My Nephilim Occult RPing Blog

In many Indo-European cultures, there are ancient myths of dueling groups of deities. The Aesir and Jotun in Norse myth, the Tuatha de Danann and Fomorians in Irish myth, the Asuras and Devas in Vedic myth, the Ahuras and Divs of Persian myth, etc. As confirmed in the quasi-official past life for ancient Ireland , and in the French, the Fomorians of Irish myth were Selenim (as well as a Hydrim metamorphosis inspired by them in Chronicle of the Awakenings ). So it stands to reason these others groups of opposing deities were based on the occult conflicts between Nephilim and Selenim. The Jotuns aka Ettins, the Fomorians, the Asuras, Divs, etc. Even the Titans, Giants and Daemons of Greco-Roman myth, or else involving themselves in socially accepted witch cults, mortuary cults, and cults that practiced human sacrifice. When dealing with past life eras that involve these kinds of dueling pantheons, then Selenim players have the option of selecting that as the identity of their Selenim PC ...

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 ...

An interesting idea I saw proposed on a fan campaign blog was introducing stereotypical vampires to Nephilim . Now, the blog itself operated on false assumption that Selenim drank blood and so on, ignorant of the original French rules. But that doesn't prevent the ideas from coexisting. The Selenim themselves are psychic emotional vampires: they feed on emotions in proximity. They aren't harmed by sunlight or anything special, but a simple bullet is sufficient to kill one. They don't age, so they unlike the reincarnating Nephilim they can live across the periods of history in continuous physical presence. According to Codex des Selenim , they can even have children in the usual fashion and some of these children are fated to incarnate as natural Selenim one day (for reference, natural Selenim incarnate when a mortal encounters a proto-Selenim in the lower planes while having a nightmare or near-death experience, rather than being former Nephilim). Through a Spell, Necroman...

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...

In the first and second editions of the French version, all Selenim were former Nephilim. The third edition introduced a second origin, the natural Selenim, who appeared after the Great Awakening at the start of the 20th century (see “Return of the Magicians”, Nephilim rulebook p77). I am incorporating this into my homebrew settings, but with some adjustments for the US version’s changes and my own ideas. The Codex des Selenim divides the incarnated Selenim into three origins: contaminated, sacrificial, and natural. The contaminated and sacrificial are both former Nephilim, whereas the natural were always Selenim. Each origin has its own minor benefits and drawbacks compared to the other origins. Natural Selenim are perfectly comfortable with their state, whereas former Nephilim always experience some lingering regret. Some desperately seek to find and restore their sundered Pentacle, locked in a Stasis they can no longer track. (Note: When a Nephilim loses a Pentacle branch due cont...

For purposes of assisting myself and any other GMs interested, I collated a list of all the Elemental Beasts published officially and semi-officially on the table below: Cʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ Eʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ Eᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴ Nephilim rulebook (pg. 220-224) Basilisk  Earth  Cruel  Flame Snake Fire  Unpredictable  Ghost Wyrm Moon  Vengeful  Ghruuul  Earth/Fire Destructive  Gorgon  Moon  Private  Gryphon  Air/F...

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...