaining and fleshing out. I think going, "You meditate and attach part of your soul/soul power/soul energy to a Griomoire is a more elegant solution. To each their own I guess.

[Osvir]

- This is a semi-reasonable solution, they would need to explain it in an incredibly good way to flesh it out though. When it self-destructs does it damage any living or non living things within the area? What happens if you were to try and take a Griomoire from an enemy you knocked unconcious? What about stealing one from someone who has it attached to them while sleeping? What about one owned by someone but it isn't attached to them at the moment?

- They could do this, but you'd have to have a good reason for it, like, "It takes hundreds of years of practiced study to be able to do this" or something else equally ridiculous. That also doesn't solve the problem of obtaining Griomoires from fallen enemies unless you take your other solution, which again would require a ton of explaining and fleshing out. I think going, "You meditate and attach part of your soul/soul power/soul energy to a Griomoire is a more elegant solution. To each their own I guess.

 

When I say "self-destruct" I don't particularly talk about the Grimoire exploding. AFAIK In the Vancian (spelling?) the words of the spells are burned from memory, lore-wise... back to P:E if the Soul is directly connected, causing a link to the Grimoire and channeling part of your essence into it, it would be a part of the Wizard, an extension. Like an electrical current. When the wielder of the Tome dies, that connection is cut off and part of the Wizard's soul still lingers with nowhere to go it overloads and burns up (and you'll only be able to salvage 1-3 scrolls/pages from the broken Grimoire). As if the Wizard wishes to protect his own spells, or as if his soul does it as it moves on to another plane/dimension, it takes the grimoire with the dead Wizard.

 

Stealing a Grimoire would and should be practically impossible, as it should be a pretty hefty part of the Wizard (just like the Harp is necessary for the Bard) I suggest that the Tome would return to the Wizard, or if a Thief tries to steal it he'll be burned, for as long as that Wizard is alive, no one will be able to use the Tome except that specific Wizard. It would be a part of their soul. Of course there could be a quest in the game where you just do that, but because of the circumstances and the situation of this particular Grimoire, you would be able to steal it, otherwise no no in my opinion.

 

which again would require a ton of explaining and fleshing out.

 

How so? E.g., What do you mean, "require a ton of" and what kind of fleshing out? Non of the IE games (save PS:T) explained anything about the "Mage Spellbook" or "Priest Spells", well today I understand the Lore (Vancian) but the first times I played Baldur's Gate years ago I had no clue at all and probably others who never play DnD didn't understand it either.

 

I understand that this is my explanation, fleshing out, but that's all I've got and a bit of a repetition of what I said above (just fine tuned~);

 

Tomes are bound to the Wizard, it is practically an extra arm, or hand. The Wizard would never be complete without it, like the Bard is not complete without his Instrument, or the Samurai without his Sword, and would it be stolen from them, woe to the Thief. The Wizard can simply snap his fingers, and suddenly the Tome will be in his hands, and a fried Thief shortly thereafter. So long as a Wizard is alive, his Tome will always be his, likewise when he dies, the Tome will die with the Wizard, leaving only a few pages of his mark in history remaining. It is the "Bond of the Book", attained after every Wizard truly goes through the "Trial of the Tome".

 

* Bond of the Book, the final stage of the Trial of the Tome, where the Wizard needs to bleed into the book, so as to complete his bonding and grant passage for his soul into the Book.

* Trial of the Tome = Crafting a Grimoire, which requires lots of rare material and questing. Like a Lightsaber. Although Magic is common, true Wizards are not (I hope? :D). I want enemy Wizards, but I don't want them to be all over the place. I felt that Baldur's Gate was a fair amount of Wizards. Those who call magic from the roots of their souls need to contain their power. Yes, the Grimoire is not only a Tome to write spells in, it is a cage which keeps part of Wizards soul trapped because of the untold power which lingers within. Those who do not pass the Trial of the Tome, will still have the magical aptitude, but broken men, as part of their souls forever lost in a nameless worthless book, it is not always that a Grimoire is crafted correctly, and if it isn't, there is a chance that you'll lose power instead of gaining power.

 

[Rambling end]

Edited October 23, 2012 by Osvir

[HereticSaint]

This is probably a pointless question, because this isn't PnP. But theoretically what would happen if the Grimoire got hit by a spell, or a sword, or an arrow or something? It obviously can't be impervious, would the Wizard just die if it got hit by a sword and shredded in half?

 

Would someone sneaking up on the Wizard and chucking it away mean the Wizard would have to channel some spell, or would it just be second nature to instantly reclaim it? If so, it would almost make sense that they could do it with other items as well by channeling a part of their soul into it.

 

That's all pretty much rambling though.

 

I realize they don't necessarily have to explain everything, but I really, really hate, "just because" scenarios. I'm sure there will be some of them, but I hope there's as few as possible.

