PREVIEW: Immortals - Blood Bathers!
over 4 years ago – Sun, Nov 24, 2019 at 04:06:21 PM

Arise, Backers!

Another preview for you today. This time we're looking at some others who defy the sands of time: Immortals! And, to dig in a bit deeper, let's get a taste of the Blood Bathers!

The Immortals

The Deathless and the Lifeless aren’t the only immortals present in the world. The Arisen consider these other long-lived beings deeply flawed: no Judges blessed them; they didn’t survive the harrowing, soul-baring experience that was the Rite of Return. What meager power they possess can’t hold a candle to the might mummies wield, and no wisdom they glean from their long, linear lives can compare to that the Arisen gather during their Descents.

The immortals would beg to differ — they’re not the ones who sleep entire centuries away, after all, and most of the time, their memories remain intact. Yet, the Rite of Return only had to be performed once, and requires no further rituals to renew its effects. How lovely, to not have to worry about upkeep. How grand, to know your followers can call you back from the dead when all that’s left is your heart.

Mummies call such immortals the Endless. Where the Arisen braved death and came through it all the stronger, these beings fear it and seek instead to stave off their demise as long as they can. Preferably forever. Like the mummies, most of the Endless rely upon Sekhem to prolong their lives. They may call it life force or essence, or describe it in other arcane terms, but those immortals who have encountered the Arisen sense it within the Deathless. Immortals are like moons to the mummies’ Earth, drawn into their orbit by the raw force of Sekhem flowing through them.

The Endless covet relics and vestiges as well, looking to them as another source of Sekhem to power their rituals. Sometimes they’re akin to the Shuankhsen, greedily draining the power from the vessel. Other times, it’s enough to possess the artifact and let its proximity boost their spells’ potency. Both have led to bloody clashes between Arisen and the Endless.

The relationship isn’t always an antagonistic one, however. Immortals join mummy cults, gaining access not only to vessels, but also to a network of cultists and sorcerers. Endless who earn an Arisen’s trust gain insight into the rites that summon the mummy out of her henet, and look for ways to apply that knowledge to her own longevity. The Arisen may also instill the power of his Pillars in an immortal — what better servant than someone who stays the same Descent after Descent? Who understands even the tiniest bit what it’s like to watch the centuries flash by?

Blood Bathers

She lays out her instruments lovingly: the stone bowl, the silver knife. The dull throb of arthritis threatens in her fingers, an ache she hasn’t felt in a decade. She hasn’t missed it, but it’s as good as any alarm clock. If she hadn’t marked the date in her calendar, that flare of pain would have been her warning. A few more hours is all she needs, then the ache will subside for another ten years. Twenty, maybe, if she can lure the Arisen here. She imagines the bowl filled to brimming with his Sekhem enhancing the blood she’s already harvested. She can almost feel it, hot on her skin, smoothing away the wrinkles that have reappeared.

Tonight, she turns thirty for the ninetieth time.

Who They Are

A countess sinks into a copper tub, submerging herself chin-deep in the blood of her freshly-killed handmaids. A man dangles from the ankles in an abandoned barn. His killer slices his throat and stands beneath, letting the blood soak him like rain. A celebrity enters an exclusive spa, there to undergo a “Vampire Facial.” Only, her procedure is nothing like the ones the fashion magazines describe. The blood they use isn’t hers, for starters.

Blood bathers are immortals who prolong their lives through the power inherent in human blood. Why waste youth on the young, when you can be young, strong, and healthy forever? The key to eternal youth flows through the veins of every living human, but few understand how to harness it. Blood bathers have learned ways to distill that essence — what the Arisen recognize as Sekhem — and stave off the effects of aging. Some halt at the age they are when they first perform the ritual. Others watch the years roll back as the blood soaks into their skin. Death will have to wait a while longer to claim them.

No two blood bather rituals or their results are exactly the same, but they all share one common, grisly requirement: the person (or persons) whose blood powers the bathing ritual must die.

Every culture throughout history has produced blood bathers, though the rituals they perform to ensure their continued youth vary widely. Although there’s no single, definitive origin, the sorcerers of the Adelfoí Aímatos (p. XX) developed some of the earliest-known rituals, and many present-day rituals use elements of their methods. The bathing ritual is a highly personal one, even those rites that have been handed down from mentor to student for thousands of years change from one generation to the next. Every blood bather makes adjustments and adaptations. Comparing a modern procedure to its ancient predecessor is like a gruesome game of telephone — you can see the similarities between the two, but the end result is utterly different from the original.

