The Whispering Grimoire of Potential Failures

by Frazer 👁 260 views

Charges: 7 (regains at dawn)

A small, slender tome bound in faded black leather. Its edges are frayed and the pages within are a pale, ivory gray, as though aged by moonlight. Silver runes trace along the margins, blinking faintly whenever thebook murmurs. The title on the cover is written in shifting ink that never settles, and when you open it, a soft, almost inaudible susurrus fills the air, like a crowd of distant voices agreeing on a single caution: every spell could fail, and the book will tell you how.

Forewarned Casting When you cast a spell of 1st–5th level, you may expend 1 charge to invoke a warning from the Whispering Grimoire. You gain advantage on the spell's attack roll or saving throw (you choose which applies to that spell) for that casting. This advantage lasts for that spell's roll. The warning cannot be used on spells that do not involve an attack roll or a saving throw.

Requited Failure If you fail a spell attack roll or a saving throw for a spell, you may expend 1 charge to reroll that same roll. You must take the higher result. If the reroll still results in a failure, the spell fails as normal. The Whispering Grimoire whispers possible reasons for the failure, but it cannot prevent all miscasts.

Lore

The Whispering Grimoire was said to be penned by a cautious archmage who believed that magic thrives on preparation as much as will. Instead of a perfect spell, it collects near-misses, potential mishaps, and the myriad ways a spell might falter, storing them in whispers within its pages so a reader can learn to anticipate and mitigate failure rather than pretend it cannot occur.

History

Discovered in the ruins of a scriptorium after a long-forgotten war, the Grimoire passed through the hands of scholars, mercenaries, and treasure hunters. Some claim the whispers grew louder as the book aged, feeding on the anxiety of spellcasters who faced calamities and survived. It is believed to have been bound by a spellcaster who valued caution over glory, turning fear of failure into a tool for mastery.

Created by Frazer 👁 260 views