Time is the longest distance

between two places.

— Tennessee Williams,
The Glass Menagerie
 Credits
Written by: Chris Allen, Michael Barker, John Burke,
Matthew Dawkins, Meghan Fitzgerald, Jose Garcia, Chris
Handforth, Klara Horskjær Herbøl, Jason Inczauskis, Kira
Magrann, Michele Masala, Neall Raemonn Price, Lauren
Roy, Bianca Savazzi, Leath Sheales, Hilary Sklar
Chapter Leads: Chris Allen, Meghan Fitzgerald, Jose
Garcia, Klara Horskjær Herbøl, Jason Inczauskis, Neall
Raemonn Price, Lauren Roy, Bianca Savazzi, Hilary Sklar
Developed by: Matthew Dawkins
Chronicles of Darkness Line Developer: Dixie Cochran
Creative Director: Richard Thomas
Editor: Nimrod Jones
Art Director: Michael Chaney
Layout and Design: Mike Chaney with Craig Grant
Interior Art: Sam Araya, Nate Pride, Vince Locke, Brian
Leblanc, Luis Sanz, Tilen Javornik, Felipe Gaona
With Special Thanks To: The keen eyes of Neall
Raemonn Price and Meghan Fitzgerald, and the supportive,
constructive feedback from the fans on Kickstarter, the Onyx
Path Discord, the Chronicles of Darkness Discord, and the
Onyx Path Forums.

© 2021 Paradox Interactive AB . All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the
publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets,
which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire, Chronicles of Darkness, Vampire:
The Masquerade, and Mage: The Ascension are registered trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB . All
rights reserved. Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The
Awakening, Promethean: The Created, Changeling: The Lost, Hunter: The Vigil, Geist: The Sin-Eaters, V20,
Anarchs Unbound, Storyteller System, and Storytelling System are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB
All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by Paradox Interactive AB .
This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for enter-
tainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised.
Keep up to date with Onyx Path Publishing at http://theonyxpath.com/

2 Mummy: The Curse Second Edition

 The Five Pillars 70
Beloved Servants 11 The Sothic Turn 72
Introduction 14 Awakenings and Descents 73
The Awakening 73
Theme: Memory 14
The Descent 75
Mood: Discovery 14
Isolation and Integration 75
Inspirational Media 15
Shared Immortality and the Lifeless 76
Lexicon 15
Memory 77
Chapter One: The Arisen 19 When I Awoke 77
Guilds 19 Living Timelessness 79
Maa-Kep 20 Immortal yet Transitory 79
Mesen-Nebu 23 The Shepherd and the Flock 80
Sesha-Hebsu 26 The Core of a Cult 81
Su-Menent 29 Foundations 81
Tef-Aabhi 32 The Levels of the Pyramid 82
Minor Guilds 35 The Rite of Investment 84
The Deceived 35 Relics and Vestiges 85
Kher-Minu 36 Recovery and Sacrifice 85
Maar-Kherit 37 Retaining Vessels 85
Wadjet-Itja 38 Digging up the Past 86
Decrees 39 Enemies All Around 88
Ashem 40 The Shuankhsen 88
Deshret 43 Immortals 89
Kheru 46 The Judges 90
Nesrem 49 Chapter Three:
Usheb 52
The Judges of Duat 55
Creating a Mummy 93
Am-Khaibit, the Eater of Shadows 55 Returning from Death 93
Arem-Abfu, the Final Judge 56 Step One: Concept 93
Kenemti, the Penitent 57 Step Two: Attributes 94
Nebha, the Flame 58 Step Three: Skills 94
Neheb-Ka, the One Who Unifies 58 Step Four: Specialties 95
Unem-Besek, the Eater of Entrails 59 Step Five: Add Arisen Template 95
Usekh-Nemtet, the First Judge 60 Step Six: Add Merits 98
Step Seven: Advantages 98
Chapter Two: Step Eight: Experience 99
Life When Deathless 63 Finishing It Off 99
The Nameless Empire 63 Earning Experience 99
Reshaping 64 Balance 102
The Empire Expands 65 Burden 104
The Golden Age and Irem’s Fall 65 Merits 105
The Guilds 67 Sanctity of Merits 105
Evolving Structures 67 Merit Tags 105
Conformity and Rebellion, Timeless Merits 105
Collapse and War 68 General Merits 108
Ties Through Eternity 68 Supernatural Merits 117
The Rite of Return 69 Cult Creation 121
The Call of the Judges 70 Step One: Cult Archetype 121

Table of Contents 3
 Step Two: Doctrines, Virtue, and Vice 121 Forgotten Skills and
Step Three: Attributes 122 Keeping Up with the Modern World 173
Step Four: Merits (p. XX) 122 Skills and the Dark Eras 173
Step Five: Advantages 122 Speed 175
Pillars 122 Rolling Dice 175
Using Pillars 122 Dice Pool 175
Recovering Pillars 123 Roll Results 175
Affinities 123 Permutations 176
Using Affinities 123 When to Roll Dice 176
Gaining Affinities 123 Actions 176
Soul Affinities 124 Awe 177
All 124 Consort 178
Ab 124 Debate 178
Ba 125 Flirt 178
Ka 126 Infiltrate 178
Ren 127 Interrogate 178
Sheut 128 Intimidate 178
Guild Affinities 129 Investigate 179
Maa-Kep Affinities 129 Observe 179
Mesen-Nebu Affinities 129 Research 179
Sesha-Hebsu Affinities 130 Skulk 179
Su-Menent Affinities 130 Trail 179
Tef-Aabhi Affinities 130 Willpower 180
Utterances 131 Spending Willpower 180
Learning Utterances 132 Conditions 180
Structure and Cost 132 Improvised Conditions 180
Utterance Keywords 132 Lingering Conditions 180
Clash of Wills 132 Action Scenes 180
Sekhem 159 Defense 181
Memory 160 Tilts 181
Losing Memory 160 Violence 181
Recovering Memory 161 Intent 181
Touchstones 162 Down and Dirty Combat 182
The Sadikh 162 Detailed Violence 183
The Inheritor 162 Weapons and Armor 185
The Witness 162 Injury and Healing 185
Example Touchstones 163 Suffering Damage 186
Mummy Injury, Healing, and Death 164 Healing 186
Damage Sources 164 Sources of Harm 187
Healing Rates 164 Disease 187
Death and Resurrection 164 Poison 187
Drugs 187
Chapter Four: Extreme Environments 188
Laws of the Arisen 167 Falling 189
Traits 167 Fire 189
Attributes 167 Teamwork 190
Skills 168 Objects 190
Skill Specialties 173 Object Traits 190

4 Mummy: The Curse Second Edition

 Damaging Objects 190 Vestiges 216
Equipment 190 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes 219
Social Maneuvering 191
Goals 191 Amkhata 219
Doors 191 Emergence and the Hunt 219
Impression 192 Manifestation 219
Opening Doors 192 Summoning 220
Resolution 193 The Hourglass 220
Investigation 193 The Sickness 221
Cults 194 Creating Amkhata 221
Cult Traits 194 The Head 222
Cult Actions 196 Abara, the Brazen-Headed 222
Playing with Multiple Cults 198 Auru, the Nile-Headed 222
Harm, Healing, and Mutiny 199 Hepu, the Jackal-Headed 223
Cult Conditions 199 Khespu, the Swarm-Headed 223
The Descent 199 Menqi, the Serpent-Headed 223
Sekhem Drops 200 Pakhu, the Cat-Headed 223
Descent Rolls 200 Sphinx, the Human-Headed 223
The Descent Agenda 201 Utchefu, the Sky-Headed 224
Falling Up 202 The Body 224
Slowing theLoss of Sekhem 202 Bull’s Body (Ahasu) 224
Sybaris 202 Falcon’s Body (Herasu) 224
Contracting Sybaris 203 Hippopotamus’ Body (Ammu) 224
Resisting Sybaris 203 Jackal’s Body (Sabasu) 224
Suffering Sybaris 203 Lion’s Body (Maasu) 225
Overcoming Sybaris 203 Serpent’s Body (Tetasu) 225
Sybaritic Omens 203 The Limbs 225
The Rite of Investment 204 Falcon’s Talons 225
The Rite of the Engraved Heart 204 Falcon’s Wings 226
Timelessness and Experience 206 Human Extremities 226
Tombs 206 Jackal’s Paws 226
Geometry 206 Great Cat’s Claws 226
Perils 206 Scorpion’s Limbs 226
Provisions 206 Dread Powers 226
Harmonic Centerpiece 206 Armor (• to •••••) 226
Attacking Tombs 206 Beastmaster 227
Vessels 207 Breath Attack (• to •••••) 227
Vessels Defined 207 Camouflage (• to •••••) 227
Vestiges 207 Catlike Reflexes 227
Relics 208 Constrict (• to •••••) 227
Using Vessels 209 Cosmic Detonation 227
Consuming Vessels 213 Destructive Aura (• to •••••) 227
Relics 214 Drag Under 227
Amulets 214 Enrapture 228
Effigies 214 Expression Surge (• to •••••) 228
Regia 215 Eye Spy 228
Texts 215 False Ka 228
Uter 216 Fiendish Resilience 228
Flaying Word 228

Table of Contents 5
 Ghost Touch 228 Implant Mission 235
Godly Vision (• to •••••) 229 Innocuous 236
Husk Puppet (Judges Only) 229 Regenerate 236
Hydra 229 Sign 236
Hypnotic Gaze 229 Telekinesis 236
Impossible Proportions (Judges Only) 229 The Shuankhsen 236
Legion 229 Ammut, the Devourer 236
Mangle 229 Sekhem Curdling 236
Maze of Lost Souls (Sphinx Amkhata Only) 229 Burdens of the Devourer 236
Mirage (Judges Only) 229 Attributes, Skills, and Pillars 237
Monstrous Resilience 230 Bane Rites 237
Natural Weapons (• to •••••) 230 Bane Affinities 240
Prodigious Leap 230 Sample Shuankhsen 241
Ravenous Feasting (• to •••) 230 Tiye,
Reality Stutter 230 Bringer of the Storm 241
Unbelievable Visage 230 The Judges 242
Venom (• to •••••) 230 Cruel Judgement 243
The Revenant 230 Heralds of Duat 244
The Leviathan 231 The Sacrifice,
The Ephemeral Dead 231 Manifestation of An-Hotep 248
Ephemeral Traits 231 The Sphinx,
Influence 233 Manifestation of Neb-Heru 249
Manifestation 233 The Writhing of Eyes,
Anchor 233 Manifestation of Bastu 250
Claimed 234 The Scorpion Banner,
Controlled 234 Manifestation of Her-Uru 251
Fettered 234 The Giver of Gifts,
Materialized 234 Manifestation of Heraf-Het 253
Open 234 The Screaming Flock,
Manifestation of Neb-Abitu 254
Possessed 234
The Minotaur, Manifestation of Neha-Hatu 255
Underworld Gate 234
The Shadow Judge,
Urged 234
Manifestation of Tcheser-Tep 256
Twilight Form 234
The Immortals 257
Discorporate 234
Creating Immortal Characters 257
Avernian Gateway 234
Blood Bathers 258
Image (Requires Anchor Condition) 235
Lisette Meeks 262
Materialize (Requires Open Condition) 235
Body Thieves 263
Fetter(Requires Open Condition) 235
Darrin Knapp 266
Unfetter (Requires Fettered Condition) 235
Eternals 266
Possess (Requires Open Condition) 235
Kassia Laskaris 268
Claim
The Reborn 268
(Requires Controlled Condition,
Fetter, and Possess) 235 Regina Perez 270
Numina 235 Other Immortals 271
Blast 235 Sorcerers 271
Dement 235 To Become a Sorcerer 271
Drain 235 Sorcerers as Cultists 272
Hallucination 235 Sorcerers as Interlopers 272
Sorcerer Cults 272

6 Mummy: The Curse Second Edition

 Mechanics 272 The Guilds 307
Last Dynasty International 275 Notable Characters 308
Wilfried Moeller 277 Notable Locations 309
The Nyctopian Masters 278 Chapter Seven:
Sachiko Ishii 280
The Sanguine Fellowship 280 Creating Timeless Tales 311
Peter Rousses 283 Tips for the Storyteller 311
Chapter Six: Avoid Saying “No” 311
Nothing Survives Contact with Players 312
A World for Exploring 285 Make it Feel Real 312
Cuzco, Peru 285 Everyone is Awesome 312
The Origin 286 Sharing the Spotlight 312
Story Hooks 286 Troupes and Pyramids 312
The Guilds 287 The Mummy Meret 313
Notable Characters 288 Do All the Mummies Have the Same Cult? 313
Notable Locations 288 Mummies and Cultists 313
Denmark 290 Rotating Mummies 313
The Origin 290 Playing the Pyramid 314
Story Hooks 290 The Truly Epic Chronicle 314
The Guilds 291 Cultists and Other Allies 315
Notable Characters 292 Sadikh 315
Notable Locations 292 Blood Bathers 315
K’jipuktuk (Halifax), Canada 292 Body Thieves 315
The Origin 293 Eternals 315
Story Hooks 294 Reborn 315
The Guilds 294 Mortals 316
Notable Characters 295 Sorcerers 316
Notable Locations 295 Witness 317
Antarctica 296 Purpose and Descent 317
The Origin 296 Neter-Khertet 317
Story Hooks 297 Shades 318
The Guilds 297 The Ashen Storm 318
Notable Characters 298 The Caverns of Neter-Khertet 318
Notable Locations 299 Death Cycles 319
Johannesburg, South Africa 299 Duat 319
Story Hooks 300 Denizens of Duat 319
The Guilds 300 The Seven Gates 322
Notable Characters 301 The Trials of Duat 324
Notable Locations 302 Storytelling Timelessness 327
Wellington, New Zealand 303 Adrift in Endless Waters 327
The Origin 303 The Churning Maelstrom 328
Story Hooks 304 Still, Calm Waters 331
The Guilds 304 Tales Through the Sandglass 332
Notable Characters 305 Biker Fiends from Duat 333
Notable Locations 306 The Shadow of Sothis 333
Hong Kong 306 Far From Home 334
The Origin 306 Children of Irem 335
Story Hooks 307 The Darkest Turn 336

Table of Contents 7
 Memory Broker 337 Enervated (Persistent) 352
Mortal Power 338 False Memories 352
First and Foremost 339 Far-Reaching 353
Build-a-Beast 340 Fatigued 353
The More You Know 341 Flagged 353
Mummies on Mars 341 Forgotten Skill
Duat Falls 343 (Persistent) 353
A Glimpse of the End 343 Frightened 353
Begins Again 344 Fugue (Persistent) 353
Geometric Alignment 354
Appendix: Conditions and Tilts 346 Going Westward 354
Conditions 346 Graceful Descent 354
Accelerated Descent 346 Guilty 354
Accursed Knowledge 346 Haphazard Cultists 354
Addicted (Persistent) 346 Heresy(Persistent) 354
Alternative Current (Timeless) 346 Identity Crisis 354
Amnesia (Persistent) 347 Impassioned Shade 354
Apprehensive 347 Informed 355
Auspicious Descent 347 Inspired 355
Avarice 347 Intoxicated 355
Awestruck (Persistent) 347 Iron Grasp 355
Berserk 347 Isolated 355
Blessed Minions 347 Leveraged 355
Blind (Persistent) 347 Lost 355
Broken (Persistent) 348 Luminous Pillars 355
Charmed (Persistent) 348 Madness(Persistent) 356
Confused 348 Megalomaniacal 356
Connected (Persistent) 348 Memory Bleed (Persistent) 356
Crown (Persistent) 348 Mirage(Timeless) 356
Cursed (Persistent) 349 Mismanaged 357
Damaged Pillar 349 Mute 357
Dead Dreamer (Persistent) 349 Notoriety 357
Delusional (Persistent) 349 Obsession(Persistent) 357
Déjà Vu (Timeless) 349 Ominous(Persistent) 357
Deprived 350 Precipitous Descent 357
Devouring Urge 350 Relentless(Persistent) 357
Disabled (Persistent) 350 Repression 358
Disembodied 350 Rip(Timeless) 358
Disinterred 350 Shaken 358
Disoriented 350 Shaken Faith(Persistent) 359
Distracted 350 Soulless(Persistent) 359
Dormant Sovereign (Persistent) 350 Spooked 359
Driven 351 Steadfast 359
Echoes of Descent 351 Swooned 359
Eddy (Timeless) 352 Sybaris (Stage One — Unease) 359
Effortless Effort 352 Sybaris (Stage Two — Terror) 360
Emanation (Persistent) 352 Sybaris (Stage Three — Desecration) 360
Embarrassing Secret 352 Thrall(Persistent) 360

8 Mummy: The Curse Second Edition

 Wanton 360 Hallowed Ground 364
Whirlpool(Timeless) 360 Heavy Rain 364
Zealous 361 Heavy Winds 365
Tilts 361 Ice 365
Amkhat’s Curse 361 Immobilized 366
Arm Wrack 361 Inferno 366
Avalanche 361 Insane 366
Beaten Down 362 Insensate 366
Blinded 362 Knocked Down 366
Blizzard 362 Leg Wrack 367
Charnel Ground 362 Lifebane 367
Collapsing Ceiling 362 Poisoned 367
Concealed Pit 362 Powerful Current 367
Dark Waters 363 Sandstorm 367
Deafened 363 Scything Blades 367
Drugged 363 Sick 368
Earthquake 363 Skincrawler 368
Extreme Cold 363 Stunned 368
Extreme Heat 364 Swarm 368
Flooded 364 Time Loop 369
Frozen Time 364 Unhallowed Ground 369

Table of Contents 9
 BELOVED SERVANTS
Two young men trudged
through the desert, far from the
city’s limits. The first, adorned in
fur and jewelry, led the second,
dressed in flax cloth.
“There it is!” The first man
pointed to a half-buried obelisk stone.
“You brought me here to see
a rock?” the second man asked.
“Once your family realizes we’re
gone—”
“We’ll be back before
nightfall.” The first man dug into
the sand beneath the stone, and
pulled out an effigy of a cat, carved
from lapis lazuli. “I wanted you to
see this.”
The second man examined it.
“Another rock?”
He traced his fingers over the
sculpted patches of fur and around
the perfectly re-created scar over
its left eye. He shook his head and
smiled.
“Mouser,” he said, “It’s
Mouser!”
The first man grinned. “I know
you loved her very much. I crafted
this from my memories of her. Now,
she will be the Pharaoh of Mice.”
The second man hugged the
effigy. “Thank you.”
“That’s not all,” the first man
said, “I will present it to the Tef-
Aabhi, and when they look upon
my work, they shall proclaim me
a fellow master craftsman. Then,
I will bring you with me. We shall
no longer be master and servant,
but guildmates. Your family won’t
live in the barracks anymore.”
The second man looked at the
first, shocked. “You don’t mean that.”
The first man put his hands on
the shoulders of the second, and
looked deeply into his gray eyes. “I
do. I will aid you and your family
for as long as I live. I promise.”
•••
Pert-en-hat opened his eyes
and grasped at the leather seats.
He took a moment to take in his
surroundings. The year 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.”
•••
The young man expected to
see one of the master craftsmen
when he entered the guildhall.
Instead, the seven cloaked
guildmasters of the Tef-Aabhi
beckoned him from the atrium
into a private hall, and shut the
door behind him.
He fell to his hands and knees
before them.
“Most holy Shan’iatu!” he
prostrated. “Forgive me; I did not
intend to shirk my labor, only to
demonstrate my craft.”
He looked up, just for a
moment. Their faces were well-
hidden by the hoods of their cloaks.
One of them spoke in a husky,
feminine voice. “We know what
you’ve done. Show us what it can do.”
“Of course.” The man stood
up. He invoked the Pharaoh of
Mice, speaking its name and
holding it above his head. A mouse
poked its head from a crack in the
floor. Another squeezed through
a crevice in the ceiling. Mice from
all over the guildhall poured into
the room, crowding the floor and
standing at attention.
“It controls the weak,” the
man said. “As long as you believe
you rule them, they cannot
disobey. Watch.”
He commanded the vermin
to leave. They fled the room. The
workers outside shrieked and
cursed as the rodents ran as one
through the guildhall’s exit. The
mice continued into the town, and
then to the sands beyond.
He said, “If it pleases the
Shan’iatu, I shall add this treasure
to the panoply and take my place
as master craftsman.”
There was a moment of
silence.
“No,” said the husky voice.
“You have earned something
greater, should you accept it.”
The man blinked. “Yes, of
course! What is it?”
The Shan’iatu looked at him,
and for a moment he saw the heads
of animals, not people.
“You will learn,” the husky
voice said, “In due time.”
•••
Tristian looked up at
the skyscraper, shaking his
head. “Robbing a corporate
headquarters in broad daylight.
You people are my kind of crazy.”
“It’s the only way we can get to
the relic,” Farah said. “If Pert-en-hat’s
visions are right, it’s in Mr. Collins’
personal safe, and we need him to
open it up before you move in.”
“Right.” He looked over the
building’s blueprints. “I gotta
say this is a way better deal than
I thought we were going to get
when we robbed his tomb. I could
get used to this.”
“He recruited you,” Farah said,
“because he saw potential. If it had
been any other tomb, you and your
friends would not be alive right
now. Remember that before you
get too comfortable.” She waved
over a woman to join them.
“This is Emma,” she said.
“She’s the eldest of us. She’ll be
heading in for an interview with
Mr. Collins. Once she gets him to
open the safe, she’ll signal your
team over the radio.”
“Good to meet you, Emma.”
Tristian took her in, low-cut dress
and all. “You know, for the oldest
member, you don’t look a day over
22.”
Emma smiled. “Thanks, but
she was 26 when I stole her body.”
She winked at him and walked into
the building.
He laughed. “She’s kidding,
right? Right?”
Farah pulled out a jar of red
liquid from her jacket and drew a
sigil into the ground.
•••
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 gray-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.
•••
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.”
•••
Pert-en-hat rose from his
sarcophagus, confused. He knew
Emma, but she was surrounded by
strangers.
“This is your master,” she said
to the others. “Kneel before him!”
They did so, save for a woman
no older than her late teens.
Instead, she moved to him, close
enough to get a clear view of her
face in the dim torchlight. Her gray
eyes seemed alight with wonder.
Pert-en-hat stood dumbfounded.
“No!” Emma shouted. “You
don’t know what he’ll do!”
“It’s you,” the young woman
said, “from my dreams. My father,
and his grandfather, they served
you. Do you remember?”
The muscles on Pert-en-hat’s
skinless face twitched. His mind’s
eye saw vague memories of a
young man in the desert with eyes
like hers, but nothing else. “No.”
The woman signed. “We’ll give
it some time, then. I’m Farah.”
•••
Mr. Collins stood with a
hunch. His eyes were bloodshot
and his clothes were soaked in
sweat. His body had a corpse’s
pallor.
“You’re dying,” Pert-en-
hat said. “Without the proper
invocation, it feeds on you. There’s
still time. Give it to me, and I can
save you.”
“Save me?” Mr. Collins
wheezed out a laugh. “When I have
the power of a god? No. It’s not me
you should worry about.”
He shot Farah in the chest. She
slumped over. Her blood soaked
into the rope.
“I have more than enough for
the rest of—”
Before Mr. Collins finished
his sentence, Pert-en-hat leaped
on him and smashed his head
through his desk, the floor, and
several inches into the concrete
below both. He convulsed and
went still.
Emma struggled against the
rope. “Farah? Stay with us! Farah!”
“She’s not dead,” Tristian said,
“Not yet.”
Pert-en-hat lifted the Pharaoh
of Mice from the ruins of Mr.
Collins’ desk. He traced his fingers
along the patches in its fur, and the
scar on its eye.
A husky, feminine voice
echoed in his mind. Leave them.
They can be replaced. Return it to me.
The mummy’s head ached.
“I…”
“Master, do something.
Please!” Emma yanked her body
away from Farah. “The police’ll be
here any minute!”
Return it to me. It’s mine!
“No,” Pert-en-hat said. “It’s
mine!”
He crushed the Pharaoh of
Mice in his hands and its power
flowed through him. The pain in
his body ceased, and he cried to the
heavens in joy.
He tore the rope binding
the cultists. He placed a hand
on Farah’s chest, over the bullet
wound. “Live!”
His life force flooded her
body and her wound sealed. She
coughed up gold-tinted blood.
Pert-en-hat felt a chill spread
from his chest to his limbs. His
skin shriveled and he fell to
the floor. Farah and the others
grabbed his body, but their voices
sounded far away.
Before he returned to the
sleep of death, the voice in his
head spoke once more. I am very
disappointed in you. But I am
merciful. We will try again. After
all, you are my most beloved
servant.
 But then, as she knew too well, the more fondly we imagine
something will last forever, the more ephemeral it often proves to be.
— Iain M. Banks, Excession
Mummy: The Curse is a storytelling game of timeless souls
set in the Chronicles of Darkness, a world much like our own,
but full of supernatural horrors. This book contains everything
you need to create your Arisen characters and their followers
and guide them on their Descents throughout history.
In Mummy: The Curse you play a former citizen of the
Nameless Empire. Its sorcerer-priests granted you immortality, but
at a cost. You awaken from your deathly slumber brimming with
power, but devoid of memory. Each Descent is a race to discover
who you were and who you’ve become, before Duat claims you
once more. What will you build with the time you have?
The Arisen don’t always experience time in a linear fash-
ion. A mummy awakens in 1950s America, but recalls parts of
her prior Descent occurring in 2012. She remembers history
out of order, both the world’s and her own. How can she bring
about the things she knows are coming? What pieces can
she change, and who will she become if she changes them?
You may also play members of the Arisen’s cult —mortals
dedicating their lives to serving the Deathless. Whether you’re
the heir to a millennia-old sorcerous legacy, or a new devotee,
you carry out your mummy’s wishes while she sleeps. You guard
her tomb. You manage the business she established in a prior
Descent. You seek out relics to empower her when she awakens.
In return, she trusts you to wield a sliver of her immense power.
We present options for playing a meret — a group of
mummies — or a mixed troupe of Deathless and mortals as
they carry out the wishes of their Judges in Duat, race against
the competition to reclaim relics, and battle their ancient
enemies, the Shuankhsen.
Mummy is a game about empires: how they’re built, how
they fall, how we reinforce them and how we break free.
It’s also a game about individuals: who you are and who
you perceive yourself to be. What happens when you learn
14 Why The Stars Fall
things about yourself that contradict the narrative you’ve so
carefully pieced together?
It’s a game about power: the consequences of wielding
it, the things for which we trade it away, what it feels like
when it wanes.
THEME: MEMORY
Each Descent, the Arisen begins as a blank slate. If she’s
lucky, her cult reminds her who she is and fills the gaps with
facts about her lives, her plans, and anything that stands in her
way. However, not every rising starts with an orientation session.
Sometimes the mummy has to piece herself together on her own,
cobbling her memories together into a timeline as they surface.
As immortals whose lives span eons, mummies attempt to
anchor themselves to the world even as it moves on without
them. They make connections, not only to their cults but also
to other Arisen, sharing experiences across the millennia.
Memory shapes identity, and the more lines a mummy can
connect, the better she can anchor her sense of who she is;
but tethers snap, and rope frays. Memory can be unreliable,
and for the Arisen it’s often fragmented and out-of-context.
It’s frustrating having to rely on other peoples’ interpretations
of events. Sometimes, however, it can be liberating. If you
don’t know who you were, you can be anyone you like —until
recollection comes knocking.
MOOD: DISCOVERY
A mummy’s Descent is full of discovery. Immediately
upon waking, she has to figure out where she is, and when.
She quickly learns what her cult requires of her. Sometimes
her enemies reveal themselves before she’s even shed her
wrappings. At its heart, however, Mummy: The Curse is
about the Deathless discovering themselves. How does new

Playing with Compassion
Few Arisen inhabit the same body they lived in
when they were alive in Irem. They may appear
as a different race or gender than they recall from
their previous Descents. We greatly encourage
playing a diverse range of characters, but remind
players and Storytellers to be thoughtful about
how you address such concepts at your table.
Please be mindful and avoid harmful tropes and
comments that might be triggering to other mem-
bers of your gaming group.
information about old sins affect your plans, your sense of
self? With every revelation about his previous Descents,
the Arisen has to reassess what that knowledge means for
him now. Maybe he was someone better back then, and sees
his past as a standard for which to aim; or maybe he was a
monster, and his past actions horrify him. What things does
he accept, what does he try to bury all over again?
INSPIRATIONAL MEDIA
Mummy: The Curse can span several genres. You might
want to tell a story inspired by 1920s pulp adventures, or
opt for a quieter game of self-discovery in a modern setting.
Here are some books, games, and movies that evoke these
varying aspects.
MOVIES AND TELEVISION
Altered Carbon (2018) In the future, people store their
memories on disks and transfer their consciousness from body
to body, granting them a type of immortality.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) Though the film features a mummy
as its antagonist, we’re recommending it for the way it shows
the characters dealing with aging and the powerlessness they
feel as a result of it.
Fringe (2008) Another study in how memory shapes
identity, the character of Dr. Walter Bishop underwent
several brain surgeries to remove memories he felt made
him dangerous. As the series progresses, he regains many of
them, and must deal with the fallout.
Memento (2000) is an excellent exploration of memory
and loss, and how someone builds (and alters) their narrative
with limited and often conflicting information.
The Mummy (1999) represents several elements of
Mummy — a race to find a hidden city and claim the rel-
ics within, traps laid to protect the tomb, ancient sorcery.
Imhotep’s desiccated body repairs itself much like one of
the Arisen, and his formidable displays of power could easily
be Utterances. Though their aim is to keep him from rising
rather than serving him, the Medjai have been protecting
Imhotep’s tomb for thousands of years, much like a mum-
my’s cult.
BOOKS
11/22/63, by Stephen King (2011) explores many of the
ripple effects altering a timeline can cause, both on a small
scale and a global one.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
(2014) Though Harry would technically be one of the
Reborn, this novel is both a good example of what it’s like
to use knowledge from an earlier Descent to nudge history,
and how it feels when your best friend in one Descent might
turn out to be your eternal nemesis, too. The Chronus Club
functions both like a mummy’s cult and a group of Arisen
whose Descents overlap.
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
gives readers a sense of what it’s like for mummies to expe-
rience their Descents in a non-linear fashion, and the effects
that can have on those devoted to them.
For sorcerous cults, the works of Robert Howard and
Clark Ashton Smith showcase their rituals and eldritch
observances.
GAMES
Assassin’s Creed: Origins (2017) is set in Ptolemaic Egypt,
and its stunning visuals can inspire Storytellers running
scenes in lost Irem or the first Sothic Turns.
Planescape: Torment (1999) follows an immortal character
attempting to piece together memories of his previous lives.
LEXICON
The following is a sample of the core terms used in the
world of Mummy.
A’aru/Aaru: the afterlife to which worthy mortal souls
ascend after death.
ab: In the five-fold soul, the heart.
Affinity: A mystical imbuement that grants a mummy
the quiet power to prevail at his purpose.
Am-Khaibit: A Judge of Duat presiding over those
committing crimes against humanity. Known as the Eater
of Shadows.
15
 Anpu: A god of Irem responsible for death, mummifica-
tion, and the afterlife. Sometimes referred to as the Nameless
Jackal or Anubis.
Apotheosis: A fabled state of being whereby mummies
might either end or otherwise transform the cycle of death-
and-rebirth to which they have chained themselves for
eternity.
Arem-Abfu: A Judge of Duat presiding over those com-
mitting crimes against the cosmos. Known as the Final Judge.
Arisen: A mummy or mummies created in lost Irem by
the sorcerer-priests of the great guilds.
Ashem: The decree of shadow.
ba: In the five-fold soul, the spirit.
benbenet: A human or piece of sacred geometry in the
midst of a Judge’s emanation bearing its crown.
Blood Bather: A type of Immortal who extends their
lifespan through ritual sacrifice and immersion in blood.
Body Thief: A type of Immortal capable of psychically
or magically transferring their soul into the body of another
being to extend their lifespan.
crown: A metaphysical signifier marking a person or
piece of sacred geometry as a Judge’s herald in this world. A
crowned benbenet speaks and acts with the Judge’s authority.
cult: Customary term for any group of mortals that has
forged a bond with a mummy.
Deathless: All mummies who are not Lifeless.
Deceived: Mummies of a “lost” guild who practiced
the Nomenclature and wielded the terrifying power of true
names.
decree: One of five defining pronouncements an Arisen
might make before the Judges of Duat; one’s decree deter-
mines which aspect of the five-fold soul guides a mummy
throughout unlife.
dedwen: a mystical property contained in all things,
mutable and valuable, capable of being shaped into its own
perfected form and granting prosperity. Properly refined,
dedwen can be transformed into Sekhem.
Descended: The Arisen state during henet in Duat.
Descent, the: An activity period, or life cycle, for a
mummy; it could last a night, or it might last a year.
Deshret: The decree of spirit.
Devourer, the: The oblivion goddess Ammut, who
devoured the souls of those whom the Judges of Duat had
judged and found wanting.
Duat: The underworld, to which Arisen souls return
during their henet, ruled over by the Judges.
16 Why The Stars Fall
Endless: Immortal creatures bound to limitations other
than those experiences by the Deathless and Lifeless.
Eternal: A type of Immortal who extends their lifespan
through use of a relic or similar powerful anchor.
fiend: Terrifying creatures bound to the Law of Suffering
in Duat.
guild: One of six mighty organizations in lost Irem, each
overseen by the Shan’iatu; the five modern guilds reflect the
Arisen’s reconstructed visions thereof.
henet: The spiritual repose into which mummies fall
when they must take their rest.
Immortal: Humans achieving vastly extended lifespans,
without undergoing the Rite of Return.
Inheritor: An individual in whom the Arisen has invest-
ed Pillars via the Rite of Investment.
Irem: The Arisen nickname for the many-pillared city
that was the seat of the Nameless Empire.
Iremic: The Iremite language, roughly analogous to
Archaic Egyptian and Old Egyptian.
Iremite: “of Irem”, such as a mummy who lived their
mortal days in Irem, or an artifact crafted in Irem.
Judges of Duat: The godlike beings who sit in judgment
over departed souls; each Arisen pledges himself to the ser-
vice of his people and his purpose before one of these beings.
ka: In the five-fold soul, the essence.
Kenemti: A Judge of Duat presiding over those committing crimes
of blasphemy and desecrating the sacred. Known as the Penitent.
kepher: The psychic resonance the Arisen sense when
tracking sources of Sekhem or relics of lost Irem.
Kher-Minu: A minor guild of warriors and tomb guard-
ians, whose deaths and souls are tied to their weapons.
Between Descents, the Kher-Minu’s body turns to stone.
Kheru: The decree of heart.
Lifeless: Umbrella category of warped, less perfected
visions of undeath than the Arisen.
Maa-Kep: The Arisen iteration of an ancient guild of
laborers and spies specializing in the creation of mystically
imbued amulets.
Maar-Kherit: A minor guild originally composed of
physicians and healer-priests, warped into Sybaris-spreading
horrors by a failed act of resurrection.
meret: Customary term for an alliance among several
Arisen; denotes the group as a unit.
Mesen-Nebu: The Arisen iteration of an ancient guild
of craftsmen and smiths specializing in the occult trans-
mutations of alchemy.
 Nameless Empire, the: The lost, predynastic Egyptian
civilization that gave birth to all true mummies.
Nebha: A Judge of Duat presiding over deceivers and
liars. Known as the Flame.
Neheb-Ka: A Judge of Duat presiding over crimes borne
of human pride and arrogance. Known as the One Who
Unifies.
Nesrem: The decree of essence.
Neter-Khertet: A realm on the border between life and
death, ruled by the god Anpu.
nome: The territory over which a mummy exerts their
influence.
Pillar: One of five aspects of the ancient soul — heart,
spirit, essence, name, and shadow.
Reborn: A type of Immortal who reincarnates in a new
host each time they die, retaining the memories of their
past lives.
relic: A vessel containing distilled or refined Sekhem (or,
in rare cases, substantial levels of unrefined Sekhem) and
thus bearing both discernable mystical properties and an
attached curse; found in one of five general forms (amulets,
effigies, regia, texts, and uter).
ren: In the five-fold soul, the name.
Rite of Return: The sorcery that created the Arisen and
that binds its Sekhem to their souls so they can walk among
the living.
Sadikh: trusted mortal servants of the Arisen, granted
a limited type of immortality from the Rite of the Engraved
Heart
sahu: The corporeal, mutable body of an Arisen, which
commonly changes appearance with the decrease in Sekhem
and raising of Memory, to resemble the mummy’s lasting
image of themselves.
seal the flesh: The mummy ability to force their sahu to
reform and heal when damaged.
Sekhem: The pure “life force” that gives both the Arisen
and their occult traditions power.
Semektet: The period during which an Arisen is awake.
Sesha-Hebsu: The Arisen iteration of an ancient guild
of magistrates and scribes specializing in the creation of the
occult word.
Shan’iatu: The cabal of sorcerer-priests who ran the
ancient guilds and created all mummies.
Shuankhsen: The deadliest of the Lifeless, they are
mummies who have been lost to shadow.
sheut: In the five-fold soul, the shadow.
shade: Living shadows and inhabitants of Neter-Khertet.
Sickness, the: Informal term for the occult miasma that
settles over living mortals unaccustomed to the ancient
power and dread presence of a mummy (q.v. Sybaris).
sorcerer: A human who perceives and manipulates
Sekhem.
Sothic Turn: An interval of time coinciding with the
end of the previous canicular period (about 1,460 years),
during which all the Deathless arise unsummoned and seek
out new purpose.
Su-Menent: The Arisen iteration of an ancient guild of
funerary priests and ritualists specializing in the creation of
vessels of the shell.
Sybaris: Customary term for the Sickness, experienced
in one of two ways: terror or unease.
Tef-Aabhi: The Arisen iteration of an ancient guild
of architects and engineers specializing in the creation of
magical effigies.
temakh: the mystical essence the Shan’iatu possess in
place of human souls.
Timeless: A broad term used alternately for any entity
capable of existing across multiple eras and timelines at once
or in a non-chronologically linear order, or for any creature
that can potentially exist forever.
Unem-Besek: A Judge of Duat presiding over the theft
of land, denial of sustenance, and disruption of dominion.
Known as the Eater of Entrails.
Usekh-Nemtet: A Judge of Duat presiding over those
who would challenge the Judges and seek immortality.
Known as the First Judge.
Usheb: The decree of the name.
Utterance: A powerful spell invoked by a mummy
through the power of his Sekhem.
vessel: An object that has either naturally accumulated
or been artificially imbued with Sekhem.
vestige: A vessel containing only pure/unrefined Sekhem
and bearing no mystical properties, but holding a great deal
of emotional or spiritual value to one or more earth-bound
souls.
Wadjet-Itja: A minor guild of tricksters, gamblers, and
oracles, who supplement their imperfect immortality by
stealing years from mortals’ lifespans.
Witness: A mortal who, via exposure to the Arisen and
her cult, is drawn to the mummy’s orbit. Often, a Witness
stirs the mummy’s memories of Irem.
17
18
 I have traveled through the tomb, dark and lonely ground. I am here now. I have come.
I see. In the underworld, I embraced my father. I have burned away his darkness. I am
his beloved. I have killed the snake. I have given him meat. I walk in my sleep through
earth and heaven.
— The Book of the Dead

GUILDS The Shan’iatu chose workers from these guilds to under-

go the Rite of Return and become living monuments, for

N o empire survives by its rulers alone. Many hands built
Irem, many minds kept it running, and many hearts guid-
ed its worship. Those who kept the wheels of empire greased
and turning were organized into guilds, sworn to service in
their areas of expertise and passion.
monuments to Irem have always been guild business. Their
dread sorcery wrote these purposes into the souls of the
blessed, memories deeper than mind, flesh, or bone. A guild
is not an organization, but a raison d’être. Being Deathless
means committing to eternity the same calling to which they
dedicated their lives.

I am Deathless. I die, but I return.

I am a relic. I am a monument to a buried empire.
I dedicate life and death and life again to my unending purpose.
My soul is eternal. I devote myself to one of its aspects.
It reminds me who I am no matter how many millennia I persist or what I forget.
I am not my own master.
My Judge demands my faith and service. I reap what I sow.
I am Arisen. Memory is fleeting, but these things endure.

Guilds 19
 Spies, Junta, Dapifers
I listened closely while he spoke. The people would love him,
he said. They would offer their loyalty gladly, and in exchange
they would gain power over their own fates. All it would take
was a revolution, guns and fists raised high in silhouette against
the orange blaze that would light up the night and banish tyran-
ny. I could see his passion, his dedication. His logic was sound.
His preparations were prudent. Even now, I laud his efforts.
He looked up from his maps and schedules to beam a smile
my way. He cut a handsome figure, there in the candlelight, and
I admit his plan had merit. It was a temptation, as surely as any
convincing bait ever is. I smiled, too.
“So,” he said, “what do you think? Will it work?”
“It would have,” I assured him. “It would have worked very
well, were it not for one fatal flaw.”
“What’s that?” he asked, concern writ plain in his bright
eyes.
“You told it to me.”
TRADITION OF THE AMULET
The relics of the Maa-Kep are protective talismans, badg-
es of office, engraved emblems that declare something to be
true, and unobtrusive seals that can hold back power, carry
it, or transfer it from place to place. Worn or mounted, they
passively soak in magic and secrets. Like their amulets, the
Maa-Kep are subtle protectors and preservers of ideas and
ideals, those who quietly move power from hand to hand or
rein it in when it needs limiting for the greater good. They
serve quietly but never let anyone forget how important they
are. They absorb information, only doling it out when, and to
whom, they believe it’s warranted. They’re the secret police
20 Chapter One: The Arisen
of the Arisen, and the beat they walk is all of civilization.
They shepherd ideological purity; sometimes those ideas
come from the Judges, sometimes from the mortals the mum-
mies guide, and sometimes from their own meret’s priorities.
Magnanimous in Victory, Blameless in Defeat
Maa-Kep rarely take the spotlight themselves, instead
gathering information and then reporting it to someone
else who does the forward-facing work for them. This is
partially because they believe to take credit is to disrespect
their place as tools and useful right hands, passed down to
them from the Judges and the Shan’iatu. It’s also for plausible
deniability in case something goes wrong. It’s not that they
throw their friends under the bus, it’s just that it’s easier to
smooth things over later when they’re not the ones catching
the heat. They’re loyal to their leaders but unafraid to speak
truth to power — if only behind closed doors. They shape
civilization around them by forever making corrections and
adjustments to everything and everyone, whether with one
quiet word or with a brute force tool — like a fellow mummy
or a well-armed cult.
FOUNDATIONS
In Irem, the Dapifers were originally a collection of middle
managers — slave drivers, overseers, and convoy masters.
They gradually made themselves indispensable, demonstrat-
ing their dedication to making sure Irem’s caravans ran on
time and their understanding of the inner workings of empire.
The Shan’iatu eventually recognized the guild’s potential to
be so much more, and elevated the Maa-Kep to act as secret
police whose true purpose was hidden from the other guilds.
They preserved the ideological purity of Irem, making sure
no one strayed from the path to glory and conquest in the
gods’ names.
THE WHEEL TURNS
The guild’s secret duty didn’t stay hidden forever; by the time of the Rite of
Return, the others knew why the Spies had been chosen. Their fellow mummies
don’t always remember it, though. Having a Maa-Kep in the meret is a slow pendu-
lum swinging between trust and suspicion, as her comrades rediscover her covert
goals over and over again; but by the time they remember, she’s always made
herself too damn useful to ignore. To this day, it’s gauche to talk about it in
polite company, and usually the meret’s cults other than the Maa-Kep’s itself
aren’t in the know even once the Arisen remember. To those who don’t,
the Junta are valued advisors and scouts, playing the roles of coordinator,
majordomo, surveillant, appraiser, and yes, spy — it’s just that few realize
this spy is always a double agent, even if it’s for their own good. (Usually.)
Maa-Kep are kingmakers and internal affairs agents, watchdogs
and stewards. They are project managers supporting their merets and
cults, rooting out incompetence, corruption, and untrustworthy sorts.
They watch over their allies, but also constantly evaluate them. For
those who do remember their purpose, a Dapifer is all those things,
as well as the conductor guiding the meret’s train along the rails
and keeping everybody else in line. Some appreciate it, some
resent it, and many feel differently depending on the Descent.
The Maa-Kep’s cults are extensions of themselves by way
of surveillance, information gathering, and spreading out
like a web of eyes and ears with the mummy at its center.
The Junta are men in black and spymasters, but also
keen investigators with cults full of detectives and
journalists, and mysterious strangers waltzing
into someone’s life, helping him out for no
apparent reason and then vanishing into the
ether — arranging people and events on a grand
scale humans can’t see. They’re not the ones who
give a man a fish; they’re the ones who teach him
to fish by writing the manual and having minions
leave it conspicuously on his desk without ever
talking to him, watching him from across the street
with binoculars while he reads it, and then expecting
him to do it right.
Once, the Dapifers weren’t the ones with the big
picture vision, instead enforcing that of the Shan’iatu.
They were content with that — but the Shan’iatu aren’t
around anymore. The Maa-Kep view themselves as the
Shan’iatu’s true successors because they enshrine Irem’s
highest ideals. They know how things are really supposed
to be done, and how to make sure they’re done that way.
The less they remember or care about their original man-
dates, the more they build their own versions of the grand
vision in their minds and enforce those. They insist it’s what
the Judges want — who better to keep the seats warm for
the great sorcerers than the ones who stood by their right
hands so long ago?

Maa-Kep 21
 AS SOTHIS ASCENDS
A Maa-Kep deals with immortality through reliance on
her powers of observation and knowledge-gathering to catch
her up on anything she forgets or misses, and by staying
focused on the minutiae. She can’t contemplate the exis-
tential dread of knowing she’ll probably outlive the human
race if she’s busy micromanaging everyone else and poking
her nose into their business 24/7. She might miss old friends,
but at least she got to know them better than anyone else
did — probably better than they knew themselves. Thus,
they live on in her.
The patterns the Spies see and perpetuate in the world
are those of behavior, relationships, and philosophies. They
track the principles every society values and how it main-
tains its high road, or falls from it into a subversion or even
perversion of its purported ideals. They understand how
civilizations rise and fall by the integrity of their beliefs, their
dedication compared to their hypocrisy, and how well their
people work together.
Starfall
A Junta turns her back on the Judges because she sees
what she believes is a flaw in the gods’ plans or comes to
believe that something has corrupted even those lords of
Duat. Those who grow to resent their servitude don’t do
so because they hate the concept of serving, but because
they feel they’re not being utilized to their full potential,
they’re being ordered to uphold an impure idea, or their
elegant work is stymied by frustrating obstacles beyond their
control. Others fall to corruption themselves, losing faith in
their purpose after standing vigil for so long or craving the
spotlight after lifetimes of hiding in the shadows.
Vessels: Amulets
Affinities: Affable Aid, Amulet of the Envoy, Nexus of
the Soul
WHO WE ARE
• Internal affairs officer in a metropolitan police de-
partment, monitoring society’s dedication to its ideals
through its law enforcement
22 Chapter One: The Arisen
Beyond the
Shadow of Pillars
Mesen-Nebu: You make an excellent van-
guard, even if your materialistic streak makes you
a bit of an embarrassment. We’d never say so to
your face, though.
Sesha-Hebsu: Without you, many valuable se-
crets would be lost. Without us, your judgments
would ring hollow.
Su-Menent: Curb your worst impulses, my
friend. Your work is important, but not as import-
ant as you think it is.
Tef-Aabhi: It’s an intricate dance we weave,
isn’t it? We both have long memories, but yours
are so much more reliable. Pity, that.
Wadjet-Itja: One day, we’ll dig up the se-
cret of how you managed your chicanery, and
on that day, you’ll wish you never pretended at
immortality.
• Deep-cover espionage agent, collecting intelligence
about cultures and nations around the world and only
reporting back what pushes her employers to act the
way she wants them to
• Project manager at a large company, raking in money so
the cult can donate large sums to ideologically desirable
groups
• Butler and house manager for a rich and bustling
estate belonging to another Arisen and consisting of
generations of a dynasty cult
• Trusted advisor to an influential politician or crime
lord, whispering and nudging to influence govern-
ments, underworlds, or both
Revolutionaries, Alchemists, Brokers
“That’s it?” she grunted. “A handful of starry-eyed children
and desperate runaways? That’s not a cult.”
“Not yet,” I said, watching them fondly on the security feed
as they milled around or huddled together, confused and fright-
ened. “But I will make of them something extraordinary.”
“What’s the point? In the time it takes, you could grasp pow-
er at the highest levels of this little social experiment of a nation,
a hundred times over.”
“I could,” I conceded. I tapped the screen with one perfectly
manicured nail, pointing out the one who had already opened
the tome I left them and begun to try deciphering its sigils. She
couldn’t have been older than 17. Her life was the blink of an
eye, but in that blink — oh, the wonders she would master.
“Yes, I could. But these children hold more dedwen in their little
fingers than your posturing fools contain in their entire bodies.”
My comrade shook her head. She didn’t understand. But
she would in time. These waifs would transform into beautiful,
blooming flowers, loyal worshipers dreaming of pillars reaching
higher than the clouds. Mine to shape. All mine.
TRADITION OF ALCHEMY
The relics of the Mesen-Nebu are objects and materials of
beauty and value, transformed from something base. Potions
and medicines, superior weapons and armor made of magical
alloys, luxuries crafted from secret formulae, beautiful jewelry.
Like their regia, the Mesen-Nebu transform and perfect.
They see potential in everything, and know how to coax
it out through mystical processes granted to them through
their understanding of the mystery of alchemy. For them,
alchemy isn’t about the mortal idea of the philosopher’s
stone and eternal life — they already have that, after all. It’s
about the occult principle of dedwen: “prosperity.” Dedwen
comes of transmuting potential to power; uplifting the base
and unfinished to a more perfect state, whether it’s metals
and medicines, people, or societies. Thus, all prosper, and
all things maximize their value. What “perfect” means var-
ies from Judge to Judge and meret to meret, but regardless
of the end product, every Revolutionary feels the drive to
improve — themselves and everything else — and none are
willing to settle for anything but the best. They earn that
epithet every time they look at the way something is and,
dissatisfied, change it into what it could be.
Value in Utility, Perfection in Beauty
To the Mesen-Nebu, a thing’s worth isn’t in its practical
use or monetary value alone. Dedwen comes from aspiration
to all facets of the gold coin’s worth: its utility as currency, yes,
and the rarity that makes it desirable, but also its lovely shine
that gleams in the sun. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
but in the Broker’s mind, each beholder should work to sur-
round themselves with what they desire, what pleases them.
It’s not a shallow belief in appearances mattering more than
what’s underneath, or a hedonistic indulgence (although
many Alchemists do that too); it’s an arcane principle un-
derlying the very concept of worth, marrying function and
form together into a true ideal. Why settle for dull jewels
when you could polish them? Some think the Mesen-Nebu
frivolous, but they work just as hard as any Arisen, producing
wonders and encouraging others not to settle either.
An intrinsic part of the pursuit of dedwen, and the vis-
ceral lure of this pursuit for these Arisen, is in its elusiveness.
Even forms of value that seem objective to mortals, like a
product’s market price or one tool achieving its purpose
more efficiently than another, are subjective and debatable
Mesen-Nubu 23
 to the Mesen-Nebu based on esoteric criteria that
only those initiated into the guild’s mysteries com-
prehend. Beauty is the most elusive prize of all;
conceptions of what’s aesthetically pleasing vary
from era to era, from culture to culture, and from
person to person. The quest to understand beauty,
the Alchemists say, is their true purpose. Crafting
miracle medicines and sorcerous weapons to aid
the meret and its cults is a bonus — it’s in
the process that the real work lies, because
the process is what produces the dedwen.
FOUNDATIONS
In Irem, the Brokers forged the superior
panoply with which the Shan’iatu and their
soldiers conquered others, invented cures and
restorative potions far in advance of not only
their contemporaries but even, in some cases,
modern medicine, and kept the empire’s coffers
full. They introduced commerce and perfected
it to an art, demonstrating the power of exchange
and economy as a form of alchemy, too — turning
work into bread and investment into reward. They
studied the properties of the world with mystical
sciences the rest of humanity wouldn’t discover
for millennia. The Mesen-Nebu of Irem viewed
themselves as the guild most dedicated to ex-
pressing the glory of the gods and displaying it
for all to see — and to bow before.
THE WHEEL TURNS
In the modern world, where capitalism
reigns and the material sciences are highly
advanced, the Alchemists are in their
element. Of the Arisen, they’re the most
given to ostentatious displays of wealth and
fame among mortals. They take varied roles
ranging from chemists, doctors, and invest-
ment brokers to fashion designers, hairdressers,
and career counselors; they serve anywhere they
can transform and improve, or help
others to do so. They seek beauty
in all things and strive to fulfill the
desires of others, shaping mortal
institutions by giving them what
they want in exchange for mate-
rial goods, favors, or worship.
Having a Revolutionary in a
meret means never wanting
for anything, but it also means
24 Chapter One: The Arisen
being constantly pushed to do more and do it better,
to grow cults and train cultists in new skills. The
Mesen-Nebu often represent the meret to outsid-
ers, using elegance and aesthetics combined with
a practical transactional mindset to persuade the
skeptical to meet demand with supply.
The Mesen-Nebu’s cults are exten-
sions of themselves by way of their
hooks into the world’s econo-
mies and industries, and their
influence over the populace’s
desires. Many Mesen-Nebu
plant or recruit cultists in the
higher echelons of market-
ing firms and advertising
agencies, in red-light dis-
tricts running high-end
escort services, and in
modeling and magazines
to gauge (and sway) public
opinion on what’s desirable.
Others use their significant reach
and resources to invest in chemical
and materials science laboratories,
sneaking occult secrets into the
formulae, or to found circuses,
bands, and dance troupes to
seek purer forms of aesthetics.
A Revolutionary’s cultist is as
likely to be a talent scout or
the producer of a reality show
like American Idol as they are to
invent experimental drugs and
sell them on a street corner. The
one thing the Alchemists’ cults
never are is idle.
As masters of dedwen, the
Mesen-Nebu see themselves
as the true successors to the
Shan’iatu because they under-
stand how to foster prosperity,
and what is an empire that
doesn’t prosper? The other
guilds may build things that
last, but it’s the Alchemists
that make sure they have
everything they need to do
it. These Arisen keep food
on the table, money in
the bank, and joy in the
heart. Dedwen, they say, is
how the Shan’iatu perfected their sacred arts and created
the cycles that live on beyond them; who better to make
sure the wheels keep turning than those that understand
dedwen best?
AS SOTHIS ASCENDS
The Mesen-Nebu deal with immortality by always keeping
their eyes on the next prize and reinventing themselves with
every Descent. They view their cycles of death and resurrec-
tion as iterations — crucibles that purify and transmute their
souls into more perfect versions of themselves each time they
face their Judges in Duat’s long halls. Nothing is gained by
dwelling overmuch on what is lost, because whatever it was
became something better in the losing.
The patterns they see and perpetuate in the world are
those of commerce and trade, and how the worth of things
waxes and wanes. They track the delicate balance between
prosperity and greed, and note how certain trends increase
or decrease how much of the population steadily produces
dedwen; a stagnant culture and a depressed economy may
herald a civilization’s proper end, or may signal a disruption
of the natural cycle, and the Mesen-Nebu recognize which
is which. They understand that everything in the world is a
zero-sum game because all resources are finite, and they see
which way the scales are tipped.
Starfall
A Mesen-Nebu turns his back on the Judges because he’s
decided to put his own prosperity above theirs, succumbing
to greed or pursuing self-actualization. He might grow frus-
trated at the lack of obvious return on his investment when
he sacrifices vessels to Duat, or suspicious about the use to
which all that dedwen he transforms into Sekhem for the
Judges is put. Some Brokers abandon their first purpose to
follow inspiration or insight into the true nature of beauty
and dedwen, and pursue it to the exclusion of everything else.
Vessels: Regia (sing. regium)
Affinities: Almsman’s Tithe, Divine Flesh, Hone the Soul
WHO WE ARE
• Talent scout seeking young artists or musicians, turning
them into major stars
Beyond the Born of Gold
Maa-Kep: Your false modesty ill becomes the
Arisen. We’d rather have true peers than watch-
dogs that pretend to serve.
Sesha-Hebsu: We make a good team — we
open the deal, you close it. Education transforms
civilization, a respectable form of dedwen. We
salute you.
Su-Menent: You play at godhood and imagine
it makes you worthier than the rest of us. We re-
spect the wish to better yourselves, but keep some
perspective, please.
Tef-Aabhi: Together we will surpass the great-
est achievements of our lost empire. Prosperity
rises from strong foundations, and you lay those
beautifully.
Kher-Minu: Give us time. We’ll figure out a
way for you to transcend your imprisonment and
be something more. Something new.
• Personal trainer transforming mortals through fitness
regimens and literal miracle drugs
• Head of a modeling agency sacrificing the most attrac-
tive models to Duat as “regia”
• Stockbroker quietly influencing the stock market
according to his whims
• Jeweler whose work is so highly coveted he only sells
at private auctions, through which he influences the
1%
Mesen-Nubu 25
 Diplomats, Lorekeepers, Arbiters
They described his crimes to me one by one, in great detail.
Word for word, I took them down, my pen scratching across the
page in quick, precise strokes. When they fell silent, I looked up
at him, pen poised. He watched its point as one might watch a
serpent ready to strike.
“Please,” he said. “You know me. I’ve been loyal. Faithful!
Show mercy, and I promise I’ll never—”
“It is not my privilege to show mercy. The Judges will hear
your appeal. I do only as they demand.”
He paled. “The Judges? But… you can’t mean…”
My pen came down. In a few smooth strokes, his fate was
written. I didn’t apologize as they dragged him away, though my
heart ached. They come and go. It’s the way of things.
Maybe if I keep telling myself that Descent after Descent
then it will someday get easier — but I doubt it.
TRADITION OF THE SCRIBE
The relics of the Sesha-Hebsu are scrolls and tablets
recording history, information, prayers, and magic. They set
precedent and establish facts, allowing dynasties and bureau-
cracies to flourish beyond living memory. They preserve sto-
ries, spells, and other aspects of oral culture so fallible mem-
ory and even death can’t erase knowledge from the world.
Relics that arise in modern times are often books and other
documents, but don’t always look much like the traditional
understanding of texts, enshrined on film, magnetic tape,
or optical disk. Nevertheless, they serve the same purpose:
record, preserve, and inform. The Sesha-Hebsu themselves
do the same. They are the scribes and bureaucrats, archivists
and reporters: absorbing all knowledge and setting it down
26 Chapter One: The Arisen
for future generations. They see value in even the smallest
piece of recorded data — even a shopping list or Instagram
selfie tells the reader or viewer something.
Knowledge itself is only a means to an end, though —
ultimately, the Lorekeepers believe in all their accumulated
millennia of work both comprising and being empowered by
the divine Scroll of Ages: the cosmic record that inscribes all
of history and thought from the gods’ omnipotent vantage.
What’s recorded is not as important as the sacred act of
recording it.
Learning Breeds Wisdom; Ignorance Breeds Folly
With the Diplomats’ primary duty comes another: using the
wisdom gained from recorded knowledge to impartially mediate
and advise others in conflict. The Sesha-Hebsu believe anyone
else trying to fill that role would have gaps in their insight
leading them to make the wrong decisions; thus, they are the
only ones in a position to negotiate, pass judgment, and provide
unbiased counsel when it comes to the most important matters.
Remaining neutral is not just a matter of professional pride, but
of divine mandate; sullying the Scroll of Ages with prejudice or
favoritism is the gravest sin an Arbiter can commit. Any caught
doing so earns righteous curses and sanctions from their fellow
Arisen, up to and including violence against the mummy or her
cult, or confiscating relics and resources.
The Sesha-Hebsu believe magic flows from two cosmic
keystones, the Will and the Word. The Will conceives, and
the Word gives those conceptions life. The Sesha-Hebsu
are the Word’s keepers; the Will was once the purview of a
traitorous lost guild known now only as the “Deceived,” who
practiced ren-hekau, the magic of true names. Were this
magic not as lost as those who performed it, the Lorekeepers
would debate whether they should destroy it to prevent
corruption of the Scroll, or claim it as their own.
 Diplomats, though masters of language, typically aren’t verbose. They choose their words carefully, knowing how each echoes with
weight and carries the potential to change the world. It’s a heavy responsibility they don’t take lightly, and one sorcery plays no part
in — anyone, even the lowliest mortal, can topple cities and take lives with a single word, if they only know the right one to inscribe
for the right eyes. Despite their core philosophy, many Lorekeepers feel uneasy about literacy’s availability to so much of humanity in
modern times; billions of people with the power to change everything could easily bring civilization to its knees prematurely.

FOUNDATIONS
In Irem, the world’s first imperial bureaucrats claimed the secret of literacy at a time when few could, making the Sesha-
Hebsu elites second only to the Shan’iatu themselves. They enjoyed privileges
beyond those of other guilds, granted the honor of mediating disputes between
the great sorcerer-priests, and passing judgment on any case too important
to leave to local governors to adjudicate but not quite important enough
for the Shan’iatu’s involvement. The Arbiters were responsible for keeping
a record of all major decisions and endeavors, as well as providing legal
counsel, performing administrative tasks like transactional bookkeeping for
the Mesen-Nebu or taking down a dying pharaoh’s last words, and scribing
copies of important texts for cities across the Nameless Empire.

THE WHEEL TURNS

Today, the Sesha-Hebsu are much lower on the lad-
der than the hazy recesses of Memory tell them they
should be, because reading and writing are so much
more common in modern civilizations. They flock
to academia, where they can still find a measure of
exclusivity in traditional scholarship. Some embrace
the rise of computing to recapture the culture of highly
skilled, in-demand masters of vast stores of knowledge, while
others decry the ephemeral nature of electronic data and shun it
as anathema to their purpose. While today’s Lorekeepers still prize
the sacred arts of hand-wrought inscription, the word “record”
means more than it used to, and many take full advantage of modern
recording technology. Cameras of all kinds fascinate the Diplomats
and prompt heated arguments over whether images captured on film
contribute to the Scroll of Ages, or whether it really is the written
word that holds all the power. They clash over whether digital
vessels are truly worthy of the Judges. Is a digital scan of an arcane
text still sorcerous? Does Sekhem flow across wireless data streams?
Is the modern glut of mass media wondrous or horrific (or both)?
The Sesha-Hebsu’s cults are extensions of themselves as curators
and scriveners; even the gods’ chosen scribes can’t be everywhere
at once, and populations grow exponentially with each Sothic
Turn, creating ever more history that needs passing on. No longer
can they assume their cults wield power simply by virtue of their
education; instead, Sesha-Hebsu cults act as pillars of journalism
and research. The Maa-Kep are the information brokers when
it comes to secret intelligence and gossip, but when millennia
of accumulated wisdom and occult lore are needed, seek
the Sesha-Hebsu. Arbiters and their cultists range from
court scribes, notaries, lawyers, and judges, to reporters
and bloggers, to biographers (and autobiographers),

Sesha-Hebsu 27
 documentary filmmakers, and oral historians; from photog-
raphers and cameramen to translators and researchers; from
archaeologists and archivists to forensic scientists studying
handwriting and written evidence or analyzing surveillance
footage and incriminating photography to solve crimes.
As the Scroll of Ages’ keepers, the Sesha-Hebsu see
themselves as the true successors to the Shan’iatu because
they were entrusted with the duty to judge their fellows and
keep the peace. It’s a small step, they say, between interpret-
ing law and making it; between passing judgment and ruling
outright. Who knows the sorcerer-priests’ intent better than
those chosen to keep their wisdom, holding themselves apart
from the masses through impartial judgment that surely must
come straight from the Judges’ own mouths?
AS SOTHIS ASCENDS
Diplomats deal with immortality by appointing them-
selves as wise counselors and mentors that hate seeing other
people make the same mistakes that have always been made
— or repeating their own. The only way to cope with being
a part of so much history is to find ways to learn from it.
They also appoint themselves mediators among the Arisen,
preventing Irem’s successors from falling to infighting and
intrigue against one another when they all have better things
to do. While the Mesen-Nebu often play the role of a meret’s
“face,” the Sesha-Hebsu arbitrate conflicts and negotiate
terms with other merets and supernatural beings.
The patterns they see and perpetuate in the world are
those of learning and literacy, how much a society relies on and
values news and education, and how much it uses propaganda
and lies to manipulate its citizens. They encourage the former
if they think the Judges would prefer wisdom to spread to the
masses, or the latter if they believe in controlling it for only
the chosen few. They track important events and threads of
causality that run throughout history, and how prominent
figures — mortal and supernatural — make their marks on the
Scroll of Ages. From Hollywood to politics, from social media
to university campuses, the Sesha-Hebsu see the impact of
recorded media on the way humans relate to one another, and
how it sways their decisions. They’re better at remembering
things they’ve recorded or read than their own lives.
Starfall
A Sesha-Hebsu turns her back on the Judges because in
sending texts to Duat she’s actively destroying earthly knowl-
edge, which is counterproductive in the quest to complete
the Scroll of Ages; or she views the Scroll itself as nothing
more than Shan’iatu propaganda to keep the guild in line.
Some Arbiters come to believe they shouldn’t be impartial
— after all, they’re the judges of the Arisen, why shouldn’t
their opinions matter? Now that no one but their peers are
28 Chapter One: The Arisen
Beyond the Testimony to Ages
Maa-Kep: We appreciate your hard work in
uncovering secrets, but stop keeping them so
close to the vest. We watch the watchers, in case
you were wondering.
Mesen-Nebu: You make strong marks on the
Scroll of Ages. Don’t let greed blind you to your
purpose; you’re better than that.
Su-Menent: Your arrogance is unearned.
Remember your place. These “experiments” of
yours aren’t holy paeans to the Judges — they’re
pure vanity.
Tef-Aabhi: As we give voice to history, you give
it form. First comes the Will, then the Word, and
lastly the Web: that which connects all we bring
into the world.
Deceived: If the Namers were not already mere
footnotes in the Scroll’s margins, we would make
them so.
around to hold them to objectivity, corruption and decisions
made according to whim, grudges, or gut feelings are more
common among the Diplomats than they ever were in Irem.
Vessels: Texts
Affinities: Eyes of Justice, Loremaster’s Guile, Master of
the Written Word
WHO WE ARE
• Tomb-raiding archaeologist who knows every language
living or dead, recovering and translating lost texts,
both relic and mundane
• Judge for a neutral court that handles disputes for all
supernatural beings living in the city
• Investigative reporter publishing breaking news stories
before any mortal outlet possibly can
• History professor at a local college writing ground-
breaking research papers citing sources no one’s ever
heard of, and takes student cultists on “field trips” to
distant places
• Photographer capturing perfect images of places no
human would dare visit
Morticians, Necromancers, Shepherds
She was trying to impress me with her knowledge, I could tell.
I let her prattle on about ancient civilizations — as if she knew
what “ancient” really meant — and took pains to look fascinated.
Finally, she showed me to the glass case that held what I needed:
what remained of the mummified shell of my beloved queen.
“With radiocarbon dating, we’ve narrowed down the time-
frame for this mummy’s life to sometime during the early Middle
Kingdom,” she said with a smile, laying a hand flat on the glass
as though she could connect herself to the distant past.
Pure nonsense. I remember now, Your Perfection. I remem-
ber your wise eyes and the shape of your silhouette against the
white pillars. You perished much longer ago than this Middle
Kingdom — but I will bring you back. I must.
“Thank you,” I interrupted the curator mid-sentence. “That
will be all.”
“I beg your pardon?” she said.
“No need,” I replied, as I reached out to grasp her thin neck
in my hand. Her eyes went wide and her limbs jerked as I care-
fully crushed the life from her body. “I commend your sacrifice
to the Judges. May you rest in peace.”
TRADITION OF THE SHELL
The relics of the Su-Menent are lingering remnants of
life, preserved in death; paradoxes of living energy channeled
through withered remains, transgressing natural law to harness
the power of necromancy. Like their uter, the Morticians are
walking anomalies, eternal beings crossing the line between
life and death as a sacred purpose. How a civilization treats
its dead — and how gone they believe those dead really are
— says a lot about the fears it buries beneath its banal exte-
rior. The Shepherds master those fears to ensure humanity is
just afraid enough of death, cultivating a healthy respect but
stopping them from trying to cheat it with blasphemies or take
its power for themselves. These Arisen are dark sorcerers of
ritual sacrifice and gentle psychopomps; clinical experts of
mortuary science and authorities on matters of the soul. They
understand existential journeys and the passages between
the living world and Duat better than anyone. They remain
tight-lipped about these secrets to protect others from the
grim enormity of their arcane knowledge, and to preserve the
sanctity of their dread, holy purpose.
Life Begets Death; Death Begets Magic
People often console themselves in grief by telling them-
selves it doesn’t matter what happens to the body after death
— it’s the soul that’s important. The corpse is just a shell.
The Su-Menent understand that the shell holds power, too.
Having housed life and as the conduit for the mystical process
of its end, a corpse carries the residue for as long as it persists,
which acts as potential to house Sekhem again. Moreover, the
shell’s preparation has demonstrable effects on the soul’s fate,
and on any echoes a dead thing leaves behind. Necromancers
manipulate and exploit a cadaver’s potential, practicing a lesser
version of the arts the Shan’iatu used to enact the Rite of
Return itself. While strictly devout Su-Menent rebuke anyone
putting it in such bald terms, they can’t deny the truth of it,
and it often makes them arrogant. However, truly introspec-
tive Shepherds whisper their own heretical theories; what if
Irem’s sorcerer-priests craved power over life and death for the
same reason mortals do — plain and simple terror? Were they
desperate enough to keep from fading away to rewrite the laws
of mortality itself to ensure their escape from it?
FOUNDATIONS
The Su-Menent of Irem saw themselves as the Shan’iatu’s fa-
vorite children, the privileged few allowed to sit at the grown-ups’
Su-Menent 29
 table for sacrificial rites and funerary preparations. In
truth, the Shan’iatu inducted mortal mortuary priests
into a guild entrusted with their darkest secrets to
feed the mortals’ egos and prevent those secrets from
getting out. Someone had to do the grunt work of
sacred burial, so they took measures to make those
someones’ unquestioningly loyal. Treated like special
conspirators, the Shepherds of the Nameless
Empire never dared betray their mas-
ters, and lorded what they saw as
favored status over their peers
relentlessly. Their reputation
was one of flawless devotion and
absolute faith, and they lived up to
it more often than not. To cross the
Su-Menent was to risk one’s eternal
soul, as they could refuse to bury
someone properly when they died,
ensuring a hellish afterlife.
THE WHEEL
TURNS
In the Rite of Return’s wake, the
Necromancers understood the truth of
their place in Irem, and their fellows
knew vindication. The revelation hasn’t
humbled the Su-Menent much, but it has
given them a lot to think about. Still, they
continue their work, chasing the mysteries
of life-in-death and death-in-life, and
teaching societies to respect and revere
the dead. They infiltrate and influence
mortal religions to encourage adherence to
principles of permanence and longevity —
not coincidentally, the funerary practices
they espouse result in more ghosts and
other remnants they can press into their
service. They take up positions as medical
examiners and morgue attendants, gravediggers,
game hunters, and taxidermists, as well as priests,
counselors, and other spiritual advisor roles. They
play fast and loose with mortal law, robbing graves
and killing when they must to perfect their ves-
sels. No one is better at disposing of a body than
a Su-Menent. They’re also innovators, always
seeking the next secret of the Shan’iatu’s lost
art; they experiment with corpses and Sekhem,
creating undead abominations and servants loyal
only to them, with bizarre and unsettling powers.
Sometimes, they even do it on purpose.
30 Chapter One: The Arisen
These Arisen act as priests of the Judges and con-
sciences for their merets, for a certain definition of
“conscience.” Mortal morality doesn’t concern them,
but they pressure their peers to abide by whatever
they believe is “proper” and “holy” for mummies,
whether that means interpreting the Judges’
commands, delving into Memory to dredge up lost
principles of Irem to champion, or finding a new
faith to help their fellows cope with an eternity
of servitude and achronological time.
The Su-Menent’s cults are extensions of
themselves by way of procuring supplies and
securing privacy. In many cases, “supplies”
are dead bodies, purloined from graves and
morgues or made dead just
for the occasion. They
could also be occult
tomes, charms, and re-
agents for funerary rites
from cultures around the world,
or even mummified corpses sto-
len from museums or unearthed from
undisturbed sarcophagi. The Tef-Aabhi may
build tombs and master the Lifeweb, but the
Su-Menent understand the mystical give and
take of a tomb’s energies best, attuned to the
ways in which a place where the dead lie or
linger clings to souls and magic. Su-Menent
recruit cultists already predisposed to con-
spiracy and fanaticism — those used to lives
governed by hierarchies of fear and obedi-
ence. Shepherds regularly induct ghosts
into their cults, appointing them along
with other kinds of undead and lesser
Immortal guardians to watch over their
workplaces, and graveyards or temples
they claim as theirs. A Necromancer
needs his cult to cover up the evidence of
his grisly activities (and perform their own),
to infiltrate mortal religions and spread the
ideas he wants spread about death and the
afterlife, and to help his meret create and
safeguard the sacred rituals that govern resur-
rection, summoning, and other ways humans
interact with their Arisen patrons.
As sorcerer-priests themselves, the
Su-Menent see themselves as the
true successors to the Shan’iatu
because, regardless of their ascend-
ed masters’ original intent, they are
the caretakers of the Nameless Empire’s most valuable

Beyond the Eulogy for Souls
Maa-Kep: We appreciate your sharp eyes
when one of our own goes astray. We don’t ap-
preciate your thinly veiled attempts to spy on our
secret rituals.
Mesen-Nebu: It’s shameful, the way you flaunt
meaningless wealth and court earthly desires. The
Arisen should be above such mummery.
Sesha-Hebsu: You think yourselves Judges?
Think again. We are not beholden to your pale
imitation of Irem’s true law.
Tef-Aabhi: “Lifeweb” implies life, and where
there’s life, death follows. When your works
crumble to dust someday, what remains?
Maar-Kherit: You are our great folly, and we
will make it right — but keep your guilt trips to
yourselves. One can’t learn without first making
mistakes.
magics. Death and resurrection, life and its pale imitations:
these are the pinnacle of Iremite occultism, the principles
upon which Duat and the Rite of Return stand. Who better
to rule than masters of the very foundations of the Arisen
condition — who may, some whisper, someday perfect their
own all-powerful rites and join the Shan’iatu in godhood?
AS SOTHIS ASCENDS
Shepherds maintaining strong faith in the Judges lean on
that faith to sustain themselves and others in coping with
immortality. As eternal instruments of the gods, they always
have more responsibilities — after all, almost everyone dies.
They allow themselves no time to dwell on their own situ-
ation. Doubters suffer crises of conviction, as they see the
long millennia stretch out before them and wonder why they
alone are denied final judgment and final rest. It scares them
to realize just how much power builds up in the shells they
inhabit, and what someone else could do with those shells
once they’ve moved on. These Necromancers deal with
eternity by turning their mastery of existential fears inward,
facing and conquering nightmares about persisting beyond
humanity’s end or losing all Memory for good.
The patterns they see and perpetuate in the world are
those of ending and revival, tyranny and revolution, terror
and courage. They track times of mass devastation, death,
and panic: wars hot and cold, plagues, terrorism outbreaks
— and more recently, disasters due to climate change. They
can predict body counts and how quickly a community will
bounce back, or whether it will at all. They have insight
into the minds of serial killers, religions that perform ritual
sacrifices (human or otherwise), funerary rites, and how
cultures deal with fear, hysteria, grief, and loss.
Starfall
A Su-Menent turns his back on the Judges because he seeks
Apotheosis or wants to become like the Shan’iatu himself, taking
the power of death magic for his own gain rather than for the
gods’; or because he loses faith that the Judges’ plans are best
for the greater good. He might come to resent eternal servitude,
particularly once he remembers that in life the Shan’iatu manip-
ulated him to keep their secrets, or he might — given the right
crisis of faith or life-changing experience — convert to another
religion. Shepherds investing Pillars into cultists with strong
beliefs in other gods, or resurrect into their bodies, sometimes
find those gods taking up space in their hearts.
Vessels: Uter
Affinities: Blazing Zeal, Fated Soul, Flesh-Culled Secrets
WHO WE ARE
• Medical examiner for the local police performing au-
topsies, extracting “evidence” by questioning homicide
victims’ corpses, and fudging paperwork to cover up
missing or mutilated bodies
• Popular demagogue keeping his cult enormous by
actively evangelizing to mortals and converting them
to worship the Judges
• Occult pawn shop owner buying and selling macabre
trinkets made from bat wings, shriveled fingers, shark
teeth, and animal hearts, and keeping the ones that
turn out to be vessels
• Serial killer trying to create an advanced form of zombie
that can function as a cultist, thinking for itself and
capable of holding invested Pillars
• Grief therapist for the supernatural underworld helping
monsters and mortals deal with unnatural loss and
strange fatalities, and studies other creatures born of
death
Su-Menent 31
 New Pharaohs, Architects, Geomancers
Primly suited executives applauded politely around the table,
as the speaker finished his proposal. I didn’t. Instead, I spoke up
for the first time in months, prompting stares from one and all.
“Your timetable is too short,” I said. “Construction will complete
on October 6th, and no sooner.”
“Um…with all due respect,” the presenter stammered, “de-
laying three months will anger the stakeholders. They might pull
sponsorship. We’ll lose funding.”
“Is that so?” I fixed him with a steady gaze. “Whose sponsor-
ship would you rather lose? Theirs, or mine?”
They all shuffled uncomfortably. “May I ask why finishing
early is a problem?” the speaker said eventually.
“No, you may not.”
They spent the rest of the meeting scrambling to adjust
project deadlines and allocate resources, but I didn’t stay. I had
my own preparations to make. The planets only align in this
configuration once every 700 years, and I’ve been planning this
since the last time. No trivial mortal matter will get in my way.
If these shortsighted, moneygrubbing halfwits can’t follow orders,
I’ll have to find someone else who can.
TRADITION OF THE EFFIGY
Mortals think of effigies as representations of people used
for rites of destruction, but to the Tef-Aabhi an effigy is far
more. Any monument or representation is an effigy: an object
or structure created as a symbol for something else, con-
nected to the past and to people, places, concepts, or gods.
Effigies derive their power from the Lifeweb, Netit-Sekhem,
named for the goddess of primordial creation, spiders, and
weaving. Other Arisen call the Lifeweb a product of sacred
geometry, a metaphysical lattice of geomantic energies that
32 Chapter One: The Arisen
pervades a mummy’s tomb, but the Architects know it
pervades everything. Like their effigies, the Tef-Aabhi foster
connection and order, serving as keystones for the alignment
of occult powers and catalysts for spiritual harmony. They
build and sculpt, crafting representations of the gods’ will and
venerating symbols of the past to uplift civilization. Mystical
mathematics, Fate, the stars in the sky, and the alignment of
earthly things: these are the Geomancers’ tools, with which
they push humanity to build in Irem’s image.
Power in Sympathy, Memory in Form
The core of the Tef-Aabhi’s power lies in sympathy: the
idea that one thing may stand in for another, not just rep-
resenting it but actually connected directly to it. Whatever
happens to one happens to the other; the effigy may channel
whatever power the original has. To the Architects, the
Lifeweb is sympathy’s ultimate expression, the lattice that
powers those connections by linking all things and beings
through Fate. The web traverses not just distance and
realms but history: an effigy may be connected to another
being or another place, but any monument is also Memory
given form. They’re erected as memorials to honor the dead,
great people’s deeds, or turning points of the past. They
may even draw power from mystical similarities to other
beings and places, even ones that ceased to exist millennia
ago. Structures built according to sacred geometries spell
out symbols that manifest power from Duat and from Fate.
Aligning a pyramid — or a skyscraper — with a certain con-
stellation in the sky draws down that constellation’s oracular
insight and gains influence based on the god or concept the
constellation represents. Timing the completion of a bridge
or highway with an eclipse or planetary syzygy infuses the
structure with the event’s cosmic pull.
These connections lead the Tef-Aabhi to prize longevity
and persistence: what good is spending all that time and
effort perfecting a building’s alignment or the expressive this guild call themselves New Pharaohs: the will and might
curve of a statue’s face just to see it torn down a decade of the Judges made manifest, standing in for them to
later, all its Sekhem and mystical potential wasted? Just walk among mortals and craft sacred works. They see
like the Arisen themselves, effigies wax and wane in the Lifeweb’s sympathetic connections everywhere
power based on cosmic cycles — so to achieve their — not just in buildings and sculptures, but in so-
full potential, they must persist through many cieties and cultures — and tend to be the most
such cycles. Effigies are expressly designed to cosmopolitan of the Arisen. They take to the
symbolize events and lives that are fleeting, thus modern world’s massive metropolises more eas-
enshrining ephemeral things as something more ily than their fellows, often getting involved
lasting. Some Architects believe the Lifeweb in urban planning, city architecture,
is the Memory of all humanity’s history construction, and similar industries.
and future, laying out instructions They engage in sculpting and pot-
for building the perfect civilization, tery, wood carving, and creating
if only the guild can decipher and street installations. They join
follow them. city councils and committees
to make decisions about what
FOUNDATIONS monuments the government
In Irem, the Tef-Aabhi were erects. They influence society
the architects and designers to run on nostalgia to preserve
building the cities and great historical districts and memo-
temple-tombs of the Pharaohs. rials, but they also encourage
They helped craft the very djed, urban development of all kinds
or pillars, that anchored the to enact Netit-Sekhem’s plan
Nameless Empire’s power as for what will be the Memory of
representations of the spine of the future. As self-appointed
Azar, and erected statues and guardians of Memory’s material
monuments to the glory of the forms, Geomancers aid their
Judges and the Shan’iatu. merets and cults in locating
They constructed the for- and building tombs and
tresses and impregnable other sacred structures;
walls that defended Irem. they’re the best among
As masters of the Lifeweb, the Arisen at planning
they were entrusted with the ahead for future Descents,
duty of building what would be- dealing more adeptly with
come the Arisen’s tombs as well. their achronological exis-
They were responsible for the tences, and deciding what
magical matrices that allowed the Arisen should remember
relics to anchor and empower and how the world should
such tombs, carefully building remember them.
passages and adjusting ley lines The Tef-Aabhi’s cults
to allow Sekhem to flow just so. are extensions of themselves
by way of master-apprentice
THE WHEEL TURNS relationships and securing
mundane things like licenses
Today, the Tef-Aabhi shape civi-
and real estate to make sure the
lization by manipulating humanity to
Tef-Aabhi have what they need.
align what it builds to the shape of
Many New Pharaohs see it as
the divine, just like the Pharaohs of
their responsibility to cultivate
old who ruled as representations of
crafts among mortals, and their
the gods on Earth — symbols of their
cultists take apprentices and found
power given human form. Thus, members of
or fund independent schools. Some also

