My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In the past, I have noted that the Basic Roleplaying rules were not a good fit for the Nephilim game and setting. The French version abandoned it after the second edition in the 1990s and every edition released since has used its own bespoke system. The third edition used a roll under d20 task resolution with attributes measured by 5 adverbs and skills by ~3 guild ranks, the fourth edition used a convoluted Pythagorean percentile task resolution that measured attributes from 1 to 25 with skills as one-note or guild ranks, and the fifth edition used a percentile task resolution that measured attributes and skills from 1 to 10. It is all pretty complicated and difficult to convert between. While researching, I discovered that a fan in the French fandom created his own system that cherrypicked aspects of the various editions. This marries the various measurement systems on the following table: Main Generic Table Numerical value ...

In the third edition rules, Characteristics and Difficulties (replacing the Potentials of prior editions) are rated on a five level scale noted in adverbs: Pas (1), Peu (2), Assez (3),  « … » (4), and Très (5), translating to English as Not (1), Low (2), Enough (3), "…" (4), and Very (5). In real world terms, these respectively represent disability, below average, average, above average, and the peak of human potential. Characteristics and Difficulties are then noted with adjectives: e.g. Dominant Ka is measured using the adjective Initiated. The scaling applies to both Physical Characteristics (Agile, Charming, Endurant, Intelligent, and Strong) and Social Characteristics (Wealth, Education, Relationships).  For Ka the range above applies as written to Immortals. PCs start as Low Initiated, Enough Initiated, or Initiated depending on how their Initiation step is noted at character creation (Apprentice, Companion or Master, respectively). A Very Initiated Immortal is near-Ag...

In the third edition rules, Characteristics and Difficulties (replacing the Potentials of prior editions) are rated on a five level scale noted in adverbs:  Pas  (1),  Peu  (2),  Assez  (3),  « … »  (4), and  Très  (5), translating to English as Not (1), Low (2), Enough (3), "…" (4), and Very (5). In real world terms, these respectively represent disability, below average, average, above average, and the peak of human potential. Characteristics and Difficulties are then noted with adjectives: e.g. Dominant Ka is measured using the adjective Initiated. The scaling applies to both Physical Characteristics (Agile, Charming, Endurant, Intelligent, and Strong) and Social Characteristics (Wealth, Education, Relationships).  Since the book was written for a French audience, the Education Characteristic (measured with the adjective Learnèd, corresponding to  academic degrees ) uses the French education system as its basis. This gives ...

In the third edition, the Simulacrum’s social attributes were changed to use the new Characteristics mechanics. These were Education ([adverb] Learnèd), Relationships ([adverb] Sociable), and Riches ([adverb] Wealthy). In this post, I want to go over my ideas for handling wealth and purchases. As with other Characteristics, Wealthy is measured from Not (1) to Very (5). Rather than counting the currency, the measurement is an abstract composite of income, credit rating and savings. Not Wealthy means the character is broke and homeless, while Very Wealthy means the character is listed on Forbes’ Billionaires List. Likewise, purchases are abstract. To make a purchase, the character makes a Wealthy check at Difficulty equal to the item’s Expensive attribute. This ranges from Not Expensive to Very Expensive. If the check fails, then the character cannot buy the item at that time. A Fumble reduces Wealthy by one level, which must be regained in play. Riches are useful for funding the party’s...

In this post, I’m gonna explain "Approaches" and provide some lists of correspondences. When an Immortal performs an action that resonates with a Ka-element, then he may apply a bonus to that action; these were known as Meta-Characteristics in editions prior to 4e. Each Ka-element is associated with a Characteristic (1-3e), a list of Skills (4e), and an Approach (5e), as I'll explain below. Meta-Characteristics Characteristic associations were introduced in 1e and modified in 3e. For Nephilim and Ar-Kaïm, the associations work like so: Ka Characteristic Air Intelligent Earth Endurant Fire Strong Moon Magnetic Water Agile In 1e/2e these bonuses were constant, whereas in 3e they must be deliberately activated. A Characteristic under the influence of the Pentacle is a "Meta-Characteristic." Fumbling a Meta-Characte...

I'm still translating the 3rd edition, and my knowledge of the 4th and 5th editions is fragmentary, but I think I know enough of the rudiments to start thinking about my own rules revisions. The BRP rules aren't a good fit for Nephilim . So I've decided to devise a new system based on the French version, third edition and beyond. Currently my ideas are like so: The Nephilim's Ka, Personality Traits and Degenerations are treated as Characteristics and measured from 1-5 levels. Instead of numbers, Characteristics are described using adjectives and adverbs. E.g. Not Strong, Little Strong, Enough Strong, Strong, Very Strong. Each Characteristic has attached a pool of 0-10 "bullets" used to track progression: when the character accumulates 10 "bullets", then the "bullets" are erased and the Characteristic increases by 1 level, and vice versa.  Instead of persistent Meta-Characteristics, each Ka has an associated “Approach” that must be deliberat...

Something criticized  on the old mailing list  was that the one-to-one correspondence between Ka-elements and mundane Characteristics was too much like GURPS, when the lore itself specifies that all the elements have physical, mental and spiritual manifestations. In the French 5e, this was written into the rules for task resolution. There are no longer Characteristic rolls: instead, "Experiences" (a consolidation of Skills and Past Lives) are always rolled for all tasks. However, Nephilim may use an "Approach" to apply a bonus to an action based on a relevant Ka-element. These don't map to specific uses like Fire for strength or Water for dexterity. Instead, each Ka-element represents an approach to how the task is resolved (hence the name). Each element represents a different approach. Fire is for blatancy, brute force, recklessness, etc. Air is for analysis, planning, prudence, using knowledge, etc. Water is for adaptation, flexibility, circumventing problems,...

