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Chaosium Digest Volume 14 Number 10
Chaosium Digest Volume 14, Number 10
Date: Monday, May 27, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Arcanum XX: Judgement (Timothy Ferguson) NEPHILIM
Editor's Note:
This week, the last of the Arcanum reprints from the Nephilim ML. All
previous warnings and caveats apply.
For those of you wondering about the abundance of Nephilim material
lately: it's what I've been sent. However, the queue for the Digest is
now totally empty, and so new submissions would be very welcome. If
you'd like to see articles on Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, Elric! or
other games which haven't been getting coverage lately, get the ball
rolling by sending some this way!
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Mythos - _Cthulhu Rising_ (Chaosium, $2.95/booster) should now be
available in most stories. It includes South Pacific islands, exotic
locations, big monsters, and enough new spells to choke a
Dimensional Shambler.
RECENT BEERS OF NOTE:
Charlie Seljos (azathoth@wam.umd.edu) said that a friend of his
recently found the following at a Boston Brewers' convention:
Lovecraft Draft Cider, Ltd.
Providence, RI
Founded 6/30/95 by Maury A. Ryan.
Hard Cider %6 Alcohol by volume
Sounds like a perfect way to celebrate CoC era prohibition.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Delta Green Preview
http://www.halcyon.com/rev/dg.html
A sneak-peak at the pending Cthulhu sourcebook from Pagan Publishing.
For more Delta Green information, take a look at V5.12 of the Chaosium
Digest, and issue #7 of The Unspeakable Oath.
--------------------
From: Timothy Ferguson <Timothy.Ferguson@jcu.edu.au>
Subject: Arcanum XX: Judgement
System: Nephilim
Judgement
(Arcanum XX)
THE CARD
A card showing the dead, called from their graves by the horn of Saint
Michael.
The Nephilim of this Arcanum believe that the world has been corrupted
by the fall of the Orichalka meteorite and that this corruption will
be accelerated by the fall of other meteorites, creating links of
contagion between the Earth and other, more distant, planets.
GOALS
None as a united Arcanum, however the largest organised faction has
these:
* Research of Orichalka and Litharge.
* Research of meteorites and impact sites.
* Research of Earth-orbit crossing asteroids, comets and other space
junk.
* Research of the Lunar Sphere.
* Research of the Ethers and the links of contagion between the Earth
and Saturn.
ATTITUDES
General:
Many members of this Arcanum are pessimistic or fatalisitic. The world
is going to Hell in a handbasket and no one but them seems to realise
it. Beyond this, the Arcanum has no united opinion, but those
discussing them from outside can subdivide them further into those who
have accepted their fate and those who have decided to go down
fighting.
Nephilim who have accepted their eventual dissolution react to it much
like humans who discover that they actually are mortal in a practical
way, rather than in some sort of theoretical sense. Many just continue
doing what they always did, but some go through live-changing crises.
Those who adopt new lifestyles have a cluster of typical responses,
although others do, of course, exist. They can be characterised thus:
Religion: Many Twentieth Arcanum Nephilim see ascension to Agartha as
a way of avoiding dissolution. They are dedicated searchers for Truth
who, unlike most Nephilim, believe that time is short and that,
metaphorically, the window to Agartha is closing as the time of
Judgement approaches.
Hedoism: "Every second should be filled with joy, before the end
comes."
Conservation: "There must be a way to preserve the culture we have."
This group was, in part, responsible for the sending of the second
Voyager.
Nihilism: "Nothing means anything, we are all going to die!"
More recently, developments in science and in alchemy have lead to a
group of the Arcanum dedicated to either preventing the Judgement or
delaying it for as long as possible. They tend to think of the
"fatalists" as free-loaders living on their good works.
These Nephilim have a two-pronged strategy, combating the damage
created by the Orichalka meteorite while taking the battle into space
through astrological research. During the Apollo programme they had an
opportunity to scour the face of the Moon, looking at how meteroric
impacts influenced the fields there. They believe that a device left
on the moon, an empty Stasis built into the pole of the flag left
behind, has strengthed the Moon fields of the Earth slightly, by
creating a stronger link between the two Spheres. Another section of
the Arcanum thinks that it might be the Moon rocks bought to Earth
which created this connection. Either way, this gives the Tribe some
hope and they are the most fervent supporters NASA's projects,
including the human Martian landing and the Dadelus project, which
involves sampling of Jupiter's atmosphere.
