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Arise, backers!
I'm here to share another preview of our upcoming manuscript preview (which will be posted for backers on Tuesday). It's a preview preview, but since I no longer experience time in a linear fashion, all of this makes sense to me.
Plus, always an opportunity to share more of the awesome artwork from this book!
Utterances are sacraments hidden within the signs of the world, rituals folded into the earth and sea and sky during the act of creation. Sekhem washes over them and through them, awaiting only the expression of an immortal soul to unleash a miracle. And they can only be described as miraculous; above all else, Utterances are rarely subtle, rarely mistaken for anything other than an act of divinity. Access to these sacraments was encoded within the Rite of Return, and the Arisen are forevermore able to unfold the world and stride as the gods did as in the beginning.
Yet they cannot do so with complete freedom. Indeed, Utterances are a glittering lure for the Arisen. Only the cycles of Descent and repose provide the means to access the mightiest expressions of their Utterance. When Memory rises and Sekhem drops, the Arisen lose the ability to unleash the energies of creation with their Pillars.
Learning Utterances
Utterances are learned, not from sacred texts and fragments of elder magics, but from careful study of humanity and heka flows (and, sometimes, from sacred texts and fragments of elder magics from those who did the legwork thousands of years ago). The secret miracles hidden inside the world during its earliest epoch can only be determined by rigorous study and magical experimentation.
System: The mummy enters into an investigation (see p. XX), with a Scope defined by the highest Pillar rating of the Utterance she’s trying to learn. Each roll has an interval of one chapter, and may be rolled not only as a continuous investigation, but as a flash of insight following a dramatic event that gives clarity to the mummy’s search. As the mummy’s successes cross each Tier of Utterance’s requirements, they learn the Tier and may unleash it as they will.
Structure and Cost
Each Utterance comprises three tiers of power. Each tier may be used by any mummy with the requisite Sekhem rating to unleash a tier.
Utterances have Pillar ratings described in their effects, which always use three different Pillars. An Utterance may use Ab for the first tier, Sheut for the second, and Ba for the final tier, for example. If a mummy doesn’t meet a tier’s Pillar minimum, she may still use the tier, but without the additional Pillar effect described in the tier. Pillar requirements always follow two patterns — 1, 2, 4, or 1, 3, 5, with the latter being slightly stronger, more efficacious, or more spectacular Utterances. These also comprise the Utterance levels that a mummy may unleash as determined by her Sekhem rating.
In most cases, unleashing an Utterance is an instant action. Some tiers may be unleashed reflexively, while others may only be unleashed in specific conditions. Mummies must spend one Pillar of any type to unleash an Utterance’s first tier. The second and third tiers require a Pillar point of any type and one point of the specific Pillar cited in the Utterance.
Utterance Keywords
Curse: If a mummy is forced into death cycle as a result of another’s action, whether direct or indirect, he may curse his killer. This unleashing costs no Pillars, but otherwise follows normal rules for unleashing, save that the mummy may select multiple targets if they share in the deed of slaying the Arisen. The other exception is broad effects targeting an entire area; only one Utterance may be unleashed by a death cycle.
Potency: These Utterances are particularly efficacious and difficult to resist. Subtract Potency from any benefits conferred by Supernatural Resistance. For example, a tier with Potency 1 used against a vampire with Blood Potency 3 would only let the vampire add two dice to resist the unleashing. Mummies are unaffected by Potency, a consequence of sharing similar magics.
Dreams of Dead Gods
Tier 1: Ba • (Curse, Potency 1); Tier 2: Ka •• (Curse, Potency 1); Tier 3: Ab •••• (Curse, Potency 1)
Tier 1
The timeless power of the Judges of Death slumbers within the Arisen, awaiting only the taste of sweet Sekhem to awaken. With this Utterance, the mummy may awaken that same divinity in others. The mummy does not choose who is affected by this power; they need only define a specific task they need completed and unleash the Utterance, with Fate choosing who is afflicted. If the task as defined is impossible to complete, the mummy is refunded the cost.
Afflicted dreamers suffer the Dead Dreamer Condition. Each time they slumber, they are plagued by nightmares of both the Duat and the horrifying futures that await them: scorpions scrabbling at their souls, loved ones embracing others and forgetting them, crying out in agony as their futures are torn asunder in smoke and shadow. These visions haunt them even during the waking hours, pushing them to fulfill the task set before them or perish in torment. The duration lasts until every dreamer resolves the Condition. If unleashed during a death cycle or in henet, the mummy pays the cost immediately upon arising.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating at or higher than 1, those afflicted with the Dead Dreamer Condition by the mummy get (Ba) rote qualities or rerolls per chapter.