Tef-Abhi 33

Beyond the Spider of Fate
Maa-Kep: You always seem to know exactly
when and where to show up to complicate our
lives. Inconvenient for us personally, but impres-
sive, nonetheless.
Mesen-Nebu: Prosperity is a noble goal,
but you’ve heard of the Ship of Theseus, yes?
Sympathy to the past only stretches so far.
Sesha-Hebsu: We’d give more credence to
your Scroll of Ages if you had any proof that it
exists. You keep order, however, and that’s valu-
able on its own.
Su-Menent: Guide our hands — whatever you
need in a tomb, in a temple, we can provide.
Tell us your wildest dreams, and we’ll make them
come true.
Deceived: Is it any wonder you fell from
grace? Chasing such a formless, fleeting vessel
was bound to leave you grasping in the end.
teach subjects like mathematics and engineering, or work as
theoretical mathematicians and engineers themselves, turning
their careers toward their cults’ sacred techniques. The guild
also recruits cultists from religions that already have magical
traditions based on poppets, totems, grave goods, and other
such sympathetic practices, as well as psychics demonstrating
talents in psychometry, astrology, and geomantic sensitivity.
The Tef-Aabhi see themselves as the true successors to the
Shan’iatu because they literally built the Nameless Empire.
Theirs were the hands and minds that aided the Shan’iatu in
raising the great djed that made up Irem’s mystical anchors;
theirs the sacred calendars and geomancy that determined
when and where rituals would take place, including the great
Rite of Return itself. The Architects argue that without them,
Irem, its sorcerer-priests, and its mummies would all have
perished long ago, swallowed forever under the endless sands.
Who better to build a new empire than those who have already
done it once and succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams?
AS SOTHIS ASCENDS
The Tef-Aabhi deal with immortality by viewing them-
selves as monuments, telling themselves it’s right and good
that they persist forever as remembrances of lost Irem and a
perpetuation of ancient traditions. They chase Memory for
34 Chapter One: The Arisen
its own sake more than most, and prize anything that helps
remind them of the past, treating these as anchors that help
ground them as their lifespans stretch on and on into a future
they can only try their best to shape. They treat the loss of
things, people, places, and cultures they remember fondly
as motivation to build memorials to them and perform their
sacred duty of enshrining memories in effigy.
The patterns they see and perpetuate in the world are those
of urban and community expansion, geomantic traditions like
feng shui and ley lines, navigation, cartography, and landmarks.
They can track urban development across centuries and pre-
dict how a city will rise and fall; they know how long a struc-
ture or object will last and what kinds of events or activities
will bring it down prematurely, and whether the timing of an
event is auspicious or mystically ill-advised. They’re good at
astrology, and at recognizing faces, shapes, colors, and forms;
a Tef-Aabhi may forget names, but never forgets a face.
Starfall
A New Pharaoh turns her back on the Judges because
she sees the Arisen as imperfect monuments due to their
consistent loss of Memory. Those who dare whisper about
rebellion or Apotheosis want to turn themselves into pure
monuments, flawless representations of the Judges, usurp-
ing and wielding the full power of the gods through perfect
sympathy and remembrance. Others resent not being able
to create relics themselves or be truly creative in ways com-
pletely divorced from Irem’s lingering legacy, and hate the
way they perpetuate old patterns just by existing.
Vessels: Effigies
Affinities: Guardian Statue, Model Lifeweb, Nest of Dolls
WHO WE ARE
• City planner hijacking construction and expansion
projects to build a giant mystical lattice for a massive
ritual over the course of multiple Descents
• Street artist teaching kids and teenagers to reshape the
city, subtly influencing their work’s themes and subjects
• Architect-mystic designing new tombs for fellow Arisen
in exchange for vessels, cultists, and favors
• Irem scholar studing ancient monuments’ connections
to the Nameless Empire and helping foster Memory in
other mummies
• Pagan cult leader specializing in rituals using poppets,
wicker men, fetish dolls, and other sympathetic magic;
everyone knows he’s the one to see if they want to curse
an enemy
 Where are their dwellings now? Their walls are down,
their places gone, like something that has never been.
— Harper’s Song from the Tomb of King Intef
T he five guilds the Arisen know today are only those that
persisted mostly unchanged. Others prowl the depths of
Memory and buried places, exposing ugly secrets the Shan’iatu
never meant to see the light of day when their lingering rem-
nants rise like ghosts from the sands of time.
THE DECEIVED
Akhem-Urtu, Restless Stars, the Unforgiven
The Akhem-Urtu were masters of Nomenclature: ren-
hekau, the Will, the power of true names. Their guildmasters
claimed they were the first Shan’iatu, as their signature relics
were not tangible crafts but ethereal arts, the very spark of
creative inspiration itself. Upon realizing the Restless Stars
planned to rule them once they reached Duat, the other
sorcerer-priests betrayed and broke them during the Rite
of Return. Their temakhs, the soul-like cores of their being,
shattered like glass. They would have been lost, drifting in
pieces through Neter-Khertet (Twilight) forever, had they
not snatched at last-ditch salvation by attaching themselves
to the souls of their own Deathless servants at the moment
of the Rite’s completion.
THE WHEEL TURNS
Rather than serving a Judge far away in Duat, an
Unforgiven suffers the yoke of sharing Semektet (the
Descent) with the broken shard of a divine temakh that lives
in her soul and hijacks her free will. An Akhem-Urtu is one
being struggling with two identities, a mummy whose god
manifests not as subtle urges and vague duties, but a shrieking
insanity bent on eternal vengeance. Commands are often
half-unintelligible hallucinations or wordless screams that
push her to gather and hoard relics while scheming to thwart
the other guilds. The Deceived are not immortal servants,
but eternal slaves. To the other Deathless, this “lost” guild is
a nightmarish legend they don’t all believe still exists — at
least, that they’ll admit. Deceived merets have millennia of
experience in the shadows, only appearing to snatch nascent
relics from under the other guilds’ noses or crush a cult one
minion at a time until all that’s left is to tear their Arisen
apart piece by piece.
An Unforgiven doesn’t, and never can, enter Duat.
Instead, her death rips her human soul and temakh apart.
Both wander Twilight while dead — the soul as a ghost-like
being, finally clear-headed and free of her tormentor, and
desperate to stay that way; and the temakh as an alien and
corrupted beast of fluid form, seeking its other half to drag
her kicking and screaming back to enslavement. Reaching
out to the Arisen for help is suicide, and even if she did, her
temakh would ruin the attempt; and what could the other
guilds do anyway? Plead with their Judges on the Deceived’s
behalf? The Judges would never voluntarily allow the Namers
back into their fold.
The Unforgiven cultivate cults filled with artists and cre-
atives gripped with the constant urge to create, an obsession
that drives them to the “starving artist” stereotype time and
again as they leave everything else in their lives behind. Some
think obsessive artistic geniuses like Poe and Mozart must
have been Deceived cultists, although no one remembers for
sure. Whenever a Deceived invests a Pillar into a cultist, it’s
like opening the floodgates to let the howling wind of the
temakh spill over into someone else — the shard screams
at both of them now, and is no quieter for it. Their relics are
seba, moments of creative inspiration. More than any other
Deathless, the Deceived are muses to humanity, even while
they resent mortals for possessing that true spark they are
now denied.
Minor Guilds 35
 AMONG THE ARISEN
The Arisen hate and fear the Akhem-Urtu for more than
simply their enmity. When they vaguely remember the magic
of Nomenclature from Irem, they recall how commanding it
was, and how their own arts seemed to pale by comparison
to its raw creative power.
They say the Deceived can use kepher to track down
relics in potentia — they can capture seba by finding inspi-
ration gathering in mortal hearts before it converges into
a tangible relic, and steal it for themselves before it can
become a text or an amulet.
They say if you speak a name associated with one of the
Deceived, even if she’s lost in henet, she hears you and will
return to unerringly find you; so, when they have reason to
refer to the Unforgiven at all, they do so by generic nicknames
and euphemisms. Just in case.
They say their ancient foes’ true names are written into
Fate itself, making them truly eternal. The Deceived can
resurrect no matter what; no amount of scouring their cults
and remains from the Earth can stop them from coming back,
even if nothing at all is left of them. When the Arisen catch
even the smallest rumor that Nomenclature might have
36 Chapter One: The Arisen
reared its head in the world, they do their best to crush it
before they ever find the Deceived that might be behind it.
Just in case.
KHER-MINU
Stone Spears, Tomb Watchers, Eternals
The Rite of Return was not the only death-defying ritual
the Shan’iatu and their guilds performed; it was just the most
ambitious. They made many preparations and test runs to
refine and perfect their magics, and to train mortal sorcerers
in the arts necessary to aid them in their lofty affairs. Nor
were the major guilds the only ones in Irem; they were just the
ones the Shan’iatu led themselves. Lesser guilds abounded
in pursuit of empire, though they were mere tools by com-
parison to those groomed to one day be monuments. One
of the largest was the warrior guild.
The Kher-Minu are tomb guardians and latent weapons,
immortal through a process that bound their souls to relics.
Scholars of modern occult phenomena would call them a
kind of “Eternal,” thanks to the method by which they per-
sist, but they didn’t choose their immortality or the objects
that keep them alive. In truth, the Tomb Watchers weren’t
originally made to guard tombs at all. They were the product
of a winning tactic the Shan’iatu used in their wars of con-
quest: mystically prepare a living soldier to shunt her own
death into a relic at the moment she’s killed, then protect the
relic as she wades through the battlefield, undying and still
fighting no matter how many arrows and spears pierce her
body. The resulting fierce Iremite warriors had a murderous
urge that subsumed their living desires, and flesh that turned
to stone when their Sekhem had gone.
THE WHEEL TURNS
These Eternals seem like ordinary statues while dead, al-
though they can’t be destroyed. They wake from stone death
when a place they ritually guard is disturbed, or when blood
is shed nearby. Once defeated, though, they can’t rise again
for 100 years without a sacred Shan’iatu rite currently lost
to history; the sorcerer-priests didn’t want their enemies to
capture their stone soldiers and use them against the empire.
Normally, a Kher-Minu must enact a ritual blood oath to
take on the solemn duty of a guardian who wakes to safeguard
her charge, but a mummy can bind a Stone Spear’s relic
as the center of his tomb’s Lifeweb — or that of any other
sacred structure — to force her to act as its defender. Doing
so requires getting his hands on the relic first, though, and
the Kher-Minu are peerless in skill, tougher than stone, and
possessed of a need to spill blood and protect their relics at
all costs. Their Sekhem automatically expends itself to close
their wounds, regenerating their flesh in an instant. Thus,
the only way to stop them is to hurt them enough to deplete
their Sekhem and turn them back to stone. Their relics turn
to indestructible stone as well, impervious to cannibalization,
making the only way to kill a Tomb Watcher the destruction
of her relic while she’s alive.
A Kher-Minu’s henet is not a soul-searching journey to
Duat, nor does her soul travel through Twilight. She remains
inside her stone body, and although she’s dead to the world in
this state, she remembers every moment of her imprisonment
in death when she wakes once again.
AMONG THE ARISEN
Though the Arisen consider the Kher-Minu a “lost” guild
— when they remember the Kher-Minu at all — only a few
have ever been destroyed over the long millennia. Hundreds
still stand sentinel in dark, dusty places, or lie undisturbed
waiting to be uncovered. Waiting to be released.
While many Stone Spears can be found guarding tombs
and other places of power or import, others are scattered
around the world — buried under sand, lying at the bottom of
the ocean, or gathering dust in a ruin or museum somewhere.
Their loyalties are their own; some remember Irem fondly
and serve the Arisen voluntarily, while others harbor deep
resentment from many lifetimes of bloodshed and succumb
completely to their natural violent impulses. Some suffer
serious trauma from what the Shan’iatu made of them, but
no matter how much they may want to rest in peace, they
cannot voluntarily allow their relics to be destroyed.
MAAR-KHERIT
Physics, Blights, the Malignant
Once, the Maar-Kherit had another name, lost to his-
tory. They were an esteemed guild of physicians and heal-
er-priests, setting right the disturbed Sekhem flows of the
sick and injured by curing them of their ills with specialized
magics. The Shan’iatu themselves partook of the Physics’
mystic arts, and taught them how to prolong human lives.
As the Su-Menent’s sister guild, the physicians preserved
and protected life above all; their relics, the ankhs, were
sacred vessels that harnessed breath and life-giving waters,
safeguarded, and purified.
The healers’ guildmasters refused to go along with the
Rite of Return, condemning it as a perversion of the natural
order. To protect their secrets, the other Shan’iatu disposed
of them and their entire guild, disguising the incident as
a plague that took the valiant physicians as they tried to
save lives behind quarantine lines. However, a faction of
Necromancers learned the truth and launched a clandestine,
heretical attempt to restore the Physics’ souls to their shells.
They wanted to revive their sister guild; but, failing that, they
hoped to at least gain access to its valuable secrets.
Both aims were futile.
THE WHEEL TURNS
The rogue Su-Menent did not uncover the secrets of
resurrection that day. Instead, they produced unliving
abominations that spread corrupted life magic like a cancer,
causing unnatural regenerative mutations wherever their
Sybaris takes hold. Even as the Arisen slumbered in henet
while Irem fell, the Maar-Kherit wandered the deserts seeking
an escape from the half-life that gives them no voice and no
rest. Uncontrollable, twisted Sekhem deforms their bodies
and minds with black tumors that leak power, causing Terror
Sybaris constantly. These tumors eat away at their innards,
causing deformities ranging from losing one or more senses,
to an inability to speak, to monstrously swelled brains in
heads too large for their bodies, and worse.
In unending agony, the Malignant lash out at anyone
refusing or failing to kill them — they beg for death but
cannot die. Even chopping their bodies into scattered pieces
Minor Guilds 37
 or burning them to ash doesn’t stop them from regenerating
back to full health within a few days.
The Maar-Kherit learned long ago that ordinary humans
have no power to end their misery, so they don’t normally
venture into heavily populated areas. When mortals do come
into contact with a Blight, they suffer first Sybaris and then a
hideous pestilence of warped life magic gone out of control.
Flesh seethes with boils and sarcomata oozing a contagious
pus that glistens, black and viscous.
The Malignant wander the world’s empty places seeking
potent sources of Sekhem and other powerful magics, sensing
them instinctively and hoping one of them will hold the key
to eternal rest. Some of them still carry their relics, clinging
to what they used to be with the tenacity of the condemned;
but with no ability to use them or sacrifice them to Duat,
such vessels are only reminders of a lost history to them.
AMONG THE ARISEN
The Su-Menent who took part in the ill-fated ritual often
don’t remember their horrific failure until forcibly confronted
with it. They haven’t yet figured out a way to end the Maar-
Kherit permanently and bury their shame, but each Descent
brings another opportunity to try. Their secret still remains
a secret among their fellow Arisen, but every time a meret
runs afoul of a Blight, the countdown to its exposure runs
down a little further.
WADJET-ITJA
Gamblers, Oracles, Thieves of Eyes
The art of gambling dates back to a time before Irem’s
pillars rose from the sands, originating in methods of divina-
tion such as the astragali that later became dice. As Irem’s
lesser guild of Oracles, they received auguries from the gods
and read the future in signs and portents, but they were also
a guild of shrewd professional Gamblers, who blurred the
lines between the two arts regularly. With a controversial
reputation across the Nameless Empire, the Wadjet-Itja were
highly valued for their role as divine messengers and wise
diviners, but simultaneously often disdained as tricksters
and swindlers. Other would-be oracles decried the guild’s
prophecies as false in an attempt to discredit them and take
their place, but the Shan’iatu remained unwavering for
reasons they never revealed.
The Oracles’ two-sided nature was in large part due to
their crafty guildmaster, who was not one of the Shan’iatu,
but managed to win power from them through a series of
long games and gambles that paid off in his favor. Eventually,
he became effectively one of them — not quite their equal
38 Chapter One: The Arisen
in sorcery or status, but close enough to satisfy him. He up-
lifted his guild as well, and their already-dubious reputation
exploded into rumors of debauchery, fraud, and corruption.
The Wadjet-Itja didn’t technically participate in the Rite of
Return, as the Shan’iatu declined to share their most secret
magics with the Gamblers’ master. Being the sly opportun-
ists they were, though, they used their predictive magics to
manage a clever, if weaker, ritual that rode the great Rite’s
coattails into eternity.
THE WHEEL TURNS
The Wadjet-Itja count themselves among the Arisen,
but their immortality is imperfect. They require not just
Sekhem to sustain their Descents, but also the years they
steal from mortal lifespans. They do so with a devious array
of sorcerous games of chance with which they win those years
from unwitting dupes or people willing to gamble with more
than coin; or by manipulating mortal futures through their
divinations, guiding these poor souls to untimely deaths, and
supping on the lost years their victims should have had left.
The Oracles serve the Judges like any mummy, but their
guild has no sacred vessel of its own. Thus, to satisfy their
masters’ demands and empower their tombs, they barter, win,
or steal relics from the other guilds. The core of their cults
are psychics and spiritualists experiencing prophetic visions
to predict the best path forward through the millennia with
dream interpretation and various methods of ancient divina-
tion that plunder answers from Fate with their unique brand
of borrowed half-sorcery. Other cultists include card sharks,
bookies, casino owners, and others that push humanity into
relying on luck, accepting uncertain futures, and putting their
fates in the gods’ (or the guild’s) hands; as well as fortune
tellers, mediums, and mystics of every kind. Actual abilities
are welcome, but not a requirement; plenty of hucksters and
con artists fill the Gamblers’ cults alongside legitimate seers.
FATE IS WRITTEN;
THE FUTURE IS MALLEABLE
The Oracles differentiate between Fate itself and the
futures it lays out. They agree with the Tef-Aabhi that it
carries a blueprint for Irem’s eternal legacy, but they believe
the particulars are theirs to manipulate. The Maa-Kep and
the Su-Menent sometimes decry them as heretics — after
all, who among the Arisen has the authority to gainsay the
dictates of Fate and the Judges? The Thieves of Eyes argue
that nobody is gainsaying anything. Fate doesn’t send neon
signs to point the way, so someone has to interpret its hints
and make judgment calls to nudge civilization toward its
ultimate destiny. That someone may as well be those able to
see the possibilities ahead, and who excel at taking chances
that pay off. That this happens to neatly coincide with their
need to cheat mortals out of years of their lives, they say, is
no reason to brand them troublemakers.
AMONG THE ARISEN
Though the Wadjet-Itja pursue the same goals as the
other guilds — working to perpetuate the Judges’ ideals
and shape human civilization in Irem’s image according to
their guild’s purpose — other Arisen view them as upstart
usurpers rather than an actual guild, loathe to help them
acquire relics. Their reactions to the Gamblers usually range
from indignation at the temerity of their stolen power, to
contempt at their underhanded methods, to arrogance as
they lord their superior immortality over their weaker coun-
terparts. Despite all that, rivalries between merets or nomes,
shared enemies, and mutually beneficial agreements with the
Oracles occasionally lead to partnerships.
DECREES
Duat doesn’t break souls; it strips them bare, layer by layer,
leaving every spiritual nerve exposed. Excruciating pain is the
price of beholding the gods. Eyes scrutinize every flaw, wounds
fill with salt, and sand scours mind. Fiends dismember the soul
for the Judges’ pleasure, isolating then maiming the shadow,
spirit, heart, essence, and name, leaving nothing intact.

We Arisen have endured these torments a thousand-fold.

Instead of resigning ourselves to oblivion, we rebuilt our souls
— one Pillar at a time. Our decrees are the first Pillar we raised
in Duat’s sands, the foundation grounding the rest of our soul.
Uttering a decree is a sublime moment, when the soul declares
itself worthy of the gods’ blessings. A Pillar emanates from the
ritualist, a solar disk lighting up all Duat and holding the fiends
at bay. Through our decrees, we reclaimed our souls as none did
before the Rite of Return and none have done since. We proved
ourselves worthy servants of the Judges and inheritors to the
Shan’iatu legacy. Do not make the mistake of trifling with us, for
even gods have acknowledged the fortitude of our souls.

Minor Guilds 39
 Jackals, Torchbearers, the Eldritch
Throw every ghost and demon you can at me. I will not
bend a knee. I will stand here, my Shadow rooting me in
place, and show you no fear!
WHY WE ENDURE
A journalist once asked George Mallory why he insisted
on climbing Mount Everest time and time again. He told
them “because it’s there.” Why do we return to the world
time and again? Because we can. We have the resilience to
endure in the face of untold horror, so we endure. There is
no ego in the matter for us.
Other Arisen suggest our occult knowledge became the
foundational Pillar of our soul when we stood before the
Judges. They are mistaken. We value knowledge, but wisdom
fortifies us against the horrors we witness.
Our persistence and constant exposure to reality’s cruelty
cultivates our wisdom and perspective. We know the universe
does not care about us, and even the glories of Irem will be
ground to dust. In our wisdom, we do not shudder nor flinch.
This is our strength.
OUR CURSE
Knowing that the universe is uncaring doesn’t make
time’s slow grind any easier. Like a marble slab that pins us
in place, we can fight against it, but we can never lift it up;
and time adds more slabs on top, crushing us beneath their
weight. Our Curse is to scream at the infinite void and hear
nothing echoing back at us. In our darkest moments, even
the most sadistic fiends are a warm comfort compared to
the inevitability of fate. A million cuts defeat us, each one a
grain of sand in the suffocating summer storms, reminding
us of our eventual fate. Regaining memories reinforces the
40 Chapter One: The Arisen
inevitability of our struggle and how, in the end, we lose
despite all our power.
WHY YOU WILL SERVE US
Being perfect all the time isn’t the same as being successful.
Success is working hard, even when you fuck up. If fate deals
you an unfair hand, you flip fate the bird and get the job done.
The Eldritch offer resilience. You make mistakes and we let you
suffer the consequences, but in the end, we also get you back on
your feet. The pain of failing makes you stronger and tougher.
When we’re through, nothing will be able to knock you over.
THE GUILDS
Maa-Kep: The Spies share an unflinching resolve to fulfill
their duties with the Ashem. Jackals make loyal retainers,
accompanying their patrons through any hardship, but they
unleash bloody judgment on anyone suspected of heresy.
They refuse to agonize when betraying a close ally, viewing
it as one more trial for their soul to endure.
Mesen-Nebu: Revolutionary Jackals investigate dedw-
en’s evolution after death, observing how flesh and blood
change when converted to ghostly ephemera. The afterlife
is beautiful in its own way and possesses esoteric resources.
It would be a crime to settle for mundane materials when
occult ones are so close at hand.
Sesha-Hebsu: Ashem Diplomats are philosophers
through and through. The pursuit of wisdom motivates these
Lorekeepers above all else, but wisdom does not come from
the living alone. The Ashem record the dead’s deeds to the
Scroll of Ages, giving them unique insight when making
their pronouncements.
Su-Menent: Death is a double obsession for Necromancers
delcaring the Eldritch decree, making them cognizant of the
dangers waiting in Duat. Solemn and dutiful, religion is the mortuary tool
the Su-Menent use to purify both the shell and soul before they face the
grimness of death.
Tef-Aabhi: The Ashem know reality is cruel and merciless, but
the Geomancers anchor themselves to their Lifewebs and stand
their ground. These Jackals use sympathy to create meaning
in a meaningless universe, binding disparate occult
forces into a powerful whole.

CULTS
Tenacity is less a desired trait for Ashem
cults than it is a fundamental prerequisite.
Jackals are grim lieges expecting their
minions to stoically endure when faced
with adversity. Their edicts are harsh,
but the Jackals see themselves as wise,
uncompromising mentors.
• Every few years, Professor Francis
visits the university, teaches a
semester on death and the afterlife,
then disappears. Francis’ pupils are a
global cult of archeologists, historians,
and theologians taught by their Deathless
patron. Each cultist was once a promising
student whose practical experience in the
occult proves invaluable to their current
careers.
• War is an industry. Anywhere killing
people makes money, Apepi Corp employees fight
on the highest bidder’s behalf. Battle holds no
spiritual meaning for them, but spreading as much
death as possible does. The Arisen CEO of this private
military corporation trains her soldiers to endure pain and
hardship on the battlefield. Her mortal cultists fight through
bullet wounds, while her immortal soldiers are terrors to behold.
• During medical crises, everyone hopes the Westside Emergency Center is the ER
caring for them. They see the worst of the worst and bring their patients back
from the brink of death. Their chief surgeon is ancient and mysterious, but when
he is on call, the ward works literal miracles. No one questions how many of his
staff were once patients on his operating table.

ETERNAL PURPOSE
One lives if another guides her and it is the dead’s responsibility to
guide the living. The Ashem take this duty seriously, sure that the world
needs their wisdom if humanity is to stand any chance of surviving. They are the stern teachers lurking in
the shadows, teaching the lessons gentler souls cannot stomach.
The Eldritch are the Arisen’s unflinching guardians. When the Judges need to hold the line, they sum-
mon the Jackals. The Eldritch are the most stubbornly loyal mummies, fulfilling their duties come hell or

Ashem 41
 high water, even if they find their assigned tasks distasteful.
This is doubly true when a Jackal pursues a vessel. To the
Ashem, vessels represent life’s defiant majesty in the face of
universal horror. Each vessel recovered is a tangible sign of
the Jackal’s endurance.
Recovering memories is a profound experience for the
Jackals, reaffirming their ability to withstand any torment,
but memory doesn’t have to be a personal experience. Jackals
encourage other mummies to seek out their memories,
supportive in the face of adversity and jubilant when their
comrades recover themselves.
Favored Attributes: Composure and Stamina
Defining Pillar: Sheut
Regaining Pillars: The Eldritch stand firm in the cruel
and uncaring face of the universe, allowing others to do the
same. The Eldritch regains one Pillar point of his choice after
any scene in which his wisdom helps a cultist or another
mummy confront their fears, or in which he shows no fear
in the face of possible destruction.
42 Chapter One: The Arisen
The Ashem believe truth is preferable to deceit, even
when the former is painful and the latter is pleasing. Once
per chapter, the Ashem may fully restore his Sheut Pillar by
unravelling a serious deception or a profound lie.
Affinity: Jackal’s Shade
Effect: Ephemeral and solemn, the Jackals act as guides
for living and dead alike.
• Any ghost can summon the Ashem from henet as if
they were the mummy’s cultist.
• The Jackal projects his soul into Neter-Khertet. Spend
a Pillar point to make a Composure + Occult roll. On
a success, the Ashem separates his soul from his Sahu,
gaining the Disembodied Condition. He touches his
Sahu again to exit Neter-Khertet. If something destroys
the Sahu while the Jackal projects his soul, he enters
a death cycle.
• When touching an object or person, the Jackal knows
if it is a ghost’s anchor.
Falcons, Talons, the Dauntless
If a mountain stands in my way, I climb it. If a river bars
my path, I ford it. My Spirit neither bends nor breaks, it
conquers all obstacles!
WHY WE ENDURE
Children say a shark that stops moving can’t breathe. The
shark must always swim to keep water flowing over its gills.
Drag it backward and it drowns. If it stops, mud and sand
cover it as it sinks to the ocean’s floor, forgotten by the world.
It's not true, but we empathize with the shark nonetheless.
Action defines us. We seek the next summit, we crave
the highest accolades, and we never stop striving to improve
ourselves. Paralysis is oblivion, death is the greatest paralyzing
agent, and the Rite of Return is our antidote to immobility.
Drifting through life without achieving greatness is a sin
beyond all compare. To us, immortality is a reprieve from
inactivity, an opportunity to once again win glorious triumph
against all the odds. Challenges waiting for us to conquer
them fill the world.
OUR CURSE
The Descent always drags us back to our tombs. As vi-
brant and enthusiastic as we are to get our hands dirty after
awakening, we always end up gathering dust behind a stone
door when everything's said and done. Immortality allows
us to return again and again for all eternity, but the reality is
we spend most of our time doing nothing. As our memories
return, we can see the gaps between our Descents, the wasted
time and potential as we lay immobile and worthless like any
other corpse. In dark moments, we even regret trading away
our mortality. Mortals have the lifespans of insects, but at
least they possess continuous lives.
WHY YOU WILL SERVE US
It’s hard to stand out. You are a little fish in a big ocean.
Sure, you have good ideas and talent, but so does everybody
else. Nothing makes you unique. The Dauntless provide you
with the means to make a name for yourself. Our cults offer
you a glorious future. Write your best-selling novel, become
a respected politician, or have a species named after you.
Through us, you will achieve your full potential and, more
importantly, everyone will recognize your greatness.
THE GUILDS
Maa-Kep: The Dauntless appreciate the Maa-Kep in-
stinct for getting their hands dirty. Infiltrating dangerous
and hostile organizations is exactly the front-line leadership
Deshret prefer. Doing so without drawing attention remains a
challenge for the Dauntless. A good Spy keeps their glorious
deeds a secret.
Mesen-Nebu: Revolutionaries know power is dedwen
transmuted from one form into another. Falcons reinvent
themselves to accumulate power, never becoming stagnant
or fixed in routine. The Deshret aren’t as established as
other Alchemists, but no one rivals their adaptability when
the shit hits the fan.
Sesha-Hebsu: Thoroughness defines Lorekeeper Falcons.
They pore over the River of Truth, focusing on a topic and
then mastering everything there is to know about their area of
expertise. This confines them to the guild’s lower ranks, but
the Dauntless’ dogged pursuit of every scrap of information
earns them respect.
Deshret 43
 Su-Menent: When events unbalance the holy cycle of death, the Dauntless restore order. While seeking out the
Deathless and perverse sorcerers, they also put down other Necromancers that have lost their way. Many of these mummies
are Falcons seeking to test their craft’s limits — an irony lost on no one.
Tef-Aabhi: The Falcons are the visionaries within the New Pharaohs, always initiating new projects. The Dauntless
don’t leave their work undone, but they are happy for their cultists and trusted allies to finish the grunt work. They have
too many ideas and never enough time, so why waste what little they possess?

CULTS
Dauntless cults are smaller than those of others mummies. The Deshret do not lack the charisma required to sustain
a large cult, but they are discerning recruiters and prefer quality in their minions over quantity. Deshret can and do lead
armies of thousands into battle from atop a chariot, but in these cases the senior officers are cultists and everyone else is
just a pawn.
• Come rain, shine, sleet, or snow, the Blue Devils rugby club is out on
the university fields practicing every evening. They devote them-
selves to winning glory on the pitch by out-running, out-hitting,
and out-working their rivals. Their head coach is mortal, but
the team’s president is Deathless. When awake, her players
benefit from millennia of tactical experience, just as she
benefits from their fearlessness in overcoming any obstacles
in her way.

• The photography meetup doesn’t have a name, but its

members obsess over finding the perfect shot. Climbing
skyscrapers, fording rivers, and getting personal with
wildlife are matters of course for the photographers. When
the master awakens, he joins in their exploits, challenging
himself to adjust to new technology and techniques. After
pushing themselves to the limit, they all gather in the
pub to decide who got the best photo and to plot how
to eliminate their rivals.

• Murder is just another hurdle in the way of the

Brooks Crime Lab. They take on the
toughest cases, meticulously search-
ing for the evidence conventional
investigators miss. Dead ends
and false starts are frequent in
forensics, but the BCL adapts and
overcomes. When it turns out the
criminal is something other than
human, they awaken their lead
pathologist.

ETERNAL PURPOSE
Ambitious, motivated, and full of zeal, the
Deshret strive to become the best at everything. That
they are already undying terrors capable of dragging the
stars down from the sky is irrelevant; they can always
be better, stronger, or smarter. All the magical might in
the world is meaningless if you can’t do anything with it.

44 Chapter One: The Arisen

 When the Judges require a mummy to mount the chariot
of war and crush Irem’s foes, they call upon the Falcons.
The Dauntless are the Judges’ champions, holy warriors
unswerving in their duty to the Nameless Empire. A Falcon
sees their purpose done, no matter what obstacles are in their
way. If forced to choose between fulfilling their first purpose,
advancing a personal agenda, and recovering a vessel, the
Dauntless finds a way to do all three.
Memory is a tricky thing for the Falcons. They pur-
sue memories with the same zeal they chase every other
achievement and recalling the glories of past days affirms
their greatness. At the same time, their Memory makes them
second guess their actions. Would they make a better decision
with access to the memories they now possess? Most Deshret
engross themselves in their plots, brushing this question
aside. Some fanatically pursue Memory to ensure they don’t
have to second guess their actions again. Yet doubt haunts
all their minds.
Favored Attributes: Resolve and Wits
Defining Pillar: Ba
Regaining Pillars: The Dauntless challenge themselves,
craving the rush born of pushing their limits. The Dauntless
regains one Pillar point of her choice after any scene in which
she chooses to mentally or physically challenge herself. The
challenge must contain some risk of failure, but she regains
the Pillar point even if she fails.
The Deshret thrive when they know they have beaten
the odds and achieved glory. Once per chapter, the Deshret
may fully restore her Ba Pillar by triumphing over a challenge
that entails severe consequences if she fails.
Affinity: Soaring Falcon
Effect: The Falcons drive themselves to achieve ever
greater glory and often elevate others along with them.
• When someone close to the Deshret’s tomb experiences
a desperate need or obsession that they cannot voice,
she rises from henet with fulfilling that need as her
purpose.
• Once per chapter per dot of Ba, the Deshret may gain
the Inspired Condition when she makes a contested
action against an enemy, regardless of whether she fails
or succeeds.
• When helping another character fulfill an Aspiration,
the Deshret achieves an exceptional success on rolls
with three success.
Deshret 45
 Lions, Enticers, the Ardent
My Heart bears no witness against me. Listen and it will
say the same as me. Duat cannot hold me. So long as I love,
so long as I hate, I have not died!
WHY WE ENDURE
I recall my first love. Not her face or name; not the
events of our lives — the sensations: her touch upon my
breast, the flush of excitement, the nervous laughter. Beads
of sweat pouring down my back. Sometimes the scent of her
hair. Always the heartbreak to follow. I’ve never let that go.
We are creatures of passion, swift to love, quick to anger.
Every single emotion is a sacred gift, anchoring our very ex-
istence. You think the eternal cannot know fear? When the
ravening Lifeless harry every frantic step, tell me then. We
feel everything. When we anger, our rage is implacable. In
our sorrow, we are inconsolable. Our laughter is infectious;
our courage unshakeable. We love a thousand times, and
each for an eternity. Our passion is undeniable and undying.
The world flourishes, moving forward whether we live
in it or not. When we awaken, we chase every attainable
sensation, living with an intensity both alluring and daunting.
In our brief periods of activity, we live more than most mor-
tals in an entire lifetime. Perhaps we are impatient or easily
distracted, but can you blame us? A profusion of wonders
awaits us, many present for only the whisper of a heartbeat.
We want to try everything.
OUR CURSE
Our Descents never last long enough. There are billions
of things to try, people to meet, but never enough time for
all. We struggle to cram in as much as we can, terrified it
will be lost forever when our hourglass depletes. It’s worse
46 Chapter One: The Arisen
when our memories return. That’s when we realize the lie.
There’s nothing new under the sun, no surprises left. We’ve
already done it all and moved on. Every thrill becomes lost
in a nostalgic haze. With our passions dimmed, our final
days drag on. We embrace the tomb with somber weariness.
It isn’t that we don’t want to do it all over again. We will.
Every chance we get. We just hope that, maybe next time,
we won’t remember.
WHY YOU WILL SERVE US
There is something beautiful in eternity, permanence and
intensity inextricably entwined together. Do you see it when
you gaze upon me? The Ardent offer the world. Wealth.
Beauty. Danger. Forbidden pleasures. Above all, we offer a
promise. Your heart will never beat so intensely as it will for
us. The rest of your life will pale in comparison. You will be
consumed by passion, the purpose we offer the only you need.
Service to the Kheru may kill you, but it is never boring.
THE GUILDS
Maa-Kep: Drawn to peril and intrigue like moths to
flame, Kheru make excellent Spies. Charming but easily
dismissed as shallow hedonists, Enticers insinuate themselves
into a target’s emotional support system, frequently acting as
lovers or confidants. When called to upset a target’s plans,
they disrupt social bonds, placing key allies at odds with the
target at critical junctures.
Mesen-Nebu: The wealth and luxury available to the
Alchemists appeal to the Lions, but it is the Mystery itself
that beckons them. With their love of change and discovery,
the search for beauty captivates the Ardent. Transmuting
their efforts and those of their cultists into real change in
the world brings more pride than mere treasure ever could.
 Sesha-Hebsu: Lions among the Lorekeepers exhibit a passion for history,
especially how it relates to the human condition. They scribe records couching
facts within emotional and narrative flourishes, rendering such documents
informative as well as engaging reads. When acting as Diplomats, the Kheru
never shy from innovative solutions.
Su-Menent: Kheru Shepherds shroud their passion in somberness, dili-
gently maintaining their composure. This facade crumbles when engrossed
in their work. Ardent Necromancers engage in bizarre experiments with the
dead, while their Priests exhibit religious fervor and determination to enforce
the will of the Judges — disturbing even to their guildmates.
Tef-Aabhi: Despite their obsession with novelty, Kheru work as dil-
igently as any other Architect to shape the future. Cultural values and
societal norms are their chosen tools, molding society itself to willingly
build and preserve structures required by the New Pharaohs. The Enticers
and their cults spin elaborate webs of social influence, wielding obligation
and scandal to ensure victory.

CULTS
The Ardent seek enthusiasm and loyalty in their cultists.
Useful skills are prized, but secondary to passion. Almost in-
variably, the rites of the Kheru bring their cultists to emotional
extremes and ecstatic experiences, often employing music, sex,
violence, or drugs to bring altered states of consciousness.
• Once a month, the Fairview Stream Book Club meets,
ostensibly to discuss the latest bestseller. In truth, they
gather to worship their host with utter hedonistic aban-
don. After the sex and drugs have run their course, they
return to their prim and proper lives, grabbing a new book
and fantasizing about the next meeting. They are oblivious to the
fact their club is merely the latest incarnation of an order stretching
back into antiquity.

• In an abandoned subway station, the men and women of the Legio

VII Fortis gather at midnight. Their master, still wearing the face of a
Roman gladiator, watches as they revel in combat against each other,
heedless of pain. He silently judges the prowess of each combatant,
winnowing the strong from the weak. Whether he builds an army for
the Judges or against them is as yet uncertain.

• Divided in two, each half of the Sunset Sophists claims true lineage
from lost Irem, and to hold the truth of what awaits beyond death.
For generations, these philosophers have waged brutal battle against
their rivals. With increasing hostility and advances in weaponry, the
two cults threaten to wipe each other out entirely. Their Arisen masters,
lovers through the ages, eagerly await the conclusion of their game.

ETERNAL PURPOSE
Kheru hunger for novelty, gaining lovers and rivals with equal ease in their quest
for the next great thrill. Often reckless, they throw themselves headlong into peril,
embracing instinct over logic. They adopt new bodies readily, each an opportunity

Kheru 47
 to experience life from a different perspective. With the
entire gamut of emotions to experience, change is eagerly
welcomed.
The Judges call the Kheru when they require heralds
in the world. Their allure easily draws in new cultists, and
those unskilled at inspiring mortals can easily intimidate
them into embracing a Judge’s will. When their first purpose
interests them, the Ardent pursue it with reckless abandon.
When their own goals conflict, they often become distract-
ed, putting in minimal effort to slow their Descent while
they pursue their own objectives. Vessels provoke similar
reactions. While Enticers chase Relics of personal interest,
they favor their own goals.
The Lions have a complicated relationship with Memory.
While most eagerly seek to uncover the experiences of their
past, success often leaves them in the throes of regret. The
novelty of their experiences becomes muted when they
recall countless similar ones, leaving many wistful for their
ignorance.
Favored Attributes: Presence and Strength
Defining Pillar: Ab
Regaining Pillars: Creatures of instinct and passion,
Lions find their souls nourished through the indulgence of
their whims. The Ardent regains one Pillar point of their
48 Chapter One: The Arisen
choice after any scene in which they are able to revel in
victory over a rival, or to overcome challenges either by
appealing to others’ emotions or through improvisation.
The Ardent thrive on excitement and adventure, eter-
nally seeking the exhilarating highs and grievous lows of the
heart. Once per chapter, the Kheru may fully restore their
Ab Pillar through an intense emotional experience, provided
the event seems novel to them.
Affinity: Lion’s Pride
Effect: Emotion and desire are the domains of Enticers,
molded like clay in their hands.
• When someone close to the Kheru’s tomb experiences
intense emotion and intends to act upon it, the mummy
rises from henet with that intent as their purpose.
• When the Lion improves a character’s impression of
him during Social Maneuvering, he learns one of that
character’s Aspirations.
• The Ardent absorbs the emotions of others. Spend a
Pillar point while touching another character to make
a Resolve + Empathy roll. If successful, the Ardent
takes an emotion-based Condition from the affected
character. The character loses the Condition without
resolving it, and the mummy gains the Condition.
Bulls, Monoliths, the Stalwart
I endure. Shatter my bones, bind me in chains, burn the
very world around me. This does not change me. My Essence
endures for eternity. So shall I.
WHY WE ENDURE
What is the essence of ice? Ice can be fragile or strong,
large or small, jagged or smooth. None of these are its essence.
The essence of ice is cold. Tear everything else away, and that
is what remains. We are much like ice. We have our core,
our Essence, something that endures, underlying everything
beneath the superficial details. We are like ice, except for one
thing. We do not yield to the heat. Our endurance is eternal.
We are relentless. We are more unmoving than the moun-
tains, more incessant than the waves upon the shore. Call us
stubborn or obsessive, we won’t deny it — our convictions
never waver. No Nesrem would compromise their Essence
— we can’t. Call your Essence loyalty, but betraying a friend
proves it a lie. We can no more exist betraying our Essence
than ice can exist without being cold. Find something you
can’t destroy without destroying yourself, and you have
discovered your Essence.
People are always willing to die for something. A cause, a
country, a pharaoh… It doesn’t matter. Imagine something
worth more. Imagine something worthy of existing eternally,
something to live and die for time and again. We live to make
an indelible mark upon the world, whether it means building
a great monument or spreading our philosophies through
the hearts of humanity. No matter what obstacles arise, we
hold to our nature, our Essence, and follow it into eternity.
OUR CURSE
Time robs us of all we hold dear. Not just the people. We
can never hold on to anything. No matter how carefully we
build, no matter how valiantly we defend, nothing truly lasts.
Nothing is permanent. Kingdoms, religions, and philosophies
all fall. Monuments crumble to dust. The seas devour the
shores. Our Curse is to strive for a lasting legacy knowing
that we are doomed to fail, knowing that we will keep striving
anyway because it is our nature.
WHY YOU WILL SERVE US
Your life is fleeting. When I blink, you’ll be gone. It terrifies
you, doesn’t it? The thought you will be gone, as though you
never were. Such is the lot of mortals. You want so desperately
to make your mark, to make something lasting. I understand.
That’s where the Stalwart come in. We offer you meaning.
Relevance. Through us, you become part of something mag-
nificent. Something stretching back into antiquity and forward
into the distant future. Together, we build something eternal,
something so wondrous you cannot even conceive of it. We
were there in the beginning, and we will be there in the end.
Through us, your efforts echo through the ages.
THE GUILDS
Maa-Kep: When the Spies require agents under deep
cover, they send the Stalwart. Their unnatural patience
and dedication to achieving distant goals make Nesrem
well-suited to long-term infiltration. Their greatest challenge
is remembering which loyalties are true and which belong
only to the role.
Nesrem 49
 Mesen-Nebu: Reconciling the Stalwart conviction in immutable essence with changes wrought
through alchemy requires imagination and resolve. Nesrem Alchemists invariably conclude dedwen
is the true essence of all things, developing a fascination with the implications and applications
of this philosophy.
Sesha-Hebsu: Driven by a desire for continuity, Nesrem embrace the role of Lorekeeper,
collating valuable records for the betterment of the Arisen. As Diplomats, the Stalwart
patiently hear all sides before arriving at an unbiased judgment,
though they are loath to reconsider their decisions.
Su-Menent: Obedience to the Judges and devotion
to tradition are sources of great comfort to the Stalwart.
When pursuing the Judges’ goals, few exhibit more dedica-
tion, diligence, or humility than the Bulls. Nesrem Priests
brutally enforce edicts of the Judges, tracking heretics with
implacable resolve.
Tef-Aabhi: Stalwart Geomancers painstakingly plot every
line and angle when crafting their legacies. For them, patiently
planning for the future and making an indelible mark on the world
is as natural as waking with the Sothic Turn. While slower to adopt
new approaches than other Architects, the Monoliths compensate
with discerning insights and unwavering dedication.

CULTS
The Stalwart value dependability and loyalty in their cultists above
all else. Cultists desiring to climb the ranks must prove their competence
consistently, and unreliability is treated as a moral failing. Nesrem often
recruit new cultists for useful skills or to help them adapt to the current
age. That Bulls are often too stubborn to heed their advice is a source
of constant frustration for these cultists.
• Scattered through museums and historical preservation societies
around the world, the Chroniclers work tirelessly to preserve
artifacts of every age. Their Arisen masters hope to forge a
complete record of the world’s history through these, believing
the process shall unveil the true essence of the world itself.

• The Quiet Harbor holds small chapters in every major port

city in the world. The seafaring cult leaders travel from port
to port, keeping the floating tomb on the move. Whenever
she awakens, their mistress takes comfort in the timeless
sea. Returning to land can wait until she is prepared.

• Weakened through generations of inbreeding and feuds

with rival cults, she’s the last surviving member of the
Blackwode Family. With no child to carry on their lineage,
she searches desperately for her master in the rugged
mountains he chose for solitude. As much as she dreads
disturbing his peace, she knows she must, or their legacy
will be lost.

50 Chapter One: The Arisen

ETERNAL PURPOSE
Stubborn, practical, and obsessive, Nesrem are loath to
change. They take comfort in tradition and prior experienc-
es, favoring familiar methods over experimentation. They
implacably pursue their goals, whether it is building their
legacy or vengeance upon a rival. Those who earn a Bull’s
respect find them unwavering in their loyalty, and steadfast
in their protection. When they grow attached to something,
they despise letting it go. Most find themselves frustrated
when required to change bodies, despite their conviction
that these changes are purely superficial.
Dedication to purpose comes naturally to Bulls, and
they toil tirelessly to fulfill their missions. The Nesrem
act as the Judges’ laborers, ignoring minor distractions or
short-term goals as they shape the world in accordance
with their Judge’s wishes. Most Monoliths fulfill their first
purpose with single-minded devotion, unless it runs counter
to their long-term endeavors. When the Stalwart’s eternal
legacy is threatened, even the whims of Judge or cult must
yield. If a vessel captivates a Nesrem and doing so poses no
risk to their legacy, they pursue it relentlessly, destroying
any impediments in their path.
The Stalwart treasure recovering their memory, seeing
continuity of their Essence through every Descent, pursu-
ing it with the same single-mindedness they dedicate to
any other task. Many find themselves forced to move with
greater urgency, as uncovering their secrets reveal forgotten
projects and neglected rivalries requiring their attention.
Favored Attributes: Resolve and Stamina
Defining Pillar: Ka
Regaining Pillars: Nesrem have little time or tolerance
for overcomplications, preferring to strike directly at the
heart of an issue. After any scene in which the Stalwart
overcomes a challenge by tearing away extraneous details
and breaking the issue down to its basic essence, they regain
one Pillar point of their choosing.
The Stalwart desire above all else to create a legacy, a
monument carrying their Essence through the ages or a
philosophy disseminating their ideas to future generations.
Once per chapter, the Nesrem’s Ka Pillar is fully restored
by building or defending their legacy, or by witnessing the
lasting impact of their legacy upon society.
Affinity: Guardian Bull
Effect: The Monoliths relentlessly build their legacies,
refusing to see them torn down.
• If someone harms one of the Nesrem’s Touchstones,
the mummy rises from henet to protect the Touchstone
as if the aggressor disturbed her tomb.
• When the Nesrem successfully opens Doors during
Social Maneuvering using intimidation or violence,
she gains the Steadfast Condition.
• The Nesrem benefits from 1/0 armor (which stacks
with any other armor she possesses) while sealing the
flesh. If the mummy defends a Touchstone, her general
armor rating is equal to her Ka dots instead.
Nesrem 51
 Serpents, Whisperers, the Cunning
Strip me of everything else, but you will not have my
Name. Through my Name, I know myself. Speak my Name
and I live!
WHY WE ENDURE
Upon becoming the bishop of Rome, a newly elected Pope
changes his name. Why? He is already one of the influential
people on the planet, names possess magic so potent even
mortals cannot ignore it. I endure because I know my name
and I know who I am.
Self-knowledge is a simple thing, but it carries unlimited
potential — it isn’t just intelligence. If I understand who I am,
I know of what I am capable, but I also appreciate how I relate
to the people around me. My identity, my experiences, and
my status are emobodied in my name, the core of who I am.
Why stop at knowing myself though? By learning the
names of the people and things around me, I come to under-
stand their potential. I know how to direct their movements
on the political chessboard, so they become clay in my hands.
Immortality means I never have to stop. Each discovery
teaches me new names and unlocks new possibilities. There
is always more to learn.
OUR CURSE
I know my name, but I don’t always know all my names.
I recall when I was “the Great” or “the Magnificent” but
forget being “the Bloody” or “the Terrible.” Our fractured
Memory robs us of our actions’ context, for we stay true to our
natures even when we forget what they are. We think we are
dispensing justice when sadistic tyranny is our true nature.
52 Chapter One: The Arisen
As Memory returns, we have our illusions about ourselves
dispelled. If we cannot understand our own identities until
it is too late, how can we expect to understand the people
and world around us?
WHY YOU WILL SERVE US
Give me a lever, and I can move the world, yes? We are
offering the lever. We understand how people think and react.
We have researched the most obscure scientific topics. We
know you better than you know yourself. Imagine what you
can do with such knowledge; win a Nobel Prize or take the
Hollywood social scene by storm. The experience we offer
is the lever, and our cults are the fulcrum. All you need to
do is make use of them.
THE GUILDS
Maa-Kep: Obsessed with knowledge and identity, the
Usheb excel as Spies. Through careful observation and
study, they come to understand the needs and desires of
those they serve. Conveniently, it also allows them to build
extensive dossiers on everyone around them. When heresy
compromises the Arisen, the Cunning are the first to know.
Mesen-Nebu: Dedwen is the most fundamental aspect
of identity for Serpents within the Alchemists. An object
or person’s potential determines what they are, even if the
potential is hypothetical or years in making. The Cunning
are patient, preferring to invest time in materials that remain
flexible, be they reforged precious metals or ever-adaptable
human minds.
Sesha-Hebsu: The stereotypical Serpent is a Lorekeeper,
sequestered in a library full of dusty tomes with millennia of
accumulated knowledge. The stereotype isn’t wrong, though modern Serpents are happy to use a phone with an internet
connection. It would be easy, but incorrect, to assume these Lorekeepers focus on famous and influential names. Their
rulings and histories are nuanced and consider the impact of culture, economics, and identity on the Scroll of Ages.
Su-Menent: Cunning Necromancers understand magic by studying the identities of the mortals once contained within
their shells. They are the seekers of the strange and the macabre, always searching for ever more bizarre and unique bodies
to study. They consider a shell Claimed by a vengeful ghost to be a gift from the Judges, although most other mummies are
just grateful the Necromancers hunt such monstrosities.
Tef-Aabhi: Usheb Geomancers concern themselves with the identities of Lifewebs. They primarily focus on occult in-
fluences such as ley lines and sacred geometry, but they are cognizant that Netit-Sekhem pervades everything. The names
of people and places create unique eddies in the Lifeweb for the New Pharaohs to exploit.

CULTS
The Cunning prize curiosity and ambition in their minions. Wealth and power
are valuable assets, but a patent clerk driven to explore the unknown has much
more use than a lazy CEO. Obtaining results without having a mummy staring
over a minion’s shoulder is the key to recruitment; sycophants and hangers-on
need not apply.
• Officially, the Uxbridge Library Association coordinates between the munic-
ipality’s public, private, and university collections. Unofficially, they catalogue
knowledge and track down antiquities to serve their founder. When the founder
requires them to use diplomacy to convince collectors to part with their valu-
ables, the ULA has found that looking at the books people have checked
out says a lot about them.

• Blue Nile Laboratories works with all the volatile chemicals. Azidoazide
azide, batrachotoxin, chlorine trifluoride, and sulfur trioxide — the
names on their requisition forms read like a who’s who of other
chemist’s worst nightmares. Despite Blue Nile’s hazardous work,
staff turnover is low and the scientists know they can conduct riskier
experiments than any university would tolerate. Shareholders must
drag the CEO away from her research to attend board meetings
and, between sessions, she preoccupies herself with synthesizing,
naming, and indexing the world’s most reactive compounds.

• Data mining is the next big game, and NefertiTxt stays

on the industry’s bleeding edge. Scores of cultists sort
through oceans of metadata before forwarding the most
pertinent information to their Arisen Mistress. NefertiTxt
knows who has vessels, who is an incognito sorcerer, and
who is susceptible to their corporate recruitment drives, as
the company is always hiring. They refuse to stoop so low as
identity theft, viewing such crimes as a perversion of ren, but
they have no qualms about using the information they gather
as blackmail to ensure the cult gets its way.

ETERNAL PURPOSE
The Usheb view knowledge as both a
means to an end and an end itself, making
no distinction between book learning and
street knowledge. Modern buzzwords label

Usheb 53
 them as proponents of holistic education, but the Usheb boil
this down to a simple principle: analysis and experience are
both essential to knowledge. A name without education is
blind, while lack of social connection castrates an identity.
Even the most bookish Serpent is a political animal capable
of manipulating their allies and confounding their foes.
Judges requiring tacticians who acts with deft hands call
upon the Serpents. They serve as manipulators and chess
masters, arranging every piece on the board according to the
Judges’ designs. Thorough and meticulous, Serpents focus
on the details when fulfilling their first purposes.
For the Serpents, understanding a vessel’s history just
as crucial as obtaining it. Even after consigning the vessels
Duat, the Cunning research the Relics they recover, hoping
their true names provide valuable insight into other vessels.
Prizing self-knowledge above all else, Memory is ev-
erything to the Cunning. An impenetrable fog of amnesia
traps the experiences shaping these mummies identities and
the Cunning go to any length to burn it away. A Serpent’s
Memory subverting their sense of self is a massive blow,
but the vindication they experience when reaffirming their
identities makes it worth the risk.
Favored Attributes: Intelligence and Manipulation
Defining Pillar: Ren
54 Chapter One: The Arisen
Regaining Pillars: Nuance wraps names in layers of se-
crets for the Usheb to unravel one at a time. The Cunning
regains one Pillar point of her choice after any scene in
which she uncovers an unknown historical truth or proves
the mind’s superiority over the heart and the body.
Nothing reinvigorates the Usheb like discovering their
own identity. Once per chapter, the Usheb may fully restore
her Ren Pillar by going out of her way to learn additional
information about her current purpose that she does not
require to complete her duties.
Affinity: Serpent’s Tongue
Effect: Clever and sly, the Usheb’s words move mountains.
• Anyone permanently sacrificing a significant memory
may summon the Usheb from henet as if they were the
mummy’s cultist.
• When engaging in Social Maneuvering, if the Serpent’s
goal would be a breaking point for the character she is
trying to influence, add one Door instead of two.
• When the Serpent improves a character’s impression of
her during Social Maneuvering, she gains the Informed
Condition regarding that character.
 Each and every loyal Arisen serves one of the Judges of
Duat, the 42 assessors of Ma’at who weigh the souls of the
dead and determine their ultimate fate. The mummy declares
his Decree before the Judge most closely resonating with his
own ideals, who looks for the heavy burden of a particular sin
that the Arisen himself finds repugnant or deeply important
in some way, and in doing so binds himself to the demonic
Judge as a Timeless servitor.
Each of the 42 claims authority over a specific crime or
sin, and from these 42 condemnations derives the code of
laws that underpins the legacy of Irem. To the Arisen, the
42 Judges represent a fundamental morality inherent to
the cosmic cycle of the gods themselves. However, many
among the 42 concern themselves with narrow or conceptual
transgressions, and so few Arisen find resonance with their
judgment. Only a few of the Judges claim a significant number
of Arisen servants; most of Irem’s Deathless pay allegiance
to the seven most powerful and active Judges.
While loyal Arisen always serve a Judge, the pronounce-
ment of Decree does not chain the Deathless to that Judge
forever. A mummy may move his allegiance to another, and
some Judges try to sway or force their rivals’ servitors to their
own side. The Judges demand a tithe of Sekhem from the
living world, a rightfully-due sacrifice to the gods, and the
more Arisen a Judge possesses, the more Sekhem is poured
into its grasp.
The 42 assessors of Ma’at are strange and nightmarish
entities, utterly dedicated to the enforcement of external
morality and civilization on the unrolling scroll of history.
They do not empathize with those they condemn, let alone
sympathize; they can often seem capricious or actively malev-
olent in the way their alien protocols direct their actions, and
on the rare occasion that one issues forth an emanation or
true avatar into the world, the results are often apocalyptic.
A mummy’s Judge is always with him, but it is a distant and
impersonal force ready to reflexively scourge away Sekhem
for his transgressions, and a channel for overwhelming divine
imperatives with no room for intimacy or gentleness in how
they are delivered. Nevertheless, the Judges represent the
divine order of the cosmos; to most Arisen, the notion of
disobeying the Judges is unthinkable.
AM-KHAIBIT,
THE EATER OF SHADOWS
DROWN THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS IN BLOOD
The Eater of Shadows is a night-dark terror, its awful
grandeur stark against the rasping sands of Duat’s wasteland.
The monstrous jaws of the canine Judge’s three heads can
rend the skin and flesh from reality; from each mouth a tide
of hot ash drools, stirring to a billowing storm of smoke when
the beast roars or speaks.
This Judge claims the assessment of those perpetuating
crimes against humanity, primarily mass murder. Not every
act of slaughter is condemned; indeed, Am-Khaibit deems
state or community-sanctioned killing to be acceptable or
even laudable under some circumstances. In the eyes of the
Eater of Shadows, a fine line divides monstrous transgression
and righteous action; war and conflict are fundamental to
the architecture of civilization that the Judges would enforce.
Am-Khaibit reserves its loathing for wanton slaughter and
butchery that threatens to undermine the foundations of
society.
The Judges of the Duat 55
 Why We Serve Them
To many Arisen, the world’s become sick with violence,
suffocating on the charnel cravings of humanity turned
inwards in autocannibalistic chaos. By comparison, Am-
Khaibit is a source of unending, righteous violence that
brings bloody vengeance against the deserving — no limits,
no hesitation. To the servants of Am-Khaibit, the notion of
an eye for an eye is laughable; you sever the transgressor’s
head and stick it atop a spike for all to see and learn from.
You’re a would-be savior bringing divine judgment so
the innocent can live without fear. You’re a cultivator of
humanity’s martial soul, pruning away the sick branches so
that the civilized aspects of war can be better nurtured. You
just want an excuse to lash out, to use your strength and
rage with no limitations against a target condemned by the
highest authority so you can feel righteous about your fury.
The Eater of Shadows doesn’t care what drives you, as long
as you fight fire with fire and accept no compromise.
Who We Judge
The Arisen servitors of Am-Khaibit have a reputation
for excessive violence and self-righteousness, but the Eater
of Shadows encourages an investigative bent to its followers.
Often enough, the instigator responsible for a mass murder
is clear — the serial killer terrorizing the city, or the sadis-
tic officer ordering his troops to hunt down and slaughter
refugees. However, the guilty party isn’t always the person
wielding the knife or pressing the button; Am-Khaibit is
only satisfied once all guilty parties have been tracked down
and dealt with.
How We Worship
The Eater of Shadows encourages bold, uncompromis-
ing approaches that carve hard lines between transgression
and righteousness. Servants of the Judge are allowed to use
stealth, trickery, and cleverness to prosecute their condem-
nations, but Am-Khaibit particularly prizes public lessons
and delights in the terror of those knowing that justice — an
unstoppable justice — is coming for them.
Cults built around the Eater of Shadows and its Arisen servi-
tors cling to tenets of vengeance, retaliation, honor, and a belief
in the notion of the ‘just war’ and the righteous kill. They’re
often militant in nature, whether a band of vigilantes dealing
out rough justice in dark alleys, a paramilitary or revolutionary
society riling themselves to violence in rowdy assemblies, or
an outright military conspiracy embedded in the armed forces.
Like all Judges, Am-Khaibit craves the acquisition and
oblation of Sekhem vessels from the living world. The Eater
of Shadows is particularly interested in vessels and relics of a
martial nature, used in killing, or made from the aftermath
of slaughter or massacre.
56 Chapter One: The Arisen
AREM-ABFU,
THE FINAL JUDGE
DEBRIDE, EXCISE, EXTRACT,
AND THROUGH DIVISION ENSURE PURITY
The Final Judge is so terrible in aspect that it cannot be
truly witnessed, not even by the burnished soul of the Arisen.
To see its nightmare majesty is to know that it is beyond
comprehension, let alone description. Last, but perhaps
greatest of all its siblings, even the echoes of Arem-Abfu’s
divine voice weigh heavy in the mind of its Arisen servitors.
Arem-Abfu is Judge of a lofty but profound transgres-
sion — that of crimes against the cosmos itself. The Final
Judge concerns itself with sorcery and science turned
against the righteous order of Duat and civilization, setting
Arisen against those trying to defile, warp, or reshape the
fundamentals of reality to suit their arrogance and hunger.
Arem-Abfu serves as guardian to the pillars of existence,
and its servitors challenge any thinking themselves worthy
of shaking such foundations.
Why We Serve Them
Chaos has crept into the world where order should reign
supreme. The great cosmic cycles of reality grind and stutter
as the corruption of the unfurling ages clogs the divine engine
of existence. Mysteries slither and multiply in the shadows.
All would be in harmony were it not for the transgressions
of those thinking their own will and design superior to that
of the gods. For the body to survive, the surgeon must cut
away the gangrenous rot; for the flock to flourish, there must
be a shepherd. Arem-Abfu offers the understanding and the
power needed to set all things right.
You’re a fervent believer outraged by the sacrilege of
those trying to seize control of the world’s levers with their
crude sorcery. You’re a craftsman even now, fascinated by the
workings of the cosmos and keen to keep them running in
smooth order where even the Judges have failed to keep the
gears turning properly. You’re driven by a desire to learn the
same secrets that lure those you condemn in the Final Judge’s
name, desperate to finally peer behind the screen yourself
and learn the truth of existence. Whoever you are, you’ll
face the temptation of forbidden knowledge in your service
to Arem-Abfu — and the Last Judge is watching you closely.
Who We Judge
The servants of Arem-Abfu deal with wielders of magic
defiling reality or reaching beyond their rightful place in the
cosmic order. Petty uses of sorcery to gain moderate temporal
power or even extend lifespan are usually of little interest
to Arem-Abfu, but concerted attacks on the Arisen and
the Judges themselves, or abuses of Sekhem-rich vessels for
purposes other than oblation to Duat, draw the Final Judge’s
attention swiftly.
Though often seen as witch-hunters, the Arisen of Arem-
Abfu also lay judgment on an entirely different brand of
criminal — those wielding more conventional forms of sci-
ence, or combining such with the occult, to push into realms
that the Final Judge deems beyond humanity’s prerogative.
Some branches of cutting-edge science catch the ire of the
Judge’s Arisen, as do potentially transhumanist efforts to
fundamentally change the path of humanity into something
else. The rapid acceleration of technological progress is wit-
nessed with alarm by Arem-Abfu’s followers; they fear that
soon the species will try to rise above its station and wrestle
control of the cosmos from the gods.
How We Worship
Arem-Abfu considers there to be a correct, pure form of
reality, and asks of its followers that they protect this sacred
state. The Final Judge’s Arisen look at things through the
lens of this struggle between the holy and the corrupt, and
seek to hold back that corruption where they can. Many
practice extreme ritualistic behavior in the form of purifying
ceremonies or the symbolic rejection of the profane, often
via washing.
Cults of Arem-Abfu further reflect this focus the dividing
line between the cleansed and the unclean. They espouse
occult or ritual practices of ‘good’ magic or thought, and
are relentlessly antagonistic to anyone not conforming to
their standards. A cult of the Final Judge is likely to lean
into eldritch or intellectual pursuits; one may be a coven of
sorcerers under the harsh tutelage of an Arisen, another a
society of engineers or doctors or scientists trying to build a
moral and ethical framework for their cutting-edge practices,
and yet another a local sect of ferocious guardians entirely
dedicated to protecting all the holy tombs of the Arisen
from desecration.
KENEMTI, THE PENITENT
CUTTING AWAY THE ROTTEN FLESH IS NOT ENOUGH;
PROVIDE CORRECT ACTION AS AN EXAMPLE
Kenemti does not present the nightmarish majesty or
divine glory of many other Judges. Its appearance is, by compar-
ison, restrained; a simple figure draped in a spotless white robe
that shines with inner luminescence, inlaid with wondrous
decorations of lapis lazuli. Beneath the hood, the Penitent’s
face is hairless, its skin a blue mottling that suggests scales,
and its yellow eyes punctuated with the slit pupils of a serpent.
Kenemti assesses the crimes of blasphemy and desecration
against the sacred, as interpreted through the doctrines of
Duat. To Kenemti, the sacred is often found in sources of
spiritual strength that reinforce communities, bring hope and
purpose to the populace, and help guide and shape the flow
of civilization itself. Just because a mortal religion declares
something holy does not make it truly so in the eyes of the
Penitent and, indeed, the facade of spirituality can hide utter
profanity behind its mask.
Why We Serve Them
In every era, the Arisen awaken to see the world despoiled
and lessened beneath the boot-heel of those craving only
dominion, riches, or power. The righteous order of Duat
and the veneration of the gods are set aside in favor of
personal gratification or corrupted to unvirtuous purpose.
Unsurprisingly, Arisen often have a deep-seated sense of the
sacred and the divine, and feel outrage or despair at seeing
communities drained of spirituality, left unmoored from a
sacred anchor that binds them together and gives them
purpose. The Penitent, then, offers the impetus to make
whole the wounded soul of humanity.
You’re a shepherd in search of a flock, reveling in the light
of awe and wonder that gleams in the eye of those that have
had hope and faith restored. You’re a zealot without compare,
raging still at a world that should be turned entirely towards
veneration of the divine. You fear your own blasphemies,
the questions you yearn to ask but know that it is not your
place to doubt the gods over, and hope that you too can find
penitence in service to Kenemti. The Penitent accepts all
Arisen into service, asking each of you to judge the world’s
soul through the lens of your own Pillars.
Who We Judge
The servitors of Kenemti see little difference between
the physical and the conceptual when it comes to threats
to the sacred. A tightly-bound community is the church
where they worship; desecration of that community might
be a charlatan or demagogue subverting the spiritual heart
of the congregation, or it could be the iconoclast taking a
sledgehammer to the focal altar; both are transgressors. The
participants in religious conflicts, the architects of societal
changes that weaken faith, and the looters sacking a temple
for its goods are all worthy of condemnation; so is the priest
building a church that only echoes with empty lip service
and the aggrandizement of the clergy. Anyone daring to steal
from an Arisen’s tomb is particularly guilty.
How We Worship
Arisen following the Penitent are particularly pious, at
least outwardly. The faith of Irem is not the same as that of
successor civilizations, and that is as it should be — but these
The Judges of the Duat 57
 newcomers must be shepherded appropriately. The Judge’s
servants involve themselves in matters of faith, community,
and politics, actively undermining religions and movements
that they believe to be unworthy in one way or another.
Cults of Kenemti aren’t just religious sects; they’re cults
about faith. They infiltrate the board of the local church
community or the ranks of the religious police. One cult
is made up of wealthy philanthropists with deep pockets,
while another counts theologians and philosophers in its
ranks. Some hide themselves in the guts of construction or
architecture firms, raising new monuments to lost Irem by
working symbolism into their creations. Arisen serving this
Judge often control a mystery cult, where their true followers
sit at the top of a pyramid over innumerable lesser sects and
congregations, all following different tenets or beliefs and
all watched vigilantly by the inner circle to see how their
spirituality develops.
NEBHA, THE FLAME
UNDER THE LIGHT OF TRUTH, THE MINDS OF THE
UNRIGHTEOUS FIND SOLACE OR THEY BURN
The Flame is an impossibly bright presence, a shining
white fire casting sharp illumination across Duat’s cruel
expanse. Inconstant in form; a congeries of spheres, or a line
of lights stretching out towards an infinite distance, or the
shadow cast by something even brighter.
Nebha is the Judge of truth and lies, burning away all
deception with its harsh light, leaving only the hard reality
of veracity in its wake. It does not loath lies, rather it is the
antithesis of such; its very being rebels against the concept of
communicating that which is not. The Flame does not oppose
secrecy; merely withholding knowledge do not rouse its ire.
Only the propagation of falsehood, intentional or otherwise,
calls it to bring burning revelation to the world.
Why We Serve Them
Much of the Arisen experience is shrouded and hidden;
each mummy shackled by the decaying weight of Memory in
an eternal struggle to accrue truth and understanding. Lies,
then, are anathema to many Arisen; each falsehood spoken
is a drop of poison into the crucible of history, another lie
that the mummy must evade while plucking out the precious
grains of truth. This poison turns the world to chaos, unpick-
ing the tapestry of time and knowledge. Better to cleanse the
veins of discourse and community with fiery purification.
Who We Judge
Anyone can lie; it’s such a common sin. The followers of
Nebha frown upon all falsehoods, but accept that deception
can, itself, grease the wheels of human interaction even
58 Chapter One: The Arisen
though they reject its convenience themselves. Instead, the
Flame’s chosen Arisen reserve their fury for those whose lies
actively cause harm; the lying politician blithering falsehoods
that turn the order of the court to venal and chaotic corrup-
tion, and the false scholar propagating self-serving deception.
In a modern age of media and memetics, Nebha’s servitors
have much work to do.
How We Worship
The Arisen following Nebha often employ symbolic and
literal representations of their Judge. The Flame encourages a
truthful approach to all things, and its servitors seek to purify
themselves of all lies; they also like to burn that which offends
them, branding a liar’s tongue with hot metal or incinerating
texts that bear profanely mendacious claims.
Cults that arise around the activities of Nebha and its
Arisen believe they bear the illuminating torch of truth.
Some are activists espousing freedom of information and
rigorous fact-checking, or even firebrand revolutionaries
wanting to take more direct and incendiary action against
the corrupt and lying establishment. Often enough, though,
cultists of the Flame want to preserve and protect the truth
from the unworthy — and it is, of course, the cult that decides
who is worthy. The mummies of the flame gather hacker
collectives, societies of archivists, and bands of thieves to
seek out and snatch secrets into the grasp of the Arisen.
NEHEB-KA,
THE ONE WHO UNIFIES
BRING THEM LOW, AND MAKE THEM AS THE CUR
WRITHING IN THE MUD
The One Who Unifies is a monstrous sphinx, a chimera
with the head of a leopard, a flicking snake’s tongue, the
forequarters of a lion and a hind-body of immense, serpentine
coils. As repulsive in aspect as it is wondrous, its contorted
form slithers and twists in perspective-breaking motions, and
its entwined tail seemingly infinite in length.
Neheb-Ka concerns itself with the iniquities born from
human pride, claiming purview over those whose arrogance
brings discord and strife, harming others through their over-
weening pride, and stealing acclaim rightfully due to others.
The Judge is, perhaps, less concerned with the stunted de-
velopment of the individual suffering from such hubris than
the damage such foolish pride does to the structure of society
and civilization; the way the overly powerful and excessively
arrogant wound the shared customs of the community, or
the manner in which they fail to duly submit to authority
and righteousness.
Why We Serve Them
The Arisen know the risks of pride and the importance
of humility. Serving the Judges is the correct place in the
harmonious order of the cosmos for every mummy, which is
good and right. The world is in disorder because so many do
not adhere to their appropriate station, trespassing against
society and the gods through their self-aggrandizement. The
Arisen wield the power of the Rite of Return, which makes
evident mockery of any mortal’s delusions of grandeur.
Neheb-Ka asks the Arisen to make such humbling their
very purpose, and such indulgence of karmic justice is an
attractive proposition for many.
You’re a sneering monster from the distant past taking
gleeful pleasure in showing arrogant upstarts the wild mis-
calculation of their sense of self-worth, and incidentally
bringing an end to their excesses. A harsh meritocrat with
no tolerance for over-inflated opinions of self-worth, you
just want to drag everyone down to the same level, either
bringing humility to all or to see the whole human race on
their knees. The One Who Unifies is an honest monster, and
it lets you be a monster too, terrorizing and sabotaging in the
name of righteous order.
Who We Judge
The politician grasping for ever more power, believing the
mere plebs aren’t qualified to direct their own destinies; the
cruel doctor thrilling in the power she holds over victims,
choosing who lives and who dies; the rising star stepping on
everyone between him and his desires in the belief that he
alone matters — these are some of the condemned whom
Neheb-Ka’s followers bring low. Many Arisen flock to the
Judge’s service because transgressors against its code are so
common, making duty to the One Who Unifies seem so
very easy.
How We Worship
The One Who Unifies doesn’t mandate humility from its
own servitors, but such Arisen often watch themselves and
their fellows carefully for the telltale signs of pride before a
fall — after all, they’ve seen the consequences of arrogance
enough times to learn from it. Perhaps in compensation,
Neheb-Ka’s followers heavily emphasize piety and the gods,
building great temples to the Judge and Duat.
Cults of the One Who Unifies are often vindictive, close-
knit little affairs — a band of vigilantes keen for vengeance,
or a social circle of veritable high-society harpies picking the
next bloated ego that needs puncturing. Some Arisen move
from one brief group to another, forging activists or wronged
parties into brief cults to see through their actions against the
target of their ire; others build longer-lasting organizations,
from self-help or spiritual businesses commodifying lessons
in humility for personal growth, to gangs of corrupt cops
committing extrajudicial executions of criminals arrogantly
considering themselves untouchable by the law.
UNEM-BESEK,
THE EATER OF ENTRAILS
AS THEY HAVE SALTED THE EARTH, SO SHALL YOU
SALT THEIR FLESH; AS THEY HAVE BEEN LOCUSTS
TO THE LAND, SO SHALL YOU EAT OF THEIR BODIES
Called the Eater of Entrails, Unem-Besek is a grotesque
mass of reptilian flesh from which sprouts a crown of writhing
snakes. The constraints of size and mass hold no authority
over it; the Judge simultaneously looms over the horizon as
a colossus, slouches within the grandeur of its temple, and
waits in the thin spaces between the walls.
Unem-Besek’s pronounced purview is the theft of land or
territory belonging to another, but its reach is far greater than
this might at first indicate. To the Eater of Entrails, land matters
because it is the underpinning of sustenance and civilization;
taking farmland denies a community their food, seizing a place
in which a community has dwelt for long ages disconnects them
from their spirituality and their ancestors. Unem-Besek, then,
concerns itself as much with famine and starvation, the misuse
of the land’s resources, and the severing of established ties to a
place as it does with the direct conquest of land.
Why We Serve Them
To be blunt, the Eater of Entrails is terrifying. Some Arisen
come into its service because it demands they do so, and
they are too afraid to deny it. For many, though, the Judge
resonates with their understanding of state and people, born
from the days of Irem. The two are tied intimately together;
the very basic foundations of life come from what the land
gives up to its cultivators. The idea of territory, then, is the
building block upon which civilization is built, not neces-
sarily through ownership of land but through continuity of
existence upon it.
Who We Judge
The Eater of Entrails’ servants find fault in bickering
neighbors squabbling over land, whether the power struggle
of rival states or the greed of rich farmers each wanting more
of what the other has. They condemn landowners wielding
the coin and the word to abuse or drive off inhabitants and
to destroy that which has come before. Perhaps more perti-
nently in the modern world, Unem-Besek’s servitors judge
those misusing the resources of their land — unsustainable
deforestation, soil poisoned with chemicals, and fertile earth
locked away under groaning concrete.
The Judges of the Duat 59
 How We Worship
The servants of the Eater of Entrails gather their own
estates and properties, and fiercely defend their territory.
Unem-Besek encourages productivity in all aspects of ex-
istence, whether the use of land or the scheduling of the
Arisen’s limited time on the Descent. The Judge’s mummies
are always striving towards the next goal, trying to get the
most out of every second they have in this cycle.
Cults of the Eater of Entrails usually focus around at-
tachment to a place or location. They’re the insular and
xenophobic locals who don’t like outsiders, the archaeologists
lovingly prizing the city’s history out of the soil, and the
activists trying to protect the wetlands from destruction at
the hands of industry. Many such cults fold the symbolism of
hunger and famine into their rites, whether through extrav-
agant banquets of grotesque gluttony, the self-mortification
of fasting, or offerings of sacrifices’ entrails to sacred animals
who are treated as intermediaries to the divine.
USEKH-NEMTET,
THE FIRST JUDGE
IT IS BLASPHEMOUS, TIMELESS SLAVE, TO BELIEVE
YOURSELF OUR EQUAL IN JUDGMENT
The First Judge is fickle of form, often shrouding itself
in shapes familiar to the viewer as father figures or mentors.
Those lucky — or unlucky — enough to see Usekh-Nemtet
in its true form claim it to be wrought of hollow masks and
empty void, but even this manifestation may just be another
veil.
Much like the Last Judge, the First Judge concerns itself
with lofty matters of the cosmos. In the case of Usekh-
Nemtet, it condemns those aspiring to the position of the
Judges themselves, either through seeking to dictate the
nature of sin or through breaching the limits of their exis-
tence and seeking immortality. Some claim it sees even the
Arisen as highly suspect, and only grudgingly tolerates the
Rite of Return.
Why We Serve Them
Usekh-Nemtet is the highest authority when it comes to
the very nature and purpose of the Arisen, for their existence
lies within the Judge’s purview and, ultimately, every single
one of them has passed beneath the First Judge’s baleful
gaze. Some Arisen seek to serve Usekh-Nemtet for this rea-
son alone, seeing it as the greatest of Judges and the purest
example of their reason for being. Arisen finding particular
resonance with the details of its purpose have witnessed
the hubris of humanity seeking immortality, believe that
60 Chapter One: The Arisen
humanity fundamentally does not possess the perspective to
determine its own framework of morality, or fear their own
kind and suspect that the Arisen are imperfect creations
and, ultimately, a threat to the harmonious order of the gods.
You’re a hunter of other immortals; you catch them,
pull their limbs off, take them apart to see how they tick
in the hope that one day you’ll truly understand your own
nature. You are the implacable face of the cosmos, delivering
judgment to remind humans that it is the gods, not them,
from whom all righteousness flows. You think this is all a
terrible mistake, unable to break free from the cycle of your
own immortality, and you want to warn those who would
violate the First Judge’s laws that life without end isn’t all
it’s cracked up to be.
Who We Judge
The world’s not short of idiots trying to bootstrap
themselves up to immortality, a process that often involves
a dozen other crimes along the way. Servitors of Usekh-
Nemtet go after the cults and cabals of such sorcerers and
parasites, bringing an early ending to their attempted eter-
nity. Sometimes, the First Judge sets its Arisen against other
Deathless that have transgressed in some way.
Although more abstract, the First Judge’s followers also
condemn those seeking to define the nature of sin despite
it being beyond their station to do so. Spiritual figures or
secular authorities attempting to fundamentally alter the
deep-rooted values or ethics of a community can run afoul
of the Judge’s followers, and no amount of philosophical
justification is likely to sway such bearers of divine judgment.
How We Worship
The First Judge encourages its worshipers to strip away
humanity’s self-deception and face the horrible truth of their
place in the cosmos; that each person faces only a brief and
mortal existence, and that they dwell amid a greater order
that they cannot truly perceive or appreciate but to which
they can only submit. Its Arisen servitors are usually eloquent
and erudite, seeking influence and control over others —
after all, mummies possess a cosmically-privileged position
of power by comparison.
Cults of Usekh-Nemtet tend towards the bizarre. One is
a death cult, embracing the inevitability of the end and the
cycle of rebirth; the members of another seek insight and
revelation in exposure to the inconceivable truths of the
First Judge’s mind. Some are abjectly submissive, offering
total obedience and the suppression of their own will to
their Arisen master and the cosmic order that the First
Judge represents. Most feature a strong vein of acceptance
of divine authority, and the punishment of those straying
from obedience to that perceived power.
 From Chaos, Order
Most Arisen hold firm to the belief that the Judges are exactly what they seem: the 42 assessors of Ma’at judg-
ing the souls of the dead from their macabre thrones in bleak Duat. It’s all a part of the eternal, cosmic order.
Some Timeless claim a deeper knowledge of the Judges’ origins, gleaned from ancient texts, the confessions
of undying beings, or echoing fragments of broken time. These mummies claim the Judges emerged from
formless chaos, each given a splinter of the fundamentals of morality and civilization around which they
coalesced and took coherence. They crawled from the bedlam and built their thrones, taking their place in a
new order that rose with their appearance.
This story doesn’t necessarily contradict the Iremic belief in the afterlife, in Ammut and Aaru, but it does raise
disturbing questions among the Arisen who believe it. Did the Judges seize their conceptual space by dint
of being the first, or did another, greater power give them their meaning? Do they reflect the existing nature
of human morality, are they a parasitic attempt to ape it, or are they the external enforcers of something
greater? If they were once beings of chaos, given shape and purpose, might they one day return to their
former turmoil — and to what extent might the rivalries, bickering, and erratic behavior they display reflect
the cosmic order breaking down, and their slide into corrupting disorder?