On the Earth, Australian operatives of the Arcanum, among others,
aided in the creating of Litharge Glass, here called "Synrock", which
is marketed as a storage material for nuclear waste. The Judgement
Arcanum is hoping to draw extra energy into the Earth's Fields, then
use it to destroy Orichalka, but until then they hope to keep it
safely locked away. They are also the custodians of several important
impact sites, where they report odd Ka fields and strange energy
creatures, some of whom are Nephilim-like. They are terribly alarmed
by the possibility of a Selenim-like Solei Noir Nephilim manifesting
on the Earth and are working through a defensive plan with parts of
the Strength Arcanum and the Selenim. Relations with the Selenim are
remarkably cordial, as the Arcanum is extremely interested in the
Black Moon and see a wholesale merger with the Unnamed Arcanum as the
ultimate fall-back position.
One small Resistance Faction within this Arcanum see the Judgement
Asteroid as a good thing. They just believe that the Orichalka one was
bad luck in the cosmic lottery. The strange meteoritic Nephilim that
they have encountered seem to them to be proof in this belief. They
would like to gather power to take over the inner circle of this
Aracnum.
Most of the others would, however, prefer to control events, rather
than being blown about by them.
Attitudes Toward Incarnation:
Varies from "So he died earlier than me, lucky bastard!" to "I need
her to save my race from extinction. You expect me to feel guilty
about that?"
Most feel about humans and Judgement what we feel about cockroaches
and nuclear explosions.
Atttitudes toward Secret Societies:
Again, suprisingly cordial. The more mystical a society is, the better
it and the Arcanum of Judgement get on. Rumours that there is some
sort of deal going with some of the Black Star Sorcerers, where they
are given unearthly rock in exchange for their assistance are probably
untrue, but they do seem to have some humans with magical abilities on
their payroll.
They hate the Templars with a passion, but the Templars have, so far,
been completely suckered by them. Like most of the Nephilim, the
Templars are not aware of the existence of a resistance faction within
the Arcanum, seeing only a self-defeating group of nihilists.
Generally, members of the resistance faction communicate in terms that
seem profoundly human, as they deal with the concept of ceasing to be,
so the Templars do not realise what they are. For instance:
"Do not go quiet into that last good night. Rage! Rage, against the
dying of the light." (Author's note, no, he wasn't a werewolf after
all!)
doesn't really sound like something a Nephilim would write, but it is
a pieces of common wisdom among the members of this faction of
Judgement.
When fighting Secret Societies the Judgement Arcanum is a fierce and
potent adversary because they have access to strange magicks in vast
quantities and unlike most other Nephilim, they believe unless their
projects succeed soon, they are going to be dead anyway. Unlike
Dracula, they think time is on the Secret Societiy's side, so they
aren't willing to slide back into their stases and wait the humans
out. They are perfectly willing to die in huge numbers for their
cause, because, unlike most Nephilim, they don't believe they have
eternal life anyway. Generally, when they get into these sorts of
situations they call upon the Tower and allow them to mastermind the
operation, so that the Secret Societies think of these as Tower
attacks and attribute the fanaticism of Judgement to the Tower.
Attitudes Toward Other Arcana:
Varies according to the response the individual has toward Judgement.
Many Judgement really think it is better to let the others have their
fun and envy their blissful ignorance.
Magican (I): They are vaguely aware of the Resistance Faction and
occasionally trade information with them. They are aware of the
Orichalka Nephilim fear and are examining it, although they believe
this to be a Strength Arcanum concern. Part of this is the quest for
Excalibur, rumoured to be an Orichalka weapon that is also a Stasis
and can consume Solar-Ka.
High Priestess (II): The High Priestess have two odd stases that are
always full, but have been unable to replicate them. They are aware of
a Judgement claim that they made the first Stases, but do not consider
it to be true, as they claim that honour themselves.