Edited October 23, 2012 by HereticSaint

[Osvir]

This is probably a pointless question, because this isn't PnP. But theoretically what would happen if the Grimoire got hit by a spell, or a sword, or an arrow or something? It obviously can't be impervious, would the Wizard just die if it got hit by a sword and shredded in half?

 

Would someone sneaking up on the Wizard and chucking it away mean the Wizard would have to channel some spell, or would it just be second nature to instantly reclaim it? If so, it would almost make sense that they could do it with other items as well by channeling a part of their soul into it.

 

That's all pretty much rambling though.

 

I realize they don't necessarily have to explain everything, but I really, really hate, "just because" scenarios. I'm sure there will be some of them, but I hope there's as few as possible.

 

I oddly like this a lot but I think it's way too vulnerable and chaotic random to be part of the game. Imagine leveling up Aloth up til mid-game and you lose him to his Akilles Heel. It sounds badass as something that could be a lore thing, and definitely something I would personally like to see (in the Hardcore Difficulty area).

 

I understand that they should simply be able to channel their souls into other parts too, that would be a Horcrux no? (Harry Potter, Voldemort splitting his soul into different parts and things).

 

* Another solution, the Wizard only has so much power to split his soul into 1 or 2 Grimoires, and thus he can't hoard Grimoires (I think this solution might nail it). Having a 3rd Grimoire would render your Wizard very powerful, but also evil "just because" it is forbidden by the Schools of Wizardry. Parting with ones soul so much destroys most Wizards sanity, which isn't that good when combined with their growing power. We all know about Mad Wizards right? Ye, here's an answer to it. Adds a layer of "pitifulness" to those Wizards who "lost it", and imagine if Aloth "looses" it because of this, or perhaps he manages to fight it (Like an Kaedan, L2 Implant, Mass Effect).

 

We were talking about a Grimoire possibly being sentient too (earlier), and I just realized how hilarious it would be to pick up a Grimoire of some diseased Wizard that transferred most of his Soul into the Tome and now he's quite bitter xD

Edited October 23, 2012 by Osvir

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I like the idea of a Grimiore being attuned to the creator's soul. As in, it bears their signature due to proximity--not that it literally houses a fraction of their soul like a phylacerty. With the widely used mechanic of Wizard's warding their spellbooks against use by others, this could lead to interesting possiblities. Wizards trying to utilize or invoke another's grimiore would have to unlock its secrets via becoming like the former owner, to understand its residual soul and intiricacies.

 

A grimiore created by a sinister Wizard might require a prospective user to perform ill deeds and tasks to "understand" its powers and methods (like Planescape; Torment). A grimiore created by a a clever Wizard might require a prospective user to become more manipulative and underhanded, etc. The concept is not so much that the book is sentient, but that since magic is channelled through souls, that each soul will have a unique brand of casting manifest in the type of spells they predominantly utiltize/know.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Mr. Magniloquent

[jivex5k]

A talking grimoire would be cool if not overdone.

Nothing worse than VO's turning from funny into annoying to the point you look for an option to shut it off.

(looking at you League of Legends)

 

I'd also like to see it as an item, and not a tab.

I really liked this feature in Ultima Online, having spellbooks as actual items.

They were also bound and would never be lost if you died, unless you dropped it or traded it while alive.

 

But it allowed spellbook trading.

 

So....In a single player game they would have to make special grimiores I believe to make it work.

Edited October 23, 2012 by jivex5k

[Mr. Magniloquent]

A talking grimoire would be cool if not overdone.

Nothing worse than VO's turning from funny into annoying to the point you look for an option to shut it off.

(looking at you League of Legends)

 

I wasn't thinking of sentient books like done with The Book of Vile Dakness in P:T. Perhaps some grimiores of intensely old and powerful wizards could gain sentience, but not in general. Merely that, in order to properly understand a spell which dominates the mind of another, one might have to persuade/intimidate/bluff X persons before they are capable of comprhending/casting it.

[Osvir]

Perhaps a sentient Grimoire wouldn't speak with voice, but with words? :D

[.Leif.]

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of those less than enthusiastic about grimoires. I believe the power in a mage is the mage him or herself and not their book of shadows (grimoire). I trust Obsidian will make it fun and interesting, but until I see what it will look like in game-play I chose to remain skeptical. I've played Dungeons and Dragons since I was about 12 and I can't forget that Sorcerers exist (mages without spellbooks)

 

The conversation about the way folks can form their grimoire seems productive. Perhaps when slaying enemy mages you can take pages out of their grimoire depending on how damaged it is.

 

Given the extent to which a Mage's gameplay is grimoire-dependant, I would really like to see our books in game. Let's see how many variations on the Necronomicon the artists can whip up for our high-level Necromancers.

