My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In this post, following parts one , point five , and two , I will compare the US version and offer my own ideas. The planned US version The planned Selenim supplement for the US version was cancelled before it could even be drafted, but some notes survived . These were based on the first edition French rules, so they lacked any innovations from later supplements or editions. Altho the notes are no substitute for complete rules, they do provide an overview of what the changes would've been. Personality Traits The US version had introduced Personality Traits in Chronicle of the Awakenings , and the Selenim rules would've integrated this into their Imago rules. Selenim had five Emotional Traits not unlike Nephilim, but these represented the emotions they preferred to Assuage. The Imago would have five Aspects, each linked to an Emotional Trait, and the Aspect itself represented and evoked that emotion. Although no rules were provided, presumably the Emotional Trait would've pl...

In part 1 of this series I recapped 3e necromancy. In part 2 I recapped and compared 1e/2e necromancy.  In this post I will mention an addendum to the past two posts, recap Ian’s surviving notes for canceled US version (brief as they are), then offer my commentary and ideas for adapting Necromancy to the US version with the knowledge of the French 3rd edition. Gaps in the French The third edition was a really good revision of Necromancy in my opinion, but I did notice what I believe to be gaps. The Necromancy Quest:  The  Gamemaster’s Screen  says that every occult science has an associated quest, which is mastered when the Immortal masters the associated occult science. The Necromancer is rumored to get nine lives (like a cat!) by mastering this Quest, but no other details are given since that was being saved for later supplements. Since MultiSim went under before the supplement(s) for occult sciences could be published then we’ll never know what that entailed. No...

The rules and lore for Nephilim have always been in flux. Even during first and second edition, the writers changed their minds between books, retconned details, or cleaned and clarified previously vague information. Later books in each edition would commonly provide new rules and lore that superseded prior books. Nephilim: Revelation collected and condensed a truly huge amount of rules, lore, and revisions thereof. Even then it had to cut huge swathes to fit into the books. I don’t envy the writers. Going through all those books to make sure you had the most current revisions to rules and lore sounds like a huge pain. I’m glad NR did the bulk of the work for me! In parts one and one-and-a-half of this series I recapped the rules for Anamorphosis. In this post, I explain key differences between NR and prior editions as well as listing deprecated spells. I also note some comparisons to 5e, as that directly continues from 1e/2e while ignoring 3e.  A key difference between 3e and o...

Once the Anamorph has mastered the Morphs and completed her Imago, then she may advance to the Third Circle: constructing a Black Moon Realm.  Third Circle: The Realm At the Third Circle, the Anamorph is now able to construct a Cursed Realm within the Pavane, similar to how a Sorcerer of the Third Circle may construct an Elemental Realm within the Astral. The Realm is anchored both to a physical place on Earth and to the adjacent Pavane. As it absorbs more SK for the Anamorph to paint or sculpt with, the nascent Realm grows larger and detailed. It reflects both the geography of its earthly territory and the aesthetic desires of its Anamorph. It also acts as a bridge between the earthly plane and the Anti-Lands, allowing egress between them. With the Imago serving as her major-domo, the Anamorph may rule as her new Realm's Sovereign. The Realm is complex and has several parameters for the Anamorph to worry about. It has 4 Characteristics (adjective) of its own: Density (Dense), Atte...

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 n...

In this post I will go over the surviving notes on the canceled US adaptation and share a few ideas of my own. (Links for Part 1 and Part 2 .) The canceled US version Ian's surviving notes  were only working from a translation of the first edition  Selenim  supplement, and lacked access to the second edition supplement or  Le Livre Noir . Nonetheless, he devised a three circle structure for Black Summoning independently of the third edition published a few years later. To quote his notes: BLACK SUMMONING This occult science involves three circles of invocations that draw quite bizarre creatures out from the Black Moon fields. Black Summoning is actually quite seldom used among the Selenim for four reasons: 1) it is generally too expensive in BMK to cast the spells; 2) the creatures summoned are often too dangerous to control safely; 3) Black Moon creatures can only be summoned in the very strongest of Black Moon fields, which are few and far between; and 4) because ...

 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...

As I did more and better quality research, I discovered that my old post on alchemy in the French version was full of numerous errors and inaccuracies. In this post, I will try my best to rectify that and provide a more accurate picture of alchemy in the French version. In all editions of the game, alchemists had to specialize. They had several different paths available to them. Based on their choice, the alchemist constructed a tool that produced a substance. The alchemist cast formulas using that substance, applying it to the target, throwing it into the air, and so on. In all editions except third, each Circle of Alchemy was rated as a single Technique. Second edition (1996–2000) The second edition was a direct refinement of first edition (1992–6), so I do not list the first edition separately.  In this edition, there were three Constructs: the Athanor, Crucible and Alembic. Each produced a Substance governed by a Process mastered by a Figure of the Glorious Alloyage. This sche...

As with Necromancy ( part 1  and part 2) and Black Summoning ( part 1 and part 2), I’m recapping the 3e Anamorphosis rules in anticipation of my own take for the US version. As with Necromancy and Conjuration, third edition set out to make Anamorphosis playable. I think it succeeded and I really like what they did. It isn't perfect and there's definitely room for expansion, but that's true of anything! “Anamorphosis”  is a pun  referring to a  real art technique . This technique is featured in the 2007 horror film  Anamorph , if you want the inspiration. The Imago itself is comparable to a  tulpa . Using Anamorphosis Theory and progression Unlike the other occult sciences, Anamorphosis doesn’t have foci, artifacts, or even conventional spells. Instead of conventional spells, this obscure science has "Aspects" that are personalized to each practitioner or "Anamorph" and his "Imago." Selenim don't have a metamorphosis like Nephilim. However,...