Dreams of Duat
All mummies carry this Utterance with them; combined with Sanctity of Merits and the special rules for reserving a single dot of Cult, this means that the Utterance is ideal for reconstituting a mummy’s Cult after it has been completely destroyed. If the characters are cultists, an interesting start to a chronicle may bring together a disparate and disjointed group of individuals all plagued by the same divine burden to murder a willing supplicant and resurrect the mummy.
Tier 2
Terror pervades the dreams of death, but romance does as well. The mummy chooses any character, mundane or supernatural, they have interacted with in the past week or so, and unleashes this Utterance to fill the target’s slumber with images of the mummy cloaked in dread or splendor.
Dice Roll: Manipulation + Occult + Ka vs. Resolve + Sekhem
Action: Instant
Duration: Sybaris
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The mummy becomes obsessed with the target, inflicting the Obsession Condition upon the mummy.
Failure: The dreams of the target remain undisturbed. The mummy may unleash this tier to target them again.
Success: The mummy may inflict the Charmed or Frightened Condition upon the target, triggered when they next behold the mummy’s visage, be it a static or electronic image or in the divine flesh. If using social maneuvering, this removes one Door.
Exceptional Success: The mummy’s power leaves a lasting impression on the target, leaving them susceptible to compulsions. If using social maneuvering, this removes two Doors.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 2 or higher, as soon as the target resolves the Charmed or Frightened Conditions, they receive the Swooned or Shaken Conditions respectively.
Tier 3
Speaking words of love, of hate, and of majesty, the mummy unleashing this Tier may completely command the emotions of any who behold her, bending them in service to herself or another. All within the sight of her eyes and the sound of her voice are affected; even if they cannot perceive her due to soundproof walls or eyes averted, their souls resonate with her majesty. Choosing a target within range (which may be the mummy herself), she may anoint them thusly.
Dice Roll: Ab + Manipulation + Occult; targets with a Resolve less than the mummy’s Ab rating are automatically affected.
Action: Instant
Duration: Sybaris
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The mummy’s power makes her a pariah. She is afflicted by the Notoriety Condition.
Failure: The anointing has no effect.
Success: The mummy may pronounce doom upon their anointed one, make them beloved by all, or grant them the authoritative command of royalty. The player may choose between one of three effects to anoint a target with:
Ruin: Anyone who beholds the target gains the Broken Condition.
Love: Anyone who beholds the target gains Swooned Condition.
Grandeur: Anyone who beholds the target gains the Awestruck Condition.
Exceptional Success: No additional effects.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the anointed effect lasts until the end of the mummy’s Descent.
Again, this is just a taste of a taste. I'll be back Tuesday morning (not too too early, I need my Mummy beauty sleep!) to share the kickstarter manuscript preview of Chapter 3 with backers!
Pert-en-hat opened his eyes and grasped at the leather seats. He took a moment to gather his surroundings. It was 2020, and he sat in one of the self-moving chariots his cult called a “van.”
The man sitting at Pert-en-hat’s left reached over and grasped his chest. “Easy there, we just hit a bump.”
The mummy grabbed the man’s wrist. “Who said that you could touch me?”
“Wait!” The man shouted. “It’s me, Tristian! The thief you hired?”
“Pert-en-hat,” the woman to his right said, “He’s telling the truth. Let him go.”
He looked at her, stared into her gray eyes, and released the man.
“I am sorry,” Pert-en-hat said, “When the relic calls to me, my mind gets…distorted.”
He watched Tristian shake his wrist and felt a twinge of shame. A year ago, he would have shattered the thief’s arm in three places and summoned a swarm of beetles to devour him before a single cry of mercy crossed his lips. It would have been wrong to do so, but the power would have come naturally. Now, mustering the strength to grab someone was a challenge.
“What did it tell you?” The woman asked.
“Its name,” the mummy said, “It is the ‘Pharaoh of Mice.’”
“So we’ve got its name and where the bastard’s keeping it,” Tristian said, “That’s all I need to know. I’ll give my people the update.”
Tristian got on the phone. As he talked, the woman leaned over to study Pert-en-hat’s face.
“You learned something else, didn’t you?” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You can tell me.”
“Farah, I saw its creator.”
“Was it someone you knew?”
“In a sense, yes.”
“My lord, I don’t understand. Who is it?”
Pert-en-hat sighed. “The relic. It’s mine.”
Arise, backers!
Not only have we funded this project, which will see the book created and have a run of books printed for backers and distribution, we've now unwrapped our first Stretch Goal of the project, adding a new Add On reward option!
ACHIEVED! - At $40,000 in funding - NEW ADD ON: Storyteller Screen. We’ll create a Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition Storyteller Screen. Can be added on to any reward tier containing a hardcover book for only +$20.