The Judges of the Duat 61

 Immortality will come to such as are fit for it;
and he who would be a great soul in the future must be a great soul now.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
THE NAMELESS EMPIRE
Close your eyes and listen to the wind as it howls over the
sands. It cries for Irem, long gone, near-forgotten. The proud
city stood at the heart of the Nameless Empire, and all the world
trembled at its might. Hear, in the wind’s wail, its memory of
dancing down Irem’s streets, of skirling about the Pillars that
rose over it. Perhaps we stand where the city once did, though
the kepher doesn’t stir beneath our skins. We might tread where
a temple once stood. What if the bones of a craft-house lay far
beneath our feet, would you know?
What if it’s the bones of our brethren, slain to fuel Shan’iatu rites?
Irem lies lost beneath the sands. Once, its pillars cast long
shadows across the mighty city, which in turn cast its long
shadow over an empire. With bronze-armored soldiers marching
beneath the sign of the scorpion, and weapons strengthened
by sorcerer-priests’ arcane workings, death proved no barrier
to the Nameless Empire’s ambitions. The corpses of the fallen
were merely one more resource for the necromancers to exploit.
The bodies of Irem’s survivors lay entombed, their souls
wandering through Duat unaware of happenings on the mortal
plane, unaware of the reasons for the empire’s collapse. The
Deathless arose when Sothis next ascended, when their bodies
were disturbed, or when Judges forced them awake, emerging
into a world that had already forgotten their magnificent city.
Its Pillars gone, fallen or crumbled or carted away; its ancient
magics lost, dead and buried with the sorcerer-priests; a poor
imitation of its wonders stood in Irem’s place.
Over 6,000 years ago, before Egypt’s Old Kingdom rose,
desert tribes named the Black Land that sustained them Kemet,
“the heart of the world.” They lived alongside the River —
dubbed by later civilizations the Nile, but for Kemet’s people
no other rivers could compare to its wide, rushing waters. The
tribes didn’t yet have the trick of fire, and subsisted on what
they gathered along with the River’s bounty. The Black Land
and the River protected them from the surrounding desert,
where few ever ventured. The stories passed down from their
ancestors said scorpions guarded the searing white sands.
What their stings didn’t kill, the sun and thirst would claim.
Sometimes the dead walked, their corpses rising to attack
the friends and family mourning their loss. Elders laid heavy
stones atop the deceased to prevent them from such a return.
Spirits haunted the night and the ghost-winds sowed terror
wherever they howled.
Then, from a land beyond the tribes’ kenning, the sorcer-
er-priests came conquering. Those same stinging horrors that
stalked the desert curled along the Shani’atu’s scarlet robes,
embroidered in golden thread. They brought with them their
gods and their necromantic magics, and shaped Kemet and
its people to their wills. All things obeyed the sorcerer-priests:
they commanded fire; they bound the wind. At their behest,
corpses stirred and set to building walls. The first stones they
laid were the ones that had held their lifeless bodies down.
Though they never dared speak it aloud, the people of
Kemet suspected the Shan’iatu weren’t entirely human. They
wore human shapes, but while humans were born of earth,
some sorcerer-priests claimed to be made from fire. They were
The Nameless Empire 63
 children of the stars, their essences shaped by magic. Of the
necromancers who spoke of their origins, they believed they
sat somewhere between the gods and mortals, tasked with
protecting their lesser cousins from the Devourer’s hunger.
That “protection” often took monstrous form — the
dead weren’t the necromancers’ only slaves. Legend says the
Shan’iatu raised the city in a single night, though the Arisen
know no sorcerers’ hands grew calloused from the labor. Perhaps
Shan’iatu magic alone called the pillars forth from the sands and
set them into placed around the city in accordance with sacred
occult architecture, but human hands raised the city’s walls and
constructed its temples and palaces. The Shan’iatu forced the
living to toil alongside the dead, day and night, while the city
grew. Basalt columns loomed against the sky in any direction one
looked. The obelisks’ shadows were an ever-present reminder of
Shan’iatu prowess: their shades crept across temple floors and
darkened audience chambers. Though the city had no name, its
inhabitants and visitors referred to it as the City of Pillars.
The name “Irem” came much later, a word meaning false
paradise in a tongue as dead as the Nameless Empire itself.
RESHAPING
With the city built, the necromancers set about reshaping
its people, declaring the tribes of Kemet to be a single nation of
which they crowned themselves its princes. Of the Shan’iatu’s
pantheon, they worshiped Azar as the highest among their
deities. Long before they invaded Kemet, Azar had charged
the Shan’iatu with teaching his Laws to mortals, and set them
over the humans as their guides. The sorcerer-priests raised a
Pharaoh from among their ranks, a king serving as both Azar’s
high priest and the bearer of his bau — the god’s power made
manifest. The Shan’iatu were the only ones allowed to fully
worship the gods, though they might be persuaded to collect
commoners’ prayers and intercede on their behalf.
Amongst the other gods that stood alongside Azar in the
pantheon was: the Nameless Serpent Sutek, whose sacrifice
helped create other gods even as his goals stood in opposition
to the Judges; Anpu, who ruled Duat before abdicating his
throne to Azar; and Ammut the Devourer, whose hunger
would consume all of creation. Souls of the dead traveled
to Duat, the Underworld, where the Judges weighed their
worth. While the Judges differ from the gods, the lords of
Duat wielded divine power, setting forth Laws that governed
whether a mortal soul ascended to A’aru after death.
The Shan’iatu sifted through the tribes and selected the
most gifted among them, deeming only a small number of
Kemet’s people worthy of the knowledge. The sorcerer-priests
taught these hand-picked prodigies the secrets of their ancient
magic, showing them how to bind spirits into fetishes, or charm
a blade so it would never grow brittle. They tended the bodies
64 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
of the dead, performed funerary rites, and oversaw the corpses
the necromancers raised.
The Shan’iatu further sorted people, dividing them by
profession and skill. They restructured society into castes,
breaking up the tribes and redistributing their people. The
Shan’iatu split up the command of artisans and laborers, and
made craft-houses to train them in. The craft-houses weren’t
only useful in focusing the workers’ attention on their pro-
fessions; they also kept them separate from their loved ones
and isolated them, making it harder for the displeased and
displaced to rebel. Refusing to conform was punishable not by
the Shan’iatu, but by their own people. The sorcerer-priests
created a guild of spymasters to report on anyone hinting at
insurrection.
The newly-minted artisans augmented their works with
sorcery. Smiths churned out weapons inscribed with scorpi-
ons and holy imagery. Magic made the ink writhe on scrolls
scribes copied down. An amulet let its wearer know if their
contact was lying. Alchemists saw the potential in base objects
and transformed them into perfect versions of themselves;
sometimes using those arts on people rather than things.
Architects planned temples and tombs, ensuring that sacred
energy flowed properly throughout Irem.
These specialized workers coalesced into the City of Pillars’
guilds, each jealously guarding their secrets for their exclusive
membership. The knowledge they wielded brought them one
step closer to the Shan’iatu, and lifted them above Irem’s
common citizens. Where the Shan’iatu acted as emissaries
between the people and the gods, guild members became the
link between the lower class and the sorcerer-priests, serving
as bureaucrats and law enforcement, medics and funerary
priests; merchants and dignitaries could benefit from the
services offered by guild members who could read and write.
While raising their city, the Shan’iatu also raised an army,
conscripted its soldiers from among the tribes. As they’d done
in making the craft-houses, the Shan’iatu drove another wedge
into the remaining tribal society, subsuming their people into
various regiments, forced to let go of their old ways to conform
to the new. The Shan’iatu used the armies to crush rebellions
and slave uprisings, often making soldiers slaughter their own
people. Loyalty to one’s brothers- and sisters-in-arms took
precedence over the family with whom you grew up.
At every turn, the Shan’iatu destroyed the tribes and their
traditions. The Nameless Gods replacing any worshiped by
the Black Land people; their stories died out, the songs fading
away like water spilled on the desert sands. Over the course
of a few generations, Irem swallowed up the many peoples
of Kemet. Only faint echoes still survive, buried deep in the
memories of Arisen whose families held onto their elders’ tales
and passed them down at the risk of death.
THE EMPIRE EXPANDS
In its hundredth year, the City of Pillars stood as a marvel
against the desert sky. Its craft-houses churned out wonders;
the sorcerer-priests studied magics to prolong their legacies.
However, Irem’s masters wanted more. The artistic and sor-
cerous feats to which they aspired required resources beyond
what Irem could provide. The alchemists needed precious
metals and hard-to-find ingredients. In danger of exhausting
the quarries, the builders begged for stones to shore up tomb
walls and erect new palaces, needing horses to haul it all.
The Shan’iatu turned their ambitions toward empire. First,
they looked to the south, sending Irem’s armies to conquer
the tribes on the outskirts of Kemet. When they came march-
ing across the sands, the people they encountered had no
strategies to counter such a force — this kind of warfare was
utterly alien to them, much like the Shan’iatu’s appearance
had been a century before.
Some tribes put up a meager resistance, but the Iremites’
weapons always proved superior. Even the plainest swords
proved sturdier than anything the people of Kemet could craft.
Many troops carried swords enhanced by Irem’s guilds: the
bronze had been alchemically strengthened, the edges alight
with spells that prevented them from growing dull. Not all
soldiers wielded blades; instead armed with spells woven into
their robes, while others held spirits bound in amulets ready
to unleash upon their enemies.
The army swept onward like a scarab swarm, taking
every inch of land they marched upon for Irem. They seized
resources and shipped them to the sorcerer-priests in the City
of Pillars, but demand only increased. Those deemed useful
from amongst their captives joined a craft-house or served
as slaves in Irem, while the legions absorbed the sturdiest
fighters into their ranks. The Nameless Empire was anything
but wasteful even amongst those the sorcerer-priests rejected;
their slain bodies sent back to the necromancers.
Within a year, the Nameless Empire’s armies had conquered
the lands that would become Libya to the west and Ethiopia to
the south. Militias making a stand quickly fell beneath Irem’s
disciplined troops. as implacable as the city’s grand pillars, as
swift-moving as the winds of the khamsin. The Nameless Empire
continued its conquest, unstoppable and undefeated...
...until it set its sights to the northeast, to the land of
Canaan.
Canaan’s own legions of professional soldiers, the Ki-En-
Gir, had heeded the warnings of Irem’s relentless campaign
well in advance. Seers and wizards aided the Ki-En-Gir, pre-
dicting the Iremite army’s maneuvers and giving the defending
force time to plan their counterattacks. While they weren’t
sorcerers on the same level as the Shan’iatu, the seers’ lesser
magics were still costly for Irem. Feeding and outfitting an
army was expensive; only the necromancers profited from the
steady supply of the dead streaming back to the city.
After months of fighting, the nations reached a stalemate
during the siege of Ubar, the Ki-En-Gir’s citadel. Rather than
continue bleeding away troops and funds with indecisive
battles, generals from every legion in the Nameless Empire’s
eastern force met with Canaan’s leaders. None know what
transpired in that cursed place where the veil between worlds
was as thin as gossamer. Perhaps the two sides attempted to
forge a truce, only to have talks break down; maybe the Ki-
En-Gir laid a trap, intending to hold Irem’s generals hostage
or slay them outright; or it might have been that Irem never
planned to make peace at all, seeking an opportunity to enter
their enemy’s stronghold so the sorcerer-priests could unleash
their assault where it would do the most damage.
In the end, Shan’iatu sorcery destroyed Ubar utterly; the cita-
del crumbled to nothing but rubble and ash. The sorcerer-priests
emerged from the ruins unscathed, while most of the enemy wizards
perished in the onslaught. Irem’s generals sent the unfortunate
survivors back to the City of Pillars, where they were delivered into
the necromancer’s eager hands and never seen again.
Ubar’s fall marked the end of Canaan’s resistance. Though
Irem’s scribes dubbed the accords The Pact of Ubar, the Ki-
En-Gir had little power to negotiate. They could accept the
Nameless Empire’s demands and approve their proposed trade
routes, or suffer the same fate as their seers. The Pact sent
goods and precious materials flooding back to Irem. With the
east finally open to them, The Nameless Empire acquired hors-
es and slaves and other riches. The necromancers acquired,
eventually, those cowardly seers who had foretold Ubar’s fate
and had attempted to escape.
THE GOLDEN
AGE AND IREM’S FALL
As resources poured into the City of Pillars, the Shan’iatu
devoted many of them to making the grand city even more
sublime. More pillars rose from the sands to tower over Irem
and its new inhabitants. As the empire stripped its outlying
territories of food and material goods, new temples rose in the
capital, with immigrants and captives swelling the population
— more artisans for the craft-houses, more laborers to build
their monuments.
The Nameless Empire entered a Golden Age, and the
sorcerer-priests, never content with their utter control over
their subjects in this life, set their efforts to ensuring their
servants would attend to them in the next. They envied the
Judges’ position in Duat, and wanted their power and authority
for themselves. After all that they’d done for the Nameless
The Nameless Empire 65
 Gods, didn’t they deserve such a reward in death? If mortal
souls could ascend to A’aru, didn’t the Priests of Duat, who’d
guided them on the proper paths, warrant the same? Yet, the
Shan’iatu weren’t human. In place of souls, they possessed
temakh, which barred them from the afterlife they so desired.
If the gods wouldn’t grant them immortality, the necro-
mancers decided, they’d find a way to take it for themselves.
They sacrificed countless captives and slaves in their exper-
iments. Victims of failed rites suffered unspeakable horrors.
Their servants’ agony mattered little to the necromancers.
What did temporary pain matter, if it opened the door to
eternal life? Each time they grew a little closer to thwarting
death, until, finally, the Shan’iatu perfected the ritual that
would become the Rite of Return. Some whisper that the Rite
was truly an act of rebellion, that its ultimate goal would force
the Judges from their thrones in Duat and seat the Shan’iatu in
their places. Whether they succeeded or not, no Arisen knows.
Though mummies have attempted to piece together the
fate of Irem in its waning years, the century or so during
which the Rite of Return was performed is where most Arisen
memories of the Nameless Empire end. While some Arisen
attempt to gather their fellow Deathless’ recollections and
piece them together into a single narrative, the results are far
from cohesive and often contradictory. Memory is unreliable,
66 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
and what few Iremite texts and fragments remain rarely leave
an Arisen’s tomb — if they haven’t been sacrificed to the
Judges in Duat.
When the first Sothic Turn woke the Arisen from their
slumber, the world they emerged into was a faint echo of the
one they’d known. Those whose bodies remained in Egypt
found a country resembling Irem, but significantly changed.
To the mummies, it seemed like a pale copy, as though an in-
ferior hand had tried imitating a masterwork. They recognized
architectural styles, and spoke a language that evoked Irem’s
tongue. Even the gods stood in the Nameless Empire’s shadow:
Osiris reigned in place of Azar. The Nameless gods had been
named, their rites led by priests who were poor successors to
the sorcerer-priests of lost Irem.
Nowhere could the Arisen find the Shan’iatu they expect-
ed to serve upon waking. If they’d gone ahead to Duat, there
was no sign, no instructions nor clues for the Deathless to
follow. What had befallen the Nameless Empire? Why wasn’t
it flourishing in this new era? Had someone betrayed the City
of Pillars, or had it simply faded away? No one living could
tell them; no one living remembered.
Every turn of the Sothic Wheel carries the Arisen further
and further away from Lost Irem, though they can still see
ripples of its influence spreading out to cover the world.
Some Deathless devote their Descents toward discovering the
Nameless Empire’s fate. They sponsor archaeological digs, or
direct their cults to search for mentions of the City of Pillars
in ancient texts. Others look forward rather than back. They
accept that Irem, as it once was, is forever lost. Instead they
aim to build a new Irem, creating a modern-day empire in the
image of the old.
THE GUILDS
I f civilization is the masterwork of Irem then its guilds guide
the world’s viral structures, direct its dreary pomp in ways
imperceptible, invisible, vital to those humans mistakenly
claiming control over it. These specialized factions of bour-
geois guardians once served the Shan’iatu directly, appendages
dedicated to sustaining social standards of class and progress,
a pentagonal pyramid holding aloft the golden rays of the
Nameless Empire. Since the Rite of Return, they still serve,
albeit surreptitiously through eternity and for new empires
— vague mirrors of Irem, mirages of the City of Pillars. From
guildhalls of engraved stone to those secured in subterranean
nuclear bunkers, these sects grow and evolve to this day.
Ancient and archaic, the guilds, much like the epithet of Irem’s
most renowned monuments, are truly deathless.
EVOLVING STRUCTURES
Irem is gone. Long live Irem.
Occultists scroll through rituals on touchscreen displays
and electronic tablets engraved in pixels of new tongues,
embossed within liquid crystal screens. The first Alchemists
constructed the sacred formulas now running through Swiss
digital servers. Pyramids laid by Irem’s Architects are replicat-
ed in steel and glass, and filled to the brim with mortal relics.
Iremite political theories pave the way to an Earth leveraged
by trade agreements and held hostage by thermonuclear
proliferation. The Information Age has come, mortal minds
still falter to grasp it, and the Deathless postulate whether
anyone can.
SPEARS AND SUBMACHINE GUNS
The Maa-Kep believe that they can keep control. All that
is required is for the Arisen to hold true to their purpose,
and the Junta wields many ultramodern tools to ensure this
adhesion to Irem’s path. Cults keep tabs on potential threats
using GPS tracking and satellite surveillance from an old
police dispatch center, sparking concern among some nomes,
and total outrage among others. Hackers and identity thieves
infiltrate Alchemist infrastructures searching for blasphemous
transactions and wield power enough to bring cruise missiles
down upon more hardened heretics.
SHAREWARE RITUALS
If Gutenberg’s printing press shook the Lorekeepers’ col-
umns, proliferation of word-processors brought them crumbling
down. Nowhere has the modern era been more felt than in
the guildhalls of the Sesha-Hebsu, forced to reconstruct their
written monuments on the information superhighway. Still, the
Word accelerates through the infrastructures of the world. Some
within the guild embrace the technology for its ability to spread
information and power with little more than an instant message
or email chain, all stored in libraries no longer susceptible to the
fires of Alexandria. Others lock their servers in secured vaults
or within the confines of their tombs, seeing the easy transfer of
rebellious ideas as a pathway to heresy. The Scribes all agree on
the hard truth of history, however — no matter the records en-
graved or scripted, mortal memory turns everything to legendary
exaggeration, or forgets it all in exchange for lies, agreed upon.
DIGITAL GOLD AND SILVER
Money rules all mortals. Even now, ducats of plastic domi-
nate once sanctified solstices, and digital markets ebb and flow
in accordance with plans and prospects too nuanced for most
humans to comprehend. The Alchemists do, however, and
use pooled resources to thrust their dealings into a worldwide
economy unready for their emergence. The Mesen-Nebu
manipulate financial markets, coordinating flux and bursting
bubbles as dissidents cry foul about how this superfluous mis-
placement of assets is careless at best, or abhorrent blasphemy
at worst. If the Shan’iatu’s children cannot wield the power of
money to enact the objectives of Irem, the mortals claiming
mastery over the world will surely relegate those goals to the
dimly lit corners of mythology. This cannot come to pass.
FROM LIMESTONE TO STEEL
Towers of steel and stone dominate skylines once desert-
ed, and the Tef-Aabhi struggle to remedy this obfuscation
of Sekhem and the Lifeweb with gaudy mortal monoliths.
Skyscraping financial institutions please the Architect in the
boardroom, but most Mesen-Nebu find the littered Roman
arches and corporate coffee chains in the background sicken-
ing, and seek relocation. The capital city of the United States
provides them with some assurance that the sacred geometry
of ancient architecture still emanates from what they perceive
as New Rome, but even the sacred Rubicon was crossed, and
the Appian Way crumbles where global tourist organizations
are unwilling to repair it. Where will the Geomancers go next?
THE UNCHANGING SHADOW
The Necromancers require no evolution. Their dedication
to knowledge of the Underworld is eternal, beyond the whims
The Guilds 67
 of whichever mortal civilizations claim false hegemony over
small scraps of earth. At least, that’s how the traditionalists
see it. Irem’s theology is quite literal, and only those wishing
to abuse it for personal gain would see it warped. Still, cults
strategically plant medical examiners in modern hospitals
and morgues for easy notification on especially gruesome or
monstrous attacks, and swathes of audio engineers in their
employ listen intently to frequencies of white noise for any
disruption from beyond the veil. Some see this technology as
a tool to be wielded just as the wand or scepter, while others
see it as the end to justified means.
CONFORMITY AND REBELLION,
COLLAPSE AND WAR
The Arisen are powerful, but most of the work maintaining
Iremite infrastructure falls to their cults. The flow of humanity
waxes and wanes like the Nile floods, so it’s no wonder the tra-
ditions of Irem take as many forms as there are mortal factions
interpreting them. Who keeps the guilds on the right path? The
nomes are the first line of defense in dealing with heresies, but
when the best laid plans collapse under crumbling columns, apoc-
alyptic Judges manifest in material reality, and the world is altered.
Toads rain from the sky, winter turns to summer overnight, and
cemeteries become empty fields pockmarked with empty graves
and overturned headstones. Knowing what’s coming for them,
rebellious Arisen grow nervous, and heretics react dangerously
in the face of their worst fears.
The guilds are consistent in their dealings, but conflicts
between them are not unheard of, especially during Sothic
Turns. Mummies form intense rivalries, and competitive
scrambles for power often turn to violent ordeals across mil-
lennia. Arisen awaken at war, or thrust into peacekeeping
missions to prevent such conflicts. Alternatively, they might
find themselves alone, their cult completely devastated by the
enemies currently breaching the tomb.
TIES THROUGH ETERNITY
How do guilds maintain themselves when their chief mem-
bers slumber while the world evolves, grows, collapses, dies, and
evolves all over again? Once they’ve begun their Descent, how
do Arisen recognize their guild companions, or those mummies
from other guilds? Spotting relics with kepher is a fine strategy
to discovering nearby peers, but more nuanced signals and rites
among the Arisen emerge and evolve through time. Some cults
maintain more than one tomb, staying alert to guildhall loca-
tions in the eventuality that masters must be summoned. Even
fickle memory ensures the softest word, the smallest signet, or
the slightest glance at Sothis in the sky is enough to bring forth
rushing memories where before there were none.
68 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
The Apotheotic Movement
On the surface, the guilds’ most threatening en-
emy is the loosening of the yoke around Arisen
necks, the breaking of bonds between Deathless
and the Judges of Irem — the abandonment of
their purpose for freedom and the fabled destiny
of godhood.
But this is no true threat; it is part of the formula.
As civilizations rise, they too attempt to achieve
godhood, a placement in the eye of the pyra-
mid, gazing over the entire world and directing
it towards new destinies. By the time a rebellious
mummy unfolds its scroll of memories, it realizes
at the end of its search for self-deification and
liberation that civilization has been further built
onto the foundations laid by Irem, and they have
merely once again served their purpose as an in-
teger in the formula. These memories vanish at the
end of the Descent, leaving only moments for the
mummy to ponder its tragic fate.
AMULETS OF INK AND STONE
With some help from their cults, and through the vague
blur of distant and fading memory, the Maa-Kep rediscover
those in their caste using symbols strung around their necks,
insignias pinned to collars, and press passes dangling from
lanyards. Their chests are tattooed with amulets of ink, and
enormous rings bear gaudy signets upon their fingers. These
badges are not always so blatant — the senator’s campaign
manager decorates letterheads with bygone symbols, and the
mob boss trusts their advisors to decorate illicit crates with
similar icons. Once found, the symbols reunite the Maa-Kep,
and once reunited, they see their cosmic rising as a sign that
the world needs a hard redirection — a task only the trusted
Dapifers can accomplish.
CALL OF THE GEOMANCERS
The Tef-Aabhi deliver omens and intricate signs to their
members, often on a large scale. Cultists scan satellite imag-
ery displaying strange geometrical formations absent only a
week prior. Meetings are called and merets formed in sacred
causeways that the Tef-Aabhi just feel drawn to; relics pique
Arisen senses from hiding places among the marble pillars
and reaching obelisks of Washington D.C. Provoking graffiti
 Why do Merets form?
Few causes to form merets are more potent than a common enemy. Cults summon aid from others during
emergencies, and form lasting pacts against Lifeless onslaughts — two Deathless are always better than one.
When allied mummies rise in their powerful forms, they are guided toward problems in need of obliteration,
and consistent threats lead Arisen to entomb themselves in groups of three to five, or more — powerful
squads prepared for anything. Small parties become hardy legions, companionships after epochs of ser-
vice in Persian cavalry brigades, Roman rank and file, Amkhat hunting parties, or SWAT teams breaching
Shuankhsen tombs with devastating modern charges.
The bonds of the Arisen are difficult to fray once formed, no matter the guild, and when the members of a
meret Descend together, they awaken feeling an immediate bond of shared trial and trauma.

appears overnight, a signal to all merets in the surrounding
area — something is amiss, a gathering is needed. Signposts
along trade networks paved by ancient New Pharaohs still
direct those in the know to chapter houses where relics need
returning, or occult excursions require planning. When the
Geomancers want to get your attention, the world takes notice
whether they know it or not.
GOLDEN CHAINS
AND CREDIT UNIONS
Time passes and the products change, but the formulas
remain the same. Builders raise new and brilliant structures
from the same raw materials, fused and conjured in innovative
ways. New objectives present themselves with every Descent,
no matter the guild, but they always demand financial backing.
Modern economic and alchemical structures make it easy
to deposit funds into rogue accounts, sometimes as a simple
message saying they are ready to invest, or requiring a rival’s
removal from the picture before doing so. Scrolling stock ticker
abbreviations awaken something in Mesen-Nebu mummies
seeking their guild, and blackjack dealers on the Luxor’s casino
floor pass chips encoded with vital information leading to the
tomb in the vault.
CODES AND CRYPTOGRAMS
Old habits die hard, and the Sesha-Hebsu have always
used archaic passcodes, ciphers, and riddles to deliver infor-
mation or introduce themselves to their own kind. Tattooed
glyphs run along forearms and decorate the corners of the
eyes while newspaper cryptoquips and crosswords alert nomes
to occurrences. Runestones stand as ancient path markers
guiding the way to frozen burial chambers where warm hearths
might be lit, resurrection rites conducted. Keep wary eyes on
the linguistics professor’s letter, the braille letterhead, or the
sheet music dotted with telling melodies. When the Scribes
call, you must be paying attention.
ETERNAL RITES
The priests of Irem display their allegiances without color
or emotional interpretation. Ghosts and spirits summoned
during messenger rites deliver details of this Descent’s mission
to the recently awakened mummy. Guild prophet ceremo-
nies reach out to servants in dreams and visions, alerting
the Sadikh or sorcerers to an urgently required awakening.
Visions of Neter-Khertet are conjured in corporate Russian
headquarters and manors on the Thames alike, delegating
authority to nearby Necromancers, or calling all to attention
in times of dire need.
THE RITE OF RETURN
I don’t remember much. In fact, I’m not sure why I’m here or
who I am — who I was. My purpose is clear, and unearthly pow-
ers pull me in the direction of the Judges and their divine plans;
but my memory of how I became what I am now is fractured. If
I close my eyes and listen to what is left of my previous life, I can
hear a man’s laughter; feel his hands around my waist, the wind in
my hair. The voice of a child, no older than eight or nine giggles in
the background. Was I in love? If I was this happy, why did it have
to change? I only remember the trance-inducing medicines they
gave me right before changing. The blades shimmering in the light
of torches, displayed on a stone table beside my bed. The smell of
dampness and the air so thick I felt as if suffocating. When I woke
up, I was the way I am now. A monster, some call me. I prefer
the term ‘Deathless’ though, as that is exactly what I am. Without
rest; without death — I just am.

The Right of Return 69

 After my life was taken from me, I went on a journey no
imagination could conjure up. The Underworld, what we have
been warned about, learned to fear, that’s where I was. Al-
though, it seemed very familiar to what I have always known,
just slightly… off. A crimson river ran through mounts of sand,
staining its sandy banks. There was no end in sight. No sun. No
moon. Darkness, but I could still see. I felt as if the Judges wanted
me to walk and search, as if I was being guided without knowing
why. For reasons unknown, the next part of my journey is too
discordant for me to recall, but I know it involved torture and
trial, and each of my organs — my Pillars — were tested. Finally,
I stood before the Judges. Eyes from beings beyond any nightmare
observed me, judged me, sized me up, and by then I knew exactly
what I was and an eternity serving their words followed.
Now I am awake in a world rushing past me. Perhaps I have
been awake before, perhaps not. I might wake up before, during,
and after this line of time; for I do not follow it in any linear
manner. I awake when the Sekhem beckons me, and when the
Judges command me.
THE CALL OF THE JUDGES
The creation of a Deathless can only be maintained
through the sacred Rite of Return, a ritual sending its partic-
ipant into the depths of Duat to face the deepest parts of their
soul, twist it around, split it apart, only to put it together into
what becomes the mummy. During the ritual the Judges test
and evaluate the Arisen’s Ab (heart), Ba (spirit), Ka (essence),
Ren (name), and Sheut (shadow). Through their unrelenting
powers, the Deathless know what they truly are, which Pillars
shape their powers, and to which decree they belong.
Duat is much like the world from which the mortal hails,
but utterly different. Rivers twist through grassy landscapes,
mountains shoots into unbelievable heights, lakes and moun-
tains share familiarities with what the mortal might already
have experienced. At first glance, Duat looks to be an exact
copy of the world of the mortals, but travelling through its
vast territory, the true nature becomes obvious. Lakes are not
full of water, but scorching and bubbling lava. Forest critters
are replaced with monstrous cavern deities. Spit-fire snakes
and nine-headed jackals await the slight misstep of its visitors.
Mountains are impossible to climb, as they are ever-expanding,
rivers roar with thick-blooded streams, and there exists no sky,
no night, nor day. Time is no longer a factor, and this is often
the first step for the mummy to understand their existence.
Time as they knew it ceases to exist; now there are only the
whims of the Judges.
This visit to Duat takes place the first time the mummy
is slain as a mortal, and every subsequent time they Descend
— each journey and experience differs.
70 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
As the mummy wanders through Duat, their overwhelming
feelings are of fear and despair. They do not know where they
are, where they go, and what their purpose is, but they feel an
increasing power with every step of the way. Sekhem — the
power of the life, the source of existence — courses toward
them. They feel stronger after every trial, more intellectually
brilliant after every torment, filled with wits and alertness with
every challenge they conquer. Sekhem surges through their
entire being, and suddenly they stand in control of life itself.
This is the moment they know their Pillars and their decree.
This is when they stop in front of the Judges, and when their
true nature shines through and becomes visible. As the rite
completes, the world once again turns dark.
When they open their eyes again, it is in another place,
another time, another body, but mind and soul remain similar
but altered. They can no longer remember what they once
were and, to begin with, struggle with what they are. However,
as in Duat, the mummy’s Sekhem and the Judges direct, and
the Arisen slowly regains Memory and understands their
calling, but must once again battle the flow of time belonging
to the world of mortals. As time passes, they gradually lose
their powers, unless fed through relics and vestiges. They
may have been given a chance of life, but the world takes
no consideration to what they are or their goals. It simply
continues in linear time, and the mummy must either accept
the world’s will or alter the world around them.
As the mummy faces death and resurrection many times
during its existence, Duat slowly grows grimmer and strays
further from its similarities with the mortal world. Every return
sees a new alien vista, a fresh terrible danger, and a new feeling
of release and freedom come the awakening.
THE FIVE PILLARS
Although the power of the five Pillars is represented in
the Deathless, some are stronger and more meaningful to
the mummy than others. Throughout the Arisen’s journey in
Duat, they gift their soul to the Judges, allowing those gods
to bend and shape it into its full potential and return it to
them in the shape of powerful Sekhem. By then, the mummy
knows which of the five Pillars their decree is. In order to
determine the faith of the Deathless, the Judges create a trial
or challenge representing each Pillar. Depending on their
success, the five Pillars are set.
AB (HEART)
The heart is one of the body’s most powerful organs, con-
stantly providing its host with nutrients and oxygen. When
a person feels lust, hatred, fear, and joy, the heart beats with
increased tempo, and responds to emotions and desires. The
Deathless followers of this decree are therefore in touch with

The First Descent
The first assessment of each mummy happened
thousands of years ago, and for most Arisen,
they only have their decree determined that sin-
gle time. However, whether through flashback
or the non-linearity of the Mummy: The Curse
storyline, this moment can still be roleplayed. A
player might wish to recount how their decree
was first inscribed on their mummy’s soul, or a
Storyteller could take the group through a scene
for each character, establishing why one was
deemed fit for one decree, and why one was
awarded another. Alternatively, the reasons be-
hind why a mummy is of a certain decree can be
left mysterious.
their emotions and feelings, and still in their Deathless bodies
they yearn to care for something or someone. The Judges
might place vivid recreations of the mummy’s mortal family
or friends in distress over their death, or form simulacra to
display their sacrifice over and over, carefully watching their
reaction. Is the mummy responding emotionally? Are they
allowing their feelings room to develop? Or are they retract-
ing, sheltering themselves for what might be potential pain
of loss? The Judges set up trials of horrific nature, forcing the
mummy to choose between the lives of two loved ones, to
murder a brother over a sister, or even a child over the other.
They evoke false feelings of hope and happiness just to rip it
away in the same instance, watching the Deathless cry out in
distress. They make the mummy relive memories of torture,
trauma, and even joy just to have them experience the loss
of not having that happiness any longer. Ab can also come in
the shape of a creature living in Duat, suddenly falling ill and
in need of aid. Here, the Judges observe if the mummy comes
to the animal’s aid. If they respond to these trials, it often
means this Pillar is strong within them or this is their decree.
BA (SPIRIT)
The Rite of Return, and transformation from mortal to
Deathless, removes certain traits normally used to define
personality, like memory and mortality. However, the spirit
is never truly removed, only reworked. This part of a being
defines who they are, how they carry themselves, and what
codes and morals they live by. The Judges test their subject’s
ability to stay true to themselves and trust their own intuition
in every situation they face. When surrounded by hundreds
of hellish beasts spawned from the depths of Duat, will they
stand and fight, use tactics, or flee? When illusions of ghoulish
hands breaking through the crust of the earth to pull them
into a black abyss appear, will the mummy let common sense
keep them calm or panic? An outgoing character who loves
to be the center of attention might suddenly find themselves
at a revel with none of their friends or family. Here the Judges
observe if the Deathless’ initial reaction reflects their true
being. An introvert character could be placed in the exact
same position and observed.
KA (ESSENCE)
Essence is what pushes anyone to take the next step; the
base of motivation and drive, without which stagnation is
inevitable. Every living being needs to develop to survive in
a world otherwise moving on without them. The Judges are
aware that some Deathless are less in touch with Ka than
others, but they all know the importance of Ka. Mummies
with this decree are excellent vessel hunters, as they do not
let anything disturb their path to their goal, but they also run
the risk of single-mindedness and unnecessary stubbornness.
A soon-to-be Deathless’ Ka is assessed in straight-forward,
hands-on tasks. She might have to pass through a mountain
pass guarded by a slumbering serpent with the head of a jackal
to complete her journey. The serpent might task her with
ridiculous or mind-numbing disciplines, like digging a hole
and filling it up again or counting thousands of pebbles for no
reason. The task inevitably takes a dark twist: children start
screaming for help from the deep hole, and the Arisen slowly
becomes aware they’re filling a mass grave. Depending on how
they complete their task, the Judges know the power of the
mummy’s Ka. If they complete the task with gumption, their
Ka is strong. If they give up or refuse to complete the task, it
is one of the mummy’s weaker Pillars.
REN (NAME)
Knowledge and wisdom gives Ren its power. Deathless
with this decree know the best way to gain control over
yourself, the world, and the Sekhem within it, is by obtaining
knowledge about what you pursue. Unlike Deathless with a
Ka decree, Usheb get stuck in their own ways once they find
something to believe in or investigate in an obsessive manner.
Once they do fascinate themselves with a certain facet of life,
they become pure experts on their subject. Whatever infor-
mation exists, they constantly strive to find. As a part of the
Rite, the Deathless’ Ren is assessed, often by presenting the
mummy with different opportunities for learning along their
journey; books and scrolls explaining what Duat is, the crea-
tures found within, and most importantly the Book of Death,
the only known guide to Duat, and Scroll of Ages. Libraries of
The Right of Return 71
 scrolls and deep grave chambers contain the books, with some
texts presented as artwork on sarchophagi and tomb walls. A
Deathless’ Ren can also be determined by how they interact
with Duat’s creatures. Does the mummy ask questions and
act with curiosity toward them in order to gain knowledge on
the situation or do they miss the opportunity?
SHEUT (SHADOW)
Deathless with this decree separate themselves from the rest
of their peers, focusing predominantly on rational thinking and
embracing the shadows everything in life casts. Instead of denying
the existence of malice and hardship or pretending like it does
not affect them, they understand the darkness. Much like the
Pillar of Ren, they seek to understand and explore what balances
out goodness. Their unwelcome frankness and nihilistic view on
life means these Deathless spend much of their existence alone.
However, they exude immense amounts of vigilance and stami-
na, as they embrace what is feared and take control over it. The
Judges present the mummy with ethical dilemmas where they
are faced with choosing a route based on emotion and morals,
or a route based on logical thinking and practical interaction. A
mummy might face a dilemma where they either have to save
themselves or a group of innocents or even their family. The
Arisen might stumble upon a person lying on the ground with
wounds they know will kill him, but he begs the mummy to take
him along and save him. The mummy’s pragmatism and emotion-
al response are evaluated and play a substantial part in this Pillar.
THE SOTHIC TURN
Both the living and the dead have been fascinated by
and dependent on the alignment of stars and planets. Time
as we know it was designed on the movement of the cosmos,
and the sorcerer-priests quickly grew to understand that the
Sothic Turn — the wheel of time and change — played part
in Deathless awakening. Although they follow the general
Sothic Turn, all mummies waken when Sothis is in alignment;
mummies also have their own inner beckoning. The Judges
can call upon them and return them to life if they have a
certain goal or purpose for the mummy to accomplish. Some
Judges might have a task in mind, like retrieving a certain
relic, while others want to see their servant arise because they
believe they are more useful walking on Earth than dormant in
a tomb or grave. Whereas the greater Sothic Turn follows the
star Sirius, a mummy’s personal Descent is determined by the
constellation of their Judges’ decree. The Judges do not harbor
unlimited Sekhem to awaken mummies when they please, but
have to await the energies of the world and cosmos to provide
them with sufficient power. Deathless of the various Decrees
are commonly awakened by a Judge in the time of year where
their decree’s constellation is the most prominent.
72 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
The Rite of Return
when Arisen
The Rite of Return reoccurs several times during a
mummy’s lifespan, and both the journey through
Duat and the purpose of existence in the mortal
world changes. The Judges reassess the Pillars
already given to the mummy during their last Rite
of Return, and determine whether the Pillars still
match the mummy’s self and purpose. Therefore,
the Pillars shift and change every Rite of Return,
changing the mummy’s way of thinking and living.
If during the last awakening a mummy had Ba as
his main Pillar, and successfully used this to obtain
their goal, the Judges may decide this Pillar now
functions as a secondary Pillar to a new Pillar, Ka.
Depending on the mummy’s power and the
Judge’s faith, they can also request certain Pillars
and convince the Judges they feel stronger for one
Pillar than the other. Ultimately, it is up to the Judges
to decide how the mummy returns to the world.
Changing Pillars can prove to be yet more con-
fusion in a mummy’s awakening, since their entire
identity, which they barely know to begin with, has
been shifted. If the Judges provide the Deathless
with the same Pillar as the last Rite of Return, the
mummy may have an easier time gaining memory,
but does not gain the benefit of having experi-
enced the influence of several different Pillars.
Orion (Ab): January to March
Lepus (Ba): March to May
Serpens (Ka): May to July
Lyra (Ren): July to October
Cetus (Sheut): October to December
The most recent Sothic Turn occurred in 2012 CE when
many mummies woke in a fury, frustrated that their remains
and sacred items meant as sacrifices to the Judges were
suddenly appearing in museums. Several Deathless crawled
from tombs they were displayed in, breaking through glass
cages, setting off alarms and killing security personnel. Their
sudden awakening forced already integrated Deathless to
make up cover stories of violent robberies in several mummy
exhibitions throughout the world. Other Deathless awoke on
archeologists’ examining tables, destroying laboratories and
valuable equipment in rage and confusion.
 Since the most recent Sothic Turn, Deathless have had
time to experience and gain an understanding of the world
in which they now operate. While some enjoy its fast pace
and pulsating development, other mummies feel as if they
are falling behind. They regress into their own guilds, with
creatures they know and can trust, instead of engaging with
the world. This grants them a tighter bond with the world
of the Deathless but detaches them from the mortal world.
Balance is important for the Deathless to exist in both worlds
successfully. To gain this balance, most mummies form cults
that might act as guides.
Most newly awakened modern mummies do not compre-
hend that their actions can be caught on video and shared
with the world within minutes. Their guilds and their cult
teach them to act carefully, and to remember their presence
is best left unknown. The promise of fame and fortune pre-
sented through an interconnected world is as attractive to
mummies as it is for humans, and some Deathless exploit
the media without any regard for the consequences. They
know that a good way to track relics and artifacts is through
engaging with a community, especially passionate young
mortals. Other mummies sit as the CEOs of large, progressive
companies based on everything from green, sustainable energy
to successful haute couture empires. Most mummies put their
mark on the world, and engage with its inhabitants to some
degree, but others hide, disappearing into nothingness and
letting their fears overpower their purpose.
AWAKENINGS
AND DESCENTS
T he Judges, the mummy’s decisions and actions, the sur-
rounding world, and the success or failure of the mummy’s
calling all determine a mummy’s lifespan. The Sothic Turn
might call them from their sleep, without any immediate
purpose; and the Judges may decide on the awakening of the
Deathless with one goal in mind. Already established cults can,
through occult rituals, call upon the mummy; and unknowing
disturbances of a mummy’s tomb shake its soul into awakening.
With time however, and especially with accumulated knowl-
edge about other Deathless, mummies become aware of other
methods of achieving the awakening or Descent.
THE AWAKENING
You first hear the slight creak of a wooden hinge. A beam
of warm light beckons your eyes to open, and soon after, you
regain your power of movement. Although it does not take
long, while you lie there eternities seem to pass before you go
from flexing a couple of fingers to moving your arms, legs, and
head. The world has not changed in your tomb; it is as you last
left it. Every bone, every wrinkle of skin, each fingernail and
straw of hair suddenly rush full of life, and you feel as if power
is your plaything. Sekhem forces every vein and cell back to
movement, and you face a half-circle of mortals stopping their
chant. Miniature candles placed around your sarcophagus
dance in the light breeze from the open door down the hall. Your
first instincts are fueled by animalistic urges and the pure energy
from the Judges, but you manage to hold back from destroying
the nervous cult. You are awakened, not alive, but fueled by
the source of life itself. You are as powerful as you will ever be.
A newly awakened mummy is unaware of what it was and
what it accomplished in previous lifespans, but it remembers in
a blur of confused memories how it came to be and its journey
through Duat. Although removed from what once defined
it, the Judges burn the birth of the mummy into its Memory.
This serves as a constant reminder of from where it came and
of what is its true purpose. The memory of Duat serves as a
traumatic shadow always lurking over the Deathless, which
some nevertheless treat as a proud and epic journey.
THE CALL OF THE CULT
The mummy’s cult is a valuable factor during the Descent
and for the awakening. It can, with preparation and the right
equipment, call upon the Judges to bring a Deathless back to
existence. This means the cult needs to gather information
about the mummy, its decree, and what constellation it falls
under. They need vessels containing Sekhem, and enough to
pull the mummy from its dormant state, while also successfully
calling the attention of the Judges. Through dark rituals and
necromancy, often described in ancient scrolls and writings,
an appointed leader or priest of the cult, who must be present
at the summoning, reads the spell.
Some cults have allocated certain sites where they know
Sekhem is powerful. This is often in or near places of great
historic importance, like the basements of museums, sites of
historic human slaughter, well-kept historic buildings, castle
ruins, or old monasteries. If the cult manages to keep their
site undisturbed, they succeed in caging the Sekhem for when
they want to awaken their Deathless.
DISTURBANCES
A mummy’s resting-place often acts as a sight for tourists
visiting ruins, school classes in museums, archeologists on
the hunt for relics, and even journalists or TV show hosts
looking for the next big story. Graverobbers occasionally
make their way into catacombs they quickly regret entering.
Even unknowing mortals, who did not pursue the hunt of the
mummy, sometimes land in the hands of Deathless, never to
escape again. In rare instances, something binds a mummy
so deeply to its Descent that mere disturbance will not rouse
Awakenings and Descents 73
 them. Sesha-Hebsu record how the Arisen named the Urfader,
found by a peat digger in a bog outside a sleepy town, did not
awake immediately even as he received a chop to the shoulder by
the peat digger’s shovel. The guild now protect his body for the
time he does awake, as they have many questions. Regardless,
countless examples exist of disturbed mummies awakening in a
fury of wrath from which the disturbing party typically meets their
demise. A cult not uncommonly finds its Deathless master with
the body of a graverobber on top of it, or a group of scientists
laying in broken heaps.

THE SARCOPHAGUS TEXT

The only proven method outside of the Sothic Turn to wake
a mummy without generating a bestial and physical reaction uses
this rare awakening. When put to rest, Deathless — mainly those
of the Sesha-Hebsu — sometimes carve hieroglyphs into the
walls of their coffin, as during the mummification process. Duat
is a place not of fear nor punishment, but a plane everyone must
travel to receive peaceful rest or reincarnation. Therefore, a guide
drawn in hieroglyphs was provided on the inside of the coffin,
meticulously carved and painted to perfection. The Deathless
do not remember the carvings, as she is already on her way to
Duat and entering another state of being, but cultists or mortals
who know the words can speak them in Iremic (or Archaic or
Old Egyptian) to summon the mummy to a restful awakening.
With other awakening rituals, the mummy might well wake
from disturbances before the summoner gets around to reading.
As much as some rituals might help create as little disturbance
as possible, this isn’t a guarantee and he often risks his life to
perform it. What makes this awakening rare, is that as the mummy
awakens, the text on the interior of its coffin or tomb reminds
her that she is not in danger and her awakening is performed
in a controlled environment. Reading this prevents her from
reacting with fear and ferociousness, instead sparking a calm and
collected awakening.

NECROMANCY
Arisen are creatures bound by potent death magic to fall
and rise, again and again, with similar death magics tugging or
tweaking something of their Sekhem into awakening. Performing
necromantic rituals, bloodshed, or suffering on a grand scale
near a mummy’s resting place sparks an awakening. The act of
slaughter made a mummy Deathless in the first place, as such
another act of slaughter picks at deep wounds, relighting the fires
of anguish and pain, triggering an awakening.
Mummies awoken through the practice of necromantic arts
or acts are Arisen at their most furious. Even cultists and fellow
mummies aren’t exempt from the mummy waking with the taste
of blood and the smell of death surrounding them, taking them
at least the duration of a scene to regain a measure of lucidity.

74 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless

THE DESCENT
A countdown begins from the moment the awakening is
successful, and the Deathless once again stands solidly on their
feet. Despite their hazy beginning, where they barely remem-
ber what they are, the mummy is fully aware of the purpose
bestowed upon their person. Even if the cult summoning them
or the mortal disturbing them is not, the Deathless begins to
pursue what they believe they were awakened to do. If not
given a direction, the mummy’s Sekhem is powerful enough
to guide them in the direction they need to head, whether to
reform their meret, find their cult, or protect a nearby relic in
danger. A cult might have summoned them hundreds of miles
away without purpose, perhaps in desperation or an emergency
situation. Although they are not nearby, the mummy knows
the general direction of where they need to go.
If following the paths of the Judges and successfully
pursuing what they were awakened to do, the Judges grant
the mummy Sekhem enough to survive and complete their
task. This can take everything from months to decades, but
as long as they are playing an active part in their own task,
they will not feel the cold breath of the Descent upon their
back. What they can gather through relics and vestiges is up
to the mummy, and can make them even stronger and more
powerful in an addictive manner.
The Deathless is not forced to pursue his calling. They can
refuse to perform their tasks but soon realize the Sekhem and
source of life washes away rapidly. They must seek Sekhem
from other mediums, and this is primarily from powerful relics,
and sometimes other mummies. These sources don’t have to
be hidden away in treasure chests or highly guarded chambers
(although this often indicates the item is valuable and con-
tains potent quantities of Sekhem) but can be anything from
buildings to jewelry, as long as it contains Sekhem. An unlife
not following the directions of the Judges is not an easy one,
but an Arisen gains the power of free will, and some mummies
find this more important than any gifts granted by the divine.
WHY AM I HERE?
Though she might not realize right away what her purpose
is and why she is awakened, the Judges always attempt to pull
an Arisen’s strings — even if they are not the ones to awaken
her. A cult might task her with a specific goal, but if the Judges
decide her Sekhem-fueled existence is better used for another
purpose, the mummy might be torn between two factors. The
Judges’ manipulation is not overt, but she feels an innate pull
toward a certain place or certain task, despite being asked
something else by her cult. If she obeys her inner voice, she
receives Sekhem or Memory, but this means neglecting and
possibly angering or losing her cult. If she helps her cult, she
is constantly fighting a pull in another direction and is depen-
dent on the Sekhem the cult grants her for survival. Even if
she awakens due to a Sothic Turn, the Judges never let her
roam without a direction. They created her for servitude, and
have no desire to waste time.
ISOLATION AND
INTEGRATION
A mummy awakened by disturbances around its resting
place or a cult with abusive intent might fear or hate the
external factors of the world, while a mummy awakened by a
Sothic Turn, by the Judges, or a well-organized and prepared
cult sees the world differently. Changing the mindset of a
mummy when she is already determined is difficult but not
impossible, and an isolated Deathless might change her mind
with a cult or guild showing her how to approach the world. A
Deathless left by her cult or experiencing trauma might in turn
become isolated in a world she does not wish to understand.
Integrated mummies enjoy discovering the world and the
living and dead inhabiting it. The Maa-Kep, being the known
go-betweens when they’re not policing the Arisen, enjoy
shepherding a flock of mortals or other mummies. They stay
relevant by taking up posts as middle managers, secret-police,
and lawyers, and thus need to know and blend into the world
they live in. They are also known for letting their rigid internal
hierarchy get the better of them and can sometimes destroy
themselves through becoming bound to a set regimen or refusing
to explore certain taboos. The Sesha-Hebsu seek knowledge
and record history, and although they spend many hours in
libraries studying and writing, field work is just as important.
Unlike the Maa-Kep, they take up the role as a fly on the wall so
as to not interfere with the natural flow of time — they cannot
afford to stay isolated. However, the current era of free will and
improving standards of equality does not always comply with
their understanding of morality and the laws of the Judges.
Members of the Sesha-Hebsu therefore find themselves in
awkward and unlucky social interactions and can even attract
unwanted attention. The Tef-Aabhi feeds off the importance
of heka, a sacred force found in creations and monuments they
build. Architecture and great entrepreneurship have always
been the main interest of the guild, which requires interaction
with the world in which they wish to practice their skills. Their
rediscovered interest in creating life from heka requires them to
interact and understand the living around them. More isolated
Deathless see these guilds’ fascination with the world merely
as a distraction. They fear these mummies’ infatuation with
mortals distracts them from the will of the Judges and leads
them astray from their goals and paths.
Isolated mummies interact as little with world around
them as possible, whether out of fear and lack of knowledge,
Awakenings and Descents 75
 or because they simply do not care. The benefit of interacting
with mortals is not more important than the hazard of doing
so; mortals are often more in the way than helpful. They often
attract a cult of immortals to run their errands and provide
them with Sekhem — some even use force to do so and treat
their cultists more as slave labor than partners. Members of
the Mesen-Nebu know their status as those that are Born of
Gold, feeling superior to other guilds and, indeed, mortals.
They are experts in their fields, and know how to turn nothing
into something of great value, which is important no matter
what world or timeline they exist in. Outsiders, with whom
they rarely feel the need to interact, do not harbor the crafts-
manship skills to create wondrous items, nor do they know
how to properly utilize them. The Su-Menent, much like the
Mesen-Nebu, do not see much point integrating in mortal
society, but for a very different reason. They favor sorcerer
cultists, enjoying their hubristic footfalls into necromancy.
The Su-Menent do not feel superiority toward any creature,
for they know only the Judges determine who are higher and
lesser beings. Several factors lead to their common isolation
from mundane mortals. In a world, especially modern Western
civilization, where death and the rituals surrounding it are a
great taboo, their practices of guiding and controlling death
are not always viewed with acceptance.
Most Deathless do not enjoy speaking of their demise,
although they have all, at some point, been through Duat.
Members of the Su-Menent come off as emotionally incapa-
ble or cold, often not working well in conversations or social
interactions. Additionally, their dogmatism is seen as archaic
and ignorant in certain societies, especially ones where athe-
ism is a dominating factor. The issue for the Priests is not
their unwillingness to interact, but their incapability to do so.
However, the lack of interaction provides them with surplus
time to perfect their bonds with the Judges, and they are often
the Deathless other mummies seek if they wish to connect
with their spirituality or understand the journey through Duat.
Therefore, even though they might not seek to be an active
part of it, the Su-Menent hold a significant role in Deathless
society, irreplaceable to many of their peers.
CULT PARTNERSHIP
Although a potent creature, staying relevant and surviving
requires the cult’s aid. Often the cause of an awakening, the
cult helps the Deathless back to life, teaching her how to act
and survive the current era. Cultists both carry the power of
life and death for her, and worship her for her superiority. By
providing shelter and sources of Sekhem gathered during her
slumber, the cult prepares the world for her. Some mummies
never gain a cult and have no interest in mortal contacts.
They still manage to survive, but a cult is valuable to almost
all Arisen.
76 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
Upon their first awakening especially, some create a fol-
lowing on their own initiative. Some use the tactic of stalking
and indoctrinating mortals at their wits end. Often they are
recently fired, post-breakup, or in need of a miracle to gain
what they most desire. For other mortals, having an immortal
monster in their back-pocket is persuasion enough. As word
spreads, cults might form around the mummy's reputation,
even if they are not awake. The pure lore and legend is some-
times enough to gain a large cult following without having
to lift a finger.
The cult might summon a mummy to fill a certain role
or position in a better manner than any mortal. Serving
their cults, mummies might use their strength as an Olympic
athlete, run a multi-millionaire company with their social
prowess, or tip fortune's scales in the cult’s favor through
careful application of their Affinities.
SHARED IMMORTALITY
AND THE LIFELESS
Deathless are not alone in their immortality. Vampires
take centuries to gain close to the power of a newly awakened
mummy, but they have greater numbers, and integrate more
into society. Ruling entire cities, they stand at the back of
world leaders, pulling strings with the flick of a wrist. They,
too, need a constant source of sustenance to keep death at bay,
but blood is easier to get than vessels of Sekhem. Yet, in the
world of the Arisen, vampires are lesser immortals; some even
call them false immortals. With no divine cause, vampires
have not gone through the depths of Duat. Overbred rats left
to their own demise after the disappearance of their creator.
Some dedicate their Descent hunting vampires, taking what
was theirs, or outright destroying their falsehood of existence.
Aware that a handful of vampire elders own relics with great
sources of Sekhem, the Deathless intend to take them back.
For some, a vampire is a powerful cultist, though a vampire’s
self-interest requires reciprocity in the relationship.
Other immortals, like Blood Bathers, created by sacrile-
gious blood rituals are dangerous and false in the eyes of the
Judges. Some see benefits to manipulating a newly-awakened
mummy naive to its own power. Meanwhile, the benefit to
possessing an immortal cultist almost outweighs their selfish
hungers. Continuity of service appeals to many an Arisen, if
they find they can trust the immortal in question.
Creatures eerily like themselves — the Lifeless — pose
the greatest threat to the Deathless. Anguished and wrath-
ful, these past sacrificial lambs seek to destroy the Deathless.
They feed on them, consuming their Sekhem. The Deathless
know the Lifeless are a constant threat, and they always have
to be aware of their presence. While most only reciprocate
action against them, others actively hunt and destroy them. If
awakened due to the Sothic Turn without any other goal, the
Judges might dedicate a Descent to hunting down the Lifeless.
When the Lifeless affect a mummy's cult or important relics,
they may decide to hunt them on their own terms.
MEMORY
Memory is invaluable to every living thing, as well as
immortal. Without the ability to learn and adapt from ex-
perience, a creature cannot flourish. Upon awakening, a
Deathless has little-to-no recollection of her previous Descent,
her life as a mortal, or her interment. The only occurrence
standing clear in her mind is her meeting with the Judges in
Duat. This is what keeps her grounded and what keeps her
mind set on the task at hand. She knows what she is and
what she must do. She feels the Sekhem pulsating through
her body, centering on her decree's Pillar. She must regain
these lost memories to maintain her sanity, regain control of
her existence, and interact with both mortals and the world.
A mummy remembering being human and caring has a much
easier time of the world.
Helping the Arisen figure out what and who they once
were at any point in history is part of the guilds' function.
They dig into historical documents, codes, hieroglyphs, and
tattoos — whatever links to the awoken mummy. They host
frequent meetings with other Arisen, encouraging pilgrimages
of self-discovery seeking what time has swept away, even with
mummies existing across simultaneous timelines. Not the lost,
but the gradual awareness of what one once was is the true
curse of Memory. Realization of what was once hers and she
can never again reclaim is a mummy's true pain. For some,
the lack of humane thought causes reactions of violence and
destruction upon awakening. Regaining Memory helps control
their animalistic urges and restore some form of humanity.
Yet it never removes the monstrous acts they’ve already
committed. Sins stick to their minds as a constant reminder
of what they truly are.
WHEN I AWOKE
My name is something I don’t recall. I wanted to start by
at least introducing myself, but I don’t know who I am. I know
my kind are unlike any other creature in this existence, and I
am told I wield powers unmatched by few. I do remember the
feelings I experienced when waking up; such a familiar feeling
of starting anew, or at least becoming someone else. Yet the time
I last encountered this sensation is still beyond me. There are
others like me, who have been through Duat, who the Judges
have tested. For now, my dominant feeling is loneliness. Yester-
day, a group picked me up and told me they meant no harm and
wanted to show me the world. Not knowing where else to go, I
soon found out they have all been through the same as me. They
too started by not knowing what they were. Some are newly
awakened, like me, while others vividly recall other lifetimes,
and even their days as a living, breathing being. I must admit my
envy for them is great, and I seek nothing more than knowing
who I was and, thus, who I am now.
Days and nights consist of confusion. I am learning how to
do things I feel I should already know. I copy what I see. My
allocated mentors teach me other aspects and skills: using correct
terms at the correct time, gathering a cult following (which it
seems is important), and even telling compelling jokes. They
tell me the cornerstone to developing relationships is making
others laugh or acting “with charm and confidence”. Valuable
relationships are important to survive. The guild, or as they call
themselves, the Maa-Kep, are most helpful, but their assistance
is not free, and to avoid becoming indebted, I must comprehend
their hierarchical structure. I do not believe I am Maa-Kep, and
so must question whether they are using me. I am sure some
members think I’m in the way, which, most of the time, is proba-
bly true. I am determined to show them my worth.
Most frustrating is this constant pull, baiting me away from
my newly-found confidantes. I haven’t told any of the mummies
around me yet. Yet I need to do so soon, as every day I don’t
follow this instinct, I grow weaker. Perhaps this pull is the purpose
of my awakening. Perhaps this is where the Judges want me to go.
AS I DESCEND
Time has passed since I last wrote anything down. I’ve been
busy. Busy learning who I am, what I want to be, and who I
was. Immortality has, so far, not been easy. My first encoun-
ter with what I can only describe as a sprouting memory was
rediscovering the difference between wrong and right, or bad
and good. Ethics. Such simple concepts. It comes natural to
most; even small children have a sense of what they should and
shouldn’t do. For a long time, I didn’t. A couple of months ago,
walking down the streets in uptown Manhattan, a human took
the life of an elderly of his kind. The death was faster than I
expected, but in a matter of seconds the deep wound in his chest
made his heart stop. Here, I truly felt this was wrong. It wasn’t
through intensive teaching that I knew something wasn’t right —
no, I knew this was wrong. I felt this was wrong. A sick feeling
built up inside of me as I struggled to help the human, but to no
avail. While I would that the elderly mortal had survived, this
experience was the first spark to my human past. At once, I re-
membered seeing something similar. Or rather, I recall wielding
the knife and taking lives in a previous existence.
A quite remarkable and most important discovery I have
made is that certain items my previous lives affect me. Items
from the old empire, Irem, especially help me regain my lost
memory. For example, medical items, such as a surgical tool for
Awakenings and Descents 77
 circumcision immediately prompted flashbacks of blooded fabric,
flasks of alcohol, and deep concentration. Some prosthetics,
like artificial eyeballs and toes, also gave me recollections, such
as properly attaching them and even how to create them from
materials like bone and wood. I have begun research into these
specific items and hope to soon find the nature of my profession.
This will undoubtedly help me understand how I lived my life
as a mortal. Perhaps I was famous! Maybe I had a spouse or
children. This fills me with excitement.
Remember that pull I wrote about? It has not disappeared. I am
told this is my calling, my purpose. I find the thought of someone de-
ciding why I exist and what I should use my Descent for unappeal-
ing. I would much rather use time rediscovering who I am. Regard-
less, I find myself on a train as I write this. I’ve grown aware I need
to retrieve a certain item, a relic, which holds incredible amounts of
Sekhem within it. The Maa-Kep, of course, did not oppose the idea
owning of such an object. Yet as I prepared to leave for my journey,
I still did not feel prepared to act unsupervised. Accompanying me
on this journey are the humble beginnings of my own cult. For now,
they are only two, but they teach me about their world, which still
seems utterly alien to me at times.
WHAT I BECAME
I have learned through my fifth year awake on this turn as a
Deathless, an immortal, that you do not only look back in time
to gather Memory. Yes, your background, achievements and
learning is a developmental must. As important, however, is
what you do with what you have here and now, because it will
turn into new Memory. The world is not only the things that
were, but the things that are and will be.
I know now my mortal name. I was an embalmer of the
Su-Menent, taking care of the honored part of the burial tradi-
tions. By today’s understanding, I was akin to a doctor, although
I didn’t administer much treatment. During ritualistic endeavors,
I took care of the things priests at the ritual didn’t want to touch.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to meet one of the individuals
that lay across my slab all those years ago. His recollection of me
is unpleasant. It seems I was too engulfed with work to even care
for friends or family. I didn’t have a lover, nor did I reproduce.
At least, that’s what I gleaned from this so-called “Shuankhsen.”
Disappointed at what I found out, I decided not to use more
time understanding my past. It brought nothing but sorrow and
regret. Some use their entire Descent searching for every detail
in their previous life, but not me. What I have learned, and on
several occasions used, is control of my new-found powers, and
how gain status within my guild. My cult now consists of eight
members, and they have taught me much about the 21st century
and its many colors. I have been able to return the favor on
many occasions, so our relationship is valuable in both ends.
78 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
Setting out to complete the purpose for which the Judges
awakened me, I settled in Damascus. I research these ancient
objects to the fullest. I want to know how mortals used this
tool, and in turn how the Deathless can use it. The Sekhem this
object holds is undeniable. Alas, it puts me and it at risk of other
creatures’ dangerous interests. I have encountered even more
Lifeless entities; beings like us but harboring no humanity, no
thoughts, and no morals. They hunt us to destroy us.
For now, I can say the memories of life control and negate
the carelessness an immortal life may provoke. I intend not to
make nihilism and nothingness the base of my existence. Nothing
shall control me. Not Sekhem, not Memory, not cults, nor Judg-
es — not in this life nor others to come.
THE GAIN AND LOSS
Memory is not a gift bestowed upon every Deathless, nor
indeed something always pursued. Most are lucky enough to
awaken with purpose. A cult or a guild guides them in the right
direction and helps them regain lost thoughts and identity.
These mummies, with a taste of their former selves, strive to
find more. They also understand the value in societal partici-
pation and why humanity is important. The Deathless waking
in isolation, or without any mortal guidance, more often sees
the world as dangerous or useless. Ethics do not matter, and
humans are in the way of the goal set upon them by the Judges.
There are several different ways to gain Memory. Some dis-
cover their former selves through coincidences. Touching an item
once important to them, or speaking with a person resembling
someone they have met before. This may be anything from a tool
reminding them of their occupation, an event so like something
they have before experienced, or a person acting almost exactly
like someone from a previous awakening. This makes mummies
frequent visitors in museums and collections of ancient relics.
Landmark events can also gain Memory, awakening something
deep within the mummy; for example, a tragedy, a birth, or a
death. Something reminding her of the true meaning of hu-
manity, and the strong emotions connected with these events.
Even after years gathering a vast knowledge of their past,
mummies run the risk of losing what they have. Dedicating
their Sekhem to servitude over self-development and exam-
ination can make this happen. This seems counter-intuitive
to many mummies. Yet, cynical Arisen correctly assume the
Judges want unquestioning demigods for servants, not reflect-
ing Deathless. Deathless also run the risk of losing Memory if
attacked and fed upon by a Lifeless. Some feed on an Arisen’s
thoughts. Depending on the severity of the attack, experiences
range from light confusion to large periods of amnesia, where
they cannot recall what they have done. Some skilled Lifeless
can even leave the mummy unaware of their attacker, getting
away with countless assaults.
LIVING TIMELESSNESS
M ummies are unique. The Deathless are never-ending
travelers moving alongside other endless creatures, un-
touched by the ravages of old age. Creatures fighting off the
inevitable growing boredom of their ever-stretching existences
by filling it with whatever new experiences they can. The
Arisen are transitory; living in the moment alongside mortals
also aware of the inevitability of the coming darkness, when
the light dims and their experiences end. The ever-dwindling
but always replenishing lives of mummies make them stand
alone from their peers. The Arisen is always apart from any
but themselves, their experiences forever different to everyone
around them except the other Deathless. The Rite of Return
guaranteed this.
IMMORTAL YET TRANSITORY
The Arisen’s experience is a mystery to most other beings.
Even mummies don’t understand the nuances of their own
condition, or why they live the way they do. The Deathless
experience their lives in segments; other creatures find fa-
miliarity in this. The mummy rises, lives day by day, interacts
with others, one day succumbs to the darkness of the grave
and falls silent. Understandable and similar enough to the
mortal condition; where the Deathless differ is the order in
which these segments occur.
The changes since the 14th century may confuse a mummy
awakening in the 20th century between the World Wars.
Technology has advanced, society and mannerisms are wildly
different. The entire world is still recovering from warfare
impossible when she was last awake. Immortals find this easy
to understand. Vampires, amongst other undying creatures,
often have a similar ‘life’ cycle, consisting of patches of activity
separated by stretches of unaware inactivity. The Sadikh —
constant companions to the Arisen — experience eternity in
this progressive manner, living sequential awakenings.
The Deathless is, however, as likely to awaken immediately
before the Second World War with memories of the early 21st
century. Her memories are confusing. She recalls the world
after the war, the state of nations and world politics from when
she active. But what can she do with such information? Does
her memory of events mean they must come to pass? Is the
future state of the world inevitable, or is it but one potential
future that she has the power to change? Does her presence
in this timeline cement the outcome she remembers, or render
events malleable? Even the most learned Arisen committed
to the task can’t provide a definitive answer.
The main obstacles to this understanding lie in the un-
certain nature of the Arisen’s reincarnation cycle, the unre-
liability of memory, and the fact that mummies experience
the present much like everyone else. Though mummies rise
in many points of time, they don’t experience it as a totality.
Only in Duat’s timeless sands do they have the chance to
understand the whole. Yet, the price for departing that place
always includes sacrificing the knowledge learned.
Like most other creatures, the Deathless move second by
second through each day, living from moment to moment.
When awakening from her death-like sleep, a mummy has
only so many days to accomplish her goals before returning
to the grave. She can carefully tend her resources, preserve
her strength for important issues, and take steps to improve
her longevity, but ultimately it all comes to an end. In this,
mummies are much like everything else.
NEVER ENDING, ALWAYS DYING
The Descent’s similarity to the span of a life separates
mummies from other immortal beings as much as the uncer-
tainty of when they’ll rise. The failure of memory inherent
in the Arisen’s cycle also sets them apart. While mummies
are timeless, other immortals are better described as endless.
Most endless beings are world-weary travelers, their long
days stretching into eternal nights, marching ever toward
whatever fate eventually befalls them. The ennui of expired
experience accumulates as everything seems the same no
matter how much it changes. Fantastic new technologies or
horizons offer some glimmer of novelty before promptly fading
into the background noise of familiarity and boredom. Often
these apparently novel experiences exciting prattling mortals
are just something old in slightly new packaging. Immortals
quickly see beneath the paper-thin veneer and their sparse
enthusiasm once again fades to disappointment and bitterness.
Unlike these endlessly bored creatures, Memory’s curse
keeps the Deathless from fading to such bland despair. For
the Arisen, each awakening is a rebirth, a blank slate. They
rediscover the world and take wonder at the things within.
Only as Sekhem fades and Memory returns do they begin to
understand and discern the known from the new. Familiar
faces, old friends, ancient enemies and more are all new to
a mummy each time she returns from her tormented sleep.
Each Descent is a chance to refresh and begin anew, to take
joy in life’s pleasures and despair in its sorrows. For a brief
time, each mummy has a moment to take pleasure in their
existence before the crushing weight of Judges’ expectations
and the needs of Sekhem again fall upon them.
ETERNALLY TOGETHER,
FOREVER APART
Fractured Memory forces the Deathless to carry a burden
their immortal peers are unlikely to ever know. Each time, the
mummy must reforge anew from incomplete information the
Living Timelessness 79
 bonds of family, friendship, and the guild. Mummies must decide
how to incorporate remembered information and deal with the
complicated emotions accompanying the recollections. Two
Deathless might rise together, forge a bond of companionship
and shared goals, only to later discover they have been immortal
enemies for most of their existences? Do they leave their past
behind in the hope of forging newer, better memories, or do
they return to old habits despite the positive emotions they’ve
since constructed? And even if they choose to forget and for-
give, can they continue to trust as more information returns to
them? This also supposes that Memory returns to mummies at
the same rate, which isn’t a fair assumption. More often, one
mummy sooner sours toward a newfound relationship than the
other as bleak recollections return quicker.
The unpredictability of when mummies rise also impacts
relationships between the Deathless. The path each mummy
takes through existence is hers alone. Even Arisen within
a meret with many shared times and experiences suffer the
challenges of different Descents. A group of Deathless may
awaken and work together in 1936 and then again in 2020,
but this doesn’t mean they all arrived by the same path. One
mummy remembers no interim between the two Descents,
whereas for another the meret met in the 12th century in
the interim, a third recalls them together in the dying years
of the 21st century, and the fourth member has experienced
so many shared Descents between the two periods that 1936
is a barely remembered glimmer far in her past. Even among
such a group with considerable trust in their shared bonds,
what does one of them remember that the others don’t? What
if those memories include the betrayal of the meret? Can an
individual change what is to come, or will her actions lead
to the outcome she fears? And how fair is it to hold an indi-
vidual accountable for slights and crimes she has no memory
of doing, that are possibly from an age she won’t reach until
much later in her existence?
In this moral and emotional uncertainty an Arisen’s life
can be like a waking dream, moving from scene to scene with-
out apparent rhyme or reason; cutting from one experience
and period to another without logical transition or causality.
After the fog of ages passes, the mummy faces each period
with memories of a future that may or may not ever occur,
interspersed with a past that did happen but may not have
led to this point.
TAKING CONTROL
Though the realities of the Descent and the demands of
the Judges means that Arisen’s lives are never fully their own,
this doesn’t totally cast them in the role of eternal slaves.
No other creature has the same experience with time as the
Deathless. No other creature lives cast adrift on twisting,
80 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
swirling currents in the temporal ocean. No other creature’s
life is in such rigid order while everything else is out of order.
The Rite of Return accomplished its goal. but whether the
Shan’iatu understood the side effects it would inflict upon the
world and the Deathless may never be known. Timelessness,
paradoxically, gives the Arisen an awareness of time’s flow.
They know the inevitability of slowly draining Sekhem across
a Descent, when they have awoken in a place that moves
faster or slower than usual, casting a course adrift from the
rest of history, or whirling back to itself. Always being apart
from the flow of events around them, mummies draw upon
the inviolate certainty of their existence to impose their own
time upon these wayward flows, to take greater control, and
gain from doing so. Working to identify the anchors drawing
the alternative flows away from the weight of history, they
may counter or encourage them along their path.
The Arisen do not know if the intention was to have this
aspect of their existence fall on the children of Irem and for
them to pursue it. If the Judges have an opinion, they hav-
en’t deigned to make it known Perhaps it is the universe's
price against the world breakers, forcing their servants to fix
the damage. See Storytelling Timelessness (p. XX) for more
information on the relationship between mummies and time.
THE SHEPHERD AND
THE FLOCK
A mummy is a living monument to Irem: built to withstand
the test of time, but not built to stand alone. Even with vast
miracles at her command, the loss of Memory when she rises can
render a mummy unable to speak the local language, or recognize
that the vast metroplex surrounding her tomb was once the small
hamlet in which she fell to repose. Every monument needs care-
takers, and a mummy’s servants may range from a multinational
corporation’s CEO to the ex-convict working in that corporation’s
mail room. Ideally both and everyone in-between to ensure the
mummy’s will can reach every level of society. Like any monu-
ment, the mummy draws onlookers, and eventually followers.
The need for communal work was ingrained within the Arisen
psyche from their first lives when shuffling into guilds. Any time
an Arisen wakes, they seek out followers, people subservient to
an immortal’s will. In turn, Fate draws to the mummy those who
would follow and beg favors from the immortal.
While she slumbers, a mummy’s cult works her will, tends to
her relics, and awakens her when there is a great need for the
an Arisen's manifest might. They are rarely mere implements
used at a whim. An undying monster is at the center of the
cult, the top of the pyramid. However, any number of thinking
and feeling people support her, many of whom have their own
supernatural powers and reasons for being in the cult.

