My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

The rules for Narcosis underwent a number of revisions in the French version. For my own campaigns, I wanted to have some guidelines for handling this. While this post won't provide detailed rules, I will go over my ideas so far. Progression of Narcosis Narcosis actually has two stages progression: crystallization and anchorage. Furthermore, the effects of anchorage vary depending on whether the Nephilim is incarnate or not. A paredrus outside of a human body, and unable to return to stasis, is subject to crystallization. The exact cause is unknown, but some suspect it is an immune response to the trace amounts of Orichalc present in all the magic fields. Its Ka-elements retract and contract, like Sektet, eventually rendering it unable to move. At this point, the paredrus enters Narcosis shock and anchorage begins.  Once fully crystalized, the paredrus' Ka-elements bleed into and gradually merge with the surrounding magic fields, a process known as encysting or fossilizing. Thi...

I have some revisions to present for my prior categorization of sacred places. I apologize for the intrusion. Plexus:  A particular magical phenomenon that appears at an analogous landmark when and where two rays of the same magic field meet, lasting anywhere from an hour to a century. This allows the recharging of Stasis items and the performing of difficult magical operations of the Enthroned element. Plexi only form for the five elemental Ka and very rarely for Saturnian-Ka. Nexus:  A rare magic phenomenon that appears under Grand Enthronements where rays of all five elemental fields cross, creating a Plexus of each element in the same place. This provides the same benefit as a Plexus, but for all five elements. A Nexus may give birth to a Paredrus or an Ar-Kaïm; the Immortal's Dominant Ka is determined by the analogous landmark.  Analogous Landmark: A landmark providing the conditions favorable to the appearance of a Plexus, Nexus or Bitume-pouch, with Dominant Ka de...

"Conductor" is a term I came up with to refer to previously non-magical locations conducive to the generation of magical phenomena: Loci, Plexi and Nexi. (See my post on those for details.) During a Grand Enthronement, a Conductor can sustain a Plexus or Nexus appropriate to the nature of the conductor. The oldest tree in a forest will host an Earth Plexus, a volcanic caldera will host a Fire Plexus, an abandoned church will host a Moon Plexus, etc. If the Conductor is destroyed, then the magical phenomenon can no longer form there. By destroying Conductors, anti-Nephilim conspiracies can deny access to the benefits. Furthermore, the phenomenon behind Conductors is the same basis behind esoteric architecture such as the Egyptian tombs and the European cathedrals. The only distinction is that Conductors are naturally-occurring and simplistic, whereas esoteric architecture is artificial and far more complex. Destroying a Conductor while it is currently hosting a Plexus release...

What follows is my attempt to convert the US version's rules for magical places to the French third edition rules. Magical places include the Locus , Plexus and Nexus . All three are represented with an Intensity Characteristic, noted on the table below: D20 Intensity Duration Charges Bonus 1–4 Not Intense 4 hours 10 +1 5–8 Low Intense 8 hours 20 +2 9–12 Enough Intense 12 hours 30 +3 13–16 Intense 16 hours 40 +4 17–20 Very Intense 20 hours 50 +5 The Intensity of a magical place is variable. The GM may roll a d20 to randomly determine the phenomenon's Intensity on the day it forms/starts, plus the daily astrology modifier of its element. The Intensity determines the duration of the phenomenon and the charges it has for recharging Stasis items and other applications. Eve...

The US version mentioned dragons a handful of times, but never went into detail. The most we got comes from Major Arcana , where both Strength and The Devil are apparently quite knowledgeable about dragons. The dragons were apparently one of the "old races" from before the evolution of humanity and the Fall of Orichalka. Like Nephilim they're composed of the five elements, but that's where the similarities end. They're bestial monsters that Strength Knights set out to hunt when discovered, while The Devil venerates them. Strength and The Devil believe in the existence of an entity or force known as The Dragon, among other names (e.g. The Beast), of which the dragons are manifestations. Strength fights it as an eternal enemy, while The Devil worships and emulates it. ( One issue of Chaosium Digest gave The Devil the goal of becoming dragons themselves!) Both are aware of the existence of sacred sites known as "Gates of the Dragon," where the power of the...

