What is The World Arcanum?

The World Arcanum was never detailed in the US version, but the French version has some things to say about it. This information comes from multi-book campaign Chronicles of the Apocalypse and the third edition Gamemaster's Book.

Why does this Arcanum exist anyway? Why would Agarthans need their own Tablet to reach Agartha? Well, the Adepts (Adoptés in French) of the World are basically Bodhisattvas. They reached Agartha and had the choice to transcend and cease to care for worldly affairs, but instead chose to remain on Earth. Now they’re going on an eternal pilgrimage to help others reach Agartha, keeping the dream alive in the memories of the Immortals. Once they have helped the whole world achieve Agartha, then they will reunite with it themselves.

Agarthans have access to La Résille ("the net"), which isn't a new Ka but rather an excitation of the magic fields that connects all Agarthans. This grants magical powers unique to them, such as concealment and teleportation. However, they are under a magic oath never to reveal their membership in the World nor the nature of Agartha. This is why the Immortals lack knowledge on The World aside from knowing that its members are Agarthans.

There are several ranks among The World's Adepts: the seven Crowned who serve as the leaders (their identities aren't fully known), the Lithic Sentinels that maintain the net, the Pilgrims who are initiated by a pact with the Lithic Sentinels and go on pilgrimage, the singular Rex Ka who unites all the Ka-elements within himself and has the Kwisatz Haderach metamorphosis granting prescience (yes, that's a reference to Dune), and the nine Horsemen of the Apocalypse who are not themselves Agarthans but act as agents of The World and avatars of the Crowned on Earth.

The Chronicles of the Apocalypse campaign allowed the PCs to become Horsemen of the Apocalypse. There are nine Horseman positions, one for each of the eight Ka plus the Mist. (The Mist is a synthesis of the eight Ka created by Akhenaton, possessed by the Bohemians.) Only seven are available to PCs, as those for Orichalc and the Mist are taken by NPCs. These represent the seven Ways of the World: the Pyrim of Conquest, the Hydrim of Immanent Pride, the Faerim of the Transcendent Seal, the Eolim of Eternal Wandering, the Onirim of Hedonism, the Selenim of Authentic Fidelity, and the Ar-Kaïm of the Golden Throne. While not Agarthans themselves, the Horsemen gain access to some special benefits from their position like the unique metamorphosis "Proteimorph" (avatars of the Crowned).

The rules and fluff are written in an extremely flowery style that is nigh-impossible to understand even after using Google translate, but I think the above is what it meant. I may be wrong. If I were to adapt this to the US version, then I would rewrite it to be comprehensible and probably use the legends of Shambhala/Shangri-La as a basis.

Hope you enjoyed!

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