Recap of stasis objects and my thoughts

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ritual or a Philosopher’s Stone meditation (see “Create Stasis”, Major Arcana p7; “Crafting the Vessel of the Winds”, Unpublished Alchemy Rules p59-60). The prospective stasis object must be something of personal importance to the Nephilim's current (and usually first) incarnation. Furthermore, it must be dusted with litharge in order to accept the spiritual connection and serve as a receptacle for Ka. The sorcerer creates the link by drawing Enochian runes on the Nephilim and their chosen stasis object within the ritual circle. The alchemist creates the link by meditating and then touching the two simultaneously.

A Nephilim's stasis object not only anchors their immortality, it provides a strong sympathetic link to the Nephilim that thieves may exploit (see Liber Ka p55). It is not possible to bond a new stasis object, so the Nephilim must be wary of his stasis object’s whereabouts at all times. 

If a stasis object is destroyed, then the Nephilim cannot easily reincarnate. If they die now then their elemental essence, and its magical aura containing all its occult knowledge and connections to past lives, must find a new bearer in short order or it will dissolve into the magic fields and be lost forever. Alchemists with knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone may bond themselves to a new stasis object—even if their current stasis object is still intact, severing the old bond in the process—but nobody else’s (see Unpublished Alchemy Rules p59-60). Otherwise, the Temperance Arcanum is rumored to know ways to restore a broken stasis object.

The Stasis object is required to turn a Nephilim into a Homunculus (see Nephilim rulebook p192, Secret Societies p37-8). The mage drops it within the alchemical jar into which the Nephilim's spirit has been trapped. During the homunculus’ gestation, the Stasis object dissolves.

My house rules

The following are my house rules for Stasis objects. These rules are intended to make Stasis objects slightly less frustrating to maintain. Slightly.

Sensing one's Stasis object

The nature of the bonding means the Nephilim may sense their connection with their stasis object at any time simply by concentrating. This sense permanently provides the same benefits as if the two were subject to the Ritual Magic spell Ineffable Gossamer Cord aka Bonds of Connection. Nonetheless, this sense is imprecise enough that the Ritual Magic spell Tabula Est Terra aka Discern Location is the go-to spell for tracking the stasis object.

If the Stasis object is destroyed, then the Nephilim will feel the severing of the bond the moment that it happens. The GM is encouraged to describe the sudden feeling of loss in appropriately unpleasant terms (see below).

This is inspired by a similar rule given in the French version.

Donating Ka to one's Stasis object

In addition to charging Stasis objects with Ka-elements from a Plexus or Nexus, the owning Nephilim may reverse the Stasis Ritual to donate some of their own Ka-elements to the Stasis object. This doesn't permanently reduce the Nephilim's Ka characteristic. Points are deducted from individual Ka-elements on a 1:1 basis. Lost points are recovered at a rate of 1/week on the day of the week associated with that Ka-element. Points donated to the Stasis object are not lost until expended in another Stasis Ritual.

Additionally, Nephilim who deliberately perform the Ritual of Sundering to become Selenim may store their severed branches within the Stasis object using this same method. Temperance is rumored to have spells to reverse the Sundering, but only if the branches are still intact to reattach. The Central American Nephilim are rumored to have developed a cyclical existence using this method where they would transform themselves into Selenim and back again multiple times, but only the survivors of that Tradition would know for sure.

This is inspired by a similar rule given in the French version.

Bonding a New Stasis

If a Nephilim's stasis object is destroyed, then a new one may be bonded to them with the same spell or meditation as that which created their original stasis object. This comes at a cost: once the Nephilim reincarnates, then access to the memories and skills of all past lives predating the new bond is lost forever. The stasis object serves not just as an anchor for the Ka-elements of the Pentacle, but for the Solar-Ka of every past bearer. Once this connection is severed, then that Solar-Ka is no longer present for the new bonding. They’ll have to rely on history books like mundane folks!

The meditation Crafting the Vessel of the Winds allows the alchemist to bond himself, and only himself, to a new Stasis object without losing access to his past lives. Otherwise, spells and evocations to restore the connection to past lives are rumored to be known by Temperance. 

I originally saw this suggested in Ex Oculis and copied it. In order to maintain the severity of the loss and keep Nephilim similarly concerned about their Stasis objects, the loss removes access to past lives predating the new bond instead. Making this work requires removing skill theft and redesigning the mechanics to treat past lives as skills.