Loyalty and Sybaris
For all faithful to the cult's doctrine, possessing the
Scorpion Cult Initiation Merit grants immunity to
Sybaris. It should be simple to tell whose heart
does not beat in time to the voice of the Judges. The
Shan’iatu saw the way of things, though: humans
are ever fickle. Long shadows cast by faulty mem-
ories shift and obscure the recollection of truth.
Mortal and immortal alike cite precedent and ex-
perience to justify oath-breaking. They twist their
vows into tortuous forms to avoid their promise.
For this, Memory is precious to mummies; cultists,
however, rarely lose their recollections. Even the
most wayward cultist is still considered faithful if
they convince themselves they’re not really trans-
gressing the Arisen’s sacred commandments, or
are doing so for the cult's greater good. An angry
mummy may well disagree.
Worth considering is that devotion to any mummy
confers immunity to Sybaris. Taking the Initiation
Merit beyond the second dot in another mummy’s
cult — be it another Arisen or even the Shuankhsen
— confers the requisite clarity of mind. Treat your
servants well, lest your rivals tempt them into be-
traying you.
THE CORE OF A CULT
Sociologically speaking, cults are groups defined by unusual
religious or spiritual beliefs, holding a deviant view of the
world compared to mainstream society. The word is used as
an insult, but many religions started as small cults of believ-
ers. It’s ironic that the last vestiges of a mighty imperial state
religion are only found whispered in small groups. Serving the
Judges and the extant remnants of Iremite culture, mummy
cults exist as an alternate, ancient social structure underlying
the common bureaucracy and social stratification of modern
civilization. If you need something, the cult will help you, but
only if you help in return, even when called to do something
extreme or miraculous.
The world is riddled with such cults. Some serve esoteric
powers, others are different fingers of a single hand that
grasps the entire globe, but all promise power in exchange
for a measure of service. The cults of mummies have a shared
heritage: the Iremic language, service to the particular Arisen,
and knowledge of the ancient gods of Irem.
ETERNAL LEGEND
Encoded into the Rite of Return is the nature of mummy
power, expressed through cults. A mummy’s cult reduced to
scattered members, bloodied robes, and completely destroyed
temples, reconstitutes itself. If not through the mummy’s
own efforts, Fate and the vagaries of coincidence do so. Even
trapped in henet without a valid body in which to begin the
Descent, the Arisen’s cult continues worshiping and, con-
sciously or not, serving.
Designing a cult requires at least three things. First, a
purpose: the defining reason the cult exists. Usually it’s tied in
with the Judge and Arisen the cult serves. Second, the physical
relic that grounds members’ faith: this is often the same as the
Arisen’s Lifeweb-grounding relic, but may be the mummy’s
remains if nothing else serves. Last, a doctrine: every cult is
defined by its rules and traditions, and this typically conforms
to the specific commandments of the mummy’s chosen Judge.
Cultists of importance must take the Scorpion Cult
Initiation Merit (see p. XX).
FOUNDATIONS
The foundations of an Iremite cult determine how the cult
sees itself, how it operates, and the methods through which it
works. Cash, chores, and protective camouflage are all benefits
of belonging to a cult. Theirs structure, however, runs the
gamut between secret and completely public.
TRIBAL
The oldest cult models are tribal, and many — if not
most — still hew to this form. The Arisen determines the
cult’s doctrine, strictures, and the mechanisms for reward and
punishment that will keep the cult intact during long years in
henet. Hierarchal and authoritarian, tribal cults present the
Arisen as an object of worship and veneration, a servant of
higher knowledge and the secret laws of the Judges.
Many tribal cults exist as long-term family structures. They
pass down the secrets of Arisen worship from parent to child.
Often, this gives rise to many families jockeying for power and
favor from the mummy. This element prohibits close cooper-
ation, but makes it easy for the Arisen to exploit and control.
Cults with tribal foundations tend to be intimate and close-knit,
but fundamentally draining. As a parallel societal structure, they
use both legal and illicit methods of fulfilling the mummy’s will.
CONSPIRACY
Conspiracy cults exist for power, run more like spy agen-
cies or criminal cartels. In the name of “deniability”, if one
element becomes compromised, the priests sever it without
The Shepherd and the Flock 81
 endangering anything else. While tribal conspiracies are
invariably open and interconnected, conspiracies are any-
thing but. Nobody joins a conspiracy for religious meaning
or spiritual growth.
A conspiracy hides and obscures its true size from every-
one save their leaders. Even they’re sectioned off; severed,
forgotten, or destroyed at a moment’s notice. A conspiratorial
cult has a decentralized and diffuse power structure. Often,
the hierophant delivers the mummy's instructions, consulting
with bosses and underbosses. They in turn instruct a web of
associates. This leads to some difficulty keeping the cult to-
gether and functioning during long periods of repose in henet.
A mummy spending a long time in slumber may find that her
conspiratorial cult has grown stranger and roamed far in her
absence. While this type of cult gives the mummy scalpel-like
control over her servants and their duties, many find it an-
noying to have to spend the first few days and weeks of their
Descent finding and reigning in their wayward followers. For
tribal and enterprise cults, the mummy just shows up to a
ceremony or board meeting and yells really loudly.
Cults founded on conspiracy tend to have extensive means
of getting things done in an illegal or quasi-legal fashion. The
mummy, however, may find it extremely difficult to precisely
target their specific needs.
82 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
ENTERPRISE
The opposite of a criminal conspiracy is an open enterprise.
Under a veneer of legitimacy — complete with tax documents,
company picnics, and payroll — cultists may not even realize
they serve a mummy simply because it's not relevant. These
companies most often work towards acquiring Egyptian antiqui-
ties, propagating translated Iremite texts into society, or acting
as a front or shell company for one of the mummy’s other cults.
A philanthropic enterprise working on issues of legal justice
or bringing philosophical balance to society doesn’t need the
quasi-religious background of serving a bandaged monster.
Cults founded on enterprise resemble the close-knit cadre
of core cultists serving the mummy in tribal or conspiracy
structures. Since they operate as legal entities, they excel at
working through legal means, but are typically prohibited from
illicit methods of getting things done (at least compared to
criminal conspiracies or sectarian fanatics).
THE LEVELS OF THE PYRAMID
Power radiates downward from the watchful eye of the
mummy, even while closed in slumber. This power diffuses
among those sworn obeisance to the Arisen’s power and the
Judges through them. The more powerful each follower, the
more the Arisen may invest within them. In turn, this grants
mummies greater power and facility with Guild Affinities,
expressions of the immortal’s fivefold soul stemming from
being the focal point of many souls working in concert. This
provides a measure of security. If the Arisen’s khat is destroyed,
in an emergency a mummy may engage a cultist in a battle
for their soul, eventually consuming it and fully possessing
the cultist’s body.
A pyramid’s levels define how powerful the members are
and how many Pillar points the mummy may invest. They
don’t reflect the actual hierarchy or rank of the members. A
mortal high priest may well oversee various immortals or order
around the Sadikh. However, this frequently leads to friction
and a measure of powerlessness on the part of the mortal. This
powerlessness often comes with a high measure of personal loy-
alty to their Arisen patron. Supernatural power flows towards
the top of the pyramid, and cultists with their own sorcery or
source of immortality are more dangerous, harder to handle,
and generally less loyal to the Arisen. Cultists at the higher
levels are more likely to serve the mummy out of practicality
or shared goals rather than true and fervent belief.
The presence of cultists having undergone the Rite of
Investment affects what Guild Affinities the mummy may
power (see p. XX).
BASE: THE MORTAL
Mortals join mummy cults for any number of reasons:
money, power (both temporal and arcane), sex, or a genuine
belief in the Judges or the Arisen. Mortals are the most pop-
ulous cult members, or even the sole members in particularly
small cults or ones in rebirth.
Certain Merits may increase a mortal’s standing in a cult.
Exposure to relics, vessels, or Sekhem energies may provide a
justification for taking Supernatural Merits. Despite this, cult-
ists at this level are still human, unless and until they actually
master the basics of sorcery or achieve immortality through
some other means. Most are bound into their mortal lives,
and thus of more versatile use for the mummy. The cultist
working airport security can wave through other cultists or the
mummy with no hesitation, while the graduate student can
take a break from her dissertation to translate a particularly
interesting document written in the mummy’s own hand, but
in a language he’s forgotten.
SECOND LEVEL: THE SORCEROUS
The servants of the guilds have ever been the backbone
of scorpion cults. During the Nameless Empire, the Shan’iatu
showed their followers the controlled method of manipulating
Sekhem. Once a mortal has learned these sorcerous rites, they
become better able to channel a mummy’s soul, and further
empower the Arisen's Guild Affinities (see p. XX). Besides
this, they bring considerable magical might to bear.
Sorcerer cultists are rarer than mortal ones — unsurprising,
given the drive and talent necessary to master an Open Rite.
This dedication also comes at a cost to the cultist’s daily life.
When pursuing arcane secrets, they’re less able to provide
prosaic and temporal power to the cult. Taking a sorcerer
into a cult displays a measure of trust. Sorcerers are capable
of using the Arisen’s Pillars to power their Rites, fueling their
magics with the entrusted elements of a mummy’s soul.
THIRD LEVEL: THE SADIKH
The knowledgeable Arisen has many innate powers
available to them. During the First Sothic Turn, many Arisen
discovered the hidden powers encoded within the Rite of
Return. Utterances were among them, as was the Rite of
Investment, but none were more personal than the Rite of
the Engraved Heart. With this, the mummy could enshrine
a loyalty freely given with its own semblance of immortality,
granting a favored and willing servant the ability to serve the
mummy forever. Many Sadikh watched over their masters as
they slept in their first tombs, only stopping to lay down their
burdens after many more years of service.
Only the Sadikh may accompany their master in undeath,
and thus only the Sadikh may truly share in the Arisen’s power.
The Rite of the Engraved Heart (see p. XX) gifts the mummy
with an eternally-loyal yet half-alive companion, immortal by
virtue of obeisance to the Arisen rather than dependent on some
mechanism of supping Sekhem outside the mummy’s purview.
Consequently, the mummy’s dominance is not challenged at
this level. The Sadikh derives greater benefits from the Rite of
Investment than most cultists, and may manifest Soul Affinities.
The Sadikh tends to occupy a subservient or secondary
position outside a cult’s hierarchy. While both ultimately serve
the Arisen, the Sadikh rarely obeys cultists unless by doing so
they see the immediate benefit to the Arisen. Their loyalty
is to the Arisen and the Arisen alone, and this blind loyalty
often renders them incapable of recognizing the nuance of
indirect benefit.
PYRAMIDION: THE IMMORTAL
Only the Rite of Return provides true forever, and even
that mighty magic came with a Curse. How much more
insurmountable then are the weaknesses of those lesser im-
mortals? How right and proper must it be for them to serve
the truly eternal?
An immortal cultist isn’t reliant on the mummy for their
power; they channel Sekhem in their own lesser, esoteric ways.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, an immortal cultist
The Shepherd and the Flock 83
 often serves the Arisen out of some shared goal. Perhaps
the Arisen keeps the relic to which the immortal is bound
safely ensconced in a Lifeweb. Perhaps the Arisen grants the
immortal their choice of bodies chosen from mortal cultists.
For the Deceived and the Shuankhsen, having immortals in
their cults insulates those down the pyramid from the corro-
sive, destructive nature of their power. The immortals work
with the Lifeless because it suits their needs, but they’re also
a more stable being of power to which the cultists worship
and with which they interact.
Some in the Su-Menent theorize that tapping into other
sources of Sekhem, embodied by these immortals, is what
enables the most powerful Guild Affinities and full expression
of the Arisen soul.
Beings such as vampires are immortal, though. The ques-
tion will arise naturally: Can a vampire be a fourth level cultist,
and thus a valid recipient of the Rite of Investment? Other
supernatural beings like abmortals are capable of extended
lifespans, or even prolonging their natural deaths indefinitely.
What about them?
The short answer is yes, with a caveat. The various im-
mortal or long-lived protagonists and antagonists of the major
game lines in the Chronicles of Darkness tend to serve many
different agendas, most of which don’t align with those of the
Arisen — at least, not beyond some highly transient objective.
Even those who might have some connection to mummies
through myth and aesthetics alone — Hollow Mekhet, or
Osirian Prometheans — typically have their own elders or
motivations, and aren’t interested in playing second fiddle
for eternity.
Many of the immortals in Chapter Five aren’t enthused
about this either, but they derive myriad benefits from the
Rite of Investment, of which Affinities and Utterances are
but a part. Eternals may find their place of power exists in
the same area as a mummy’s tomb. Their power ultimately
derives from Sekhem and thus can be contained and utilized.
The other protagonists of the Chronicles of Darkness have
weirder and more esoteric sources of supernatural might.
The Rite of Investment and the spiritual burden of holding a
piece of an immortal’s soul weighs on them in unexpected and
sometimes volatile ways. They don’t always result in miracles.
More often, they result in greater monsters.
THE RITE OF
INVESTMENT
T he Arisen aren’t limited to simply performing tasks for
cultists to empower the cult and ensure their loyalty. The
84 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
bindings aren’t simply ones of loyalty and integrity, but mystic
in nature, should the mummy choose to reinforce them. The
Rite of Investment is encoded into the mummy’s soul, allowing
them to apply spiritual mortar to the bricks of the soul.
The actual mechanism is quite simple, even somewhat
innocuous. All that is required is that a being swear fealty,
loyalty, and veneration to the Arisen, and truly mean it on
some level. The Arisen lays a land on the cultist and passes
a portion of her soul into them, flowing along internal lines
of heka and exchange to invest the cultist. While this is all
that’s required, the procedure is very often accompanied by
pomp and circumstance, with the Arisen descending down
stone steps to address kneeling cultists.
The cultist is fully aware they’re carrying some portion
of their patron. They feel the weight of Pillars behind the
heart, like a small thin core of burning stone leaning across
the spine. It feels different according to the Pillar. Ka Pillars
feel empowering, while Sheut Pillars feel oily and slick. If the
Pillar also matches the mummy’s Decree, the cultist receives
a supernatural benefit.
There’s an insidious reason for the Rite of Investment, far
beyond the benefits of empowering one’s cult. As the Arisen
diffuses her power among the cult, she finds her personal stores
of Pillars refilling, and her awareness of the cult and their
condition grows, until they are an extension of the mummy
herself. Should the mummy perish, her sahu and canopic jars
destroyed, she may treat a cultist with a Pillar as an active
means of reincarnation — by claiming their body. Such an
event pits the Arisen’s soul against the cultist’s, but the Arisen
has been through Duat, and their mettle has been tested.
The vast majority of cultists cannot withstand the might of
an immortal soul, and are subsumed utterly.
The experience of consuming their cultist changes the
mummy, not simply in the ephemeral sense of carrying the
guilt of destroying a willing servant’s soul. The memories of
the mortal color those of the immortal’s, melding their per-
sonalities in a blend heavily weighted towards the mummy but
still representing a fundamental change to their core princi-
ples. The cultist’s memories filter into the mummy’s, and are
subsumed into the greater Memory of the immortal, though
they’re more easily accessible within the short term. At low
levels of Memory, the mortal’s fresh and powerful memories
may overwhelm the mummy’s ancient memories. Sometimes
a mummy may believe they are the claimed cultist for a po-
tentially long period of time, only to revise and integrate this
identity as Memory rises.
The Rite of Investment’s system is detailed on p. XX.
RELICS AND VESTIGES
Senet game
Period: date unknown (estimated pre-3300
BCE)
Materials: faience, ivory, and
knucklebone
Any writing carved into the box’s sides
has worn away, but it appears to well-
used, as several game pieces are made of
different materials than the rest. Likely
replacements for tokens the game’s owner
damaged or lost.
The Sekhem stored within relics and vestiges draw the
Arisen toward them, pulling at their own Sekhem. The pre-
cious mystical resource pools inside, reflecting the life force
all around it. Relics, crafted by the great sorcerers and smiths
of Irem, refine Sekhem, distilling it into a perfected, potent
state. Vestiges are rougher, less pure, but no less valuable for
the emotions and memories they hold. Both may become part
of an Arisen’s Lifeweb, empowering the sacred geometry of
her tomb and assisting her high priests in the Call.
The items are also tangible memories of a world long lost,
proof that a mummy’s hazy recollections of Irem are real and true.
Sometimes vessels spark those Memories, unlocking a piece of the
puzzle of an Arisen’s Descent. They show her who she was, for good
and ill. They may give her insight into her ancient enemies, or remind
her of a betrayal a traitorous cultist hoped would stay forgotten.
Draining Sekhem from relics and vestiges allows a mummy
to regain lost Pillars. Likewise, she can use them to imbue her
followers with a fraction of her powers.
RECOVERY AND SACRIFICE
An Arisen can’t quite shake the imperative to discover and
reacquire vessels. Once she’s aware of a relic’s existence, she
might be able to put off its pursuit awhile as she ties up other
business. Still, the desire to add it to her collection persists
like an itch between her shoulder blades. Relics and vessels
— and the Sekhem contained within — belong to the Judges.
Delivering prizes back to Duat at the end of her Descent is
proof of a job well done; a sacred duty and point of pride.
Sometimes a mummy fulfills the purpose for her awaken-
ing before her Descent ends. If free of obligations, an Arisen
often searches for relics and vessels with the time she has left.
Seizing the opportunity to fill in gaps in her Memory, she seeks
artifacts from lost Irem, or vestiges imbued with pieces of other
lives she’s lived. The hunt for such vessels is a hunt for the self.
On occasion, the desire to seek out a vessel becomes an
all-encompassing need. Most often, when an intruder steals
a relic from the mummy’s tomb, awakening him from his
deathly sleep, the mummy’s only purpose is retrieving the
item. Nothing distracts him from recovering the stolen relic,
and he cares little about anything or anyone destroyed in
the process. Other times, he’s racing to keep the relic out of
enemy hands: a Shuankhsen who would defile and destroy it,
a Timeless who would use it for crude, lesser rituals. At such
times, he’s more in control, able to plan, set traps, and wait
for his enemy to spring them.
No prohibitions exist preventing one Arisen from raiding
another’s tomb. There’s no “right” way to utilize a vessel (aside
from sacrificing it to the Judges). A mummy who believes his
peers are misusing or wasting a relic’s potential may decide to
recover it for himself. Others want control of artifacts they’re
convinced belonged to them in Irem, or were theirs during
prior Descents. Stealing from another Arisen is a dangerous
undertaking. No mummy parts with their vessels willingly,
and waking one from her henet with the theft is as perilous
for an Arisen as it is for any mortal.
Some disputes over who can claim a vessel span millennia.
A Maa-Kep and a Tef-Aabhi vie for ownership of a cylinder
seal from Irem. It resonates with both, but neither is willing to
cede it to the other. Their cults clash for generations, stealing
the seal or planning heists to steal it back.
The raw power contained in a relic or vestige bends the
world around it to reflect the Memory it contains. Arisen,
due to the Sekhem in their own bodies, can to some degree
resist the curse that comes with unleashing a relic’s power.
A regular human, with no such innate resistance, is open to
both the temptation from wielding the vessel and the curse
laid upon them. Mummies try to intercept vessels before they
can wreak havoc on mortal lives. For those viewing themselves
as humanity’s protectors and guides, they fulfill their duty by
keeping dangerous toys out of reach.
RETAINING VESSELS
Amulet of a winged scarab
Period: Pre-dynastic
Materials: Serpentinite, bone
On loan from a private collection. The
amulet’s original owner claimed wearing
the item close to her heart promoted a
sense of happiness and well-being.
Not all Arisen sacrifice the vessels they recover to the
Judges. A Maa-Kep holds on to a sheriff’s star worn by an
Relics and Vestiges 85
 Old West lawman, filled with the passion for his duty and Relics of lost Irem lie forgotten beneath the sands. The
the searing hatred for a particular gunfighter. The Sesha- Timeless keep vestiges under lock and key, in secret chambers
Hebsu pores over a scrap of parchment, certain the Iremite and passcoded safes. Sorcerers lay wards on vessels, setting
symbols are written in her hand. She can almost smell the ink. supernatural alarms clamoring if tripped. Most of the time,
Another few weeks and she might remember the rest of the vessels remain hidden until the Arisen’s kepher flares, placing
passage. A Su-Menent keeps the ritual knife where she can the item front and center in his consciousness. Once aware
see it upon rising. It wasn’t hers, but its wielder understood
death and dying.
All vessels belong to the Judges. The Arisen know this
intrinsically, and are well aware of their duty to return them
to Duat. Still, they know that once sacrificed and the Sekhem
gone, all that remains is a mundane object. A museum or
private collector might buy an item of historical significance
— the hilt of a ceremonial blade, an ushabti from a royal tomb.
Vestiges with no monetary value — a flower pressed between
the pages of a wartime nurse’s journal, a mass-produced
wristwatch — are little more than trash. Who can blame the
mummy holding on to the feelings the vessel evokes for a
little longer, studying it until she’s sure she’s gleaned all the
memories that might be lurking therein?
Relics and vestiges making it back to an Arisen’s tomb
become part of its Lifeweb, enhancing and strengthening the
occult latticework. A strong Lifeweb makes sorcerous rituals
easier. The cultist performing it draws on the Sekhem-rich
energy flowing through the tomb. Keeping a substantial relic
collection carries risks as well: some bold souls dare to invade
Arisen tombs and steal the treasures within. The Timeless
need them to give their gruesome longevity rites a boost.
Sorcerer cults would weaken the Arisen while increasing
their own power and influence. The Lifeless sees a chance to
deprive her enemy of Memory and increase a Pillar by draining
the Arisen’s hoard.
Delaying the sacrifice is a minor infraction compared to
claiming a relic’s Sekhem for oneself. The Judges rarely dis-
tinguish between an act of selfishness and one of desperation.
Whether a mummy drained a relic to help him further his
Judge’s influence, or whether he did it to extend the length
of his Descent, the end result is the same. He risks his Judge’s
displeasure and a harsh punishment.

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86 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless

of it, his adversaries’ barriers can only keep the relic out of
his grasp for so long.
Sometimes, however, the Arisen stashed a relic or vestige
away out of his opponent’s reach. The idea of a Blood Bather
using a canopic jar for her gruesome rituals disgusts the Su-
Menent, so he seals it in a vault, behind several layers of
security measures. A sorcerer-cult hears whispers of a spell
carved into a clay tablet, but the Sesha-Hebsu knows they’ll
use it for malicious purposes. When he traced his fingers over
it in his craft-house in Irem, the spells were to heal rather than
hurt. He buries the tablet where they’ll never find it, and lays
a few traps of his own.
Relics and Vestiges 87
 The option to sacrifice the vessel to the Judges always re-
mains, but for some Arisen it’s a last resort. Perhaps he needs
the relic to fuel a ritual of his own, or the refined Sekhem
stored within will come in handy for investing his cultists
with Pillars. The artifact may hold memories she has yet to
unlock. It could be one piece of a larger collection she’s spent
centuries amassing, and damned if she’s going to break up the
set before it’s complete. Sacrificing or draining the vessel’s
Sekhem is an irrevocable action. Why take such an extreme
action when time is your ally? Deny the relic to the immortal,
and she either finds another suitable container or dies because
she’s failed to complete the ritual sustaining her. Keep it from
the sorcerer-cult and they might still find a way to cast the
spell, but the destruction isn’t on the Arisen’s conscience.
Arisen hiding vessels from other mummies present a much
more complicated problem. They know how others of their
kind detect relics via kepher, and the methods they use to
acquire them. They don’t have to wonder how best to shield
their treasures from other Arisen — they already know. Any
mummy attempting to hide a vessel from other Deathless
must first consider what obstacles would stymie himself, his
own meret, his cult, and his guildmates. He must also accept
that it’s an unending endeavor — he may spend Descent after
Descent improving security measures that his adversaries, in
turn, spend Descent after Descent learning how to defeat.
Lastly, some Arisen hide vessels from themselves. The loss
of Memory accompanying Descent is normally frustrating and
painful for the Deathless, but on some occasions, it’s a mercy.
Every time she rises, the mummy must work to rebuild her
image of who she is. Her Sadikh and cultists fill in some of the
information, and the collection of relics in her Lifeweb offer
deeper, more personal insights. Some of those glimpses show
the mummy in an unfavorable light. Few mummies make it
through their many lifetimes unscathed. Survival requires sac-
rifice. Many Arisen make choices during their Descents that
cause pain — either to the Deathless herself, or to someone
she’s come to care about. In this case, forgetting is more balm
than bane. Hiding relics and vestiges evoking shameful mem-
ories lets a mummy conceal her true past from her future self.
The Arisen creates what she considers to be the best ver-
sion of herself, selectively editing her own story by excising this
chapter. She might not recover the vestige for centuries, but
nothing remains locked away forever. Sometimes, the Arisen
senses its kepher and tracks down the lost piece. Reclaiming
the memory might be devastating, and call into question
everything she thought she knew about herself. Other times,
she’s not the one uncovering the vessel. Another Deathless
may discover it and sacrifice it to his Judge, or a Shuankhsen
could uncover it and drain it of Sekhem, either way eliminat-
ing the threat forever. Worse, one of her enemies may find
it, and use what he learns as leverage over its original owner.
88 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
ENEMIES ALL AROUND
T
he Rite of Return bestowed immense power and immor-
tality on the Arisen, gifts that other entities covet and
wish to exploit. Some of the mummies’ enemies are ambitious
and long-lived. They hunt the Arisen to steal their Sekhem,
or glean the secrets of the Descent. Others were their con-
temporaries in Irem, travelling a parallel but different path
down the millennia.
Some are the very gods the Arisen worship.
THE SHUANKHSEN
The Shuankhsen remember.
The Arisen aren’t the only children of Irem still stalking
the Earth. Though many were slaves themselves, pressed into
service by the Shan’iatu and forced to work, their deaths had
a measure of dignity to them — an importance. Fear and pain
might have followed, but they came with meaning.
The Shuankhsen met with no such honorable ends. They
were slaves as well, in service not only to the Shan’iatu, but
also to the craft-houses and legions. They were prisoners,
thieves, captives taken from conquered nations, and workers
not quite deemed worthy enough to learn the trades, but not
quite worthless enough to be killed and raised as corpses for
the necromancers’ needs.
The sorcerer-priests saw the Lifeless’ greatest value in
their deaths. They were fodder, fuel, stepping stones on the
path to the Rite of Return. When they died, no Judges waited
in Duat to test their worth. Instead, Ammut the Devourer
consumed their souls.
Without the Shuankhsen’s sacrifice, the Arisen would
have laid dead and cold in their tombs, never to awaken with
the turning of Sothis’ Wheel.
Most Arisen don’t remember, and those that do take
this sacrifice for granted, their due as the heirs to Irem. Mass
murder was but the cost of doing business. The Shuankhsen
were beneath the Arisen in Irem, and are beneath them now,
even though the empire is long dead.
The Shuankhsen harbor a burning resentment toward the
Arisen, a grudge they’ve spent 6,000 years nursing. In Irem, the
Arisen were workers as well, closer to the Shuankhsen than
the Shan’iatu, class-wise. Never for a moment did they con-
sider this, never standing as allies to the Shuankhsen, never
speaking out in their defense. Together, might not the Arisen
and Shuankhsen have risen up against the sorcerer-priests?
Imagine if the blacksmiths had smuggled spell-enhanced
weapons to their brothers and sisters, if the spies had relied
upon other household servants rather than reported on their
misdeeds. Instead of quashing rebellion, those who would

When the Mighty Fall
Fear of becoming one of the hated Shuankhsen
is very real for the Arisen. What happens when
you’re lost to the shadow? When the things that
make you who you are fall away? When your
Judge relinquishes your soul and the Devourer
opens her maw?
Conversely, the Lifeless have complicated feel-
ings about Arisen becoming Shuankhsen. How
demoralizing, to be the subject of someone else’s
cautionary tale, to be the very thing their ancient
enemies fear they might become. Some are con-
temptuous of Arisen, once their oppressors, now
slaves to the Devourer like themselves. Others
attempt to break the cycle of hatred, embracing
their new brothers and sisters.
become the Kher-Minu might have led it, and together they
could have overthrown the Shan’iatu.
Yet, the way the Shuankhsen see it, the Arisen were con-
tent to be the necromancers’ pets as long as it bought them
relative comfort. Today, they do their Judges’ bidding rather
than resist. They’ve learned nothing.
Driven by their rage and Ammut’s hunger, the Lifeless
hunt the Deathless. The rituals that created the Shuankhsen
left them inferior conduits for Sekhem. They covet Arisen
mastery over Utterances and Pillars, and tear the knowledge
from their enemies’ flesh, consuming it to make it part of
themselves. Shuankhsen likewise compete with the Arisen
for relics and vestiges and the Sekhem contained therein.
Snatching a relic from the Arisen pursuing it serves a
secondary purpose for the Lifeless: destroying such an item
denies the mummy a chance at reclaiming a lost memory.
Perhaps the statue sat on her altar in lost Irem; maybe the
filigreed pendant belonged to a lover during his last Descent.
Either way, the Shuankhsen puts the past — and the answers
the Arisen seeks — that much farther out of reach.
With each awakening, the Arisen must relearn which of
the people petitioning for their attention are allies and which
are their enemies. Shuankhsen use this to their advantage.
They place their own followers in Arisen cults as spies and
saboteurs. They take aim at the Deathless’ earthly assets:
embezzling funds from a hundred-year-old corporation, killing
the last scions of a bloodline that’s led the cult since Egypt.
Some Shuankhsen know exactly what things her enemy
can’t resist, and leaves them as traps to draw her prey in close.
So what if vengeance takes years? The Shuankhsen have the
same millennia the Arisen do to enact their plans, only they
never forget where they left off.
Knowing how precious memory is to the Arisen gives the
Shuankhsen some measure of satisfaction, though it’s a limited
pleasure. They might be tempted to lord their knowledge of
Irem over the Arisen, dangling it before their enemies but
always denying it, were it not for the Silence Ammut has
imposed upon them. Acknowledging their creation in Irem, al-
luding to the Shan’iatu or their rituals, harms the Shuankhsen
and robs them of precious Sekhem. They’ve already suffered
enough for the Arisens’ comfort. They’ll chew out their own
tongues before doing so again.
IMMORTALS
The Arisen aren’t the only entities whose lives span centu-
ries. However, with rare exceptions, others maintain their lon-
gevity through regular rites and rituals. To the Deathless, this
is evidence of flawed and inferior magic. Only the Shan’iatu
knew the secrets of the Rite of Return, and only the Arisen
enjoy its benefits. They intend to keep it that way.
The Timeless, as the Arisen have dubbed these imperfect
immortals, covet the mummies’ power and seek to steal their
secrets. Others care less about how Arisen immortality works,
and simply desire the Sekhem-rich items stored in their vaults
and accruing power in their tombs. Sekhem is, after all, the
very life-essence most Timeless require to stay young and hale.
Throughout the millennia, the Arisen have dealt most with
Blood Bathers, Body Thieves, and Eternals. Other immortals
crossing their paths (and running afoul of Arisen cults) include
the Reborn, the Purified, and the strange alien beings calling
themselves the Visitors. Both the Deathless and the Timeless
recognize the advantages they share, leading lives that span
epochs. Some Timeless dedicate their lives to creation.
They help shape nations, build legacies, support the arts and
sciences, and take a guiding hand to history. Nothing these
lesser immortals build ever rivals the glorious achievements
of the Nameless Empire, but Arisen appreciate those who try.
Other immortals squander their years. They spend their
accumulated wealth and power only on themselves, on their
earthly and immediate pleasures. This infuriates the Arisen,
whose ambitions are secondary to their Judges’ desires, and
whose legacies are never assured. If an Arisen strays too far
from her path, seeing herself as a god among mortals, her Judge
is likely to not only tear her down, but also dismantle every-
thing she’s worked for as punishment. How can the Timeless
be so wasteful? How can they take such freedom for granted?
Enemies All Around 89
 Immortals have a linear life. They acclimate to societal
changes and technological leaps through existing day to day.
The Arisen often awaken to a world sharply changed; in only
a decade between their Descents (a mere eye-blink in their
millennia-long spans), what was once an impossibility might
be common now. Getting their bearings takes time. The ease
with which the Timeless navigate these changes only adds
fuel to the Arisen’s fire.
SEKHEM AS A RESOURCE
While some Timeless learn occult magic or gain arcane
gifts, none can match an Arisen when it comes to sheer
supernatural power. Body Thieves are especially aware of
this. Some devote considerable resources figuring out how
to exploit or steal it. Just because no one’s ever succeeded in
swapping places with a mummy doesn’t mean no one ever can,
as far as those Body Thieves are concerned. They but have to
figure out the means, whatever that entails.
Blood Bathers submerge themselves in the very essence of
life to prolong their own. The body count Blood Bathers rack
up horrify even Arisen with hands bloodied for vengeance or
at their Judge’s behest. Blood Bathers do not kill for a Judge’s
righteous agenda, but for their own personal gain. Disdain for
the Blood Bathers’ methods doesn’t stop the Mesen-Nebu and
Tef-Aabhi being curious about their rites. A temptation some
Bathers use to lure Arisen victims.
While an Arisen may be too powerful or well-protected for
an immortal to reach, her cultists often make easier targets,
especially those chosen as a mummy’s Sadikh. Imbued with
a portion of their master’s power shine with Sekhem, Sadikh
attract both Blood Bathers and Body Thieves’ interest as well.
Following the destruction of the mummy’s body, these loyal
servants volunteer their bodies to their Arisen. Learning the
secrets of the rite involved would be valuable indeed.
RELICS AND VESTIGES
The idea of Arisen sacrificing relics to the Judges in Duat
frustrates immortals. It’s a waste of precious Sekhem, handed
off to an absentee deity for a pat on the head.
Most Timeless learn early the foolishness of breaking into a
mummy’s tomb to steal the artifacts accompanying her repose.
Mentors pass stories on to their students of those who tried
and died. They’ve instead learned to be clever and patient,
to befriend Arisen cultists, or infiltrate the inner circle to get
access to a tomb. They have all the time in the world, after
all. They can wait until their target’s Descent nears its end,
when she’s vulnerable and her powers are on the wane, before
springing a trap or staging a heist.
90 Chapter Two: Life When Deathless
Most of the time, recovering relics out in the world not
yet claimed by any Arisen is an easier task on which to focus.
Better to risk a museum guard firing off some shots than a
mummy’s relentless, single-minded pursuit. Racing against an
Arisen to recover a relic is far preferable to fleeing from one.
Some immortals keep tabs on an Arisen’s movements, piggy-
backing their innate ability to sense an artifact’s proximity.
Among the immortals, the Eternals do their best to avoid
the Arisen entirely. Their immortality is bound to a single
artifact, the destruction of which means their death. While
content to leave the Arisen alone, an Eternal fights like hell
to protect her anchor should a mummy set their sights on
it. This isn’t always a physical confrontation. Many Eternals
amass considerable wealth over the centuries, which they can
turn toward destroying Arisen who threaten their existence.
THE JUDGES
Declaring oneself before her Judge was, for the Arisen, an
act of triumph. After all her trials in Duat, with her identity
pared away and pared away again, she held up the last shred of
herself and said This is who I am — a moment of clarity, of
defiance, of ultimate understanding. Her Judge’s hand clasped
her shoulder in acceptance and approval. There it stays through
all her Descents, a psychic weight guiding her in the right
direction. Maybe it was a comfort, once. Sometimes it sits lightly
on her psyche, and sometimes she can barely sense it at all. But
sometimes those fingers flex, talon-tipped, when she drifts too far
off course. If she insists on continued defiance, her Judge’s hand
yanks her violently back on her path. The hand’s weight has
grown oppressive, steering her away from Memory, dragging her
down when she tries to build herself up.
At a visceral level, an Arisen understands what her Judge
desires of her, buts its greater plans are often opaque. Another
mummy in service to the same Judge may carry out plans that
seem to contradict her counterpart’s schemes, or oppose them
entirely. Rarely does a Judge explain its reasoning, leaving the
Arisen to work out the dispute between them.
Some mummies wonder if this is less the result of an in-
effable plan at work, and instead proof that they’re a source
of amusement for the Judges. Humanity is their game board,
reenacting the history of lost Irem. The Judges imbue relics
with Sekhem and move them about like pawns, requiring the
Arisen to hunt them down. So what if a mummy gets harmed
trying to return a vessel to Duat? She is placed back on the
board soon enough.
While sometimes the Arisen are little more than pieces in
the Judges’ cosmic game, the rulers of Duat take a keen and
active interest in the plans their servants set in motion. Many
Judges give their servants free rein during their Descents,
allowing them to pursue personal agendas as long as those
dovetail with their Judge’s ideology... and as long as the Arisen
continues to sacrifice relics to Duat.
Occasionally, the world runs afoul of a Judge’s plans. An
Arisen may not know it until strange events occur in her
vicinity, warning that her Judge is keeping a baleful eye on
the proceedings. Should she ignore the signs of an impending
emanation, she risks the Judge taking a direct hand in matters,
manifesting its avatar in the mortal world and laying waste to
what she’s worked so hard to build.
Carrying out a Judge’s will prevents Arisen from pursuing
her own goals. Even mummies whose Judges remain mostly
aloof feel the call to serve. It delays discoveries about who they
were, in Irem or in past Descents. It forces them to choose
between duty and Memory, and the price for defiance is steep.
Once in a while, an Arisen realizes their interests no longer
align with that of their Judge. For a while, they may be able
to hide it, continuing to dedicate deeds to their patron while
quietly putting their own plans into motion. How long can
they sustain the façade? How much are they willing to risk
to keep it going? Sometimes, another one of Duat’s rulers
seeks them out and makes an offer, if they’re willing to pledge
allegiance to a new ideal. It’s tempting, but not without its
risks. The Arisen isn’t only reinventing themselves, they’re
turning their back on a cosmic power. When a mummy finds
themselves caught in a power struggle between two Judges,
they’re the one suffering for it.
Losing sight of their place in the hierarchy further angers
an Arisen’s Judge. Judges allow — and often encourage —
their subjects to create great works, as long as they do it in
their Judges’ names. Arisen manage media empires, whisper
into politicians’ ears, and design municipal spaces humming
with sacred architecture. When a mummy proudly declares,
“I made this,” rather than dedicating it to her Judge in all its
glory, she risks retribution. If she dares consider herself on the
same footing as the gods themselves, those same gods readily
show her how very small she is in their eyes.
Enemies All Around 91
 There is neither water nor air here, its depth is unfathomable, it is as dark as the
darkest night, and men wander about here helplessly.
– Book of the Dead
T he process of making a body ready for safe passage through
Duat was both art and science — an invocation of the
soul and character of the dead, and a meticulous procedure
of preservation for the flesh. This chapter guides you through
the steps to prepare your very own Arisen for the chronicle of
ages, shaping their mind and form at each stage. Tear away the
embalming shroud of mummification and see who lies beneath
— the herald of Duat that you’ll play as in Mummy: The Curse.
RETURNING FROM
DEATH
T he character you play in Mummy is one of the Deathless, a
servant of lost Irem waking from the sleep of ages through
the power of the Rite of Return. This profane act of sorcery
imbues your character as one of the Deathless Arisen — an
immortal being serving the alien Judges of Duat and facing
the constant erosion of her memories.
In this tragedy of the ages, who is your Arisen? This section
guides you through the process of creating a Deathless character
to play through a Mummy chronicle, walking you along each
step of the way as you peel back the bandages from your Arisen
and discover her nature. Every Arisen has the potential to be a
walking engine of sorcerous destruction, a majestic harbinger of
the will of ancient gods, or a legend whose very name terrifies her
foes. However, in the process of creating your character, think
about who she is beneath all the trappings of her eldritch slavery.
Each Arisen was human once. To what scraps of this former
humanity does she still cling, to resist the scouring sands of time?
It’s often a good idea to run through character generation as
a group with the Storyteller and other players in the chronicle.
This is a ‘session zero’, where you can bounce your character
ideas off each other, get guidance from the Storyteller on any
particular themes that work well (or not) with the chronicle’s
concept, and hammer out any ground rules about play style and
social contract. The resulting characters will probably have a
much more cohesive feel providing a stronger play experience.
STEP ONE: CONCEPT
Coming up with a core character concept is the first
step: a short description, a sentence or a phrase best describ-
ing the spark of inspiration behind the character. Is she a
vengeful guardian, lashing out at those stumbling upon her
tomb because she’s lost any greater vision or purpose for her
existence? Is he a defiant heretic, secretly holding on to every
grain of his Memory and working against the Judges? Perhaps
they’re a nostalgic judge looking upon the modern workings
of humanity as a pale imitation of Irem’s majesty and finding
it all rather lacking? Or perhaps they are a mocking sensate
deciding the cosmic laws are all one massive joke and rather
spending eternity enjoying every experience that unfolding
history has to offer?
This short utterance is a jumping-off point to develop the
character further. You might draw on your Arisen’s decree or
guild as a source of inspiration; you might look at characters from
classic media; or you may find what you’re seeking in concepts
of Memory, loss, and time. Wherever you begin, think through
how the character might express this concept in action. Think
Returning From Death 93
 about situations such as how she might react upon discovering
a thief has taken a relic from her tomb; upon learning that a
fellow mummy in her meret is under threat; upon encountering
a human in distress that she could help — but at a cost to herself;
and upon discovering an opportunity to learn something more of
her own lost memories, but through disobedience to her Judge.
Mummies are unusual because they do not immediately
recall anything of their former experience as a mortal human.
Your character may masquerade as a figure in human society
today, albeit having to work around the call of Duat beckoning
her back to Deathless sleep, but she is fundamentally not a
mortal any more. Her concerns involve greater powers. Some
of your choices in character generation may hint at the life
she had before — particular Skills she possesses or her choice
of guild, for example. However, you may wish to leave the
truth of her origins entirely up to the Storyteller, revealed
should she ever reach greater heights of Memory and unveil
fragments of the past. However, your Arisen is still a person,
not a mindless automaton. She has drives, urges, and man-
nerisms rooted in her past and a foundation to her identity.
Think about elements of her personality and behavior that
might stem back to her origins in this way, even if she is no
longer consciously aware of that link herself.
ASPIRATIONS
Choose three Aspirations for your Arisen. These are goals
and objectives, either for the Arisen herself or for you as the
player. They are statements of things that you’re interested
in seeing happen, or intend to actively pursue during the
course of the coming story. They are a clear communication
to the Storyteller of what you’d like to see happen. By working
towards or fulfilling them, your character earns story Beats, a
measurement of the experience they’ve gained along the way.
Aspirations can be long-term or short-term; it’s a good idea
to have a mixture. You can change Aspirations as the game pro-
ceeds; indeed, you may find that as you progress through the rest
of character creation, you come up with new ideas for Aspirations.
That’s absolutely fine — just go back and update them.
Aspirations might be anything from ‘learn a new Utterance’
to ‘smite an unbeliever’, from ‘challenge the arrogance of the
other Arisen in the meret’ to ‘topple the temples of false gods’.
Because they’re chosen by you, the player, not your character,
you can have Aspirations that are not something the Arisen
would usually welcome but that you’re interested in the nar-
rative ramifications of, like ‘be defeated by my nemesis’ or ‘fall
victim to my own shortcomings in the pursuit of the relic’.
STEP TWO: ATTRIBUTES
Every character possesses Attributes, a set of inherent
capabilities and natural aptitudes. Attributes measure these
94 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
key areas in which your character is strong or weak, and they
come in three categories: Mental, Physical, and Social. The
Mental Attributes are Intelligence, Wits, and Resolve; the
Physical Attributes are Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina;
and the Social Attributes are Presence, Manipulation, and
Composure. Chapter Four, starting on p. XX, explores these
traits in more detail.
Your character begins with one free dot in each of these
Attributes. You now prioritize the three categories, ranking
them as primary, secondary, and tertiary in accordance with
how important you think they are as part of the character
concept. You have five additional dots to distribute among
Attributes in the primary category, four additional dots for
the secondary category, and three for the tertiary category.
You cannot raise your character’s dots above five in any
one Attribute at this stage. Two dots is the human average;
having just one dot is a weakness, an area where your Arisen
struggles. Three and above represents a particular strength.
STEP THREE: SKILLS
Skills are the fruits of your character’s learning and
training, the particular abilities she has retained from her
life and from the endless cycle of rebirth that the Rite of
Return enforces upon her. Just like Attributes, Skills are split
between Mental, Physical, and Social categories, but Skills
do not begin with a single free dot. Each category includes
eight Skills. Chapter Four, starting on p. XX, contains further
information about them.
As with Attributes, you prioritize the categories according
to your character concept. The primary category has eleven
dots to assign, the secondary category has seven dots to assign,
and the tertiary category has just four dots to assign.
When assigning Skill dots, think about what you want
your character to be able to do, and what any particular Skill
means for her. Was her knack for Weaponry forged in the
crucible of battle in the ancient days of Irem, or is it some-
thing she’s picked up in the ensuing millennia? Do her dots
in Computer indicate she’s been rising repeatedly in the last
century and closely following the developments in human
technology, or that she’s had a hidden talent for it that she
can only now explore through her most recent Descents in
this age of information? Consider the same for areas where
she distinctly lacks dots; does she lack Drive because this is
the first time she’s woken since the invention of automobiles?
Has she never bothered with Survival or Streetwise because
she has always depended on her cult to fulfill tasks she sees
as beneath her station?
Even a single dot in a Skill represents meaningful fa-
miliarity or practice with it. Two dots and above reflects a
 and you can even assign two or more to a single Skill if you
want. However, you must have at least one dot in a Skill
to be able to assign any Specialties to it at all. Specialties
Non-Linear Skills represent the particular interests, obsessions, or talents of
your Arisen that set her apart from others. Think about the
and Experience sorts of things you want her to be able to do particularly
Due to the non-linear way in which Arisen awak- well or frequently.
en, a character may well awakening in 2020 CE
to have dots in something not typically present STEP FIVE:
on their character sheet, such as Archery or Ride.
Likewise, a character awakening in 664 CE may ADD ARISEN TEMPLATE
well have dots in Computer or Drive. Just because By this point, you have the rough shape of your character.
a character can do something, however, doesn’t You know her underlying concept, and where her talents
mean they immediately have the tools to make it and Skills lie. Now, you will wrap her in the trappings of her
happen. Deathless state, giving her a panoply of powers and the regalia
A mummy waking in the modern age may be of her place in Arisen society.
fresh from character creation, without all the bo-
nus dots in Skills and Merits that come through BALANCE AND BURDEN
gaining Experiences. This makes sense if you con-
sider this character hasn’t awoken since their ini- Made from the ether of ancients, mummies are walking
tial Descent. In the next chronicle, set a millennium corpses, filled with fleeting memory and time, rebuilding
prior, those Experiences gained in the present themselves with each incarnation and remembering terrible
day may make the character — now, technically, and awesome truths about their past. Whereas mortals possess
in the past — even stronger than they are a thou- a Virtue and a Vice influencing their behaviors, mummies
sand years later. 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
professional level of Skill in the area. Lacking any dots what- their unending duty to Irem.
soever indicates a distinct lack of experience in it. Attempting
an action for which your character has no dots inflicts an
additional penalty, so if you want her to be able to succeed in BALANCE AND BURDEN
an area at all, it’s worth picking up at least one dot.
Balance Archetypes Burden Archetypes
You may find that you have a few Skills you feel are
Courageous Accusing
important to the character concept but you simply have no
spare dots left to cover them. Don’t worry — you’ll have the Devoted Careless
opportunity to round out any gaps in the character at the Diligent Chaotic
end of the process.
Faithful Cruel
STEP FOUR: SPECIALTIES Generous Dominant
While your character’s Skills represent broad areas of Introspective Forgetful
knowledge, Specialties are refinements and areas of partic- Just Fragile
ular focus within those fields. For example, your character Noble Hysterical
may have two dots in Academics, but have a Specialty in
Architecture. A Specialty grants one additional die any time Peaceful Isolated
the character is using the Skill in question and the Specialty Resilient Rageful
would be relevant. Chapter Four contains more information Righteous Resentful
about them.
Trustworthy Selfish
Assign three Specialties to your character’s Skills. You
can assign them freely among the Skills in each category, Truthful Stagnant

Returning From Death 95


I’m Creating a Cultist
If you’re creating a cultist character using this book
or the Chronicles of Darkness Rulebook,
you know most aspects of the Arisen template do
not apply. Your character has a Virtue and a Vice
instead of a Balance and a Burden, certain Merits
in this book are unavailable, Sadikh have access
to a limited array of Utterances, and immortals
and sorcerers have their own powers. The steps in
this chapter may still be used to form a basic mor-
tal character, but see p. XX for Sadikh creation,
Chapter Five for rules surrounding sorcerers and
immortals, and feel free to use the Balance and
Burden examples in Chapter Four to inform their
Virtue and Vice.
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.
You can find more on Balance and Burden starting on
p. XX.
TOUCHSTONE
Touchstones are the difference between the Deathless and
the Lifeless. While they are certainly immortal, aloof and, to
some extent, dead, mummies are not without life. The pangs
of Memory remind them of who they used to be and of the
principles they gave up a natural lifespan to uphold.
As memories fade over the millennia, such sentiments are
difficult to hold on to. The Arisen must maintain them, to
prevent themselves becoming nothing but an animated drive
of hunger, lust, or revenge, no better than the Shuankhsen.
Maintaining sense is perhaps one of the most incredible
abilities of the Deathless, and within their Touchstones these
immensely powerful beings find their greatest strength.
96 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
The three most common types of Touchstone are Sadikh,
Witnesses, and Inheritors. Each one supports their Arisen
master in a different way, close to them for a different reason.
A Touchstone is almost always brought into the cult. However,
some Witnesses remain outside, but under the mysterious
protection of the Deathless.
When choosing a Touchstone, the mummy’s player should
select either the Virtue or Vice of that particular character. If
the Touchstone is being made by another player as a protag-
onist character, discuss which of the two to use. Assisting the
Touchstone in fulfilling their chosen Virtue or Vice, and the
Touchstone regaining all Willpower in their presence, gains
the mummy a Reminisce Beat (see p. XX). This allows the
Touchstone to act as an anchor to the mummy. However, if the
Touchstone is killed (or in the case of a Sadikh, has their body
sent into repose through accumulation of aggravated wounds),
the mummy automatically undergoes an Absence Breaking
Point relating to their Memory (see p. XX) as the lost connec-
tion allows that part of herself to be scattered into the infinite
grains of ancient sand that clutter her mind. A new Touchstone
can be forged in the next chronicle. Mummies start with one
Touchstone, but may acquire more throughout the chronicle.
DECREE
Your mummy’s decree is the foundation of her enduring
sense of self — the medium by which her soul has survived the
Rite of Return and through which she is empowered to return
again and again. She pronounced that part of her being before
the Judges, affirming her will and determination.
Pick one of the five decrees for your Arisen character.
Decree cannot be later changed; it is too fundamental to a
mummy’s nature. The decrees are listed below, and are fully
described in Chapter One.
• Ashem, the Jackals, are unflinching guardians and wise
occultists. They confront fear, and help others do the
same. The Defining Pillar of the Ashem is Sheut, and
Ashem begin play with Jackal’s Shade as a bonus affinity.
• Deshret, the Falcons, are ambitious visionaries and
zealous champions. They test themselves and pursue
greater heights of accomplishment. The Defining Pillar
of the Deshret is Ba, and Deshret begin play with
Soaring Falcon as a bonus affinity.
• Kheru, the Lions, are passionate heralds and vital,
thrill-seeking beings. They pursue the exhilarating
highs and grievous lows of existence with equal en-
thusiasm. The Defining Pillar of the Kheru is Ab, and
Kheru begin play with Lion’s Pride as a bonus affinity.
• Nesrem, the Bulls, are enduring sentinels and tireless
devotees. They overcome challenges and create lasting
 legacies. The Defining Pillar of the Nesrem is Ka, and
Nesrem begin play with Guardian Bull as a bonus affinity.
• Usheb, the Serpents, are cunning tacticians and
clever manipulators. They hunt for hidden truths and
ravenously pursue knowledge. The Defining Pillar of
the Usheb is Ren, and Usheb begin play with Serpent’s
Tongue as a bonus affinity.
GUILD
Your Arisen probably belongs to one of the five great guilds
that exist among the Deathless. The guilds are occult fellowships,
initially forged in the days of Irem among the sorcerous craftsfolk
of that empire. Each guild specialized in an area of ritualistic mag-
ic, and these associations carried through after the Rite of Return.
Now, the guilds serve as the loose sinews binding Arisen
society together. Most Arisen hew to their old guild allegiances
from the days of Irem. Rare indeed is the Arisen who has
broken her bonds to the guilds entirely, and such outcasts
are viewed with suspicion. Rumors suggest some are even
members of a sixth, lost guild, a secretive organization even
among the Deathless, or one of the flawed minor guilds.
Pick one of the five guilds to reflect your character’s
membership. Your character can change guild, although the
circumstances in which this would happen are quite rare. The
guilds are fully described in Chapter One.
• Maa-Kep are spies, manipulators, and watchdogs.
They observe, gather information, and examine the
principles underlying each iteration of civilization they
witness. Amulets are their chosen vessel.
• Mesen-Nebu are alchemists, revolutionaries, and
deal-makers. They seek potential, prosperity, and
transformation, and watch how the web of commerce
and trade ensnares each civilization in turn. Regia are
their chosen vessel.
• Sesha-Hebsu are diplomats, lorekeepers, and arbiters.
They preserve knowledge, seek wisdom, and study the
tangled threads of cause and effect. Texts are their
chosen vessel.
• Su-Menent are necromancers, priests, and advisers.
They chase the mysteries of life and death, and observe
how ruination and disaster shape the course of cultures
and nations. Uter are their chosen vessel.
• Tef-Aabhi are leaders, architects, and geomancers.
They seek power and influence through connections
and symbols of the divine, and follow the rise and
fall of great cities and monuments. Effigies are their
chosen vessel.
JUDGE
Your character declared her decree in the presence of a par-
ticular Judge as she first descended into Duat. The Judges, the 42
terrible and alien divinities assessing ma’at before whom all in Duat
must pass, hold authority over the fate of her very being. Yet faced
with their horrible majesty, your Arisen found the knowledge of
herself, of her virtues and her flaws, to hold firm and state the truth
of her soul. In doing so, she entered the service of one specific Judge.
Although there are 42 Judges, many of them deal in nar-
row or opaque sins or concepts with which even the Arisen
struggle to find resonance. Others spend long ages in seeming
dormancy, perhaps because the crimes they condemn prove
of little significance among humanity for centuries or even
millennia. Still others actively loathe the nature of the Arisen
and reject their service or even persecute them, are the losers
in struggles with other Judges for influence over Arisen ser-
vitors, or simply have no need of the Deathless. As such, the
bulk of Arisen are in the service of seven particular Judges.
Pick one Judge for your Arisen to serve. Your character
may transfer her allegiance to another Judge, although it risks
the wrath of her former master and has no guarantee of good
treatment under the new. The seven Judges most Arisen serve
are detailed in Chapter One.
• Am-Khaibit, the Eater of Shadows, judges crimes
against humanity, particularly mass murder.
• Arem-Abfu, the Final Judge, concerns itself with
crimes against the cosmos — particularly through sor-
cery and science reaching beyond humanity’s station.
• Kenemti, the Penitent, condemns crimes of blasphemy
and desecration against the sacred.
• Nebha, the Flame, judges deception and lies.
• Neheb-Ka, the One Who Unifies, concerns itself with
iniquities born from human pride and arrogance.
• Unem-Besek, the Eater of Entrails, judges the theft
of land, the denial of sustenance, and the disruption
of dominion.
• Usekh-Nemtet, the First Judge, concerns itself with
those challenging the Judges by seeking immortality,
judging even the Arisen themselves.
FAVORED ATTRIBUTES
The power of your Arisen’s soul gives her strength, re-
inforcing her mind and body in accordance with its nature.
Choose one Attribute associated with the character’s decree
and add one dot to it. This can bring her starting Attribute
rating above 5.
Returning From Death 97
 FAVORED ATTRIBUTES
Decree Favored Attributes
Ashem Composure and Stamina
Deshret Resolve and Wits
Kheru Presence and Strength
Nesrem Resolve and Stamina
Usheb Intelligence and Manipulation
PILLARS
The Rite of Return rebuilt your character’s soul even as it
bound her dying existence to the will of the Judges. Through the
power of Sekhem, an Arisen draws on the power of the fivefold
aspects of the soul to fuel supernatural prowess, invoke terrible
magic, and tap into the slumbering power of sacred relics.
The five parts of the soul are called Pillars: The Ab (heart),
the Ba (spirit), the Ka (essence), the Ren (name), and the
Sheut (shadow). Each Arisen character possesses a rating in
each Pillar, from zero to five, reflecting the strength of that
part of their soul.
You have nine dots to allocate among these five Pillars. No
Pillar can have a rating higher than that of your character’s
primary Pillar, associated with her decree.
AFFINITIES AND UTTERANCES
Your character possesses potent supernatural abilities
fueled by the necromantic power of her Deathless state.
Affinities are subtler magics, woven into the mummy’s being
by the Rite of Return. Utterances, by comparison, are spells
that can have extensive or even apocalyptic impact on the
world around the mummy, calling down terrible plagues or
invoking awful curses upon transgressors against the Judges.
Your character begins play with one Affinity dictated by
her decree, a single Affinity chosen from those of her guild,
a single Soul Affinity associated with her decree’s defining
Pillar, and one other Soul Affinity for which she meets the
prerequisites.
Pick two Utterances for your character. All Arisen also
begin play with the Dreams of Dead Gods Utterance, an
innate part of their being as vessels for the Judges’ power and
a tool for creating new cults should an old one be destroyed.
STEP SIX: ADD MERITS
Your character receives ten dots of Merits. You can spend
them on any of the Arisen Merits or general Merits for which
your character meets the prerequisites, detailed from p. XX.
98 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
These represent unusual qualities or tricks, connections and
influence, and other elements fleshing out your character’s
relationship with the wider world. Merits are a great way to
add finishing touches of color and detail to your character,
helping express who she is.
Additionally, your character gains a free dot in each of the
Cult and Tomb Merits.
STEP SEVEN: ADVANTAGES
Your character is now nearly complete. Calculate her
advantages, a set of traits determined by the choices you’ve
made thus far and by her new nature as one of the Deathless.
Defense
Defense protects your character from attack. Her Defense
rating is the lower of her Wits and Dexterity, plus her Athletics.
Health
Health, your character’s ability to soak up physical damage,
is equal to your character’s Size (usually 5 for an Arisen) plus
her Stamina.
Willpower
Willpower reflects your character’s reserves of determi-
nation and focus, and is expended to enhance dice pools or
activate affinities. Your character’s Willpower is equal to her
Resolve plus her Composure.
Initiative
Initiative, dictating the speed with which your character
reacts to threats, is equal to your character’s Dexterity plus
her Composure.
Sekhem
Sekhem is the strength of the roiling life-force contained
within your character; the vital animation imbued into her
by her return to the world of the living. Upon beginning a
new Descent, your character starts with ten dots of Sekhem
if awoken due to a Sothic Turn, decree-aligned astronomical
event, or Judge demand; eight or nine if summoned by a cult;
or seven if disturbed by tomb robbers, necromantic acts, or
similar unpleasant awakening.
Memory
Memory indicates how much of your character’s mortal
personality still persists, and how much knowledge she retains
from her former cycles of death and reincarnation. Your
character begins with three dots of Memory.
Size
As a human, your character’s Size is 5 unless another trait
modifies it in some way.
Speed
Your character’s Speed, reflecting her swiftness on foot,
is equal to her species factor (5) plus her Strength and her
Dexterity.
STEP EIGHT: EXPERIENCE
Even though your character’s Memory has suffered from
the ravages of time, her soul and nature have undergone
changes over the ages. You have ten Experiences to spend
on your character, using the table on p. XX.
You can use these on any gaps you feel need filling in
your character’s capabilities, to give mechanical weight to
the experiences you envisage her having had during previous
Descents, or to reinforce strengths to a greater degree.
FINISHING IT OFF
With your character completed, check in with the other
players and the Storyteller to discuss and build the ties that
bind your mummies’ meret together.
EARNING EXPERIENCE
Players earn Beats for their characters in a number of ways,
including those listed below. When your character gains five
Beats, they convert to one Experience. You use Experiences
to develop your character’s abilities.
BEATS
Take a Beat when your character meets one of these
criteria.
• If your character fulfills an Aspiration, take a Beat.
Replace the Aspiration at the end of the session.
• If your character makes significant progress toward a
long-term Aspiration, gain a Beat at the end of the
session.
• Once per chapter, when your character either submits
directly to the will or commands of her Judge despite it
being against her desires or beliefs, or directly disobeys
or acts against her Judge, take a Beat.
• When you resolve a Condition, per its description, take
a Beat.
• Some Conditions provide Beats for other actions than
resolution.
• Once per scene, when you fail a roll, you may opt to
make it a dramatic failure and take a Beat.
Group Beats
As an alternative to tracking Beats on an individ-
ual basis, the group can agree to use communal
Beats. Under this system, all the Beats earned
during a chapter go into a pot. At the end of the
chapter, split the Beats evenly among the players,
with any leftover remaining in the pot.
Group Beats lend themselves to physical repre-
sentation on the table, using a bowl or container
for the pot and poker chips, spare dice, or beads
for the Beats.
• If your character takes lethal damage in one of her
rightmost Health boxes, take a Beat.
• At the end of each session, take a Beat.
EXAMPLE OF
CHARACTER CREATION
A manda has decided to set up a game of Mummy and has
invited Gordon to come over and go through character
creation in the lead-up to their first proper session. She states
that the game takes place in modern day Hong Kong, with rival
cults jockeying for position and vying for control of a powerful
vessel being brought into the city from the north of China.
Gordon takes his blank character sheet, and goes through a step-
by-step process of building it up to complete the finished character.
STEP ONE:
CHARACTER CONCEPT
Amanda outlines some of the information about the setting
and the mummies that exist therein. Gordon, excited to delve
into the more adventurous side of the game, wants to play a
character who will tackle his problems head on. He decides
to play Feng Zhang Yong, a Hong Kong detective who fell
upon hard times and gave his life to one of the city’s cults,
eventually becoming the vessel for the heart of Amenhotep.
STEP TWO: ATTRIBUTES
Gordon considers Amenhotep’s Attribute priorities.
Intending to be in the thick of the action, he chooses Physical
Example of Character Creation 99
 CHARACTER CREATION QUICK REFERENCE SHEET
Step One: Concept Step Eight: Experience
Choose your character’s concept and pick three Spend 10 Experiences, using the Experience Costs table.
Aspirations.
Affinities and Utterances
Step Two: Attributes Start with your decree’s bonus Affinity, one of your
Prioritize categories and spend 5/4/3 dots by category. guild Affinities, and one Soul Affinity from your defining
Pillar. Pick one additional Soul Affinity you qualify for.
Step Three: Skills
Start with two Utterances and Dreams of Dead Gods
Prioritize categories and spend 11/7/4 dots by category.
Step Four: Skill Specialties Experience Costs
Choose three Skill Specialties. Trait Experience
Step Five: Add Arisen Template Attribute 4
Choose decree, guild, Judge, Balance and Burden, Skill 2
Touchstone, Pillars, Affinities, and Utterances. Choose
Skill Specialty 1
favored Attribute.
Merit 1
Step Six: Merits Lost Willpower Dot 1
Add ten dots of Merits, plus an additional dot in Cult
Affinity 4
and Tomb.
Utterance 4
Step Seven: Advantages
Defining Pillar 2
Willpower is equal to Resolve + Composure. Memory is 3. Size
is 5. Health is Size + Stamina. Speed is 5 + Strength + Dexterity. Other Pillar 3
Defense is the lower of Dexterity and Wits, plus Athletics. Memory 3 (Reminisce Experience Only)
Initiative is Dexterity + Composure. Sekhem begins at 10.

Guilds
Guild Vessel Guild Affinities
Maa-Kep Amulets Affable Aid, Amulet of the Envoy, Nexus of the Soul
Mesen-Nebu Regia Almsman’s Tithe, Divine Flesh, Hone the Soul
Sesha-Hebsu Texts Eyes of Justice, Loremaster’s Guile, Master of the Written Word
Su-Menent Uter Blazing Zeal, Fated Soul, Flesh-Culled Secrets
Tef-Aabhi Effigies Guardian Statue, Nest of Dolls, Model Lifeweb

Arisen Template
Decree Defining Pillar Favored Attributes Bonus Affinity
Ashem Sheut Composure and Stamina Jackal’s Shade
Deshret Ba Resolve and Wits Soaring Falcon
Kheru Ab Presence and Strength Lion’s Pride
Nesrem Ka Resolve and Stamina Guardian Bull
Usheb Ren Intelligence and Manipulation Serpent’s Tongue

100 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy

as primary. With the detective work carried out by his host,
he chooses Mental as secondary, leaving Social as tertiary.
Next, he assigns his Attribute dots. He intends for
Amenhotep to be tough and handy with a weapon so he puts
two of his five primary attribute dots into Dexterity and two
into Stamina. The final dot goes into Strength. This leaves
him with Strength 2, Dexterity 3 and Stamina 3. The four
secondary dots are allocated with two in Wits and one each
in Resolve and Intelligence, giving him Intelligence 2, Wits
3 and Resolve 2. Finally, he puts two of his tertiary dots into
Composure and the final dot into Manipulation, leaving him
with Presence 1, Manipulation 2 and Composure 3.

STEP THREE: SKILLS

Gordon now decides on the priorities of his Skills. He exam-
ines which Skills fit into which category and considers which he
wants his character to have. He puts a mark next to each skill on
the sheet in which he wants to place at least one dot. Working
down the sheet, he marks Academics, Investigation, Politics,
Athletics, Brawl, Drive, Firearms, Stealth, Weaponry, Empathy,
Intimidation, Persuasion, Streetwise, and Subterfuge.
Going over that list, he decides that Physical Skills will be
his primary, then Social then Mental.
With each of his six choices having a dot already as-
signed, Gordon has five from his eleven dots left to place in
his Physical primary Skills. He allocates his remaining dots
to end up with Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 2, Firearms 3,
Stealth 1, Weaponry 1. He spends his seven secondary dots
in Social Skills to have Empathy 1, Intimidation 2, Persuasion
1, Streetwise 2 and Subterfuge 1. Finally, he allocates his
four tertiary dots into Mental Skills to arrive at Academics
1, Investigation 2, Politics 1.

STEP FOUR: SPECIALTIES

Gordon looks over the Skills allocated to his character.
Amenhotep is beginning to take shape into a fully realized
character in this story. He uses the outline he has created so
far to begin imagining this hard-nosed Hong Kong detective
suddenly supercharged with the stern, Deathless will of
Amenhotep. He is the bloodhound of his meret and the front
line in any encounter. Honing further, he spends his three
Skill Specialties in Investigation (Detail Oriented), Firearms
(Pistols) and Intimidation (Threatening).

STEP FIVE:
ADD ARISEN TEMPLATE
First, Gordon decides on the Balance and Burden for his
character. Gordon sees Amenhotep as a fierce follower of

Example of Character Creation 101

 laws, even when they’re unjust, and chooses Resilient as his
Balance, with Stagnant as his Burden. He won’t budge on most
matters, but this has led to his clinging on to calcified views.
Gordon elects to not select a Touchstone at this stage of
his character’s existence. While this puts the mummy at risk
of struggling to gain Memory, he’s keen to roleplay the forging
of a new Touchstone in the upcoming chronicle.
Gordon now turns to the descriptions of the Judges and
discusses with Amanda as to which best suits the Concept he
formed. She advises him to choose the decree of Nesrem (Ka)
and the Judge Am-Khaibit, the Eater of Shadows.
With those choices made, Gordon decides to place Amenhotep
in the Maa-Kep guild, noting their favored vessel of amulets.
Assigning his Pillars, Gordon places three dots in his
defining Pillar of Ka. To keep the character well rounded, he
spends four more dots in making sure each other Pillar has at
least one dot. He then throws another dot each into Ab and
Sheut, giving him two dots in each.
Choosing his Affinities, Gordon records the Maa-Kep
Affinity of Affable Aid, his decree Affinity of Guardian Bull,
and picks Dominating Might as his first Soul Affinity. Finally,
he looks for a suitable Affinity to round out his character and
chooses Soulsight.
He may choose two Utterances. He decides on Awaken the
Dead and Gift of the Golden Ankh. He also notes down the
Dreams of the Dead Gods Utterance as standard for all Arisen.
STEP SIX: ADD MERITS
Gordon reads the Merits starting on p. XX. He starts with
an automatic dot in Tomb and Cult. Gordon doesn’t see his
mummy as having an elaborate Tomb, so he only spends one
dot on it. He spends two dots on Cult to represent the ser-
vants that brought the heart of Amenhotep to Hong Kong.
He spends three dots on Guild Paragon, as Amenhotep is a
respected member of the Maa-Kep. This leaves him with four
dots, which he allocates between Contacts and Resources,
to reflect Feng’s — the cop whose body he now inhabits —
former life, income, and connections among the police force.
STEP SEVEN: ADVANTAGES
Together, Amanda and Gordon run through the list of
Advantages to ensure they’re recorded accurately:
Gordon begins by recording Amenhotep’s standard
Memory 3 and Size 5. Having just reawakened in a new body,
his Sekhem is 10 (unless the Storyteller deems it lower by
means of an unusual awakening).
With Dexterity and Wits both at 3 and Athletics at 2, his
starting Defense is 5.
102 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Noting his Size of 5 and Stamina of 3 he records his starting
Health at 8.
Adding his Resolve and Composure he notes his Willpower at 5.
His Dexterity of 3 and Composure of 2 set Amenhotep’s
Initiative at 5.
His Strength of 2 and Dexterity of 3, plus the species factor
of 5, set his Speed at 10.
STEP EIGHT: EXPERIENCE
Amanda informs Gordon that his character has ten
Experiences to start off with. He notes that Skills cost 2
points per dot and decides to spend 4 points increasing his
Investigation skill to 4, leaving him with 6. He then does the
same with Intimidation and adds a dot into Firearms, as those
are the Skills he has Specialties in and gives him a better
synergy for the character’s high level of ability in those areas.
STEP NINE: RETURN TO LIFE
With Amenhotep safely transplanted into his new body,
Gordon is ready to begin his new, eternal life of service to his chosen
Judge of Duat. Amanda goes through a “session zero” with him
in which they go over the reasons for Amenhotep’s arrival in this
new place and together they set up the character to be Gordon’s
chosen vessel in exploring the world of Mummy: The Curse.
BALANCE
A mummy gains a Willpower point any time they overcome
a challenge to affirm their Balance. They regain all lost
Willpower when overcoming something incredibly risky or
philosophically challenging to their Balance.
Here are some examples of Balances you could use, or
create your own based on these ideas. Each includes a de-
scription and sample actions that could cause a Mummy to
recover Willpower.
Courageous
Courageous mummies dive headfirst into danger or dif-
ficulty of any kind. They’re willing to bravely stand before
any dire threat.
Single Willpower: Don’t back down in the face of some-
thing terribly dangerous.
All Willpower: Purposefully throw yourself into danger
that will most likely lead to death or defeat.
Devoted
A devoted mummy has chosen who and what they are
loyal to and never falters. They 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.
Diligent
Diligent mummies have specificity in their actions. They
are careful, precise, and take their time. Their hard work
results in grand perfection.
Single Willpower: You take your time in creating the per-
fect plan and because all details were sorted nothing goes wrong.
All Willpower: You’re able to remember a small detail that
no-one else can remember, saving you all from certain doom.
Faithful
Faithful mummies are full of not only spiritual faith but
also faith that things happen as they are meant to. A faithful
mummy is always on the right path, and can never be led
astray from their beliefs.
Single Willpower: Something happens that shakes your
beliefs but you stand your ground.
All Willpower: A devastating mistake you’ve made makes
you question your beliefs but you return to them after much
internal anguish.
Generous
A generous mummy is always willing to give of themselves
to others. They believe what they own is what everyone owns,
and are ready to give everything away.
Single Willpower: You’ve just given away all your money
and you need to buy something for the next scene.
All Willpower: You’ve been tricked into giving a valued
possession to an enemy and you don’t try to get it back.
Introspective
Introspective mummies know themselves incredibly well.
This gives them an inner strength that they call on in times
of need.
Single Willpower: Some time alone allows you to come
up with a solution to the group’s problem.
All Willpower: Meditation in an incredibly chaotic en-
vironment gives you an insight nobody else notices.
Just
A just mummy notices the injustice of the world more than
others, and finds ways to restore it. They believe in acting in
just ways, culturally, spiritually, and socially.
Single Willpower: Stand up for someone being treated
unjustly at great risk of harm to yourself.
All Willpower: Stand up for a group being treated unjustly
at great risk to you, your friends, and the group.
Noble
A noble mummy is filled with idealistic intent; a nobility
not in riches but in action. They believe in following higher
principles in all they do.
Single Willpower: Adhere to your beliefs even though it
puts you in danger.
All Willpower: Adhere to your beliefs even though it puts
someone you love in danger.
Peaceful
Peaceful mummies mean to extend ideas and actions of
peace before those of disharmony. They seek to inspire peace
in others by being peaceful themselves.
Single Willpower: You’re injured by someone who attacks
you violently because you chose to be peaceful in action.
All Willpower: You inspire an enemy to be peaceful
instead of violent.
Resilient
A resilient mummy has been made strong by experiencing
difficulty beyond measure. Not much shakes them, and the
things most people find terrible they’re able to roll off their
shoulders.
Single Willpower: You’re able to comfort someone after
a horrific experience you both had.
All Willpower: You’re able to do something nobody else
in your group can because it horrifies them too much.
Righteous
A righteous mummy believes in a right and a wrong, and
is always striving to do the right thing according to their ide-
ologies. Their morality drives their good actions.
Single Willpower: You’re able to accomplish something
by doing it the righteous way, even though the morally gray
way is easier.
All Willpower: You do something that is so righteous an
entire town creates a memorial in your honor.
Trustworthy
A trustworthy mummy exudes a feeling of trust to those
around them. Others can rely on them to keep secrets, follow
through on promises, and keep things safe.
Single Willpower: Protect another, who trusts you, under
duress.
All Willpower: Go through extreme hardship to fulfill a
promise to another.
Balance 103
 Truthful
Truthful mummies find it very hard to lie, they are honest
to a fault; truthfulness is the more virtuous act.
Single Willpower: Telling the truth causes you to get
deeper into trouble.
All Willpower: Telling the truth reveals something that
an enemy immediately uses against you or someone you love.
BURDEN
Dominant
A dominant mummy is mimicking behaviors of the op-
pressors they feel echoing through the centuries. They must
subdue those around them because they are superior.
Single Willpower: Lord your power over someone.
All Willpower: Lord your power over someone you love.
Forgetful
A forgetful mummy cannot retain memory as easily any-
more as a side effect of their Rite of Return. They forget key

M ummies have experienced truly horrific events that echo

in their subconscious through time, regardless of what
body and consciousness they find themselves in. Every time
things at important moments.
Single Willpower: You’ve forgotten a small but important
detail, someone’s name or occupation.
a mummy gives into a Burden, they regain one Willpower.
All Willpower: You’ve forgotten something intrinsic
When they become lost in their Burden for several scenes to
about someone you care about.
their detriment, they regain all Willpower.
Accusing Fragile
A fragile mummy wallows in the weakness of their con-
An accusing mummy is eager to blame all around them
dition. They cannot accept their fragile state, and it only
for what’s wrong in their life. Everybody is guilty but them.
reinforces their own helplessness.
Single Willpower: Lash out at someone about something
Single Willpower: Do not take action at a pivotal
neutral they just did.
moment.
All Willpower: Blame everyone around you for something
All Willpower: Convinced you’ll be hurt; don’t help
that is clearly your fault.
someone when they need it.
Careless
Hysterical
A careless mummy takes actions without thought or dis-
A hysterical mummy is upset to the point where they’ve
cipline since caring would hurt too much. They care not for
lost control of all emotions. They’re eager to take things out
themselves or those around them.
on those around them.
Single Willpower: Act without care for yourself or others.
Single Willpower: Lash out with any emotion you’re
All Willpower: Hurt someone through your careless feeling just then.
actions and do not try to make repairs.
All Willpower: Blame your feelings on someone close
Chaotic by — gaslighting them.
A chaotic mummy is dangerously unpredictable so as Isolated
to cope with their chaotic circumstances. They lash out at
An isolated mummy has separated themselves from their
everyone around them and make risky nonsensical choices.
community and everyone they care about for fear of sharing
Single Willpower: Behave in a way that unpredictably their burden. They cannot connect.
harms someone else.
Single Willpower: Distance yourself from those around
All Willpower: Your unpredictability causes you severe you.
physical damage.
All Willpower: Isolate yourself from an important scene.
Cruel
Rageful
A cruel mummy takes pleasure in hurting others. Often
A mummy in a rage no longer contains or manages their
what they’re angry about inside themselves is what they take
immense anger. They lash out at those around them, and if
out on others.
they’re lucky they channel it into an enemy.
Single Willpower: Say unkind things to a stranger.
Single Willpower: Indulge in an anger-filled outrage.
All Willpower: Say unkind things to a friend.
All Willpower: Take your anger out on someone you
care about.

104 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy

Resentful
A resentful mummy is incapable of forgiveness, especially
inside themselves. They hold a hard grudge against someone
for something they’ve recently done, projecting this feeling
onto everyone around them.
Single Willpower: You’re unable to forgive someone a
small slight against you.
All Willpower: You decide to hold a grudge that will last
a long time after an action someone takes against you.
Selfish
Selfish mummies no longer see or care for those around
them because their burden is so great. They go deep inside
and the world is full of enemies.
Single Willpower: Do something outrageous for yourself
regardless of the hurt it causes someone else.
All Willpower: Purposefully abandon someone in a time
of need.
Stagnant
A stagnant mummy has an inability to adapt to their
current surroundings. They become overwhelmed with the
changing world, and become stagnant.
Single Willpower: Refuse to adapt to a small change that
would improve your life.
All Willpower: Refuse to adapt to a huge change that
would improve the lives of those around you.
MERITS
T his section details a number of Merits, starting with those re-
stricted to the Arisen themselves. General Merits, available
to both Arisen and mortal characters, start on p. XX. Where a
Merit has a listed prerequisite, a character must possess those
traits at the listed dot ratings or higher to purchase the Merit.
SANCTITY OF MERITS
Many Merits reflect impermanent elements of your charac-
ter, particularly in the case of the timeless Arisen. Allies may
perish, resources squandered, and prestige be forgotten. Unlike
Attributes or Skills, it’s quite possible for a character to lose
their Merits during the process of play. The Experiences spent
on those Merits, however, remain. If your character loses Merit
dots for any reason, you can replace them with other appropriate
Merit dots at the end of the chapter. For example, if your char-
acter had a dot of Contacts among the journalist community
but, due to the passage of the years at the beginning of a new
Descent, her old acquaintances have now died or retired, you
can reallocate that dot of Contacts to another Merit.
With Storyteller permission, you can reimburse a Merit that
no longer makes sense for your character with the Experiences
originally paid for it. This is not an option to exploit temporary
Merits then cash them back out again in the short term; use it
only for a Merit that has genuinely run its course in the narrative.
Cults are central to the power of the Arisen, the key means
through which the Deathless defeats the march of time and
returns again and again. Every Arisen possesses the sorcerous
power, the Dreams of Dead Gods Utterance, and can therefore
recreate a new Cult Merit even should her existing cult be
utterly destroyed during her death cycle.
MERIT TAGS
In addition to their dot cost, some Merits have additional
tags denoting additional rules. These tags are:
• Cult: These Merits are purchased and used by a cult
or an individual character.
• Cult Only: These Merits may only be purchased and
used by a cult.
• Style: These Merits provide a unique advantage at each dot
level. Characters gain all benefits at their dot level or below.
TIMELESS MERITS
These Merits are only available to mummies and other
immortal entities.
Artisan’s Aptitude (•••)
Prerequisite: Specialty in a guild’s relics.
Effect: Your character’s talent with their guild’s favored
relics is legendary. When spending Willpower to increase a
dice pool involving these relics, they also gain an exceptional
success on three successes instead of five.
Balanced (•••)
Effect: Your character’s heart is light as a feather. She
revels in her eternal existence, juggling the needs of her
personal identity and her duties to her Judge with ease. The
character possesses two Balances, and may use either one to
recover Willpower. The frequency of replenishing Willpower
through Balance remains unchanged. Once per chapter, when
fulfilling both Balances within a single scene, the character
gains a Pillar point of her choice.
Blue Lotus Pillar (•••)
Prerequisite: Defining Pillar •••••
Effect: Your character’s defining Pillar is particularly po-
tent, enhancing the unique Affinity of their decree.
Merits 105
 Ashem: When Disembodied, the Jackal benefits from a
single Manifestation or Numen, fueled by their Pillars.
Deshret: The Falcon may also apply the benefits of their
gift to mundane rolls that directly fulfill their own Aspirations.
Kheru: When absorbing the emotions of others, the Lion
may also absorb a Willpower point, even if it brings them over
their usual maximum.
Nesrem: The armor provided when the Bull seals the flesh
increases by 1, and by spending a Willpower point, they may give
this protection to their Touchstone for a scene with a touch.
Usheb: While the Serpent retains the Informed Condition,
they may spend a point of Willpower to use its benefit when un-
leashing an Utterance targeting the character instead of a Skill.
Cult (• to •••••)
Effect: Your character is revered and loyally served by a cult,
either as a god or a representative of higher powers. This cult acts
as their hands in the world while they slumber, tending to their
tomb and furthering their interests in the mummy’s absence.
The initial dot of Cult allows a player to create a cult (p. XX),
including the custom Scorpion Cult Initiation Merit possessed
by cult members. Each additional dot purchased increases the
size and influence of the cult, boosting either their Reach or
Grasp by 1. The cult’s Dominance rating grants the character a
bonus to Social rolls when dealing with members of their own
guild, capped at +5. Multiple Arisen may pool their points in
this Merit to increase the size and influence of their shared cult.
However, Reach and Grasp may only be increased beyond 5
with Cult Experiences, and requires a higher Dominance rating.
Dead Celebrity (• to •••)
Effect: At one time, your character was somebody famous,
but everyone knows they’re dead now. The identity reflected
by this Merit was famous or infamous at one time, as per the
Fame Merit. In the current age, the impression left by that
identity continues to influence people. Whenever someone
notices the resemblance to the celebrity, the character gains
a bonus equal to their dots in this Merit on Social rolls rele-
vant to the character’s impression of the celebrity. A beloved
performer may gain this benefit on Expression or Socialize
rolls, while a feared tyrant may benefit on Intimidation rolls.
Substitute Fame for this Merit when playing while the identity
was “alive” and famous, such as during flashbacks.
Drawback: Your character draws the scrutiny of conspira-
cy theorists obsessed with uncovering your secrets and baring
them to the world. This Merit has no effect in times before
their identity was famous.
Dead Flesh (•• or ••••)
Effect: Your character’s sahu endures long after most
would have crumbled. Whenever your character suffers
106 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
aggravated damage from upgraded lethal damage, they or
their allies may spend two turns tending to the wound to
downgrade one point of aggravated damage suffered within
the current scene to lethal. Tending the wound involves reat-
taching lost limbs and wrapping them to hold them in place.
A mummy may only do this twice per scene, taking no other
actions during the process. The four dot version of the Merit
allows them to treat wounds caused by sources of immediate
aggravated damage, although it requires a Pillar point and flesh
from another body to replace that which was lost.
Endless Potency (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: Endless
The immortal channels her Sekhem into inborn ability.
When purchasing this Merit, choose an Attribute. By spending
a dot of Sekhem, the character increases that Attribute by the
Merit’s dot value, including derived traits, for the remainder
of the scene. Activating this Merit can take her above her
normal Attribute dot limit (usually 5). Invested immortals
may spend Pillars to activate this Merit instead of Sekhem.
This may be used once per Attribute per scene.
Notes: You may take this Merit multiple times, each
purchase representing a different Attribute.
Enigma (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: No Fame
Effect: Fate conspires to hide your character’s existence
from the scrutiny of others. Books burn as mysterious flames
erupt, carvings fade or crumble, and computer files become
corrupted. Mundane actions to investigate or track your char-
acter suffer a −2 penalty, and the scope of the investigation
requires additional Clues equal to your dots in this Merit. If
the character actively seeks to cover their tracks, any Clues
uncovered on a failed roll are tainted instead of incomplete.
Attempts to perceive a mummy hiding or moving stealthily
are unaffected. A mummy’s cult is unhindered, instead gain-
ing bonus dice equal to the dots in this Merit to locate their
sovereign.
Fount of Vitality (••••)
Prerequisite: No Pillar at 0 (mummies), Sekhem ••• or
invested Pillars (immortals)
Effect: The Sekhem flowing through your character’s soul
bolsters their flesh against injury.
Sealing the flesh lasts for two additional turns for mum-
mies. By spending a point of Willpower and maintaining
physical contact, the Arisen may seal the flesh of their invested
cultist instead of their own. The mummy loses their Defense
and may not seal their own flesh while aiding their cultist in
this manner. The cultist loses a point of Willpower for each
turn the effect is maintained.
 Barring unique effects from their particular form of im-
mortality, the Endless suffer damage as mortals do, but the
character with this Merit recovers from injuries as quickly as
the Deathless.
Funerary Text (• to •••••)
Effect: Whether as an inscribed amulet, a painstakingly
copied scroll, or hieroglyphics etched into the walls, your
character’s tomb is equipped with a record of the Trials of
Duat. Whenever your character enters henet within their
tomb, they gaze upon this text, carrying its wisdom with them.
The player may ask a number of yes or no questions, such as
the examples below, over the course of their Trials equal to
their dots in this Merit, which must be answered truthfully.
• Is this person a fiend in disguise?
• Are they lying to me?
• Is my compassion being tested here?
• Is this detail significant?
Guild Paragon (•••)
Effect: Your character’s skills are indispensable to your
guild. With the expenditure of a Willpower point, they stretch
their talents to preternatural levels.
• Maa-Kep: When functioning as a secondary actor in a
teamwork action, the character gains 8-again on their
roll. If the primary actor gains an exceptional success,
the Dapifer regains a point of Willpower.
• Mesen-Nebu: By handling an object for a turn, the
Alchemist identifies its composition and any value or prop-
erties the materials might provide, giving them a +2 bonus
on rolls to repair or damage the item. They may shape the
materials into a curio, which may be used as soft leverage.
If accepted, the recipient also gains the Inspired Condition.
• Sesha-Hebsu: When the Diplomat mediates a dispute
between two Arisen, or amongst members of their
cult, any Social rolls count as an exceptional success
on three successes. If the mediation succeeds, the
character’s impression level advances one stage for
both parties.
• Su-Menent: By touching anything dead, the
Necromancer may render it immune to the ravages of
time and natural decay for the remainder of the story.
Such a cadaver gives a +2 bonus to any attempts to
glean information from it.
• Tef-Aabhi: The Geomancer recognizes whenever they
enter the Lifeweb of a tomb, sacred architecture, or
naturally occurring places of mystical power. Provided
the area isn’t cursed or unholy, they may carefully alter
the surroundings to create the Hallowed Ground Tilt.
The Tilt persists for one day per hour spent.
Interstitial Lives (• or ••)
Effect: At one dot, Fate links your mummy to another
of the Deathless, whether friend, rival, or enemy. Whenever
the linked mummy arises, your character awakens at the same
Sekhem level without a purpose to direct them, receiving
instead a vision of the linked mummy. Players may choose to
link to their character’s meret bond instead of an individual
Arisen, awakening whenever any member arises.
At two dots, the link also serves as an anchor for the
character’s fleeting memories, giving a +2 bonus to breaking
point and Memory rolls incurred in their presence.
Overburdened (•••)
Effect: Endless years and duties to the Judges weigh heavily
on your character. He bears two Burdens, and may labor under
either one when regaining Willpower. Once per chapter, the
mummy may regain a Pillar point of their choice by enduring
both Burdens in a single scene.
Relic Sensitivity (••)
Effect: Your character is more sensitive to the presence of
relics than their peers. Endless with this Merit are capable of
benefiting from kepher like mummies, while the Arisen gain
a +2 bonus on such rolls.
Resonant Lifetime (•••)
Effect: One of your character’s Descents has left its mark
on his soul and informed his identity. No matter how many
lifetimes your character lives, that one Descent remains as
crystal clear as his last. This is never their mortal life in Irem.
A mummy may not purchase this Merit more than once, but
when assuming the body of a mortal cultist, they may choose
to replace the remembered lifetime with that of the cultist.
Resplendent Soul (•••)
Prerequisite: Affected Pillar ••• (mummies), Sekhem
•• (immortals)
Effect: One of the Pillars of your soul shines brightly. This
Merit may only be taken once.
Mummies receive a secondary defining Pillar. While
this provides none of the benefits of the associated decree,
they recover spent points more easily. Whenever they fully
replenish their defining Pillar by affirming their decree, they
also replenish a point of this Pillar.
An immortal’s Sekhem refines one of their soul’s Pillars
into a palpable manifestation. The immortal has a single
Merits 107
 Pillar rated at one dot, which they may utilize like the Arisen.
Lacking a decree, they may only replenish this Pillar through
vestiges and meditation using their Composure as a dice pool.
Additional Pillars require investment from the Arisen.
Supernatural Resistance
(• to •••••, Supernatural Merit)
Prerequisite: Endless or Sadikh
Immortality has left its mark on your character, making her
aware of the supernatural’s effects on the world and attuning
her to the flow of Sekhem in all things. This Merit acts as a
Supernatural Tolerance trait, which stacks with their Sekhem rat-
ing when resisting other powers, but not during a Clash of Wills.
Tenacious Eternity (••••)
Effect: All immortals are Endless, but for unknown rea-
sons, your curse is more lenient than that suffered by others
of your kind.
Blood Bather: Your character may choose to change the
Bath, Blood, or Preparation component of their bathing ritual to
match what’s currently available. Only one component may be
altered during the performance of the ritual. By spending a point
of Willpower, the alteration to the ritual becomes permanent.
Body Thief: Within a stolen body, your character benefits
from 1/1 Armor.
Eternal: Your character’s anchor gains +2 Durability.
Reborn: All attempts to supernaturally remove or alter
your character’s memories suffer a −3 penalty.
Sadikh: As long as your character upholds their Arisen
master’s orders, they may resist the lure of the false life
indefinitely.
Tomb (Special)
Effect: A mummy’s tomb provides a bastion against the
outside world and the inexorable march of eternity. A place of
security, a mummy may center herself and rest when the weight
of ages grows too great to bear. The first dot applies to Geometry,
but each additional dot may be applied to Geometry, Peril, or
Provisions (p. XX). Geometry is limited to five dots in total, but
Peril and Provisions may both be increased beyond that point.
A meret may pool their dots for a shared tomb if they wish.
GENERAL MERITS
Unless specified otherwise, these Merits may be taken by
any character.
Allies (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: Allies help your character. They might be friends,
employees, associates, or people your character has black-
mailed. Each instance of this Merit represents one type of
108 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
ally. This could be an organization, a society, a clique, or an
individual. You can take this Merit multiple times to represent
different Allies. Your character might have Allies (Cornell
College) ••, Allies (Grand Egyptian Museum) •••, and
Allies (Shore Porters Society) •.
Each dot represents a level of influence in the group. One
dot constitutes small favors and passing influence. Three
offers considerable influence, such as the police overlooking
a misdemeanor charge. Five dots stretches the limits of the
organization’s influence with its leaders putting their own
influence on the line for the character. This could include
things such as massive insider trading or fouling up a felony
investigation. No matter the request, it must be something
that organization could accomplish.
The Storyteller assigns a rating between one and five to
any favor asked. A character can ask for favors that add up to
her Allies rating without penalty in one chapter. If she extends
her influence beyond that, the player rolls Manipulation +
Persuasion + Allies, with a penalty equal to the favor’s rating.
If the roll is successful, the group does as requested. Failed
or successful, the character loses a dot of Allies (Sanctity of
Merits still applies). On a dramatic failure, the organization
resents her and seeks retribution. On an exceptional success,
she doesn’t lose the dot.
One additional favor a character can ask of her Allies is to
block another character’s Allies, Contacts, Mentor, Retainer,
or Status (if she knows the character possesses the relevant
Merit). The favor’s rating is equal to the Merit dots blocked.
As before, no roll is necessary unless the target’s Merit exceeds
the character’s Allies. If the block succeeds, the target cannot
use the blocked Merit during the same chapter.
Alternate Identity (•, ••, or •••)
Effect: Your character has established an alternate mun-
dane identity. The level of this Merit determines the amount
of scrutiny it can withstand. At one dot, the identity is su-
perficial and unofficial. For example, your character uses an
alias with a simple costume and adopts an accent. He hasn’t
established the necessary paperwork to even approach a bu-
reaucratic background check, let alone pass. At two dots, he’s
supported his identity with paperwork and identification. It’s
not liable to stand up to extensive research, but it turns away
private investigators and internet hobbyists. At three dots, the
identity passes thorough inspection. The identity has been
deeply entrenched in relevant databases, with subtle flourishes
and details to make it seem real even to trained professionals.
Additionally, the Merit reflects time the character has
spent honing his persona. At one or two dots, he gains a
one-die bonus to all Subterfuge rolls to defend the identity.
At three dots, he gains +2 instead.
 You can purchase this Merit multiple times, each time
representing an additional identity.
Anonymity (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: Cannot have Fame.
Effect: Your character lives off the grid. Perhaps her cult
failed to maintain proper paperwork in anticipation of her
return, leaving her with no legal identity. This means she
must make purchases with cash or falsified credit cards. She
avoids any official authoritative influence in her affairs. Any
attempts to find her by paper trail suffer a one-die penalty
per dot purchased in this Merit.
Drawbacks: Your character cannot purchase the Fame
Merit. This also may limit Status purchases, if the character
cannot provide sufficient identification for the roles she
wishes to take.
Area of Expertise (•)
Prerequisite: Resolve •• and one Skill Specialty
Effect: Your character is uncommonly specialized in one
area. Choose a Specialty to assign to this Merit. Forgo the +1
bonus afforded by a Specialty, in exchange for a +2.
Common Sense (•••)
Effect: Your character has an exceptionally sound and
rational mind. With a moment’s thought, she can weigh
potential courses of action and outcomes.
Once per session as an instant action, you may ask the
Storyteller one of the following questions about a task at hand
or course of action. Roll Wits + Composure. If you succeed,
the Storyteller must answer to the best of her ability. If you
fail, you get no answer. With an exceptional success, you
can ask an additional question. With dramatic failure, the
Storyteller can give you a piece of false advice. If you follow
that “intuition” regardless of risk, take a Beat.
• What is the worst choice?

