My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

As mentioned in the Nephilim rulebook p55 and the Gamemaster's Companion  p11 and Major Arcana p11, the Pact with Menes resulted in the Nephilim being allowed to incarnate within royal bloodlines for before being mummified and sealed within tombs. At the funeral Solar-Ka was sacrificed to sanctify the tomb, itself an "inferior" replica of the Selenim's tombs. Within the tomb they would retain consciousness and be allowed to progress towards Agartha in silent contemplation. How was this feat accomplished? We don't receive further info in the US version, but the French version offers some insights that may be applicable despite the extensive changes to the lore in the US version. One thing to keep in mind is that the Tombs didn't exist in the French version, but are an original creation of the US version. Otherwise, the material on mummification seems equally applicable to both versions. I have referred to the third edition GM's screen booklet, the third ed...

I'm currently studying the fourth edition from 2012 and it has given me some new ideas... The following rules are for the third edition d20 system. Some text translated and adapted from articles by "Ethaniael" and "Tchakaha", which I previously quoted in another older post. I recap that all here for ease of reference. Long story short, I nixed the rule for Solar Enthronements and some new astrology jargon from 4e and retrofitted it to 3e. Weirdly, the 3e rules never explained how to determine the element of Solar Enthronements, but I suppose this might count as unofficially errata. Magical Enthronements ( src ) Enthronements are the result of the concentrations of different magical fields. They depend on the current astrological day and month. The day influences more than the month, which is why we speak of Fire Enthronement on Tuesdays for example and not during the entire month of Aries or Scorpio. We speak of a Grand Enthronement when the day and the mo...

The Nephilim have developed several “Grand Rituals” (distinct from the rituals used for casting Ritual Magic) used as aids in their learning and casting of the Occult Sciences. In this post I'll be explaining how I'm adapting those to my campaign setting, based both on the US version, a fan wiki , and the French version's Nephilim: Revelation and Nephilim: Legend . The ideas presented here are tentative. The Ritual of Stasis: Nephilim use this ritual to tap charges from their Stasis item to boost spells and other uses of Ka-energies. Ar-Kaïm who have been bonded to a Stasis item may do the same, but may only charge the five elements available to Nephilim. Selenim require Sarcophagi or other special means to charge and tap Black Moon-Ka. The Ritual of Sacrifice : Nephilim use this ritual in emergences to ensure a spell succeeds. This costs Occult Development Points (my translation of the French version's XP mechanics) and may only be used when performing a Sorcery ritu...

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...

Qiyas is a "fourth" occult science introduced in the third edition supplement Al-Mugawir . I put "fourth" in quotes because that appellation doesn't count the Selenim's occult sciences or other so-called "fourth sciences" practiced by the Exiles. So far it hasn't been officially converted to fifth edition, along with 99% of the content from past editions that aren't the rules for the three Nephilim occult sciences, so I can only refer to third edition for details. Qiyas relies on the practitioner's or Qiyasim 's Solar-Ka, so it may only be practiced by those who have awakened and integrated their Solar-Ka. This includes Ar-KaIm and initiated humans by default, but Nephilim and Selenim need to jump through further hoops before they can learn and practice it. This is done by becoming an Apprentice in any Quest that awakens one's Solar-Ka or being part of a splat that does so at character creation. Qiyas operates similarly to Sorce...

First codified in the third edition of the French version, a Quest is a type of Occult Skill that measures the PC's progress along a Quest that ultimately culminates in Agartha. There are many different Quests, such as the Quest for the Golden Fleece, the Treasure of the Templars, the Golem, etc. The lost Tablets of the Major Arcana each provided their own instructions for a different " Arcane Quest ", but there are more " Esoteric Quests " beyond those 22. Esoteric Quests may be associated with particular Occult Sciences, Artifacts, Past Lives, Secret Societies, Secret Places, Akashic Realms, and so on. The secret revealed by third edition was this: PCs don't need to achieve max level in their Dominant Ka, Metamorphosis, Third Circle or Lore Skills in order to achieve Agartha. They need only complete their chosen Quest. So even a relatively young and inexperienced Immortal may achieve Agartha if they play their cards right. (Otherwise you'd go into the ...

A syntactic magic system is one in which casters can create spells on the fly using a system of "nouns" and "verbs" (or "realms", as GURPS parlance puts it). Ars Magica is the classic example.  In the French version, both alchemy and sorcery would use some variation of the concept in different editions.  Starting in the 1e Alchimie supplement and continuing thereafter, alchemy used verbs in the forms of processes : Destruction (Powder), Transformation (Liquor), Mastery (Metal), Revelation (Vapor) and Creation (Amber). The elements provided the noun. However, the actual lists of formulae didn't respect these themes at all Sorcery, renamed Magie (Magic) in French, gained verbs starting in the third edition. Again, the elements provided the noun, with a table of analogs for each element being given at the back of the book. In third edition, the first circle had the verbs of Perceive, Modify and Sense, the second Commune, Displace, and Transform, and the...

