My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In the Major Arcana Exaltations table (which I reproduced in a prior post ), only some Arcana are associated with Zodiac signs. Twelve Arcana are associated with specific signs, while the remainder are associated with the planets/days (except Saturn/Saturday) and the elements (specifically Air, Fire, and Water). But couldn’t all of the Major Arcana be associated with Zodiac signs? Hypothetically, yes. On the figure below, the remaining ten Arcana are assigned to the twelve signs based on their planet. If the Arcanum's associated planet matches the ruling planet of the sign, then it is associated with it. These planetary associations come from the Golden Dawn's publications and include the outer planets beyond Saturn. As you can see, this leaves an asymmetry because there are twelve Zodiac signs and twenty-two Major Arcana. So The Magician (Mercury) and The Empress (Venus) are duplicated: The Magician appears under both Gemini and Virgo, The Empress under Libra and Taurus. Ther...

When Chaosium adapted Nephilim from the French version to the US version, they renamed Kabbalah to Summoning and introduced the Kabbalistic Lore Skill that covers understanding Ka-energies in general. Why do this? IIRC, it was because they felt it was inappropriate to reduce an entire mystic tradition to just the flavor for a summoning system.  Practical Kabbalah  is an extremely dense mystical tradition and has nothing to do with magical evocation. Most of the summons are drawn from the Good Ministers of the Enochian Ethers recounted by the Aurum Solis, in name if not effect, which have nothing to do with Kabbalah. I agree with Chaosium’s decision here. Kabbalah makes more sense as a mystical tradition underlying all the Nephilim’s occult sciences, not just one. Since each Sefira is associated with a planet, they can be associated with specific Ka-elements. Each Olam has its own Tree of Life with all ten Sefirot too, so it can represent the Ka-elements within the Ka-eleme...

For a recap of how the astral plane worked in the French, check this post . Anyway, an old French article suggested some ideas I found very interesting. All of the elements besides Moon-Ka have obvious material manifestations: mountains and soil for Earth-Ka, skies and winds for Air-Ka, forest fires and lava flows and lightning storms for Fire-Ka, bodies of water and waterways for Water-Ka... but what of Moon-Ka? That article suggested that the material manifestation is dreams . Solar-Ka is provided by dreamers, the energy of their aspirations and desires, is reflected by the Moon and materializes into Akasha. The astral plane itself fall under the analogy of the Moon. But a lunar materiality is thus false, changing, inconstant: an immaterial materiality. Conversely, the fears and worst desires of humanity are refracted by the residual Black Moon Field and materialize into nightmares . I'll get into more detail as I start adapting more of the third edition rules to the US ver...

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...

The Zodiac is a basic part of Nephilim's astrology rules. The image below illustrates the order of the signs and their associations with the planets. It uses the planet symbols from medieval alchemy. Starting in third edition and retained in all subsequent editions so far, Capricorn changed to a Moon sign. Presumably this was done for game balance reasons, as otherwise Moon spells had only one month for themselves while the other four elements had two each. This breaks compatibility with prior editions (such as the Saturnian magic in Secret Societies needing to be cast under Grand Enthronements of Saturn), but I have a house rule for that . In the US version, the association between planets and elements was altered compared to the French. I briefly compare this on the table below: Planet Signs (Element*) Day Ka (FR) Ka (US) Mercury Gemini (Air), Virgo (Earth) Wednesday Water Air ...

While transcribing and translating the alchemy rules from Nephilim: Revelation 's The Players' Book , which condenses a decade of mechanics and fluff innovations, I came across a description of the Athanor as sharing a bond with its creator. By building the lab and investing it with Ka from his Stasis item, the alchemist creates an alchemical being composed of his Pentacle, his Stasis item, and his lab. To destroy any part of the lab is to amputate this being. When a tool is destroyed, all substances produced by it instantly lose effectiveness and the alchemist is shocked into a depression for days. Certain laboratories are even said to develop sentience, seek to possess their creator, and defend themselves with alchemy! In other words, alchemical relics (see  Gamemaster's Companion  p33 for details). The meditations Miracle of Creation (see the unpublished alchemy rules) and Ultimate Purification of Gold (see Enlightened Magic p95-6) may be used to imbue objects with so...

In a prior post I listed the Good Ministers of the Aethyrs from Enochian magic. I'm still researching occultism for game design so I'm no expert, but on another blog I found a correspondence given between the orders of the Good Ministers and the Tree of Life from Kabbalah. You can see the full accounting at that blog, but I summarize these on the table below: Sefira In Atziluth In Beriah In Yetzirah In Assiah Kether Ordo 1 Ordo 11 Ordo 21 Great Kings Chokmah Ordo 2 Ordo 12 Ordo 22 Seniors Binah Ordo 3 Ordo 13 Ordo 2...

In the French version, subsequent editions after the first introduced the idea of sub-skills and sub-paths within the occult sciences. You had paths associated with the various Dominant Ka, and you had various skills which determined the exact applications, and the paths and skills within an occult science may or may not have been associated with each other. It was all very complicated and varied across editions. Sorcery For Sorcery ("Magic" in French), the paths were: The Central path of the stray Principle (Pyrim) The primal path of the Rising Spiral (Hydrim) The Natural Path of the Winding Trail (Faerim) The Torturous path of the Schematic Labyrinth (Eolim) The path of the Maze of the soul (Onirim) The skills were: Perceive (mundane phenomena), Feel (magical phenomena), Modify at First Circle; Commune, Transform, Move at Second; Create and Destroy at Third. Summoning For Summoning ("Kabbalah" in French), the paths were: Aresh, world of conflict (Pyrim) Meborack, ...