Chariot (VII): The Chariot are collaborators with the Judgement push
into space, although the Charioteers involved to not realise how
central this is to Judgement philosophy or how large their support
base actually is. They, incorrectly, imagine that they support space
research generally so as to be able to support Earth-orbit crossing
object searches without drawing attention to themselves.
Strength (VIII): The Strength Arcanum is aware of the presence of
non-Selenim/non-Elemental Nephilim within the ranks of the Judgement
Arcanum and they, the Judgement Arcanum and the Selenim have been
quietly co-operating to explore this possibility.
The Wheel of Fortune (X): The members of the Wheel know that the
Judgement Arcanum back space research and compete with them for
telescope time. Occasionally, they co-operate in Etheric research, so
The Wheel knows that Judgement is interested in the Etheric link
betwen Saturn and Earth.
The Unnamed (XIII): The Nephilim of Judgement and the Unnamed have a
close alliance, aiding each other in Black Moon research. Judgement
members from outside the resistance faction are the most likely
Nephilim to become Selenim of any Arcanum. Some members of the
Resistance have become Selenim, but it is rare, because they usually
believe that they can contribute to the research effort better with
mastery of the five fields. There is a tacit agreement between the two
groups that if the Earth becomes uninhabitable for elemental Nephilim,
the Selenim will help this Arcanum's members to convert before those
of other Arcanum. As ex-Judgement Selenim are very common, this
promise may very well be kept. The Selenim are aware of the existence
of non-Selenim/non-Elemental Nephilim. After they were assured that
these creatures were unable to use the powers of the Black Moon, much
information was, and is still being, exchanged betweenthese groups.
Temperance (XIV): No member of the non-Elemental group of Nephilim
have ever been seen by a Temperance Arcanum Nephilim. It is believed
by this Arcanum that some particularly evil Selenim magics warp the
Solar-Ka of humans into unrecognisable shapes. The Selenim have
confirmed this.
Tower (XVI): The Tower has often taken credit for the activities of
Judgement-Tower strike teams. The Tower likes having a terrifying
reputation and if the Judgement want to give it to them, that's fine.
They are aware that the Judgement Arcanum is more structured than it
initially appears, but are not aware of the Resistance faction.
The Star (XVII): The Star compete with Judgement for astrological
resources. How to handle the Star is a topic debated by many in the
Arcanum, with some suggesting open exchange of all information, while
others, especially the meteoric Nephilim, are against this, believing
it would lead to competition for meteoric materials as well. SETI is a
real pain for the Judgement Arcanum and the thought of the Star
fiddling around with the inner secrets of the Arcanum is enough to
prevent an alliance on most issues.
Others: Generally see only the stereotypical activities of the Arcanum.
METHODS
None common, although all are characterised by haste, save the apathetic.
Within the Resistance, secrecy is paramount. They are onto something
and they don't want the other Arcana to slow them down by fooling
about with meteoric sites. Astronomy and science fiction are tools of
this Arcanum.
Judgement Nephilim are usually willing to die for the cause. They
don't really care if their opponents have Orichalka or not, which
gives them a certain edge over their opponents.
SPECIAL BENEFITS OF A SUCCESSFUL ARCANUM ROLL
* Links to other members of the Arcanum who share your philosophy on
life.
For Resistance Memebers, if warranted by circumstances:
* Access to strange places where magic works differently.
* Covert assistance from the Tower, Chariot, Selenim, Meteoric Nephilim or
more Inner Circle of Judgement.
* Use of odd objects crafted by Judgement during their research,
including litharge glass and other forms of protection.
* Copies of sorceries, summonings and formulae developed to combat Orichalka.
* Access to anathors of great age and power.
* Direct assistance from a non-elemental Nephilim, using magics
unavailable to elemental Nephilim.
* Stases made from lunar or meteoric rock, which, due to their
connection to their planet of origin, replenish themselves
regardless of the lack of a plexus or nexus, filling with their
aligned element at the rate equal to the Astrological modifer on
the appropriate day. [Were I to allow a PC to have this, the
stasis would be altered to look like an earthly object and this
would cost them 5 Ka from their begining pool of 22.]
REQUESTS UPON MEMBERS
None.
The Resistance expects loyalty, secrecy and assistance. They desire to
gradually take over the Inner Circle of the Arcanum.
--------------------
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