While scouring through the old mailing list archives, I found a discussion from 2005 discussing astral travel, specifically how common it would be and what spells would accomplish it. So I thought I'd distill the relevant bits of that discussion here for expanded rules on the undercooked astral travel rules presented in Major Arcana . The first thing you'll need to establish is how common astral travel is expected to be, as that will determine the options for doing so. Is it rare, uncommon, or commonplace? The discussion established the following three options: Astral travel is rare This is the style presented in Major Arcana .  The Arcane Technique Shemmut is required to navigate the Astral.  The Initiate Spell Door to Shemmut , a Ritual Magic spell that requires knowledge of Seals, is required to enter the Astral. This approach favors the High Priestess, but as the book notes others can learn it. Astral travel is uncommon This style is still restrictive, but less so than the...

In Nephilim: Revelation , the French third edition, the Occult Sciences got some new jargon for their practitioners and spells. These were: Occult Science  Keyword Practitioner  Spells Magic Intuition  Mage Sortileges Kabbalah  Relation Kabbalist Invocations  Alchemy  Construction  Alchemist  Formulae Each Occult Science had some further jargon specific to it, the "symbolic and social", including titles for each circle, colors, and attributes. The third edition structured these after the medieval tradesmen system of Apprentice, Companion (Journeyman) and Master. E.g. an Apprentice Mage was titled a Disciple, and one with mastery in Lower Magic was ranked as a Master Disciple. Technique Title Color Attribute Lower Magic Disciple ...

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, ...

Saturnian magic is detailed on Secret Societies p67-9. It was written before the revised magic rules in Liber Ka , Slaying the Dragon (unpublished) and Enlightened Magic . Saturnian magic uses the same magic skills as elemental magic, except that at least a decade of training by the Fraternitas Saturni is required to perform it. (I'd probably represent this as Fraternitas Saturni Lore rating or something, similar to Initiate Spells in Major Arcana .) Saturnian magic is exceptionally difficult and expensive to cast. It requires the caster not only to be trained by the Fraternity Saturni for at least a decade, but to cultivate Saturnian-Ka within themselves (which consumes elixirs and causes premature aging), the sacrifice of both Elixirs and Awakened Orichalc (by pouring the former on the latter, see below), and may only be cast on Saturdays in the months of Aquarius and Capricorn (i.e. Grand Enthronements of Saturn). Only the spell  Create Orichalka Ward  may be cast outsid...

What follows are some ideas I had for flavoring artefact creation and use, inspired by 3e. These are designed for potentially mixed parties of Nephilim, Selenim, Ar-Kaïm, and/or Bohemians. Refer to Gamemaster’s Companion and Enlightened Magic for the original rules. These artefacts operate similarly to sorcerous items (see  Basic Roleplaying  p246). These rules may be instead of or in addition to those in the GMC and EM. If introducing these as a new type of magic item, then my suggested name to distinguish these is “wondrous items” (a la  Dungeons & Dragons , referring to their wondrous usefulness). Wondrous items, or wonders, are extremely useful because they allow  anyone  to cast the enchantment. Mortal or immortal, with or without the corresponding Ka. They’re useful for Selenim because these don’t cost points from their own reserves, which they only replenish by draining Solar-Ka. Creating wonders follows steps 1–2 explained in GMC p26–9. The sp...

In the French version, Stasis items worked differently. A Nephilim dissolved immediately if their Stasis item was broken. At any time the Nephilim could be bound to a new Stasis item by exposing their blood to Orichalc, with the resulting litharge used to create the new Stasis item. This severed the bond to the old Stasis item and explained how a Nephilim's Stasis item could change over time. The Third Circle invocation Shai Hulud could change a Nephilim's Stasis item. The summoner provided the Stasis item, his own or another's, and the item to become the new Stasis item. Shai Hulud then transferred the Litharge containing all the magical properties of the old Stasis item to the new one, no Orichalc required. Only one transfer was allowed per invocation. In the US version, Stasis items worked differently. A Stasis bond could be broken by physically breaking the Stasis item. A Nephilim could survive without a Stasis item, but had to serially reincarnate because it would soon...

In the US version, the Sacrifice Ritual was pretty simple. It let the caster automatically succeed on the Ka roll to cast a spell after the initial occult technique roll. To do this, the caster bled on a physical manifestation of the spell's element and spent a permanent point of Ka. This wasn't allowed for Moon spells because it was part of the ritual to become Selenim, but no rules were provided for what would happen if a PC tried anyway. Notably, the sacrifice had to be announced by the player before the technique roll. This meant that the Ka could be wasted. Since it was permanent Ka, it could only be regained through experience. The sacrifice ritual couldn't be made for Summoning or Alchemy. In the French version, things were a bit different. In 1e/2e rulebook, it was simply stated that Nephilim of the Moon couldn't attempt this because it was part of the ritual to become Selenim. It wasn't clear whether this meant all Nephilim couldn't sacrifice for Moon s...