• What do I stand to lose here?

• What’s the safest choice?

• Am I chasing a worthless lead?

Contacts (•, Cult)

Effect: Contacts provide your character with information.
Each instance of this Merit represents a sphere or organization
with which the character can garner information. Contacts
do not provide services, only information. This may be face-
to-face, via email, by telephone, or even through a séance.
Garnering information via Contacts requires a
Manipulation + Social Skill roll, depending on the method

Merits 109
 the character uses, and the relationship between the charac-
ters. The Storyteller should give a bonus or penalty, dependent
on how relevant the information is to that particular Contact,
whether accessing the information is dangerous, and if the
character has maintained good relations or done favors for
the Contact. These modifiers should range from −3 to +3 in
most cases. If successful, the Contact provides the information.
You may purchase this Merit multiple times to reflect
different sources.
Danger Sense (••)
Effect: You gain a +2 modifier on reflexive Wits +
Composure rolls for your character to detect an impending
ambush. Your character’s reflexes are honed to the point
where nothing is shocking.
Demolisher (• to •••)
Prerequisites: Strength or Intelligence •••
Effect: Your character has an innate feel for the weak
points in objects. When damaging an object, she ignores one
point of the object’s Durability per dot in this Merit.
Devotees (•••, Cult Only)
Effect: Your followers are particularly devoted to their
Doctrines. Increase the cult’s Fidelity track by 1.
Direction Sense (•)
Effect: Your character has an innate sense of direction,
and is always aware of her location in space. She always knows
which cardinal direction she faces, and never suffers penalties
to navigate or find her way in the mundane world.
Eidetic Memory (••)
Prerequisite: Not an Arisen.
Effect: Your character recalls events and details with
pinpoint accuracy. You do not have to make rolls for your
character to remember past experiences. When making
Intelligence + Composure (or relevant Skill) rolls to recall
minute facts from swaths of information, take a +2 bonus.
Encyclopedic Knowledge (••)
Effect: Choose a Skill. Due to an immersion in academia,
pop culture, or a hobby obsession, your character has collected
limitless factoids about the topic, even if she has no dots in
the Skill.
You can make an Intelligence + Wits roll any time your
character is dealing with her area of interest. On a successful
roll, the Storyteller must give a relevant fact or detail about
the issue at hand. Your character knows this fact, but you
must explain within the scope of your character’s background
why she knows it. For example, for Encyclopedic Knowledge
110 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
(Academics): “Yeah, there were 300 Spartans at Thermopylae.
There were also many other warriors. I was among them.”
Mummies unable to explain how they know such things often
find the trivia surfacing in their minds without warning.
Etiquette (• to •••••; Style)
Prerequisites: Composure •••, Socialize ••
Effect: Your character knows her way around society,
customs, and traditions. More importantly, she can use this
talent to make or break reputations. This Merit applies to any
social interactions where etiquette, style, poise, and reputation
carry weight, and uses the Social Maneuvering rules on p. XX.
Bless His Heart (•): Your character always considers
her words well. No matter how vile, the things she says come
off as defensible and respectful. When a character engages
yours in a Social interaction, you may opt to use your char-
acter’s Socialize score instead of the lower of her Resolve and
Composure to determine her starting Doors.
Losing Your Religion (••): When your character lets
loose and insults someone, she leaves mouths agape. When
tearing down a target verbally, use 8-again, and take a two-die
bonus to the roll. Afterward, move the interaction one step
down on the impressions chart.
In High Cotton (•••): Your character cultivates standing
and respect, and carries it like a knight wears armor. You may
apply one relevant Status or Fame Merit to rolls contesting
Social interactions. Other Merits may apply with Storyteller
permission.
Half-Cocked (••••): Your character is always prepared.
On the other hand, others are not. In a new Social interaction,
if the impression is good, excellent, or perfect, ignore the
subject’s Resolve and Composure on the first roll.
Grace Under Fire (•••••): While your character may
not always win, she never looks bad. If a character opens
all her Doors, and you opt to offer an alternative, his player
chooses three Conditions. You choose which one your char-
acter receives.
Fame (• to •••)
Effect: Your character is recognized within a certain
sphere, for a certain skill, or because of some past action or
stroke of luck. This can mean favors and attention, but it can
also mean negative attention and scrutiny. When choosing
the Merit, define for what your character is known. One dot
reflects local recognition or reputation within a confined
subculture. Two dots results in regional recognition by a wide
swath of people. Three dots results in worldwide recognition
by anyone who might have been exposed to the source of the
fame. Each dot adds a die to any Social rolls among those your
character’s celebrity impresses.
 Drawback: Rolls to find or identify the character in the
mundane world enjoy a one-die bonus per dot of the Merit.
If the character has Alternate Identity, she can mitigate this
drawback. A character with Fame cannot have the Anonymity
or Enigma Merits.
Fanatical (••, Cult Only)
Effect: Nothing sways your cult from the higher cause they
have pledged their lives and souls to upholding. When they
act, they build momentum to push ever further, conquering
all obstacles in their way. Whenever they take a cult action
beyond the limits of their Dominance, they gain a +2 bonus
to Reach and Grasp for the action.
Drawback: Progress is an addictive experience, and in
the absence of direct guidance, the cult acts to fulfill their
impression of their sovereign’s will, leading inexorably towards
schisms over interpretations or strategies. Whenever they
take a cult action beyond the limits of their Dominance, they
also suffer an additional point of bashing damage to Fidelity.
Fast Reflexes (• to •••)
Prerequisite: Wits ••• or Dexterity •••
Effect: Gain +1 Initiative per dot.
Fast-Talking (• to •••••; Style)
Prerequisites: Manipulation •••, Subterfuge ••
Effect: Your character talks circles around listeners. She
speaks a mile a minute and often leaves her targets reeling,
but nodding in agreement.
Always Be Closing (•): With the right leading phrases,
your character directs a mark to say what she wants, when she
wants. This trips the mark into vulnerable positions. When a
mark contests or resists your character’s Social interactions,
apply a –1 to his Resolve or Composure.
Jargon (••): Your character confuses her mark using
complex terminology. You may apply one relevant Specialty
to any Social roll you make, even if the Specialty isn’t tied to
the Skill in use.
Devil’s Advocacy (•••): Your character often poses ar-
guments she doesn’t agree with, challenging a mark’s position
and keeping him from advancing discussion. You can reroll
one failed Subterfuge roll per scene.
Salting (••••): Your character positions herself so that
a mark pursues a non-issue or something unimportant to
her. When your character opens a Door using conversation
(Persuasion, Subterfuge, Empathy, etc.), you may spend a
Willpower point to immediately open another Door.
Patron’s Privilege (•••••): Your character takes ad-
vantage of her mark’s greed or zeal. When the mark does
particularly well, it’s because your character was there to set
him up and to subsequently tear him down. If a target regains
Willpower from his Vice or similar trait while your character is
present, you may immediately roll Manipulation + Subterfuge
to open a Door, regardless of the interval or impression level.
Fighting Finesse (••)
Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, a Specialty in Weaponry
or Brawl
Effect: Choose a Specialty in Weaponry or Brawl when
you purchase this Merit. Your character’s extensive training
in that particular weapon or style has allowed them to benefit
more from their alacrity and agility than their strength. You
may substitute your character’s Dexterity for her Strength
when making rolls with that Specialty.
You can purchase this Merit multiple times to gain its
benefit with multiple Specialties.
Fixer (••)
Prerequisites: Contacts ••, Wits •••
Effect: Your character is “people who knows people”.
She can not only get in touch with the right people to do a
job, but she can get them at the best possible prices. When
hiring a service (p. XX), reduce the Availability score of the
service by one dot.
Fleet of Foot (• to •••)
Prerequisite: Athletics ••
Effect: Gain +1 Speed per dot, and anyone pursuing your
character suffers a −1 per dot to any foot chase rolls.
Giant (•••)
Effect: At Size 6, your character is massive and gains +1
Health. She’s well over six feet tall, and crowds part when
she approaches. Normally this is only available at character
creation, but bizarre curses could cause it as well.
Drawback: Buying clothing is a nightmare. Fitting into
small spaces is difficult at best.
Indomitable (••)
Prerequisite: Resolve •••
Your character possesses an iron will. The powers of the
supernatural have little bearing on her behavior. She can stand
up to a vampire’s mind control, a witch’s charms, or a ghost’s
gifts of fright. Any time a supernatural creature uses a power
to influence your character’s thoughts or emotions, add two
dice to the dice pool to contest it. If the roll is resisted, instead
subtract two dice from the monster’s dice pool. Note that this
only affects mental influence and manipulation from a super-
natural origin. A vampire with a remarkable Manipulation +
Persuasion score is just as likely to convince your character
to do something using mundane tricks.
Merits 111
 Inspiring (•••)
Prerequisites: Presence •••
Effect: Your character’s passion inspires those around her
to greatness. With a few words, she can redouble a group’s
confidence or move them to action.
Make a Presence + Expression roll. A small group of listen-
ers levies a −1 penalty, a small crowd a −2, and a large crowd
a −3. Listeners gain the Inspired Condition. The character
may not use this Merit on herself.
Interdisciplinary Specialty (•)
Prerequisites: Skill at ••• or higher with a Specialty
Effect: Choose a Specialty that your character possesses
when you purchase this Merit. You can apply the +1 from
that Specialty on any Skill with at least one dot, provided
it’s justifiable within the scope of the fiction. For example, a
doctor with a Medicine Specialty in Anatomy may be able to
use it when targeting a specific body part with Weaponry, but
could not with a general strike.
Iron Stamina (• to •••)
Prerequisites: Stamina ••• or Resolve •••
Effect: Each dot eliminates a negative modifier (on a one-
for-one basis) when resisting the effects of fatigue or injury.
For example: A character with Iron Stamina •• can ignore
up to a −2 modifier brought on by fatigue. The Merit also
counteracts the effects of wound penalties. So, if all of your
character’s Health boxes are filled (which normally imposes a
−3 penalty to his actions) and he has Iron Stamina •, reduce
those penalties to −2. This Merit cannot be used to gain pos-
itive modifiers for actions, only to cancel out negative ones.
Language (•)
Effect: Your character is skilled with an additional lan-
guage, beyond her native tongue. Your character can speak,
read, and write in that language.
Choose a new language each time you buy this Merit.
Mummies, possessing an unnatural aptitude for language
acquisition, choose two languages.
Library (• to •••, Cult)
Effect: Your character has access to a plethora of infor-
mation about a given topic. When purchasing this Merit,
choose a Mental Skill. The Library covers that purview. On
any extended roll involving the Skill in question, add the
dots in this Merit.
You can purchase this Merit multiple times to reflect
different Skills.
112 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Mentor (• to •••••)
Effect: Your character has a teacher providing advice and
guidance, acting on your character’s behalf, often in the back-
ground, and sometimes without your character’s knowledge.
While Mentors can be highly competent, they want something
in return for their services. The dot rating determines the
Mentor’s capabilities, and to what extent he aids your character.
When establishing a Mentor, determine what the Mentor
wants from your character. This should be personally import-
ant to him, and it should reflect the dot rating chosen. A one-
dot Mentor might be incapable of dealing with modern society,
and want to live vicariously through your character. This
might mean coming to him and telling stories of her exploits.
A five-dot Mentor would want something astronomical, such
as an oath to procure an ancient, cursed artifact that may or
may not exist, to prevent a prophesized death.
Choose three Skills the Mentor possesses. You can sub-
stitute Resources for one of these Skills. Once per session,
the character may ask her Mentor for a favor. The favor
must involve one of those Skills, or be within the scope of his
Resources. The Mentor commits the favor (often asking for
a commensurate favor in return), and if a roll is required, the
Mentor is automatically considered to have successes equal
to his dot rating. Alternately, you may ask the Storyteller to
have the Mentor act on your character’s behalf, without her
knowing or initiating the request.
Observance (••, Cult Only)
Effect: The cult engages in a particular rite every month
at their sovereign’s tomb, reaffirming their dedication and
strengthening their interpersonal bonds. Cultists participating
in these rites gain the Inspired Condition, and gain a +1 bonus
to cult actions attempted within a number of days equal to
the cult’s Dominance. Mummies observing or participating
in their cult’s observance regain a point of spent Willpower.
Parkour (• to •••••, Style)
Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, Athletics ••
Effect: Your character is a trained and proficient free run-
ner. Free running is the art of moving fluidly through urban
environments with complex leaps, bounds, running tricks,
and vaults. This is the type of sport popularized in modern
action films, where characters are unhindered by fences, walls,
construction equipment, cars, or anything else the city puts
in their way.
Flow (•): Your character reacts instinctively to any ob-
stacles with leaps, jumps, and scaling techniques. When in a
foot chase, subtract your Parkour from the successes needed
to pursue or evade. Also, ignore environmental penalties to
Athletics rolls equal to your Parkour rating.
 Cat Leap (••): Your character falls with outstanding
grace. When using a Dexterity + Athletics roll to mitigate
damage from falling, your character gains one automatic suc-
cess. Additionally, add your Parkour rating to the threshold of
damage that can be removed through this roll. Parkour does
not mitigate damage from a terminal-velocity fall.
Wall Run (•••): When climbing, your character runs
upward for some distance before having to traditionally climb.
Without rolling, your character scales 10 feet + five feet per dot
of Athletics as an instant action, rather than the normal 10 feet.
Expert Traceur (••••): Parkour is second nature for your
character. By spending a Willpower point, you may designate
one Athletics roll to run, jump, or climb as a rote action
(reroll all failed dice once). On any turn during which you
use this ability, you may not apply your character’s Defense
to oncoming attacks.
Freeflow (•••••): Your character’s Parkour is now
muscle memory. She can move without thinking, in a Zen-
like state. The character must successfully meditate (p. XX)
to establish Freeflow. Once established, your character is
capable of taking Athletics actions reflexively once per turn.
By spending a point of Willpower on an Athletics roll in a foot
chase, gain three successes instead of three dice.
Professional Training (• to •••••)
Effect: Your character has extensive training in a particular pro-
fession, which offers distinct advantages in a handful of fields. When
choosing this Merit, choose or create a Profession for your character.
Mark the two Asset Skills on your character sheet. The advantages
of Professional Training relate directly to those Asset Skills.
Networking (•): At the first level of Professional Training,
your character builds connections within her chosen field.
Take two dots of Contacts relating to that field.
Continuing Education (••): With the repeated efforts
in her field of choice, your character tends toward greater
successes. When making a roll with her Asset Skills, she
benefits from the 9-again quality.
Breadth of Knowledge (•••): Due to her advancement
in her field, she’s picked up a number of particular bits of in-
formation and skill unique to her work. Choose a third Asset
Skill, and take two Specialties in your character’s Asset Skills.
On-the-Job Training (••••): With the resources at her
disposal, your character has access to extensive educational
tools and mentorship. Take a Skill dot in an Asset Skill.
Whenever you purchase a new Asset Skill dot, take a Beat.
The Routine (•••••): With such extensive experience in
her field, she has honed her Asset Skills to a fine edge, and she’s
almost guaranteed at least a marginal success. Before rolling, spend
a Willpower point to apply the rote action quality to an Asset Skill.
This allows you to reroll all the failed dice on the first roll.
Example: Penebui of the Mesen-Nebu has Professional
Training (Alchemist) ••. Her player marks Crafts and Science
as her Asset Skills and assigns Chemists and Librarians as her
Contacts. Upon achieving the third dot, Penebui adds Occult
as a third Asset Skill and adds Occult (Alchemy) and Science
(Metallurgy) as her Specialties.
Pusher (•)
Prerequisite: Persuasion ••
Effect: Your character tempts and bribes as second nature.
Any time a mark in a Social interaction accepts his soft lever-
age (p. XX), improve his Impression as if he’d satisfied her Vice
as well as moving the Impression up on the chart as usual.
Relic (• to •••••)
Effect: Your character bears one or more relics (p. XX),
with combined total ratings equal to the dots in this Merit.
Renowned Artisan (•••)
Prerequisite: Crafts ••• with relevant Specialty
Effect: Your character is a master artisan of the crafts
favored by their guild or that of their Arisen master. Once per
chapter, you may reroll a mundane Crafts action related to
the guild’s work, keeping the higher result. You also gain a +1
bonus to Social rolls interacting with members of this guild.
Resources (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: This Merit reflects your character’s disposable in-
come. She might live in an upscale condo, but if her income
is tied up, she might have little money to throw around.
Characters are assumed to have basic necessities without
Resources.
The dot rating determines the relative amount of dispos-
able funding the character has available. One dot is a little
spending money here and there. Two dots is a comfortable,
middle-class wage. Three is a nicer, upper-middle-class life.
Four is moderately wealthy. Five is filthy rich.
Every item has an Availability rating (p. XX). Once
per chapter, your character can procure an item at her
Resources level or lower, without issue. Obtaining an item
one Availability above her Resources reduces her effective
Resources by one dot for a full month, since she has to rapidly
liquidate funds. She can procure items two Availability below
her Resources without limit (within reason). For example,
a character with Resources •••• can procure as many
Availability •• disposable cellphones as she needs.
Retainer (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: Your character has an assistant, sycophant, ser-
vant, or follower on whom she can rely. Establish who this
companion is and how she acquired him. Whether through
Merits 113
 a simple paycheck, because he owes your character his life,
or whatever other reason, your character has a hold on him.
A Retainer is more reliable than a Mentor and more loyal
than an Ally. On the other hand, a Retainer is a lone person,
less capable and influential than the broader Merits.
The Merit’s dot rating reflects the Retainer’s relative
competency. A one-dot Retainer is mildly useful, mostly for re-
liably taking on menial tasks. Sometimes you don’t need to be
wowed; you just need to get a thing from point A to point B.
A three-dot Retainer is a professional in his field, someone
capable in his line of work. A five-dot Retainer is one of the
best in his class. If a Retainer needs to make a roll, and it’s
within his field, double the dot rating of the Merit and use it as
a dice pool. For anything else, use the dot rating as a dice pool.
You can purchase this Merit multiple times to represent
multiple Retainers.
Ritualistic Cult (•, Cult Only)
Effect: The cult maintains a regular schedule of rituals
and observances. These rites, performed in the Lifeweb of the
mummy’s tomb, soothe and empower the Arisen soul. When
meditating to regain Pillars during the cult’s rites, the mummy
adds the cult’s Dominance to their roll.
Safe Place (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: Your character has somewhere besides her tomb she
can go where she can feel secure. While she may have enemies
that could attack her there, she’s prepared and has the upper
hand. The dot rating reflects the security of the place. Equipment
represents the actual location, the luxury, and the size. A one-dot
Safe Place could simply be out of sight, out of mind, or feature
minor security systems. A five-dot could have a security crew,
infrared scanners at every entrance, or trained dogs. Each place
can be an apartment, a mansion, or a hidey-hole.
A Safe Place gives all owners an Initiative bonus equal to
the total Merit dots while inside.
Any efforts to breach the Safe Place suffer a penalty equal
to the Merit dots invested. If the character desires, the Safe
Place includes traps that cause intruders lethal damage equal
to the Merit dots, or bashing damage equal to twice the Merit’s
dots. The traps may be avoided with a Dexterity + Larceny
roll, penalized by the Safe Place rating.
Each instance of this Merit reflects a different place.
Sandglass (••)
Effect: The Sekhem flowing through your character’s soul
has sharpened your perception of time. When encountering
unusual disruptions in time, such as mirages, time splinters, or
supernatural powers altering the temporal flow, your character
perceives the distortion through a unique sensation. One feels
114 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
extreme thirst, while another feels the grit of sand beneath
their fingernails. This sense doesn’t tell the character the
nature of the disruption, but a successful Wits + Composure
roll can lead them to the effect. Characters with this Merit
may attempt to Feel the Flow like mummies, using Wits +
Composure as their dice pool and substituting Willpower dots
for Sekhem or Willpower points for Pillar costs. Mummies with
this Merit add their Wits and gain an exceptional success on
three successes instead of five when Feeling the Flow.
Scapegoats (•, Cult Only)
Effect: By shifting blame to others, the cult maintains its
integrity. Once per story, instead of punishing or banishing
the guilty during a mutiny, they may focus the cult on a new
target by assigning a new cult action. This clears only two
points of Fidelity damage, but maintains Reach and Grasp.
Scorpion Cult Initiation (• to •••••, Cult Only)
Scorpion Cult Initiation reflects membership in cults ded-
icated to an Arisen or the Judges, and thus a valid character
target for the Rite of Investment. The dot rating dictates
standing: one dot is an initiate or lay cultist, two is a full and
respected member, three is a priest or cultic enforcer, four is
a decision-making leader, and five is the hierophant or cult
leader.
In addition to standing, a Scorpion Cult Initiation Merit
offers benefits at each level of influence. The following is a
sample “standard” Cult Initiation, but the benefits of mem-
bership varies widely depending on the nature and makeup
of the cult:
Initiate (•): Initiates are instructed in lore of the Judge the
Arisen serves and the particulars of Iremite faith, or shepherded
towards being the eyes and arms of the cult and recognizing the
secret ways of doing things. They gain either a specialty in Iremite
Religion for Academics or a Bureaucracy specialty in Politics.
Cultist (••): Full cult members must learn to speak, read,
and write in Iremic. They gain the Language Merit (Iremic)
free of charge. Cultists at this level are immune to Sybaris, so
long as they faithfully follow the Doctrine of the cult.
Wab (•••): Even the lowest priests, the wab, command
significant cult resources. Spend two dots between Contacts,
Allies, Resources, or Retainers to reflect this. Additionally,
cult tasks personally overseen by a priest add a +3 modifier
to rolls to generate Effort.
Hem-Netjer (••••): Sybaris does not touch the truly
loyal. On the other hand, long exposure to miracles robs them
of their mystery. The hem-netjer (“servant of the god”) gains
the Witness (•••) Merit. Unlike the temporary protection
to Sybaris afforded those who are full members, this Merit
persists past excommunication.
 Tepi (•••••): Glory reflected still shines brightly, the
hierophant is privy to many secrets of the mummy’s guild.
The cult’s tepi (“first”) may use relics of the mummy’s guild
without suffering a drawback, as if they were the mummy.
Secretive (•••, Cult Only)
Effect: With rituals performed in masks or darkened rooms,
the cult maintains strict anonymity among its members. Cultists
are only privy to the identities of cultists of equal or lower rank
in Scorpion Cult Initiation. Investigating an individual cultist’s
connection to the cult or its activities requires additional Clues
equal to their rank in Scorpion Cult Initiation.
Small-Framed (••)
Effect: Your character is diminutive. He’s not even five
feet tall, and it’s easy to walk into him without noticing. At
Size 4, he has one fewer Health box, but gains +2 to any rolls
to hide or go unnoticed. This bonus might apply any time be-
ing smaller would be an advantage, such as crawling through
smaller spaces. Normally this is only available at character
creation, but unnatural sorceries could cause it as well.
Drawbacks: In addition to the lower Health, some people
might overlook your character or not take him seriously.
Specialized Cultists (•, Cult Only)
Effect: The cult is well-trained in a single Skill. Whenever
they assist their mummy in tasks reliant upon it, the mummy
gains the 9-again effect on their roll. This Merit may only be
taken once.
Storied (•, Cult Only)
Effect: The very idea of your cult is ludicrous, and any-
one attempting to shed light upon their secretive activities
becomes a laughingstock. Any rolls to discredit the cult’s
enemies gain a +1 bonus.
Staff (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: Your character has a crew of workers or assistants
at her disposal. They may be housekeepers, designers, re-
search assistants, animators, cheap thugs, or whatever else
makes sense. For every dot in this Merit, choose one type
of assistant, and one Skill. At any reasonable time, her staff
can take actions using that Skill, automatically garnering a
single success on minor, mundane activities. You may have
employees without requiring the Staff Merit; Staff simply adds
a mechanical advantage for those groups.
Merits 115
 Status (• to •••••, Cult)
Effect: Your character has standing, membership, authori-
ty, control over, or respect from a group or organization. This
can reflect official standing, or merely informal respect. No
matter the source, your character enjoys certain privileges
within that structure.
Status only allows advantages within the confines of the
group reflected in the Merit. Status (Organized Crime) won’t
help if your character wants an official, concealed-carry fire-
arms permit, for example.
Status provides two major advantages. First, your character
applies her Status to any Social roll with those over whom
she has authority or sway. Second, she has access to group
facilities, resources, and funding. Depending on the group,
red tape, requisitioning processes and particular resources
available could limit this.
Each instance of this Merit reflects standing in a different
group or organization. Each affords its own unique benefits.
As you increase your dot ratings, your character rises in
prominence in the relevant group.
Drawback: Status requires upkeep, and often, regular
duties. If your character does not uphold these duties, she may
lose the Status. The dots are not accessible until the character
re-establishes her standing. In our Organized Crime example,
your character may be expected to pay protection money, offer
tribute to a higher authority, or undertake felonious activities.
Striking Looks (• or ••)
Effect: Your character is stunning, alarming, commanding,
repulsive, threatening, charming, or otherwise worthy of at-
tention. Determine how your character looks and how people
react to that. For one dot, your character gets +1 on any Social
rolls that his looks would influence. For two dots, it’s +2.
Depending on the particulars, this might influence Expression,
Intimidation, Persuasion, Subterfuge, or other rolls.
Drawback: Attention is a double-edged sword. Any rolls
to spot, notice, or remember your character gain the same dice
bonus. Sometimes, your character draws unwanted attention
in social situations potentially causing further complications.
Sympathetic (••)
Effect: Your character has a pitiful face, a well-honed sob
story, or is otherwise really good at letting others get close. At
the beginning of a Social maneuvering attempt (p. XX), you
may accept a Condition, such as Leveraged or Swooned, to
immediately eliminate two of the subject’s Doors.
Syncretic (•, Cult Only)
Effect: The cult’s beliefs are a harmonized amalgam of
Irem’s lore and the teachings of a local belief system. When
116 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
working alongside other cults or followers of the local belief
system, the cult gains a +2 bonus to cult actions.
Trained Observer (• or •••)
Prerequisite: Wits or Composure •••
Effect: Your character spent years in the field, catching
tiny details and digging for secrets. She might not have a
better chance of finding things, but she has a better chance
of finding important things. Any time you make a Perception
roll (usually Wits + Composure), you benefit from the 9-again
quality. With the three-dot version, you get 8-again.
True Friend (•••)
Effect: Your character has a true friend. While that friend
may have specific functions covered by other Merits (Allies,
Contacts, etc.), True Friend represents a deeper, truly trusting
relationship that cannot be breached. Unless your character
does something egregious to cause it, her True Friend will not
betray her. The Storyteller cannot kill a True Friend as part of
a plot without your express permission. Any rolls to influence
a True Friend against your character suffer a −5 dice penalty.
Once per story, your character regains one spent Willpower
by having a meaningful interaction with her True Friend.
A mummy always recognizes their True Friend upon arising,
leaving them untouched by their wrath. With a successful Presence
+ Empathy roll, penalized by the Arisen’s defining Pillar, the True
Friend can even pull the mummy from this mindless state.
Vestige (• to •••••)
Effect: The character possesses one or more Vestiges (p.
XX), with combined total ratings equal to the dots in this
Merit. Vestiges purchased through this Merit may resonate
with the character’s Anchors, if the player wishes.
Vice-Ridden (••, Cult)
Effect: Your character is notoriously depraved, possessing
two Vices. Once per scene, he may regain one Willpower by
indulging whichever one he chooses.
Virtuous (••, Cult)
Effect: Your character strives for excellence, possessing
two Virtues. The limitations of how many times she may
refresh Willpower using a Virtue remain the same, but she
may regain it from either one.
Wayward Cult (•••, Cult Only)
Effect: The cult has been misled about the nature of their
mummy and the Judges. Whenever the cult seeks to block
another cult, they gain a +2 bonus to Reach and Grasp.
Wayward cults also lack a Judge’s Doctrine, though by sacri-
ficing a dot of Dominance, they may claim a third Doctrine
of their mummy’s choice.
 Drawback: When first recognizing a mummy leading
another cult, the first action from the rival cult inflicts aggra-
vated rather than lethal damage to Fidelity. Further actions
by this rival cult inflict lethal damage as normal. Without a
Judge’s Doctrine, a cult only gains Cult Beats from the other
two, though the mummy freely reigns over them as he sees
fit. If a third Doctrine is ever claimed, the mummy suffers a
Descent roll for his arrogance every time the cult gains a Beat
from the stolen Doctrine.
SUPERNATURAL MERITS
These Merits require that the character remain human
(non-supernatural). These Merits disappear if the character
becomes a vampire, ghoul, mage, or any other supernatural
character type. Per the Sanctity of Merits (see p. XX), these
Merit dots can be reallocated.
Accursed Harbinger (•••)
Effect: Something about your character’s soul makes it
difficult for curses to find purchase. Whenever he would
acquire a passive curse, such as by touching a cursed relic,
reflexively roll Resolve + Composure. If successful, the curse
remains passive, infecting the next valid target he touches
instead of the character. He may only have one curse held at
bay at any given time, and any additional curses affect him
normally. This Merit provides no protection against curses
actively directed at the character.
Clairvoyance (•••)
Effect: Your character can project her senses to another
location. She sees, hears, smells, and otherwise experiences
the other place as if she were there. This ability requires a
point of Willpower to activate, successful meditation, and a
Wits + Occult roll.
Suggested Modifiers: Has an object important to the place
(+1), never been there (−3), scrying for a person and not
a place (−3), scrying for non-specific location (−4), spent
significant time there (+2), touching someone with a strong
connection to the place (+1)
Drawback: When choosing this ability, determine how
your character is able to scry. It may be through a crystal
ball, through a drug-induced trance, with esoteric computer
models, or any other reasonable method. She cannot scry
without that tool or methodology.
Cursed (••)
Effect: Your character has run afoul of fate. Whether due
to a relic’s curse, a dying mummy’s malediction, dark rites, or
other mysterious means, he’s been cursed. Most importantly,
he’s aware of the curse. When taking this Merit, define the
limitations of the curse. Usually, it’s expressed in the form of a
single statement, such as, “On the eve of your twenty-seventh
birthday, you will feast upon your doom.” It’s important to
work out the details with the Storyteller. The curse must take
effect within the scope of the planned chronicle.
While he knows how he’ll die, this is a liberating experi-
ence. He’s confident of the method of his death, so nothing
else fazes him. Gain a +2 on any Resolve + Composure roll
to face fear or self-doubt. Any time he takes lethal damage in
his last three health boxes, take an additional Beat.
Forbidden Rites (• to •••••, Cult)
Prerequisite: Library (Occult) ••, Ritual Sorcerer,
Sorcerous Knowledge •
Effect: Your character has collected details on more rites
than he could possibly hope to learn, but with time, effort,
and sacrifice, they may still be attempted. Each dot in this
Merit is associated with a Closed Rite the character has not
learned. Attempting to enact these rites from the available
resources is more costly and prone to failure. Performing the
ritual requires a Pillar point, a human sacrifice, or a fiend’s
assistance in addition to any other requirements, and any rolls
to perform it suffer a −2 penalty.
Cults may take this Merit, but require a sorcerer with the
other prerequisites to lead them in Closed Rites. With such
a sorcerer, the cult may engage in any of the Closed Rites
known as a cult action.
Grave Robber (•••••)
Effect: Your character’s talent for stealing from the dead is
such that his touch doesn’t rouse mummies from their slumber.
Even stealing a relic from the tomb’s Lifeweb gives him a two-
hour head start before the mummy arises, tainting a mummy’s
initial Clue when seeking the pilfered relic through kepher.
Drawback: If the grave robber steals more than one relic
from the same tomb at a time, the mummy arises with the
Relentless Condition.
Laying on Hands (•••)
Your character’s faith or force of devotion becomes a
wholesome force that heals the sick and mends injuries.
However, she takes some of those injuries upon herself by
proxy.
Effect: By spending a Willpower point, touching the sick
or wounded, and rolling Presence + Empathy, your character
may heal them. Every success heals two points of bashing
damage, or one level of lethal damage. Three successes allows
for a single point of aggravated damage.
Drawback: For every two points of damage healed (round-
ed up), your character suffers a single point of the same type
of damage. Additionally, your character may heal diseases and
Merits 117
 other ailments. The Storyteller assigns a target number of suc-
cesses between one (the common cold) and ten (flesh-eating
bacteria). This takes an extended action, and the character
suffers a minor version of the illness.
Lineal Inheritor (•••)
Effect: Whether raised in the cult or growing up without
knowledge of your origins, one of your character’s parents was
indispensable to a Scorpion Cult. You inherited their invested
Pillar following their demise, gaining the advantages of being
an invested cultist. This Pillar may not be drawn away until
the mummy or their cult performs the Rite of Investment on
the character. If invested, they may hold one additional Pillar
point beyond their usual limit.
Drawback: The dreams of the cult always lead them
toward you, which may also draw the attention of their allies
and enemies. If the mummy’s sahu was destroyed, the cult is
steadfast in their efforts to seize their sovereign’s future body.
Medium (•••)
Prerequisite: Empathy ••
Effect: Your character hears the words and moans of the
dead. If he takes the time to parse their words, he can interact
with them verbally.
Your character has more than just a knack for knowing
when ephemeral beings are lurking nearby; he can reach out
and make contact with them. By conducting a ritual, meditat-
ing, or otherwise preparing to commune with the unseen, and
succeeding at a Wits + Occult roll, he temporarily increases
the relevant Condition one step along the progression from
nothing, to Anchor, Resonance, or Infrastructure, to Open,
and finally to Controlled (see p. XX for more on Conditions
as they relate to spirits). The effect lasts until he spends a
Willpower point, but if an Influence has been used to progress
the Condition further, doing so only reduces it by one step.
Drawback: Speaking with ghosts can be a blessing, but
your character cannot turn the sense off, any more than he
can turn off his hearing. The character hears the words of the
dead any time they’re present. Once per game session, usually
in a time of extreme stress, the Storyteller may deliver a dis-
turbing message to your character from the other side. You
must succeed in a Resolve + Composure roll or gain either
the Shaken or Spooked Condition.
Omen Sensitivity (•••)
Effect: Your character sees signs and patterns in every-
thing. From the way the leaves fall, to the spray of antifreeze
when his radiator pops, to the ratios of circumference on the
shell he picked up on the sidewalk, everything has meaning.
With some consideration, he can interpret these meanings.
This would be far better if he could turn it off. Everything is
118 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
important. Everything could mean the end of the world, the
deaths of his friends, or other tragedies. If he misses an omen,
it might be the wrong one.
Once per game session, you can make a Wits + Occult roll
for your character to interpret an omen in his surroundings.
For every success, ask the Storyteller a yes or no question
about your character’s life, his surroundings, a task at hand,
or the world at large. The Storyteller must answer these
questions truthfully.
Drawback: His ability becomes an obsession. Each time he
reads a portent, he gains the Obsession or Spooked Condition.
Psychokinesis (••• or •••••)
Effect: Your character has a psychic ability to manipulate the
forces of the universe. Every type of Psychokinetic is different. For
example, your character might have Pyrokinesis, Cryokinesis, or
Electrokinesis, the control of fire, cold, or electricity, respectively.
This is not an exhaustive list. He can intensify, shape, and douse
his particular area of ability. With the three-dot version, some of
the given force must be present for him to manipulate. With the
five-dot version, he can manifest it from nothingness.
Spend a point of Willpower to activate Psychokinesis,
and roll Resolve + Occult. Each success allows a degree of
manipulation; choose one of the following options below. If
you intend to cause harm with the roll, subtract the victim’s
Resolve from the Resolve + Occult roll. If characters should
be harmed without a direct attack, for example, if they run
through a patch of flame, the three-dot version of the Merit
causes one lethal damage, and the five-dot version causes two.
The Storyteller may rule that larger manifestations may cause
more, if the situation calls for it.
• Increase or decrease the Size of the manifestation by
1.
• Move the manifestation a number of yards equal to
your character’s Willpower dots times 2.
• Shape the force into a specific form. This may require
an Intelligence + Crafts roll to form it into a detailed
or intricate shape.
• Attack a victim with the force. Allocate any number
of the rolled successes to cause harm. With the three-
dot Merit, Psychokinesis is a weapon causing one
lethal damage. Psychokinesis is considered a two lethal
weapon with the five-dot version.
• Use the force creatively. This is up to the situation and
the force in question. For example, an Electrokinetic
may use his ability to power an electronic device briefly
or to jumpstart a stalled automobile.
 • Manifest his force. This only works with the five-dot
version. It manifests a Size 1 patch of the force. It may
spread or be enlarged with further successes.
Drawback: Whenever your character depletes his last
Willpower point, the Storyteller can call on his abilities
to manifest spontaneously. Resist this with a Resolve +
Composure roll, with a −2 penalty if his chosen force is
prominently featured nearby. For example, the penalty ap-
plies if a Pyrokinetic is locked in a factory with a hot forge.
This tends to happen during wildly inconvenient moments,
and in ways that usually cause more trouble than they solve.
With these wild manifestations, use of Psychokinesis does
not cost Willpower.
Psychometry (•••)
Effect: Psychometry is the psychic ability to read im-
pressions left on physical objects. Your character can feel
the emotional resonance left on an item, or can perceive
important events tied to a location with this ability. The
ability automatically hones in on the most emotionally intense
moment tied to the item.
Spend a Willpower point to activate Psychometry. The
successes scored on a Wits + Occult roll determine the clarity
of the visions. For each success, you may ask a single yes or
no question of the Storyteller, or one of the following ques-
tions. For questions pertaining to specific characters, if your
character hasn’t met the person in question, the Storyteller
may simply describe them.
• What’s the strongest emotion here?

• Who remembers this moment the most?

• Am I missing something in this scene?

• Where was this object during the event?

• What breaking point caused the event?

Suggested Modifiers: Character has read impressions
from this item before (−2), important event happened more
than one day ago (−1), more than one week ago (−2), more
than one month ago (−3), more than one year ago (−5), item
was used in a violent crime (+2), item is only vaguely tied to
the event (−2), spirits pertaining to the event are nearby (+3)
Drawback: Once per chapter, the Storyteller can force a
Psychometry vision any time an important place is visited, or
an important item is touched. This doesn’t require a roll or
a Willpower point to activate. The Storyteller can give any
information pertaining to the event in question. Additionally,
the Storyteller can impose one Condition relevant to the
event.

Merits 119
 Ritual Sorcerer (•••)
Your character has studied the magical secrets of the
world, knows of rituals to evoke them, and, with time and
effort, can learn them.
Prerequisite: Any Mental Attribute •••, Occult •••
with relevant Specialty.
Effect: The Merit grants Sorcerous Rite slots equal to the
character’s Resolve. You may fill one slot with either an Open
Rite Mastery (p. XX) or a Closed Rite (p. XX). Other slots are
“open”, waiting to be filled with rites the character encounters
during play. Filling a slot costs nothing, but a sorcerer can’t
swap a known rite for a new one. Sorcerers may not invent
their own rites without the Sorcerous Knowledge Merit.
Sorcerous Knowledge (• to •••••)
Prerequisite: Ritual Sorcerer
Effect: Your character intensifies her study of hidden
rituals and secret names, acquiring new slots beyond those
granted by her Resolve. The slot may be filled with an Open
Rite Mastery or Closed Rite. With the Storyteller’s permis-
sion, you may invent a new Closed Rite to fill this slot. Slots
gained through this Merit are automatically filled, since they
represent specific studies. A sorcerer may never have more
dots in this Merit than dots in Occult.
Sorcerous Prodigy (•••)
Prerequisite: Ritual Sorcerer, Sorcerous Knowledge ••
Effect: Your character learns and masters Open Rites with
ease. When filling a Sorcerous Rite slot with an Open Rite
Mastery, each slot may hold two Open Rites. Closed Rites
still require an entire slot for each one.
Telekinesis (• to •••••)
Effect: Your character has a psychic ability to manipulate
the physical world with her mind. This means lifting, pushing,
and pulling objects. Fine manipulation is beyond the scope of
Telekinesis. By spending a Willpower point, she can activate
Telekinesis for the scene. Her dots in this Merit determine
her mind’s effective Strength for the purpose of lifting and
otherwise influencing her environment.
A Telekinetic can use her abilities to cause harm by lashing
out at threats. Each such “attack” costs a point of Willpower.
The dice pool to attack is Telekinesis + Occult, penalized by
the opponent’s Stamina. The attack causes bashing damage.
Alternatively, it can be used to grapple, with the Merit dots
representing the Strength score of the psychic. Any overpow-
ering maneuvers require additional Willpower points.
Drawback: Any time your character suffers injury
or intense stimuli, the Storyteller may call for a Resolve
+ Composure roll to resist activating Telekinesis at an
120 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
inopportune time. If the Storyteller calls for this roll and it
fails, the character activates Telekinesis in a quick, impressive
display of the power. That use of Telekinesis is free. The player
can choose to automatically fail the Resolve + Composure
roll and take a Beat.
Telepathy (••• or •••••)
Effect: Your character can hear surface thoughts and
read minds. With the five-dot version of this Merit, he can
broadcast simple messages to others’ minds. He hears these
thoughts as if they were spoken, which means they can
sometimes be distracting. He can only hear thoughts at the
range he can normal conversation, regardless of any ambient
noise (so a telepath can hear the thoughts of someone next
to him at a loud concert, even though he can’t actually hear
the subject talk, but cannot hear the thoughts of someone a
football field away under quiet conditions). Spend a point of
Willpower to activate Telepathy, and roll Wits + Empathy,
minus the subject’s Resolve if the subject is unwilling. If
successful, the subject’s player must tell you the foremost
thought on the character’s mind. Additional successes allow
you to ask the subject’s player additional questions from the
following list. The questions can be asked at any time within
the same scene. With the five-dot version, every success offers
a single phrase the subject hears as if your character said it.
As before, these phrases can be communicated at any time
during the same scene.
• What does your character want right now?
• What does your character fear most right now?
• What is your character hiding?
• What does your character want mine to do?
• What does your character know about [relevant topic
at hand]?
• What turns your character on right now?
• What’s something shameful or embarrassing about your
character?
Drawback: Sometimes your character hears things he
probably shouldn’t. Once per chapter, the Storyteller can give
your character a message of terrible things to come. Perhaps he
overhears the mad, internal ramblings of a cultist in a crowd.
Maybe he hears a plot to hijack a plane. Maybe, just maybe,
he hears the incoherent thoughts of the God-Machine. These
heard thoughts never just occur. They always happen when
your character has something else, something important and
pressing going on. When this happens, the Storyteller gives
you a Condition such as Spooked or Shaken.
Thief of Fate (•••)
Effect: Your character is a magnet for fortune and fate.
When she’s close to someone, she unintentionally steals their
good fortune. If she touches someone, this Merit takes effect
unless she spends a point of Willpower to curb the effect for
a scene. In the same day, any failures the subject makes are
considered dramatic failures. If she’s used this Merit at any
time in a given day, she gains four dice any time she spends
Willpower to increase a dice pool.
Drawback: Once a victim of this Merit suffers a dramatic
failure, he hears your character’s name in the back of his mind.
This may inspire scrutiny.
Unseen Sense (••)
Effect: Your character has a “sixth sense” for a type of super-
natural creature, chosen when you buy the Merit. For example,
you may choose Unseen Sense: Vampires, or Unseen Sense:
Fairies. The sense manifests differently for everyone. Her hair
stands on end, she becomes physically ill, or perhaps she has a cold
chill. Regardless, she knows that something isn’t right when she is
in the immediate proximity of the appropriate supernatural being.
Once per chapter, the player can accept the Spooked Condition
(p. XX), in exchange for which the character can pinpoint where
the feeling is coming from. If the target is using a power that
specifically cloaks its supernatural nature, however, this does not
work (though the Condition remains until resolved as usual).
Witness (•••)
Effect: While mummies debate whether the existence of
Witnesses indicates the reincarnation of loved ones lost long
ago or souls of unusual qualities, your character only knows a
creeping sense of apprehensive wonder and illusive glimpses of
events never experienced in this life. Your character instinc-
tively recognizes when she is in the presence of the Deathless,
the Lifeless, or the Endless as though possessing the Unseen
Sense Merit. She also doesn’t suffer the usual effects of Sybaris.
Any time she would gain the Sybaris Condition, she instead
experiences visions or dreams of times long passed or yet to
come, gaining the Obsession Condition related to helping,
hindering, or learning about the mummy encountered.
CULT CREATION
A t the beginning of a Mummy: The Curse chronicle, a
meret has at least one cult. This section is a step-by-step
process for creating a cult. If the meret has more than one,
use this process for every cult the meret has.
STEP ONE: CULT ARCHETYPE
Determine the archetype of the cult. A cult has one of
three archetypes:
CONSPIRACIES
Conspiracies emphasize secrecy, organizing into easily
detachable cells and communicating through encrypted
channels. They often disguise themselves with the trappings
of organized crime, underground political groups, and mod-
ern-day conspiracy theory. Its actions are often illegal or simply
distasteful to society at large. Conspiracy cultists join in hopes
of gaining an advantage over other people.
ENTERPRISES
Enterprises emphasize utility, organizing into corporations
or non-profit groups. They operate in the open, employing
outsiders and maintaining relationships with the public. Its
actions are often legal, or at least tolerated by the public.
Enterprise cultists join either because they believe in the cult’s
disguised cause, or just to receive a hefty paycheck.
TRIBES
Tribes emphasize authority, organizing into rigidly hierarchal
systems directly controlled by its mummy. They may disguise
themselves as religions, but every Tribal cult knows exactly who
they are serving, even if they don’t know every detail. Its actions
span the spectrum of legality and are always tinged in Irem’s
lost religion. Tribal cultists join to become a part of something
bigger, to see a sliver of truth behind their mundane lives.
Archetypes
• Select an Archetype: Conspiracy, Enterprise, or Tribe.
STEP TWO: DOCTRINES,
VIRTUE, AND VICE
Doctrines are the uniting ideals and goals that keep the
cult together through the ages. They are the foundation of the
cult, the ways the culture and morality of the Nameless Empire
remain alive. Faithful cults always have one Doctrine that is
an order directly from the mummy’s Judge (p. XX). Everyone
at the table should agree to a cult’s Doctrines.
Additionally, determine a Virtue and Vice for the cult,
representing the overall nature of its cultists.
Doctrines
• Choose Three: Determine three Doctrines for your
cult. One Doctrine is the Judge’s Doctrine, and must
be appropriate to the Judge the cult serves. Doctrines
must be actively worded, such as “We never harm those
we deem innocent,” or “Outsiders must fear our might.”
Wayward Cults (p. XX) have no Judge’s Doctrine, but
begin play with only two Doctrines.
Cult Creation 121
 Virtue and Vice
• Choose Virtue and Vice: Determine the cult’s Virtue
and Vice. Cult Experience Costs
STEP THREE: ATTRIBUTES Spend the following amounts of experience to
improve the cult.
Cults use two Attributes: Reach and Grasp. These Attribute: 6 Experiences
Attributes represent the methods cults use to achieve their
objectives, and how effective they are at using them. Merit: 1 Experience
Dominance: 5 Experiences*
REACH
*Dominance may only be increased with Cult
Reach measures the cult’s spread throughout the world, Beats.
and its ability to use legal channels of manipulation.

GRASP
Grasp measures the cult’s ruthlessness, and its ability to
use illegal channels of manipulation. STEP FIVE: ADVANTAGES
Attributes Cults have two Advantages: Dominance, which represents
the level of both material and supernatural power a cult wields;
• Base Competency: The cult starts with one dot in and Fidelity, which represents the cult’s faith and morale.
Reach and Grasp for free.
Advantages:
• Conspiracy’s Cunning: A Conspiracy starts with +2
• Dominance: 1
Grasp.
• Fidelity: 5 + Lowest of Reach or Grasp.
• Efficient Enterprise: An Enterprise starts with +2
Reach.

• Tribal Totality: A Tribe starts with +1 Reach and +1

PILLARS
Grasp.

• Additional Dots: When taking dots in the Cult Merit

(p. XX), each new dot may be added to Reach or Grasp
as desired. A single new dot in Cult cannot be applied
to both Reach and Grasp at once.
STEP FOUR: MERITS (P. XX)
Cult Merits may represent either the quality and abilities
of a single important cult member or the collective quality and
abilities of the whole cult. A cult’s Resources could either rep-
resent the overall profit of a successful fiscal year or the deep
pockets of a high priest. Everyone should agree on whether a
Merit represents a cultist or the whole cult.
All cults grant Scorpion Cult Initiation (p. XX) to its
members. Assume that most cultists actively aware that they
are serving a cult have at least one or two dots in the Merit.
Merits
• Cult Merits: Choose seven dots worth of Merits.
Chosen Merits must have the Cult or Cult Only tag.
T he Arisen used their powerful souls to withstand the
Judge’s tests and return to the world of the living.
Mummies harness the Sekhem within their souls using the five
Pillars they contain: Ab (Heart), Ba (Spirit), Ka (Essence),
Ren (Name), and Sheut (Shadow).
Effects of Pillars
• Rating: Pillars are rated from 1-5 dots. Pillars have a
maximum rating of 5, regardless of current Sekhem rating.
• Pillar Points: Mummies may spend a number of points
per turn determined by their current Sekhem rating
(p. XX).
USING PILLARS
Pillars enhance a mummy’s natural talents and empower
their incredible Utterances through Pillar points.
Spending Pillar Points
• Physical Attribute Boost: Once per scene, spending
Pillar points raises Physical Attributes by a number of

122 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy

 dots determined by a mummy’s current Sekhem rating
(p. XX). If a mummy has Physical Attribute 6+ at
Sekhem 5 or below, Physical Attribute increases are
calculated with a starting Trait dot rating of 5. Effect
lasts until the end of the scene.
• Favored Attribute Boost: Once per scene, spending
Pillar points from a mummy’s defining Pillar raises her
decree’s favored Attributes (p. XX) on a one-for-one
basis. If a mummy has Favored Attribute 6+ at Sekhem
5 or below, favored Attribute increases are calculated
with a starting Trait dot rating of 5. Effect lasts until
the end of the scene.
• Seal the Flesh: Once per scene, a player may spend
a point from any Pillar to heal a mummy’s body. The
mummy heals 3 points of bashing and 1 point of lethal
damage per turn, for a number of turns equal to the
Pillar’s rating. The mummy cannot die until the effect
ends, even if the effect is unable to heal her wounds.
The player may only spend one point per Pillar for this
effect.
• Utterances: Spending the required amount and type
of Pillar points activates an Utterance.
• Vessels: Spending one Pillar point from any Pillar
activates a vessel (p. XX).
• Corpse Form: Spending a Pillar point reveals the
mummy’s sahu for a number of turns equal to the
Pillar’s rating, unless an Affinity or Utterance conceals
it. This is a trigger for Sybaris (p. XX).
RECOVERING PILLARS
A mummy’s powers exhaust the soul, but the Arisen have
ways to refresh it.
Recovering Pillar Points
• Affirming Decree: A mummy has two signature
methods of regaining Pillar points as determined by
her decree (p. XX).
• Invested Cultists: A mummy may reflexively draw
Pillar points from Invested cultists (p. XX). Drawn
Pillar points may be placed in their corresponding Pillar
to a maximum of the Pillar’s current rating.
• Lifeweb: As long as a Tomb has at least one Relic
attached to its Lifeweb (p. XX), a mummy receives
their Tomb’s Geometry in Pillar points at the start of
a chapter.
• Meditation: Once per chapter, a mummy may spend a
scene in meditation, taking refuge in her memories and
sense of self. The mummy’s player rolls her Memory as
a dice pool, and each success provides one Pillar point
of the player’s choice. Willpower cannot be used on
this roll. If the mummy meditates in her tomb, add its
Geometry rating (p. XX) to the dice pool.
• Vestiges: Cannibalizing Vestiges (p. XX) provides 1
Pillar point per dot.
AFFINITIES
T he Arisen are filled to the brim with Sekhem. Each is so
soaked in this radiant life essence as to become a vessel of
fortune and power, and gains powerful Affinities that reflect
the holy energy of the Pillars of her soul. The Arisen do not
believe this empowerment is an accident; the magic of the
Rite of Return shapes each mummy to serve as a channel in
this way, thus laying the foundations of each Affinity through
its sorcery.
USING AFFINITIES
Many Affinities are innate and instinctive, girding the
Arisen with good luck, preternatural skill, or simple but potent
magics that work at the mummy’s slightest will. The Arisen
do not need to actively invoke such Affinities; the blessings
are always present, always working to aid the mummy and
coax the threads of Fate to her favor.
Some Affinities have effects requiring the expenditure
of Willpower points to activate; these magics require a little
more focus and intent on the part of the Arisen. A mummy
can spend any number of Willpower points on activating
Affinities each turn without counting towards the usual one
Willpower point per turn limitation.
GAINING AFFINITIES
A mummy manifests new Affinities naturally, usually
without conscious effort. As her Pillars grow stronger and
her soul waxes in righteousness, so does the power of the Rite
of Return shape itself around her being, drawing forth new
Affinities. Until faced with an appropriate situation in which
a mummy instinctively uses a new Affinity, she does not know
that she has gained one.
Affinities often have prerequisites pertaining to decree,
guild, or Pillar. A mummy can only acquire an Affinity for
which she meets the prerequisites.
Pillars 123
 SOUL AFFINITIES
S oul Affinities well up from the power of the mummy’s own
Pillars. An Arisen must have at least one dot in a particular
Pillar to be able to use Soul Affinities associated with it.
ALL
Entombed Glory
By spending one point of Willpower, the mummy adds the
rating of her defining Pillar to her effective Sekhem rating
while within her tomb for the remainder of the scene. This
cannot raise effective Sekhem higher than 10, and does not
prevent consequences should the Arisen’s actual Sekhem
drop to 0.
God King’s Scepter
The mummy is tightly bound to her cult, beyond the usual
threads of Fate and magic. She treats all dice pools that would
solely target members of her cult as Blessed Actions. She
benefits from the Affinity for any kind of action — attempts
to inspire or terrify her followers, punishment or attacks, the
invocation of magic or the practice of medical treatment, etc.
— but if the dice pool would also affect any characters who
are not members of her cult, she loses the bonus.
AB
Bestial Majesty
Natural animals see the mummy as a master and they do
not attack her under any circumstances. Nor do they pay heed
to her presence unless she invites them to do so. The same is
true of any of her cultists in her immediate presence. She adds
her Ab rating to her Animal Ken rolls, and she may spend a
point of Willpower to give an animal a short, single-sentence
command which it understands and attempts to carry out to
the best of its ability, or suffers the Berserk Condition for the
remainder of the scene.
Blessed Soul
By spending a point of Willpower, the mummy’s player
makes one of her Social dice pools a Blessed Action. This
Affinity’s effect applies to all further dice pools involving the
same Social skill for the remainder of the scene.
Crown of Wadjet
The Arisen bears a mantle of regal grandeur, her will
enacted with utter authority. She adds her Ab to Socialize
dice pools and to the permanent Fidelity of her cult. When
she interacts with a mortal organization, bureaucracy, or
administrative process in its official capacity, she may spend
124 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Advanced Actions
Whether due to Fate or other circumstances,
sometimes the outcome of an action seems in-
evitable. When taking an Advanced Action,
the player rolls the dice pool twice. A Blessed
Action keeps the best result of the two, while a
Blighted Action keeps the worst.
Whenever other dice effects are in place, resolve
Advanced Actions first. A Blessed Action with the
rote quality keeps the best result of two rolls and
then rerolls the failed dice on that roll. If a roll
would be both a Blessed and Blighted Action, the
two effects cancel each other out and it becomes
a normal roll.
a Willpower point to ensure the interaction resolves swiftly
in her favor if possible, Fate greasing the wheels to take a
tenth of the usual time to complete. This does not cover up
blatantly illegal or bizarre elements of a request or interaction,
but renders everyone in the process eager to please and quick
to make exceptions in the Arisen’s favor. It cannot be used
on the cults of other Arisen.
Death Mask
When the corpse form of the Arisen’s true sahu would
be revealed for any reason, she may choose to suppress the
effect and maintain her normal appearance. If caused by un-
leashing an Epic Utterance, it costs her a Willpower point to
do so. Furthermore, the Arisen may choose whether or not
she causes Sybaris when making direct physical contact with
someone, and she does not suffer the Social penalties caused
by the first and second tier Sybaris Conditions.
Divine Countenance
The Arisen can reinforce her Social Attributes by spending
Pillars in the same way as she can with her Physical Attributes.
She achieves an exceptional success on any roll using a rein-
forced Social Attribute with three successes rather than five.
Soulsight
By adding her Ab rating to Empathy dice pools, the Arisen
can sense if someone within sight is Invested with Pillar points,
has suffered soul loss, what stage of soul loss they may be at,
or if they are possessed. She may spend a further Willpower
point to sense the Virtue and Integrity rating of a single target,
or equivalent traits, and any mental or spiritual Conditions
that affect them.
Voice of Conscience
The Arisen’s voice rings true with an appeal to the righ-
teous heart of those who hear her, compelling them to action.
The mummy adds her Ab rating to Social dice pools and social
maneuvering rolls that appeal to or invoke a target’s Virtue.
If successful with such a social maneuver, she may also spend
a Willpower point to open all remaining Doors.
BA
Auspicious Mastery
By spending a Willpower point, the mummy’s player
makes one of her Mental dice pools a Blessed Action. This
Affinity’s effect applies to all further dice pools involving the
same Mental skill for the remainder of the scene.
Beast Companion
In each incarnation, the Arisen is accompanied by a
favored animal. She chooses a beast companion simply by
touching it, which binds it to her in loyalty; it remains such
until its death, whereupon the mummy may choose a new
animal. The chosen animal possesses normal characteristics
for its kind, with the following additions:
• The animal is immune to Sybaris and utterly loyal to the
Arisen. It cannot be turned against her, commanded
or magically bound by another character, or chosen by
a different Arisen with this Affinity. When acting to
execute her instructions or protect her, the animal’s
dice rolls are Blessed Actions. The Arisen can choose
to exempt the animal from the effects of any of her
Utterances.
• The Arisen can communicate telepathically with the
animal over any distance, and can reflexively ride the
senses of the companion to see what it sees, hear what
it hears, etc. She may still benefit from any Affinities
that augment her own perception when doing so.
• The Arisen and the animal are always perfectly aware
of one another’s relative location and distance. A
Spending a Willpower point summons the animal
immediately to the Arisen’s location, appearing from
round a corner, emerging from the shadows, or other-
wise adding itself to the scene in a manner appropriate
to its species.
• When the Arisen spends Pillar points to reinforce her
Attributes, she may choose to apply the same bonuses
to the animal’s Attributes as well. Furthermore, if the
Arisen can see the animal, she may treat it as the origin
point for her own Utterances.
• The animal has the damage resistance and healing rate
of the Arisen, and gains additional Health levels equal
to the Arisen’s Ba rating.
Chariot of Judgment
The Arisen touches a transport vehicle — whether a lit-
eral chariot or a modern design such a motorbike, car, yacht,
helicopter, or the like — and spends a point of Willpower to
designate it as her chosen steed. This binds the vehicle to
her, empowering it until it is destroyed or she chooses a new
vehicle. The vehicle gains the following traits:
• The vehicle only operates at the will of the Arisen, al-
though she may choose to have someone else pilot it for
her. It is completely unresponsive to would-be thieves
or hijackers. The Arisen may choose to exempt the
vehicles from the effects of any of her Utterances; she
may pilot a helicopter through a screaming hurricane
she conjured up without any difficulty at all.
• The vehicle adds the Arisen’s Ba to its Durability and
to its dice pools to maneuver or pilot. Guided by Fate,
the vehicle may move at full Speed through any area
where there is physically space for it to pass without
any risk of collisions that the pilot does not wish; the
Arisen’s transport weaves among hurtling mortal traffic
without danger.
• The vehicle adds the Arisen’s Ba to the amount of
damage it deals when ramming or striking, and reduces
the amount of damage the vehicle itself takes from such
acts by the same.
• The vehicle does not normally degrade, rust, or oth-
erwise require maintenance or fuel, and heals lost
Structure at a rate of one point per hour. The Arisen
may spend a point of Willpower to summon the vehi-
cle to her current location; it collapses into scrap at
its current location, and reassembles itself out of the
environment in the Arisen’s presence over the course
of a turn.
Falcon Soul Aloft
The Arisen can jump her full Speed in yards both horizon-
tally and vertically, even from a standing start. She has perfect
balance, and never falls or slips due to her own error even on
the most treacherous of footings; if pushed or subjected to
supernatural effects, she still ignores environmental penalties
on dice pools for balancing. Unless she wishes it to, her weight
does not cause anything she steps on to break or trigger; she
can run along a narrow wire or tap dance across landmines
without danger. Finally, she reduces the damage she takes
Soul Affinities 125
 from falling by her Ba rating, and extends this benefit to any
person or object she holds.
Soul Infusion
The Arisen can tap into the driving will of another’s
soul, transferring Willpower between them. She may use
this Affinity on another character simply by touching them
for a turn; if they’re unwilling, she must establish a grapple
first. Each turn, the Arisen may reflexively drain a point of
Willpower from the target; if they are willing, she then gains
an additional Willpower point for every two full points drained
in this way. She may donate her Willpower points in the same
way, granting the target one point for every two full points she
loses — or for every one point if donating Willpower to one
of her cultists. Draining a character’s last Willpower point in
this way, or attempting to drain a point when the target has
none left, renders them comatose for the mummy’s Ba rating
in hours. Any given character can only gain up to 10 points
of Willpower through Soul Infusion per day.
Swift As The Sun
The Arisen retains her Defense against ranged attacks,
including firearms. She doubles her Speed at will, and may
126 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
triple it for a scene by spending a Willpower point. The Arisen
may also spend a Willpower point to treat an Instant action
that is neither an attack nor an Utterance as a Reflexive
action instead.
Wisdom of the Ancients
The Arisen reinforces her Mental Attributes by spending
Pillars in the same way as she does for her Physical Attributes.
She achieves an exceptional success on any roll using a rein-
forced Mental Attribute with three successes rather than five.
KA
Anointed Prowess
By spending a Willpower point, the mummy’s player makes
one of her Physical dice pools a Blessed Action. This Affinity’s
effect then applies to all further dice pools involving the same
Physical skill for the remainder of the scene.
Dominating Might
The Arisen adds her Ka to her Initiative, to the armor
piercing rating of her melee attacks, and to her Strength for
the purposes of lifting, moving, or damaging objects; when
damaging objects, she also ignores up to her Ka in Durability.
When the mummy strikes a target with a melee attack, she
may spend a point of Willpower to inflict the Knocked Down
Tilt on them.
Enduring Flesh
The Arisen adds her Ka to her Athletics rolls (apart from
attacks), ignores up to her Ka rating in aggravated damage
caused by fire each scene, and always reduces aggravated
damage inflicted on her by supernatural sources by her Ka
rating (to a minimum of 1). Furthermore, she is unaffected
by extreme environments and suffers neither damage nor
penalties from naturally-caused Environmental Tilts.
Guardian Wrath
The Arisen’s unarmed attacks deal lethal damage, and
their damage modifier increases by her Ka rating. Once per
scene, when she deals damage with a melee attack of any kind,
she may spend a point of Willpower to also inflict the Arm
Wrack, Blinded, or Leg Wrack Tilt on the victim.
Living Monolith
The Arisen always ignores wound penalties, and she gains
additional permanent health levels equal to her Ka rating. Her
cultists also ignore wound penalties while in her immediate
presence.
Retributive Curse
As a reflexive action, the Arisen spends a Willpower point
to curse a character she can see so that their next dice roll
before the end of the scene becomes a Blighted Action. If used
immediately after a target inflicts an injury on the Arisen via
an attack or supernatural power, there is no Willpower cost.
While the Arisen is meditating, unconscious, or dead, any
dice pools to steal or harm her body become Blighted Actions.
Whenever the mummy dies, any character or characters di-
rectly responsible for the death suffer the Cursed Condition.
Towering Perspective
The Arisen views the world from atop the pharaoh’s
pyramid of power. As an intimidating tyrant, she sees bonds
of allegiance and possesses an iron grasp over petty notions
such as free will or perspective. She adds her Ka rating to her
Intimidation and Politics rolls, and by spending a Willpower
point senses the highest-rated Allies, Contacts, and Status
Merits of a single target she can see. Furthermore, she can
spend a Willpower point to increase her apparent Size for
the remainder of the scene by up to twice her Ka rating. This
Size change is magical, wrought by warped perspectives, and
does not change her Health — but otherwise has full effect,
allowing her to reach higher or climb over obstacles she might
have struggled with before. To viewers, she does not seem to
grow, but instead the perspective of the world around her
shifts painfully to allow for her stature.
REN
Amanuensis
The mummy adds her Ren rating to her Academics and
Expression rolls. She understands any mortal language she
encounters, speaking and writing the language of any person or
text present. This extends to technical or professional formats,
such as coding languages. By spending a Willpower point, she
may also extend it to occult or magic languages, such as that
of spirits, for the remainder of the scene. The Arisen’s cultists
also benefit from the language comprehension, if she so desires.
Blessed Panoply
The Arisen’s tomb and possessions neither rot, suffer from
the passage of time, nor degrade from regular use, and she can
will herself and any objects she touches to become pristine
and clean with a moment’s thought. She can improvise tools
from even the simplest of objects, even if all she has to work
with are sticks or scraps, and never suffers penalties for using
improvised weapons or tools. She gains the 9-again quality
on any dice pools using tools of any kind — whether attack
rolls with weapons, Drive rolls with a vehicle, or extended
actions crafting objects. Her clothes and armor offer an ad-
ditional point of armor even if they would usually grant none
at all. All dice rolls to damage, curse, or supernaturally ruin
the Arisen’s tomb or possessions become Blighted Actions,
unless perpetrated with the Arisen’s permission.
Enlightened Senses
Possessed of spiritually enlightened senses, the Arisen ex-
periences existence through the lens of intensified sensation.
She adds her Ren rating to her perception rolls, Craft rolls,
and Investigation rolls, and reduces range and concealment
penalties when firing a weapon by the same amount. She is
never surprised by an ambush or surprise attack. Finally, she
both perceives and physically interacts with beings in the
Twlight spiritual frequency, and can harm them with her
unarmed attacks.
Familiar Face
By spending a Willpower point, the Arisen improves her
Impression level with a single mortal by a number of steps
equal to her Ren rating for the remainder of the scene, making
her seem more friendly and familiar. If used on a character with
whom the Arisen has no meaningful preexisting relationship,
the target believes the Arisen to be an old acquaintance of
positive nature, with a good history together that the target
has trouble recalling just at this moment.
Soul Affinities 127
 Godsight
The Arisen’s blessed sight adds her Ren rating to her
Occult rolls, and immediately reveals to her the Sekhem
rating of any Arisen, Timeless, or Judge avatar in sight. By
spending a Willpower point, the Arisen gains the ability to
perceive supernatural beings and effects for the remainder
of the scene, and adds her Ren rating to Clash of Wills dice
pools to penetrate supernatural obfuscation, concealment,
illusion, or misdirection.
Radiant Life Force
The Arisen’s very name blazes with radiant life energy.
She adds her Ren rating to her Medicine rolls, and her touch
immediately stabilizes incapacitated characters from bleeding
out. The natural healing rates of living beings present in the
scene progress twice as fast as normal; the Arisen’s own cult-
ists also heal an additional point of bashing damage per turn
while in her presence, if she chooses to permit it. Finally, the
mummy may spend a Willpower point as an instant action to
end a single mental or spiritual Condition affecting her. Ending
a Condition in this way does not earn a Beat for resolution.
Soul Threads
The Arisen may spend a Willpower point to forge magi-
cal connections to any characters of her choice she can see
throughout the remainder of the scene. As long as the soul
thread remains, she is aware of the target’s exact location rel-
ative to herself, their general condition — including whether
they suffer damage or physical Conditions or Tilts — and
their general emotional state. She always knows whether the
character is aware of her own presence in a scene, and adds
her Ren rating to dice pools to avoid the character’s notice.
The Arisen also adds her Ren rating to dice pools to reach the
location of a threaded character, including working her way
past obstacles, avoiding security, or finding a viable path. Once
forged, a soul thread remains until the end of the story or until
the Arisen chooses to end it; she can maintain a number of
soul threads at a time equal to twice her Ren rating.
SHEUT
Ancient Horror Unveiling
The Arisen’s mastery over her Sybaris renders it both
subtle and potent. If she desires, she inflicts her Sheut rating
as a penalty on rolls to resist Sybaris. By spending a Willpower
point, the mummy chooses a single character who can see
her, and reveal her monstrous nature to their gaze alone.
The victim sees her corpse form for the rest of the scene,
and suffers from Sybaris. If the victim fails to resist it, the
Arisen may choose to inflict either the Madness or Frightened
Conditions upon them.
128 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
By Steps Unseen
The Arisen may always attempt to hide, no matter the
circumstances, and adds her Sheut to her Stealth for such dice
pools. By spending a Willpower point, the mummy teleports
up to her Sheut × 10 yards as an instant action, moving to a
destination within sight or that she has been to previously.
The destination must be unobserved by another sapient being,
else she simply dissolves into black smoke and shadow.
Deathsight
The Arisen’s deathly attunement allows her to detect
whether someone is dead, undead, or has surpassed their nat-
ural lifespan at a glance. She perceives and may physically in-
teract with beings in the Twilight frequency of Neter-Khertet
— including harming them with her unarmed attacks. She
adds her Sheut to her Defense against the attacks of all such
undead and Timeless beings other than Arisen. By spending
a Willpower point, she senses the Vice, Integrity rating, and
Sheut rating of a single character she sees, or equivalent traits
the target may possess.
Grip of Death
The Arisen’s grasp is murderously potent. Her unarmed
attacks deal lethal damage. In addition to causing damage
as normal, adding her Sheut rating to dice pools establishes
or continues a grapple. Victims caught in a grapple with the
Arisen are supernaturally silenced, unable to vocalize any
sound, and the mummy inflicts her Sheut rating as a penalty
on perception rolls to notice the mummy or her victim while
in this state. She can also apply this penalty to perception
rolls when in a non-violent grapple such as an embrace, bodily
shielding someone, etc. Finally, the mummy can rise to her
feet from prone as a Reflexive action, even if struck with the
Knocked Down Tilt. If she does so when prone in a grapple,
she also brings her grappled victim up as well.
Opener of the Way
The Arisen adds her Sheut rating to Larceny and Survival
rolls, and her actions never causes mundane traps or alarms
to trigger unless she so desires. Spending a Willpower point
causes any door, lock, or barrier she touches to unlock and
open. If necessary, mechanical or electric parts activate to
allow this action, even if they lack power. She may also use
this power to open supernatural gateways into other realms of
existence, such as a door to the Underworld. However, this
Affinity does not give the mummy the ability to sense such
otherworldly portals by itself.
Scorpion Veins
The Arisen is immune to poisons and diseases, both
mundane and supernatural, as are any of her cultists in her
immediate presence. As an Instant action, she may deal herself
one point of lethal damage to extract a single dose of venom
from her flesh, enough to coat a weapon for one strike or
poison a single item of food. This thin ichor is a poison with
Toxicity equal to the Arisen’s Sheut, inflicting the moderate
Poisoned Tilt in combat. Delivered via contact, ingestion,
or injury, she may also choose to exempt her cultists from its
effects. By spending a Willpower point when touching another
character, the Arisen may draw poison out of them. The target
immediately reduces the Toxicity of any poisons affecting
them by the Arisen’s Sheut rating, completely neutralizing
any that reach Toxicity 0.
Voice of Temptation
The Arisen’s voice resounds with the alluring call to
indulge one’s worst excesses, drawing forth the venom of sin
to the surface of those who hear her. The mummy adds her
Sheut rating to Social dice pools and social maneuvering rolls
appealing to or invoking a target’s Vice. If successful with such
a social maneuver, she may also spend a Willpower point to
open all remaining Doors.
GUILD AFFINITIES
Certain Affinities are unique to the guilds and kept secret
within their ancient tradition. Arisen automatically choose
one of these Affinities during character creation, with the only
prerequisite being their membership of the associated guild.
Like other Affinities, new Guild Affinities manifest naturally
and form part of the mummy’s passive abilities.
MAA-KEP AFFINITIES
Affable Aid
The mummy’s bearing and noble mien are the unmistak-
able hallmarks of their guild. They carry themselves with the
guile and craft of the subtle manipulator. Their words easily
find their way into the hearts and minds of their friends, foes,
and marks alike, leaving an ineffable impression that rarely
fades. The mummy adds 2 dice to Empathy, Persuasion, and
Socialize dice pools. Once she has succeeded on a roll with
any of these skills against a particular target, all subsequent
rolls with any of these skills against that character gain the
8-again quality for the remainder of the scene.
Amulet of the Envoy
The mummy speaks as an envoy with the wisdom and
authority of her guild. She can craft a magical amulet over
the course of a scene, which acts as a conduit for her power.
If worn by the Arisen or one of her Inheritors or Sadikh, it
grants a 2 dice bonus to all Streetwise and Subterfuge rolls,
and radiates warmth when the bearer is within 50 yards of
Arisen of other guilds — even if they are disguised with magic
or glamours. As an envoy, the bearer is protected; anyone who
wishes to attack them must spend a Willpower point the first
time they do so in a scene. The wearer may spend a Willpower
point to inflict the Mute Condition on a character they can
see, once per scene. The Condition ends when the wearer or
the victim leave each others’ presence, or the wearer grants
the victim permission to speak again. If the mummy creates
a new amulet, the existing one loses its power.
Nexus of the Soul
The mummy acts as the hub and nexus of his cult and
this Affinity always allows her Inheritors to act as his eyes
and ears. The Arisen is always precisely aware of the loca-
tion of Inheritor cultists relative to herself and their exact
condition, including whether they are wounded or distressed.
Furthermore, she may communicate with them mind-to-mind,
transmitting her thoughts to one or more cultists as she de-
sires and receiving their responses in clear conversation. By
spending a Willpower point, she can ride the senses of an
Inheritor cultist for a scene, perceiving what they see without
losing her own awareness.
MESEN-NEBU AFFINITIES
Divine Flesh
This Affinity allows the mummy to transmute her very
flesh to an embodiment of the perfection her guild desires. The
mummy’s skin is always considered to have an armor rating of
1, stacking with armor worn. She may spend a Willpower point
to make her skin burnished or tarnished metal, increasing the
armor rating to 2 for the remainder of the scene. Any damage
she suffers from fire reduces by 2, and she takes no damage at
all from electricity or lightning. However, the awful majesty of
this transformation invokes Sybaris in mortals witnessing it.
Hone the Soul
Mastering the art of performing internal transformations
in herself and her cultists, the mummy temporarily increases
their prowess in required fields. Once per scene, the mummy
chooses two dots from Skills she or one of her cultists possesses,
and replaces them in one or two alternative Skills on the same
character until the end of the scene. A Skill cannot be raised
above 5 dots in this way.
Almsman’s Tithe
The mummy reaps the benefits of perfecting her cult and
investing the strength of her Pillars in them. Whenever the
mummy wishes, they can drain two Willpower points from an
Inheritor and convert it into a Pillar point of any type, provid-
ing the conversion doesn’t lead to the Arisen exceeding their
maximum Pillars or the Inheritor dropping below 0 Willpower.
Soul Affinities 129
 The Inheritor can be any distance from the mummy when
this Affinity is activated; all the mummy has to do is utter their
name. When the Willpower drain occurs, the Inheritor gains
the Broken (Persistent) Condition (see p. XX).
SESHA-HEBSU AFFINITIES
Eyes of Justice
The mummy’s sight cuts through deceit. She adds two
dice to perception and Investigation rolls. She identifies
vessels with a glance, appearing in her vision with a corona
of burnished gold to her vision. She knows the dot rating of
any such relic or vestige she sees. In the case of relic texts, she
also learns the vessel’s story, power, and curse. If she spends
a Willpower point, for the remainder of the scene she can
identify the nature of Lifeless or Timeless on sight, and fur-
thermore knows whether anyone she sees has killed a mortal
or sent a Deathless into death cycle — and whether this act
specifically took place since the last sunset.
Master of the Written Word
With this Affinity, the Arisen enchants her writings with
the magic of Irem. She may cause any text she creates to
immediately fade and become invisible upon completion,
choosing an act or ritual — usually a specific gesture or pass-
word — that a reader must perform within a yard of the text,
either allowing that character alone to perceive the words or
making them reappear for everyone. She may also choose to
render her writings comprehensible to any reader, regardless
of if they know the language she creates it in. By spending
a Willpower point, she can instill any statement she writes
and genuinely believes to be true with urgency and sincerity.
Supernatural beings sense the sincerity of the statement,
while a mortal reading the words must succeed on a Resolve
+ Composure roll or else be compelled to follow any warnings
contained therein for the remainder of the scene (such as
“Danger ahead, do not proceed”). Finally, she can spend a
Willpower point as an Instant action to copy a written work,
reproducing its content in a suitable receptacle she touches.
This works on digitally stored texts as well as conventionally
printed ones, and can copy works onto blank paper, stone,
metal, data storage, or other appropriate formats.
Loremaster’s Guile
The mummy adds 2 dice to her Academics, Politics,
and Science rolls. When the Arisen examines any sample
of writing, film, or other media, she senses whether it is real
or a forgery, whether it contains any codes, and whether the
creator was sincere and honestly believed in any assertions or
claims it makes. If the creator was deceived or simply wrong in
their assertion, the Arisen still senses it as authentic, but she
130 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
can pick out any lies or intentional misinformation. She may
then spend a Willpower point to crack any codes or reveal
any enigmas embedded in the media.
SU-MENENT AFFINITIES
Fated Soul
The Arisen feels an overwhelming duty of care to the souls
of those she encounters, and her own soul stands strong. She
adds 2 dice to Medicine and Occult rolls and to any dice pools
to resist magic or supernatural powers that might afflict her.
She is also entirely immune to any source of fear.
Flesh-Culled Secrets
The Shepherds, more than any other guild, revere the ghosts
of the departed, and the Arisen may exert some influence over
the dead. She senses the location of human and animal remains
present in the scene, and by spending a Willpower point com-
pels earth, stone, or metal to yield them; bones rise up from the
soil, or bricks crumble away to reveal a hidden skeleton beyond
them. With a glance, she can tell how a corpse or remains
died, including the kind of murder weapon used if they were
killed, and accurately assesses their characteristics at time of
death such as height, weight, sex, whether they were healthy
or diseased, etc. By spending a Willpower point, she also learns
their name and something of their emotions during their final
days of life. If one of her cultists, she witnesses the last minute
of the deceased’s live and the moment of their death as if from
their eyes. Finally, she can sense whether the ghost of a corpse
she touches still lingers in the world.
Blazing Zeal
The unshakable faith of this Arisen is a shining light to
her followers and a terrifying sight to her foes. While present
in the scene with her, the Arisen’s cultists are immune to fear
and add 2 dice when rolling to resist supernatural effects or to
stay conscious from their injuries. The mummy’s Inheritors and
ghost cultists always benefit from these effects even when apart
from her. As an Instant action, the mummy may intone a curse
in Iremic and spend a Willpower point to force all mortals gazing
upon her to flee for turns equal to her defining Pillar rating.
TEF-AABHI AFFINITIES
Model Lifeweb
The mummy is sensitive to the flow of Sekhem surrounding
her, making her highly proficient in manipulating its flow. She
adds 2 dice to Craft and Expression rolls, and automatically
detects any hidden alcoves, doors, spaces, or traps present
in her immediate vicinity. She does not automatically sense
hidden or concealed characters, but her normal perception
rolls detects even those hiding their presence via supernatural
means. By spending a Willpower point when touching an
object, the Arisen senses the object’s intended purpose and
gains an image of the object’s creator. If the object is a vessel,
she instead gains an image of its last bearer, and may track
them as if they were the vessel itself via kepher (see p. XX)
for as long as she retains hold of it.
Guardian Statue
The mummy can craft a small protective statuette in the
image of another character. Crafting the statuette takes a
scene, requires appropriate materials, and costs the Arisen
a single Willpower point to enchant it in the process. While
the character has the statuette of them on their person, the
next time they suffer damage from an attack, all harm from
the blow glances off and is diverted into the figurine instead,
immediately destroying it. The Arisen can empower a number
of guardian statuettes of up to her defining Pillar rating at
any one time.
Nest of Dolls
As if clay dolls arranged by her hand, the Arisen treats
her Inheritors and Sadikh as extensions of her will. Such
characters gain the 8-again quality on teamwork rolls when
helping each other or the Arisen, and treat such rolls as
Blessed Actions when the purpose is the creation of art or
structure. Costing a Willpower point, she may as an instant
action cause two of her Inheritors or Sadikh to swap locations
with each other one. They may only carry immediate personal
possessions with them (e.g. a weapon or some small tools, but
not a heavy backpack), and a given character can only be
translocated once per scene in this way.
UTTERANCES
U tterances 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. Utterances are rarely subtle, rarely mistaken for
anything other than an act of divinity. With access to these
sacraments encoded within the Rite of Return, the Arisen
are forevermore able to unfold the world, striding as did the
gods in the beginning.
Yet they cannot do so with complete freedom. Indeed,
Utterances are a glittering lure for the Arisen. Only the
Utterances 131
 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 the someone else’s hard
work of thousands of years ago preserved in sacred texts and
fragments of elder magics). 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 mum-
my’s successes cross each Tier of Utterance’s requirements,
they learn the Tier and may unleash it at 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 be-
ing 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 ac-
tion. 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.
SPECIAL RULES
Early Termination: The Arisen can reflexively terminate
any single unleashing by expending one Willpower point. If an
Utterance states a secondary or alternate condition to termi-
nate the Utterance, give that condition priority over this rule.
Sybaris: Utterances invoke Sybaris in mortal viewers on
132 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
the turn the Arisen unleashes the power, unless they have
the Subtle keyword.
Words Beyond Sound: Mummies can have their tongues
ripped out, be exposed to the scouring sands of Mars, or have
their mouths filled with molten lead — their soul speaks the
words of the Utterance, and not with anything as profane as
breath. Utterances may be unleashed regardless of environ-
mental conditions, the Mute Condition, the Grip of Death
Affinity, or any other silencing effect.
Unique Expression: While Utterances are miracles folded
into the world, they are each unique, and every Arisen’s ex-
pression of an Utterance is different. One Arisen’s Wrathful
Desert Power may generate luminous golden grains of sand
from the Caribbean, while her fellow guildmate’s is the jet-
black volcanic sand of Hawaii.
UTTERANCE KEYWORDS
Curse: If a mummy is forced into death cycle as a result of
another’s actions, whether direct or indirect, he may curse his
killer with this tier of the Utterance. This unleashing costs no
Pillars, but otherwise follows normal rules for unleashing, save
that the mummy may select multiple targets if they shared the
deed of slaying the Arisen, unless the curse affects an entire
area rather than individuals. Only one Utterance may be
unleashed by a death cycle.
Epic: Unleashing these Utterances blasts away the illusion
of life surrounding the mummy’s sahu for the remainder of
the scene, as well as emanating Sekhem across a vast area
(Sekhem rating in miles across). Anyone succeeding at a Wits
+ Occult + Sekhem roll can identify the target and effects
of the Utterance.
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.
Subtle: Unleashing the Utterance neither reveals the
mummy’s sahu nor imposes Sybaris.
CLASH OF WILLS
When two mummies bring their powers to bear against one
another, it’s not always clear which ability trumps another.
Likewise, an Utterance may have effects that oppose the ef-
fects of a werewolf’s Gift or a mage’s spells. When the effects
of supernatural abilities clash in this way, it’s a Clash of Wills.
Each player involved rolls his character’s Sekhem + rat-
ing in the appropriate Pillar, using the defining Pillar if the

