Black Summoning explained, part 1

As with 3rd edition Necromancy, I decided to recap the Evocations from the Nephilim: Revelation Player's Book in anticipation of my own adaptation. 

What is Black Summoning?

Black Summoning is the Selenim counterpart to the Nephilim's elemental Summoning. 

The name of this occult science varies by editions. In 1st, 2nd and 5th edition it is named "Black Kabbalah" (Kabbale Noire in French), while in 3rd edition it is named "Conjuration" (the French uses the English word). In the US version, only snippets were printed in Serpent Moon and here it was named "Black Summoning". 

Like Summoning, it is divided into three Circles. The Circles are further divided into occult techniques named “Appeals” (Appels in French), comparable to the Sefirot of the Nephilim's Kabbalah. (The Sefirot were renamed to "Realms" in the US rulebook.) Black Kabbalists linked these to Da'ath and the Qlippoth.

The entities

The Players’ Book explains that Black Kabbalists previously thought the entities were called from Da’ath and the Qlippoth. As of The Revelation since 1900, the entities were confirmed to be created wholesale by the summoners. Within the Black Moon fields float countless motes of emotion produced by dying mortals, which form embryos of Black Moon "cores". The black summoners evoke and empower these cores to grow into black elementals that perform tasks for the summoner. Unlike the Kabbalist's summons, these entities aren't sapient and instead operate purely on instinct or programming. Many are obviously wild and indistinguishable from the elemental beasts spawned by the Dragon, but some appear intelligent and are even able to hold conversations of sorts. However, even the smartest seeming entity actually operates on programming rather than any sapience (i.e. they lack INT or CHA characteristics and instead used their BMK for the same situations).

However, The Gamemaster’s Book states that entities are spawned deep with the Anti-Lands (Subtle Planes of the Black Moon). The majority were spawned within “The Loess of the Pavane” before moving into other Anti-Lands and the earthly plane. I cannot tell whether this is a contradiction or a revelation.

Like other elementals in third edition (see Players' Book p152), these entities may drain skills from the SK of mortals and Simulacra or BMK from Selenim and Ar-KaIm. (They don't appear to be able to drain SK this way?) However, the Conjuration rules didn't seem to take this into account and entities that drain BMK or SK use their own rules for it.

According to Codex des Selenim p20, the Nephilim refer to these entities as Les sombres horreurs ("the dark horrors") whereas Selenim refer to them as "the Familiars."

I included the original French names of the entities as a cross-reference aid. The Summoning spells’ names are always more flowery than the other spells due to using the names from the Good Ministers of the Enochian ethers as a foundation, so they’re not easy to translate and especially not through multiple rounds from English into French and back again. 

The procedure

Conjuration rituals consist of summoning the entities by entering a trance, playing a musical instrument (varies by circle), and spending points from the Selenim’s pool. These are elemental beasts shaped from motes of human emotion floating on the doomed field, not called from the summoning worlds. As with Kabbalah, entities cannot be summoned if the Black Moon field is completely absent.

All entities have a BMK level, which serves the same role as the Contract value for Kabbalah Summoning, which evaporates over time at a rate varying by summon instead of having a fixed duration. The conjurer spends points equal to this level.

As with 3e Kabbalah all the entities have standardized game statistics (characteristics and skills) based on their BMK level, rather than arbitrarily decided on a case-by-case basis (which is hugely helpful for adjudicating balance and inventing your own evocations). Due to what I assume was a proofreading error, the entities in the book don't have their skills listed even though the book says they should.

The performance to summon the entity takes 5 minutes per entity's BMK level. If the conjurer lacks the proper instrument or sufficient time, then he may sing instead. This increases the Difficulty by +1 level, but the evocation only takes 1 turn per Circle.

The consequences of Fumble vary by circle.

Foci, Inscriptions and Artefacts

The obscure sciences of Necromancy and Conjuration (Black Summoning) operate on similar principles to Nephilim's Occult Sciences. Foci, inscriptions and artefacts work exactly the same for the Selenim as they do the Nephilim. While they may differ in form and elements, the basic principles are identical. 

In the French rules, artefacts worked basically like the enchanted sorcery items in Enlightened Magic. Each was enchanted with a single spell that the user could recast at will and easier than doing it themselves. For Selenim the artefacts were especially useful because an artefact used its own ch'awe and regenerated it passively, whereas a Selenim had to Assuage (drain Solar-Ka from mortals via energy vampirism) to recharge.

