Black Summoning explained, part 1.5

This post is an addendum to part 1 of this series, listing a few summons I forgot to mention from 3e as well as a few new summons introduced in 5e. (Links to Part 2 and Part 3 here.)

Black Kabbalah or Conjuration?

In first and second edition this occult science was called Black Kabbalah, while in third edition it was renamed Conjuration. The rules and fluff for Conjuration across the editions have flip-flopped over whether this occult sciences conjures Black Moon creatures from scratch or summons existing entities from another world. First and second edition were indecisive, while third edition stated specifically in the rulebook that entities were created by the conjurer. Nonetheless, there are confirmed examples of both cases in the published books across editions, including the summoning of Imagoes and Agarthan Selenim.

Although only the Anti-Lands and Cursed Realms have been confirmed as Black Moon planes, the lore contains speculations on the forbidden Sefira Da'ath and a new Kabbalah World (potentially Black Moon) appearing in 2012. More information and speculation may be found on this fansite page.

Bonus summons

I forgot to mention these summons from 3e. 

These three were introduced in the GM's Book in the chapter on Quests, in a sidebar under the Quest for Bronzen Sublimation. These summons are used to observe, communicate through and manipulate dreams. The latter two seem to contradict their associated Call Skill, but the books explains this is because the Conjurers who formalized the Calls had tunnel vision and weren't aware of other applications.

  • Ceux qui soulèvent le voile de Morphée. "Those who lift the veil of Morpheus". Call: Savant. This entity is used to scry on the target's dreams.
  • Le verbe d'Hypnos. "The word of Hypnos". Call: Fool. This entity is used to communicate to a subject in their dreams, during astral projection, or physical entrance into the astral.
  • Les Chimères ombrageuses, Celles qui tissent les songes. "The umbrageous chimeras, those who weave dreams". Call: Annihilator. This entity is used to shape a target's dreams over extended periods in order to manipulate them. These entities are actually projections of the Fates and will work against the commands of a conjurer whose goals don't align with theirs. Companions in the Quest for Bronzen Sublimation inscribe for free the umbrageous Chimeras.

This summon was introduced in the supplement Arcanes mineurs.

  • Apep, le grand serpent des ténèbres. "Apep, the grand serpent of darkness." Call: Annihilator. A huge snake that emerges from the depths of the Seine river in France on the orders of the Selenim "Typhon", who leads the secret Church of Apep. Once released in the underground of Paris, it attacks and swallows humans it encounters. A few hours later, it spits out the victim who emerges transformed into a Restless. This zombie will blindly follow the orders of Typhon. Apep is nourished by rituals performed at the Church of Apep, halting its Entropy.

Le Livre de la Conjuration

The notable fan group Heritors of Babel published a feature in Palimpseste 7 which focused entirely on Conjuration: "Le Livre de la Conjuration" (The Book of the Conjuration). It introduced congregations, musical paths, and several new calls with numerous new entities.

In The Players' Book, each Circle used a different instrument: the flute, the lyre, and the pipe organ respectively. This issue introduced alternative choices, sorted into Congregations. Congregations were social groups that used different instruments and Calls.

  • The Baroque Congregation used instruments from the baroque period (1600 to 1750) and earlier, like the chalumeau, viol, and clavichord.
  • The Romantic Congregation used instruments from the romantic period (1800 to 1850), like the clarinet, cello, and grand piano.
  • The Contemporary Congregation used instruments from the 20th century and "other horizons", like the saxophone, electric guitar, and at least four octave synthesizer.

The issue divides the practice of Conjuration into three musical paths. That in The Player's Book is retroactively named via media (Latin for "middle way"), while the issue introduces the Path of Seduction and the Path of Intransigence. Conjurers may specialize in one of the two latter paths starting at the second circle, in addition to the via media. These are not associated with particular congregations.

  • The Path of Seduction requires doubled performances to summon the entities, but the entities will never do their conjurer harm and Fumbles are impossible.
  • The Path of Intransigence reduces performances to one or two rounds, but Fumbles become more likely.

The six Call Skills in The Players' Book are retroactively named the "Classic Calls". Six new Call Skills are introduced, three for each of the first two Circles. These are associated with particular Congregations: the Baroque Calls are Familiar and Guide, the Romantic Calls are Voyager and Malfeasant, and the Contemporary Calls are Druggist and Chasseur. Although any instrument may perform any Call, learning these Calls requires joining that Congregation and play their preferred instruments.

  • First Circle Calls
    • Familiar: These entities resemble small animals with odd features. They serve as familiars. The Conjurer can feed them from his own Black Moon Pool and communicate with them at range if he knows their approximate location.
    • Voyager: These entities are used for transportation of the conjurer and other passengers.
    • Druggist: These entities replicate the effects of psychotropic drugs on their targets.
  • Second Circle Calls
    • Guide: These entities help the conjurer navigate the occult world and find things of interest.
    • Malfeasant: These entities hinder their targets by magically inconveniencing them.
    • Chasseur: These entities help the conjurer hunt targets or serve as attendants.

I won't recap those entities here because there were a bunch!

Summons introduced in fifth edition

The fifth edition introduced a few new black summons as of this writing. As a reminder, 5e completely ditched all summons introduced since the 1e Selenim book from 1994 and ditched the structure of Circles and Calls, so these summons aren't part of any Circle or Call and may be redundant to the summons introduced in The Black Book and the 3e Players' Book. 

Les Stryges d’obsidiennes, jalouses gardiennes des Royaumes ténébreux. "The Obsidian Stryges, jealous guardians of the Dark Realms", Les Poursuivants de l'Atalante Fugitive p195. An invisible attack bird that is violently jealous of any other entities its summoner summons. 

Les Vouivres noires, chevaux du char volant de la reine sombre. "The Black Wyverns, horses of the dark queen's flying chariot". La Toison d’or p126. A pair of entities named Phobos and Eleos. Each entity exudes an aura that inflicts a penalty to certain actions if the target fails a Ka test. Phobos exudes an aura of terror that penalizes defensive actions. Eleos exudes an aura of pity that penalizes offensive actions.

Scylla. La Toison d’or p139. A terrifying monster conjured by Medea, resembling a horrific chimera of giant snake, marine life, and a woman's face. It guards the underwater caves under the Castello Ruffo. These caves insulate it against Entropy.

La Comtesse charbonnée. "The Charcoal Countess". L’Assemblée du Seuil p110. This entity appears as a charred woman concealed behind a veil. She exudes an aura of seduction and wild desire, which Selenim use to Assuage more easily by inducing lustful desires in strangers. She can mark a victim with her veil before vanishing. The marked makes a Ka test whenever he makes a skill check, or else indulges his lustful desires for an hour. This even affects Nephilim, causing them to enter Shouit for the duration.

La sangsue nécrophage des abysses. "The necrophagous leech of the abyss". Constellation p107. A milky white spongy creature, elongated and elastic body, huge mouth and sucker. It sucks up BMK, including entities and Selenim. The conjurer can absorb the collected BMK for itself, or transfer it to an object. The leech only carries a limited amount before it must be summoned again.

Hope you enjoyed!

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