Some of the oldest stories refer to a bather who submerged themselves in a pool of blood and emerged from it as a god. Arisen who hear the tale wonder if this is a strange interpretation of the Rite of Return. After all, their descent into Duat was much like being submerged. They sloughed away their sins and stood before the Judges. How much more naked can one feel, when the Lords of Duat can see every flaw — not on your body, but on your very soul? The Arisen’s return to the world is akin to rising from the bath: their souls were clean and pure, changed irrevocably. This ancient bather’s wounds closed as soon as they were inflicted, the way a mummy’s sahu repairs their body. And while the Rite of Return didn’t make the Arisen gods, the Utterances they can call upon at the beginning of each Descent are as close to godhood as most mortals could imagine.

#Mummy2e

#LiveForever

BELOVED SERVANTS part 6
over 4 years ago – Sat, Nov 23, 2019 at 11:40:18 AM

BELOVED SERVANTS

Pert-en-hat’s cultists assured him the plan would work. With Farah’s sorcery, the body thief as decoy, and the aid of world-class thieves, they would take the Pharaoh of Mice, and he would return to Duat with the relic without lifting a finger.

They hadn’t expected their mark to find the body thief’s radio. They couldn’t have imagined that he knew they were coming. They were not prepared for Mr. Collins using the vessel and commanding every employee to hunt down the team.

They would need him after all, and he would need to gather all the strength in his dying body. He sprinted into the building, tossing away the glassy-eyed workers trying to tackle him. When he reached the elevator doors, he ripped them from the wall and hurled them into the crowd. He leaped into the empty elevator shaft. His body melted into the concrete floor on impact and he swam through the building like a fish moving upstream. The Pharaoh of Mice shone like a beacon among the skyscraper’s inferior materials and mediocre architecture. He followed its light.

He emerged from the floor of Mr. Collins’ office. The relic stood on the businessman’s desk. It radiated warmth that soothed the mummy. Mr. Collins stood between Pert-en-hat and his goal. Beneath him sat Farah and the others, tied together.

“So.” Mr. Collins kept his gun trained on the captives. “You’re the man who wants to steal my treasure.

#MummyTheCurse

PREVIEW: Amkhata
over 4 years ago – Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 11:56:08 AM

Arise, Backers!

We've crossed the halfway point, from dawn to dusk, from death to life. From the past... to the future.

As we're now in the back half of the campaign, we're getting closer to hitting 200% of our funding target and creating the Book of Lasting Death! Don't forget to spread the word and recruit others to join our cult... I mean, join our cause. The hourglass has turned and now the sands run out faster than ever...

OK, enough with the dusty metaphors! It's time for our preview of the day!

Amkhata

Irem called them the Eternal Ones, the horrors beyond the veil. The lion soaring upon falcon’s wings, the cobra-headed bull, the saber-toothed crocodile, the fire-breathing jackal, the Sphinx. These chimeric amalgamations are blasphemous, anomalistic visages spawned from careless releases of Sekhem, doomed to a life in the ephemeral jungles of Neter-Khertet where only the fittest and those summoned by precious sorcerers are granted further life.

Creating Amkhata

Amkhata have Heads, Bodies, and Limbs, all of which make up its form and determine its Attributes, traits, Dread Powers, behavioral features, and other Special Qualities.

The Head

An Amkhat’s Head determines the creature’s Dread Powers and attacks inherent to their vicious horns or gaping maw. These attacks are always Power + Finesse. In addition, Special Qualities and information relevant to the Amkhat’s nature, behavioral patterns, and instincts are provided.

Abara, the Brazen-Headed

Abara bear the visage of the bull, rhino, and broad-tusked warthog, roving through the barren frequencies of Twilight, guarding the relics there like oases beyond the veil. They keep to this task because it’s all they can do. They are simple-minded, but their knack for using brash means to justify brutal ends is unrivaled. These destructive loners, volatile bruisers, and raging terrors of Twilight are the sorcerer’s greatest servant, the immortal’s most lethal weapon, the Judge’s most feared messenger.

Essence Cost: ••••

Dread Powers: Expression Surge, Natural Weapons (••)

Attack (Bite): 1(B) for Lesser, 3(B) for Greater

Special Qualities (Brash): Abara manifest instantly and violently, breaking through the frequencies of Twilight to obtain the sweet fruits of life. Whenever they manifest, the Amkhat’s Curse Tilt is applied to the entire area, and the first effort to strike them is rolled at -3.