The Tone is Pharaoh
Rivers of blood, swarms of vermin, thunderstorms
of hail and fire; look to the Ten Plagues of Egypt
and see the might of Sekhem unleashed.
If Affinities are subtle emanations of the immortal
fivefold soul, Utterances are the unsubtle hammer
of the gods. They are miracles, without question –
manifest signs unable to be explained by science
or nature, transgressions against natural law to
express the mummy’s dominance and the futility
of resistance. They are not meant to be explained,
and are not explainable — the deep and abiding
waves of Sybaris wracking an urban populace
stymie any attempts to hunt the mummy down or
find an appropriate natural rationalization. Life
returns to normal afterwards, though heavier with
languor. The memory of revelation is often trau-
matic, so the thoughts and deeds of mortals strive
to avoid remembrance of how a strange and for-
eign religion invaded their day-to-day.
appropriate Pillar is unclear. Whoever scores the most success-
es wins; his power takes effect as normal while the conflicting
effects fail. Ties reroll until one player has accrued more suc-
cesses than all others. A character only spends a Willpower
point on the Clash roll if he and his opponents are physically
present, and he is aware that abilities are in conflict, which
may require magic. Other supernatural creatures have their
own dice pools for Clashes, detailed in their respective books.
Long-lasting effects add a level of supernatural endurance,
per the following table.
Modifier Duration
+1 Effect would last a day
+2 Effect would last a week
+3 Effect would last a month
+4 Effect would last a year
AWAKEN THE DEAD
Tier 1: Ba • (Subtle); Tier 2: Sheut ••• (Curse); Tier
3: Ren •••••
Tier 1
Although they are known as Deathless, the hands of a
mummy can reach the dead as well as the living. By infusing
a vessel with a flicker of Irem’s undying light, the Arisen ani-
mates a corpse’s decayed mind and the fragmented memories
held within it for the remainder of the scene. The mummy
may ask the corpse as many questions as they wish on one
subject of their choice, receiving the information as moments
of the deceased creature’s memory. The corpse can only give
information it knew while alive.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the Arisen may
question the corpse about any number of subjects with which
it was familiar in life.
Tier 2
Calling to a departed spirit is a mere parlor trick for the
Arisen unleashing this tier. She suffuses the vessel with
something darker and alien to its original function. Reaching
into the depths of her own shadow, the Deathless invests the
corpse with a shard of its energy, causing it to rise and serve
its master’s every whim. Without instruction, the Lifeless
creature exists only to destroy and attacks any living thing
it encounters other than the Arisen’s cultists, unless ordered
otherwise. While limited in scope, these animated thralls
serve as useful labor for tasks unsuitable for more fragile and
valued cult members or as relentless killers, set to hunt down
Irem’s enemies.
Sheut: An Arisen with a Sheut Pillar rating of 3 or higher
may raise a number of thralls up to their rating in this Pillar
with each unleashing. They can also spend a Willpower point
to renew the Health of a single thrall to full, reinvigorating
the crumbling vessel with their undying will. As a death curse,
all bodies within one mile rise up as undirected, uncontrolled
thralls.
Tier 3
The purest expression of the power of the Arisen is to call
another soul from the grave, defying nature and the progress
of linear time to perform an act of resurrection. The Arisen
touches the remains or ghost of a dead human or animal and
calls their name aloud. The target immediately returns to life
with all wounds healed; a corpse restores its vital essence,
while a ghost regains the physical form possessed before its
demise. The mummy may choose to wrap the resurrected
character in traditional funerary linens or don whatever
clothes they wore at the moment of their death.
The character is truly alive and possesses all their memo-
ries and capabilities, but even this miracle can only deny the
grasp of death for so long. After one full story, the character
crumbles to dust and dies for good. A character cannot be
resurrected by this Utterance a second time.
Utterances 133
 Lifeless Thrall
The second tier of Awaken the Dead animates human
or animal corpses. A human corpse has the following
statistics and powers:
Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 2, Stamina
5; Presence 1, Manipulation 1, Composure 2;
Intelligence 1, Wits 1, Resolve 2
Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 3
Willpower: 4
Initiative: 4
Defense: 3
Speed: 14
Size: 5
Health: 10
Crumbling: Thralls cannot heal damage normally,
slowly turning to dust from the strain of their own ani-
mation. They suffer 1 point of bashing damage each
full day they spend outside the mummy’s own tomb.
When destroyed, the thrall collapses to dust.
Taste the Living: Thralls hunger for living flesh
and can bite without establishing a grapple. Their
If unleashed in conjunction with the second tier, the in-
dividual rises as a thrall, but with the full Mental and Social
Attributes, Skills, and communicative capabilities of the
deceased. They suffer the hunger and decay of the body with
complete awareness, but can utilize their own ingenuity and
command other thralls when fulfilling their master’s commands.
Ren: Those resurrected by Arisen with a Ren Pillar rating
of 5 survive until injury or natural causes end their life. They
still cannot be resurrected by this Utterance a second time.
BLESSED IS THE GOD-KING
Tier 1: Ren • (Subtle); Tier 2: Ab ••• (Subtle); Tier 3:
Defining ••••• (Epic)
Tier 1
To the Arisen, Fate is both master and slave. Surrendering
to and demanding from the twisted paths of Fate, the mummy
draws forth a potent blessing. Invoking the Utterance grants
the Arisen the rote quality on a single dice pool based on
134 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
jaws have a damage modifier of 1 and inflict lethal
damage. Although the thrall permanently suffers this
hunger’s grip, any meat devoured simply sloughs
through their rotten stomach, leaving a trail of bloody
viscera in the thrall’s wake.
As One: The thrall cannot be reasoned with and un-
derstands only commands given to it by its creator or
by the Arisen’s Inheritors, if she chooses to grant that
authority to them. If commanded to speak, it speaks
only the words instructed in a rasping, grating whis-
per. Thralls are immune to any form of mind control
or influence save their master’s command. The Arisen
treats her thralls as cultists for the purposes of her oth-
er supernatural powers.
Living Vibration: Thralls sense when living crea-
tures are near with a +3 bonus on perception rolls
(for a total of 6 dice), unaffected by cover, conceal-
ment, or even the Blinded Tilt.
Lifeless Vigor: Animated by a single purpose, the
thrall wields the full, unfettered strength of the undead.
They don’t sleep or become fatigued, and require no
air, food, or drink. They cannot be poisoned, ignore
wound penalties, never fall unconscious, and have
the Arisen’s damage resistance.
Attributes or Skills of the player’s choosing. However, the
player may choose to apply the rote quality after she rolls the
dice and sees the result of that initial roll. This tier of the
Utterance cannot be unleashed more than once per scene,
but once unleashed the blessing remains until it is used or the
end of the story, whichever comes first.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating at 1 or higher, the Arisen
can unleash this Utterance up to twice per scene.
Tier 2
As the vessel of Fate, the Arisen is a conduit for its bless-
ings and bestows them upon the righteous and the worthy.
The mummy may unleash this tier to impart good fortune
upon a mortal who can see her. Whenever that character
would spend Willpower to enhance a dice pool, it becomes
a Blessed Action. This blessing remains until the end of the
story. If the mortal is one of the mummy’s cultists, the dice
pool also gains the 8-again trait, and achieves an exceptional
success on three successes instead of five.
 Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen may
choose to bestow the blessing on every mortal character who
can see her, although if she does so, each blessed character
only benefits from the effects on the first dice pool they spend
Willpower to enhance.
Tier 3
By unleashing this Utterance, the Arisen draws on the
power of her Judge to unleash true divine power through her
form, becoming an avatar of Judge and gods for the remainder
of the scene. This transformation empowers the Arisen with
the following benefits:
• The Arisen physically transforms, increasing her Size
and all of her Attributes by 2, which may raise them
above 5. Either her head transforms into the animal
associated with her decree, or her body metamorphoses
into a representation of her Judge.
• She is treated as having Sekhem 10 for the purposes of
reinforcing Attributes with Pillars and inflicting Sybaris
on witnesses of her divine form.
• She may manifest a divine weapon, such as a khopesh
or flail, as a reflexive action. The weapon has no
Initiative penalty, a damage rating of 3L, and the
8-again quality.
• Taking a hostile act against the Arisen requires a
character to first spend a Willpower point. After paying
this price once, they are freely able to act against the
mummy for the remainder of the scene.
• The Arisen may choose to immediately end the
Utterance upon suffering damage from any source,
reducing the amount of damage suffered to one point.
This does not alter the severity of that point of damage;
lethal damage remains lethal, etc.
The Arisen may also extend this empowerment to all
Inheritors that are present in the scene and who are invested
with her defining Pillar. They undergo a lesser form of the
transformation, increasing their Size and all Attributes by 1,
manifesting a divine weapon, and gaining the damage resis-
tance of an Arisen. The Arisen may choose one of her Soul
Affinities linked to her defining Pillar, allowing the Inheritors
to benefit from it as if they possessed it while transformed.
Defining Pillar: The Arisen gains an additional benefit
from this tier if her defining Pillar rating is five.
• If the Arisen’s defining Pillar is Ab, she treats her
impression for social maneuvers as Perfect.
• If the Arisen’s defining Pillar is Ba, she treats her
Initiative score as one higher than the highest Initiative
rolled for any character in the scene, and may apply
her Defense against attacks that would usually deny it.
• If the Arisen’s defining Pillar is Ka, she regenerates a
single point of lethal or bashing damage from her health
track each round.
• If the Arisen’s defining Pillar is Ren, she reduces the
cost of a single Utterance each round by one Pillar
point.
• If the Arisen’s defining Pillar is Sheut, any character
injured by her divine weapon also suffers the grave
Sick Tilt, and she gains partial concealment against
all attacks.
DREAMS OF DEAD GODS
Tier 1: Ba • (Curse); Tier 2: Ka •• (Curse, Potency 2);
Tier 3: Ab •••• (Subtle)
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 awakens that
same divinity in others. The mummy doesn’t choose who is
affected by this power. They need only define a specific task
they need completed and unleash the Utterance; Fate chooses
the 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
Duat and the horrifying futures awaiting 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 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.
When unleashed as a death curse, the mummy bestows
the task directly upon their killer.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 1 or higher, those afflicted
by the mummy with the Dead Dreamer Condition gain two
additional Blessed Actions per chapter.
Tier 2
Terror pervades the dreams of death, but romance does
as well. The mummy unleashes this Utterance upon any
Utterances 135

Dreams of Duat
All mummies carry this Utterance with them.
Combined with Sanctity of Merits and the spe-
cial rules for reserving a single dot of Cult, this
Utterance is ideal for reconstituting a mummy’s
Cult following its complete destruction. If the char-
acters are cultists, an interesting start to a chroni-
cle may bring together a disparate and disjointed
group of individuals all plagued by the same di-
vine burden to murder a willing supplicant and
resurrect the mummy.
character, mundane or supernatural, they have interacted
with in the past week, filling the target’s slumber with images
of the mummy cloaked in dread or splendor.
Dice Roll: Manipulation + Ka + Sekhem vs. Resolve
+ Sekhem
Action: Instant
Duration: Until the Condition triggers or the end of the
story
Roll Results
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, removing one additional Door on
social maneuvering.
Failure: The dreams of the target remain undisturbed.
Dramatic Failure: The mummy becomes obsessed with
the target and gains the Obsession Condition.
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. All within the sight of her eyes and the sound of
her voice are affected. Even to the protection of soundproof
walls or averted eyes is not enough; their souls resonate with
her majesty.
136 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
The player chooses one of three effects for the Arisen’s
overwhelming aura of dread majesty, affecting all mortal
characters beholding her as follows, though she may choose
to exempt her cultists:
Ruin: Victims gain the Broken Condition.
Love: Victims gain the Swooned Condition toward the
Arisen.
Grandeur: Victims gain the Awestruck Condition toward
the Arisen.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the aura lingers
for the entire scene and affects anyone beholding the Arisen
throughout that time, rather than only affecting those behold-
ing the Arisen in the moment the Utterance is unleashed.
DUST BENEATH FEET
Tier 1: Ba •; Tier 2: Ka ••• (Curse); Tier 3: Sheut
••••• (Curse, Epic)
Tier 1
Wrought from dust, given breath by the Rite of Return,
the Arisen bears the weight of the ages and shares it with the
earth and the stone. By unleashing this Utterance, the Arisen
attunes herself to the dust and the soil, gaining the following
benefits for its duration:
• She suffers no damage from falling, her flesh becoming
as dust upon the moment of impact and immediately
reassembling itself.
• She suffers no damage and no penalties from earth-
quakes, landslides, and other earth-based disasters,
including any environmental Tilts they impose.
• She can move through objects made of earthen materi-
als, traveling at up to her Speed through soil, dust, stone,
concrete, etc. The material closes in her wake, leaving
no trace of her passage. Carried and worn possessions
come with her, but she cannot bring passengers.
• With a word, she can form loose earthen material
present in the scene to form itself into ancient Iremite
garb of majestic appearance.
The effects of unleashing this tier last for a scene, or indef-
initely as long as the mummy remains in her tomb.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 1 or more, the Arisen can
grant the benefits of this tier to any willing beneficiary rather
than herself.
Tier 2
The Arisen calls to the earth and stone around her,
binding it to herself through her burgeoning Sekhem. The
unleashed Utterance tears the needed materials from the
Arisen’s surroundings, dragging soil and stone, concrete and
marble, metal and sand together to assemble an iconic form
around the mummy’s body until she is a statue, huge in form
and strength.
The encased form grants the mummy several benefits:
• Her Size increases by 1, and her weight increases greatly
to match the burden of so much stone.
• She gains 4 points of armor, and is immune to the
Knocked Down Tilt.
• Her Strength increases by 1.
The mummy can maintain the stone exoskeleton for an
hour, or indefinitely as long as she remains in her tomb. She
may use the first tier of this Utterance to swim out of the
statue, leaving it behind and intact. If she unleashes this tier
as a death curse, it immediately encases her body within a
sarcophagus statue, protecting the Arisen’s remains from
desecration, theft, or fire.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen
adds her Ka to her Size and to her Strength, rather than just
adding 1.
Tier 3
The Arisen commands the world to return to dust, and
it obeys in the form of an earthquake, grinding itself down
in servitude to the Utterance. She applies the Earthquake
Environmental Tilt to the scene at an intensity of her choos-
ing, and the Collapsing Ceiling Tilt as well if indoors; the
Arisen herself is unaffected by either.
By instead spending an entire scene calling up this
Utterance, the Arisen may inflict it on a massive area, trig-
gering a true earthquake roughly ten miles in radius. Buildings
near the epicenter may fall; modern designs beyond the
immediate environs of the quake are likely to stay up but
are damaged, but pipes, roads, and other infrastructure also
suffers, and the human toll is likely to be high. Beyond the
immediate 10-mile radius, the shock-waves of the earthquake
spreads naturally, causing damage up to 50 miles distant.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 5, the earthquake
shakes even the gates of Duat. Ghosts in the affected area,
whether the immediate scene or a wider earthquake, are wo-
ken and driven to sudden activity, gaining the affected region
as a new Anchor for five days following the quake. During
this time, if the tier was unleashed as a widespread earthquake
rather than just affecting one scene, these ghosts also gain an
additional Ban mandating that they follow commands given
by the Arisen causing the earthquake.
FEAST OF ASHES
Tier 1: Ab •; Tier 2: Ka ••• (Curse, Epic); Tier 3: Sheut
••••• (Curse, Epic)
Tier 1
The Deathless may unleash this tier Reflexively when
striking a victim with a touch, unarmed attack, or successful
move in a grapple. She inflicts the Arm Wrack or Leg Wrack
Tilt, withering a limb to uselessness. The Tilt ends after one
scene. This tier can only affect a given victim in this way
once per scene.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy
may invest the curse into food or drink, which becomes pleas-
ing to the eye and immune to decay. Consumers of the fare
suffer a grave poison with Toxicity equal to the mummy’s Ab.
The Arisen chooses whether the poison inflicts damage each
turn or each hour, the poison running its course after Ab +
Sekhem intervals of damage. The mummy may cure a victim
of this poison with a touch if she wishes.
Tier 2
The mummy curses an individual in their presence to a
slow, agonizing decline of body and soul as food crumbles to
ash in their mouths. The mummy may render the Utterance
Epic by targeting all in a radius of their Ka + Sekhem in
miles, although they may choose to exempt their cultists
from this effect.
Dice Pool: Wits + Ka + Sekhem vs. Stamina + Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Ka + Sekhem days
Roll Results
Success: Targets contest the mummy’s successes indi-
vidually. Affected victims derive no nourishment from food,
though the Arisen may choose to specify a food source that
still nourishes (and must do so if targeting an area rather than
an individual). Generous mummies offer up their own stores,
while cruel ones may leave only cannibalism as a source of
respite. Without nourishment, victims suffer the following
effects:
• Natural healing doesn’t function.
• Victims suffer a cumulative –1 penalty to Physical
actions after each day that passes, to a maximum of –5.
• Victims cannot regain Willpower from their Virtue or
Vice.
After a number of days equal to a victim’s Stamina +
Resolve, they also suffer one point of bashing damage each
day they go without food.
Utterances 137
 Supernatural beings who either need no physical suste-
nance or who require unusual nourishment, such as blood or
human flesh, do not suffer the above penalties. However, any
supernatural being affected by this tier does also suffer from
occult starvation. The first time in each scene that they spend
any points from a pool of supernatural power that fuels their
abilities (such as Vitae, Essence, or Mana), they must expend
an additional point, and they automatically lose a point at
the beginning of each day that passes. Arisen remain entirely
unaffected by this tier.
Exceptional Success: The target also gains the Obsession
Condition with regards to acquiring sustenance.
Failure: The intended victims suffer only an unpleasant
aftertaste during their next meal.
Dramatic Failure: The mummy starves themselves
instead, and cannot regain Pillar points via any means for
three days.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the mummy
may choose to inflict the consequences of the entire duration
upon a victim over the course of turns rather than days. The
curse advances one ‘day’ each turn, starving them before the
shocked eyes of witnesses.
Tier 3
An eldritch howl draws the Ashen Storm into physical
substance, depriving people of the sun itself either on the
scene or for as far as the mummy can see in the moment of
unleashing. For Sheut + Sekhem days, the sun seems to be
in permanent total eclipse. As well as the resulting darkness,
characters in the affected area cannot regain Willpower by
resting, and mortals suffer a –2 penalty to Composure rolls.
Vampires and other entities vulnerable to sunlight are free
from the sun’s negative effects during this time.
The mummy levies a curse of loss upon characters other
than Arisen in the area, exempting her cultists if she wishes.
Until the sun’s rays shine upon them once more, characters
suffer the Cursed Condition, and attempts to subvert the curse
become Blighted Actions. Examples of suitable curses include:
• Peace shall abandon you.
• Your crops shall fail.
• All you have built shall crumble.
Characters entering or leaving the affected area gain or
lose its curse accordingly.
Unleashing the second tier in conjunction with this one
extends its area of effect to match that covered by this tier.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 5, the horror forces
the shadows of all those affected by this curse to split from
138 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
their sources and become hostile fiends. These fiends have
an Essence rating of 5, and are created using the rules on p.
XX. Fiends immediately target the individuals from which
they’ve sprung free, only fading away into nothingness once
the unnatural eclipse passes. Victims of this Utterance develop
the Shaken Condition (see p. XX) the first time they see their
shadow after this power’s use, unless they were able to defeat
or banish the fiend themselves.
FURY OF SEKHMET
Tier 1: Sheut •; Tier 2: Ab ••• (Potency 1); Tier 3:
Defining ••••• (Epic)
Tier 1
The Deathless lays her hand upon an object, drawing forth
a melee weapon of the same material from within. The weapon
matches the Arisen’s personal aesthetic, and may be drawn
from objects of any size. The weapon’s damage increases by one
over a normal weapon of its type, inflicts lethal damage even
on mummies and other targets that would downgrade damage
due to supernatural resilience, and ignores Defense bonuses
that targets gain from supernatural sources. This weapon
persists for the remainder of the story or until destroyed.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the weapon
gains an Armor Piercing rating and a bonus to its Initiative
modifier both equal to the mummy’s Sheut rating. The mummy
may draw a weapon directly from shadows capable of striking
entities in Neter-Khertet as easily as physical opponents.
Tier 2
With a glare, the Arisen incites rage and violence. The
mummy targets either a single character or everyone within
sight in an area of diameter up to her Ab + Sekhem in yards.
Dice Pool: Presence + Ab + Sekhem vs. Composure +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Scene
Roll Results
Success: Affected characters suffer the Berserk Condition.
The mummy chooses whether or not other characters suf-
fering the Berserk Condition are valid targets for the rage of
the afflicted.
Exceptional Success: The Arisen may focus the mob’s
wrath from the Berserk Condition upon a target she chooses.
Failure: The power fails.
Dramatic Failure: The mummy gains the Berserk
Condition.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the mummy
may choose to make the violent frenzy contagious. Characters
must pass a Composure + Sekhem roll when a maddened
victim injures them else suffer the Berserk Condition also.
This contagiousness fades at the end of the scene.
Tier 3
With a resounding battle cry, the Arisen transforms all
members of her cult and other loyal followers present into a
force of deadly warriors, spurring them into battle against her
foes. This tier cannot transform other Arisen. The empowered
warriors gain several benefits for the remainder of the scene:
• They gain the Inspired Condition pertaining to achiev-
ing victory in battle.
• They are immune to fear.
• They gain a +2 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and
Stamina.
• When they injure a foe, the victim must succeed on
a Resolve + Sekhem roll or suffer the Frightened
Condition.
• When knocked unconscious or dying, a defeated war-
rior reflexively makes one final all-out attack against
the nearest foe.
When unleashing the first tier in conjunction with this
tier, the mummy arms her entire force with conjured weapons,
though these persist for only a single scene before crumbling
to dust.
If the Arisen possesses 5 dots of her defining Pillar, the
warriors also transform into inhuman monsters, gaining
additional capabilities for the scene. They remember little of
the experience later, except through haunting dreams and
flashbacks.
Ab: Bestial monstrosities brandish natural weaponry
with a damage modifier of 2L. Their ferocity is unmatched,
losing only half their Defense when making all-out attacks.
They heal one point of bashing or lethal damage each turn,
starting with bashing.
Ba: Avian terrors take to the skies, adding 5 to Speed
and 2 to Defense when airborne and applying their Defense
against ranged attacks. When grappling, the warrior gains a
Takeoff grapple move, which allows them to drag their oppo-
nent into the air. When carrying an opponent, the warrior’s
Speed is halved.
Ka: Warriors grow spiny carapaces that add the mummy’s
Sekhem to their Health and provide 2 Armor against all sourc-
es of damage. Characters striking a warrior with an unarmed
attack suffer a single point of lethal damage in the process.
Ren: Scaly nightmares move fluidly through the battle-
field, suffering no Defense penalties from attacks by multiple
opponents. Each turn they attack the same opponent, warriors
gain a cumulative +1 bonus to attack rolls against that target.
Warriors treat the Arisen’s Sekhem rating as their own for
resisting baleful supernatural effects.
Sheut: Warriors wither into skeletal horrors, gaining the
damage resistance of Arisen. When knocked unconscious or
killed, they continue fighting for a number of turns equal to
their Stamina. When they move, they briefly transform into
clouds of darkness and can pour through tiny gaps or swirl
past intervening foes, reforming at the end of their movement.
GIFT OF THE GOLDEN ANKH
Tier 1: Ka • (Subtle); Tier 2: Ba •••; Tier 3: Ab •••••
Tier 1
The Golden Ankh is legendary even among the Deathless.
Some see fleeting visions of this ancient symbol as they wake
from their ageless slumber. Its brilliant light burns against
the emptiness of the void, filling those around it with life and
vitality. Unleashing this dream into reality, the Arisen bathes
a mortal she can see in the light of the Ankh and reinforces
one of their Physical Attributes in the same way as she can
reinforce her own, calculated using her Sekhem rating as
normal. If the mortal is one of her cultists, she may instead
reinforce one of her Decree’s favored attributes in them, if
she wishes. This effect lasts for the scene.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 1 or more, the Arisen grants
the benefits of this tier to herself as well as the beneficiary with
no need to spend further Pillar points.
Tier 2
The Arisen channels the power of the Ankh to invigorate
and protect her closest servants or bodyguards. She raises a
dome of golden light around herself, Memory + Sekhem yards
across, within which all characters of her choosing ignore
wound penalties and negative Conditions while they remain
within the light. Magically imposed negative Conditions
provoke a Clash of Wills. The chosen characters also retain
their full Defense against ranged attacks made from outside
the dome. The light remains centered on the mummy for one
scene before fading.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen may
use the glaring brilliance of the Ankh’s light to impose par-
tial concealment upon any attacks made against the chosen
characters.
Tier 3
The Arisen unleashes the vision of the Ankh into the
waking world, a perfect symbol of eternal power shining forth
Utterances 139
 from the Arisen for up to her Sekhem + Memory in turns.
Mortalsbeholding the Ankh are exposed to Sybaris and, if they
fail to resist it, suffer the Knocked Down Tilt as they prostrate
themselves. Victims cannot rise from prone until the Ankh
is no longer present.
For as long as the Ankh remains, it heals every character
beholding it for 1 point of lethal or bashing damage at the
start of each of the Arisen’s turns. The Arisen may choose to
focus the Ankh’s healing power into a single target she can
perceive for a turn instead, healing that target for 3 points
of lethal or bashing damage or 1 point of aggravated damage
but restoring no health to others. The Arisen’s Inheritors heal
an additional point of damage from either form of healing.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 5, the Arisen may also
focus the Ankh’s power for a turn to restore to life a person
who died within the current scene, clearing the last of the
target’s health boxes of damage. This cannot revive undead,
Arisen, or targets who have lost their soul.
GILDED DOOM
Tier 1: Ren •; Tier 2: Ab •• (Curse); Tier 3: Sheut ••••
Tier 1
The mummy permanently transforms materials from one
non-magical substance to another in the same state of matter,
transmuting lead into gold or water into wine with a touch.
The mummy may affect a discrete inanimate object of a Size
up to their Ren + Sekhem, the transformation taking place
over a number of turns equal to the object’s Size. Larger
objects and vessels are unaffected. The new substance is
the purest form possible within the Arisen’s specifications.
Other than the mummy, anyone touching the transformed
materials finds greed stirring within their heart, gaining the
Avarice Condition. This effect remains on the materials for
the remainder of the story. By touching an individual suffer-
ing this Condition, the Arisen learns of any weaknesses to
substances they possess.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy
may transmute the substance into another state of matter,
such as producing fresh oxygen from a stone. Creating a solid
from a gas produces an amorphous mass of the material.
Tier 2
The Arisen touches an object, cursing it to stoke avarice
and bring ill fortune upon its possessor. The mummy holds
the object when unleashing the Utterance, storing successes
rolled on the activation within it, and targets contest the
mummy’s successes upon touching it. Additionally, for the
remainder of the story, any actions utilizing the cursed item
become Blighted Actions.
140 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Dice Pool: Presence + Ab + Sekhem vs. Composure +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: One story
Roll Results
Success: Convinced the item is of great value, the target
gains the Apprehensive Condition related to it. They must
spend a Willpower point to engage in any action to harm the
cursed object.
Exceptional Success: The target also gains the Delusional
Condition, believing the object to be the perfect tool for their
needs. They must spend a Willpower point to avoid using it
if the opportunity presents itself.
Failure: The target regards the object as an unexceptional
example of its type.
Dramatic Failure: The target recognizes the cursed object
for what it is, easily casting it away.
The curse lingers on the object until its destruction or
the end of the story. If unleashed as a death curse, the object
permanently takes on its baleful effects. The curse doesn’t
affect the mummy or their Invested cultists.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the cursed item
sparks covetousness in all perceiving it. Anyone, other than
the mummy’s cultists and other Arisen, glimpsing the item
must contest the mummy’s successes or suffer the Obsession
Condition to obtain the object.
Tier 3
The Arisen’s hands glow, seemingly transforming into a
solid substance of their choice such as gold, ivory, or sapphire.
When touching or striking an opponent with their bare hands,
animate flesh transmogrifies into the mummy’s chosen ma-
terial, leaving golden statues or pillars of salt in their wake.
The mummy’s unarmed attacks, touches, and grapples deal
aggravated damage for the remainder of the scene. Survivors of
a successful attack suffer a penalty equal to the Arisen’s Sheut
rating to Physical dice pools, Initiative, and Speed until the
damage heals; this penalty is not cumulative from multiple at-
tacks. Those slain by the touch aren’t truly killed, instead fully
transformed into solid statues of the substance. Transformed
mummies and other immortal entities roll Stamina + Sekhem
each chapter, reversing the transformation on a success.
Mortal victims remain permanently transformed, but once
one chapter has passed, any Arisen may spend a point of
Willpower to release them with a touch. At the Storyteller’s
discretion, other supernatural methods or Fate’s intervention
might restore an affected mortal. Restored victims immediately
heal Stamina + Sekhem points of aggravated damage.
 Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the mum-
my may choose to leave a transformed victim conscious of their
surroundings, and even leave them capable of speech. Some
cruel Arisen place these statues as sentinels around their tomb.
INVOKING TEMPEST’S FURY
Tier 1: Ab •; Tier 2: Ka ••• (Epic); Tier 3: Sheut
••••• (Curse, Epic)
Tier 1
The Arisen stirs up howling winds, unleashing them upon
the world around her. The Arisen must be outdoors to unleash
this Utterance, which instills the Heavy Winds Tilt on the
scene of a grade equal to half her Sekhem rounded up. The
Arisen herself is immune to its effects.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the Arisen fills
the winds with rage toward her enemies. Foes suffer an addi-
tional penalty equal to the Arisen’s Ab to avoid damage from
the winds, and suffer the Knocked Down Tilt if the roll fails.
Tier 2
With an ominous rumble, the Arisen conjures a furious thun-
derstorm. The storm imposes the Heavy Rain Tilt on the scene.
If the mummy wishes, lightning strikes frequently and randomly,
dealing Ka + Sekhem bashing damage to anyone hit. Each char-
acter reflexively rolls a chance die each turn, suffering a strike
on a dramatic failure. By sacrificing her Defense and movement
for a turn, the mummy may prevent or direct a strike against a
specific target as an instant action, negating the target’s chance
die. The Arisen must be outdoors to call the storm, which lasts
for the remainder of the scene, and does not affect her.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen can
also affect all other characters within a radius of her Ka in
yards around the target character when she prevents or directs
a strike. If she directs a strike, characters caught in the area
of effect, other than the primary target, suffer only Sekhem
bashing damage.
Tier 3
As the mummy throws her arms up and screams to the
heavens, the sky takes on an unnatural hue, clouds rapidly
gathering and swirling overhead. The ensuing storm lashes
its victims with bizarre and nightmarish phenomena, from
rains of blood or toads to winds echoing with the howls of
the damned. For those unfortunate souls caught out in the
tempest, there is little doubt the world is ending.
The mummy must be outdoors to unleash this Utterance.
The unnatural storm extends for miles up to equal to the
Utterances 141
 Arisen’s Sekhem, and persists until the sun next rises or sets.
The mummy is immune to her storm.
Within the affected area:
• Any negative effects imposed by existing weather
conditions, such as damage or penalties, increase by 1.
• The affected area becomes a Level 1 extreme
environment.
• Ordinary mortals caught outside in the storm must
succeed on a roll of their Resolve – the mummy’s Sheut
or gain the Madness Condition, which fades after days
equal to the Arisen’s Sekhem. On a dramatic failure,
they also suffer the Insensate Tilt. Mortals succeeding
on the roll, and supernatural beings caught in the
storm, gain the Shaken Condition.
• When unleashing previous tiers of this Utterance in
conjunction with this one, their duration and area of
effect extend to match, and the extreme environment
level increases by 1 for each tier.
• After the storm’s fury abates, all physical evidence of
the bizarre phenomena fades, leaving only the scarred
memories of its witnesses to mark its passing.
If unleashed as a death curse, the storm also inflicts the
Ominous Condition on the mummy’s killers.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 5, the Arisen may
choose to grant ephemeral entities the Open Condition
while the tempest rages, or to cause any Enviromental Tilts
or extreme environment caused by the weather to affect
Neter-Khertet as well.
PALACE KNOWS ITS PHARAOH
Tier 1: Ka • (Subtle); Tier 2: Ren •• (Curse); Tier 3:
Ba •••• (Epic)
Tier 1
Placing her hand on a surface, the Arisen concentrates
on the artificial structure she currently occupies, attuning
her consciousness to the flow of heka within for as long as she
remains inside. A structure is defined as a single building or
level of any size, regardless of how it is partitioned (i.e., both
halves of a duplex, all dorms in a university residence hall, a
skyscraper floor, etc.). The Storyteller remains the final arbiter
of boundary limits.
The mummy’s senses pervade the structure, instantly dis-
cerning its layout and the presence of all entities within. She
may project her senses along the flows of heka, starting at her
location and moving through the structure with a Speed of 20,
142 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Tomb Sweet Tomb
Palace Knows Its Pharaoh provides several ad-
vantages to mummies within their own tomb.
The first two tiers may be activated without Pillar
costs, and the mummy adds their Geometry rat-
ing to any Clash of Wills related to the Utterance.
Alterations within the tomb from the third tier last
indefinitely, and the Geometry rating is added to
the number of alterations that may be made.
Only one mummy may be attuned to a given
structure at a time, requiring a Clash of Wills to
seize control from another. A mummy losing con-
trol over their own tomb suffers the Disinterred
Condition until the intruder is driven out.
allowing her to observe and listen at a location as though phys-
ically present. She senses Lifeless, Deathless, and ephemeral
entities within the structure, distinguishing them from mortals
but not each other. She recognizes whether someone lives or
not, and whether they are currently in Twilight.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy
may instantly send her senses to any point in the structure she
has physically visited. The mummy may also discern general
information relating to the current intent or nature of the
individuals within the structure, asking a number of questions
up to her Ka. The answers come to the mummy in a flash of
insight, carrying the certitude of Fate.
Sample Questions
• Who is the most dangerous opponent here, and why?
• What do the individuals here want?
• What type of Lifeless/Deathless are the individuals
here?
• What are the individuals’ intended destinations within
the building?
Tier 2
While in contact with a structure under the same parame-
ters as the first tier of this Utterance, the mummy may teleki-
netically influence any part of the structure, directly-connect-
ed elements, and any furniture that she can see as an instant
action. This structural telekinesis uses her Sekhem rating as
its effective Strength for determining physical force and can
open or close doors and gates, move or throw furniture, control
the flow of utilities (including interfering with Wi-Fi or digital
signals), cut electrical power, adjust the pressure of running
water, activate or deactivate security systems, fire alarms, or
traps, or perform any similar type of action. She may also adjust
the pose of any statue or carving of a person or beast within
the structure, whether to gesture and convey information or
just to cause fear, and may speak from any number of such
images’ mouths with her voice. This tier lasts for one scene.
If unleashed as a death curse, the mummy attacks the
structure itself, causing it to collapse over the course of one
scene and inflicting the Collapsing Ceiling Environmental
Tilt within it during that time.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the mummy
may also add or subtract her Ren rating from the Durability of
any part of the structure or its components for the duration of
the scene, rendering glass bulletproof or stone soft enough to
crumble with one’s hands. Additionally, the mummy may adjust
text on signs, plaques, or other displays of writing that are part of
the building, and can adjust the imagery in any paintings within
the structure — including adding her image to such portraits.
Tier 3
The Arisen warps space within the structure, allowing her
to move walls, create doorways, form stairs, or place tomb traps
within an area she can see as an instant action. Alterations last
for the remainder of the scene before reverting to their original
form. The Arisen may make a number of alterations equal
to her Ba + Sekhem with each unleashing. These changes
cannot themselves directly cause harm, such as crushing a
victim by moving a wall, except through the placement of a
trap which a character triggers.
For the duration of the scene, she may also transport her-
self into the place of a statue of her Size anywhere within the
structure as an Instant action, breaking out from within it as
if cracking open a stony shell and destroying it in the process.
If attuned to the structure through the first tier, the
mummy may link two openings within it together for the
duration of the scene with each unleashing. In this way, one
doorway leads to another, in whichever direction of ingress
or egress the mummy desires, with the new location visible
through the door in a faded sepia tone stinking of dust and
anise. Stairwells become endless loops, or hallways stretch
to impossible distances. The Arisen may explicitly choose to
render her own cultists unaffected by such links if she wishes.
A desperate mummy may unleash this tier upon a single
doorway, stepping through to an unknown destination some-
where in the world as determined by Fate.
Ba: With a Ba rating of 4 or above, the Arisen may alter
fundamental aspects of reality within the area with their
alterations, such as forcing gravity to pull in whichever di-
rection they please within a particular room, or causing the
Disoriented Tilt through sensory overload with strange echoes
or fractured patterns of light. The Storyteller acts as final
arbiter of what is possible within the structure with this tier,
but the mummy is affected by their own alterations.
PAVANE OF ETERNITY
Tier 1: Ba (Subtle) •; Tier 2: Ren (Subtle) •••; Tier 3:
Ab (Epic) •••••
Tier 1
The Arisen sings a prayer, sounds the discordant strings of
an instrument, or otherwise creates a tune or song, however
simple. She chooses a target of which she knows the name
or identity, and if they are within her Sekhem in miles of her
location, the Utterance takes hold, delivering the music to
them. Only the victim hears the music, twisted and warped;
a mad mélange of piping and grave choir-song. The music
draws the target towards the Arisen’s location, an alien allure
that calls them ever closer. Mortal victims gain the Obsession
Condition to reach the source of the music. The Arisen does
not need to continue her song after using the Utterance;
it continues in the mind of the victim until the end of the
Condition or the chapter.
Alternately, the Arisen may choose a target by seeking a
particular kind of mortal — a murderer or an IT specialist or
a man who has lost everything, for example — and allow Fate
to deliver the music to an appropriate victim within range.
Ba: With a Ba rating of 1 or higher, the beguiling song’s
grasp on the victim is stronger. If they sleep, they sleepwalk
towards the Arisen’s location. If they attempt to move in
a direction other than closer to the Arisen, they suffer the
Arisen’s Ba rating as a penalty to their Speed. The discor-
dant, primal music of the Utterance even interferes with
supernatural attempts to move anywhere other than closer
to the Arisen, forcing a Clash of Wills against such powers
to nullify their effects.
Tier 2
The Arisen channels the echoes of dismal chords that
ululate between distant stars and through the underpinnings
of time and Fate, shaping them into a message of her own
design. She begins a performance — whether musical, song,
oratory, dance, or other form of expression — and ensnares
fragile minds within its enthralling power.
The Arisen may choose to focus the performance’s power
on a single target rather than all perceiving it. That charac-
ter resists the Utterance with Composure + Sekhem and is
entranced if they fail.
Utterances 143
 Dice Pool: Wits, Manipulation, or Dexterity + Ren +
Sekhem
Action: Instant
Duration: As long as the Arisen continues the performance
Roll Results
Success: Characters perceiving the performance in its
chosen medium whose Composure + Sekhem is equal to or
less than the successes rolled become entranced, paying rapt
attention for the duration even if unsure of the exact source.
They only act to participate in the revels as desired by the
Arisen — dancing, for example — and otherwise remain
passive, ignoring or rationalizing away attempts to break them
out of their trance, although forceful external distractions
like being dragged from the Arisen’s presence or someone
attacking and injuring them breaks the mesmerism. Nothing
else can shake victims from the trance; they dance until they
collapse of exhaustion or their feet are bloodied stumps, or
watch in silence as smoke from a fiery performance chokes
them to death.
The Arisen may choose to inflict the Inspired and
Obsession Conditions in entranced characters at the culmi-
nation of the performance, choosing the specific desire the
Conditions pertain to and weaving it through the performance
as a motif. This also inflicts a point of bashing damage on vic-
tims, as a wave of headaches, nosebleeds, or heart palpitations
runs through the audience.
If unleashed alongside the first tier of this Utterance, the
Arisen may draw all entranced characters to follow her for
as long as her performance continues, forming a cavalcade
of revelers, dancers, or shuffling blank-faced audience in her
wake, and potentially catching and drawing in new victims
exposed to the performance.
Exceptional Success: Nothing breaks the trance until at
least one scene has passed.
Failure: The performance fails to enrapture the audience.
Dramatic Failure: The discordant power goes awry and
floods the Arisen’s own senses, inflicting the Stunned Tilt
upon her.
Ren: With a Ren rating of 3 or more, the Arisen can keep
victims entranced after she stops performing or even leaves
their presence entirely. She may choose to leave the audience
in their trance until the end of the scene, whether staring
blankly after the whistling Arisen has passed by or still whirling
through some old dance’s steps to a tune only they can now
hear. If unleashed along with the third tier of this Utterance,
the trance lasts indefinitely until broken.
144 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Tier 3
The Arisen channels the alien pulsations that throb and
squeal in the quantum spaces of reality’s foundations and
mark the hateful prayers of distant stars’ hearts. She pours this
eldritch dissonance into the world through her performance,
and lets it loose upon the minds and souls of humanity.
The mummy unleashes this tier through a chosen perfor-
mance, as per the second tier. Any living human or animal
directly exposed to any part of the performance — which
thankfully does not transmit its effects through recordings
— suffers the Delusional and Madness Conditions, with the
Arisen shaping the delusions via her performance, which can
be so intense as to involve actual hallucinations.
Once the performance is over, the more insidious effects
from this breach of sanity and reality take effect. Audience
survivors transmit the occult taint to others with whom they
interact. This doesn’t spread the Conditions, but does infect
the local human population with frightening whispers in the
backs of their minds, dark hungers stirring in bellies, and half-
seen glimpses of ragged shapes with meat-wound faces and
void-black eyes. Motifs of the original performance spread as
well, twisted and eerie — people keep whistling a particular
refrain that sounds all the more discordant, or fearfully mutter
a specific line to themselves over and over again. If no living
humans other than the Arisen’s own cultists survive the per-
formance, the spread of this corrosive influence never occurs,
cauterized by the slaughter.
Once the local population is infected, the dismal touch of
the dirge of eternity threatens to break fragile human convic-
tions. For the remainder of the story, across an area of up to the
Arisen’s Sekhem + Ab in miles radius, mortals treat Integrity
breaking points as Blighted Actions, and the Arisen and her
cultists treat Social actions against those having failed such
a breaking point as Blessed Actions. Furthermore, whenever
a cult other than the Arisen’s own suffers a point of Fidelity
damage of any kind, it suffers one additional point of damage,
and all Fidelity healing times are doubled.
Ab: With an Ab rating of 5, the Arisen may choose to
exempt particular communities, groups, and Arisen cults from
the spread of the infection, carefully working the significant
occult representations of each into her performance.
PESTILENT WHISPERS
Tier 1: Ka • (Curse); Tier 2: Ba ••• (Curse); Tier 3:
Sheut ••••• (Potency 2)
Tier 1
With a cruel whisper, boils and carbuncles proliferate over
a victim the mummy can see.
 Dice Pool: Manipulation + Ka + Sekhem vs. Stamina
+ Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: One chapter, or until cured if unleashed as a
death curse.
Roll Results
Success: Painful, reeking boils mar the flesh, repulsing all
gazing upon them. The victim’s Social interactions become
Blighted Actions.
Exceptional Success: The victim also gains the moderate
Sick Tilt during action scenes.
Failure: The intended victim’s skin tingles briefly, but
remains unblemished.
Dramatic Failure: The curse rebounds, affecting the
mummy instead.
Mortal medicine is powerless against the affliction, while
magical healing provokes a Clash of Wills. Barring dramatic
failure, the mummy is immune to their own curse.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the Arisen can
choose to make the boils contagious. Whenever the victim is
wounded, they suffer an additional point of bashing damage
and the boils rupture, splattering everyone within the mum-
my’s Ka in yards with infectious pus. These characters contest
the power normally.
Tier 2
The mummy bestows a horrific plague upon a victim she
can see.
Dice Pool: Stamina + Ba + Sekhem vs. Stamina +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Ba days
Roll Results
Success: The mummy inflicts a moderate or grave illness
upon their victim. During action scenes, the victim suffers the
moderate or grave Sick Tilts as appropriate. Outside of action
scenes, as a grave illness, the disease inflicts Sekhem + Ba
bashing damage each day, resisted as normal for a disease (see
p. XX), but which can’t be healed naturally until the disease
has run its course. The disease is not contagious.
Exceptional Success: The victim suffers the mummy’s
Ba rating as a penalty to rolls to resist the disease’s effects.
Failure: The disease fails to take hold.
Dramatic Failure: The curse rebounds, affecting the
mummy instead.
When unleashed as a death curse in the mummy’s tomb,
the Arisen may choose to expose all entering the area to the
illness. In this case, the plague lingers in the tomb until the
mummy rises once more.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Deathless
may render the plague contagious, spreading via contact or
bodily fluids. Once loose in this way, the disease is entirely
natural, and goes into remission after a victim has endured it
for the Arisen’s Ba rating in days. The mummy may choose
whether or not the disease can spread to animals, and can
render her cultists immune to the disease’s infection.
Tier 3
The Arisen’s sahu melts into animate shadow pulsating
with disease. The Arisen gains the Disembodied Condition,
which fades at sunrise. This ghastly form doesn’t inflict the
Awestruck Condition upon ephemeral entities glimpsing it.
By passing through the space of a physical person, the mummy
infects them with a horrible illness; the infection immediately
obvious. Symptoms vary between mummies, but are commonly
necrotizing flesh, open sores, or rapid bleeding from eyes,
pores, or other orifices.
Dice Pool: Stamina + Sheut + Sekhem vs. Stamina +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Recovery from the disease requires a number of
successful resistance rolls equal to the Arisen’s Sheut.
Roll Results
Success: The mummy inflicts a grave illness upon their
victim. During action scenes, victims suffer the Sick Tilt.
Outside of action scenes, the plague inflicts lethal damage
equal to the mummy’s Sheut each day. This damage can’t be
healed naturally until the disease runs its course, but it may
be resisted normally (p. XX).
Exceptional Success: The damage inflicted by the Sick
Tilt is also lethal.
Failure: The disease fails to take hold.
Dramatic Failure: The victim’s hand glows for the re-
mainder of the chapter, allowing them to cure the Arisen’s
disease with a touch.
Unleashing either or both of the previous tiers with this
one links their effects together, allowing them to also be spread
with the mummy’s infectious touch for the remainder of the
night, and renders the third tier’s dreadful effects contagious
via the same vectors as the earlier tiers possess.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 5, the mummy’s touch
infects any shades they come in contact with, transforming
them into vectors for further spreading the plague. The mum-
my selects the criteria the shades must obey to infect others
before unleashing them upon the world, specifying the subjects
they may target or the steps one might take to avert their
Utterances 145
 corrupting touch. These directives may not be changed once
given until the Utterance has run its course, and all shades
follow the same instructions. The shades’ touch functions as
an extension of the mummy’s own. Affected shades return
to normal at sunrise.
POWER OF RE
Tier 1: Ren •; Tier 2: Sheut ••; Tier 3: Ab ••••
(Curse, Epic)
Tier 1
The mummy’s eyes flash as though they were a bronze
mirror catching the sunlight. The mummy can see perfectly
in any level of darkness as if it were daylight and, for the
remainder of the scene, she may attempt to direct the power
of the Utterance against foes and objects of Size equal to or
less than her Sekhem + Ren as an Instant action, causing
them to burst into golden flame. Alternatively, the mummy
may unleash this Utterance to create a single flame that burns
without heat, lasting for the remainder of the story, or lingering
indefinitely if within the tomb of the mummy.
Dice Pool: Wits + Ren + Sekhem – target’s Stamina
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Success: The mummy sets the target alight with mystic
flame. The size of the object determines the relative size of
the flame (i.e., torch, bonfire, inferno; human-sized objects
burn as a torch), but the fire only burns with the intensity of
a candle. The mystic flame does not need fuel to burn, and
may only be extinguished by beating it into the ground or by
fleeing the sight of the Arisen. The mummy may have only
one mystic flame active at a time; focusing this power on a
new target extinguishes an existing one.
The Arisen’s own cultists suffer no damage from the flame,
although she may still target them with the power. If she does
so, the mystic flame seethes within the cultist’s chest, adding
her Ren to their Initiative, rendering them immune to nat-
ural fire damage, and allowing them to set enemies ablaze in
a grapple or to start small fires with their touch if they wish;
either option at the intensity of a candle. The mystic fire
remains in an enchanted cultist until the end of the story or
until the Arisen uses this tier to ignite a new one elsewhere.
Exceptional Success: The flame’s intensity increases by
one step.
Failure: The mummy fails to ignite the target.
Dramatic Failure: The mummy catches on fire herself.
Ren: With a Ren rating of 1 or above, the mummy may
render Ren vessels unaffected by the mystic fire’s flames.
Additionally, the Arisen may perceive the area around any
146 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
mystic fire she’s created, and may speak through the mystic
fire as though she was a perfect ventriloquist.
Tier 2
No fire can match the might of the Nameless Lion; all
lesser flames shrink from his radiance. Unleashing this tier
suppresses sources of light, swallowing and instantly extin-
guishing their radiance in a shadowy miasma. The mummy
may extinguish any and all flames and sources of light she
can perceive, including those shed by electronic devices.
She can be selective as to which she snuffs out and which
she allows to remain. If unleashed along with the first tier of
this Utterance, any of the Arisen’s cultists present gain her
ability to see perfectly in darkness and add her Sheut to their
Stealth rolls for the remainder of the scene.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the
mummy may divert the flames into an extant mystic flame
from the first tier of this Utterance, as the shadows twist and
flow and arc the fires towards the mummy’s own golden light.
When the sparking contrails meet the mystic flame, the magic
is stoked, causing greater heat per distinct fire fed to it (raising
one step per flame from candle to torch, Bunsen burner, or
chemical fire). Electronic lights cannot be fed into the mystic
flame in this way.
Tier 3
The mummy screams in a pitch higher and louder than any
human throat may create. This is the music of Re, the sound
of the sun itself. As the roar explodes out of her throat, she
sets alight with a blaze more brilliant than the sun at zenith.
This is the gaze of Re, and all who look upon him feel the
god’s eye staring back.
Dice Pool: Presence + Ab + Sekhem versus Wits +
Sekhem
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Success: The mummy inflicts a point of lethal damage
and the Blinded Tilt to both eyes of any affected characters
looking at her at the moment of unleashing, even those in
Twilight or looking from afar in either space or time. Even
good quality recordings of the Arisen’s explosive burst
convey this effect. Lifeless, ghosts, and other such forms
of undead affected also suffer aggravated damage equal to
successes on a roll of the mummy’s Sekhem. Those slain
by this scouring light transmute into pillars of salt and ash,
their smoking bones twisted into a grim tableau of pain and
revelation.
Exceptional Success: The lingering flash of light also sub-
stantially conceals the mummy for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: The mummy is not a bright, shining star.
 Dramatic Failure: The mummy suffers a point of aggra-
vated damage and the Blinded Tilt.
Ab: With an Ab rating of 4 or above, affected mortals
within Sekhem × 5 yards of the Arisen also suffer damage
equal to successes on a roll of the mummy’s Sekhem, although
only lethal damage. The mummy’s Inheritors are immune to
this effect, though they must still avert their eyes to avoid
being Blinded.
REBUKE THE VIZIER
Tier 1: Ka • (Potency 3); Tier 2: Ba ••• (Potency 3);
Tier 3: Ren ••••• (Potency 3)
Tier 1
The power of the Deathless overwhelms lesser forces, al-
lowing the mummy to ward against magic. When unleashing
this tier, the Arisen creates a skin of Sekhem around their
body for one scene, appearing as a shining, golden skin cov-
ering the mummy.
Any magic or supernatural power targeting the shielded
mummy or the area they occupy triggers a Clash of Wills
between the mummy and the attacker, with success turning
aside any magical effects. If the Deathless loses, they may
then attempt to resist the power according to its standard
procedure.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar of 1 or more, the Arisen doubles their
Ka for the Clash of Wills, and may choose to permit beneficial
magic to bypass its protection.
Tier 2
With this tier, the mummy’s gaze instantly detects all
enchantments currently affecting a target she perceives. With
the mere passing of her gaze, the mummy may tear asunder
one of those enchantments. The unleashing cannot remove
fundamental abilities, such as a mage’s ability to cast spells or
the power animating a vampire, but may cancel the effects of
a mage’s protective wards or a vampire’s heightened strength.
Doing so prompts a Clash of Wills between the Arisen and the
source of the enchantment. Temporary effects are removed,
but may be reapplied after Ba + Sekhem turns. Permanent or
long-lasting effects are suppressed during this time, returning
afterward.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar of 3 or more, the Arisen may maintain
the gaze for a number of turns equal to their Ba, targeting one
effect each turn if they choose. The mummy doubles their Ba
rating for the Clash of Wills.
Tier 3
The mummy forbids a perceived target from using a power
she has witnessed them use. The target resists with a roll of
Resolve + Sekhem – the Arisen’s Sekhem. If the victim fails,
for the remainder of the chapter any activation of the chosen
ability provokes a Clash of Wills with the mummy, even if the
Arisen isn’t present. This can’t suppress innate capabilities,
such as a werewolf’s regeneration or shapeshifting, only su-
pernatural powers such as one of the werewolf’s Gift Facets.
When unleashed with the first tier active, her golden shell
of Sekhem bursts, ending the first tier’s effects and shrouding
the area around her in a radiant glow that casts a shadow over
other supernatural powers used within it. The area of effect has
a radius of Ren × 10 yards and ignores physical barriers. This
prevents characters within the area from activating magic or
supernatural powers targeting anyone except themselves for
Ren + Sekhem turns. The Arisen can only use this aspect of
the tier’s power once per scene.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar of 5, the Arisen can use the sec-
ond aspect of the tier freely throughout a scene, rather than
only once.
REFLECTIONS
UPON A BROKEN IMAGE
Tier 1: Ab (Subtle) •; Tier 2: Ba •••; Tier 3: Ka •••••
Tier 1
The Arisen takes on the appearance of another person of
whose likeness she can see, such as a statue, painting, photo,
or other image. The Arisen may also try to create the image
herself with a Crafts or Expression roll. Seeing the actual
person in the flesh is not enough; the mummy requires a
simulacrum of some kind. The Arisen’s mimicry is visually and
audibly perfect, but she gains no insight into mannerisms or
other elements of the target’s behavior. The Arisen remains a
doppelgänger until she uses another Utterance or the likeness
she is using is destroyed.
Ab: With an Ab rating of 1 or higher, the mimicry is also
physically perfect; the Arisen’s actual weight changes, as do
aspects such as her smell, fingerprint patterns, and so forth.
Even a genetic sample confirms that she is, in fact, the person
she is copying.
Tier 2
The Arisen sheds her appearance entirely, casting it off
amid the world’s reflections. She becomes invisible for the re-
mainder of the scene. However, she still appears in reflections,
such as from mirrors, windows, water, and the like, although
there’s no guarantee other characters notice this. The Arisen
also treats all sources of such reflections in which she appears
as an origin point for her attacks, melee or ranged. She may
grapple or strike someone standing adjacent to a reflection,
or shoot out of it, regardless of her actual location.
Utterances 147
 Ba: With a Ba rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen may also
use reflections as doorways, moving directly through one to
emerge from another that has a direct line of reflection from
the first. The source of reflection must be large enough for the
Arisen to physically move through. She can use a full-length
mirror or large, still puddle as a doorway to appear out of a
gleaming window across the street, but can’t fit through a
six-inch-wide shaving mirror.
Tier 3
A perfect copy of the Arisen forms out of the air in a swirl
of dust and sand, animating with the mummy’s own essence.
She can control the clone at the same time as her own body
without any difficulty, even holding different conversations
through both simultaneously. The copy uses her attributes
and traits, has a Health value equal to her own, shares her
senses, and she can use it as the origin point of her Utterances.
The effects of her beneficial Utterances also affect the clone.
The copy even fools supernatural detection. However, the
clone does not benefit from the Arisen’s Affinities, she can
only act through one body each turn during combat, and it
cannot heal or Seal the Flesh. The clone remains animated
until the Arisen uses this Utterance to create a new one or
it is destroyed; the clone then immediately crumbles to dust.
The Arisen can also use this tier to create a copy of one
of her Inheritors she is touching and grant them control of
it. However, this still counts as the single clone the mummy
can maintain. The mummy herself has no control over the
clone, and should the Inheritor cease to be Invested with Pillar
points, the copy immediately de-animates.
Ka: With a Ka rating of 5, the Arisen can create up to
five weaker clones of herself rather than a single true one.
The weaker copies cannot serve as the origin point of the
Arisen’s Utterances, and have only half the usual Health,
but in combat she can instinctively control all of them as a
mob, adding a teamwork bonus to her Brawl-based attack
and grapple rolls equal to the number of clones present.
When using the Restrain move on a grappled opponent, she
can reflexively de-animate one of the clones into a stone or
marble statue to keep the victim pinned and leave the grapple
herself. The Arisen may also activate this Utterance again to
immediately exchange places with one of the existing clones,
de-animating the exchanged clone into a statue and leaving
it in her previous location.
RELENTLESS HORROR
Tier 1: Ka •; Tier 2: Ba ••; Tier 3: Ren ••••
Tier 1
With a malicious threat, the Deathless declares a target
for his wrath within his line of sight.
148 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Dice Pool: Strength + Ka + Sekhem vs. Resolve +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: One scene
Roll Results
Success: The mummy takes only a single point of bashing
damage from the target’s attacks with mundane weaponry for
the remainder of the scene, including any heavy weaponry
the target is operating, like a vehicle-mounted weapon. Fire,
vessels, and the powers and natural attacks of supernatural
creatures are unaffected.
Exceptional Success: The Arisen also maintains his
Defense against the chosen target when making all-out attacks.
Failure: The target is unimpressed.
Dramatic Failure: The target gains a +2 bonus to dice
pools against the mummy for the remainder of the scene.
The effects of this tier end if the Arisen unleashes it again
to name a new chosen foe.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy as-
sumes the Relentless Condition toward his chosen target after
suffering lethal or aggravated damage at their hands, or when
the target has stolen an object belonging to the mummy during
the same scene. This Condition fades without resolution after
a number of scenes equal to the mummy’s Ka.
Tier 2
No tower is high enough to escape the wrath of the
Deathless. With a growl, the Arisen drops to all fours, gaining
the ability to creep across walls and ceilings at full Speed. The
Arisen maintains his full Defense while doing so, and may
scale surfaces that should be incapable of bearing his weight.
Mortals unexpectedly witnessing the mummy climb in this
manner suffer the Shaken Condition. The Deathless is also
immune to the Knocked Down Tilt, and ignores the effects
of Arm Wrack and Leg Wrack Tilts for the duration.
This effect lasts for the remainder of the scene. If the
Arisen currently has the Relentless Condition toward a
target within the structure, activating this tier costs only a
point of Ba.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the mummy’s
Stealth rolls and attacks from ambush while climbing gain
bonus dice equal to the Arisen’s Ba.
Tier 3
The target of the mummy’s wrath cannot escape the
sensation of doom closing in upon them. Fate itself seems to
undermine their efforts to avoid it.
Dice Pool: Resolve + Ren + Sekhem vs. Resolve +
Sekhem
 Action: Contested
Duration: One story
Roll Results
Success: The target suffers the Cursed Condition related
to fleeing or fighting against the mummy. The Arisen may
whisper his threats to the target from any distance, and
Intimidation rolls against the target become rote actions.
Exceptional Success: The target is also haunted by
nightmares of the mummy, regaining no Willpower from rest.
Failure: The target is unimpressed.
Dramatic Failure: Fate turns in the target’s favor. The
target’s attempts to flee or fight against the mummy become
Blessed Actions.
If unleashed in conjunction with the first tier, the target’s
allies are also affected by the mummy’s increased resistance
to damage.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the target’s
attempts to fight against or flee the mummy become Blighted
Actions as well, and the Arisen’s successful attacks remove a
point of Willpower in addition to any damage.
REVELATIONS OF SMOKE
AND FLAME
Tier 1: Sheut •; Tier 2: Ab ••• (Epic); Tier 3: Ba
••••• (Epic)
Tier 1
The Arisen breathes forth a cloud of cloying smoke, sweet
as incense, to fill an area of up to her Sekhem x 10 yards in
radius for the scene. The cloud is thick and murky, inflicting
the Blinded Tilt on characters other than Arisen or Lifeless
as long as they remain within it, and imposing partial con-
cealment. The Arisen herself treats the swirling miasma as an
extension of her sense of touch, and knows the exact locations
of any other characters physically present in the cloud. The
miasma moves with her, unless she chooses to affix it to an
object or location she touches.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the Arisen
may render the cloud a greater extension of her own senses and
will. She may move, push, or manipulate objects within the
cloud by focusing the miasma’s coils, treating its Strength and
Dexterity for such actions as equal to her Sheut Pillar rating.
Tier 2
The Arisen speaks words of smoke and void, which wrap
her in tongues of flame and bands of starlit eyes. For the re-
mainder of the scene, she gains the following benefits:
• She may fly at a rate of up to three times her Speed.
• She immediately loses any Blinded Tilts she may be
suffering upon unleashing this Utterance, and she can
see in all directions with perfect clarity up to a distance
of her Sekhem rating in miles. This vision allows her
to see minute details, and she suffers no penalties for
darkness or other forms of concealment, such as mist
or smoke.
• She perceives the existence of supernatural creatures
and ongoing supernatural effects, which appear to her
gaze cast in vivid ocher hues that reveal their nature.
• She cannot be surprised or ambushed, and imposes a
penalty equal to her Ab on dice pools to influence her
mind or perception.
• Her voice is clearly heard at a range of up to a mile
if she wishes, regardless of the volume she speaks at,
and those hearing her can understand her words and
intent regardless of language.
The Arisen causes Sybaris in those witnessing her shrouded
in starlight and fire.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen’s
presence burns with the smoldering glory of alien suns. She
gains a +2 bonus to all Social rolls on those beholding her
grandeur, and cult actions carried out by her cult while in her
empowered presence generate an additional point of Effort
on a success — including cult wars.
Tier 3
The Arisen’s soul blazes with such intensity as to pour
forth in a pillar of roaring flame for a scene. Her physical form
burns away into the Twilight frequency of Neter-Khetet, but
her location is marked in the physical world by the very real
column of fire that moves with her. The pillar is three yards
wide and ten high and burns with the intensity of an inferno
of chemical fire. Mundane forms of intervention cannot com-
pletely extinguish it although they can reduce the intensity
somewhat, but secondary fires caused by the pillar are entirely
normal and can be dealt with appropriately. The Arisen gains
the Disembodied Condition, unable to directly interact with
the physical world except by steering her column of fire. The
blazing pillar inflicts Sybaris on witnesses.
If the Arisen unleashes multiple tiers at once, she experi-
ences the following effects as appropriate in addition to the
tiers’ usual effects:
• If she also unleashes the first tier, her transformation
may become a pillar of smoke as wide as the miasma
would usually be. As well as the usual effects of the
miasma, any character within the smoke needing to
breathe suffers the grave Poisoned Tilt, but the column
Utterances 149
 does not inflict any fire damage.
• If she also unleashes the second tier, the pillar extends
above and below her in a shaft of hot light visible from
dozens of miles away. This extended column is not hot
enough to deal damage. She may fly at an increased
rate of five times her Speed.
• If she unleashes all three tiers at once, her body within
the pillar of fire reforms itself from smoke and ash, al-
lowing her to directly interact with the physical world
at the same time as she moves through Neter-Khetet
while remaining unharmed by the flames. She may also
choose either or both of the prior effects.
Ba: With a Ba rating of 5 or higher, the Arisen may
sustain her blazing state for the remainder of the chapter if
she wishes. Any characters following the pillar of flame, or
attempting to use its light to navigate to its current location,
gain a +4 bonus to their Speed, Initiative, and all dice pools
to reach the pillar or resist hardship on their journey, such
as from deprivation. Ghosts following the pillar do not lose a
point of Essence to sustain themselves each day. Cults with
a majority of their membership following a pillar have their
Fidelity healing times halved.
150 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
RITE OF THE SACRED SCARAB
Tier 1: Sheut •; Tier 2: Ren •••; Tier 3: Ka •••••
Tier 1
The Arisen unravels a portion of Sekhem from within,
regurgitating it as a large scarab beetle of chitin, gold, and
jewels. Although not truly alive, the scarab serves as a pro-
tective amulet for whoever bears it, inflicting a –2 penalty
on all dice rolls that would physically harm the bearer in any
way. The bearer is also rendered immune to mundane poisons
and diseases and, if slain, magic other than that of the Arisen
herself cannot reanimate them or interrogate their body. The
amulet retains its power for up to a month, unless destroyed
with Durability 3 and Structure 3 for direct attacks.
If one of the Arisen’s cultists wears the amulet, they also
gain an Arisen’s damage resistance, taking only bashing dam-
age from most sources. The Arisen immediately knows when
one of her cultists wearing an amulet dies.
The Arisen can create any number of these amulets
concurrently, but their effects are not cumulative on a single
bearer.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar of 1 or more, the scarab also
imposes the –2 penalty on any dice pools that would spiritually,
mentally, or magically harm the bearer in any way.
Tier 2
The Arisen regurgitates a more profoundly empowered
scarab, truly animated by the donated Sekhem. Large enough
to fill a human’s cupped hand, the scarab is an independent
servitor that obeys the mummy’s commands as best it can. The
scarab is resilient, can fly, climb walls, squeeze through small
gaps, and can manage basic manipulation of objects — enough
to unscrew a grating or open a bottle to poison the contents.
The scarab cannot, however, attack directly.
The scarab is Size 0, and has a dice pool of 10 for rolls
involving navigating the environment or hiding, a dice pool
of 6 for fine motor actions, and a dice pool of 2 for anything
else. It has a Speed of 10, Defense 5, Armor 3, and 10 health
levels; during combat, it acts on Initiative 0 and cannot at-
tack. Once per scene, it can generate a single dose of poison
of Toxicity equal to 1 + Ren that works through contact or
ingestion and inflicts the grave Poisoned Tilt.
The Arisen can maintain any number of scarab minions
concurrently.
The Arisen may also unleash this tier Reflexively when
her Health track would be filled with aggravated damage. An
empowered scarab tears out of her body. If it escapes the scene,
the Arisen emerges from it in an impossible metamorphosis, in-
flicting Sybaris on mortal witnesses. Her Health track remains
as it would have been prior to the final source of aggravated
damage. If the empowered scarab is destroyed before this can
happen, however, the Arisen’s body is destroyed.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar of 3 or more, the Arisen is con-
stantly aware of the scarab’s immediate surroundings and
state of being, and can perceive through the scarab’s senses
if she desires.
Tier 3
The mummy opens her mouth and a torrent of ravenous
beetles pour forth, each bejeweled and beautiful but possessed
of furious hunger. The swarm erupts into the scene, following
the Arisen’s will, biting and ripping at victims in the form of
the Swarm Environmental Tilt (see p. XX) with the swarm at
a Size equal to twice her Sekhem + Ka. The mummy directs
the swarm each turn telepathically as a Reflexive action. The
swarm can do little other than attack and eat, or hold back on
command, and is not capable of following complex commands
or other forms of interaction with its environment. The swarm
disperses at the end of the scene.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar of 5, the Arisen may alter the compo-
sition of the swarm, enhancing it with up to three Tilt factors
of the player’s choice.
SANDS FALLING SWIFTLY
Tier 1: Ab • (Potency 1); Tier 2: Ren •••; Tier 3: Ka
••••• (Epic)
Tier 1
The Arisen’s dead heart pounds, warping the flow of time
for an individual.
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Ab + Sekhem vs. Resolve
+ Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Ab + 1 turns
Roll Results
Success: Time speeds up or slows down for the target.
Slowed targets act last on every turn, and halve their
Speed and Defense, rounded up. While slowed, targets half
the rate of damage or healing from poisons, bleeding out,
regeneration, and the like.
Hastened targets double their Initiative and Speed. They
gain a +2 bonus to Defense, and apply their full Defense
against Firearms and multiple attackers. While quickened,
poisons, bleeding out, and rapid regeneration double their rate
of effect. Outside of action scenes, use of this power allows
an affected character to treat a single interval in an extended
action as an instant action per unleashing.
Exceptional Success: The mummy does not need to roll
to affect this target with this tier again for the remainder of
the scene.
Failure: Time skips briefly, but has no other effect.
Dramatic Failure: The target is immune to any of the
mummy’s time alterations for the rest of the scene.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy
speeds or slows time for an additional number of targets equal
to their Ab rating. All targets suffer the same effect — either
slowed or hastened — and contest them individually.
Tier 2
The Deathless creates a bubble of warped time centered
on the mummy or on a fixed point within his line of sight.
The flow of time fluctuates wildly, imposing the effects of the
Drugged Tilt on affected characters while within the bubble.
Each affected character rolls a chance die each turn, suffering
the Stunned Tilt on a dramatic failure or ignoring the Defense
of one opponent and the Drugged Tilt for a turn on a success.
During fights involving numerous opponents, Storytellers
may opt to roll one chance die for all Storyteller characters.
All characters suffer a penalty equal to the Arisen’s Ren to
actions requiring concentration, perception, or precise timing.
Utterances 151
 The bubble extends for Ren + Sekhem yards from its
origin point, and persists for the remainder of the scene. The
mummy is immune to the effects of the bubble, as is anyone
successfully Feeling the Flow within it.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen
may grant subjects equal to his Ren immunity to the effects
of the bubble.
Tier 3
With a harsh whisper, the Arisen forces time to halt,
trapping a target within a crystallized moment.
Dice Pool: Resolve + Ka + Sekhem vs. Resolve +
Sekhem
Action: Contested
Duration: Ka turns
Roll Results
Success: The mummy targets a person or object within
their line of sight. The target suffers the Frozen Time Tilt,
becoming immobile and invulnerable for its duration. Targets
with the capability may reflexively Feel the Flow to shrug off
the effects. If unleashing this tier in conjunction with the
second tier, the bubble imposes the Frozen Time Tilt upon
all within, reverting to its usual effects once the third tier’s
duration expires.
Exceptional Success: The Tilt lasts for twice as long, and
extends to anyone touching the target.
Failure: The Utterance has no effect.
Dramatic Failure: The target becomes immune to this
Utterance for the remainder of the story.
Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 5 or higher, the mummy
may instead choose to rapidly age a foe she can see, crushing
them beneath the weight of ages.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Ka + Sekhem – target’s Stamina
Action: Resisted
Duration: Instant
Roll Results
Success: The mummy attacks the target directly with the
ravages of time. The target visibly ages, suffering one point of
aggravated damage per success and the Fatigued Condition.
Those slain in this manner crumble to dust. Mummies, im-
mortals without the Going Westward Condition, vampires,
and other beings immune to time’s cruel touch are unaffected
by this power.
Exceptional Success: The target also suffers the Stunned Tilt.
Failure: The Utterance fails.
Dramatic Failure: The target becomes immune to this
Utterance for the remainder of the story.
152 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
SECRETS RIPPED FROM SKIES
Tier 1: Ba • (Subtle); Tier 2: Sheut ••• (Curse); Tier
3: Ren •••••
Tier 1
Gazing up at the night sky (defined as from dusk until
dawn), the mummy’s whisper reveals the space relative to
himself using whatever means of reference he prefers — be it
the distance from the nearest landmark in cubits and palms,
or relating a position near a café the mummy supped at three
nights ago. Until dawn, while under the open night sky, the
mummy gains perfect awareness of his immediate surround-
ings, and cannot be surprised or ambushed.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy also
glimpses recent events in the heavens, relating to spiritual
mettle displayed in the past of the location and scene around
the character.
The player asks the Storyteller a number of questions
equal to the mummy’s Ba. Answers should include imagery
conjured in starlit phantoms visible to the mummy. This tier
only offers immediate scenes of violence or spiritual fortitude.
The mummy receives the answers as a flash of insight and
spatial memory.
Sample Questions
• Who in the area received an exceptional success?
• Who in the area spent Willpower?
• Who fulfilled their Virtue or Vice here?
The mummy learns the circumstances of each question
(i.e. the exceptional success in the scene was on a Persuasion
roll by a prominent local gangster negotiating a new criminal
deal at gunpoint), but may only inquire about events taking
place under the open sky within the last lunar month. Multiple
answers to a single question, such as spending Willpower, yield
a composite rendition of memory derived from the scene most
relevant to the current story that occurred in the prior month.
Tier 2
The mummy’s words of power echo throughout her entire
existence to the beginning of the cosmos. Sekhem stretches
across time, not space — the primal energy of creation, inef-
fably linked with the earliest epochs. As eons pass, the mum-
my’s word continues to resound, ensuring matter and energy
coalesce into an iron-hard expression of the Arisen’s power,
falling ever toward the Earth. The mummy need only look to
the skies to sight the heralding blaze of her auspicious wrath.
The mummy chooses one known target she can perceive
within a mile, exposed to the open sky. A blazing meteorite
slams into the target in a ball of fire. Everyone in the targeted
area must succeed on a roll of Dexterity + Athletics – the
Arisen’s Sheut or suffer the Knocked Down Tilt. The interiors
of buildings struck gain the Collapsing Ceiling Environmental
Tilt for the scene; structures of a Size equal to or less than the
Arisen’s Sheut × 10 likely collapse by the end of the scene.
The scene of the impact area gains the Inferno Environmental
Tilt, becoming an inferno-sized fire at Bunsen burner intensity.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the mum-
my may create fully shatters the meteoroid within the upper
atmosphere. Having persisted for millions of years in space,
the meteorite’s ghost remains quite powerful. The Twilight
meteorite causes the same devastation and fire as its physical
counterpart, but only to Amkhata and to ephemeral entities
in Neter-Khertet.
Tier 3
Secrets eternal, kept by starlit sentinels, yield to the mum-
my’s queries as Fate allows cosmic mysteries to unfold from
ancient constellations. The mummy’s player may ask questions
of the Storyteller, relating to any topic within Fate’s purview.
The player asks one question per dot of Ren about the
past, present, or future of the current story. Events relating
to the Underworld, the Shadow, or realms other than the
material or Neter-Khertet are not valid queries; nor are
questions relating to the Judges, Anpu, the Shan’iatu, the
Deceived, or other cosmological mysteries of mummies. The
Storyteller’s answer should be communicated in metaphor
and cryptic symbolism, flashes of starlight insight gleaned from
constellations wrought by Fate. This Utterance offers answers
to virtually any question the mummy may ask, moving her
significantly towards her goals or providing a solution to her
most pressing dilemma in the current story. It cannot answer
questions about the Arisen’s history or Memory, except where
this would provide illuminating clarity to a particular aspect
of the mummy’s current problems — in which case it likely
provides a maddeningly incomplete picture.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 5, the mummy also gains
the Informed Condition about an unspecified topic with each
unleashing. The Arisen may resolve the Condition in a flash
of insight at any future point in the story as though they had
thoroughly researched the topic.
If the mummy unleashes the second tier in the same scene
he attempted to read the future in the stars, he may call down
an Epic meteorite shower rather than a single meteorite.
The sky darkens, illuminated only by the molten flames of
thousands of fireballs crashing down from the heavens. The
shower ravages everything within a radius of Sekhem miles
around the mummy for a number of turns equal to his Sekhem
rating. The meteorites fall upon as many or as few targets as
Rain of Fire
This Utterance’s two upper tiers unleashed with
Ren 5 brings collateral damage across entire (and
potentially multiple) metropolitan areas, resulting
in hundreds if not thousands of casualties and a
massive economic cost. The effects of Sybaris are
likely great as well, as the entire region falls into
religious reverie. The same is true of several oth-
er powerful Utterances, and sets the tone for the
chronicle early on, when the mummy’s power is
at its height. Navigating the setting aftermath of
powerful, unleashed Utterances is something for
which a Storyteller must prepare.
Fate decrees. While they avoid the fiery destruction and the
Inferno Tilt does not affect the mummy or her Inheritors, other
allies have no such protection unless they remain close by.
Each potential target rolls a chance die each turn, a meteorite
striking their location with a dramatic failure.
SHADOW OF TIME
Tier 1: Ren (Subtle) •; Tier 2: Sheut •••; Tier 3: Ba
(Subtle) •••••
Tier 1
The Arisen sees her timeline snaking out behind her in
a chain of dim after-images, marking where she has passed.
When unleashing this tier, she chooses a single point she
passed through within the past day, transferring her senses
to that location in the current moment. She sees, hears, and
smells as if in that location once more, even tasting or feeling
anything contacting with her disembodied senses. Invisible
and intangible, she can freely pivot her view around from
her chosen point. For the remainder of the scene, she can
freely advance or rewind along the chain of her movement
throughout the past day, shifting her senses along as she does
so, and returning to her body again as a Reflexive action. She
has no awareness of her body or any damage it suffers while
in this projected state.
Ren: With a Ren rating of 1 or higher, rather than her own
self, the Arisen may witness the past of an object or location
she is in contact with, choosing any point within the past week
and perceiving how the target and its immediate surroundings
appeared at that time. By advancing or rewinding, she can
essentially experience a recording of what has happened in
its vicinity.
Utterances 153
 Tier 2
The Arisen pulls on the threads of time, snapping her back
to a point she has passed through within the past day. This
tier does not actually rewind time to that point, and it does
not remove any damage or other consequences the Arisen
may have suffered since she passed through her destination
point in space-time; it simply resets her location, regardless
of intervening barriers. If an obstruction is now blocking the
location, the Arisen arrives in the closest point forward or back
in her timeline of movement that is free and open.
Sheut: With a Sheut rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen
may instead snap herself back to a point that a target she is
touching has passed through within the past day, resetting
her location to the appropriate moment in that target’s prior
movements. If unleashed at the same time as the first tier of
this Utterance, she gains a brief impression of the target’s
surroundings at the point she wishes to appear at, as the
target perceived them at the time, and may choose to reset
her location or not based on that information.
Tier 3
Instead of seizing the past in her grip, the Arisen instead
reaches into the immediate future, pulling herself forward
through the timeline for the remainder of the scene. Seeing
the potential futures of others as chains of images pouring forth
from their current location, she easily predicts their move-
ments; she cannot suffer a surprise or ambush. An enemy’s
Defense is useless to her attacks. She adds her Ba rating to
her Defense, and as a penalty to the dice pools of supernatural
powers targeting her. She applies her full Defense against all
attacks, even those that would normally reduce or deny her
Defense entirely.
Ba: With a Ba rating of 5, the Arisen’s spirit gives her the
swiftness to outrun even the flow of time itself. For the remain-
der of the scene, once per turn she may reflexively interrupt
an attack targeting her, allowing her to move up to her Speed
before the attack roll, potentially foiling the attack entirely.
WATER OF LIFE AND DEATH
Tier 1: Ren •; Tier 2: Sheut •• (Curse); Tier 3: Ba ••••
Tier 1
The Arisen speaks the power of water, strong enough to
carve stone and tear down mountains with the passage of
time. As she has foretold, a fissure cracks the ground at her
feet and a new spring pours forth a rejuvenating cascade of
clean water. This Utterance creates a spring from the ground,
whether a natural or artificial surface.
As well as quenching thirst, any living character drinking
or bathing in the spring’s water during the scene in which
154 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
it appears benefits from its rejuvenating properties. Such a
character regenerates one point of bashing damage per turn
and one point of lethal damage per fifteen minutes while in
contact with the water, although the healing waters cannot
repair damage in a character’s final three health boxes.
The spring’s initial fountains impose the Flooded
Environmental Tilt if in a confined space, afterward settling
down to a steady flow after a scene. The new well’s flow re-
mains strong for several years, unless the Arisen chooses to
stop it early, providing enough water to sustain a small village
or create an oasis.
If outside, the Arisen may alternatively unleash the
Utterance as a gentle rain upon the scene, with the same
healing effects on those caught in it.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar at 1 or higher, the Arisen may
instead unleash this tier to give herself mastery of water. For
the remainder of the scene, she is unaffected by the Flooded,
Powerful Current, and Heavy Rain Environmental Tilts and
by crushing pressure from deep water. She can walk on water
or other liquids and even climb a waterfall. She can swim at
twice her Speed, and suffers no penalties while acting under-
water. She may extend these effects to any of her Inheritors
present in the scene, who also gain the ability to breathe water
for the duration (something that doesn’t trouble the Arisen).
Tier 2
The Arisen spits a crimson curse upon the waters around
her, souring the currents and turning fluid to blood. All bodies
of fresh or saline water within up to two miles of the Arisen’s
location, including water brought into the area, transform
into human blood and gain the Dark Waters Tilt for the re-
mainder of the story or until the Arisen lifts the curse. Most
living creatures — humans in particular — find the stagnating,
clotting gore supernaturally repulsive and sickening, inflicting
the moderate Sick Tilt (see p. XX) on any such creature in
the waters’ presence that does not subsist on blood normally.
When the curse ends, the blood returns to its original watery
state with no lingering effects.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the Arisen
may choose specific areas or bodies of water to be unaffected
by the curse, and can cause any water within the area to turn
to blood only when touched by a human who has transgressed
against the Arisen’s Judge or the local code of laws.
Tier 3
The mummy commands the water itself to bow before her
glory, taking control of tides or opening a path before her.
She may inflict the Powerful Current Environmental Tilt on
any bodies of water present in the scene, controlling the tides
with enough strength to push a tanker vessel against a shore,
inflicting both the Collapsing Ceiling and Flooded Tilts on
the interiors of any ships in the area and likely sinking them
by the end of the scene. Alternatively, she may cause a body
of water to open a corridor before her up to a mile deep and
wide and up to ten miles in length. The Arisen can use this
power to create a trench through a lake, or a passage of air
along the sea bed with a watery ‘ceiling’ overhead. She may
also use it to move the displaced water out entirely and in-
flict the Flooded Tilt on another part of the scene. If used to
create a channel, she may choose for it to close behind her if
she moves through it, or to remain open in her wake. If left
open, the channel persists for up to a day after the Utterance’s
unleashing, afterward crashing closed once more.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the Arisen may
choose to ‘part’ all water out of an area without needing to target
a specific body of water. Instead, the targeted corridor dehydrates
as all moisture seeks to escape it, becoming arid and dry. This
applies a level 3 extreme environment to the affected area.
WEAVING THE LIFEWEB
Tier 1: Ba • (Subtle); Tier 2: Ab ••• (Subtle); Tier 3:
Ren ••••• (Epic)
Tier 1
The Arisen attunes to the Lifeweb of a town or metropol-
itan area for the chapter, gaining perfect understanding of its
layout and structures. The mummy never suffers dice pool
penalties for traveling, tracking, chasing, or fleeing across the
area from mundane causes, such as traffic, crowds, or confus-
ingly tangled alleyways. While they can’t hunt down specific
individuals, the mummy automatically knows details such as
where to find particular centers of governmental power, the
bad part of town, or the nearest large gathering of people.
The Arisen understands the power and purpose of any sacred
architecture encountered.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the mummy also
gains familiarity with the dominant languages and local cus-
toms for the attuned area. Mundane Socialize and Streetwise
actions with mortals in the area become Blessed Actions.
Tier 2
By touching a landmark, the Deathless extends their
influence throughout an Ab + Sekhem mile radius. The
Arisen bestows an additional Aspiration for the remainder
of the story, unless the mummy departs the area, in which
case it fades at the end of the current chapter. This effect is
indiscriminate, applying equally to every mortal in the area
of effect. The Aspiration must be a general one, which is
filtered through an individual’s own perspective. A mummy
might declare “Destroy my enemy” as an Aspiration, but each
individual seeks their own enemies, not the one the Arisen
currently faces. Other example Aspirations might include:
• Create beautiful things.
• Uphold the rule of law.
• Burn the witches.
• Protect the children.
• Overthrow our oppressors.
When bearing a Vestige when activating this tier, the
mummy may instead choose to activate the Vestige on a large
scale, inflicting haunting visions of the Vestige’s memory and
spreading its Power and Curse to every mortal within the area
of effect. The Vestige cannot be activated again while the
effect lingers, and draining it immediately ends the effect.
This Utterance isn’t Subtle when using a Vestige.
Once unleashed, the mummy may not end the Utterance’s
effects before they have run their course. Only one instance of
this Utterance may be active in a given place at a time. Attempts
by other Arisen to unleash it again provokes a Clash of Wills.
Unleashed in conjunction with the first tier, extends the
area of effect accordingly.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the mummy
deeper influences affected individuals, imposing a particular
additional Virtue or Vice on all mortals in the area.
Tier 3
The mummy stands upon terra firma, uttering forgotten
words of creation. With a thunderous rumble, a great structure
rises from the ground. The mummy masterfully constructs
any statue or structure they can imagine, from bridges to for-
tresses to pyramids, from available materials. The Durability
of the materials are increased by the character’s Ren for the
remainder of the story, at which point they return to their
natural Durability. Some structures persist long afterward,
but a castle of sand soon crumbles.
Each turn, the structure grows by Ren + Sekhem Size
until it reaches its full Size, with an extra turn required for
intricate decorative touches. During this time, construction
requires the Arisen’s concentration, forcing them to sacrifice
their Defense and actions. The Arisen must make a Resolve
+ Composure roll to continue the Utterance if harmed
during this time. Without the Arisen’s will guiding it, the
structure stops growing, potentially crumbling and causing
the Avalanche or Collapsing Ceiling Tilt.
This Utterance may even construct tombs and other forms
of sacred architecture, though it takes twice as long to accom-
plish. Upon completion, such a structure gains the Hallowed
Ground Tilt for the remainder of the story. Creating a struc-
ture with lasting sacred geometry requires the investment of
more time and attention (and Experiences).
Utterances 155
 By unleashing the previous tier with this one, the mummy
ties the effects to the structure’s longevity, causing them to
persist as long the structure remains. Unleashing the second
tier again causes a Clash of Wills as usual.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 5 or higher, the mum-
my’s creation becomes a lasting monument, maintaining its
enhanced Durability forever. If the mummy wishes, they may
cause the structure to echo into the past as well as the future.
Mortals who didn’t witness it rise remember the structure
as having always existed, its past writing itself into mortal
history books.
WEIGHING OF THE HEART
Tier 1: Ren • (Subtle); Tier 2: Ab •• (Curse, Subtle);
Tier 3: Sheut (Subtle) ••••
Tier 1
The Arisen condemns falsehood to terrible punishment,
she verbally admonishes a single visible character to speak the
truth. For the remainder of the scene, that character gains a
strong sense of foreboding and doom whenever they are about
to intentionally lie to or deceive the Arisen — even by mis-
direction or half-truth. If they lie in spite of this premonition,
their words choke in their throat and their tongue rips from
156 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
their mouth, inflicting the Mute Condition and one point of
aggravated damage in the process. The Utterance does not
punish those who believe a lie they themselves have been
told, or who are simply wrong about their claims; it judges
only whether there is truth in their heart.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating at 1 or higher, the target’s
tongue transforms into a gore-slick scorpion that scuttles
to the Arisen as fast as it can. The truth of the matter that
the victim tried to lie about is inscribed into its carapace in
gleaming bronze; this information is simple and to the point,
up to a sentence in length.
Tier 2
The Arisen condemns a particular form of transgression,
witnessing its place in the heart of those she sees for the
remainder of the scene. The named crime must be a trans-
gression against the Judge of at least one Arisen present, or
against local mortal laws, and the Arisen can specify a level
of motivation or nuance such as ‘murder driven by pride’, but
cannot denounce an individual incident such as ‘the murder
of my cultist, John’. The Arisen perceives a thunderous pulse
and a sickly glow from within their chest of anyone guilty
of the crime, sensing whether the crime occurred since the
beginning of her current Descent. However, this revelation
grants no other particulars about the when, where, or why.
 Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 3 or higher, the Arisen
may choose to unleash the power as a lingering curse instead,
affecting all non-Arisen characters present in the scene at the
time. Whenever an affected character perpetrates the named
crime, searing condemnations of the act burn up from beneath
their skin, dealing one point of lethal damage and branding
the perpetrator on as visible a portion of skin as possible –
including the face. A victim only triggers this effect once per
scene, but accrued condemnations remain until the end of
the story and are comprehensible to anyone viewing them
regardless of language. The curse lifts at the end of the story.
Tier 3
The Arisen reads the truth within the heart of a character
she touches, extracting the answer to a single question relating
to their previous actions or desires, such as ‘Did you kill my
cultist, John?’, or ‘Did anyone ever love you?’ The Arisen does
not need to speak this question aloud; the victim’s own soul
reveals the answer directly to her mind. If the Arisen unleashes
both the first tier and this tier on the same target, the victim
becomes completely unable to lie about the questioned matter
for the remainder of the chapter, and tells anyone asking them
the truth regardless of whether the victim desires to do so.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 4 or higher, as long
as the situation is calm and the victim does not feel under
threat, the Arisen may choose to suppress a mortal target’s
memories that would provide an answer to the question she
has asked. Should any Arisen use this Utterance on the target
to question the same matter in the future, they may engage in
a Clash of Wills to overcome this effect and cause the truthful
memories to emerge once more.
WORDS OF DEAD DOMINION
Tier 1: Sheut •; Tier 2: Ren ••; Tier 3: Ka ••••
(Potency 2)
Tier 1
The Arisen summons forth a ghost or shade, forcing it to
manifest before her. She summons the ghost of an anchor she
is in contact with, or may summon the nearest ghost within
her Sekhem in miles that matches her rough desires in terms
of age, power, and temperament — if there are any such. If
she wishes, the summoned entity immediately undergoes the
effects of the Materialize Manifestation at no cost in Essence,
even if it does not possess said Manifestation.
Sheut: With a Sheut Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the Arisen
may instead issue forth a gray radiance that reveals all ghosts
present in Neter-Khertet for the remainder of the scene. They
become visible to observers, and can communicate with those
in the physical world.
Tier 2
The Arisen issues a command with the awful majesty of
the lords of Duat, forcing ghosts into obedience. She may
target any number of ghosts present in the scene with this
tier, demanding they perform a single act — which may be
of indeterminate duration, but must be something they can
feasibly achieve. The power of the Utterance allows ghosts
to understand her command.
Dice Pool: Presence + Ren + Sekhem – highest Rank
among targeted ghosts
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Success: The targeted ghosts follow the Arisen’s com-
mand, obeying to the best of their ability. The ghost strives
towards the commanded goal until it becomes obvious that it
is impossible, until the ghost is subjected to another order, or
until the next Sothic Turn. Outside of these circumstances,
ghosts can be bound to their tasks indefinitely.
Exceptional Success: The targeted ghosts also gain the
Impassioned Shade Condition.
Failure: The Arisen fails to compel her targets.
Dramatic Failure: The ghosts are driven to rebellious fury,
gaining the Berserk Condition and becoming immune to this
Utterance until the Condition ends.
Ren: With a Ren Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the Arisen
may use this tier to order a single ghost into a corpse she can
see — whether human or animal. If the dice roll is successful,
the ghost Claims the corpse regardless of whether it has the
relevant Manifestation and at no cost in Essence. The Claimed
corpse does not suffer any loss of Physical attributes until the
Arisen either uses this capability again or enters Descent.
Tier 3
The Arisen renders a ghost’s phantasmal self briefly mu-
table, flooding them with the living essence of Ka. She targets
a single ghost she perceives.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Ka + Sekhem versus target’s
Resistance + Rank
Action: Instant
Roll Results
Success: The Arisen can spend her successes on the fol-
lowing effects at a rate of one success per change.
• Change the ghost’s Vice or Virtue to a new one.
• Exchange one Numen or Manifestation for another.
Utterances 157
 • Change the ghost’s appearance to match that of the
Arisen herself, either as she normally appears or her
corpse form.
• Destroy the ghost’s connection to an anchor, or change
its anchor to a location or object the Arisen is touching
(including herself).
• Inflict one point of aggravated damage on the ghost.
• Shift a dot from one of its Attributes to another (subject
to the usual Attribute maximums).
• Grant or remove the Psychokinesis Merit for the
control of fire; granting the merit causes the ghost’s
appearance to become fiery and frightening, like a
spectral demon of Duat.
She may also choose to gird the ghost with a frightening,
deathly panoply, equipping it with two points of armor and a
weapon with a +1 Initiative modifier and 2L damage rating.
This garb is spun out of the ghost’s own ephemera and is
in the aesthetic of Irem, with scorpion insignia and stylized
animal-head helms.
Exceptional Success: The Arisen’s work is masterful and
efficient; she regains the point of Ka spent to unleash this tier.
Failure: The Arisen fails to shape the ghost’s nature.
Dramatic Failure: The ghost’s unchanging nature hardens
and calcifies; this tier cannot affect it in future, and it gains
the Insane Tilt for the remainder of the scene.
Ka: With a Ka rating of 4 or higher, the Arisen can under-
take a dreadful act — pouring a portion of her own self and
essence into a ghost permanently. Instead of the usual effects
of this tier, on a successful roll she can increase the Rank of
the target ghost by one, up to a maximum Rank equal to her
Ka rating. She may only empower a single ghost in this way at
a time; using this effect again on another ghost immediately
weakens an existing recipient of the power and reduces its
Rank again. She may unleash the first tier of this Utterance
to summon the empowered ghost at no cost and regardless of
contact with its anchor, and can command it as per the second
tier without cost or dice roll. However, should the empowered
ghost be destroyed (not merely discorporated), the Arisen
suffers an immediate Gap Breaking Point to her Memory.
WRATHFUL DESERT POWER
Tier 1: Ab •; Tier 2: Ba ••; Tier 3: Ka (Curse) ••••
Tier 1
The mummy’s jaw unnaturally distends, yawning open in
a maw reminiscent of Ammut’s, from which come howling
the winds of Duat carrying red sands that scour all opponents.
158 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
For the remainder of the scene, the mummy may direct this
spray of sand as a ranged attack using a dice pool of her
Dexterity + Athletics + Ab, a damage modifier of 3 lethal,
no Initiative modifier, and range of 20/40/80. Concealment
offers no protection against the sandstream, and foes struck
suffer the Knocked Down Tilt if they fail a roll of Dexterity
+ Athletics – the Arisen’s Ab. The sandstream may autofire
at a short or medium burst, but the Arisen cannot attack with
it in the turn following burst fire as she must draw a deep
breath to replenish the howling winds. Unleashed alongside
the third tier of this Utterance, the sandstream may also make
long bursts.
Ab: With an Ab Pillar rating of 1 or higher, the sands of
Duat afflict those within Neter-Khetet as well, making them
valid targets for attack.
Tier 2
Power ripples out from the mummy’s feet in a pulse of
golden energy that reeks of dust and anise. Whatever surface
the mummy stands upon, up to the limit of her vision, warps
and shifts and folds into itself. Rolling red sands pour outward
from these folds, until the ground is as the desert dunes.
For the remainder of the scene, the mummy may attempt
to grapple a new target within visual range each turn in ad-
dition to his normal actions and any ongoing grapples already
established by this tier. The sands swirl beneath the target,
attempting a grapple with a dice pool of Ba + Sekhem. The
Arisen performs the contested grapple rolls for ongoing grap-
ples reflexively and may continue to act on his turn as usual.
However, if he wins he cannot choose the Damage grapple
move. Instead, successfully using the Restrain grapple move
pulls victims beneath the sands, inflicting one point of bashing
damage each turn until freed.
Ba: With a Ba Pillar rating of 2 or higher, the mummy
may reflexively disappear into the sands and emerge elsewhere
within visual range of his original location as his movement
on his turn. This sudden movement also increases his Defense
by 2 for a turn.
Tier 3
Expectorating a vast quantity of sand with a demonic howl,
the mummy conjures a howling sandstorm. This applies the
Sandstorm Tilt to the scene, though the mummy herself is
immune and benefits from substantial concealment as long
as she remains within it. As an Instant action, she can direct
the sands to pile up in thick drifts, creating a Size 5 area of
tough cover out of the sandstorm. Repeated use quickly fills
doorways and blocks off avenues of movement. By spending
a full scene unleashing this Utterance, the mummy expands
the area of the sandstorm to a radius of her Ka + Sekhem in
miles, lasting until the end of the chapter.
 Ka: With a Ka Pillar rating of 4 or higher, the mummy
may disperse herself within the sands, granting her perfect
awareness within the storm and increasing her Speed by 10.
The sandstorm swirls and howls, and the mummy may move
herself and the storm along streets and through winding pas-
sageways, flowing into any confined space that isn’t airtight.
SEKHEM
Where there is life, there is Sekhem.
Sekhem is the mystical energy emanating from all living
things, allowing for the free flow of feelings and recollection
in the universe. Revealing itself through passionate moments
and intense memories, it subtly alters the environment as it
coalesces. It brightens the light during a joyful birth. It thick-
ens the air after a painful argument.
Those who know how to manipulate it create miracles. The
Rite of Return was perhaps the greatest of these, conquering
death and infusing the Arisen with enough energy to fuel
centuries of lifetimes. Such power has a price: as products of
necromancy, mummies cannot create their own Sekhem as
can the living. They must endure the Descent (p. XX), living
powerful but brief lives.
Effects of Sekhem
Sekhem is rated from 1-10 dots. Each dot has specific
effects, detailed on the Sekhem Effects chart (p. XX).
• Supernatural Advantage: Sekhem acts as Supernatural
Potency for mummies. It also serves as Supernatural
Tolerance, adding to dice pools to resist some super-
natural powers.
• Burning Bright: At the start of most Descents, mum-
mies begin with Sekhem 10. Time, certain supernatural
attacks, death, and disobedience to the Judges erode a
mummy’s Sekhem rating until it reaches 0.
• Snuffed Out Flame: A mummy with Sekhem 0 ends
her descent. Her body dies and she rests in henet (p.
XX). She only revives with a successful Call (p. XX),
the start of a Sothic Turn (p. XX), or other supernatural
means.
• Descent: Mummy players roll Sekhem as a dice pool
during Descent Rolls (p. XX).
• Maximum Pillars Points Per Turn: Sekhem deter-
mines how many Pillar points (p. XX) a mummy can
spend per turn.
• Utterance Maximum: Sekhem determines the maxi-
mum rating of Utterances (p. XX) a mummy can use.
• Trait Maximum: At Sekhem 6+, a mummy’s
Attributes and Skills can be increased above five dots
to a maximum of her Sekhem. Mummies at Sekhem
5 or below lose access to any Trait dot ratings above 5
but regain their access when their Sekhem increases
to 6+.
• Maximum Physical Attribute Boost: Sekhem de-
termines the number of dots a Physical Attribute is
increased by spending a Pillar point (p. XX). A mummy
with Physical Attribute 6+ with a Sekhem rating of 5
or below use a starting Attribute rating of 5 to calculate
Pillar point increases.
• Lifesense: Mummies can detect spikes of Sekhem
through a phenomenon known as kepher (p. XX).
• Ephemeral Ward: Ephemeral entities (p. XX) are
incapable of possessing mummies. Any attempt to
use the Possess Manifestation (p. XX) on a mummy
automatically fails.
• Will of Life: Once per turn, mummies may sacrifice
one dot of Sekhem to completely refresh all Willpower
points. This is a reflexive action (p. XX).
• Sahu Repair: The sahu, or body of a mummy, can
recover from grievous injuries with a Sekhem infusion.
Once per turn, mummies may reflexively sacrifice a dot
of Sekhem to fully heal all damage.
• Resurrection: If a mummy dies with a Sekhem rating
higher than 0 and has either an intact sahu, an available
canopic jar (p. XX), or an Invested cultist (p. XX) then
she enters a Death Cycle (p. XX). When the cycle
resolves, she revives fully healed after a period of time
determined by her Memory (p. XX).
• Deathless: Mummies appear to supernatural senses as
simultaneously alive and dead.
• Customizable Metabolism: Mummies have complete
control over their physiology and may activate or de-
activate any number of biological functions. This is a
reflexive action.
Sekhem 159
 SEKHEM EFFECTS
Sekhem Trait Maximum Pillars Points Per Turn Utterance Level Attribute Boost
10 10 5 5 4
9 9 5 5 4
8 8 4 5 4
7 7 4 5 3
6 6 3 5 3
5 5 3 5 3
4 5 2 4 2
3 5 2 3 2
2 5 2 2 2
1 5 1 1 1

