My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

A while ago in a chat I read someone ask, “If both the Templars and Nephilim venerated Jesus, then why are they enemies?” This is an interesting question with easy answers. Firstly, there are numerous Christian denominations that have been at each other’s throats for millennia. Catholic versus Protestant, anyone? Secondly, neither group actually venerates the Jesus described in the Bible. The Nephilim rulebook itself outright states Christianity is a lie concocted by secret societies to conceal the truth. Indeed, neither of them are actually Christian in any sense. The only Nephilim who actually venerate Jesus are the Fool Arcanum, and to them he's just one of several Messiahs they venerate. The other Arcana don't venerate any Messiahs, with the possible exception of the Unnamed Arcanum maybe venerating the Devouring Messiah.  The Templars, at least the secret society that persists to the modern day, is actually descended from an Ancient Egyptian cult known as the Temple of Li...

So something I found confusing was the rationale for the Black Star to construct elaborate megaliths to calculate the best places to imprison Nephilim in stasis. This was also done in the original French version, albeit by the Sword suit (referenced in the US version as the "Men of the Sword"). For reference, let's recap the rules for stasis objects across the editions. These haven't been consistent across all editions. In the French version, in all editions except for 5th, breaking the Stasis Object would destroy the Nephilim immediately no matter where they were. It didn't matter whether they were in Stasis, Narcosis, or incarnated. In the US version, breaking the Stasis Object meant the Nephilim had nowhere to go upon bodily death. If they couldn't jump between bodies, then they would disintegrate into the magic fields. While the Major Arcana knew how to create Stasis Objects for newborn Nephilim, there was no way to replace a broken Stasis Object. So the c...

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...

In the third edition Gamemaster's Screen , the Quest for the Cycle of Destiny is introduced. (The fanzine  Vision-Ka  #3  specifies on p41 that this Quest is one and the same as the Arcane Quest of The Magician.) The goal of this quest is to acquire and study the Minor Tablets, crafted by Akhenaton as supplements to the 22 Major Arcana Trumps. The purpose of these Minor Tablets is to help mortals reach Agartha. There are four Minor Arcana  in total: The Wand (Fire), The Cup (Water), The Sword (Air) and The Coin (Earth). Keen-eyed readers may notice that the symbolism of the suits correspond loosely to the traditional magical tools (see Liber Ka p52). By pursuing this quest, the Nephilim is better able to understand their Simulacrum's Solar-Ka: they can boost their chances of Critical Success based on their Solar-Ka, retain player control during Shouit seizures rather than handing control to the GM, and develop Solar Resistance through initiation into a Minor Arcanum...

This idea was originally shared on the old defunct US mailing list in the 1990s, but I decided to bring it up again. I've transcribing and translating the rules and lore for the French version, which includes a lot of information on The Sword . The Sword is the descendants of the Promethean Glaives and was probably the basis of the Black Star and other secret societies in the US version. Écate, Demoness of Night Statistics (Using third edition statistics) Saturnian Core: Very Initiated. Metamorphosis: Not Hidden by default; psychotic, silvery, amorphous, inexplicable aversion in nearby Immortals. Concealed using the Eye of Ishtar (see below) and mundane cosmetics. Shadow Arcanum: Initiate of The Black Star. Occult Sciences: Master in Third Circles of Saturnian Sorcery and Saturnian Summoning. Knows all published Saturnian Spells and more besides… She may cast Saturnian Spells on any day, not just Grand Enthronements.  Lore at Master: The Magician, Black Star, Saturnian M...

In the third edition, the lores for arcana and secret societies were divided into two different skills: one for the uninitiated and one for initiates. I like this division and intend to expand on it in my campaign based on the third edition rules.  The Exoteric or Outer Lore represents knowledge about a particular secret society, including their philosophy: a Major Arcanum, the Templars, etc. The Inner or Initiate Lore represents initiation into the secret society, their secret teachings, and the initiate’s rank within the organization. As usual in third edition, these break down into Profane (Layman), Apprentice, Companion (Journeyman), and Master. (Occultists  use trademen ranks irl btw .) Initiation into secret societies like the Templars grants an awakened Solar-Ka. The Initiate can see in monochromatic Ka-Vision and resist magic with their Solar-Ka. Different secret societies have different benefits for initiates. For example: the Mithradites cultivate their own Solar-Ka ...