I'm currently translating the French third edition rulebooks from 2001 in order to get a good look at the rules and setting. That edition replaces BRP with a new system. I'll try to describe that below. Task resolution The 3e rules use much smaller numbers than BRP. Characteristics and Potentials have been consolidated into Characteristics and Difficulties. Characteristics and Difficulties are rated from 1-5, while Skills are rated from -2 to +1. However, the rules describe these with adjectives, adverbs, and shifts rather than numbers, like so: For Characteristics and Difficulties: Not (1), Little (2), Enough (3),  “…”  (4), and Very (5). For Skills: Profane (↓↓), Apprentice (↓), Companion (no modifier), Master (↑). Every task is resolved using the Resistance Table, or as it's called in this edition the "Universal Resolution Table", by comparing the Characteristic against a Difficulty level shifted up/down by the relevant Skill. Instead of a d100, a d20 is rolled...

In the French rules, Selenim didn’t have meta-characteristics. In Ian’s notes they would’ve retained Meta-CHA but that was it. In the third edition of the French, the Selenim gained the ability to curse mortals by giving them the  evil eye . This rule was next to the rule for Meta-Characteristics, so it was their equivalent. This inflicted a penalty equal to the Selenim’s Initiated level (-1 to -5), with the duration determined by the amount of points spend from the Pool (one turn for 1 point to one month for 5 points). The amount of points the Selenim could spend was capped by her Initiated level. (For comparison, each level of Initiated corresponded to 20 points of Ka in the BRP rules.) A mortal under this effect is called "cursed." This is  not  contamination. I think it’s an interesting idea, so I’d like to incorporate it into my own campaigns. I’d classify this under Raw Magic, too. In terms of rules, I suggest that this  Evil Eye works like any of the Casual M...

A rule introduced in 3e was that Nephilim no longer had persistent Meta-Characteristics. Most of the time they used the Simulacrum’s Characteristics, but could apply their Ka as a bonus to rolls of the linked Characteristic. This risked inflicting Khaiba or Narcosis points. Some fans were disappointed by this and introduced various house rules: e.g. " Release the Meta-Characteristics " and " The Meta-Characteristics, new rules ". Those house rules presented three approaches: Tying each metamorphosis aspect to a Ka-element and its Characteristic, so that the Meta-Characteristic bonus was based on how developed the aspect was. This was based on a similar rule in  The Immortal Gazette  #1  p4, which offered an optional rule for metamorphosis applying a modifier to occult sciences. The Nephilim may substitute mundane test against a secret society initiate with a Ka vs Ka contest instead. E.g. a Phoenix gets into a fist fight with a Templar, but contests his Fire-Ka agai...

I've mentioned it before in an astrology post or two, but the Elemental Correspondences changed in the US adaptation for reasons unknown to me. So here I'm presenting a full comparison adapting the table from the character dossiers: ELEMENTAL CORRESPONDENCES (FR) Element Neutral Opposed Characteristic Day Planet Lunar-Ka Water & Earth Fire & Air Charisma Monday Moon Fire-Ka Air & Earth Water & Moon Strength Tuesday Mars Water-Ka Moon & Air Earth & Fire Dexterity Wednesday Mercury Air-Ka Fire & Water Earth & Moon Intelligence Thursday Jupiter Earth-Ka Moon & Fire Air & Water Constitution Friday Venus Orichalc None All* —none— Saturday Saturn Solar-Ka All None* —none— Sunday Sun *Solar-Ka is compatible with all elements and is opposed to none. ELEMENTAL CORRESPONDENCES (US) Element Neutral Opposed Characteristic Day Planet Lunar-Ka Water & Earth Fire ...

 As I stated earlier, my idea is to simplify the complex characteristics and ka-elements by condensing them in a manner similar to the French version 5th edition. There are eight total Attributes/Ka-Elements/Humors: Air-Ka/Phlegmatic, Earth-Ka/Melancholic, Fire-Ka/Choleric, Lunar-Ka/Lunatic, Water-Ka/Sanguine, Solar-Ka, Black Lunar-Ka, and Saturnian-Ka. These represent their physical, mental, social, and spiritual capabilities. Each Attribute may be used in any of these capabilities depending on the situation. Ka-Elements are used to perform magic, but humors alone cannot. Nephilim characters have six Attributes/Ka-Elements: Air-Ka, Earth-Ka, Fire-Ka, Lunar-Ka, Solar-Ka, and Water-Ka.  Mortal characters lack Ka-Elements other than Solar-Ka. Instead, their attributes are represented using the humors.  Selenim/Unnamed Arcanum characters have the same Attributes as mortals, with the exception that they have Black Lunar-Ka instead of the Lunatic humor.  There are other c...

One of the problems with the Nephilim game was that its rules, a variant of the venerable  BRP , were overly complicated and probably not all that well suited to it. The French version eventually dropped BRP entirely starting in its third edition, and the current fifth edition uses a dramatically simplified rules system. This has inspired me to devise my own simplified rules system for the English adaptation. I'm not going to convert to Fate like certain others have tried . The task resolution system will still be BRP's roll under d100 with difficulty levels and variable results. But all the character traits will change. The standard attributes/characteristics are Air-Ka, Earth-Ka, Fire-Ka, Lunar-Ka, Solar-Ka, and Water-Ka. These represent the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the character. For nephilim characters, these also represent supernatural aspects. Rather than distinct skills, characters are described in freeform terms and given general competence ratings....