My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

 A Sphinx metamorphosis was never officially published in the US version, but it did appear in the French version and in fanbooks. What follows is the information I uncovered In the French version In the French version, the Sphinx is officially a Faerim (Earth) metamorphosis. It was first published in the fanzine  Hermes Trimegiste 02 (1993), subsequently reprinted in Nephilim: Seconde édition (1996), and adapted to fourth edition in L'Assemblée du Seuil (2021) on p53.  Prior to the official publication, the fanbook Liber Metamorphosis  (2019) by Lehoux Florian included an unofficial conversion to fourth edition. Additionally, an Onirim (Moon) version of the Sphinx was included in the fanbook Métamorphoses Nephilim (2003) by Philippe Bergevin. (The latter was originally published by French fansite “ La Spirale des Éléments ”.) Quotes I have left the quotes untranslated from the original French. You should be able to use your browser to automaticall...

Under 5e, all Metamorphoses have  10 Transformations . Instead of being rated individually, the Nephilim gains a permanent Transformation as their occult development progresses. However, only a limited number of Metamorphs from prior editions were officially converted. In a fanbook for the French 5e titled Liber Metamorphosis , many of these were unofficially converted including the Ophidians.  In  a prior post  I shared my conversions of the Ophidians from earlier editions of the French version, long before reading Liber Metamorphosis . As an addendum to my last post  on Ophidians, I'd like to recap the transformations from Liber Metamorphosis and adapt that to the US version's Emotional Metamorphosis rules. Note: I've renamed the Chimera and Naga to the Sandman and Fractal Elf. I felt their original French names were inappropriate as it lacked any link between their metamorphosis and inspirational folklore. As always, your mileage may vary. "Moon God" ...

In a prior post I discussed how the French version liked to classify Metamorphoses by qualities like hot, cold, wet and dry. In any case, the metamorphoses aren't limited to any particular genders. Although some metamorphoses are inspired by mythological beings with particular genders, there's no rule that the Simulacrum must match that gender. So you can have a Satyress (Satyr), Tritoness (Triton), Undino (Undine), Dada Yaga (Baba Yaga), Fear Sidhe (Bean Sidhe), and so on, regardless of the gendered flavor text. Recently I discovered an old French netbook of metamorphoses , and what struck me upon reading was that it associated metamorphoses with specific genders (of the Simulacrum), neutral Ka-elements, and opposed Ka-elements. I recount these on the table below: Dominant Ka Metamorphosis Simulacrum's Sex Major Neutral Major Opposed Pyrim Djinn Man or Woman Earth Water Pyrim Phoenix ...

In this post I’m gonna present my ideas for adapting the Emotional Metamorphoses mechanics from Chronicle of the Awakenings  (p56-8) to the d20 system in Nephilim: Revelation , with some ideas taken from Ex Oculis . In the NR core rules In NR, Metamorphosis Transformations are noted with adverbs from Not (1) to Very (5) like other Characteristics. The associated adjective is Hidden: Not Hidden to Very Hidden. Mortals who encounter the Nephilim test their Solar-Ka against Hidden on the Universal Resolution Table (hereafter URT) to glimpse the Metamorphosis.  These Characteristics have associated “bullets”, a line of 10 per level.  When the Characteristic overflows with "bullets," then any these are erased and Hidden increases by a level. When the line is empty and loses "bullets", then the Hidden decreases by a level. The characters  gains  bullets for acting  against  his elemental nature, thus becoming more Hidden, and  loses  bullets for ac...

Over in the US version's fandom back in the day, a big deal was made over the Nephilim being body snatchers and how this made them unsympathetic. Furthermore, the role of the Simulacrum and the Nephilim's relationship to his Solar-Ka remained woefully undeveloped beyond "his family becomes concerned and stages an intervention that you have to escape." I agree to a large extent, which is why in my campaigns the Nephilim are hybrid entities akin to Star Trek 's trill, the Avatar from Avatar: The Last Airbender , Leto II from God Emperor of Dune , etc.  But one old recurring proposal I disagree with is the idea that Nephilim need to balance the mundane and magical sides of their life, or else suffer increased Shouit and other risks. The simple fact of the matter is that 1) their advancing metamorphoses make it increasingly difficult to blend in unless they're Hanged Men, and 2) dealing with mundane minutiae is boring when Chaosium tried to advertise play as a mix...

