My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

As an addendum to my prior post , here’s a brief recap of how the fourth edition handled the five sorcery paths. These were called Labyrinthes de Sapience  ("Labyrinths of Wisdom") and  Voies de Magie  ("Ways of Magic") in French. Each element has spiritual, material and celestial correspondences. These are represented by lists of words called Domains , encompassing all possible meanings of that word. Literal, figurative, etc. In third edition, as I explained, these were listed on a universal Analogy Table used by all mages. Words not on the table had to be linked to, from a word on the table, by word chains to use them in spells. At character creation, mages inscribed one spell per level in Magic Techniques: up to 3 spells per Technique. Mages could cast spells without inscription, but it was slightly harder. In fourth edition, mages started with a blank Analogy Table and had to learn words individually. They couldn't learn words that weren't listed in the...

I mentioned in a prior post that in third edition, Sorcery underwent an overhaul. Starting in second edition it was renamed Magic ( Magie in French). In third edition, the fixed spells of prior editions were augmented by a syntactic magic mechanic that allowed players to construct their own spells according to universal guidelines and, in a break with prior editions, to cast these on the fly without needing foci or inscriptions.  Sorcery in Nephilim: Revelation Note: The rulebook has some editing errors, so I’m using  unofficial errata from a fansite  when recapping. That source incorporates the fanzine  Palimpseste  n°1  and  Palimpseste  n°4 . Spells were constructed as sentences with verbs and nouns chosen by the sorcerer to tailor the effect. A typical sentence consisted of the verb , the target(s) , and one or more analogies selected from the " Analogy Table ". Various concepts associated with each of the five Ka-elements were given on thi...

In Liber Ka , Third Circle Sorcery Spells have a “Power Threshold” ranging from 10 to 90. This is the minimum value that the Sorcerer’s corresponding (and unadjusted) Ka-element and High Magic Technique must meet in order to attempt casting the Spell. In Enlightened Magic , this was tweaked slightly so that it applied to the Sorcerer’s ratings after accounting for circumstantial modifiers. Thus, Sorcerers could wait for opportune times, places, ritual paraphernalia and other conditions to cast High Magic Spells that were otherwise out of reach. Similarly, Slaying the Dragon (unpublished) and Enlightened Magic applied a Technique Threshold to Alchemy procedures that the Alchemist had to meet or exceed before he could even attempt the procedure. This didn’t have a Ka-element threshold, fortunately. Nephilim: Revelation , the third edition of the French version whose rules I’m adapting, uses a different task resolution system. While the Technique Threshold for Alchemy is trivial to conv...

In the French third edition  Players' Book , two summoning spells allow Nephilim to flirt with necromantic effects.  The Veiled Sentinels of the Onyx Causeway  will resurrect any corpse, while  The Bearers of the Flame of Life  will repair and reanimate any corpse as a lifelike zombie with limited memory of its former life. Both spells inflict points of Black Moon contamination on the caster (risking sundering the Pentacle and turning the Nephilim into Selenim), discouraging Nephilim from casting them. The US version invented two spells dealing with death and resurrection. These were created independently of the French rules for Necromancy and thus aren't strictly compatible. The alchemy procedure  Universal Solvent  from  Slaying the Dragon  (unpublished, but reprinted in  Enlightened Magic ) allows the alchemist to contact the spirit of any corpse no matter its age. If cast on a Simulacrum, then it only contacts the Simulacrum unless t...

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...

In the first edition and US version derived from it, Sorcery was named Sorcery. In subsequent editions, French only, this occult science was renamed Magic. In fourth edition, it  was specified  that the Enochian name was “HeKa.” This  comes from  Ancient Egyptian. In the unfinished Ex Oculis fanbook, “HeKa” was the Enochian name for Raw Magic. That is, the Elemental Effects from Liber Ka p88.

In order to accommodate differences between the French and US versions, I decided to split off Anamorphosis into an occult science learnable by all Immortals. I have a few reasons for this, and I’m still deciding whether to go through with it or not. In the French, Anamorphosis replaced the Metamorphosis for Selenim. It had mechanical benefits compared to the Nephilim’s purely cosmetic traits, which were never given mechanical benefits in the French. Indeed, the Imago could collect a whole bunch of Aspects! 3e toned this down and limited the number of Aspects that could be built by "Morphs" (slots). Each circle had 3 Morphs. In the first circle (Visage, Extremities, Skin), only one Aspect could be built per Morph. In the second circle (Limbs, Torso, Appendices), multiple arms, tentacles, claws, etc. could be constructed. 3e assigned separate skill ratings to each Morph, which had to be increased in order to build Aspects and advance to the next circle. In the US version, Meta...

Although the rules for sorcery in Enlightened Magic were largely reprinted verbatim from Liber Ka , there are some significant differences. Most notably is that the rules are written for the BRP rulebook, not Nephilim . POW replaces Ka (so no derived Ka-elements), power points replace ch’awe, there’s only four elements, no spell inscription (altho there are similar rules for enchanting items), cast spells have their own POW (POT), no Ka roll is needed to cast spells, the modifiers for astrology changed, plexi and nexi were replaced by nexus points, etc. While interchangeable or easily convertible for the most part, the rules have been streamlined, simplified, and generally cleaned up in places. Overall, I find most of these changes quite welcome and would like to retrofit select revisions to the Nephilim setting. Some spells were renamed between LK and EM, while others changed their element (as moon element was removed) or were removed entirely. My preference is to use both versions,...

The Nephilim magic system underwent several revisions, with the most recent version of the rules presented genericized in Enlightened Magic  (so check that out for the full details). What follows is my attempt to unify, codify, and simplify the magic system. Nephilim practice three types of magic or "occult sciences." The nephilim don't see what they do as magic, but as the applied knowledge of manipulating the universe. These occult sciences are Sorcery, Summoning, and Alchemy, in order of their development. The occult sciences are each divided into three circles, and advancing to the next circle requires mastering the previous circle. Sorcery The rules for sorcery were extensively revised in Liber Ka and a genericized version of this revision was published in Enlightened Magic . Most of the differences are minor (e.g. name changes, some spells absent, some spells changed element), but there is one big change: the EM rules don't have a lunar element, so lunar spells...