There’s a difference in the way that Nephilim inscribes spells and Enchanted Magic enchants spells. Previously I thought of possible ways to reconcile it, but since these don’t strictly contradict except on one or two points (see below) then you can use the rules as written. Having a spell inscribed on the caster's aura or enchanted onto an object obviates the need to design the spell in advance. This substitutes for a copy in a grimoire and provides other benefits. An inscribed spell is generally much faster to cast or prepare, while a spell or procedure enchanted onto an item has its POW fixed at the moment of enchantment. Ritual Magic and High Magic spells may be inscribed on the caster’s aura. This lets the spell be cast using Casual Magic instead. High Magic cannot be inscribed unless the caster can cast it without boosted Ka and is still limited to the corresponding day of the week. Ritual Magic and High Magic spells may be enchanted onto an object as Casual Magic in a simi...

In a previous post I provided a brief overview of the types of magic items presented in  Gamemaster’s Companion  and  Enlightened Magic . What follows is a more detailed conversion, revision, and unification of these rules.  I divide magic items into several types: Least Artefacts, Minor Artefacts, Major Artefacts, Relics (Living Artefacts), and Masterpieces (Unique Artefacts). All of these objects are invested with some amount of Ka to provide their effects. The Least Artefacts include magical tools and athanors enchanted to provide a bonus to corresponding magical workings. They are wholly passive and useless to non-magicians. The Minor Artefacts include objects enchanted to contain a single sorcery spell and athanors enchanted to produce a single procedure. Sorcerous objects are only useful to those who already know Casual Magic, but enchanted athanors may be used even by non-magicians. The Major Artefacts are objects made of special materials and enchanted with m...

Something that I think would make an interesting alternative occult science would be Oneiromancy or “Dream Magic”. The only times I’ve found this mentioned was in  an article  in the Chaosium Digest mentioning that Australian Nephilim practiced Dreamtime magic,  an archived page  mentioning that Oneiromancy in general is practiced worldwide with variations for culture, and  a document  suggesting ideas for dream magic spells. The second offers names for circles and nothing else: Lucidity, Influence, Entrance and Prophecy—a hypothetical fourth circle! The fandom got pretty weird… So here’s my current ideas on collating the subject: Oneiromancy is an ancient occult science, possibly at least as old as Sorcery. For unknown reasons it remains obscure to the Western Tradition but was studied and applied by other Traditions like the Mayan and Australian Aborigine. It is something of an inverse of Summoning, in that it projects the caster’s spirit into the magic...

To keep this stuff straight, I’m putting it all in once place for reference. The Occult Sciences As explained on  Nephilim  rulebook p44, each occult science only becomes available after a certain date. Sorcery Sorcery is prehistoric and all three circles may be learned in any incarnation period. This is the only Third Circle technique that may be learned at character creation. Summoning For Summoning, the first two circles of the Kabbalist Tradition may be learned from circa 350 B.C. onward (rulebook p63, Chronicle of the Awakenings p13). The Third Circle technique, Keys, cannot be learned at character creation [this isn’t explicitly stated but is implied by the lack of eras offering it]. It is only practiced by advanced initiates among the Major Arcana (rulebook p170). With the GM’s permission, a different Tradition of Summoning may be taken instead and potentially earlier. I’ll explore Traditions of Summoning in future posts. Alchemy The First Circle technique, Black Stone...

I’m currently waffling back and forth on whether the obscure sciences (as the Selenim’s occult sciences are called) should be their own skills or not. Maybe these should be Initiate Spells using the existing Nephilim occult science skills plus Arcanum Lore (Unnamed). For comparison, Secret Societies has Saturnian spells use the existing occult sciences rather than inventing new ones. At the very least, I would allow former Nephilim who undergo initiation to  start with base chances  in the obscure sciences equal to one-fifth or one-fourth of their percentage in applicable occult sciences. Anamorphosis I'm still working on at this time. Wait for my posts on that... Conjuration aka Black Summoning is closely comparable to Summoning and thus a higher base chance based on the latter makes sense. I still need to work on revising the Summoning rules before I detail Conjuration… Necromancy is most analogous to certain applications of Sorcery and Alchemy (to reiterate, I’m ...

The Nephilim rulebook p139 and Enlightened Magic  supplement p12-3 differ a bit in how they handle awakening/enlightenment and magic resistance. The Nephilim rules distinguish magic resistance like so: Nephilim resist magic at full Ka value, awakened humans resist with halved Solar-Ka value, and most other humans cannot resist magic at all. Mithradites can resist at full Solar-Ka value (see Secret Societies p73). Nephilim and other elementals resist with the same Ka-element as that of the spell (it's not explained what happens if an elemental doesn't have that Ka-element, but presumably this means resistance is impossible). Humans resist with their Solar-Ka. The  Enlightened Magic  rules distinguish magic resistance like so: the enlightened resist magic at full POW value and the unenlightened resist at halved POW value. Seers have mystic vision and can resist magic at full POW value, but cannot cast magic themselves. There's no distinction between different ele...