In this post I present my suggestions for new metamorphoses. These are loosely inspired by some discussions I saw on the US mailing list and the unfinished Ex Oculis fanbook. Overview The Valkyrie and Fury are a pair of Eolim metamorphosis archetypes, representing the corruption of the Black Moon even within the seemingly distant magic field of Air. The Valkyrie is a spiritual, focused, or yang archetype, whereas the Fury is a material, unfocused, or yin archetype. (Assuming such distinctions are relevant in your campaigns.) Of all the Air metamorphoses, they are the most physically inclined. I find a good/evil dichotomy too simplistic and boring, so I wrote both archetypes with good sides and bad sides. Both Valkyries and Furies commonly find themselves drawn to Strength, Justice, Judgment, The Tower and The Devil. Ironically, Valkyries prefer joining The Devil and Judgement whereas Furies prefer joining Justice and The Tower. Both are equally likely to join Strength: Valkyries enj...

In the fanzine  Palimpseste issue #1 and issue #2 , Houses based on the Chinese zodiac are introduced. These work different from the Western houses: they lack a fixed dominant Ka. The sign is determined by the year in which the Revealed is "born", while his dominant Ka is determined by the temporal circumstances of his birth. A Nexus that formed in a forest would birth a Heart with dominant Earth-Ka. In the French version's cosmology, the Chinese Nephilim used magic to purify the Ka of China's magical landscape. Air-Ka and Moon-Ka became Wood-Qi and Metal-Qi. This renders them immune to Black Moon contamination, so there were no Chinese Selenim (although there were "Khan" in Siberia who wanted to invade). So only those Ar-Kaïm born in China would display Chinese zodiac Houses. (In the US version, Chinese Nephilim are called Xian-ren but nothing more was written about them. Ian’s Selenim notes specify they coexisted with the Chinese Selenim or Xixiegui.) I...

In this post I would like to share my ideas for a Salamander metamorphosis. The Salamander appeared in a few editions of the French version and was mentioned in the Ex Oculis fanbook draft. The Ex Oculis drafts give two different sets of Personality Traits for the Salamander in different docs, so I've decided to split the Salamander into two metamorphoses. Each encompasses different aspects of the diverse folklore surrounding this scaly fire elemental.  The transformations are taken from the French version, specifically the list of ten transformations in 5e. These were: "Smell of hearth or smoke, Breathy voice, Black eyes, Aura of heat, Acrid sweat, Four-fingered hands, Asexual body, Poisonous blood, Body stains, Aura of flame." The Firedrake (material fire) "Salamander" © 2019 Gofelem The first is the material  Firedrake , a stereotypical dragon of Teutonic myth that greedily collects and guards its hoard with fiery breath and poisonous blood. It appears in ...

In the French version, all the Onirim metamorphs were variations of the Snake ("Serpent" in French) collectively named “ Ophidians .” These were the Chimera, Lamia, Medusa, and Naga. In 4th and 5th edition, a generic Onirim and Ophidian metamorphosis was introduced. What follows is some my ideas for adapting them to the US version and Chronicle of the Awakenings . In the French Here's an overview of the French version, excerpted and translated from the books: All other Metamorphoses are variations of the Snake , accentuating this or that aspect of the lunatic humor. Beyond the mood itself, the Ophidians all have one or more reptilian aspects in common, a mark of the influence of the Black Moon.  The Chimera is the embodiment of the dream and its infinite variations. For the Chimera, dream and nightmare are the two facets of a marvelous deleterious seduction, and all means are good to yield to it and make others discover it. Transformations : White hair and black eyes, B...