As of third edition, the strength of the local Black Moon field is irrelevant unless using house rules. The Black Moon is either present or it is not: in the latter case, the Selenim’s occult sciences are impossible.  However, to complement  my post on Black Moon sites , I present spells for dowsing and manifesting Black Moon Fields similarly to Sorcery from Liber Ka . These spells may be cast using either Necromancy or Black Summoning, since there’s not really a Black Sorcery equivalent. Both involve manipulation of the Tenebrae: corruption and domination, respectively. (I’m currently working on proper rules for black magic. Stay tuned…) Dowse Black Moon Field   Circle : Initiate Spell (Unnamed Arcanum) Ka-element: Black Moon  Threshold : First Circle (Necromancy) or First Circle (Black Summoning) Range: Ka-vision  Duration: 10 minutes  Description: This spell allows the caster to know the direction of the nearest Black Moon Field. Once the spell has bee...

What follows are my current latest musings on Assuaging and Entropy, largely based on 3e. My rules for Assuaging are much the same as that given in  Ian’s notes , with the following adjustments: If the Selenim is Assuaging the same emotion as one of their Emotional Traits, they add that Trait as a bonus to their Ka value. This is similar to fulfilling a Trait (see Chronicle of the Awakenings p58). The modifier for familiarity varies between −20%, −10%, +0%, +10%, or +20%. Each step takes progressively more effort. Reducing the −20% penalty for a complete unknown to −10% only requires a few minutes of casual conversation, while any bonus will require months of interaction. (This bit is based on 5e.) The points drained/transferred are equal the emotion’s Intensity Potential, not one-tenth of the Selenim’s Ka. This generally ranges from 0–5, e.g. from a coma patient to a fundamentalist witnessing a miracle. For a group of any size, multiply this value by 1.5 (rounded up). The Seleni...

This post serves as a companion piece to my last post on sacred places, this time exploring the Black Moon!  Black lunar astrology is a real oddity. In the French version, black lunar magic didn’t have any astrology modifiers until 3e as I've explained before. However, it always had the equivalent of plexi and sacred places (see Nephilim rulebook p132, 202). Below I present and consolidate the rules, notes, and revisions thereof. I leave it up to GMs to decide what schemes to use.  Black Moon's sacred sites Trace amounts of Black Moon-Ka were scattered across the world and pooled in certain places, shifting like the rising and falling of tide pools or the steady erosion of rivers. Everywhere could be measured with one of five states of intensity, from weakest to strongest: (0) Absent, (1) Hollow, (2) Crescent, (3) Gibbous, and (4) Plenilunar. [The names in the French were idiosyncratic—naming the latter three Descendant, Ascendant, and Full/Dominant respectively even though th...

In this post I compare the various rules for magical places between Nephilim and Enlightened Magic . I consulted the following sources: Nephilim rulebook p132-3, 102, 202; Gamemaster’s Companion p45-6; Enlightened Magic p14. Rules as written Plexi and Nexi: The benefits provided by Plexi and Nexi are simple: automatic Ka-element rolls and recharge Stasis objects. Sacred Places: The benefits provided by Sacred Places are simple: a persistent +1d6 bonus to the corresponding Ka-element, if that Ka-element's astrological bonus is ≥6 then a Plexus appears for that astrological day, while a bonus of  ≥10 results in a Nexus instead. Spontaneous Generation of Elementals: Natural and magical phenomena have a change of spontaneously generating elementals based on any present emotional potentials. Minor natural phenomena—like a thunder storm, minor tremor, house fire, high tide or partial eclipse—have a 5% chance of generation. Major natural phenomena—like a tornado, earthquake, fir...