MEMORY • Long Gone Days: Mummies remember their identity

and the events of their previous Descents based on

T he Rite of Return was glorious and traumatic. The Arisen
stood before the Judges and spoke their decree yet came
back from Duat with scattered memories and suppressed
personalities. Perhaps this is what the Judges wanted: barely
sentient slaves with just enough knowledge to carry out orders.
Judges may control a mummy’s Sekhem, but only the
Arisen are responsible for Memory recovery and loss. Sekhem
and Memory are often at odds. Regaining a sense of self
sometimes means ignoring or outright disobeying the Judges.
Following their orders can lead to actions that a mummy
begs to forget.
A mummy’s Memory is a combination of the knowledges
she’s learned, the Descents she’s experienced, the person
she’s become, and the Iremite life she left behind. As she
rediscovers herself, it all comes back layer by layer. It becomes
a kind of paradox. More Memory helps the soul recover, but
so many recollections weigh it down and make it harder to
return from death.
Effects of Memory
• Pillar Recovery: Memory is used as a dice pool to
recover Pillar points (p. XX).
• Death Cycle: Memory is used as a dice pool during
Death Cycles (p. XX).
their Memory ratings. Previous Descents do not need
to follow chronological or serial order, nor do they
need to be previously played in-game. The player and
Storyteller determine which Descents the mummy
remembers at the start of a Descent and when the
mummy’s Memory rating changes.
• Automaton: Mummies that reduce their Memory to
0 during a Descent cannot remember anything besides
the location of their Tomb, the location of nearby
vessels, and their Judges’ commands. If all commands
are complete, they return to their tomb and await
further orders from their Judge. This effect lasts until
the mummy is either killed or Descends completely.
The next time she returns to life, her Memory resets to
1. Only mummies with Memory 8+ remember events
that occurred while at Memory 0.
• Amnesiac: During the first scene of a new Descent, a
mummy always has Memory 0. When the scene ends,
their Memory automatically resets to the mummy’s
current Memory rating.
• Mediator: At Memory 8+, a mummy can mediate (p.
XX) a Cult.

• Resurrection: Memory determines the minimum

length of time a mummy’s body spends dead before
resurrecting at restored health.
LOSING MEMORY
Mummies risk losing Memory when they act in ways that
reject their past or deny their present. When a mummy re-
fuses to engage with their previous actions as Iremite citizen
and Deathless Immortal or ignores their current identity and

160 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy

 MEMORY EFFECTS
Memory Knowledge Recalled Descents Mortal Life Resurrection Time
10 Full Identity Every Descent, Rite of Return Entire Life 3 Hours
9 Full Identity Every Descent Entire Life 2 Hours
8 Full Identity Every Descent Iremite Knowledge 2 Hours
7 Near Complete Every Descent Basic Iremite Knowledge 30 Minutes
6 Near Complete Two Previous Descents Guild Career 15 Minutes
5 Near Complete One Previous Descent Death 10 Minutes
4 Basic Identity One Previous Descent Friends and Family 3 Minutes
3 Basic Identity Rough Details of One Previous None Instant
Descent
2 Basic Identity Fragments of One Previous None Instant
Descent
1 Iremite None None Instant
Language
0 Automaton None None Instant

principles to pursue the will of the Judges, she undergoes a
Breaking Point (p. XX). The player rolls a set dice pool based
on the action’s severity. Memory Breaking Points have three
severities: Lapses, Gaps, and Absences.
The following Breaking Points are only a sample of what
could test a mummy’s Memory. Storytellers and players are
encouraged to customize Breaking Points for their characters
during play.
LAPSES (FIVE DICE)
Lapses are small acts of rejection and denial. These include
necessary evils of Arisen existence.
Sample Breaking Points: Concealing identity, pursuing
a Judge’s order solely to retain Sekhem, refusing a chance to
act according to decree.
GAPS (THREE DICE)
Gaps are serious acts of rejection and denial. These include
active suppression of a mummy’s past and present.
Sample Breaking Points: Destroying Nameless Empire
remnants that involve the mummy, impeding the recovery of
a fellow Arisen’s Memory, refusing to experience a destroyed
vessel’s memory.
ABSENCES (ONE DIE)
Absences are outright and intentional acts of rejection and
denial, sometimes to the point of destruction.
Sample Breaking Points: Abandoning the meret to pur-
sue a Judge’s agenda, intentionally hastening the Descent,
destroying evidence of the mummy’s mortal life.
RECOVERING MEMORY
Mummies recover Memory through uncovering the past, ac-
cepting their previous actions, and affirming their present identity.
These actions earn Reminisce Beats that accumulate into Reminisce
Experience, a special kind of Experience only spent on Memory.
Take a Reminisce Beat when your character meets the
following criteria.
• When your character uncovers a hidden truth of the
Nameless Empire, take a Reminisce Beat.
• When your character assists a Touchstone in fulfilling
their Virtue or Vice.
• When your character performs a righteous act in
keeping with her decree, take a Reminisce Beat.
• When your character discovers a secret from a previous
or future Descent, take a Reminisce Beat.
• When your character completely cannibalizes a vessel
(p. XX), take a Reminisce Beat.
• When your character reaches a new minimum rating in
all Pillars, (e.g. at least •• in all Pillars), your character
receives an amount of Reminisce Beats equal to the
new minimum rating.

Memory 161
 TOUCHSTONES
M ummies can make Touchstones of Sadikh, Inheritors,
and Witnesses, with each possessing benefits and
drawbacks. While the Sadikh is theoretically eternal, the
Rite of the Engraved Heart (see p. XX) cannot be undone,
creating a long-lasting burden should the immortal servant
prove treacherous or unreliable. Conversely, a Witness is an
ordinary mortal with a mortal’s weaknesses, but might prove
the most likely to spur memories in their master or mistress
through passionate action.
THE SADIKH
The most common of a mummy’s Touchstones is her
Sadikh (see p. XX). Unsurprising, given they represent a
mortal willing to give their very existence to the service of
the Arisen, to be their constant companion throughout each
awakening.
Sadikh are commonly Touchstones, but it is not always the
case. Many are treated with a certain disdain by their masters
and seen as little more than senior slaves by the servants of
Duat. Some may also lose faith in their masters over the long
centuries of slumber in a half-mad dream of life.
Those maintaining their bond of service often act as the
Arisen’s close friends or even lovers. Some are merely defined
by the notion of service to a higher cause and view their
eternal suffering as a sort of penance for the perceived good
that they do when they awake. Whatever the case, they are
not just a vessel of the mummy’s will and power, they are also
her closest tie to her former self. A physical manifestation of
all that has been sacrificed to enable the Deathless’ march
through the ages to proceed.
THE INHERITOR
Inheritors are chosen by the mummy to fully or partially
embody one of their Pillars. The Rite of Investment (p. XX)
makes an Inheritor as important to the Arisen as any relic from
her past. The Rite confers a sacred trust upon the Inheritor,
like the Sadikh, though not eternally binding, to protect a vital
component of the Deathless’ own immortal essence within
the fragile container of their mortal body.
Such a trust is normally built up over a long period of
service and is a form of reward for immense loyalty and
self-sacrifice in the mummy’s name. Such submission to a
greater purpose casts the age-old mind of the Deathless back
to their own Rite of Return, a strong image indeed. This
permanent reminder of service to a grand plan bigger than
one man or woman helps many mummies justify their endless
march through time in service to Duat.
162 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
Aging Touchstones
Unless they’re Sadikh, or discovered a form of
immortality, their role as Touchstones might be
transient at best due to their tendency to age
and die while the mummy sleeps. The memory of
the Touchstone does not fade, however, and an
Arisen can unconsciously designate the role to a
new Witness or Inheritor in the next era they vis-
it, providing the Touchstone was not killed while
the mummy was awake. This new Touchstone
must be in some way linked to the last one,
whether through blood, appearance, behavior,
or even something as simple as a shared name.
Something of them must awaken in the mummy
the memory of the Touchstone’s predecessor. This
practice leads to some mummies targeting inno-
cent victims who would rather have nothing to do
with Deathless society, but find themselves inexo-
rably drawn into it.
Mortals voluntarily bearing this weight are regularly chosen
as manifestations of the mummy’s chief aspects. Their person-
alities reflect the Pillar invested within them, and the addition
of that part of the mummy enhances those traits still further.
Immortals and sorcerers may also be selected for this role,
though their links to the mummy are often more mercenary.
THE WITNESS
The moment when a mortal comes to the full realization
of the scale of a Deathless’ power can be overwhelming. Even
without subtle manipulation or direct control, such individuals
often find themselves drawn to the mystique and allure that a
life beside such a being has. Witnesses are mortals who, through
exposure to the Arisen and her cult, have come to respect,
love or even fear it. What truly attaches the Witness to the
Deathless though is the fleeting glimpse of Memory that exists
within a mummy’s creaking mind. As the winds of time blow
dust from the pages of ancient memories, some Deathless find
themselves looking at mortals and seeing faces from their past,
or glimpses of half-remembered feeling. Bonds of loyalty and
kinship to something other than Duat and its remorseless rulers.
Such moments may be cast aside by an Arisen as a fickle
fancy, though some are taken deeper to heart. Witnesses
become targets for recruitment into the cult or are simply
extended its watchful protection. While the bond with such
a Touchstone is perhaps the least demanding for a Deathless,
it is certainly one of the most dangerous to form. Without
the protection of the mummy’s powers, the Witness is as
easily hurt or coerced as any other mortal. When a Witness
is made into a Touchstone, they no longer suffer the ill effects
of Sybaris.
EXAMPLE TOUCHSTONES
The following is a list of example Touchstones, howev-
er, players are encouraged to customize their selection of
Touchstones to most accurately reflect the binding between
the mummy and their fading Memory.
FIREBRAND CULTIST
Through the eyes of this zealot, the commitment of the
Arisen to their goal is inflamed. Their unswerving belief in
the beneficence of their patron and the righteousness of her
cause recalls to her the very reason she gave up her life to the
Judges in the first place.
SHADOW OF AN OLD FLAME
There is something about this face that entrances and
beguiles the Arisen, awakening feelings long since dead. She
may remember an echo of a name from her days of life, but
it is a whisper on the winds of time. Perhaps if she keeps this
mortal close enough, it will come to her.
CONFIDANTE
Even before he was Sadikh, this man earned the trust of
the Deathless. The naked truth of the master is laid bare to
this servant, who acts as both conscience and reminder of who
she is. In a crowded room with many arguing voices, theirs
rings out clear as a bell to the Arisen.
MIRROR OF THE AGES
How many souls can there be in existence? In all of
those, there must be some linked by destiny. In this person,
the Arisen sees themselves. All of their faults and strengths.
While this can lead them to be harder on them than most, the
attention lavished upon them draws the jealous eye of others
who would hold such interest to a being like the mummy.
Touchstones 163
 EPITOME OF LIFE
Dancing and twirling with reckless abandon, moving to
the beat of an unimaginable music, the likes of which couldn’t
have been played on the instruments native to Irem. She is
vital, she is the heartbeat in a dead chest. Her chaotic nature
may fly in the face of centuries of tradition, but she and she
alone twitches the stern features of the Deathless into a thin
smile at the childlike wonder and enjoyment of life.
DUTIFUL CLERK
Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. While the day-to-day existence of
the bank clerk may seem humdrum, this one’s approach to it
caught the eye of the Arisen as she sat watching her Sadikh
make another deposit on her behalf. The others chatter,
looking to the clock on the wall. This one’s eye never wavers
from her duty. She must be wondering who this strange person
is who keeps making these small deposits. And why does she
keep staring at her with strange satisfaction?
DOUBTING LAWRENCE
Lawrence’s family were proud of him when he joined the
seminary. Many of the letters the Arisen has read encourage
him to fully embrace his life of service, devotion and endless
prayer. However, the mummy hears those prayers, each night.
Seeking answers to the doubts that plague his mind and the
possibilities he is leaving behind in choosing this life. Such
thoughts are familiar to the Arisen, she wonders if Lawrence’s
God will answer, as hers did.
COURT JUSTICE
This woman’s hammer is the weapon of the law. Though
she does not wield it in her own service. She understands that
justice is about a higher authority than oneself. She under-
stands that it is not measurable within the scale of one person’s
petty morality. True justice belongs to a mandate handed
down over the centuries. Sure, her lawmakers are hardly the
pitiless Judges of Duat, but she serves them nonetheless.
BUDDING HISTORIAN
Dr Schwartzmann is so close to the next big discovery and
the Arisen is licking her lips waiting to see what he makes of
it. She has been supplying his curiosity with enough bread-
crumbs to allow him a trail to follow. He may be a bit of an
outcast among the archaeological community, but he alone
has come close to unearthing secrets that elude all others too
blind to follow the clues to their only true conclusion. And
that is where he would finally find her.
164 Chapter Three: Creating A Mummy
GUARDIAN OF THE PILLAR
Hikaru’s body is a temple, and holding it up was a pillar.
As the Inheritor to his master’s pillar of Ab, he was sworn to
defend something sacred. Trusted to carry with him part of the
very soul of a Deathless. Hikaru’s unwavering commitment to
his charge is brought home each night as the Arisen watches
him, training himself in combat, dining on the most nutritious
and beneficial food and drink he can afford. He has part of
her within him and treats it as an honored guest.
MUMMY INJURY,
HEALING, AND DEATH
M ummies are granted a near-miraculous hardiness. Even
death can be a mere setback to the Arisen.
DAMAGE SOURCES
Mummies don’t take injury in the same way living bodies
do. They receive the following changes to basic sources of
harm (p. XX):
• Mummies cannot bleed to death.
• Mummies cannot be knocked unconscious.
• Mummies suffer bashing damage from firearms, blades,
and melee weaponry.
• In addition to basic sources of aggravated damage,
mummies suffer aggravated damage from fire and
vessels (p. XX) in the form of weaponry.
HEALING RATES
Mummies quickly heal from wounds and can use Sekhem
(p. XX) and Pillars (p. XX) to heal even faster. They naturally
heal injuries at the following rate:
• 1 point of bashing damage per turn.
• 1 point of lethal damage every half hour.
• 1 point of aggravated damage every three days.
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
A mummy dies in two ways:
• The mummy’s health is completely filled with aggravat-
ed damage, and she is not currently under the effects
of Seal the Flesh (p. XX).
 • The mummy succeeds at a Descent Roll (p. XX) at
Sekhem 1, reducing her Sekhem to 0.
Mummies that die enter a Death Cycle (p. XX). They
embark on a harrowing journey in Neter-Khertet, searching
for the enigmatic Iremite god, Anpu. If the mummy’s Sekhem
rating is 0, their Descent typically ends when the mummy
and Anpu meet. Otherwise, the mummy’s player may choose
whether the mummy ends their Descent or returns to life.
Mummies that end their Descent are only revived through
the Call (p. XX), the Sothic Turn (p. XX), the disturbance of
their Tombs, or the ineffable will of the Judges. The next time
they revive, they are typically at Sekhem 10, and the Descent
begins anew. All pre-death damage is cleared.
Mummies that return to life must roll Memory to complete
the Death Cycle. Then, they resurrect after a period of time
determined by their Memory (p. XX). The mummy’s Sekhem
rating is adjusted based on the Death Cycle’s result. All pre-
death damage is cleared.
If a mummy dies and her body is destroyed, she can still
return to life through two methods:
• If a mummy has at least one canopic jar, the mummy’s
player chooses which jar revives her, which may be
in a different location from where the mummy died.
The jar bursts open to reveal the organ inside. The
mummy’s sahu quickly builds itself around the organ
during the Memory-determined resurrection time.
Starting characters own all four canopic jars, holding
the mummy’s stomach, lungs, liver, and intestines.
Immortality’s Curse
The Deathless can die within the boundaries of
a Descent, but even the most thorough foe can
only slow their eternal servitude for a moment.
An enemy may destroy a mummy’s body, grind
her canopic jars to powder, and exterminate ev-
ery one of her cultists, but this does not end the
Arisen’s existence. Though it certainly means her
toil in this time is at an end — and she will face her
Judge’s ire for her failure — the Rite of Return en-
sures the mummy’s reawakening at another time
and in another place.
The service of these immortals to their pitiless mas-
ters is truly eternal. Only a rare few events can
end their slavery, and the Judges jealously con-
trol these avenues of release.
• A mummy may reincarnate inside an Invested cultist
(p. XX), taking the cultist’s body for her own. The
mummy may remove the body’s four internal organs
to create new canopic jars.
Mummy Injury, Healing, and Death 165
 Fight for the things that you care about,
but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
T his chapter contains the basic rules for playing Mummy:
The Curse. The Chronicles of Darkness rulebook
contains more information, including optional systems and
examples of play.
TRAITS
I n addition to the supernatural traits of the Arisen, Chronicles
of Darkness characters have mundane traits common to
mortals and monsters alike. Attributes are raw potential, Skills
are trained abilities, and Skill Specialties are specific areas of
training in which a character excels. Willpower is the extra
effort a character brings to bear in a stressful or dangerous
situation, when success is crucial or hangs by a thread. Some
supernatural powers also use Willpower.
Humans possess a personal Virtue and Vice from which
they can draw strength and refill their Willpower. Since the
Judges shackled the Arisen into eternal servitude, mummies
refill their Willpower through the Balance and Burden of
their timeless condition instead.
ATTRIBUTES
Attributes represent essential traits that every character
possesses by default. These serve as the foundation to most
rolls in Mummy: The Curse. The nine Attributes are split
into three categories: Mental, Physical, and Social. If a game
rule refers to a “Social roll,” or a “Mental action,” that means
an action that uses the appropriate Attribute category.
One dot in an Attribute reflects a below-average capacity.
Two dots are about human average. Three and four reflect
a high level of competency, while five reflects the height of
human potential in that field. Supernatural beings sometimes
have Attributes rated at 6 or more dots.
MENTAL ATTRIBUTES
Mental Attributes reflect your character’s acuity, intellect,
and strength of mind.
Intelligence
Intelligence is your character’s raw knowledge, memory,
and capacity for solving difficult problems. This may be book
smarts, or a wealth of trivia.
Attribute Tasks: Memorizing (Intelligence + Composure,
instant action)
Wits
Wits represents your character’s ability to think quickly
and improvise solutions, reflecting your character’s percep-
tion, and ability to pick up on details.
Attribute Tasks: Perception (Wits + Composure, reflexive
action)
Resolve
Resolve is your character’s determination, patience, and
sense of commitment. It measures your character’s concen-
tration in the face of distraction and danger, or ability to
continue doing something in spite of insurmountable odds.
Traits 167
 Attribute Tasks: Resisting coercion (Resolve + Stamina,
reflexive action)
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
Physical Attributes reflect your character’s bodily fitness
and acumen.
Strength
Strength is your character’s muscular definition and
capacity to deliver force, affecting many physical tasks,
including most actions in a fight.
Attribute Tasks: Breaking a barrier (Strength + Stamina,
instant action), Lifting objects (Strength + Stamina, instant
action)
Dexterity
Dexterity is your character’s speed, agility, and coordina-
tion, providing balance, reactions, and aim.
Attribute Tasks: Keeping balance (Dexterity + Composure,
reflexive action)
Stamina
Stamina is your character’s general health and sturdiness,
determining how much punishment your character’s body
can handle before it gives up.
Attribute Tasks: Staying awake (Stamina + Resolve,
instant action)
SOCIAL ATTRIBUTES
Social Attributes reflect your character’s ability to deal
with others.
Presence
Presence is your character’s assertiveness, gravitas, and
raw appeal, giving your character a strong bearing that
changes moods and minds.
Attribute Tasks: Good first impressions (Presence +
Composure, instant action)
Manipulation
Manipulation is your character’s ability to make others
cooperate; how smoothly she speaks, and how much people
can read into her intentions.
Attribute Tasks: Poker face (Manipulation + Composure)
Composure
Composure is your character’s poise and grace under fire;
his dignity, and ability to remain unfazed when harrowed.
Attribute Tasks: Meditation (Resolve + Composure,
extended action)
168 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
SKILLS
Attributes represent innate ability; Skills reflect behav-
iors learned and honed over a lifetime, practiced or learned
from a book. Skills divide into Mental, Physical, and Social
categories.
Skills do not receive free dots at character creation. Skills
without dots are deficient or barely capable. Skills with a
single dot reflect a cursory training. Two dots is sufficient for
professional use. Three is a high level of competency. Four
is outstanding, and five is absolute mastery of the discipline.
When creating your character, prioritize categories. The
primary category receives 11 dots, the secondary receives
seven, and the tertiary four.
Each Skill has sample, common actions listed, which is
not a comprehensive guide to where Skills can apply. We also
suggest dice pools, but it is important to look at the context
of the scene, and apply the best Attribute + Skill combina-
tion for the events at hand. Remember that equipment and
environmental modifiers can shift a dice pool. This section
lists some sample equipment and factors that could enhance
Skill usage.
Using a Skill with no dots incurs a penalty. For Physical
and Social Skills, it levies a −1 die penalty to the roll. For a
Mental Skill, it is a −3 die penalty.
MENTAL SKILLS
Mostly learned rather than practiced, Mental Skills reflect
knowledge and procedure, lore and understanding.
Academics
A broad Skill, Academics represents your character’s
higher education and knowledge of the arts and humanities,
covering language, history, law, economics, and related fields.
Sample actions: Recall trivia (Intelligence + Academics,
instant action), Research (Intelligence + Academics, ex-
tended action), Translation (Intelligence + Academics,
extended action)
Sample contacts: Rare Book Dealer, Law Professor, Head
Librarian
Suggested equipment: Internet access (+1), Library (+1
to +3), Professional consultant (+2)
Specialties: Anthropology, Architecture, Art History,
English, History, Law, Literature, Religion, Research,
Translation
Computer
While most characters in Chronicles of Darkness are
expected to know the basics, the Computer Skill allows your
character to program computers, to crack into systems, to
diagnose major problems, and to investigate data. This Skill
reflects advanced techniques and tricks; almost everyone
can operate a computer for email and basic internet searches
without this Skill.
Sample actions: Hacking a system (Intelligence +
Computer, extended action, contested if against a security
administrator or other hacker), Internet search (Wits +
Computer, instant action), Programming (Intelligence +
Computer, extended action)
Sample contacts: AI Researcher, Hardcore Computer
Gamer, White-Hat Hacker
Suggested equipment: Computer system (+0 to +3, by
performance), Custom software (+2), Passwords (+2)
Specialties: Data Retrieval, Graphics, Hacking, Internet,
Programming, Security, Social Media
Crafts
From creating works of art to fixing an automobile, the
Crafts Skill reflects your character’s knack for creating and
repairing things.
Sample actions: Appraisal (Wits + Crafts, instant action),
Counterfeit item (Intelligence + Crafts, instant action),
Create art (Intelligence + Crafts, instant action), Repair
item (Wits + Crafts, instant action)
Sample contacts: Automotive Engineer, Makerspace
Enthusiast, Police Sketch Artist
Suggested equipment: Point of reference (+1), Quality
materials (+2), Tools (+1 to +3, depending on utility and
specialty), Well-equipped workplace (+2)
Specialties: Automotive, Cosmetics, Engraving, Fashion,
Forging, Graffiti, Jewelry, Jury Rigging, Painting, Repair,
Sculpting, Taxidermy
Investigation
Solving mysteries and putting together puzzles, your
character uses Investigation when drawing conclusions,
finding meaning out of confusion, and laterally thinking to
find information where others could not.
Sample actions: Examining a crime scene (Wits +
Investigation, extended action), Solving riddles (Intelligence
+ Investigation, instant or extended action)
Sample contacts: Conspiracy Buff, Medical Examiner,
Private Investigator
Suggested equipment: Forensic kit (+1), Unrestricted
access (+2), Reference library (+2)
Specialties: Autopsy, Body Language, Crime Scenes,
Cryptography, Lab Work, Riddles
Medicine
Characters with Medicine have knowledge of the human
body, and can make efforts to stem life-threatening wounds
and illnesses.
Sample actions: Diagnosis (Wits + Medicine, instant ac-
tion), Treating wounds (Intelligence + Medicine, extended
action)
Sample contacts: Bio-Tech Company Researcher, Chronic
Patient, EMT
Suggested equipment: Medical tools (+1 to +3), Trained
assistance (+1), Well-stocked facilities (+2)
Specialties: First Aid, Pathology, Pharmaceuticals, Physical
Therapy, Surgery
Occult
While the supernatural is unpredictable and often unique,
with the knowledge of things hidden in the dark, legends,
and lore provided by the Occult Skill, your character picks
out facts from rumor.
Sample actions: Identify the sliver of truth (Wits + Occult,
instant action), Relate two similar myths (Intelligence +
Occult, instant or extended action)
Sample contacts: Anthropology Professor, Neo-Pagan
Author, Weird Hermit Down the Street
Suggested equipment: Well-stocked library (+2)
Specialties: Amkhata, Casting Lots, Divination, Duat,
Ghosts, Judges, Irem, Sekhem, Sorcery, Superstition, Vessels
Politics
Politics reflects a general knowledge of political struc-
tures and methodologies, but more practically shows your
character’s ability to navigate those systems and make them
work the way she intends. With Politics, she knows the right
person to ask to get something done.
Sample actions: Cut red tape (Manipulation + Politics,
extended action), Identify authority (Wits + Politics, in-
stant action), Sully reputations (Manipulation + Politics,
extended action)
Sample contacts: Personal Assistant to the Governor,
Political Blogger, Union Leader
Suggested equipment: Official position (+1 to +5, by
Status)
Specialties: Bureaucracy, Church, Democratic, Guilds,
Local, Organized Crime, Scandals
Science
Science is your character’s knowledge and understanding
of the physical and natural sciences, such as biology, chem-
istry, geology, meteorology, and physics.
Traits 169
 Sample actions: Assess variables (Intelligence + Science,
instant or extended action), Formulate solution (Intelligence
+ Science, extended action)
Sample contacts: Experimental Physicist, Geology
Professor, Mad Inventor
Suggested equipment: Reference library (+1 to +3), Well-
stocked laboratory (+2)
Specialties: Physics, Neuroscience, Virology, Alchemy,
Genetics, Hematology
PHYSICAL SKILLS
Physical Skills develop through practice, training, and
learning through action.
Athletics
Athletics reflects a broad category of physical training
and ability, covering sports, and basic physical tasks, such
as running, jumping, dodging threats, and climbing, as well
as a character’s ability with thrown weapons.
Sample actions: Acrobatics (Dexterity + Athletics, instant
action), Climbing (Strength + Athletics, extended action), Foot
chase (Stamina + Athletics, contested action), Jumping (Strength
+ Athletics, instant action, one foot vertically per success)
170 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Sample contacts: Parkour Enthusiast, Physical Therapist,
Running Club Buddy
Suggested equipment: Athletic shoes (+1), Rope (+1)
Specialties: Acrobatics, Archery, Climbing, Jumping,
Parkour, Swimming, Throwing
Brawl
Brawl reflects your character’s ability to tussle and fight
without weapons, including old-fashioned bar brawls as well
as complex martial arts.
Sample actions: Breaking boards (Strength + Brawl,
instant action), Hand-to-hand fighting (covered in the
Violence section, p. XX)
Sample contacts: Club Bouncer, Self-Defense Teacher,
Sparring Partner
Suggested equipment: Brass knuckles (+1)
Specialties: Boxing, Dirty Fighting, Grappling, Martial
Arts, Threats, Throws
Drive
Most modern characters can likely drive, and a character
can drive a car without dots in this Skill. With this Skill,
however, a character can control and maneuver automobiles,
motorcycles, boats, and even airplanes in moments of high
stress, such as a high-speed chase or trying to elude a tail.
Drive also reflects horseback riding, as appropriate to your
character’s history.
Sample actions: Impressive maneuvering (Dexterity +
Drive, instant action), Pursuit (Dexterity + Drive, contested
action), Tailing (Wits + Drive, contested action)
Sample contacts: Bush Pilot, Mechanic, Street Racer
Suggested equipment: Performance vehicle (+1 to +3)
Specialties: Defensive Driving, Chariots, Evasion, Off-
Road Driving, Motorcycles, Pursuit, Stunts
Firearms
Firearms reflects your character’s ability to identify, main-
tain, and otherwise use guns. This Skill covers everything
from small pistols, to shotguns, to assault rifles, and anything
else related.
Sample actions: Firefights (see p. XX for more on how
firearms violence works)
Sample contacts: Gun store owner, Local law enforcement,
Sharpshooter
Suggested equipment: See p. XX for a full list of firearms
Specialties: Handguns, Rifles, Shotguns, Trick Shots
Larceny
Larceny covers intrusion, lockpicking, theft, pickpock-
eting, and other (generally considered) criminal activities.
While typically learned on the streets, outside of formal
methods, stage magicians and other entertainers learn these
skills as part of their repertoire.
Sample actions: Bypass security systems (Dexterity +
Larceny, extended action), Lockpicking (Dexterity +
Larceny, extended action), Pickpocketing (Dexterity +
Larceny, contested action)
Sample contacts: Shady Pawn Shop Owner, Parole Officer,
Three-Card Monte Dealer.
Suggested equipment: Crowbar (+1), Crowded area (+2),
Lockpicks (+2), Partner in crime (+1)
Specialties: Breaking and Entering, Concealment,
Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Safecracking, Security Systems,
Sleight of Hand, Tomb Traps
Stealth
The Stealth Skill reflects your character’s ability to move
unnoticed and unheard, or to blend into a crowd. Every char-
acter approaches Stealth differently; some use distraction,
some disguise, while some are just hard to keep an eye on.
Sample actions: Losing a tail (Wits + Stealth, contested
action), Shadowing (Dexterity + Stealth, contested action)
Sample contacts: Bow Hunter, Burglar, Lookout from a
Former Job
Suggested equipment: Binoculars (+1), Dark clothing
(+1), Smokescreen (+2), Spotters (+1)
Specialties: Camouflage, Crowds, Faking Death, In Plain
Sight, Rural, Shadowing, Tomb, Stakeout
Survival
Survival represents your character’s ability to “live off the
land.” This means finding shelter, finding food, and otherwise
procuring the necessities for existence.
Sample actions: Foraging (Wits + Survival, extended
action), Hunting (for animals, Wits + Survival, extended
action)
Sample contacts: Homeless Person, Off-the-grid Survivalist,
Scout Master
Suggested equipment: Survival guide (+1), Survival knife
(+1)
Specialties: Duat, Foraging, Hunting, Navigation, Shelter,
Weather
Weaponry
Weaponry is the ability to fight with hand-to-hand
weapons, such as swords, knives, baseball bats, and even
chainsaws. If the intent is to strike another and harm him,
Weaponry is the Skill.
Sample actions: Attacking another (see p. XX for more
on Weaponry fighting)
Sample contacts: Fencing Instructor, Gang Member,
Western Martial Arts Enthusiast
Suggested equipment: See p. XX for a full list of weapons
Specialties: Chains, Clubs, Improvised Weapons, Spears,
Swords
SOCIAL SKILLS
Animal Ken
Animal Ken reflects your character’s ability to train and
understand animals. With Animal Ken, your character can
charm beasts or even rile them to violence, under the right
circumstances.
Sample actions: Animal training (Manipulation + Animal
Ken, extended action), Cowing an animal (Presence +
Animal Ken, contested action)
Sample contacts: Cat Lady, Rodeo Horse Trainer, Zoo
Veterinarian
Suggested equipment: Treats (+1), Whip (+1)
Traits 171
 Specialties: Birds, Canines, Felines, Reptiles, Calming,
Training
Empathy
Empathy represents your character’s ability to read and
understand others’ feelings and motivations. This helps
discern moods, or read deceptive behavior in discussion. It
is not inherently sympathetic; one can understand another’s
positions without agreeing with them.
Sample actions: Finding someone’s pain (Wits + Empathy,
contested action), Sense deception (Wits + Empathy, con-
tested action), Soothing nerves (Manipulation + Empathy,
instant action)
Sample contacts: Shoulder to Cry On, Police Profiler,
Psych Student
Suggested equipment: Muted clothing (+1), Relaxing
environment (+2)
Specialties: Calming, Emotion, Lies, Motives, Personalities,
Cult Members
Expression
The Expression Skill reflects your character’s ability to
communicate. This Skill covers written and spoken forms
of communication, journalism, acting, music, and dance.
Sample actions: Composing (Intelligence + Expression,
extended action), Performance (Presence + Expression,
instant action)
Sample contacts: Investigative Journalist, Political Speech
Writer, Reclusive Poet
Suggested equipment: Quality instrument (+1 to +3)
Specialties: Dance, Drama, Journalism, Musical
Instrument, Performance Art, Singing, Speeches
Intimidation
Intimidation reflects your character’s ability to influence
others’ behavior through threats and fear. It could mean
direct physical threats, interrogation, or veiled implications
of things to come.
Sample actions: Interrogation (Wits + Intimidation,
contested action), Stare down (Presence + Intimidation,
contested action)
Sample contacts: Barroom Tough Guy, High-Powered
Executive, Police Interrogator
Suggested equipment: Fearsome tools (+2), Gang colors
(+2), Isolated room (+1)
Specialties: Direct Threats, Interrogation, Stare Down,
Torture, Veiled Threats
172 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Persuasion
Relying your character’s force of personality to sway
the listener, Persuasion is your character’s ability to change
minds and influence behaviors through logic, fast-talking,
or appealing to desire.
Sample actions: Fast-talk (Manipulation + Persuasion,
extended action), Firebranding (Presence + Persuasion,
instant action), Seduction (Manipulation + Persuasion,
extended action)
Sample contacts: Car Salesman, Speech Coach, Trial
Lawyer
Suggested equipment: Designer clothing (+1 to +3),
Reputation (+2)
Specialties: Confidence Scam, Fast-Talking, Inspiring,
Sales Pitch, Seduction, Sermon
Socialize
Socialize reflects your character’s ability to present her-
self well and interact with groups of people (or mummies)
using proper (and setting-appropriate) etiquette, customs,
sensitivity, and warmth. A character with a high Socialize
is the life of the party.
Sample actions: Carousing (Manipulation + Socialize,
instant action), Fitting in (Wits + Socialize, instant action),
Getting attention (Presence + Socialize, instant action)
Sample contacts: Diplomat, Drinking Buddy, Society
Matron
Suggested equipment: Drugs (+1), Knowing people (+1),
Money (+1 to +5)
Specialties: Bar Hopping, Church Lock-in, Dress Balls,
Cult Rituals, Frat Parties, Political Fundraisers, The Club
Streetwise
The Streetwise Skill is your character’s knowledge of life
on the streets, telling her how to navigate the city, how to
get information from unlikely sources, and where she will be
(relatively) safe. If she wants to get something on the black
market, Streetwise is how.
Sample actions: Finding a shortcut (Wits + Streetwise,
instant action), Working the black market (Manipulation
+ Streetwise, instant action)
Sample contacts: Bartender in a Rough Part of Town, Drug
Dealer, Undercover Cop
Suggested equipment: Burner phone (+1), Known nick-
name (+2), Valuable contraband (+1 to +3)
Specialties: Black Market, Cults, Gangs, Navigation,
Rumors, Undercover
Subterfuge
Subterfuge is the ability to deceive. With Subterfuge, your
character tells convincing lies, projects hidden messages in
what she says, hides motivations, and notices deception in
others.
Sample actions: Disguise (Wits + Subterfuge, instant ac-
tion), Lying (Manipulation + Subterfuge, contested action)
Sample contacts: Con Artist, Crooked Politician, Out
of- work Actor
Suggested equipment: Costume supplies (+2), Fake ID
(+1),
Specialties: Detecting Lies, Doublespeak, Hiding Emotion,
Little White Lies, Misdirection
SKILL SPECIALTIES
Skill Specialties are narrower refinements of the broader
Skills that help define your character’s particular exper-
tise. For example, your character might have three dots
in Firearms, but a Specialty in Rifles, making him capable
with all guns, but particularly good with rifles. The Skill
descriptions contain example Specialties. The Storyteller is
the ultimate arbiter of what does and does not constitute a
Specialty; Specialties that are too broad or too narrow can
hurt the story or never come into play.
If a Specialty applies to your roll, add a die. Multiple
Specialties may apply to a single roll, within reason. If you
find yourself going to great lengths to justify a Specialty, it
probably does not apply.
Skill Specialties let you flesh out your character while
offering a mechanical benefit. When creating your character,
let Specialty choice guide his development. For example,
there is a huge difference between a character with Brawl 4
(Bar Fights) and Brawl 4 (Aikido).
FORGOTTEN SKILLS AND
KEEPING UP WITH THE
MODERN WORLD
Unshackled from the linear flow of time, mummies have
to deal with brutal temporal and spatial displacement at every
Descent. Thanks to the sorcerous might that empowers them
along with centuries of experience, Arisen can adapt and
triumph over their opponents. The harsh truth, however, is
that as emissaries of a civilization that crumbled to dust eons
ago, mummies do not truly belong anywhere and anywhen.
Removed from reality by the same powers that allow them
to exist, mummies need to rely on others to remain in touch
with the world of the living. Cultists are the best candidates
to fill this role and their help is invaluable for the Arisen,
whether mummies are willing to admit it or not. In recent
times, where technological and social changes happen at
faster rhythm, cultists are best suited to introduce their
immortal masters to a society to which they do not belong
while also being able to act and solve issues in a way only
they can. However, even the most trusted cultist cannot help
with the threat of Arisen’s cursed memories. Sekhem and
the torments of Duat ravage the mind of mummies, turning
the wisest scholar into a clueless illiterate and a champion
of Irem barely remembers how to lift a sword. Should this
forgetfulness cling to mummies beyond the moment of their
awakening, it drags them down and separates them from a
part of their own identity. The moment it dissipates is both a
glorious epiphany and a painful reminder of their condition.
As an optional rule, Storytellers wishing to represent this
aspect of the Curse in their games can allow players to pick
the Forgotten Skill Condition (see p. XX) at the beginning
of their character’s current Descent. The player can either
decide to resolve the Condition without taking a Beat at the
end of the Descent or maintain it through the next one. A
character can have at most three separate instances of the
Condition, one for each Skill category.
SKILLS AND THE DARK ERAS
Considering mummies experience time in a non-linear
manner, a Mummy: The Curse game may easily feature
scenarios set before the modern era. Whether in a flashback
or a proper historical chronicle, certain Skills did not exist
until recent times. Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras dis-
cusses how Skills have evolved across ages, starting on p. 23.
While this does not affect character creation in games
mainly set in the modern era, this aspect of the game does
require a bit of planning should it ever come up at the table.
The most straightforward solution translates dots in Computer,
Drive, and Firearms into dots for their historical predecessors
Enigmas, Ride, and Archery. Alternatively, players may decide
to keep bygone Skills, further highlighting how mummies are
ancient and removed from the world. At the same time, they
maintain an insight of anachronistic Skills that few can boast.
The opposite is also possible: characters with contemporary
Skills in historical settings feel just as out of place. Their
knowledge of things to come can be both a source of confusion
and an opportunity to look at an archaic world with tools and
perspectives nobody else possess. Players can even choose to
purchase dots both in ancient and modern Skills as a way to
represent the expertise a truly immortal character can have,
with certain Specialties cross-apply at Storyteller’s discretion.
Characters roll all Skills with the relevant Attribute as usual,
but if they lack actual dots in a certain Skill they do so with
Traits 173
 Getting Ahead of the Times
What happens when an Arisen remembers what a
car is millennia before the combustion engine is in-
vented? How can a mummy awakened at the height
of the Roman Empire with a deep understanding of
computer programming put such knowledge to use?
Mummies wield knowledge centuries ahead of its
time. From the simplest commodities to more com-
plex and groundbreaking inventions, the awareness
of what is missing alienates mummies even further
from the world. What is mastery of a Skill with-
out the accumulated history that shaped that Skill?
Some things nobody can anticipate; a grim reality
disheartening and frustrating those confronting it. If
anyone can overcome those hardships, though, the
Arisen can. Mummies are truly timeless beings: their
divine mandate and the Sekhem blazing through
their dead bodies give them both the clarity of pur-
pose and audacity to try to succeed where others
the untrained penalty, even if they are well-versed with the
Skill counterpart.
The Storyteller should take into consideration these
opportunities to toy with unusual character perspectives.
PRE-MODERN SKILLS
The following summarizes the information about
pre-modern Skills presented in Chronicles of Darkness:
Dark Eras.
Archery: Before 1500, the Firearms Skill did not exist and
not until the mid-1800s did it completely eclipse the Archery
Skill in ranged combat, when cheap and reliable hand-carried
guns became available. Crude, early firearms use the Athletics
Skill to fire rather than Archery. Common Archery Specialties
include: European Bow, Japanese Bow, Longbow, Pellet Bow,
Poor Visibility, Short Bow, Trick Shot and Wind and Weather.
Archery works identically to Firearms except for dramatic fail-
ures: restringing a bow takes one turn just like clearing a gun
jam, but damage to the bow itself renders the weapon useless
until repaired. Storytellers might rule that an Archery dramatic
failure results in hitting the wrong target instead, or running
out of arrows if the game tracks ammunition narratively.
Ride: Before the late 1700s, the Drive Skill did not exist and
was not commonplace until the mid-1900s when cars became
more than luxuries for the wealthy. Transportation by animals
174 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
cannot even fathom the idea. Mummies overcome a
lack of tools, materials, and proficiency to a degree
nobody else can. Their existence unbound from the
linear passage of time allows them to bring bits of the
future into the past, one Descent at a time.
Traces of the Arisen’s passage are scattered through
history. Items like calculators made of stone and rust-
ed gears, ancient batteries still able to harness elec-
tricity after centuries spent in the dust, and depictions
of vehicles that should not exist are a source of end-
less questions for their discoverers. Only mummies
recognize these objects for what they are: attempts
by the scions of Irem to recreate modern innovations
in an era where they have no place to be. These relics
hold no supernatural power on their own, but they
can shed a light on the hidden history of the world
and, in the right hands, help to recover the wisdom of
Irem and Duat buried by the sands of time.
uses Ride, whether the character rides them directly or drives
them via coach or chariot. Characters can also use Ride to
perform basic veterinary first aid on common mount animals
and build relationships with them. Common Ride Specialties
include: Jumping, Particular Breeds, Riding in Combat, Tricks,
Tailing and Unfamiliar Horses. A mount animal has a Handling
score like a vehicle, which starts at the animal’s Wits rating
and increases or decreases based on treatment and training.
Attributes associated with Ride vary: to ride into battle requires
Physical Attributes, Social Attributes work better for exhibitions
or entertainment, while Wits is more appropriate for rolls that
require quick reactions outside a fight, such as those made to
tail someone while mounted. Dramatically failing on a mount
usually involves injury to the mount or uncooperative behavior,
like throwing its rider or refusing to move.
Enigmas: Not until the invention of the home computer
in the late 1970s did the Computer Skill exist. Before that
point, characters use Crafts or Science to interact with cruder
computer-like technology. They use the Enigmas Skill to ma-
nipulate information, navigate complex systems, solve puzzles,
and create and decipher codes. Rather than replace interactive
problem solving and roleplaying, it should help offer specific
answers and new options. Common Enigmas Specialties
include: Bureaucracies, Codes, Conspiracies, Research, and
Social Networks. On a dramatic failure, the Storyteller gives a
dramatically appropriate misinterpretation of the information or
solution. With failure, the character knows she failed and can try
again with a –1 penalty. On a success, the character successfully
decodes or obscures the information. With exceptional success,
the character gains more answers than she was looking for or
hides the information exceptionally well. Decoding Ciphers is
an Intelligence + Enigmas extended action requiring between
5 and 20 success, with each roll representing one hour of work.
Encoding information is a Wits + Enigmas + equipment
instant action taking between a few minutes and a few hours
depending on the complexity. Mastering Complex Systems is a
Wits + Enigmas extended action requiring 10+ successes with
each roll representing three hours of interaction or observation.
SPEED
Your character’s Speed indicates the number of yards
or meters she can travel in a single turn. Speed combines
Strength, Dexterity, and a species factor reflecting a range of
considerations, such as age, physical configuration, and Size.
Other species, such as horses and cheetahs, have physical
configurations that lend themselves to high travel rates.
Factor Species
1 Turtle
3 Human toddler
5 Human adult
8 Wolf
10 Caribou
12 Horse
15 Cheetah
ROLLING DICE
W hen a character is trying to accomplish something
and the outcome is in doubt, the player rolls a pool of
ten-sided dice. The result of that roll determines whether the
character succeeds or fails at what they are trying to accomplish.
Success means they accomplish it with no complications. Failure
means they do not accomplish it because more complications
are in their way. They could also roll an exceptional success, or
dramatic failure, depending on the dice outcome.
DICE POOL
The dice pool is the total number of ten-sided dice rolled as
determined by a couple of different stats on a character’s sheet.
Generally, a dice pool is the value of an Attribute + the value of a
Skill, or the value of an Attribute + the value of another Attribute.
The player states what they are trying to accomplish, and
then the Storyteller decides the appropriate dice pool for
that action. There are often different ways to do the same
thing, so the traits used often reflect how it is being done.
If a character is trying to get past a bouncer, they could be
manipulative or they could be intimidating, and the way
they decide to roleplay helps determine which traits to roll.
Most of the actions characters take indicate which dice
pools to use for them, but feel free to improvise. Sometimes
players may come up actions that call for creative dice pools!
Circumstantial factors, equipment, or opposition add to and
subtract from the total pool.
• Building a Pool: A dice pool is an Attribute + different
Attribute or Attribute + Skill.
• Modifiers: Bonuses add the indicated number of dice;
penalties remove them. Unless otherwise specified,
modifiers never exceed +/−5. Add all bonuses before
subtracting penalties.
• Successes: Any die showing 8, 9, or 10 counts as a
success.
• 10-again: Count as a success and reroll any die show-
ing a 10. Rerolled dice count successes as normal.
Continue counting successes and rerolling as long as
you keep rolling 10s.
THE CHANCE DIE
If penalties reduce a dice pool to zero or below, roll a
single die. This is the Chance Die.
Chance Die Results
• Success: A chance die displaying 10 counts as a
•
success.
Dramatic Failure: A chance die displaying 1 is a dra-
•
matic failure.
No 10-again: Do not reroll 10s on chance dice.
ROLL RESULTS
After rolling the dice pool, counting all the successes,
and rerolling any dice that need rerolling, determine if the
character succeeded or failed at their action.
Roll Results
• Exceptional Success: 5+ successes. The character’s
action succeeds, and they gain a beneficial Condition.
Specific actions might have additional effects on an
exceptional success.
Rolling Dice 175
 • Success: 1-4 successes. The character’s action
succeeds.
Failure: 0 successes. The character’s action fails. There
•
are immediate consequences.
• Dramatic Failure: The chance die shows 1. The char-
acter’s action fails, and something goes significantly
awry. Specific actions might have additional effects on
a dramatic failure. Otherwise, the Storyteller decides
on an appropriate turn of events.
PERMUTATIONS
Mummy has a few variations on dice rolls.
• 9-Again: Reroll dice that show 9 or 10, as opposed
to just 10, rerolling as appropriate if you get another
9 or 10. Certain Conditions, Merits, or other special
circumstances may award you 9-again on specific kinds
of rolls. If you gain 9-again on a roll that already had
that quality, it becomes 8-again.
• 8-Again: Reroll dice that show 8, 9, or 10 — any
successful die — and keep rerolling for each success.
Certain Conditions, Merits, or other special circum-
stances may award you 8-again on specific kinds of
rolls. If you gain 8-again on a roll that already had
that quality then, at the Storyteller’s discretion, it may
become a rote action.
• Extra Successes: Assuming your roll succeeds, you get
a number of extra successes added to your total. This
permutation mostly applies to weapons, which add
their damage bonus as extra successes on your attack
roll.
• Rote Actions: With plenty of training, laid out in
front of you are the steps you need to follow, giving
you a significant chance of success. When you make
a roll with the rote quality, reroll any dice that do not
show an 8, 9, or 10. If reduced to a chance die on a
rote action, do not reroll a dramatic failure. You may
only reroll each die once. Certain Conditions, Merits,
or other special circumstances may award you the rote
quality on specific kinds of rolls.
• Successive Attempts: When you fail a roll, you may
be able to try again. Normally, you make successive
attempts with your full dice pool. If time is short and
the situation is tense, each subsequent attempt instead
has a cumulative one-die penalty. Successive attempts
do not apply to extended actions.
176 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
• Teamwork: Working together can be vital for going
up against powerful foes. See p. XX.
WHEN TO ROLL DICE
Only roll dice when some kind of obstacle — someone
else, an object, the weather, time, themselves — impedes
the character’s means of accomplishing their goal. If the
character can easily do it, and there is nothing stopping
them, they can just do it without rolling dice.
Rolling dice means this action is meaningful within the
story you are telling together, therefore making it a challenge
makes sense. If the action is not that significant, do not make
it a dice rolling challenge.
When there are obvious mechanics involved then it
may also be important to roll dice. A character trying to use
one of their special Mummy powers most often requires a
dice roll, because that’s a highlight of this particular game.
Make dice rolls fun and meaningful by choosing the right
time to roll them.
ACTIONS
A ctions in Mummy fall into two categories: how long it
takes to do the action, and if the action has opposition.
Each action has these two descriptors to determine how to ac-
complish the action. For example, an action might be Instant
+ Simple, Reflexive + Resisted, or Extended + Contested.
The charts below show the combinations of actions characters
can take.
TIME BASED ACTIONS
• Reflexive: A reflexive action requires one roll or no
roll. A character can take reflexive actions on other
characters turns and do not take up their turn in an
action scene. It takes no meaningful time or effort
in the narrative. Contesting someone else’s action is
always reflexive.
• Instant: An instant action only requires one roll, and
takes a turn in an action scene and represents a few
seconds in the narrative.
• Extended: An extended action requires multiple
rolls, representing the longer length of time it takes
to complete this action in a narrative. An extended
action usually takes longer than one action scene, so
is not typically an option in action scenes.
OPPOSITION BASED ACTIONS
• Simple: No opposition. Dice pools and roll results are
unaffected.
• Contested: Your target opposes your action. Calculate
dice pool and roll. The target rolls their dice pool (ac-
cording to their action). Compare successes; highest
succeeds, lowest fails. Reroll ties using the same pools
until one result is higher.
• Resisted: Your target resists your action. Calculate your
dice pool and apply a penalty equal to the appropriate
Resistance attributes of the target.
EXTENDED ACTIONS
Extended actions in the narrative take much longer than
a typical action. They are projects that might take multiple
hours or days, much concentration, or that a character can
pick up and put down to resume later. While they do not
have to occur in consecutive time, they could.
While some character powers require an extended action
and say so in their description, the Storyteller determines
when an action is an extended one. Depending on the
extended action the character is taking, the Storyteller de-
termines how many successes it takes to complete it. Most
extended actions require between five and twenty successes.
Five is a reasonably easy action that a competent character
can accomplish with the right tools and knowledge. Ten
is a more difficult action that is still realistic for an expert.
Twenty is a very difficult or complex action that even a skilled
character would have trouble doing.
The Storyteller also determines how long in the narrative
it takes the character to accomplish the task. If it takes weeks
to complete, the Storyteller might ask for one roll per week. If
it takes a day, one roll per hour might make more sense. Try
to spread it out into a timeline with somewhat even intervals.
Once all these factors are determined, the player begins
rolling their multiple actions. Successes are accumulative
across all rolls. If the player earns the required amount of
successes before time runs out, they succeed at their ex-
tended action.
ANATOMY OF EXTENDED ACTIONS
• Multiple Rolls: During the extended action, players roll
their dice pool multiple times. Successes on each roll
count toward completing the entire extended action.
• Roll Limit: The roll limit is equal to the base dice pool
for the action before modifiers.
• Time Interval: Each roll takes a certain amount of time in
the narrative, as determined by the Storyteller in advance.
• Required Successes: The Storyteller determines the
amount of successes needed to complete the extended
action, between five and twenty.
EXTENDED ACTION ROLL
NARRATIVE RESULTS
There are different results that can occur after each roll
within an extended action.
• Success: After each roll, add the successes to the
running total. Work with the Storyteller to determine
how far along you are toward your goal, and what this
particular roll represents in the story.
• Exceptional Success: Choose one: reduce the total
number of successes required by your character’s Skill
dots, reduce the time interval for each following roll
by a quarter, or apply the exceptional success result of
the entire action when you complete your goal.
• Failure: Take a condition, or abandon the extended
action. The character faces a setback.
• Dramatic Failure: Lose all accumulated successes for
the extended action so far. In addition, the first roll at
a subsequent attempt at the extended action receives
a two-die penalty.
COMMON ACTIONS
The following list, which is not exhaustive, includes the
most common actions characters are likely to take in a Mummy
game. For more, see the Chronicles of Darkness rulebook.
AWE
(Instant, Presence + Expression)
You attempt to awe someone with your ancient presence.
• Success: You thoroughly impress them, but they decide
how they react.
• Exceptional: You so impress them it is as if no one else
is in the room.
• Failure: You have not impressed them within anything
you have done.
• Dramatic: You have accidentally repulsed them.
Actions 177
 CONSORT
(Instant, Presence + Socialize or Streetwise)
Mix easily with a group of people at a party or in a crowd.
• Success: The group listens to you and respects your
words and actions.
• Exceptional: You are a new favorite among this par-
ticular crowd, and they remember you fondly.
• Failure: Nobody pays you much mind, and they go on
as if you were not there.
• Dramatic: You have made an embarrassing faux pas.
DEBATE
(Instant and Contested, Intelligence + Expression vs.
targets Resolve + Composure)
You try to sway someone with rational debate.
• Success: They accept your position in the debate,
coming around to your point of view.
• Exceptional: You have converted them to your point
of view.
• Failure: They listen, but are unconvinced.
• Dramatic: You accidentally convince them of the
opposite of your point.
FLIRT
(Instant, Presence + Expression, Socialize, or Empa-
thy)
Let someone know your attraction to them.
• Success: They know you are flirting with them, and
they decide how they react to your flirtations.
• Exceptional: Your flirtations have made an impression,
and they decide how to react.
• Failure: They do not notice you are flirting with them.
• Dramatic: Whatever you did in an attempt to flirt has
insulted them.
178 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
INFILTRATE
(Instant and Contested, Intelligence + Socialize vs.
targets Wits + Composure)
Ingratiate yourself naturally with a social group with
which you are unfamiliar.
• Success: The group accepts you, an outsider, as one
of their own.
• Exceptional: Your ideas and words easily sways the group.
• Failure: The group does not trust you quite yet, and
you are still not privy to their conversations or invites.
• Dramatic: You have accidentally insulted the group
and they do not trust you.
INTERROGATE
(Extended and Resisted, Manipulation + Empathy or
Intimidation vs. targets Resolve)
You try to dig secrets out of a reluctant informant.
• Success: You get the information you wanted, one
piece per successful roll.
• Exceptional: You get the information you were looking
for and the target wants to help you.
• Failure: The target gives half-truths and lies.
• Dramatic: The target is quiet and unaffected by your
questions.
INTIMIDATE
(Instant and Contested, Strength or Manipulation +
Intimidation vs. targets Resolve + Composure)
You try to get someone to do what you want through fear.
• Success: They are scared enough to help you with what
you want.
• Exceptional: They develop a lasting fear of you, and
you do not need to intimidate them in the future.
• Failure: They are unimpressed with your threats.
• Dramatic: They do not even take your threats seriously.

INVESTIGATE
(Extended, Intelligence + Investigation)
You look for clues about events in the recent past at a
place or involving a situation.
• Success: You find exactly the clue you need.
• Exceptional: You find a clue and know how it fits in
with a web of other clues you had not noticed before.
• Failure: You notice evidence but it is hard to decipher
or damaged.
• Dramatic: You accidentally destroy a valuable clue.
OBSERVE
(Instant, Wits + Empathy)
You watch a social situation and try to understand what
is going on before engaging.
• Success: You notice something useful for how you can
approach the situation.
• Exceptional: What you notice is incredibly insightful
and even helpful to the situation.
• Failure: It is not obvious what might be going on in
this situation.
• Dramatic: You interpret something harmful as
harmless.
RESEARCH
(Extended, Intelligence + Academics or Occult)
Using your existing knowledge, you look for information
on a current mystery.
• Success: You find the basic facts you were looking for.
• Exceptional: You find what you were looking for and
everything else you ever needed to know about that
particular topic.
• Failure: You turn up many promising leads, but they
are all dead ends.
• Dramatic: You get some misinformation that could be
harmful to apply to your situation.
SKULK
(Instant and Contested, Dexterity + Stealth vs. targets
Wits + Composure)
You are trying to avoid the notice of someone or
something.
• Success: You avoid notice and get where you needed
to go.
• Exceptional: You avoid notice and are able to escape
with no problems.
• Failure: You have been spotted, but you can still slip
away.
• Dramatic: You accidentally attract a lot of attention.
TRAIL
(Instant and Contested, Wits + Stealth or Drive vs.
Wits + Composure)
You follow someone without it being obvious to them.
• Success: You follow the target without them noticing
you.
• Exceptional: You can easily continue to follow the
target into whatever place and for as long as you like.
• Failure: The target realizes you are following them and
manages to lose you.
• Dramatic: The target confronts you after noticing your
poor attempt to trail them.
Actions 179
 WILLPOWER
W hile Sekhem the measure of an Arisen’s life force, her
Willpower represents her determination and her ability
to push beyond her limitations to achieve her goals. Determine
Willpower for Arisen characters by adding Composure to
Resolve.
Mummies and mortal characters regain one point of
Willpower from seven hours of meditation.
SPENDING WILLPOWER
• Reflexive Action: Unless otherwise specified, spending
Willpower is a reflexive action.
• Roll Bonus: Spend 1 Willpower to gain a three-die
bonus on a single dice pool.
• Increased Resistance: Spend 1 Willpower to gain +2
to resistance (see above) against a single action.
• Refreshing the Will: Sacrificing a dot of Sekhem
returns all spent Willpower points. The Arisen can do
this reflexive action once per turn.
• Other Expenditures: Other abilities, Affinities,
Utterances, and certain relics may require Willpower
expenditure as noted under their Cost.
• Per Action Limit: Characters may only spend 1
Willpower per action.
CONDITIONS
C onditions represent ways in which the story has affected a
character, and what he can do to move past those events.
Players do not buy Conditions; events in the game apply them
and they remain until the character meets certain resolution
criteria. A character can only have one instance of a particular
Condition unless each applies to a distinctly different circum-
stance — for example, he may be Informed about the occult
symbol he stayed up all night to research as well as the inner
workings of the corporation he infiltrated. He resolves each
independently. Various systems and supernatural powers bring
Conditions into play, and the Storyteller can do so based on
story circumstances.
There is a list of sample Conditions on p. XX. The listed
resolutions for each Condition are the most common ways
to end its effects; other actions may also resolve it if they
would reasonably cause the Condition’s effects to end. When
a character resolves a Condition, the player takes a Beat.
However, if a Condition has a natural time limit and then
180 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
fades away without proper resolution, he does not take a Beat.
If a Condition lingers beyond its relevance in the story, the
player and Storyteller may agree to let it simply fade. A player
can only earn one Beat by resolving Conditions in each scene.
Some Conditions are marked as Persistent. These
Conditions last for a long time, and can only be resolved
permanently with a specific and impressive effort. Once per
chapter, a player gains a Beat when a Persistent Condition
affects his character’s life.
IMPROVISED CONDITIONS
Storytellers should not feel limited by the list of
Conditions in the Appendix (p. XX). As a rough guideline,
a Condition typically consists of a modifier between +2 and
−2 dice to a certain type of action, or to any action taken
with a certain motivation. A Condition resolves when the
character has done something significant to act on it, or when
she addresses the original source. The sample Conditions
later in this book have examples of how to resolve them,
but you can also resolve them after other events if it makes
sense in the story.
Rather than slow play as you search for the right
Condition, just improvise one and keep things going.
LINGERING CONDITIONS
Conditions are reminders that events from earlier in
the story have repercussions later. Usually, Chekhov’s gun
applies — if you put the Condition on stage, it should fire
by the end of the story. However, stories are slippery things,
and sometimes a story thread represented by a Condition is
better to drop for the sake of the overall narrative.
For example, an emotional state like Swooned might no
longer be relevant to events in the game because a long time
has passed, or it resulted from an interaction with a character
you do not care about anymore. In those cases, it is perfectly
fine to just cross off the Condition. We recommend awarding a
Beat as if resolving it, but that is at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Do this sparingly; the bottom line is: If a Condition
doesn’t feel relevant to the story anymore, just let it go.
ACTION SCENES
S ometimes it is useful to zoom in close on the action and
track things moment by moment, with a clear understand-
ing of who does what in what order. These are action scenes,
and to keep everyone’s actions straight, they proceed in turns
in order of Initiative. The most common action scenes are
fights, but the Storyteller can call for one any time complex
things are happening very quickly.
TURNS
• What You Can Do: On your turn, move up to your
Speed and take one instant action, or move twice your
Speed.
• How Long It Lasts: A turn is roughly three seconds.
If an effect says it lasts “until your next turn,” it lasts
until the beginning of your next turn.
• Order of Action: Characters involved in an action
scene take turns one at a time in order of Initiative,
from highest to lowest.
• Cycle: Once all characters involved in the scene have
acted, the order of action returns to the character with
the highest Initiative. Initiative can change from turn
to turn if, for instance, one character delays his action,
or a supernatural power makes a character faster or
slower.
INITIATIVE
• Calculating: When you come into the action scene,
roll one die and add the result to your Initiative mod-
ifier (p. XX). This is the only roll in the game in which
you treat the result of the die as a number rather than
a success or not. Wielding a weapon inflicts a penalty
to Initiative based on the type of weapon (p. XX).
• Delaying: You may choose not to act when your turn
comes up and instead act at any point later in the scene,
even if the order of action has reset. When you do act,
change your Initiative to the Initiative you acted on
for the rest of the scene.
• Surprise: If the start of the action might take a charac-
ter unawares, the Storyteller may call for a surprise roll.
Roll the character’s Wits + Composure, possibly con-
tested by an opponent’s relevant dice pool (Dexterity
+ Stealth for an ambush, Manipulation + Subterfuge
if they lull you into a false sense of security, etc.). If the
surprised character’s roll fails, they cannot act or apply
their Defense until their second turn.
DEFENSE
Defense measures your character’s ability to react to
danger and mitigate harm directed at her. Most often used
when violence breaks out, it might sometimes resist harm
from other sources as well.
DEFENSE BASICS
• Resistance: Defense counts as a Resistance Attribute
(p. XX) for any rule that interacts with Resistance (e.g.
spending Willpower).
• Multiple Hazards: In an action scene, each time you
resist an action with your Defense, you suffer a cumu-
lative −1 penalty to Defense. This penalty goes away
at the beginning of your next turn. You can choose not
to resist an action with Defense; if you do, the penalty
does not increase.
TILTS
Tilts apply temporary circumstances to both characters
and the environment during action scenes. Outside action
scenes, use Conditions instead.
Tilts do not grant Beats when they end, but the effects of
a Tilt can easily cause a Condition. For instance, a character
in a fight gets a handful of road salt flung into his eyes and
receives the Blinded Tilt. When the action scene ends, this
shifts to the Blind Condition. Resolving this Condition grants
a Beat as usual. If the character enters an action scene again
before the Condition resolves, the Blinded Tilt applies again.
Tilts come in two forms: Personal and Environmental.
Personal Tilts only apply to one character and include
ways in which that character can overcome the effect.
Environmental Tilts affect the whole scene, and offer ways
for individual characters to mitigate their effects. For a list
of sample Tilts, see p. XX.
VIOLENCE
A n Arisen’s tendency to seek out violence heavily depends
on their dots in Sekhem and Memory. While a mummy
brimming with Sekhem but with little Memory can act with
incredible violence, those with high Memory but low Sekhem
seek out violent acts. Both immortals and mortals try to get
their way with physical force. Whatever the reason is, the
Arisen must fight so she can fulfill her role.
INTENT
Everybody wants something out of a conflict. The very
first thing you need to do — before worrying about who
attacks first or anything like that — is determine what each
character wants to get out of the fight. Boil it down into a
simple sentence that starts with the words “I want,” as in
“I want Nubia’s relic,” or “I want to discover Jabari’s true
allegiance.”
Action Scenes | Violence 181
 DECLARING INTENT
• By Violence: Intent must be something achievable by
violence within the current scene.
• The Price: If your intent does not include causing harm
and your character ends up killing someone, lose one
Willpower point.
DOWN AND DIRTY COMBAT
The Storyteller might decide that your character can get what
she wants without focusing on the details of the fight. Maybe
she is picking on people weaker than her. Maybe the fight is not
the important thing going on for the character’s intent. In these
cases, the Storyteller can opt to use Down and Dirty Combat.
This system resolves the entire fight in a single roll. If
multiple characters have separate intents, resolve each as a
182 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
separate Down and Dirty Combat action. If the group only
has one intent but multiple characters are participating, they
can use teamwork (see p. XX) on the roll. Players can call
for Down and Dirty Combat with the Storyteller’s approval.
Storyteller characters might deal damage from Down and
Dirty Combat, but they can’t initiate one.
Action: Instant and contested; takes anywhere from 30
seconds to a few minutes.
Dice Pool: Combat pool (Dexterity + Firearms, Strength
+ Brawl, or Strength + Weaponry) versus either the op-
ponent’s combat pool (as above) or an attempt to escape
(Strength or Dexterity + Athletics).
Roll Results
Success: Inflict damage equal to the difference in success-
es + weapon modifier and achieve your intent — including
killing, if that was on the table.
 Optional Rules: Beaten Down & Surrender
A character taking more than his Stamina in bashing damage or any amount of lethal damage suffers the
Beaten Down Tilt (p. XX): He’s had the fight knocked out of him.
A character can choose to surrender, giving his attacker what she wants. If your character surrenders, regain
a point of Willpower and take a Beat, and stop participating in the fight. Your character’s opponent must
spend a point of Willpower to attack him.
If one side’s intent involves violence for its own sake, their intended victims do not get Beaten Down and
cannot surrender. When someone wants to kill you, the only thing you can do is to try to stop her, whether
you run like hell or unload a shotgun at her.
These optional rules only apply to people who would incur a breaking point for committing (or attempting)
murder.