In this post I provide an overview of the various Selenim tribes in my campaign setting. This draws from the US version, the leaked notes for the canceled Selenim book ( source , although I'm making my own adjustments), and the French version 3e to fill the gaps. Though the Nephilim of the Major Arcana are largely ignorant of it, the Selenim do not stand united under the banner of the Unnamed Arcanum. Even in the "Western" world dominated by the Major Arcana, they are divided between multiple secret societies particular to their locales. The United States is the setting of my campaigns, so I speak mainly from that perspective. As a general rule of thumb, stated in the 3e GM book, the population ratio between Nephilim and Selenim is 8:1. Ar-Kaïm are fewer still. Despite this, the book recommends mixed groups consisting of 2-3 Nephilim, 1-2 Selenim and 1-2 Ar-Kaïm. Locales and origins In the Americas, the Selenim are divided between the Unnamed Arcanum of the Bohemian Tradi...

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...

In this post I introduce and tackle the topic of... Bohemians! In Chaosium's books In the  Nephilim  rulebook p57, it's stated that: When the Theban armies and assassins overwhelmed their homes, the Nephilim Arcana tribes avoided destruction by scattering throughout the world. So thorough was their diffusion that many even lost contact with each other. Yet from many secret locations they initiated others into certain Nephilim secrets and bade them to continue the search to locate the other lost Arcana. This was the birth of the great bohemian people called “Egyptians” or “gypsies” in Victorian England. Those nomads created their own culture based upon secret Nephilim rites, Egyptian customs, and elements borrowed from the many countries which they crossed over the centuries. There are other passages in the books linking Romani groups to the occult world and to the Tarot. Liam Routt  suggested some ideas  for Romeny Nephilim based on this passage, but never produced a...

In the books, sometimes the “black star” and “black sun” are mentioned. These are usually epithets for Saturn or aliases for the Order of the Black Star. In Major Arcana , “The Black Star” is noted as a possible Shadow Arcanum by Wheel of Fortune and and “The Black Sun” is mentioned by The Chariot as the mysterious power source behind the Saurian empire. (I get the feeling different writers came up with different ideas independently of each other that contradict when written side by side.) Source One day the following idea was shared with me on Discord, having been generated by ChatGPT. I found it so interesting that I had to share it here. In the context of the Nephilim RPG, the Black Star is a mysterious and powerful cosmic entity. It is said to be a dark star that orbits our solar system and exerts a profound influence on the forces of magic and the occult. The Black Star is also associated with the planet Saturn, which is considered to be its physical manifestation in our solar sys...

In the French version, a type of organization known as a “fraternity” was introduced. Fraternities are secret societies in which only Immortals and their allies hold membership. They encompass the role of the Arcana factions described in Major Arcana , but include organizations with pan-Arcana membership. A faction within an Arcanum is an example of a fraternity, as would be a faction that straddles multiple Arcana, or one with relatively fluid membership. A fraternity is an alliance of Immortals that doesn’t necessarily limit itself to any particular Arcanum, but exists in parallel to the Arcana. A given immortal may have positive or negative relations with a given fraternity. A PC may have a contact in a fraternity or be owed a favor by one as a past life asset, or as a past life burden may have an enemy in a fraternity, hatred from a fraternity, or owe an obligation to a fraternity. (I’ll explain assets and burdens in a later post.) I like the idea because it fills a void in the US ...

