Stronger and subtler metamorphs?

In this post I want to talk about two things: metamorphosis transformations’ game effects and subtlety a la Liber Ka.

Transformations’ game effects

In the rulebook, metamorphosis transformations were purely cosmetic and had no useful mechanical effects. In Chronicle of the Awakenings, each metamorph generally had 2 game effects at 16+ points each. Water breathing, flight, claws, vengeance sense, prophecy, etc.

The unofficial Australian metamorphs were especially powerful.

In the Ex Oculis fanbook, every transformation would’ve had a useful mechanical effect. (Often costing 1 or more ch’awe.) I would definitely use that instead, especially comparing it with the Selenim’s Anamorphosis. The latter always provided useful game effects.

I’m not gonna provide a whole conversion in this post. I encourage groups to customize their metamorphs to suit their styles, using the books as inspiration. Shelby Babb's old page has some ideas, unfortunately written for the rulebook before CotA was released. The fan-made Duergar metamorphosis by Simon Bray is an example of game effects for all five Transformations, conveniently using the CotA rules. 

Transformations’ subtlety 

To better match the subtler magic from Liber Ka, Slaying the Dragon and Enlightened Magic, I take a page from Ex Oculis. Transformations aren’t literal physical transformations but spiritual ones. That’s why they’re only visible with sufficient Ka-vision. Spiritual transformations are common in real world occultism and are believed to have real effects on the world around those transformed.

Transformations still have their same game effects, but these are flavored more like psychic powers. You’re not gonna pick up a transformation on cellphone cameras, though you might get one of those grainy blurry cryptid photos.

Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are the decans?

Image
In astrology, the zodiac signs  are ruled by particular planets  and divided into  three decans per sign  as shown on the figure below:  In the French 3e supplement  Codex des Ar-Kaïm , the concept of Decans is introduced as an additional way to define a character's personality. Each House has its own emotional nature, further modified by the character's Decan. All Houses have three Decans, except for Serpentarius that has none. In other words, the combination of House and Decan serves a similar role to the Nephilim's Metamorphosis. In the US version, this would be represented by BRP's Passions (or Personality Traits as they're labeled in Chronicle of the Awakenings ). I'm still trying to figure out how to integrate Passions into the Ar-Kaïm rules, as Ar-Kaïm lack metamorphoses but the concept overlaps heavily with the Essences mechanic (i.e. their magic points). Ar-Kaïm display environmental manifestations as a result of their Essence values and ...
Read more

What are the Minor Tablets?

In the third edition Gamemaster's Screen , the Quest for the Cycle of Destiny is introduced. (The fanzine  Vision-Ka  #3  specifies on p41 that this Quest is one and the same as the Arcane Quest of The Magician.) The goal of this quest is to acquire and study the Minor Tablets, crafted by Akhenaton as supplements to the 22 Major Arcana Trumps. The purpose of these Minor Tablets is to help mortals reach Agartha. There are four Minor Arcana  in total: The Wand (Fire), The Cup (Water), The Sword (Air) and The Coin (Earth). Keen-eyed readers may notice that the symbolism of the suits correspond loosely to the traditional magical tools (see Liber Ka p52). By pursuing this quest, the Nephilim is better able to understand their Simulacrum's Solar-Ka: they can boost their chances of Critical Success based on their Solar-Ka, retain player control during Shouit seizures rather than handing control to the GM, and develop Solar Resistance through initiation into a Minor Arcanum...
Read more

"Reverie" as a new degeneration for Ar-Kaïm?

In the character creation for Ar-Kaïm, during the Past step the note determines how much of their mortal life the character remembers. Apprentice means they have total amnesia, Journeyman means they remember only dreams and confuse it with reality, and Master means no memory loss. However, this section contradicts the rest of the book(s): Ar-Kaïm don't suffer any Skill loss and amnesia is never mentioned in their lore. I suspect this text was leftover from an earlier draft as an oversight. It obviously creates problems for roleplaying so I can understand why it was revised. However, the Ar-Kaïm Codex has a short story where the narrator briefly mentions she sometimes has difficulty distinguishing dreams from reality. This inspired me to imagine a new degeneration just for Ar-Kaïm, one I tentatively call "Reverie." Ar-Kaïm have a close bond to the Astral and to the dreams of humanity. The idea behind Reverie is that it represents a loss of control and identity as a result ...
Read more