 

Also please for the love of Odin above no sentient grimoires. I hate talking items.

[Gyor]

I'd prefer they didn't get burned up.

 

Kill a mage and steal his grimoire for the win. That should be one way to learn new spells.

 

Agree, Grimoire's would be like a fighters weapons to a wizard.

 

I wonder what magic item Ciphers will focus thier powers on, crystals?

 

Holy Symbols appear to be that thing for Clerics and maybe some Paladins.

 

Monks and Prayer beads? Tattoos?

[Gyor]

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of those less than enthusiastic about grimoires. I believe the power in a mage is the mage him or herself and not their book of shadows (grimoire). I trust Obsidian will make it fun and interesting, but until I see what it will look like in game-play I chose to remain skeptical. I've played Dungeons and Dragons since I was about 12 and I can't forget that Sorcerers exist (mages without spellbooks)

 

The conversation about the way folks can form their grimoire seems productive. Perhaps when slaying enemy mages you can take pages out of their grimoire depending on how damaged it is.

 

Given the extent to which a Mage's gameplay is grimoire-dependant, I would really like to see our books in game. Let's see how many variations on the Necronomicon the artists can whip up for our high-level Necromancers.

 

Also please for the love of Odin above no sentient grimoires. I hate talking items.

 

I disagree, I think talking grimoires could be cool, whisphering dark tempations, but for a price.

[Osvir]

I'd prefer they didn't get burned up.

 

Kill a mage and steal his grimoire for the win. That should be one way to learn new spells.

 

Agree, Grimoire's would be like a fighters weapons to a wizard.

 

I wonder what magic item Ciphers will focus thier powers on, crystals?

 

Holy Symbols appear to be that thing for Clerics and maybe some Paladins.

 

Monks and Prayer beads? Tattoos?

 

I generally enjoy the chain of thought you bring up with this post don't have anything to add really, it would be cool to see different items for different classes to be able to "channel" magic.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Osvir

[Atreides]

Wizards may not be able to immediately understand other grimoires, since they're personalised interpretation of their owners' interaction with their souls. However, I'd like to collect other grimoires though I may only fully understand and unlock their secrets later, with more experience or context of the owner's soul. An example could be Dakkon's Circle of Zerthimon.

[Osvir]

Wizards may not be able to immediately understand other grimoires, since they're personalised interpretation of their owners' interaction with their souls. However, I'd like to collect other grimoires though I may only fully understand and unlock their secrets later, with more experience or context of the owner's soul. An example could be Dakkon's Circle of Zerthimon.

 

I haven't finished PS:T yet, but I understand that Dakkon is a specific case and not a world based mechanic. I can see some Grimoires being collected in the game, but personally that'd be unique cases where a Quest is involved. Perhaps you have fought 30 Wizards in the game, but this 31st Wizard actually drops his entire Tome, something that hasn't happened throughout your entire game, which is against the Lore of the game.

 

It piques your interest and you pick it up... realizing you can't use it, which in turn leads you on a detective quest to unlock its mystery (that spans across the rest of the game).

 

Tim Cain spoke about "swapping" Grimoires, which gave me the impression that you're going to carry around 2, at max 3, Grimoires. This, to me, means that there is some sort of "restriction" to how many you can hoard and why you can't do this.

[Gyor]

The swapping refers to the fact that you can only use one at a time, if you want to use another you have to swap that one out to activate another, but you probably have as many as you want, just only one activate at a time.

[Osvir]

The swapping refers to the fact that you can only use one at a time, if you want to use another you have to swap that one out to activate another, but you probably have as many as you want, just only one activate at a time.

 

Most likely yes, I hope not though. Like someone else said in this thread, I personally agree and I don't wish to hoard Tomes. For what reason would I need 10 different Tomes in my inventory if I can only use 1, and 2 or 3 would have all the spells I would need? This is granted that the spell learning/collection system is similar to Baldur's Gate (e.g., I can have 10 level 1 spells in the level 1 block).

 

Regarding spell learning, I would like to fail learning spells. Frustrating, love/hate type of thing

[Tamerlane]

The swapping refers to the fact that you can only use one at a time, if you want to use another you have to swap that one out to activate another, but you probably have as many as you want, just only one activate at a time.

Regarding spell learning, I would like to fail learning spells. Frustrating, love/hate type of thing

F5+F9, man.

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Wizards may not be able to immediately understand other grimoires, since they're personalised interpretation of their owners' interaction with their souls. However, I'd like to collect other grimoires though I may only fully understand and unlock their secrets later, with more experience or context of the owner's soul. An example could be Dakkon's Circle of Zerthimon.

 

Exquisitely spoken. This is precisely what I was trying to convey in my earlier comments. Dakkon's Circle of Zerthimon is exactly as I would like to see grimoires behave. A book of spells, but a personal one which requires understanding in order to utiltize.