Recounting metamorphoses

In this post I share all the metamorphs I could find for the English version. I present the name, dominant ka-element, and personality traits. These are sorted by source.

Nephilim rulebook & Chronicle of the Awakenings

These are all the metamorphoses that were officially published in English. The books are buyable on Drivethrurpg. The rulebook used a scheme of "head, hands, skin, odor, and voice" inherited from the French version, but CotA introduced a new scheme using "personality traits" adapted from similar mechanics used in some other BRP games like Pendragon and RuneQuest. My recaps use the latter scheme.

  • Djinn (material Fire): Destructive, Energetic, Proud, Rebellious, Reckless
  • Phoenix (spiritual Fire): Creative, Honorable, Loyal, Reckless, Stubborn
  • Sylph (material Air): Calm, Pragmatic, Proud, Rebellious, Trusting
  • Angel (spiritual Air): Calm, Creative, Curious, Honorable, Spiritual
  • Triton (material Water): Deceitful, Destructive, Pragmatic, Private, Unpredictable
  • Undine (spiritual Water): Curious, Indulgent, Pragmatic, Prudent, Social
  • Satyr (material Earth): Angry, Destructive, Indulgent, Unpredictable, Vengeful
  • Elf (spiritual Earth): Altruistic, Joyous, Private, Proud, Stubborn
  • Snake (material or spiritual Moon): Cruel, Deceitful, Indulgent, Private, Unpredictable
  • Baba Yaga (Moon): Cruel, Deceitful, Misanthropic, Suspicious, Vengeful
  • Baen Shide (Moon): Deceitful, Indulgent, Manipulative, Modest, Social
  • Fomorian (Water): Angry, Destructive, Pragmatic, Uncaring, Warlike
  • Tecarian (Earth): Altruistic, Calm, Conservative, Private, Spiritual
The rulebook suggested that when creating new metamorphs then they should be paired along the spiritual and material nomenclature, but this wasn't followed outside of the rulebook by either official or fan-made metamorphs (see below).

Ex Oculis fanbook

The ExO materials, an unfinished attempt at writing a new edition of the English version, are archived here at the new home of the English mailing list (account required). It included a character creation doc that listed all the official metamorphs above plus two new ones (the salamander and valkyrie, see below) so that each element had a total of 3 metamorphs. Since these were written by some of the same authors as the official books then these two may be considered semi-official.

  • Salamander (Fire): If a Djinn is an open flame, a Salamander is a glowing coal. Massive and reptilian, Salamanders brood and plot over their gains. Personality Traits: Angry, Conservative, Possessive, Proud, Suspicious
  • Valkyrie (Air): A Valkyrie is half raptor, half Fury. With the eyes of a raven and bloody locks mixed with feathers, they feel death even when they do not cause it. Personality Traits: Energetic, Pragmatic, Reckless, Uncaring, Warlike

ExO used the personality trait rules introduced in CotA, but made some further revisions. “Understanding” was expanded to full degrees, each trait was provided a list of suggested transformations (as opposed to these being scattered across individual metamorphs), and each emotion was assigned a specific elemental association in parentheses (compare “Emotional Natures” sidebar, Major Arcana p40). The ExO folder also included longer descriptions of several new metamorphs and a dump of one-line metamorphs. I will share the full listings in later posts.

Prometheus' Body Shop

These were made by Agarthan from the mailing list. The original site, with full descriptions, is archived here. The chimera, mandrake and pegasus were inspired by metamorphs from the French version that were never adapted to the English version, while the oracle and zeus were invented by Agarthan out of whole cloth. 

  • Chimera (Moon): Creative, Deceitful, Indulgent, Manipulative, Reckless
  • Mandrake (Earth): Deceitful, Indulgent, Manipulative, Misanthropic, Private
  • Oracle (Air): Adaptive, Curious, Exacting, Melancholy, Social
  • Pegasus (Air): Curious, Energetic, Private, Prudent, Spiritual
  • Zeus (Fire): Angry, Brusque, Energetic, Reckless, Unpredictable

Miscellaneous assorted

  • Duergar (material Earth): Creative, Deceitful, Private, Stubborn, Suspicious. By Simon Bray. [archived here]
  • Selkie (Water): A water metamorphosis from the north Atlantic coast of Britain. Personality Traits: Cautious, Loyal, Modest, Private, Spiritual. By Jeff James. [archived here]

And that's basically all the metamorphoses I could find for the English version. There was a gargoyle, lion, and fallen angel metamorph for the 1e rules, which I didn't convert. The webzine Soleil Noir #1 had a Sphinx metamorph by Ian Young using the CotA rules, but I was never able to find a copy of it.

Enjoy!

Addendum 10/16/2023: I was able to get a private copy of the Sphinx metamorph from Ian Young. The Sphinx is a Faerim (Earth) metamorphosis, converted from his previous Lion metamorph to the CotA rules (its Chinese Portrait is virtually unchanged). Its Passions (and Transformations) were Calm (aura of stillness), Loyal (charges feel safe, foes feel dread), Proud (flowing mane and beard), Spiritual (awe-inspiring roar) and Vengeful (claws and fangs). Ian is having trouble with republishing it digitally, so I'm not reproducing it in full. If he ever releases it, then I will post about it.

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