Hepu, the Jackal-Headed

The Hepu, appearing as desert wolves, jackals, and foxes, hunt in groups along the plains of Twilight, seeking out unsuspecting ghosts and vessels of Sekhem present in the world of the living. The strongest of their kin make up the pack, while the runts are eaten for vital Essence. Cunning minds allow Hepu packs to plot their manifestations and work together to survive and thrive.

Essence Cost: •••••

Dread Powers: Beastmaster

Attack (Bite): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater

Special Qualities (Pack Hunter): The Hepu gain +1 to all rolls for each other Jackal-Headed Amkhat or related beast within 30 yards up to a maximum of +3. Up to 3 Hepu can manifest with a single Manifestation Roll.

The Body

Every Amkhat is constructed around a framework — a Body which determines how well they interact with material reality, represented by their Attributes.

Bull’s Body (Ahasu)

The Ahasu are burly bruisers, destructive machinations who wreck their foes as handily as they do their surroundings.

Essence Cost: •••••

Attribute Alteration: +2 Power, -1 Finesse

Species Factor: 3

Dread Powers: Destructive Aura (•••)

Hippopotamus’ Body (Ammu)

Blessed (and cursed) with the visage of the Devourer, Ammu-bodied Amkhata are large and powerful, trampling and destroying with abandon until a depleted corpus destroys the monsters outright.

Essence Cost: ••••••••••

Attribute Alteration: +3 Power, -1 Finesse, + 2 Resistance

Species Factor: 5

Dread Powers: Destructive Aura (••), Cosmic Detonation (•••), Armor (•)

The Limbs

Limbs often allow for additional attacks, and always provide Special Qualities appropriate to their nature. If no more spendable Essence is available for the Amkhat, its limbs match those appropriate to its Body or are absent as per the Serpent’s Body, but they are merely ephemeral manifestations chiseled onto reality, not actual limbs capable of Extra Attacks or Special Qualities.

Falcon’s Talons

The claws of the falcon, vulture, and hawk rend and violently carry unsuspecting victims.

Essence Cost: ••

Extra Attack (Talons): 1(B) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater

Special Qualities (Swift Catch): This Amkhat’s speed is increased by 2, and if accompanied by the Falcon’s Wings Limb, it can carry enemies equivalent or lesser in size away into the sky for a number of turns equal to its Rank.

Great Cat’s Claws

This Amkhat wields the legs and claws of a lion, cheetah, or panther.

Essence Cost: •••••

Extra Attack (Claws): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater.

Special Qualities (Rend): Wounds delivered by Great Cat’s Claws bleed and bleed, dealing 1 additional lethal damage per turn until natural or supernatural medical attention is provided.

This is a preview of the next section of the kickstarter draft manuscript. We'll have that available for backers to review on Tuesday! Join in and check it out!

#Mummy2e

#Build-An-Amkhata

BELOVED SERVANTS part 5
over 4 years ago – Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 12:16:41 PM

BELOVED SERVANTS

The young man shuffled deeper into the tunnels beneath the city, where the pillars dug into the earth. He moved shoulder-to-shoulder with other workers. He recognized some of his fellow sculptors.

Earlier that day, a group of Maa-Kep dragged the grey-eyed young man and his family from his home. The young man, the family’s master, witnessed their arrest and demanded an explanation. They would not tell him why they captured them or where they were going. When he struck one of the secret police to the ground, the rest overpowered him and carried him to his guildhall.

There, servants stripped him of his finery and bathed him. They held him down and poured a bitter drink into his throat. They clothed him in robes with hieroglyphics he didn’t recognize and sent him to march with the others.

Now, his head swam as he created the end of the corridor. He stumbled and tried to grasp the wall with an unfeeling arm. His grip lost strength, and he slammed face first into the floor. Two cloaked figures, Shan’iatu, carried him to an altar. Blood from his broken noise stained it. They did not care.

“What is this? The young man’s question mingled with the sound of chanting and screaming nearby.

One of the Shan’iatu lifted a long, copper spike above the young man’s head.

“You earned this.” The man recognized her husky, feminine voice. “You accepted it. Our empire is eternal, and you will be its vessel.”

She thrust the spike into his forehead. It was his first death.

#MummyTheCurse

BACKERS ONLY – MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW #3
over 4 years ago – Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 12:00:39 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.