The sole exception is Anamorphosis, which doesn't have foci, inscriptions, or artefacts. I will explore that in the relevant post.

First Circle

Practitioners of this circle are titled "Charmers." The instrument of this circle is the reed flute. These evocations generally cost 1-3 BMK points.

On a Fumble, the summoning Ruptures and something undesirable happens: a different entity from the same Appeal appears instead, an entity from a different Appeal appears instead, the entity appears deliquescent, the entity appears but flees immediately, or the entity misunderstood the summoner’s orders.

Appeal of the Pacifist

These entities are dedicated to healing and welfare of others (sometimes relative all the same), whether alive or dead.

Les Voix enchanteresses qui effacent les douleurs: “The enchanting voices that erase the pains.” Ghostly women wearing veils and Greek robes. Sit at the bedsides of the ill and sing to soothe their suffering.

L’Anémone d’or, dérisoire récompense des rêveurs défunts: “The golden anemone, derisory recompense for deceased dreamers.” A giant sea anemone with a featureless human face. Submerges a ghost within a tailor-made dream to soothe the ghost’s Torment.

La Pierre de l’insensible: “The stone of the insensitive.” A dark cloud that attaches to a target and assumes the form of an inconspicuous onyx gem on the forehead. The target becomes emotionless and immune to Assuaging.

Les Choristes harmonieux de l’éternité: “The Harmonious Chorus of Eternity.” A fifty-member choir clad in white togas. Appears in a cemetery and sings to soothe the ghosts’ Torment.

Celui qui sait se rendre aimable: “The one who knows how to make himself lovable, The one who knows how to be kind.” An immaterial entity that makes the Conjurer seem sympathetic and everything nearby seem cleaner, prettier and shinier. Provides a bonus to social interactions.

Le Double de souffrance: “The Double of Sufferance”. Mimics the designated target before merging into them. The target no longer feels pain from injuries, and thus no wound penalty.

Les Mouvances sépulcrales, Protectrices du cheptel: “The Sepulchral Movements, Protectors of Chattel”. A scaly glaucous writhing envelope around the target, two yellow eyes superimposed over the wearer’s. Provides armor and limited melee self-defense.

Appeal of the Savant

These entities reveal knowledge of the past, present, and future.

L’Impitoyable juge des crimes oubliés: “The pitiless judge of crimes forgotten”. A stern looking man carrying a ledger recording the dead’s crimes. Reads the crimes of the ghost in question and suggests a suitable punishment.

Le Froid bibliothécaire des âmes perdues: “The cold librarian of lost souls”. A pale fleshy flower ringed with eyes and mouths, perched on numerous insect legs. Records everything that happens in its assigned cemetery for the summoner’s reference and shares the knowledge of countless generations.

Les Inlassables auditeurs aux yeux candides: “The tireless listeners with candid eyes”. A stereotypical angel from Catholic art with a grief-stricken expression. Act as receptionists and therapists for the cemetery’s ghosts, permanently reducing their Torment by one level (this only works once per ghost). Will warn their summoner of any unusual paranormal activity.

Celui qui arpente le sentier obscur: “The one who surveys the saunter obscure.” Initially appears as specter of a little man wearing glasses who fearfully whispers “I have to wake up,” but the actual entity is this man’s shadow that takes a different form at every invocation. It will show the summoner the location of any corpse, provided there are any remains left.

Les Yeux omnivoyants: “The all-seeing eyes.” A floating agglomeration of multicolored eyes. Observe everything around them perfectly and provide a full “report” if touched. Easily bored, so preferred for busy locations. If attacked, can defend themselves by materializing the fears of their attackers to drive the latter off.

Les Guides taciturnes aux pieds légers: “The taciturn guides with light feet.” A smooth hairless muscular humanoid with maggot-ridden empty eye sockets. Name any Sovereign and it will personally guide the summoner to their Realm, or draw a precise map of the route through the lower planes.

L’Horreur qui murmure des secrets effroyables dans l’ombre: “The horror that murmurs horrific secrets within shade.” A reptilian goatish shape that hides in shadows. If defeated (usually hand-to-hand duel to the death, but open to negotiation) then it reveals occult clues. Each clue requires months of research to solve.

