My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

Altho the line was canceled before the Selenim supplement could be drafted and released,  Ian Young’s surviving notes  provide a sufficient foundation for me to devise my own rules for it. Essentially, Selenim had an emotional metamorphosis like Nephilim but it represented and evoked the emotions they preferred to assuage rather than their own. These rules are going to differ from that proposed by Ian’s notes. Originally the Selenim’s metamorphosis comprised of five emotional traits would’ve been linked to an Imago, a construct of Black Moon-Ka that invisibly loomed behind its owner like a malignant shadow. While interesting, it’s clunky to have two ratings for each pair of emotional trait and aspect.  Furthermore, in my opinion it doesn’t really make much sense for Selenim to differ so much from Nephilim this way. The Selenim’s magic is based on BMK being ephemeral due to lacking its own planet, right? Nephilim suffer a similar ephemerality due to the magic fields being ...

In this post I recap the generations and origins of the immortals from the French version, followed by my ideas for adapting those ideas to the French version along with some house rules of my own. In the French version In the French version, the Nephilim were described as coming in three “generations”: the first was the basaltic Nephilim, the second was the symbolic Nephilim, and the third was the astrological Nephilim aka Ar-Kaïm. Likewise, the Selenim were described as coming in three “origins”: the ethereal Selenim, the incarnate Selenim, and the natural Selenim. After the destruction of the Black Moon, but before the Fall of Atlantis, the Kaïm gave rise to the first two generations. The Kaïm first lived as bodiless spirits who inhabited natural features that molded their Basaltic Metamorphoses after said features (see my post on “numinous cycles”). The Basalic Kaïm were organized by the state of their elemental manifestation: solid, liquid or ethereal. Eventually most Kaïm assumed...

This is my attempt to classify the magic fields. The different types of Ka may be categorized into several overarching categories: evolving Ka, elemental Ka, and residual Ka. Each Ka is linked to a particular planet, zodiac sign, and day of the week. [The nomenclature of evolving, elemental, and residual Ka was written  by Sisensee . More information on Ka-vision and related subjects may be found at the old  mailing list FAQ .] Evolving Ka Solar-Ka—aka Sun-Ka—is linked to the Sun, the sign Leo, and dominates Sunday. In Ka-vision it  appears  as intense glowing spots, more visible than any other field.  It naturally concentrates in humans and other mortal animals, forming the soul in both the living and the dead. It is referred to as Evolving Ka because mortals are able to change and adapt over time, both individually and over generations, whereas elementals generally remain static. Solar-Ka doesn't form elementals like other Ka. The closest analogue are the dead...

The rules for Summoning used the Kabbalistic Tree of Life as their foundation. Indeed, in the French version the occult science was literally named “Kabbalah” and the Realms were named after the Sefirot . While thinking over revisions to Summoning and non-Western Nephilim, it occurred to me that the occult science could be decoupled from this Kabbalistic foundation. Then I glanced over the French again and noticed something interesting. Figure 1: Tree of Life diagram. Sefirot in black, Olamot in red.  In the French version In the French version, the occult science was called Kabbalah (renamed "Summoning" in the US version). The exact arrangement of the Sefirot  differed between editions : First, US & Second Edition Seals: Malkut, Yesod & Hod Pentacles: Netzah, Tiphereth & Geburah Keys: Chesed, Binah, Hokmah & Kether Third Edition aka  Nephilim : Révélation Untrained: Malkut (= Assiah) Seals: Yesod, Hod & Netzah (= Yetzirah) Pentacles: Ti...

In the French version, the  rules for metamorphs  changed to varying degrees across editions. I & II In  the 1st  and  2nd edition , the rules worked the same as given in the US rulebook. The traits were organized into five types: head, hands, odor, voice and skin. Like characteristics, these were individually rated from 1–20 and this rating determined its visibility. The transformations were cosmetic and provided no mechanical benefits.  The basaltic Nephilim had only a single metamorph trait rated from 1–100. This rating was divided by 5 to determine visibility. Selenim The Selenim lacked any metamorph, but did have an Imago that served a similar purpose. These rules were much more complicated than the Nephilim’s metamorph. Instead of traits with ratings that advanced, the Imago had aspects with fixed costs spent to create them. Imago traits were organized into limbs/appendages, torso, face/head and miscellaneous, but each category could have any...

As explained in Gamemaster's Companion p29 and Major Arcana p27, each of the planets (and thus its corresponding element) is associated with a particular metal . The exact correspondences differ between books, so I'm listing the correct ones here. I included the French association for comparison. (I prefer the latter, personally.) Planet Metal Element (US) Element (Fr) Sun Gold Solar Solar Moon Silver Lunar Lunar Mercury Quicksilver/ Mercury Air Water Venus Copper Water Earth Mars Iron Fire Fire Jupiter Tin Earth Air Saturn Lead Orichalka Orichalc This is important when looking for materials to create artefacts. I will be presenting detailed analysis and revisions for the artefact rules in later posts.