In the 5th edition of the French version, a new rule titled "Rosenkreutz Effect" was introduced. Basically, secret societies used algorithms to scour social media for mentions of magical phenomena. If the PCs' Rosenkreutz rating got too high, then they'd send agents to investigate. This is analogous to the Occult Curiosity Potential, explained in the US Nephilm rulebook p106. The advent of algorithms and social media means that this POT is much more important than it was in past decades. The secret societies now track mentions of paranormal phenomena using algorithms that automatically trawl social media and flag events. If the secret society watchmen notice anything particularly unusual, then they may send agents to investigate. Thankfully, the subtler magic rules introduced in Liber Ka , Slaying the Dragon and Enlightened Magic make detection much less likely compared to the fireball spells of the first edition rules. Nonetheless, the GM should note any blatant ab...

A vital substance in the creation of certain magical items is Litharge, the residue left over from the Ka-Element–Orichalc annihilation reaction. This substance has no elemental association whatsoever and is thus completely invisible to Ka-vision, so only the discrepancy between mundane and mystic vision may be used to discern its presence.  Litharge acts as a sponge and an insulator for Ka, thus it has helpful applications in freely storing and redirecting Ka. Normal enchantments by comparison permanently enchant Ka within objects, Ka that cannot be extracted (at least not without special spells and damaging the enchantment in the process). Litharge’s storage ability is temperamental: Stasis items only charge Ka when bonded to a living Nephilim, otherwise their charges evaporate into the magic fields. So far only the Magician's Wand (see Major Arcana p24) has been able to recharge and expend Ka without Litharge or bonding required for its creation, and the secret of its creation ...

One of the conceits of the setting is that there is no solar magic, at least not available to the PCs. The entire point of pursuing Agartha is to finally develop an understanding and mastery of Solar-Ka at the end of the path. Mortals cannot perform magic with their Solar-Ka. They can assist immortals who are casting ( Liber Ka p57-8), even steal Ka to cast under their own power ( Nephilim rulebook p191-2), but they cannot use Solar-Ka directly to perform magic (p190). They cannot even resist magic without being awakened, and then only at half capacity (p139). Even the Mithradites have only developed a handful of solar techniques that cannot be considered spells as such (see Secret Societies p73). A contradiction to this rule is that there are a few spells explicitly labeled “Element: Sun”:  Awaken Orichalka , Create Elixir , and Create Homunculus  (see Secret Societies p37-9). However, the first must be cast on Saturdays a la saturnian spells and the third uses lunar alc...

In my last post on mortal sorcery I left out a few things, such as how sacrifices and elixirs work with Casual Magic and alchemy. These were never officially updated, so this is just my guess. Naturally, it's more difficult for secret society sorcerers to perform Casual Magic due to the need for a sacrifice or elixir spilt on a physical representation of the spell's element within a magic circle (see Nephilim rulebook p140, 191, Liber Ka p41, 52, 59). This component overrides the otherwise non-ritualistic nature of Casual Magic. The secret societies have not learned alchemy beyond the first circle, according to the history chapter from the surviving draft of Slaying the Dragon . So I don't need to worry about that. To make procedures, the athanor itself must be anointed with the Ka-impregnated blood from a sacrifice or elixir for each procedure or the sacrificial blood is incorporated into the materials of the procedure itself.  Additionally, I have a few ideas for streaml...

Mortals cannot perform magic on their own, as they lack the requisite Ka-Elements. At most, they may contribute to a nephilim's rituals—or use certain enchanted items, as these possess their own Ka (see Gamemaster's Companion p36-7, Enlightened Magic p65). However, the secret societies have learned how to harness the nephilim in order to perform magic themselves. There are three ways this is done: sacrifices, elixirs, and homunculi (see Nephilim rulebook p191-2, Secret Societies p37-8). Sacrifices allow the mortal sorcerer to cast one sorcery or summoning ritual by bleeding a nephilim to open a connection to the magic fields. The process is a simple additional component to the ritual: the nephilim's blood is fatally spilled upon the material representation of the spell's element (see "Table of Traditional Magical Tools and Affinities",  Liber Ka p52). Elixirs allow the mortal sorcerer to store Ka-impregnated blood for later use. This requires creating a sp...