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,...

In this post I explain the spiritual meaning of the Nephilim’s pentacle and the Ka-elements themselves. Although linked to specific game statistics, like Fire to Strength and Moon to Charisma, all of the elements have physical, mental and spiritual correspondences and manifestations.  It’s not one or the other . You don’t have to posit different cultures all have different elements to explain varying beliefs. Real occultism isn’t supposed to be accurate in the game world anyway, but the result of information leaks and cargo cults by muggles. Liam Routt gave a good explanation in  his old FAQ : (I’m putting it between horizontal rules because blogger has issues with formatting) The Spiritual Pentagram Traditionally, the pentagram represents our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical composition: Fire Doing—Fire is energy, the power to act. But it is pure action, undirected by thought or feeling. Air Thinking—Air is thinking, ideation, mental activity, but it can...

During one of my many forays into house rules, I came up with the idea of giving each Ka-element its own pool of Ch’awe and having characters charge it based on other criteria instead of the standard 1/hour recovery rate. This was inspired by the French 3e, in which Ar-Kaïms worked this way. Ar-Kaïms had multiple ways of charging the pools: spontaneous charge, analogical charge, and magical charge. I’ll recap these below and adapt them in terms of BRP rules. You can use them for Ar-Kaïms only or all characters if desired! Spontaneous (Astrological) Charge: At the start of every astrological day (i.e. sunrise) the character recharges a number of points equal to half (rounded up) the daily astrological bonus (if any) to their Dominant Ka. In the month of the character’s Zodiac Sign, then the character recharges points equal to the daily astrological bonus to his Dominant Ka instead. These points are distributed as the player sees fit. Analogical (Sympathetic) Charge: Once per Ka-eleme...

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 explained in Gamemaster's Companion p29 and Major Arcana p27, each of the planets (and thus its corresponding element) is associated with a particular metal . The exact correspondences differ between books, so I'm listing the correct ones here. I included the French association for comparison. (I prefer the latter, personally.) Planet Metal Element (US) Element (Fr) Sun Gold Solar Solar Moon Silver Lunar Lunar Mercury Quicksilver/ Mercury Air Water Venus Copper Water Earth Mars Iron Fire Fire Jupiter Tin Earth Air Saturn Lead Orichalka Orichalc This is important when looking for materials to create artefacts. I will be presenting detailed analysis and revisions for the artefact rules in later posts.

As explained in Nephilim rulebook p24-6,  Gamemaster's Companion  p29, Liber Ka p39 and  Major Arcana  p27, each of the Ka-elements has particular affinities. These are a bit more detailed in the French, so I thought I'd reproduce the " Table Analogique " from the appendix of the French 3e and translate it to English for your benefit using Google Translate. There are some oddities in the translation, but the algorithm is pretty good now so I think it's pretty much understandable. TABLE OF ANALOGIES — MOON EARTH WATER AIR FIRE Concept Chaos, sublimation, ambiguity, subjectivity, subversion Plenitude, primordial, form, ordering, renewal Harmony, change, oblivion, memory, balance Freedom, movement, transgression, knowledge, abstraction Conflict, decision, justice, progression, effort Phenomenon Madness, dream, unconscious, illusion, eclipse Life, spring, cave, earthquake, fertility Rain, ocean, tidal wave, A...

The rules for astrological modifiers differ dramatically between the  Nephilim rulebook and Enlightened Magic , as part of newer BRP editions simplifying and streamlining rules. I'll leave it up to groups to decide which astrological system to use. In the Nephilim rulebook (p130-2), astrological modifiers were randomly determined by consulting complex tables and rolling dice. Indeed, a paper spin wheel was included in the Gamemaster's Veil to make it easier to calculate. Characters could predict these modifiers with astrology rolls. This lent a big element of unpredictability when determining enthronements . In Enlighted Magic , the modifiers are flat and predictable. The day of the week applies a ±10 modifier, the season ±5. This thankfully removes the tedious book keeping, but it makes astrology preparations less important since everything is so predictable. I don't want to constantly roll to determine daily modifiers, but I do think you could add back randomly determin...

Since I’ve slowed down prior to posting my thoughts on handling skills and past lives, here’s a detour. The astrological modifiers were one of the more maligned rules in the Nephilim rules. Enlightened Magic retained a simplified version of them and made them optional, which is what I will use. Each day of the week is associated with a particular planet and element. Sunday with the Sun and Solar-Ka, Monday with the Moon and Lunar-Ka, Tuesday with Mars and Fire-Ka, Wednesday with Mercury and Water-Ka, Thursday with Jupiter and Air-Ka, Friday with Venus and Earth-Ka, and Saturday with Saturn and Orichalka. ( Enlightened Magic lists a slightly different arrangement, but I prefer this one because it is more poetic and consistent with the French version.) Each day grants a bonus to magical workings of the associated element and a penalty to its opposed elements. Air is opposed to Earth and Lunar, Earth is opposed to Air and Water, Fire is opposed to Lunar and Water, Lunar is opposed to Ai...