This post is a recap of the purpose of Stasis objects, plus some injections of my own ideas and some comparisons to the French version. Stasis objects are the key to the nephilim’s immortality. The stasis object anchors the elemental pentacle spirit to material reality, preventing it from being dissolved into the magic fields when disembodied. However, the secret societies have developed various dark purposes for stasis objects, such as imprisoning nephilim indefinitely or enslaving them as homunculi. Mechanical effects The Stasis object anchors the Nephilim's Ka-elements after bodily death, allowing the Pentacle to reincarnate. While incarnate, it stores Ka that the owner may tap in the "Stasis Ritual" boost the effectiveness of magic (see Nephilim rulebook p46, 140-1). Bonding a stasis object to a Nephilim is a third circle effect: a High Magic ritual or a Philosopher’s Stone meditation (see “Create Stasis”,  Major Arcana p7; “Crafting the Vessel of the Winds”, Unpubli...

As explained in Nephilim rulebook p24-6,  Gamemaster's Companion  p29, Liber Ka p39 and  Major Arcana  p27, each of the Ka-elements has particular affinities. These are a bit more detailed in the French, so I thought I'd reproduce the " Table Analogique " from the appendix of the French 3e and translate it to English for your benefit using Google Translate. There are some oddities in the translation, but the algorithm is pretty good now so I think it's pretty much understandable. TABLE OF ANALOGIES — MOON EARTH WATER AIR FIRE Concept Chaos, sublimation, ambiguity, subjectivity, subversion Plenitude, primordial, form, ordering, renewal Harmony, change, oblivion, memory, balance Freedom, movement, transgression, knowledge, abstraction Conflict, decision, justice, progression, effort Phenomenon Madness, dream, unconscious, illusion, eclipse Life, spring, cave, earthquake, fertility Rain, ocean, tidal wave, A...

Something that always struck me as strange was that Selenim magic operated on completely different principles from Nephilim magic. Their occult sciences weren't divided into circles (except in French 3e, which was undone in French 5e for some reason). They didn't even have metamorphosis in the same sense as nephilim, but an "anamorphosis" or "imago" that is conceptually similar but very different in execution. Making matters more difficult is that the rules for metamorphosis have changed significantly across editions. Since the Chaosium adaptation is probably the one that most fans in the Anglosphere are familiar with, I'll be using the rules from Chronicle of the Awakenings as my reference point as well as the planned but cancelled Selenim adaptation ( archive saved here ). Plus some conceits from the Ex Oculis  fan material shared on the mailing list . In Chronicle of the Awakenings , metamorphoses each have five personality traits with an associated...

The word nephilim comes Hebrew and is actually in the plural form. You can have a group of nephilim, but not a nephilim. The singular form is apparently   naphil . An interesting trivia, and inspiration for roleplaying. What about the other game jargon ending in -im? Eolim, Faerim, Hydrim, Onirim, Pyrim, KaIm, Selenim, and Ar-KaIm? Doesn’t work so well for those… Might need to inflect the words for plural? Eolian, Faerie, Hydra, Oniros, Pyro, Kaian, Selene, Ar-Kaian? Or add an -s to make it plural? Eolims, Faerims, Hydrims, Onirims, Pyrims, KaIms, Selenims, and Ar-KaIms?  Whatever…

What’s the difference between occult sciences and magical techniques? Well, all occult sciences are magical techniques but not all magical techniques are occult sciences. An occult science has three circles of proficiency, other magical techniques do not. So sorcery, summoning and alchemy are occult sciences, but the Major Arcana’s arcane techniques and the Mithradites’ solar techniques are not.

One of the conceits of the setting is that there is no solar magic, at least not available to the PCs. The entire point of pursuing Agartha is to finally develop an understanding and mastery of Solar-Ka at the end of the path. Mortals cannot perform magic with their Solar-Ka. They can assist immortals who are casting ( Liber Ka p57-8), even steal Ka to cast under their own power ( Nephilim rulebook p191-2), but they cannot use Solar-Ka directly to perform magic (p190). They cannot even resist magic without being awakened, and then only at half capacity (p139). Even the Mithradites have only developed a handful of solar techniques that cannot be considered spells as such (see Secret Societies p73). A contradiction to this rule is that there are a few spells explicitly labeled “Element: Sun”:  Awaken Orichalka , Create Elixir , and Create Homunculus  (see Secret Societies p37-9). However, the first must be cast on Saturdays a la saturnian spells and the third uses lunar alc...