Secret Society's prisons

(This is used in conjunction with the house rule "Bonding a New Stasis," above.)

Some secret societies have reverse-engineered the creation of Stasis objects and created an evil spell that bonds a Nephilim to a new Stasis object while severing their previous bond. Usually secret societies that cannot recover a Nephilim's Stasis item will bleed the Nephilim for Sacrifices or an Elixir or outright kill them with Orichalc. Sometimes those options aren't enough, so a very sadistic spell was created that bonds the Nephilim to a new one. The mage draws the Nephilim's Ka-impregnated blood and anoints a few ounces of Orichalc, to simultaneously awaken it and create the required Litharge, as the sympathetic tie this creates is necessary for the spell to overcome the old bond. The new bond severs the Nephilim's bond to their old Stasis item, thereby severing their access to their past lives. After the new bonding, the secret society mage either turns the Nephilim into a Homunculus or murders their Simulacrum and traps their elemental essence within the new Stasis item.

Since the Nephilim's old Stasis item still exists, hope is not completely lost. The sympathetic tie is severed, so the Nephilim's compatriots cannot use the old Stasis item to track their missing companion with sympathetic magic. However, if they do ever rescue their companion then they may rebind the old Stasis item to recover access to the Nephilim's past lives.

This house rule is inspired by the French version (see below) and the Ex Oculis rules (see above).

"Just lucky, I guess!"

This "house rule" (more GM tool) was originally suggested in Ex Oculis. To quote the text:

[Stasis objects] are unusually difficult to destroy. They are not indestructible, but they are uncannily resistant to damage, and Lady Luck seems to watch out for them. [Stasis objects] often survive fires unscathed, improbably buried and protected by rubble, return from shipwrecks, perhaps carried by tides or animals, and even delay demolitions, which are plagued by strange mechanical problems. They are not safe from intentional destruction, but if there is a way for a [Stasis object] to survive a general threat, it usually does. As an additional precaution, most Nephilim make their [Stasis objects] out of durable materials or in such a way that the workmanship is more valuable than the component materials. 

Stasis of a destroyed Nephilim?

(This is used in conjunction with the house rule "Bonding a New Stasis," above.)

What happens to the magical properties of a Stasis item if the owning Nephilim was destroyed by means such as Orichalc or other fatal loss of Ka? Naturally, the bond to the owner is severed by his death. This has several side effects.

The Stasis item loses its ability to charge Ka, as this was provided by its bond to a living source of Ka. Any points still stored within rapidly evaporate at the rate of 1 point/hour until gone. Placing it within a Plexus or Nexus has no effect.

However, the Stasis item does retain the impression of the Nephilim’s past lives. Certain divination spells can read these memories directly from the Stasis item. 

Since the Stasis item’s bond to its old owner is severed, then it may be bonded to a new owner (see below).

Bonding an "Old" Stasis

(This is used in conjunction with the house rule “Bonding a New Stasis” and “Stasis of a destroyed Nephilim”, above.)

If the Stasis item of a destroyed Nephilim is bonded to another Immortal of any family, then the new owner may learn how to recall the previous owner's past lives. The circumstances leading up to this situation will no doubt be very strange! This recall of another’s past lives raises a lot of philosophical issues among the Major Arcana. In the very rare event whenever this happens, then it’s almost always done to recover knowledge from the destroyed Nephilim. Even then it requires the help of a young Nephilim yet to receive a stasis item but still willing to accept bonding to the deceased’s item, since no sane Nephilim will destroy their own Stasis item to bond the deceased’s.

A note for munchkins: it is impossible to bond a new stasis item while yours still exists, and the only way to break a bond—short of the secret societies' evil torture spell mentioned above—is to destroy the stasis item in question. So you cannot share past lives between PCs, sorry!

This house rule is a logical extrapolation of the Stasis item–Past Lives’ memories connection from Ex Oculis, above.

Origins of stasis?

The following information may not be known to PCs or only known in the form of trivia. It does raise questions about the origins of the nephilim, and answers may not be privy to the PCs. What came before the current stasis object spell? What came before that? How did nephilim live before their current immortality?

The stasis object as used by the Western tradition isn't the only path to Agartha. There are several other strategies, some of which use the stasis object or variations on it.