Sceau de la foi (Codex des Selenim p66): "Seal of the Faith". A white earthworm that insinuates itself inside a consenting Selenim's Core, feeding on their BMK to sustain itself indefinitely. This evocation is only known to the Masters in the Cult of Lilith and allows them to track down dissidents, as every initiate is subject to this spell.

Appeal of the Torturer

These entities imprison, hinder, or neutralize an enemy or other intruder.

Les Serviteurs qui engendrent le chaos: “The servitors that engender chaos.” Six five-legged black oily shapes. Caused accelerated urban decay in the places they haunt, communicate with vermin, cultivate paranoia, but have trouble with electronics.

Les Mille visages de la torture: “The thousand visages of torture.” Dozens of suffering impersonal faces shouting in hopeless pain that cover a radius of 20m. Extend arms to hold designated targets, and force a sanity check on those who witness it.

Celui qui entrave le verbe: “Those who impede speech.” Black viscous oily thing with four eyes and four arms. Attaches to a target's mouth, preventing them from speaking but not preventing eating, drinking or breathing.

Les Ricanants voleurs d’attention: “The sniggering thieves of attention.” 20 palm-sized imps, with long fangs and bright green eyes. Distract their targets, increasing the difficulty of actions by two levels.

Les Redoutables fileuses au souffle de glace: “The redoubtable weavers with breath like ice.” 4 spiders that exude an aura of cold. Weave invisible webs that may catch anyone who walks in.

Les Ronces qui durcissent les chairs: “The brambles that stiffen flesh.” A bramble bush. It grabs a target and renders them paralyzed and mute. The target may still cast magic that doesn't require movement or speech, but suffers +2 levels of difficulty.

Le Lierre qui fige les âmes: “The ivy that freezes souls.” Ivy that covers a section of wall or 3 medium-sized people. Those it catches are rendered unconscious.

Appeal of the Loa Guédé

These evocations are only widespread among the Loa Guédé.

Le Lierre d’obsidienne, Collecteur du don obscur (Codex des Selenim p45): "The Ivy of Obsidian, Collector of the Dark Gift." Black ivy with leaves replaced by tentacles. With its roots anchored next to the conjurer, its vines will travel through the magic fields unerringly towards any Selenim the conjurer gives it by name, whether on Earth or in the Astral. Baron Saturday uses it to collect a daily tax of BMK from Loa Guédé for the maintenance of Raven, their shared Realm.

Second Circle 

Practitioners of this circle are titled "Tamers." The instrument of this circle is the lyre. These evocations generally cost 3-5 BMK points.

The fumbles of this Circle include: the entity behaves randomly, a tiny BMK residue attaches to the conjurer and annoys him with embarrassing whispers and visions, the entity tries to consume the conjurer's BMK, half the conjurer's reserve evaporates, the entity goes mad and tries to kill the conjurer.

Appeal of the Soldier

These entities make war and defeat even the most seasoned fighters.

Les Impavides soldats aux cœurs d’airain: “The Fearless Solders with Hearts of Bronze (i.e. Iron).” Ghostly legionnaires from Caesar's time, only understand Latin.

Les Colosses de chair morte: “The Colossi of Dead Flesh.” Monstrously obese giants that stink of suffocating putrefaction. Incredibly destructive, but incredibly stupid.

Ceux dont le toucher est un fer rouge: “Those whose Touch is a Red Iron.” Green will-o-wisps that shriek. Burn targets on contact and ignite flammable materials. In Ka-vision they appear as weak echoes of Fire-Ka. (Does this imply they're Black Fire-Ka?)

La Noirceur aux yeux brasillants: “The Blackness with Brilliant Eyes.” 6 small humanoid figures of black vapor with several pairs of crimson eyes. Their gaze paralyzes victims in fear, and they deal damage by passing their limbs immaterially into the target's body and slowly burning/dissolving the organs until death ensues.

L’ Horreur qui vient de l’ombre: “The Horror that comes from the shade.” Shapeless mass of dozens of tentacles that only survives in darkness. It can capture targets within 50m or devour them at the conjurer's command. It instantly disappears if illuminated by a spotlight, projector or camera flash. (This is basically a mix of the Haunter of the Dark and that shadow monster from the 2012 Sinbad TV show.)

