My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In the French version, the prima materia  ("primary matter, first matter") is a foundational principle of alchemy, though the details differ between editions. The name is taken from real alchemical texts, although the French writers interpret it quite liberally. Furthermore, the word materia in alchemical contexts doesn't simply refer to matter as we understand it, but to the created world (see A dictionary of western alchemy  by Jordan Stratford). The prima materia is the residual Ka present in all material objects, leftover from the original formation of the Earth and the movements of the magic fields. It is the origin of matter. Alchemy operates by acting on this prima materia , activating it and causing the desired magical effect. The alchemical substance generates its own miniature magic field, which resonates with the ambient magic fields of the Earth to produce the spell (so alchemy spells cannot be cast if the appropriate magic field isn't present). In editi

In part 1 of this series I recapped 3e necromancy. In part 2 I recapped and compared 1e/2e necromancy.  In this post I will mention an addendum to the past two posts, recap Ian’s surviving notes for canceled US version (brief as they are), then offer my commentary and ideas for adapting Necromancy to the US version with the knowledge of the French 3rd edition. Gaps in the French The third edition was a really good revision of Necromancy in my opinion, but I did notice what I believe to be gaps. The Necromancy Quest:  The  Gamemaster’s Screen  says that every occult science has an associated quest, which is mastered when the Immortal masters the associated occult science. The Necromancer is rumored to get nine lives (like a cat!) by mastering this Quest, but no other details are given since that was being saved for later supplements. Since MultiSim went under before the supplement(s) for occult sciences could be published then we’ll never know what that entailed. No subsequent edition

In the adventure supplement Serpent Moon , it is shown that the Xibalbans (American Selenim) developed rituals to place themselves in a state of suspended animation resembling mummification. This means that any of the many mummies discovered in the Americas could be Selenim in suspended animation.  An 1879 horror story could serve as good inspiration for this:  The Squaw Hollow Sensation . In that story, a mad scientist posits that the Aztec mummies are actually living beings in suspended animation. Using chemical and electrical means, he is able to revive one! I imagine you could fit this idea into a Nephilim campaign easily by having Chariot initiates develop a similar process.

In the US Nephilim rules, only one way of producing gold via alchemy was published. In Major Arcana , the Emperor Initiate Formula “Lead to Gold” allows the alchemist to transmute lead into gold on a cubic foot basis once per week. The maximum cubic feet is equal to the athanor’s Earth-Ka. For reference, a cubic foot of gold weighs 546.01 kg. As of this writing, 1 kg of gold is worth ~US$70,000. This would allow the Emperor Initiate to accumulate over US$2 billion per year per Earth-Ka point and easily break the game! (546 kg × $70,000 × 52 weeks = $1,987,440,000) In the unpublished alchemy draft, the Formula “Ultimate Purification of Gold” allowed the alchemist to produce 1 kg of gold per month. This would allow the alchemist to accumulate ~US$840,000 yearly. In Enlightened Magic , this was reduced to a much more reasonable 1 oz. gold per week. As of this writing, 1 oz. gold costs ~US$2000. So the alchemist could maintain a salary of ~US$104,000. Pretty good, but not game breaking. Th

The rules and lore for Nephilim have always been in flux. Even during first and second edition, the writers changed their minds between books, retconned details, or cleaned and clarified previously vague information. Later books in each edition would commonly provide new rules and lore that superseded prior books. Nephilim: Revelation collected and condensed a truly huge amount of rules, lore, and revisions thereof. Even then it had to cut huge swathes to fit into the books. I don’t envy the writers. Going through all those books to make sure you had the most current revisions to rules and lore sounds like a huge pain. I’m glad NR did the bulk of the work for me! In parts one and one-and-a-half of this series I recapped the rules for Anamorphosis. In this post, I explain key differences between NR and prior editions as well as listing deprecated spells. I also note some comparisons to 5e, as that directly continues from 1e/2e while ignoring 3e.  A key difference between 3e and other

Once the Anamorph has mastered the Morphs and completed her Imago, then she may advance to the Third Circle: constructing a Black Moon Realm.  Third Circle: The Realm At the Third Circle, the Anamorph is now able to construct a Cursed Realm within the Pavane, similar to how a Sorcerer of the Third Circle may construct an Elemental Realm within the Astral. The Realm is anchored both to a physical place on Earth and to the adjacent Pavane. As it absorbs more SK for the Anamorph to paint or sculpt with, the nascent Realm grows larger and detailed. It reflects both the geography of its earthly territory and the aesthetic desires of its Anamorph. It also acts as a bridge between the earthly plane and the Anti-Lands, allowing egress between them. With the Imago serving as her major-domo, the Anamorph may rule as her new Realm's Sovereign. The Realm is complex and has several parameters for the Anamorph to worry about. It has 4 Characteristics (adjective) of its own: Density (Dense), Atte