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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Vacuous Grimoire

From page 155 of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide (1979) by Gary Gygax:
A book of this sort is totally impossible to tell from a normal one, although if a detect magic spell is cast, there will be a magical aura noted. Any character who opens the work and reads so much as a single glyph therein must make 2 saving throws versus magic. The first is to determine if 1 point of intelligence is lost, the second is to find if 2 points of wisdom are lost. Once opened and read, the vacuous grimoire remains, and it must be burned to be rid of it after first casting a remove curse spell. If the tome is placed with other books, its appearance will instantly alter to conform to one of the other works it is amongst.
If I ever publish a fanzine, I'm calling dibs on The Vacuous Grimoire as its title.
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15 comments:

  1. Aaron E. SteeleMay 30, 2012 at 10:37 PM

    Are you suggesting something vis-a-vis the Arduin Grimoire?

    ;D

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  2. James HutchingsMay 30, 2012 at 11:01 PM

    I have a similar artifact on my blog:

    The Book of Faces

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  3. GuestMay 31, 2012 at 3:06 AM

    Harsh!

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  4. UnknownMay 31, 2012 at 3:51 AM

    I think there was a fanzine in the UK in the eighties named the Vacuous Grimoire, as far as I recall, although I never owned a copy.

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  5. Kelvin GreenMay 31, 2012 at 4:45 AM

    Poor Jeff; I think he would have liked to claim that one!

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  6. Jeffrey KahrsMay 31, 2012 at 7:32 AM

    I think we all should be stunned that Gary was able to accurately predict the Rise of Twilight and Nick Sparks.

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  7. Keith SloanMay 31, 2012 at 8:39 AM

    I suppose that sounds much better than the Libram of Gainful Conjuration.

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  8. Nick CliniteMay 31, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    Could Gary have really been referring to the Arduin Grimoire there? :o

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  9. James MaliszewskiMay 31, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    It's almost a certainty that he was, given that TSR sent a C&D to Hargrave over references to D&D in the Arduin Grimoire and when you consider Gygax's rants about "knock-offs."

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  10. DStomperMay 31, 2012 at 1:39 PM

    I imagine later versions would sport board game pieces and references to times of day... ;)

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  11. Sean RobsonMay 31, 2012 at 2:44 PM

    I would definitely subscribe to a 'zine called The Vacuous Grimoire, if for no other reason than the title!

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  12. James MaliszewskiMay 31, 2012 at 2:47 PM

    For the moment, the title is all that exists for the thing. I doubt I'll ever get around to writing a 'zine -- I have a blog, after all -- but I still think it'd be an awesome title nonetheless.

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  13. paul of holdingMay 31, 2012 at 5:07 PM

    He definitely was referencing the Arduin Grimoire. He says so on the enworld Q&A: 
    http://www.enworld.org/forum/archive-threads/193204-gary-gygax-q-part-xiii-63.html

    "I saw them when they were originally published. Ever see my magic item "The Vacuous Grimoire"? Baby fat indeed >:-("

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  14. SirironfaceMay 31, 2012 at 6:32 PM

    It's too bad  EGG felt that way.  The AG's only supported OD&D and in return probably helped sell more White Boxes as the only way you would use Arduin rules is if you owned D&D as well.

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  15. Tim GrayJune 3, 2012 at 5:34 AM

    Hi James. I mailed you again about your contribution to the new supplement. Should be out shortly!

    Tim Gray, Silver Branch Games

    ReplyDelete