La Purulente infamie: “The Purulent Infamy.” A grey squat humanoid covered in pustules that contain acid. Extremely dangerous in hand-to-hand combat.

Les Hyènes de ténèbres: “The Hyenas of Darkness.” Large black hyenas with silver reflections in their fur. They are invulnerable, but instantly dissipate after inflicting the first blow.

Appeal of the Fool

These entities drive normal people insane, indefinitely or for varying periods. They’re basically Harry Potter bogarts and dementors. Their main use is to assist with Assuaging.

Les Ténèbres annonciatrices de chagrin: “The Darkness heralding sorrow.” Fuzzy black cloud the size and shape of a human head, floating in the air. Sociable but unpleasant presence. It haunts its target and makes them easier for the conjurer to Assuage (+2 level bonus). (This appeared in Serpent Moon p14.)

Les Sinistres rongeurs des âmes insatisfaites: “The Sinister rodents of dissatisfied souls.” 6 blue imps with trunks they insert in their target's ear. Torment their target by forcing him to confront his failures for 3 months. Many attack their friends and family. This gives the Conjurer a +2 bonus to Assuaging the target, and a +1 bonus against their friends and family if mistreated.

Le Tortionnaire raffiné du pays des cauchemars: “The refined Torturer from the Land of Nightmares.” Initially appears as a sphere, then assumes the target's fears. Gives the target terrible nightmares, giving the Conjurer a +2 bonus to Assuage. The Refined Torturer may attack the target through their dreams, reducing their Solar-Ka every night until they die at 0 SK, a la Freddy Krueger.

Les Ministres de la haine écarlate: “The Ministers of Scarlet Hatred.” Violet clouds, at certain angles reptilian faces and mouths dripping with dark blue fluid are visible. Attach to their target and, upon encountering a physical or moral conflict, tries to force a violent rage. The Conjurer benefits from a +2 bonus on Assuaging.

Ceux qui révèlent les démons dissimulés: “Those who reveal the hidden demons.” Small wide faces, pair of clawed legs, linked together by indistinct mass. Fly around target, study them for an hour or two, then reduce the target's inhibitions. 

L’Être de noirceur qui engendre la terreur: “The Being of darkness that generates terror.” Thick black cloud that invades target's nose and mouth, then exits 2 turns later and assumes the target's worst nightmare or phobia. This provokes a Sanity check, else the target goes insane until they receive therapy. The Conjurer gains +2 levels on Assuaging tests.

Le Miroir de dégénérescence: “The Mirror of degeneration.” Humanoid shape made of thick black vapor, only attacks Nephilim. It stands in front of the target, takes on her appearance, then gains Khaiba mutations. It merges into the target, causing the Nephilim gain a level of Khaiba and to present all those mutations.

Appeal of the Annihilator 

These are the most dangerous entities: they alter, erode or defile the various Ka-elements.

Les Maléfiques suzerains de l’apathie: “The Maleficent Sovereigns of Apathy.” Jellyfish that float lazily in the air. Attach to a human target and drain 1 SK/night (here equivalent to ch'awe), transferring it to the Conjurer. 

Les Princes de la douce décomposition: “The Princes of Sweet Decomposition.” Majestic dark shadows that personify aging. Their touch instantly ages the target by 30 years, causing illness immediately. Targets that are already 50 years or older must make a CON test or drop dead instantly.

Ceux qui rôdent sous les gibets: “Those who prowl under the gallows.” Deformed rotten dwarves with long black teeth, supernumerary body parts. Break into graves, steal the ghost's Solar-Ka, 2 points, and release it into the magic fields.

Le Dévoreur obtus, terreur des démons indisciplinés: “The Obtuse Devourer, terror of unruly demons.” Huge hounds with iron fangs. Attack other entities and take bites out of them, taking 5 BMK points, releasing the BMK into the magic fields.

Les Pernicieux serpents qui prospèrent dans la putréfaction: “The Pernicious snakes that prosper within putrefaction.” Snakes the size of boa constrictors, with eyes that shine like obsidian. Gnaw at BMK, including immortals. Attack deals 2 BMK damage, starting with the reserve then continuing onto the Core. 