As I’ve said before, my worldbuilding takes the approach that nephilim are composite beings and not elemental spirits possessing hapless mortal victims. The Solar-Ka soul of the human host provides the motivation and self-control that the elemental lacks; the current human identity is firmly in the driver’s seat. That said, a person with access to magic and past lives is going to start seeing reality differently from the muggles. This is where the incorrect assumption that nephilim are body snatchers comes from.  Generally, people who bond with the elemental are those who feel dissatisfied with muggle life and desire something more. On some level they always wanted the awakening. They may even be fated for it under the very stars themselves. How do you think a sympathetic person conveniently shows up as a nexus right when a proto-nephilim elemental is born ready to bond with a suitable host? That said, forcible possession is not completely off the table. The nephilim have been know...

The Nephilim rulebook and Gamemaster’s Companion frontloads you with millions of years of in-game secret history. As discussed on the mailing list, some have suggested that it is easier for players to get into if they didn’t need to know that history from the start but their characters could maybe discover it in play. Maybe the secret history could be a point of contention? Maybe the history presented in the rulebook is just one of several histories promulgated by different factions, fraternities, and secret societies with their own agendas. The dinosaurs building a civilization where they raised a second moon? The elemental old races building Atlantis and breeding humans to be vessels, only to conveniently be hit by the Black Star? Sounds weird, right? Since Agarthans can travel through time, are events even fixed anyway? Did the KaIm really exist or were they  a myth created by the nephilim ? I prefer to keep the secret history, well, secret . I’d let players discover it throug...

The Nephilim game, at least as published in the USA, didn't really have a detailed or coherent cosmology. The summoning rules mention magical realms based on Kabbalah and achieving Agartha allows one to travel the "akashas" and "subtle planes." How these relate to one another, if any relation exists at all, is never explained. Some passages in the rulebook and the Major Arcana supplement suggest or state explicitly that some of the third circle evocations are Agarthans, Pharaonic Egregors, KaIm, etc. Meanwhile, the French version  underwent its own series of revisions. For my campaigns, I'd use a cosmology loosely inspired by the French version's . There are several sets of planes composed of different kinds of Ka, and these are organized into upper and lower planes. This directionality isn't literal but spiritual: the upper planes are closer to Agartha, whereas the lower planes are closer to Abaddon (see Major Arcana p71-2). There are basically f...

A concept in the French version, introduced in the second edition, that was never adapted to the US version was the rules for cycles basaltiques (“basaltic cycles”). Basaltic cycles were periods where a nephilim—then a KaIm—was embodied within an existing natural phenomenon or feature, as opposed to creating their own physicality. Pyrim inhabited within lava, lightning or fire; Eolim within clouds, fog or tornado; Hydrim within waves, foam or coral; Faerim within flora and fauna, sand or stone; Onirim within nightmares manifest, disease or reflection. They developed a greater understanding of the magic fields and became more sensitive to the element of their habitat, as well as to its opponents and to their base natures. To summarize the 2e rules: at character creation the player picks if the character was a basaltic and then applies up to 5 basaltic cycles, choosing the element of each cycle. Each cycle applies a +5% bonus to the First Circle Sorcery skill base chance and a +1 bonus ...

The rules for astrological modifiers differ dramatically between the  Nephilim rulebook and Enlightened Magic , as part of newer BRP editions simplifying and streamlining rules. I'll leave it up to groups to decide which astrological system to use. In the Nephilim rulebook (p130-2), astrological modifiers were randomly determined by consulting complex tables and rolling dice. Indeed, a paper spin wheel was included in the Gamemaster's Veil to make it easier to calculate. Characters could predict these modifiers with astrology rolls. This lent a big element of unpredictability when determining enthronements . In Enlighted Magic , the modifiers are flat and predictable. The day of the week applies a ±10 modifier, the season ±5. This thankfully removes the tedious book keeping, but it makes astrology preparations less important since everything is so predictable. I don't want to constantly roll to determine daily modifiers, but I do think you could add back randomly determin...

The Ka characteristic was… complicated. While the US version adapted the rules from the French 1e, the French version continued to revise in subsequent editions. There was a single Ka characteristic, equivalent to the POW characteristic in standard BRP. However, it had 5 derived characteristics named Ka-elements arranged in a “Pentacle” with specific distributions: Dominant Ka (=Ka), Major Neutral (=Ka×0.8), Minor Neutral (=Ka×0.6), Minor Opposed (=Ka×0.4), and Major Opposed (=Ka×0.2). The French version named this distribution the “Cardinal Balance”. In the US version the Ka-elements were basically only ever used for Ka vs Ka contests. If the character suffered Ka loss (due to sacrifice, orichalka, ghost wyrm attack, etc), then it was always applied to their Ka stat. In the French version, damage could be applied to individual Ka-elements. For example, damage could be inflicted by traumatic magical experiences and several elemental creatures could drain individual Ka-elements. The Fre...