Character knowledge of the secret history?

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 through play, and I’d throw wildcards to keep them second guessing what is true. That maintains a sense of mystery, which is vital for a game about investigating enigmas and going on modern day quests.

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