Les Murènes toujours affamées: “The Forever Hungry Ebon Eels.” Large moray eels with mouths full of sharp teeth. Once they have their target, they never stop hunting and pass through all barriers. Their bite deals 2 damage, and 2 BMK/SK damage or infect Nephilim with 2 BMK. Unless their prey is less than 1 km away, they attack their summoner. Once one is summoned, there's a chance that 1-2 more will arrive opportunistically. (This appeared in Serpent Moon p14.)

Ceux dont le nom n’est jamais évoqué: “Those whose names are never evoked.” Terrifying eyeless human shapes, mouths dripping with illusory blood. Only attack Selenim. Their touch drains 2 BMK per strike.

Third Circle

Practitioners of this circle are titled "Demiurges." The instrument of this circle is the pipe organ. Spells of this circle are called "Executions."

Possible effects of fumbles include: the instrument used breaks apart and must be replaced (in case of voice, it takes five days to recover), the conjurer suffers obtrusive paranormal phenomena in the vicinity that attract mistrust and animosity for five days, the conjurer is deafened for ten days, most of the the conjurer's BMK pool evaporates and turns into a hostile entity of the second circle that immediately attacks, 10 BMK points evaporate from the conjurer's reserve and infect up to 10 people within a hundred meters.

Minor Scale

This sub-circle allows the conjurer to invent new evocations for any of the previously noted Appeals. That’s it. This process is surprisingly easy, as the book lays out clear guidelines for the BMK level ranges per circle and all game statistics are generated using the standardized format I mentioned earlier. The Conjurer simply decides on a concept for the new entity, selects the appropriate Appeal, selects a BMK level available, and picks the Skills the entity would have. The skills are chosen from the same list as PCs and NPCs, but the entities can use their to adjudicate their supernatural powers. Once the entity is successfully designed and summoned for the first time, then the Conjurer may share the spell with others.

The example given in the book is an entity that induces uncontrollable laughter. This concept falls into the Appeal of the Fool. Translating into BRP terms, it has the skills Perform (Comedy) and Hide/Stealth.

Major Scale

This sub-circle allows the conjurer to do two broad effects. Firstly, he may invent entities that don’t fit into the previously noted Appeals—or invent entirely new Appeals! The fan-made supplement “The Book of Conjuration” provides examples. 

Secondly, he may affect entities in new ways—and to affect other targets including mortals and immortals! While guidelines are given for adjudicating the effects, there aren't a lot of specific limits.

The book provides several examples of Executions (see below). The power of the effects is limited by the Conjurer's own BMK level. These Executions notably don't cost any BMK!

Accelerate an Entity's Entropy: The Conjurer doubles the Entropy rate of an Entity, causing it to dissolve faster.

Take Control of an Entity: The Conjurer takes control of an Entity summoned by another Conjurer.

Mutilate an Anamorph's Aspect: The Conjurer strips construction points from one an Anamorph's Aspects. The Anamorph will have to restore these points through the usual ritual.

Avoid a Selenim's Entropy: The Conjurer may refill any Selenim’s Pool (including his own)—but only if it is currently empty!—by five points drawn from the surrounding magic field. This can substitute for Assuaging but those limitations make it far less profitable.

Eliminate a Nephilim's BMK: The Conjurer may remove the BMK infection from a Nephilim. This provokes a Cursed check on the Nephilim's part to see if he loses a Ka-element.

Provoke Fear in a Mortal: The Conjurer may terrify a mortal and force them to flee in terror. On a critical success, sufficiently weak targets will suffer fatal heart attacks!

Contaminate a Human: The Conjurer contaminates to a human with BMK to turn then into a Living Dead. This is cheaper than the Necromancy spell.

Nourish a Restless: The Conjurer draws BMK from the surrounding field and donates it to a Restless.

Increase Torment: The Conjurer increases a ghost's Torment level. This can make the ghost's powers more effective, or make then unusable for Necromancy.

Contaminate a Nephilim: The Conjurer contaminates a Nephilim with BMK. This doesn't provoke a Cursed check.

Mastery

A Demiurge who masters the Third Circle may supposedly manipulate the other elements. An article about this was published in Vision-Ka #6.

Coming up

In part 2 of this series, I will compare the 1e/2e Black Kabbalah and Pavane effects that weren’t carried over. In part 3, I will share some commentary and my ideas on adapting this to the US version…