The first method used with the stasis objects invented by Herne was a temporary "shamanistic" incarnation (see Gamemaster's Companion p9). Under this method, a shaman connects with the Ka inside a stasis object and allows it to observe and work through the shaman without permanently bonding. A variation of this is still used by the Loa of the Afro-Caribbean Tradition (see Nephilim rulebook p189), allowing mortal supplicants to temporarily channel their power. 

Other indigenous Traditions practice Totemism, which is similar to the Moon Arcanum. These Nephilim incarnated as animals and offered guidance and protection to mortal supplicants. Not all indigenous Traditions practiced this, however, and some practiced other methods alongside or instead.

Stasis pyramids

The pharaonic pyramids operate on similar principles (see Nephilim rulebook p55, Gamemaster's Companion p11), but through the consecration and sacrifice of solar-ka (a real life practice btw) the entombed is able to remain conscious after death rather than entering stasis and thus continue pursuing Agartha without reincarnating. 

The mummification process acts as a way to counteract the normal disembodiment of the pentacle and the evaporation of solar-ka that occurs upon death. The mummy retains full functionality of their faculties, willpower and their elemental pentacle. It may be possible to replicate the process without building an elaborate tomb consecrated with human sacrifice, but if so then the formula remains to be discovered or is known only to a select few (see Major Arcana p79).

The path of the sarcophagus?

Stasis objects were not invented solely by the Nephilim, but derived from studying the Sarcophagi developed by the Selenim (see Nephilim rulebook p55, Gamemaster's Companion p9, Ian Young's history, "Selenim Influence"). Even the pharaonic tomb is an "inferior" version of it.

The Sarcophagus collects, concentrates and converts ambient Solar-Ka into Black Moon-Ka for the Selenim's use, letting them survive for eons without Assuaging mortals. Yet mortals were a far richer source of Solar-Ka compared to the Sarcophagus, so the Selenim's greed led the overwhelming majority to adopt the practice of Assuaging. Perhaps some ethereal Selenim survived into the present in their Sarcophagi or magical Realms? I'll touch that in a future post...

In the French version

Stasis objects had a significantly different history and slightly different limitations in the French version, explained here and here. If you don't speak French, then you'll need to use your browser's translation feature. I'll recap it here, too.

The Stasis object was invented by secret societies to imprison Nephilim and the Nephilim just learned how to exploit it to their benefit. The process for bonding was slightly different: secret societies bled the Nephilim with an Orichalc blade to create the necessary Litharge ("Rare Earths" in French) to sympathetically bond the Stasis object. This process could be repeated at any time with a new Stasis object, severing the bond to the previous object. If the Stasis object was ever destroyed, then the Nephilim's Ka-elements dissolved immediately!

The process for creating Homunculi was slightly different, too. A transparent alchemical flask was consecrated with Litharge created by the Nephilim's own blood, then filled with a piece of flesh from the caster and alchemical fluids. The Stasis object was then destroyed, forcing the Nephilim to reincarnate within the flask. The flask became a permanent prison for the Homunculus, as breaking it would immediately kill the poor thing. This was basically a precursor to the US version's Elixirs and Homunculi.

However, the French version later adapted the elixirs and homunculi back from the US version! 

When the Templars invaded North America, they warred with the Amerindian Nephilim named “Wowakan.” The Wowakan performed the Ghost Dance to boost the elemental fields. The Orichalc deposits on Amerindian sacred land, which the Templars had mined for weapons, were converted into Litharge. In response, the Templar mixed this same Litharge with blood drained from Wowakans to create Elixirs that allowed the Templars to cast spells and manifest Totem traits. As Litharge was already called “Rare Earths” in the French, these Elixirs were called “Litharges” in the French. 

Meanwhile, the Templars acquired Paracelsus’ Liber de homunculus and used the knowledge to create a new form of Homunculus. This form was grown over forty weeks in an alchemical flask containing Litharge made from the Nephilim and a piece of the caster’s flesh. At the end of this gestation, an infantile Nephilim or Wowakan was decanted. Unlike the traditional Homunculus that was permanently sealed in the flask, this new Homunculus was able to move and perform simple actions as a genuine familiar.

I'll touch on Elixirs, Homunculi and Wowakans in future posts.