For only +$20, Add On a sturdy, three-panel screen featuring a collage of Mummy: The Curse Second Edition art on the outer side, and a selection of charts and other reference info on the inside to make running a Mummy: The Curse Second Edition game session a little bit easier.
Can be added on to any reward tier containing a hardcover book by increasing your total Pledge Amount by +$20 and then confirming your selection in our Post-Campaign Pledge Manager.
With one down, let's continue our kickstarter ritual and see if we can't awaken another Stretch Goal - this time, to create and summon forth additional content in the form of a Player's Guide that'll be called... the Book of Lasting Death.
At $50,000 in funding – NEW SUPPLEMENT: The Book of Lasting Death PDF - Ab. Onyx Path will create a Player’s Guide to Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition called the Book of Lasting Death, with rules and information on playable minor guilds. All backers receiving the Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition PDF as part of their pledge level will automatically have the Book of Lasting Death PDF added to their rewards list.
Don't forget to share your impressions, enthusiasm, and excitement about this campaign with your friends and fellow gamers! Tell your social circle and your social media, and let's see if we can create our own Minor Guild of backers!
Arise, backers!
Yesterday, I shared a bunch of info for those who were thinking about joining, but haven't jumped on the campaign yet. Today, I'm sharing info for everyone... because I've got a peek at our next manuscript preview!
If you're a backer, you've already had access to the first two chapters of the preview manuscript [Update #1].
Additionally, you may have seen some early previews shared on the Onyx Path website:
MAAR-KHERIT - Physics, Blights, the Malignant
Today, I'm going to share a section from Chapter 3, which we'll be previewing in full for backers next Tuesday - BALANCE and BURDEN.
Again, this is just a taste of a larger piece. Hopefully, there's a few things to get you interested, a few bits that spur some questions and promote further investigation, and an appetite for more! Let the greater speculation begin in the comment section and on the Onyx Path forums!
I'll have another preview of our preview on Sunday, when we get a small snapshot of Utterances!
Mummies are made from the ether of ancients. They’re walking corpses, filled with fleeting memory and time, rebuilding themselves with each incarnation and remembering terrible and awesome truths about their past. Whereas mortals possess a Virtue and a Vice influencing their behaviors, mummies possess a Balance and a Burden. Each Arisen feels the weight of their Judge’s expectation in a different way and bears it as their Burden. Their Balance is what allows them to rise above the timeless shackles of the Judges and continue on their unending duty to Irem.
Balance keeps them on the path Judges have laid out for them. There’s always an echo of the long ago in what they believe to be virtuous and Balance is the best of those things. Any time a Mummy overcomes a challenge to affirm their Balance, they gain a Willpower. When overcoming something incredibly risky or philosophically challenging to their Balance, they regain all lost Willpower.
The Burden of an Arisen is the weight they bear from the sacred duty laid upon them. Arisen respond differently to the Burdens of their Rite of Return, and use them as ways to process, avoid, or get lost in these emotional reverberations. Burdens are the negative ways that mummies interact with their duties.
Balance
Any time a mummy overcomes a challenge to affirm their Balance, they gain a Willpower. When overcoming something incredibly risky or philosophically challenging to their Balance, they regain all lost Willpower.
Here are some examples of Balances you could use, or create your own based on these ideas. Each includes a description and sample actions that could cause a Mummy to recover Willpower.
Courageous
Courageous mummies dive headfirst into danger or difficulty of any kind. They’re willing to bravely stand before any dire threat.
Single Willpower: Don’t back down in the face of something terribly dangerous.
All Willpower: Purposefully throw yourself into danger that most likely will lead to death or defeat.
Devoted
A Devoted mummy has chosen who and what they are loyal to and will never falter. They will follow these people, ideas, or institutions to their death.
Single Willpower: You learn something terrible about someone you’re devoted to but you stick with them anyway.
All Willpower: An institution you’re devoted to betrays you but you still fulfill its goals.
Burden
Mummies have experienced truly horrific events that echo in their subconscious through time regardless what body and consciousness they find themselves in. Every time a mummy gives into a Burden they regain one Willpower. When they become lost in their Burden for several scenes to their detriment, they regain all Willpower.
Accusing
An accusing mummy is eager to blame all around them for what’s wrong in their life. Everybody is guilty but them.
Single Willpower: Lash out at someone about something neutral they just did.
All Willpower: Blame everyone around you for something that is clearly your fault.
Careless
A careless mummy takes actions without thought or discipline since caring would hurt too much. They care not for themselves or those around them.
Single Willpower: Act without care for yourself or others.
All Willpower: Hurt someone through your careless actions and do not try to make repairs.