Exceptional Success: As success, and gain 1 Willpower.
Failure: Do not achieve your intent. If the opponent rolled
a combat pool, suffer damage equal to the difference in suc-
cesses + opponent’s weapon modifier. Opponent may escape.
Dramatic Failure: The opposite of your character’s in-
tent happens, or she is knocked out or suffers other serious
consequences.
DETAILED VIOLENCE
When the fight is a significant event in the story, or Down
and Dirty Combat doesn’t suit, use these rules. Violence like
this is an action scene (p. XX).
ACTIONS IN A FIGHT
The most common action in a fight is to attack. Characters
can also dodge or push themselves to the limit, sacrificing
Defense for greater effect.
Attack
All attack actions are instant actions.
• Unarmed Attack: Strength + Brawl – Defense; bash-
ing damage
• Melee Attack: Strength + Weaponry – Defense; lethal
damage
• Ranged Attack: Dexterity + Firearms; lethal damage
• Thrown Attack: Dexterity + Athletics – Defense;
lethal damage
• Touching an Opponent: Dexterity + Brawl or
Dexterity + Weaponry; inflicts no damage.
• Damage: A successful attack inflicts damage equal to
the number of successes rolled + weapon modifier (p.
XX), if any.
• Pulling Blows: Set a maximum damage value up to
the highest trait in your attack dice pool, and grant
the target +1 Defense. Your attack cannot inflict more
than the maximum damage you set.
• Offhand Attack: Take a two-die penalty to attacks
made with the character’s non-dominant hand.
Dodge
Dodging is a reflexive action, but your character can only
do it if she has not taken an action yet this turn; it takes up
her action for the turn.
• Contested Attacks: Attacks made against your char-
acter are contested instead of resisted until your next
turn. Contest attacks with double your Defense as
your dice pool, and unlike a normal contested action,
your successes cancel out the attacker’s successes on a
one-for-one basis. Do not reroll ties; if you cancel out
all the successes, the attack simply fails.
• Multiple Attackers: Apply the Defense penalty for
multiple attackers before doubling. If your character’s
Defense is reduced to 0, roll a chance die.
• Dramatic Failure: Defense suffers a −1 penalty until
your next turn.

Violence 183
 Special Maneuvers
To enact any of the following instant actions, the charac-
ter sacrifices her Defense until her next turn. If the character
has already lost her Defense, e.g. through surprised or enough
opponents attacking in one turn to reduce her Defense to 0,
she cannot take any of these actions.
• Charge: Move up to twice your character’s Speed and
make an unarmed or melee attack.
• All-Out Attack: Make an unarmed or melee attack
with a two-die bonus.
• Aim: Keep an opponent in your sights with a ranged
weapon to gain a one-die bonus per consecutive Aim
action on your next attack against that target, to a
maximum of three bonus dice. Incompatible with
autofire (below).
Other Actions
These are all instant actions.
• Drop Prone/Stand Up: Ranged attacks against prone
characters suffer a two-die penalty, but unarmed and
melee attacks against prone characters gain a two-die
bonus if the attacker is standing.
• Reload a Weapon: If rounds must be loaded individ-
ually, lose Defense until your next turn.
• Killing Blow: Inflict damage equal to your attack’s
dice pool + weapon bonus. Requires an unconscious,
immobilized, or otherwise helpless target. May prompt
a breaking point.
UNARMED VIOLENCE
These rules present special cases that come up when
fighting without weapons.
Bite
Biting counts as an unarmed attack action.
• Damage: Human teeth inflict −1 bashing damage
(so an attack that rolls only one success inflicts no
damage). Animals and monsters may treat their teeth
as weapons, with a bonus between +1 and +4.
• Grapple Required: Humans must first grapple an
opponent to bite them.
Grapple
Grappling counts as an unarmed attack action. To start
grappling, you have to grab your opponent.
184 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
• Grab: Make an unarmed attack. On a success, inflict
no damage but start a grapple. On an exceptional suc-
cess, also choose a grapple option to enact reflexively.
• One Action: All participants in the grapple act on the
highest Initiative among them. The only action they
can take is the grappling action.
• Grappling: Instant and contested. Strength + Brawl vs.
Strength + Brawl. The character with the most successes
chooses a grapple option to enact immediately, or two
grapple options on an exceptional success. On a tie, the
characters continue to grapple but nothing else happens.
Grapple Options
• Break Free: The grapple ends, and your character may
take another instant action immediately.
• Control Weapon: Take firm hold of a weapon, ei-
ther your character’s or her opponent’s. Lasts until
your character’s opponent chooses Control Weapon.
Required for other grapple options.
• Damage: Treat the grapple action as an unarmed at-
tack, inflicting damage equal to your rolled successes.
If you have control of a weapon, this counts as a melee
attack with the weapon’s modifier.
• Disarm: Remove a weapon from the grapple entirely.
Requires Control Weapon (above).
• Drop Prone: Throw all participants to the ground.
Requires Break Free to stand back up.
• Hold: Immobilize an opponent. Both characters lose
Defense.
• Restrain: Your opponent suffers the Immobilized
Tilt (p. XX). Requires Hold. If your character uses
equipment to restrain her opponent, she can leave the
grapple.
• Take Cover: Any ranged attacks against your character
automatically hit her opponent. Lasts until your next
turn.
RANGED VIOLENCE
These rules present special cases that come up when
shooting at people.
Autofire
Automatic weapons can fire a short, medium, or long
burst in place of a single shot.
 • Short Burst: Uses three bullets. +1 bonus to attack
action.
• Medium Burst: Uses 10 bullets. +2 bonus to attack
action. Can attack multiple targets up to three.
• Long Burst: Uses 20 bullets. +3 bonus to attack
action. Can attack multiple targets with no limit.
• Multiple Targets: −1 penalty per target after the first.
Roll individually against each target.
Range
Ranged attacks suffer a dice penalty the farther away the
target is. Ranged weapons have a short, medium, and long
range listed on the weapons table (p. XX).
• Short Range: No penalty.
• Medium Range: −1
• Long Range: −2
Concealment
If the ranged attack’s target is either partially or fully
obscured then she has concealment. Concealment applies
a penalty to the shooter’s dice pool.
• Barely Concealed: −1 (hiding behind an ornate bust
on a thin pillar)
• Partially Concealed: −2 (hiding behind a tombstone,
with upper body exposed)
• Substantially Concealed: −3 (crouching behind a
large statue).
• Shooting from Concealment: Barely concealed: no
penalty; partially concealed: −1; substantially con-
cealed: −2. You can ignore this penalty, but lose your
Cover
own concealment until your next turn.
If a target is entirely hidden by something substantial,
he’s in cover.
• Tough Cover: If the cover’s Durability (p. XX) is
greater than the attacker’s weapon modifier, the attack
can’t penetrate the cover.
• Less Tough Cover: Subtract the cover’s Durability
from the attacker’s damage roll. Both the object and
the target take any remaining damage.
• Transparent Cover: If the cover is transparent (bul-
letproof glass, for example), subtract half the cover’s
Durability, rounding down. Both the object and the
target take any remaining damage.
Covering Fire
With a weapon capable of autofire, a character can lay
down covering fire to keep anyone from entering his target
area.
• Action: Instant
• Dice Pool: Dexterity + Firearms
• Bullets: Uses 10 bullets.
• Characters in Area of Effect: On their next turn, they
must either take cover within range of their Speed or
drop prone, to avoid suffering damage equal to suc-
cesses on covering fire roll + weapon modifier.
• In Close Combat: Wielding a ranged weapon larger
than Size 1 in close quarters grants the opponent
(weapon’s Size + 1) as a bonus to Defense.
• Shooting into Close Combat: Take a two-die penalty
for each character involved in close combat with your
target that you want to avoid hitting, or a four-die
penalty if they are grappling your target. You cannot
selectively avoid targets this way with autofire.
WEAPONS AND ARMOR
Weapons are one of the fastest ways to turn a fight into
a murder, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
Armor, meanwhile, keeps a character from grievous harm.
INJURY AND HEALING
C haracters suffer three types of damage: Fists and feet,
along with other kinds of low-impact trauma, deal bash-
ing damage; Brass knuckles, knives, and speeding trucks
deal lethal damage; Some horrifying powers deal aggravated
damage. When something deals aggravated damage directly,
it is obvious. Flesh melts like incandescent wax. Festering
boils erupt from the victim’s skin. The site of the injury rots
in a heartbeat.
The following rules apply to mundane humans and an-
imals. Mummies deal with damage differently (p. XX) and
have other methods to heal themselves.
Violence | Injury and Healing 185
 SUFFERING DAMAGE • Dead: If your character’s rightmost Health box is filled
with aggravated damage, she is dead.
When a rule tells you to suffer an amount of damage,
mark off that many Health boxes, starting from the leftmost EXAMPLE OF MARKING DAMAGE
side and continuing to the right. A box marked with any kind
of damage is called a point. Samira has seven boxes of Health. She has just taken two
points of bashing damage. Her Health boxes look like this:
Damage Basics
• Bashing: Mark bashing damage with a (/) in the left-
most empty box of the Health track.
If an enemy cultist stabs her and deals a point of lethal
• Lethal: Mark lethal damage with an (X) in the leftmost
damage, her Health track looks like this:
box that is empty or filled with bashing damage. If you
mark over bashing damage, move that bashing damage
to the rightmost empty box of the track. If no empty
boxes are left, the lethal damage overwrites the bashing,
but it does not move. If Samira next suffered a point of aggravated damage, her
Health boxes would look like this:
• Aggravated: Mark aggravated damage with an (*) in
the leftmost box that does not already contain aggra-
vated damage. If you mark over bashing damage, move
that bashing damage to the rightmost empty box. If no
empty boxes are left, the aggravated damage overwrites
the bashing, but it does not move. If you mark over HEALING
lethal damage, move that lethal damage to the right- After being beaten to a pulp, characters need time to heal.
most box that is empty or contains bashing damage. Normally, a character can heal without medical attention,
Likewise, after overwriting, if there are no empty boxes though use of the Medicine Skill helps him recover (see below).
left then remaining damage does not move. The only exception is if a character has all her Health boxes full
of lethal damage — she’s bleeding out. She cannot recover from
• Upgrading Damage: If your character suffers bashing
that without urgent medical attention and emergency surgery.
damage but has no empty Health boxes in which to
mark it, upgrade each point of bashing damage to lethal Arisen characters heal faster than mortal characters and
damage. If she suffers lethal damage but has no empty can accelerate the process even further (p. XX).
Health boxes or boxes marked with bashing damage, Healing Basics
upgrade her leftmost Health box filled with lethal • Rightmost Box: Natural healing only affects the
damage to aggravated damage. rightmost point of damage. Once the rightmost box is
Effects of Damage cleared, healing time for the next-rightmost box starts.

• Wound Penalties: If your character has any damage
marked in her third-to-last Health box, she suffers a
−1 penalty to all actions except Stamina rolls to stay
conscious. This increases to −2 when her second-to-
last Health box is filled, and −3 when her last Health
box is filled.
• Unconscious: If your character’s rightmost Health box
is filled with bashing or lethal damage, roll her Stamina
every turn as a reflexive action. Failure means she falls
unconscious until her rightmost Health box is empty.
• Bleeding Out: If your character’s rightmost Health box
is filled with lethal damage, she suffers 1 lethal damage
per turn until she receives medical attention (p. xx).
• Bashing: Clear bashing damage after 15 minutes of
in-game time.
• Lethal: Clear lethal damage after two days of in-game
time.
• Aggravated: Clear aggravated damage after a week of
in-game time.
Example: Samira escapes the ambush and hides, waiting
for the right chance to contact her cult. Her health track
looks like this at the end of the fight:

186 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen

 Her rightmost wound heals first. Since it is a bashing
wound, she clears it after 15 minutes. After another 15 min-
utes, her second bashing wound clears. Her lethal damage
then heals over the course of the next two days. Finally, her
aggravated wound heals over the course of the next week.
In all, it takes a little over a week and two days for her to
recover from her injuries.
MEDICAL CARE
Characters can use the Medicine Skill to speed up
healing.
• Action: Extended and simple
• Dice Pool: Dexterity + Medicine with a one-min-
ute interval for emergency treatment. Intelligence
+ Medicine with a one-hour interval for long-term
hospital care.
• Benefits of Emergency Care: Requires total successes
equal to total damage the patient suffers. Successful
treatment heals one point of bashing damage.
• Benefits of Long-Term Care: Successful treatment
downgrades one point of aggravated damage to lethal,
or one point of lethal damage to bashing. Requires 10
total successes per aggravated wound, 5 per lethal.
• Long-Term Care Limitations: Heals the leftmost
injury first and can only downgrade one wound per
patient per day.
SOURCES OF HARM
In addition to damage suffered in fights, characters face peril
from a variety of sources. These are just a few of them.
DISEASE
Mummies don’t need to worry about mundane diseases
as cultists and sorcerers do, but supernatural plagues remain
a threat to them all.
Disease Basics
• Tilt: In action scenes, sick characters suffer the Sick
Tilt (p. XX).
• Moderate Disease: Outside action scenes, moderate
sickness might impose a –1 or –2 penalty on actions
that require concentration or stamina.
• Grave Disease: Outside action scenes, grave diseases
inflict a certain amount of damage at specified time
intervals, as determined by the Storyteller. The sick
character’s player makes a reflexive Stamina + Resolve
roll to resist; success means no damage this time.
• Recovery: Most diseases simply run their course over
a certain amount of time. Others require a minimum
number of successful resistance rolls, require medical
intervention, or merely go into periodic remission as
determined by the Storyteller.
• Conditions: The Storyteller may represent short-
term illnesses with Conditions and long-term illnesses
with Persistent Conditions, which earn players Beats
whenever the illness causes significant harm or incon-
venience for the character.
POISON
Asp bites, scorpion stings and wounds from the blades of
a murderous cultists are but a few examples of how poison
can end the lives of those incurring in the Arisen’s wrath.
Poison Basics
• Tilt: In action scenes, poisoned characters suffer the
Poisoned Tilt (p. xx).
• Toxicity: Outside action scenes, the Storyteller assigns
the poison a Toxicity rating. The poisoned character
suffers lethal damage equal to Toxicity. Mild poisons
only inflict damage once. More severe poisons may
inflict damage every hour or even every turn for a
period of time determined by the Storyteller.
• Resistance: The poisoned character’s player rolls
Stamina + Resolve – Toxicity every time the poison
inflicts damage. Each success cancels one point of
damage.
DRUGS
At times used as rewards or tools of control over cultists,
drugs can lead both to bliss or a sudden demise.
Drug Basics
• Tilt: In action scenes, drugged characters suffer the
Drugged Tilt (p. 328).
• Effects: Drugs can have a wide variety of effects,
ranging from dice penalties to imposing Conditions.
Most drugs last for a scene, but some burn through a
character’s system more rapidly or linger for more time.
• Resistance: A drugged character can shake off the ef-
fects temporarily by succeeding on a reflexive Stamina
Sources of Harm 187
 + Resolve roll. Depending on the potency of the drug, Electricity Basics
this roll might be required every hour, scene, or even
• Damage per Turn: Electricity inflicts damage every
turn.
turn if the current is continuous.
Overdose
• Breaking Away: Characters in contact with a con-
• Poison: Characters overdosing on drugs treat the drug tinuous electrical current must succeed on a reflexive
like a poison, with a Toxicity somewhere between 3 and Strength roll to pull away.
7. The drug inflicts damage once per hour.
• No Armor: Worn armor provides no protection against
• Duration: The overdose typically runs its course after (8 electrocution.
– Stamina) hours, though the Storyteller may adjust that.
EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
ELECTRICITY The human body is not built to withstand extreme heat,
Electric shocks inflict damage based on the strength of cold, air pressure, and other harsh weather. Extreme environ-
the current. ments are rated with a level from 1 to 4, depending on the
severity of the environment. While characters are exposed to
Source Damage these conditions, they suffer the level of the environment as
Minor; wall socket 4B a dice penalty to all actions. After a number of hours equal
Major; protective fence 6B to the character’s Stamina, he takes bashing damage equal
to the environment’s level once per hour. In the case of a
Severe; junction box 8B Level 3 exposure, the damage is lethal instead of bashing.
Fatal; main line feed/subway rail 10B Level 4 environments cause lethal damage each turn after a
number of turns equal to the character’s Stamina.

188 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen

 Any damage caused by levels 2-4 exposure leaves lasting • Reduced Damage: If there’s a reasonable way for
marks, scars, and tissue damage. Damage caused by extreme a character to slow her fall, she makes a reflexive
environments cannot heal until the character is back in a Dexterity + Athletics roll. Each success reduces
safe environment. damage from a fall of less than 30 yards/meters by one
Extreme Environment Basics point.
• Penalty: Characters suffer a penalty to all actions equal • Soft Landing: Landing in water or snow, or on another
to the environment’s level. soft surface, may automatically reduce damage from
falls of less than 30 yards/meters at the Storyteller’s
• Level 1-3 Damage: After (Stamina) hours of exposure
discretion.
to level 1-3 environments, characters suffer damage
equal to the environment’s level for every hour. At
levels 1-2, the damage is bashing. At level 3, it’s lethal. FIRE
• Level 4 Damage: After (Stamina) turns of exposure to Fire automatically inflicts lethal damage per turn of
level 4 environments, characters suffer 4 lethal damage exposure (no attack roll is required). The damage inflicted
every turn. depends on both the size and intensity of the flames.
Size of Fire Damage
• No Healing: Characters cannot heal damage from
extreme environments until they are no longer in an Torch 1
extreme environment. Bonfire 2
Inferno 3
ENVIRONMENT LEVELS
Level Example Environs Damage
Heat of Fire Modifier
1 Light snow, heavy storms; too cold to sleep
safely; air pressure causes shortness of breath; Candle (first-degree burns) —
sweltering sun can cause first-degree burns Torch (second-degree burns) +1
2 Heavy snow; cold causes physical pain and Bunsen burner (third-degree burns) +2
potential hypothermia; sun quickly causes
first-degree burns, can cause second-degree Chemical fire/molten metal +3
burns with time; minor radiation poisoning
Fire Basics
3 Desert exposure; heat rapidly causing sec-
ond-degree burns; moderate radiation • Combustion: Exposure to fire for longer than a turn
exposure ignites anything combustible on the character; he
4 Desert sandstorm; severe hurricane, tornado, continues to take full damage even after escaping the
tsunami source of the flame.

FALLING • Firefighting: Fighting a fire typically requires an instant

Even as immortals with the power to cause earthquakes
and call down meteors from the sky, mummies still need to
respect the laws of gravity no less than those of the Judges.
Falling Basics
• Damage: Falls of less than 30 yards/meters inflict one
point of bashing damage per three yards/meters fall-
en. Falls of 30 yards/meters or more inflict 10 lethal
damage.
• Armor: At the Storyteller’s discretion, armor may
reduce damage from falls of less than 30 yards/meters.
action but no roll. At the Storyteller’s discretion, an
action might immediately put out the fire (e.g. diving
into water) or reduce its size by one level (e.g. stop,
drop, and roll).
• Armor: Most armor can block its general rating in fire
damage automatically for a number of turns equal to
that rating.
• Uncontrolled Blaze: If an area containing flamma-
ble objects is set on fire, it may acquire the Inferno
Environmental Tilt (p. XX).

Sources of Harm 189

 TEAMWORK • Reduced Functionality: Once it has taken more dam-
age than its Durability, anyone using the object suffers

W hen two or more characters work together on a single

action of any kind, one person takes the lead. He is
the primary actor, and his player assembles his dice pool as •
a −1 die penalty.

Destruction: An object is destroyed when its Structure

normal. Anyone assisting him is a secondary actor, and rolls hits 0.
the same pool before the primary actor does. • Repair: Repairing objects is typically a Wits + Craft roll
Secondary Actor Roll Results with time interval and required successes determined
Success: +1 die to the primary actor’s roll for each suc- by the Storyteller.
cess earned, cumulative for each secondary actor’s success.
Exceptional Success: As success. OBJECT TRAITS
Failure: Primary actor receives no bonus dice. Durability Material
Dramatic Failure: As failure, and −4 dice to the primary
1 Wood, hard plastic, thick glass
actor’s roll, cumulative for each secondary actor’s dramatic
failure. Primary actor must continue. 2 Stone, aluminum
The primary actor’s roll results are as normal for the 3 Steel, iron
action the group undertakes. +1 per reinforced layer
More participants do not always mean better results,
however. Every action has a point of diminishing returns
Size Object
at which too many cooks are in the kitchen. This number
usually ranges from three to six, depending on the action, at 1 Pistol
the Storyteller’s discretion. Excess participants’ rolls grant no 2 Crowbar, sawn-off shotgun
bonuses to the primary actor’s pool, and may levy penalties
3 Assault rifle
instead at the Storyteller’s discretion.
5 Door
OBJECTS 10 Sports car

O bjects such as lead pipes, walls, and cars have three traits:
Durability, Size, and Structure. Mostly, these relate to
how easy the object is to destroy.
OBJECT TRAITS
• Durability: How hard the object is to damage. Subtract
Durability from any damage inflicted on the object.
Durability has no effect against attacks that inflict
aggravated damage.
• Size: How large the object is. Objects smaller than Size
1 fit entirely in a person’s palm.
• Structure: An object’s Structure equals its Durability
+ Size.
DAMAGING OBJECTS
• Damage: Each point of damage removes a point of
Structure. Objects do not differentiate between bash-
ing and lethal damage.
15 SUV
EQUIPMENT
Equipment, tools, and technology help to solve problems.
Having the right tool for the job can mean the difference
between life and death — and in Mummy: The Curse, the
difference between triumph and the wrath of the Judges.
Appendix 2: Equipment contains a list of sample equipment,
starting on p. xx.
Equipment is classified by the Skills with which it typi-
cally assists. Mental equipment typically assists with Mental
Skills, for example.
Equipment Traits
• Availability: The minimum level of a relevant trait a
character must have to acquire the equipment with
a single roll. Resources is the most often used trait,
but other Social Merits or Skills may work at the
Storyteller’s discretion (e.g. Larceny to steal it).
• Size, Durability, Structure: See Objects (p. XX).

190 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen

 Consent in Social Maneuvering
Whenever players are using social maneuvering mechanics, there should be some discussion of consent
involving their actions. There is a fine line between manipulating someone to do something they do not want
to do, and convincing someone to change their mind about something. Setting the goals of the exchange
handles this well. For consent best practices, goals should never involve coercing someone into something
romantic or sexual, gaslighting someone, or convincing someone to harm themselves or others.
Consider having a larger consent discussion at your table for what players are willing and not willing to
engage in. Different players have different boundaries with what is and isn’t okay. One-on-one discussions
get the most honest answers because there is less social pressure to go along with what everyone else is
comfortable with even if one person is uncomfortable. Even if you have a consent discussion and everyone
agrees, content in your game could come up and someone could be surprised by their discomfort around it.
Be ready to pause your game and go a different direction with your content if this could happen, and check
in with that person after the game to see if they want to talk about it or not.

• Dice Bonus: The bonus the equipment adds to rele-
vant actions.
• Effect: Any special rules that apply to using the
equipment.
SOCIAL MANEUVERING
S ocial Maneuvering allows characters to resolve things socially
instead of physically. This could cover all kinds of social inter-
actions, from arguments, to negotiations, to gaining someone’s
trust. Use social maneuvering when you want to get into the
complexities of social interactions and use dice to mediate the
outcomes. It is especially useful when characters are entering a
party, need to interact with political intrigue, or if there is just
some social conflict that could be represented in the mechanics.
In a social maneuver, a player first determines their goal
from the maneuver. Something like “gain the cult’s trust”
or “convince the patron to support our cause”. Once the
Storyteller and player agree that the goal makes sense, the
social maneuvering begins with a series of challenges to over-
come the other person’s resistance to the characters ideas. It
creates a back and forth conversation where the player opens
“doors” for further conversation leading forward. How often
doors open is dependent on the impression a character makes
on the person they are trying to socially sway.
GOALS
The first step of social maneuvering is to state the char-
acter’s goal. At this point, the player does not have to know
how they are going to get to that end goal, but just to state
it. This helps direct the scene toward that goal, and so both
the Storyteller and the player can collaborate in getting the
characters toward it or obstructing it as the dice dictate.
Specific and clear goals are best, something accomplish-
able within that scene. Goals that are larger or that might
take a lot of time (months for example) to work toward are
not appropriate for social maneuvering challenges.
DOORS
The next step is to determine the scope of the challenge,
represented through the metaphor of Doors. At the begin-
ning of the maneuver, all the Storyteller character’s Doors
are closed. The player character’s goal is to figure out how to
open them to make them more amenable to whatever idea
they are presenting. Each Door is a resistance, and it could
represent skepticism, mistrust, withdrawal, or ignorance.
Think about what might be a mental or emotional block for
the Storyteller character preventing them from getting on
board with whatever the player character is selling.
CALCULATING DOORS
• Baseline: The subject starts with the number of Doors
equal to the lower of their Resolve or Composure.
• Breaking Point: If the stated goal would be a Breaking
Point for the subject, and the subject is aware of that
fact, add two Doors.

Teamwork | Objects | Social Maneuvering 191


Breaking Points
Breaking Points are where an individual reaches
a point where they are at risk of losing Integrity.
For most mortals, this occurs after another char-
acter has broken through a sufficient number of
their Doors, or after they commit an act that goes
against their moral compass. Mortals must roll
Resolve + Composure (with a modifier or penalty
based on the severity of the blow to their Integrity)
to see if they lose a dot of Integrity. Mummies
have a related system for losing Memory on p.
XX). For more on Breaking Points, see p. 73 of
Chronicles of Darkness.
• Aspiration: If the stated goal is in opposition to the
subject’s Aspiration, and the subject is aware of that
fact, add one Door. If the goal would clearly help with
their Aspiration, remove one Door.
• Virtue: If the stated goal is in opposition to the subject’s
Virtue or Balance, and they are aware of it, add one
Door.
• Adding Doors: If things change such that the Breaking
Point, Aspiration, Balance, or Virtue rules above
apply during the Social maneuver, add Doors to the
remaining total (two for Breaking Point, one each for
Aspiration, Balance, or Virtue). If your character goes
back on her word during the maneuver, add two Doors.
IMPRESSION
The impression level is the Storyteller character’s impres-
sion of the player character. Depending on how the subject
regards the character is how many times they may roll to
open Doors. Impression factors in the history between the
characters, their previous interactions, the circumstances of
their meeting, and generally, how the storyteller character
feels about them. Actions in the far past may not even influ-
ence Impression —at the beginning of the social maneuver
the character may determine the impression they want to
give. They could buy the subject dinner, bring them a gift,
support a cause they care about, or do any other number of
things they know the subject would look upon favorably.
The Storyteller has final decision on the impact these things
have on their storyteller character, but they certainly don’t
hurt to try!
192 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Impression level determines how frequently the player
rolls to open the subject’s Doors. The more inclined they are
toward your character, the more you can roll. If the impres-
sion is too hostile, the player might not be able to roll at all.
Impression Time Per Roll
Perfect One Turn
Excellent One Hour
Good One Day
Average One Week
Hostile Cannot Roll
ADJUSTING IMPRESSION
• Favorable Circumstances: A comfortable environ-
ment, the right company, or similar pleasant situations
can raise the impression level by one, from Hostile to
Average, for example.
• Actions: Success on an appropriate action, like Wits
+ Socialize to create the perfect guest list for a party,
raises the impression level by one.
• Soft Leverage: A bribe, gift, or offer of service raises
the impression level by one.
• Vice Leverage: An offer that indulges the character’s
vice raises the impression by one level.
OPENING DOORS
Depending upon the outcome of your impression inter-
vals, characters roll once per interval to open Doors and
move closer to their stated goal. The rolls themselves could
be different each time depending on how the character wants
to approach open those Doors.
As a Storyteller, feel free to be creative with the dice
pools to keep the challenges dynamic as time passes.
Consider using contested or resisted rolls as well, depending
on how the storyteller character feels about each particular
encounter. Most resisted actions or contested rolls use ei-
ther Resolve or Composure, or a combination of the two,
but do not let that stand as a limit. Contested rolls do not
necessarily require a Resistance trait. For example, Wits
might be used to notice a lie, Strength to help a character
stand up to threats, or Presence to protect and maintain
one’s reputation at a soirée.
Roll Results
• Success: Open one Door.
 • Exceptional Success: As success, and open an addi-
tional Door.
• Failure: Open no Doors. Subsequent actions as part of
the social maneuver suffer a cumulative one-die penal-
ty. The Storyteller may choose to lower the impression
level by one step.
• Dramatic Failure: The social maneuver fails utterly.
No further rolls can be made. Any attempt to achieve
the same goal must start from scratch, likely with a
worse impression.
RESOLUTION
The social maneuver results in either success or failure.
SUCCESS
Once the character has opened all the Doors, the subject
must act. Storyteller characters abide by the intended goal
and follow through as stated. How they feel afterwards might
vary, but they always do what the player and the Storyteller
agreed on.
FAILURE
A Social maneuvering attempt fails utterly under the
following circumstances:
• Dramatic Failure: The player rolls a dramatic failure
on an attempt to open a Door.
• Deception: The subject realizes the character is lying
or being manipulative. This does not apply if the sub-
ject is aware the character is trying to talk him into
something; only if he feels betrayed or conned.
• Bad Impressions: The impression level reaches “hos-
tile” and remains so for the rest of the current story.
The character can try again during the next story.
INVESTIGATION
When you want an investigation to play a large role in the
tale, with entire scenes, chapters, or even stories dedicated to
a single mystery, you can use this system rather than boiling
it down to a single action. Characters uncover Clues that
they can use to benefit later actions that the investigation
enables. For instance, learning that a particular Lifeless in
the chronicle is after the ancient relic in your character’s
possession can later be used as a lure to trap their enemy.
Investigation Basics
• No Hard Answers: The Storyteller does not need to
come up with all the potential Clues and answers ahead
of time. Letting the players fill in some of them in as
they find Clues gets them invested in the outcome and
creates “a-ha!” moments. If players put Clues together
to reach conclusions that do not match the outcome
the Storyteller had in mind, she can consider changing
it to match.
• No Binary Rolls: Failing to find information crucial
to the characters’ progress when players fail rolls only
slows the game down to no satisfying end. Instead, the
Storyteller should raise the stakes or introduce com-
plications when a roll fails. Failure does not mean the
players did not find a Clue — instead, it means they
miss the extra benefits success would have afforded
them and must adjust to new challenges.
• Frame the Action: The Storyteller can intersperse
Clue-finding actions with other events in the story to
keep the momentum going and give players opportunity
to choose which set of heightening stakes to address
first.
• Clues: Clues are a specialized type of equipment rep-
resenting objects, facts, and deductions. They have
elements that players can spend for benefits, either to
solve a particular mystery or to stockpile for other uses:
leverage in social maneuvering, proof of supernatural
influences in someone’s life, etc.
SCOPE
First, the players declare a goal to accomplish via inves-
tigation. Decide how many total Clues the characters need
to uncover to achieve their goal. For smaller-scope inves-
tigations, this usually falls between one and five Clues. For
broad investigations spread out across the chronicle, the total
should equal at least half the number of planned chapters,
and can range up to twice the number of planned chapters
in a strongly investigation-focused chronicle.
INTERVAL
Each roll to find a Clue is an instant action, but takes
some amount of time based on the kind of action the play-
ers take. The Storyteller may add challenges and obstacles
to these attempts, turning simple die rolls into interesting
scenes of their own. If they perform particularly well in
these efforts, the Storyteller can offer bonuses to the roll to
uncover the Clue.
Social Maneuvering 193
 UNCOVERING CLUES
Once the characters get where they need to be, they roll
to uncover the Clue.
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Varies. Players can use any pool that matches
the action they take to uncover the Clue. The Investigation
Skill is appropriate to case a scene or search through files
and evidence, while with other Mental Skills a character may
perform research, experiments, or autopsies.
For each repeated use of the same Skill in an investiga-
tion, the pool suffers a cumulative one-die penalty. However,
if characters use teamwork to uncover Clues, only the pri-
mary actor suffers this penalty, and only his roll contributes
to further such penalties in the same investigation.
Roll Results
Success: Uncover Clue with one element plus one more
if the character has 4 or more dots or a Specialty in the rele-
vant Skill. Each Specialty or Skill only contributes to extra
elements once per character per investigation.
Exceptional Success: As success, and the Clue gains one
bonus element and the character gains a beneficial Condition.
Failure: Uncover incomplete Clue: Its elements may only
uncover other Clues.
Dramatic Failure: Uncover tainted Clue. For each
tainted Clue, the player must ignore one success rolled on
any future actions pertaining to the investigation; these
are cumulative, apply all to such rolls. The Storyteller may
impose a negative Condition as well.
CLUE ELEMENTS
Players can spend Clue elements to add a one-die bo-
nus per element to any roll pertaining to the investigation,
including but not limited to rolls to uncover more Clues. A
player can only spend elements from one Clue at a time, or
Clues equal to her character’s Investigation dots, whichever
is higher. She may spend any number of elements at a time
from a single Clue.
Elements from tainted Clues impose a two-die penalty
when spent instead of a bonus; however, this is the only way
to get rid of tainted Clues, since once all its elements are
spent, it sheds its tainted nature.
UNCOVERING THE TRUTH
Players do not need to roll to put their Clues together
once the investigation is over. Once they accumulate the
requisite number of Clues specified by the investigation’s
scope, the characters learn the truth.
194 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Players may choose to uncover the truth before accu-
mulating enough Clues, as long as they have at least one
that is not tainted. If they do, they still learn the truth, but
the Storyteller introduces one major complication per Clue
they fall short.
CULTS
C ults are an extension of the Arisen, just as the Arisen are
an extension of their Judge. They are the mummy’s eyes,
ears, and fists, even when she lies in henet.
A mummy always rules a cult, but their relationship
is more symbiotic than the name implies. Cults provide
mummies protection, access to the current era’s sources of
power, and the languages and etiquettes necessary to adapt to
changing times. In return, mummies provide wealth, power
and purpose lasting well beyond a cultist’s lifetime.
CULT TRAITS
Cults are organizations of individuals called to serve
a mummy and their agenda. They operate not only as
individual characters, but also as a unified force providing
mummies with knowledge and access. Just like a character,
game terms define a cult.
ATTRIBUTES
Cults do not use the same Attributes used by individual
characters. Instead, they use two Attributes: Reach and
Grasp. These Attributes provide a highly abstracted summary
of the cult’s qualities, representing how it prefers to act, no
matter what era the game is currently set.
Reach measures a cult’s presence and spread. Cults with
low Reach prefer to stay in one city or region; cults with
high Reach have agents all over the world, and perhaps
even beyond. Reach applies to legal or socially acceptable
actions. These include business acquisitions, access to pri-
vate events and politically important figures, and expedited
means of travel.
Grasp measures a cult’s ruthlessness. Cults with low
Grasp are hesitant to do a mummy’s dirty work; cults with
high Grasp do whatever it takes to achieve their master’s
will — laws and morals be damned. Grasp applies to illegal
or socially unacceptable actions. These include falsely in-
criminating someone, acquiring a contraband trade route,
or committing an act of mass violence.
Cult Attributes
• Rating: Attributes rate from 1-5 dots. Cults with high
Dominance (p. XX) may have Attributes rated at 6 or
more dots.
 • Use in Actions: Most cult actions use Attribute +
Dominance as their dice pool.
MERITS
Merits represent the collective abilities of the cult. They
are not a generalized statement of the capabilities of every
single member. A cult with four dots in Status (Federal
Government) does not solely consist of members a mere
heartbeat away from the president’s ear but may instead
represent a powerful political front group, or a very influential
politician who pays tribute to the cult.
Every cult provides the Scorpion Cult Initiation Merit
(p. XX) in exchange for membership.
Cult Merits
• Rating: Merits rate from 1-5 dots.
• Not a Cult Action: Using a Merit is not a cult action,
and not subject to the limitations of cult actions (p.
XX).
• Dice Pool: Merits with the Cult tag have an entry
denoting what dice pool, if any, to roll.
DOCTRINES
Doctrines are the goals, ideals, and orders that define the
cult’s identity. Acting in accordance with a cult’s Doctrine
grants them Cult Beats, allowing players to further entrench
their power into the world.
Power has a price. Even the most compartmentalized
Conspiracy must hold to their Doctrine, especially ones that
a Judge directly grants. They are difficult to change without
ceding power. Violating Doctrines leads to mistrust and
distress in a cult. Violating a Judge’s Doctrine also leads to
emanations and avatars (p. XX).
Doctrines
• Pillars of Faith: Cults have up to three Doctrines: two
phrased as active tenants of the cult’s faith, and one is
the Judge’s Doctrine, phrased a Judge’s goal or agenda.
Cults 195
 • Cult Beats: At the end of the chapter, for every Dominance ranges from 1 to 10 dots, but cults with more
Doctrine the cult has advanced or actively lived by, than five Dominance are rare. Maintaining high Dominance
the cult takes a Cult Beat. The entire group decides requires immense time and attention, made more difficult
whether the cult has advanced its Doctrines. by their master’s intermittent sleep. Cults that push these
limits are either possessed with an extraordinary zeal or led
• Redefining Doctrines: The cult may sacrifice a dot by a mummy that refuses to return to slumber.
of Dominance to re-write one of their Doctrines, or Mechanically, Dominance determines the amount of
redefine them in the wake of a mutiny (p. XX). When actions a cult can safely attempt. Cults can push past this
redefining a Judge’s Doctrine, phrase it as a new goal or limit at the risk of their cohesion. A cult that takes actions
agenda appropriate to the Judge the cult must continue beyond their Dominance limit takes 1 lethal damage for every
to serve. roll made to generate Effort.
• Broken Doctrines: If a cult action (p. XX), a player’s Dominance
character, or a Storyteller character with Scorpion Cult • Cult Actions: This indicates how many cult actions (p.
Initiation •••+ openly violates one or more Doctrines, XX) the cult can undertake during a story.
the cult gains the Shaken Faith Condition.
• Task Limits: This indicates how many Tasks (p. XX)
• Wrath of the Judges: Violating a Judge’s Doctrine may be taken during a cult action.
serves as a justification for an emanation (p. XX) if a
suitable benbenet candidate exists to anchor it. This • Attribute Maximum: This indicates the maximum
emanation usually focuses on punishing the transgres- value of a cult’s Attributes (p. XX).
sion, but may expand its purpose after punishing the
transgression. This may happen even if the rest of the
cult is unaware of the violation. Cult Task Attribute
Dominance Actions Limits Maximum
VIRTUE AND VICE 1 1 3 5
2 1 3 5
Virtues and Vices are how a cult acts when it lives out
its Doctrines. A cult’s Virtue represents its best quality, or 3 2 5 7
what drives it to pursue its goals; a cult’s Vice represents its 4 2 5 7
worst quality, or indulgences that hold it back from fulfilling
5 3 7 9
its orders.
6 3 7 9
Virtue and Vice
7 4 9 12
• Virtue: Fulfill Virtue: All participating cultists regain
all Willpower, twice per Chapter. 8 4 9 12
9 5 9 15
• Vice: Fulfill Vice: All participating cultists regain 1
Willpower, once per Scene. 10 5 10 15

FIDELITY CULT ACTIONS

Instead of Health, a cult has Fidelity, calculated by add-
ing 5 + Lowest of Reach or Grasp. This measures a cult’s
loyalty, morale, and overall well-being. Damaged Fidelity
represents cultists losing faith, questioning the truth behind
its Doctrines, or being too injured to serve.
DOMINANCE
Dominance represents the collective power a cult wields
in a mundane and supernatural sense. This trait fluctuates
throughout the ages, especially when a cult’s mummy lies
in repose.
Cult actions represent long-term projects a mummy sets
his followers so they may achieve an outcome he cannot do
alone. Opposed rolls or an activation roll for a cult Merit
never counts as a cult action.
Spanning time and space, a cult action is the abstract
representation of cultists doing multiple things at once to
achieve their goal. While gather Effort, cultists complete
smaller steps toward the action’s completion.
When engaging in a cult action, a cult brings their full
power and resources to bear on the situation. This is usually
in accordance with the cult’s Doctrines (p. XX).

196 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen

STEP ONE:
DETERMINE DESIRED OUTCOME
The mummy must decide what his cult should accom-
plish. This is a clear, stated goal, such as “Get me an audience
with Professor Ian St. John,” “Take ownership of the Vitas
Varnas Building,” or “Make a film that promotes Iremite
virtue.”
STEP TWO: DETERMINE COMPLEXITY STEP FIVE: GENERATE EFFORT
Actions that one character could complete in a scene or
two, such as convincing a museum curator to set up a private
tour, is relatively simple. Dramatic tasks, like constructing
a temple to a Judge in the middle of Times Square, are far
more complex.
Complexity
• Rating: Along with player input, the Storyteller sets
the action’s Complexity. Complexity rates between 1
and 10.
STEP THREE: DETERMINE TASKS
The cult determines how it achieves its goal using several
steps equal to the goal’s Complexity. If the cult cannot think
of any means to achieve their goal, the cult may need to use
this cult action to gather information on tackling the goal
as a first step. If the goal has more Tasks than a cult’s Task
limit, the goal may need to be broken down into smaller,
individual cult actions.
Tasks
• Defining Tasks: Determine several Tasks equal to the
goal’s Complexity.
STEP FOUR: ESTABLISH STRUCTURE
With its steps defined, the cult must now translate the first
Task into game mechanics. Along with the Storyteller, the
cult determines how long the tasks take in the game’s world,
and whether they are contested; the necessary dice pool for
the task; and, finally, the order in which the Tasks are taken.
A Task is never an extended action, as a cult action is
already a form of extended action.
Structure
For each Task, determine the following:
• Action: Simple or contested.
• Time Required: Determined by Storyteller. Tasks
should at least take one hour.
• Task Order: Based on the described Tasks, determine
this tasks position within any prerequisite tasks.
• Dice Pool: Default: (relevant cult Attribute) +
Dominance. If a player or Storyteller character leads
the task, they may use a dice pool relevant to the task.
In a contested roll, the Storyteller determines the
opposing dice pool.
Cults perform Tasks to generate Effort. When a cult
successfully completes a Task, they gain at least one Effort
point to represent their progress. Failed Tasks do not provide
Effort, but instead generate complications that arise when
the cult action resolves.
Generate Effort
Action: Determined by Task.
Dice Pool: Determined by Task.
Suggested Modifiers: Observed by authorities (−2),
interference from rival cult (−3), thorough planning (+1),
limited timeframe (−2), cult has specialists in completing
Task (+1), Task is a cultist Breaking Point (−1 to −4),
working with a mummy or other high-ranking cultists (+3).
Success: The cult generates a point of Effort.
Exceptional Success: The cult generates two points of
Effort and creates a Condition relevant to the Task.
Failure: The cult generates no Effort. The Storyteller
applies a Complication immediately. If the Task was a prereq-
uisite for other Tasks, those future Tasks suffer a −2 penalty.
Dramatic Failure: As failure, and the cult takes a neg-
ative Condition of the Storyteller’s choice. If the Task was
a prerequisite for other Tasks, the cult lowers its Task limit
(p. XX) by 1 for this cult action.
Effort
• Exclusive: Effort only applies to the cult action gen-
erating it. Effort lasts until the end of the story.
• Complete Action: If the cult accumulates Effort for the
scale of the project, they have successfully completed
the cult action.
• Spending Effort: A character may spend Effort, one for
one, to gain temporary dots of a Social Merit related to
the cult action. These temporary dots last for a chapter.
STEP SIX: REPEAT
Once the Task is completed, repeat steps Four and Five
for any remaining Tasks.
Cults 197
 STEP SEVEN: RESOLVE ACTION
When a cult resolves all its Tasks, the cult action finishes.
Cult actions always succeed unless they are abandoned. This
step determines the cost of the outcome and any lingering
fallout of the cult’s activities.
Resolve Action
• Effort: If the cult generated enough Effort equal to the
action’s Complexity, the cult action succeeds with no
further Complications.
• Shortfall: For every point of Effort short of the ac-
tion’s Complexity, the cult action adds a number of
Complications to make up the difference.
Example Complications
• The cult makes an enemy of someone negatively af-
fected by the cult action.
• The cult action severely taxes the cult’s Fidelity. The
cult suffers 2 lethal damage.
• The cult draws the attention of a hostile organization.
• The cult action has its intended outcome, but with
unforeseen side effects. The cult gains a negative
Condition.
PLAYING WITH
MULTIPLE CULTS
Mummy: The Curse supports different group playstyles.
While one group may play an Arisen and her most import-
ant cultists, another may play mummies with their own
individual cults.
ASSISTING IN CULT ACTIONS
When a player undertakes a cult action, other players
with cults may assist him in fulfilling the cult action’s Tasks.
Cults aiding each other are uncommon, but not impossible.
While individual cults may have incompatible structures and
surface worldviews, all Arisen serve the Judges.
Cults help each other in many ways. Two Enterprise
cults may engage in a temporary partnership, creating a
subsidiary that purchases a plot of land important to the
Lifeweb. A Conspiracy may provide a Tribe with the un-
classified information necessary to blackmail a politician.
Tribes might lend translators and occult experts to help
decipher ancient texts that an Enterprise or Conspiracy
would find difficult to read.
198 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
However, no matter how friendly a meret’s cults might
be with each other, assisting in each other’s plots is always
a risk. A friend today may not stay one after a Descent, and
cults that help each other are open to the consequences of
each other’s actions.
Cult Action Assistance
• A Helping Hand: At the Storyteller’s discretion, cults
may help other cults with Tasks during another player’s
cult action.
• What Friendship Provides: During Step Five (p. XX)
of a cult action, the assisting player describes how his
cult performs a relevant activity to aid the Task. If the
Storyteller and player enacting the cult action approve,
the Task’s dice pool receives a +2 bonus.
• Cult Vulnerability: Cults that aid another’s cult action
may have the action’s Complications inflicted upon
them.
• Assistance Limit: Cults may only aid in a number of
Tasks equivalent to their Dominance.
CULT VERSUS CULT
When cults encounter each other, they may fall into
conflict. Some find their ideological differences overcome
their base similarities, or their masters urge them to battle
each other as a proxy war over old grudges.
A cult war is rarely one resolved in a single, dramatic
battle. Cult wars can last for centuries, perhaps long after
anyone remembers why. They are also more than street fights.
A mummy may order her cult to subvert her rival’s, so he
wakes from henet in an abandoned tomb. Another may send
his cultists to thwart another cult from obtaining a vessel.
Waging war on a cult or similar organization is a cult ac-
tion with no set Complexity. Every point of Effort generated
by the action deals 1 lethal damage to the cult’s Fidelity.
The war continues until the destruction of one cult, or one
of the mummies leading the cult decides to stop fighting. If
a cult action generates enough Effort equal to the enemy
cult’s Fidelity, the action immediately incites a mutiny in
the enemy’s cult (p. XX).
Unlike regular cult actions, in a war rival cults contest
every Task, and only the winner of the roll inflicts the Effort
generated as damage.
Cult wars are dangerous. Not only are they distractions
from a mummy’s greater task, the pain and sadness they
create opens the door for the Arisen’s enemies to seduce
their cultists away from them.
HARM, HEALING, AND
MUTINY
Fidelity damage is more than bruises and scrapes. Bashing
damage denotes a slipping of loyalty and faith as personal
cultist agendas rise to the surface. Lethal damage represents
a significant blow to loyalty with cultists whispering amongst
each other about their master and frustrations towards their
leaders. With aggravated damage members flee the cult, or
outright curse their master for all to hear.
These rifts are slow to heal, especially if the mummy
does not have the Memory to ease their concerns. Fidelity
recovers at the following rate:
• Bashing: One point per week.
• Lethal: One point per two weeks.
• Aggravated: One point per month.
A cult enters mutiny when a cult’s Fidelity fills with
lethal points. During a mutiny, the other most influential
members of a cult revolt against the mummy in hopes of
enacting change. The mummy must act quickly, or else the
cult falls apart. The mummy normally has two options for
ending mutiny:
• Punish: The mummy demonstrates the fate of those
who would dare oppose him. It makes cultists think
twice about crossing the mummy, even when they
would otherwise be ruthless. The cult permanently
loses a dot of Grasp but clears all damage from Fidelity.
• Banish: The mummy exiles the mutineers from the
cult, stripping them of status and power. This reduction
of members interrupts the cult’s chain of command,
reducing their utility. The cult permanently loses a dot
or Reach but clears all damage from Fidelity.
At Memory 8 or above (p. XX), the mummy receives a
third option:
• Mediate: The knowledge of millennia flows through
even the most headstrong Arisen, and the mummy
uses it to ease the rift in the cult. It won’t solve every-
thing, but the cult maintains its strength. Only half of
the cult’s Fidelity is cleared, but the cult loses neither
Reach nor Grasp.
If a mummy avoids every option or lies in henet as his
cult wallows in mutiny, the cult implodes. The cult loses the
ability to make cult actions and takes 1 aggravated damage.
If the mutiny continues, the cult takes 1 aggravated damage
a day as cultists abandon the mummy and turn the cult’s
trappings to their own purposes. When the Fidelity track fills
with aggravated damage, the cult becomes an independent
entity. The mummy retains cult Merit dots as per Sanctity of
Merits but loses all dots of Dominance. The mummy’s cult
must be built anew. The mummy’s former cult still exists in
the world, either as a sorcerer’s cult, or a more mundane
Mystery Cult. Perhaps one day, the mummy’s new cult might
do battle with the old one.
CULT CONDITIONS
Cult Conditions represent factors affecting the entire
organization. They are gained from the Complications of cult
actions (p. XX), when the cult’s Fidelity fills with damage, or
when the repercussions of an individual’s actions affects the
entire cult. The following conditions are a very small sample
to be used as a guide to improvising Conditions appropriate
for the story.
THE DESCENT
T he core of Mummy is the Descent. It’s the period in which
the character is active — a state of being the Arisen call
“Semektet.” When first summoned, mummies are at their
mightiest; brimming with occult life force, the Deathless
is inhuman, hideous and unstoppable. Yet, the bright fire
within burns out as the world fights back against the effort of
enforcing the Judges’ will.
Mummy: The Curse is an occult horror game, and horror
is always about powerlessness. To be Arisen is to constantly
feel the sand draining from the soul’s hourglass, time drip-
ping away like blood leaking from a slow belly wound. Delay
is the enemy, constantly growing stronger. Yet at the same
time, even as her sheer might drops, the mummy’s freedom
increases —the measure of the Arisen’s changing power.
Indirect as it is, there’s a tension between Sekhem (neces-
sary for existing as an immortal avenger) and Memory (the
personal, human goals that even the sorcerers of Irem could
not erase from their servants’ souls). As Sekhem drops, the
body operates as flesh and blood again, and with a human
appearance come the complications of dealing with people
as a person. These complications are often welcome, even
when they interfere with the will of the gods.
The longer the mummy is awake, then, the more latitude
she has in her actions. This is fortunate, because if her res-
urrection is due to more than an incautious urchin sneaking
into her tomb, she’s going to need to adapt and improvise to
navigate a strange and dangerous realm. The central conflict
of a mummy’s existence is that the more she can do, the less
time she has.
The Descent 199
 SEKHEM DROPS
The Arisen’s Sekhem drops constantly. When it’s high,
she’s mighty. When it’s low, she’s somewhat less so. When
it’s out, she’s back in storage.
Some actions immediately drop a mummy’s Sekhem by
a dot, but this is rare. Returning to the world after dying
from a surfeit of aggravated damage reduces Sekhem by a
dot. Certain other external forces accelerate decreases, as
well. Perhaps the most common form of Sekhem drop is
self-inflicted.
When an Arisen fulfills his first purpose, he loses one
dot of Sekhem immediately. After the first drop, it’s a race
against the clock to fulfill one’s duty as time slips like sand
running through one’s fingers. The only way he can reliably
slow his accelerated Descent is by draining relics. Mummies
can, if they wish, pillage their own Sekhem. Dropping one
dot of Sekhem restores an Arisen’s Willpower points to their
maximum. It means converting the inhuman, impersonal
might of the Rite’s energy into selfish, personal motivation.
It’s more common in Arisen with high Memory, but anyone
with a Sekhem rating can do it.
As with so many Descent decisions, there is a Catch-22.
If one has many Sekhem dots, burning one for Willpower
probably won’t be necessary. When the Arisen is worn down
and needs any advantage she can beg, borrow, or steal, that’s
when a sudden burst of Willpower can be the difference
between success and humiliating failure — but that’s also
when Sekhem is a lot scarcer and more valuable. Horror is
helplessness, after all.
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
Sekhem dots are a way to convey the urgency of time
as part of the game. The Arisen themselves don’t speak of
“dots” any more than normal people speak of “having dots in
the Occult Skill,” or “numbers of health points remaining”
when at the hospital.
Mummies feel the Sekhem flowing through them, and
the amount affects both the Arisen’s demeanor and power.
They know when it’s strong, they know when it’s weak, and
they know when it changes. Different mummies feel the
force differently, depending on whom they were and who
their Judge is. A common description likens it to a smooth,
warm encasement that seeps down into their flesh and even
extends outward during Utterances and the use of Pillars. As
it fades, they feel colder, stiffer, and clumsier.
At dots 9 and 10, they can’t feel much else: Before the
restoration of the sahu’s nerve tissue, everything they sense
is mediated through their wrappings of occult energy. With
high Sekhem, colors seem sharper and sounds are crisply
200 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
separate. As it drops, the world looks gray, and conversa-
tions are still clear but less…musical. The sense of touch
is an abstract thing at high Sekhem, but a sensual treat at
dots 6 to 8, slowly numbing to a mundane and unexciting
impression at Sekhem 3 to 5. At Sekhem 1 or 2, mummies
aren’t numb, but they just don’t take much pleasure from
touching most things.
A Sekhem drop is a shock, like having a hunk of hair
suddenly ripped out. A Descent roll is like having it pulled out
slowly, one hair at a time. If the roll fails, that chill recedes.
If the roll succeeds, the loss crescendos in an icy convulsion;
leaving the mummy just a bit more dead.
A reset, on the other hand, is usually accompanied by a
brief, warm relaxation. It’s not as intense as a drop or even
a Descent roll, but it is physically perceptible.
Thus, every mummy knows when she is on the right
path — or the wrong one.
DESCENT ROLLS
An Arisen’s struggle doesn’t end with the trials in Duat.
A mummy’s time is forever fleeting, and she loses Sekhem
overtime by the Descent rolls. It’s the reminder that time
is limited even for an immortal being, and when the dice
are in the player’s hands, it’s the one roll they’ll want to fail.
When the time comes (as determined by one’s Sekhem
dots, shown on the chart below), the player rolls a pool of dice
equal to the Arisen’s current Sekhem rating. If she succeeds,
the Arisen loses a dot of Sekhem. So, for example, if one is
at Sekhem 10, one rolls 10 dice for the Descent roll. If even
one die comes up 8+, the Arisen descends to Sekhem 9. The
higher one’s Sekhem dots are, the odds of failing a Descent roll
aren’t great, but when one’s clinging on at the lower dots of
Sekhem 1 or 2, one can delay the inevitable for quite a while.
Descent rolls are a big deal, and it’s up to the individual
Storyteller to decide how they wish to handle them. Some
have players resolve the roll at the end of the scene, while
others stop the game until the roll is made to emphasize the
centrality of the deed and the immediacy of the response.
Neither’s right nor wrong; they both work fine, and you can
choose to do whichever feels appropriate at the time. Either
way, the results of the roll resolve at scene’s end. An Arisen
shouldn’t drop dead mid-fight because they were scheduled
for a Descent roll.
The base schedule for Descent rolls is as follows:
Players can’t spend Willpower on a Descent roll or give
it an equipment bonus, except for a few certain rolls (see
below). Some relics might improve the odds a little by penal-
izing the pool, but they’re rare and coveted, if the Storyteller
decides they exist at all.
 DESCENT
Sekhem When You Make a Descent Roll
10 After a scene (12 hours)
9 After two scenes (One day)
8 After three scenes (Two days)
7 After a chapter (Five days)
6 After a chapter (10 days)
5 After two chapters (20 days)
4 After three chapters (40 days)
3 After a story (60 days)
2 After two stories (100 days)
1 After a chronicle (160 days)
Ways exist, however, to alter the schedule (see Slowing
Down the Loss of Sekhem on p. XX).
THE DESCENT AGENDA
The mummy normally starts with 10, the maximum dots
in Sekhem. Based on the circumstances of her awakening,
she might lose a dot immediately, but typically, players make
Descent rolls to see if their Arisen are going away or sticking
around.
Players make Descent rolls depending on the Arisen’s
current Sekhem rating. Other factors like how long she’s
lingered there, and whether or not she’s acting within the
parameters of her inhuman mission also changes when the
Arisen has to make a Descent roll.
High Sekhem is hard to maintain and burns out fast.
Everything else being equal, a mummy with Sekhem 8 is
going to risk Descent far more often than one at Sekhem 4,
simply because the high-Sekhem mummy has more to lose.
The Descent agenda is based on two scales. One’s very
concrete: Days and hours and weeks. One’s very loose, subject
to heavy Storyteller interpretation and oriented toward scenes,
stories, and chronicles (See the Chronicles of Darkness
Rulebook, p. XX). The Storyteller is free to switch back and
forth freely between those scales; not to capriciously torment
players, but to maintain the sense of urgency. The unexpected
Descent rolls are the ones that arise from player choices, like the
decision to tell a Judge to get stuffed, or the decision to raise
one’s Memory rating. Successfully failing a provoked Descent roll
means the roll had no impact on your Descent or Sekhem rating.
There are a few things a mummy must not do to avoid
receiving a provoked Descent roll. The biggest risk is any
Failing the Roll Adds
One scene (12 hours)
One scene (12 hours)
Two scenes (One day)
Two scenes (One day)
Three scenes (Two days)
Three scenes (Three days)
One chapter (Five days)
One chapter (10 days)
Two chapters (20 days)
One story (40 days)
behavior that counters the Arisen’s purpose — being their
own person. One can be a pretty evil in the eyes of mortals
without imperiling one’s status in Duat.
If an Arisen character does one of the following, they
face a Descent roll right away:
• Blasphemes the gods of Irem, or lets someone else do
so in her presence uncorrected.*
• Creates a lasting account of her deeds that gives glory
to her alone.
• Destroys a relic to cannibalize its Sekhem.
• Dramatically fails any non-kepher action that uses the
mummy’s Sekhem rating as a dice pool.*
• Increasing one’s Memory rating by a dot.
• Interacting with a Lifeless without obvious enmity.*
• Mocking or decrying her Judge — especially by name.
• Profanes the tomb of a fellow Arisen who serves her
Judge.
• Verbally professes her highest love to another, be it
a mortal or supernatural being who’s not serving the
Judges, using the language of Irem.
• Telling her own true name to any outsider.
* A player can spend a Willpower point to subtract three
dice from the pool for this Descent roll.
The Descent 201
 FALLING UP
Though many feel relief failing a Descent roll, it doesn’t
mean that there’s nothing to worry about anymore.
When you fail your Descent roll at any given Sekhem
rating, it’s as though the gods and the Judges are permitting
your existence. You have earned your continuance of active
service.
When you attempt your next scheduled Descent roll at
the end of your bonus time, the number of dice rolled goes up
by +1. This pattern continues with each continuous failure,
to a maximum of 10 dice, thus making it more likely the roll
succeeds. When you finally succeed and fall forward into
your new, lower Sekhem rating, all penalties disappear. The
Judges have their own agenda, and letting one Arisen run
around for too long is dangerous. You can see the decreased
success threshold as the Judge’s patience running out, and
the realization that cannot risk a mummy uncovering more
memories and deciding to leave their servitude.
Note that these cumulative penalties do not apply to
Descent rolls caused by the player or Storyteller, only those
scheduled as per the Descent table (see above). Likewise,
resets have no impact on these penalties one way or the other.
Once one drops to Sekhem 5, an Arisen’s got two chapters
of game time to enjoy access to Level Five Utterance effects
before a Descent roll imperils them. When that time’s up,
the player must roll her five dice. If she gets a success, her
Arisen drops to Sekhem 4. If she fails the roll, her mummy
remains at Sekhem 5 for three more scenes.
Remaining at a particular rating of Sekhem for a longer
time does not make the character stronger than a mummy
who has just recently reached the same number of dots.
They will both have to roll the same number of dice at their
next Descent roll.
SLOWING THE
LOSS OF SEKHEM
An Arisen is a tool to serve his chosen Judge, so by ad-
vancing his Judges’ agenda, they might slow the Sekhem loss.
The Rite of Return is a complex framework, custom-tailored
to an agenda. Arisen serving their Judge unquestionably
hemorrhages less Sekhem than those resisting and straining
against their purpose.
A reset won’t take an Arisen back to Sekhem 10; it resets
the time until the next Descent roll.
For example, assume an Arisen’s at Sekhem 3 and has
lingered there for two stories. In the course of her duties,
she comes across a greater Amkhat and destroys it. Pleased
with her actions, her Judge presents her with a reward, and
202 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
her countdown at Sekhem 3 resets. Instead of facing a roll
at the end of the story, it’s delayed back out to two stories.
If a mummy can just find enough greater Amkhata to slay,
she just might stay alive indefinitely.
Resets buy more time at the lower values of Sekhem, which
is when an Arisen’s at her weakest and therefore least able to
earn a reset. Individual Judges also have personal agendas.
The Arisen serving them might find renewal through
certain other, narrower imperatives. Acting in accordance
to your Judge grants you Sekhem, or other rewards. At the
Storyteller’s discretion, they may gift players with a reset for
acting accordingly.
Beyond the immediate concerns of specific Judges, the
following actions are general ones not tied to a particular
Judge and might potentially receive a reset:
• Constructing a monument to the glory of Irem that
has the potential to last 1,000 years.
• Destroying a powerful enemy of the Judges, such as
a flawed immortal, or one of the Shuankhsen. The
Storyteller may decide that it’s only the mummy who
dealt the killing blow or contributed the most who
wins the reset when there are multiple characters in
combat.
• Exacts a horrifying revenge on someone violating her
tomb. Not applicable during temporary arisings that
begin with such a violation.
• Dedicating the killing of an enemy in front of witnesses
and addressing her Judge by name.
• Saves the unlife of a fellow mummy serving the same
Judge.
The list of commendable behaviors is a little bit shorter
than those for which one is punished, but the Judges tend
to prefer driving with the lash to leading with a promise.
SYBARIS
M
ummies are both alive and dead, empowered by a mys-
tical rite of the Shan’iatu. Sometimes, the necromantic
energies from the rite leak from her body into the body of a
bystander. This exposure changes him. He becomes aware of
both his fleeting reality and the eternal reality of Duat. The
crushing truth of his mortality falls upon him.
The moment ends. He rationalizes his experience, but his
fear of death and visions of Duat remain. These lingering
anxieties and visions are a phenomenon that the Arisen call
Sybaris, or “sickness.” Mummies consider it a necessary evil,
a security measure the Shan’iatu placed within them.
 Sybaris is a handy tool. Humans become too frightened
or too busy contemplating mortality to interfere with a
mummy’s work. The afflicted are easier to manipulate. When
a bystander fears death, joining a mummy’s cult becomes a
tempting proposition.
However, it provides diminishing returns. Further expo-
sure drives mortals to expose or destroy mummies and their
cults. It may even open them to possession by the fiends of
Duat (p. XX).
CONTRACTING SYBARIS
The following is a list of some situations that cause a
character to contract Sybaris:
• Direct physical contact with a mummy.
• Entering a mummy’s tomb.
• Touching a vessel in a mummy’s Lifeweb.
• Witnessing the beginning of a Descent (p. XX).
• Witnessing a mummy’s resurrection.
• Witnessing a mummy spend a dot of Sekhem or a Pillar
point.
• Witnessing the use of some Utterances and Affinities
(p. XX).
When these situations occur, the character attempts to
resist Sybaris. His will battles with overwhelming hallucina-
tions and intrusive emotions.
RESISTING SYBARIS
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure – Sekhem
Suggested Modifiers: Mummy inflicting Sybaris has
Memory 8+ (+1), mummy inflicting Sybaris has Memory
3 or lower (−2), character is in the presence of multiple
mummies (−1 for each mummy present beyond the one
inflicting Sybaris), the character has the Sybaris Condition
(−1), the character is a sorcerer (+3).
Success: The character does not experience Sybaris. If
he already has the Sybaris Condition (p. XX), it remains at
its current stage.
Exceptional Success: As Success and the character
recovers a point of Willpower.
Failure: The character gains the Sybaris Condition, or
advances to a further stage if he already has it. If he is already
at Stage 3, the character immediately performs one of the
actions that would grant a Beat for that stage. This does not
grant any additional Beats after the first time in a chapter.
Dramatic Failure: As Failure and the character loses a
point of Willpower.
SUFFERING SYBARIS
When a character fails to resist Sybaris, he gains the
Sybaris Condition (p. XX). The Sybaris Condition is a special,
three-stage Condition that represents a character’s increas-
ing fear, paranoia, and panic while afflicted with Sybaris.
OVERCOMING SYBARIS
Those afflicted with Sybaris can overcome it in three
ways:
• Time: Without further exposure, Sybaris dissipates
with time. Stage One Sybaris ends in one week, Stage
Two in two weeks, and Stage Three in a month.
• Join a Mummy’s Cult: Pledging loyalty to a mummy
and serving in her cult in accordance with its Doctrines
(p. XX) immediately ends Sybaris at any stage. A cultist
with Scorpion Cult Initiation ••+ never suffers Sybaris
if they hold to their cult’s Doctrines.
• Interpret a Sybaritic Omen: Sybaris brings terrible
visions, but they are filled with consistent symbolic
imagery. Interpreting the omen at the source of a char-
acter’s visions eases his Sybaris, sometimes reducing it
stage by stage.
SYBARITIC OMENS
The Sybaris-afflicted can understand the root of their
torment through meditation, lucid dreaming, or reflection.
Untangling the chaotic pattern of emotions and waking
dreams brings comfort and can eventually dissipate the
sickness.
A Sybaritic Omen involves a significant situation
unknown to the character. It might be a future event, a
forgotten secret from the past, or a hidden circumstance in
the present. If the omen is a future event, it will come to
pass unless the character intervenes.
Interpreting Sybaritic Omens
Action: Extended (7 successes required; each roll takes
6 hours).
Dice Pool: Composure + Occult
Suggested Modifiers: Cultists or sorcerers assist charac-
ter (+2), Use of fortune telling instruments (+1), Distracting
noise or lights (–2).
Sybaris 203
 Success: The character decodes the omen’s basic struc-
ture or a key detail if the basic structure was already decoded.
The character may behave as if they do not have the Sybaris
Condition (p. XX) for the rest of the chapter.
Exceptional Success: As Success, and the character gains
the Sybaris Condition at one level lower than the level the
character currently has. If this reduces the Condition level
to zero, the Condition resolves immediately.
Failure: The character receives no useful insights.
Dramatic Failure: As Failure, and the character suffers
a Breaking Point (p. XX).
THE RITE OF INVESTMENT THE RITE OF THE
oyalty has its benefits. The Arisen can grant their cultists ENGRAVED HEART
L
a fraction of their power through the Rite of Investment.
Invested cultists are always under their master’s observation.
A mummy can take an Invested cultist’s body as her own
after death, hollowing out the cultist’s soul and replacing it
with her own.
The Rite of Investment
• Action: Instant action. Mummy must touch her target.
The mummy’s player removes a Pillar point (p. XX) of
her choosing from her character’s sheet. The target’s
player places the mummy’s Pillar point on their char-
acter’s sheet.
• Cost: 1 Pillar point.
• Pillar Recovery: Reflexive action. A mummy may
remotely reclaim an unspent Pillar point from target.
Target’s player removes Pillar point from their charac-
ter’s sheet. The mummy’s player places the Pillar point
on her character’s sheet.
• Mortal Decree: Invested mortals receive the benefits
of their masters’ decree (p. XX).
• Sorcerous Rites: Invested sorcerers may spend imbued
Pillar points to power Rites (p. XX). Sorcerers also
receive the benefits of Mortal Decree.
• Sadikh Soul: Invested Sadikh may manifest Soul
Affinities (p. XX).
• Immortal Power: Invested immortals may use Tier 1
Utterances using the invested Pillar.
• Constant Observation: Mummies are roughly aware
of the condition, direction, and distance of Invested
cultists.
204 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
• Ultimate Sacrifice: A mummy may reincarnate into
the body of an Invested cultist. The mummy resurrects
as normal, using the cultist’s body in place of their sahu
or canopic jar. The mummy gains the Memory Bleed
Condition, and the player may choose to reshuffle some
of the character’s Traits to represent the abilities of the
new body. The Sanctity of Experience (p. XX) applies.
• Investment Limit: Mummies may invest a maximum
of 100 points. Cultists may hold a maximum number
of points equivalent to their tier (p. XX).
T
he exact methods of the Rite of the Engraved Heart differ
between guilds, but each requires an exchange between
the mummy and their intended Sadikh. This exchange has
to be something of true worth, such as each participant’s true
name, the sacrifice of a loved one, or a permanent self-mu-
tilation. The mummy must then cut open their target, and
inscribes their eternal name on the Sadikh’s heart. The chest
wound magically heals itself shut, but leaves a scar symbolizing
the mummy, their guild, or their Judge.
The Rite of the Engraved Heart
• Action: Instant action. The mummy must have made
the exchange of value and cut open their target. The
mummy’s player removes a permanent Willpower dot
from their character’s sheet. The target’s player adds
a permanent Willpower dot to their character’s sheet.
• Cost: 1 permanent dot of Willpower.
• Descent Risk: Reflexive action. The act of creating
a Sadikh offends the Judges, causing any mummies to
suffer a Descent roll for their hubris.
• Only One: A mummy may only have one Sadikh at
a time. That Sadikh does not age. The Sadikh falls
and rises in linear time, which means a mummy can
create another Sadikh at a point in time before their
last Sadikh was made, or long after their last one was
destroyed.
• Rise and Fall: Sadikh stay awake for a number of
chapters equal to their permanent Willpower, following
the mummy’s Descent to henet. If they wish to stay
awake beyond this, they must succeed at a Resolve
+ Composure roll each scene, at −1 die for the
next scene, the −1 growing to −2, −3, etc. for each
 subsequent scene, until the Sadikh’s player only rolls
one die to remain awake.
The Sadikh rises with the mummy. Upon falling to slum-
ber, the Sadikh dreams of a false life, an uneventful mundane
existence that maintains their ease in whatever era they
awaken. Sadikh slumbering well beyond a mortal lifespan may
sometimes recall their previous experiences with the mummy
as vivid stories passed down through the generations if their
mind isn’t resilient enough to handle the stress of immortality.
When the mummy rises, so does the Sadikh.
• His Master’s Will: Sadikh possess a telepathic bond
with their mummy master and may broadcast their
location and immediate feelings, such as danger, joy,
excitement, etc. with no roll. The mummy can do the
same in return. Via this telepathic bond, the mummy
has power over the Sadikh’s will. With the expendi-
ture of a Willpower point, the Arisen can prevent the
Sadikh from overly countermanding any of his master’s
efforts or wishes, with discreet actions against the
mummy at a −2 dice modifier.
• Resilient Body: Sadikh suffer damage as mummies do,
but recover from wounds like mortals unless another
trait modifies this rate. They do not die when their
Health track is filled with lethal damage, instead
falling into repose and waking when the mummy
next wakes. If the sleeping Sadikh suffers further
damage, or their Health track fills with aggravated
damage, they die. They leave no ghost as their soul
becomes Sekhem and their body becomes a vestige
(see p. XX). If this vestige is drained, the Sadikh is
gone for good. If it is returned to Duat, the Sadikh
joins their master for one final journey. If the mummy
wishes to resurrect a fallen Sadikh, they must spend a
permanent Willpower dot, which causes the Sadikh to
form from Sekhem. This Willpower dot does not get
added to the Sadikh’s character sheet. The reformed
Sadikh bears scars from the wounds that killed him,
but no damage to his Health.
• Blessed Memorial: Once per story, when a mummy
attempts to recall a point in history during which
their Sadikh was present, the mummy can call on the
Sadikh’s true name and gain +2 dice to their remem-
bering. This benefit also applies if the mummy is at a
Breaking Point and at risk of losing Memory, conveying
the +2 dice to their Memory roll.
• Entwined Fates: Sadikh possess a Sekhem rating equal
to half of their master’s current total, rounded up, for
the purposes of resisting a Clash of Wills (see p. XX).
This resistance is rendered inert against the Sadikh’s
Arisen master.
• Sybaris Immunity: The Sadikh is immune to all Sybaris
Conditions.
• Power Channeling: Once per scene, a Sadikh may use
any one of his master’s Affinities, or one of his master’s
Utterances, providing he has seen the Utterance used.
The Arisen pays the Pillar and Willpower costs for use
of these powers, though any dice pools except for Pillar
ratings are made up from the Sadikh’s Traits. Pillar
ratings are derived from the mummy’s character sheet.
• Devoted Heart: A Sadikh whose master has a Pillar
rating of Ab 5 gains +2 dice to resist or overpower a
character attempting to sway the immortal servant
from his master. The Sadikh may give his master any
Willpower he recovers from fulfilling his Virtue or Vice,
instead of gaining the benefit himself.
• Loyal Soul: A Sadikh whose master has a Pillar rating
of Ba 5 incurs no penalties when blinded or in darkness.
The Sadikh conveys a +2 modifier to his master’s
initiative rolls when they’re together, as the immortal
servant acts as the mummy’s eyes and ears.
• Perfected Body: A Sadikh whose master has a Pillar
rating of Ka 5 may exchange up to 4 bashing wounds or
2 lethal wounds to or from his master, with permission
from the mummy, as a Reflexive action. The Sadikh
cannot accept further wounds if he has any aggravated
wounds. This power is effective no matter the distance
but the two must occupy the same space in time.
• Reverent Name: A Sadikh whose master has a Pillar rating
of Ren 5 shares a true telepathic bond with his master and
can mentally communicate in whole sentences with the
mummy after speaking the Arisen’s name. The Sadikh
cannot communicate in this way if he has suffered any
aggravated wounds. This power is effective no matter the
distance but the two must occupy the same space in time.
• Shadowed Hand: A Sadikh whose master has a
Pillar rating of Sheut 5 gains +2 dice on all Stealth
and Larceny rolls, and for the cost of one Willpower
point can magically shift the appearance of his face as
a Reflexive action. This shift cannot imitate another
person, but makes the Sadikh appear distinctly different
from before. The shift remains in place until the Sadikh
wills it to end. Multiple facial shifts prevent reversion
to anything but the most recent facial appearance.
The Rite of the Engraved Heart 205
 TIMELESSNESS AND
EXPERIENCE
T he Arisen do not experience time linearly. A mummy
Descends in 2097 and awakens in 1545 in the same way that a
human goes to bed and rises in the morning. As a Mummy game
leaps through history, players may find themselves in time periods
where the dots on their sheet seem inappropriate or useless.
Because of this, mummies have a special quality: Sanctity
of Experience. Much like Sanctity of Merits, a mummy always
takes Beats and spends Experiences as normal, no matter
what time the character currently resides in.
When a mummy is first awakened in a new century, or plays
in a flashback or flash-forward for longer than a scene, the
player may “reshuffle” the Attributes, Skills, Merits, or Pillars
of the character using their currently spent Experiences, cre-
ating a character build more fitting for the era. All Advantages
(p. XX) should be re-calculated accordingly.
At the end of an extended flashback or flash-forward,
when the setting returns to what the Chronicle currently
establishes as the “present,” the player may again “reshuffle”
her sheet using their currently spent Experiences, including
whatever Experiences were spent during the flashback or
flash-forward.
Sanctity of Experience
• Beats: A mummy always takes Beats and spends
Experience as they receive them, even during flash-
backs and flash-forwards.
• Reshuffle: When the mummy begins play in a differ-
ent time era, her player may rearrange her character’s
Attributes, Skills, Merits, or Pillars using their currently
spent Experience. This occurs when the mummy first
awakens at least a century before or after the previously
played Descent, or at the beginning and end of an
extended flashback or flash-forward.
TOMBS
T ombs have three components: Geometry, Perils, and
Provisions.
GEOMETRY
No matter where they lie, tombs are always built or
remodeled according to the Nameless Empire’s sacred
geometry. Tombs draw Sekhem from their surroundings,
creating a special, internal Lifeweb from which the Arisen
gains Pillar points.
206 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Every dot of Tomb (p. XX) applied to Geometry provides
a bonus die to regaining Pillar points (p. XX).
It also serves as the tomb’s overall health. Should a tomb’s
Geometry become 0, it is destroyed, and the Arisen gains the
Disinterred Condition (p. XX). The player retains the tomb’s
original rating due to the Sanctity of Merits.
PERILS
Tombs need security, and the Arisen have many options.
History provides a myriad of nasty devices to punish intrud-
ers, but there are also Curses from returned vessels (p. XX)
that float within a tomb’s Lifeweb, waiting for use.
Each dot of Tomb (p. XX) applied to Perils serves as a dot
of Cost towards Trap equipment (p. XX). Each dot of Peril
may also anchor a Curse from a recently returned vessel to
the tomb.
When the tomb is attacked, the player may choose to
remove a dot of Peril instead of a dot of Geometry, inflicting
a Trap or Curse on the attackers. The player retains any
removed Peril dots due to the Sanctity of Merits.
PROVISIONS
Provisions make tombs unique and provide a vast number
of benefits beyond energy and security.
Each dot of Tomb (p. XX) applied to Provisions serves
as a dot of Cost towards equipment (p. XX). Any aspect of
a tomb that does not serve as part of its sacred geometry or
its security qualifies as a Provision.
When the tomb is attacked, the player may choose to
remove a dot of Provision instead of a dot of Geometry,
losing access to a piece of equipment. The player retains
any removed Provision dots due to the Sanctity of Merits.
HARMONIC CENTERPIECE
If a mummy has at least one relic connected to their
tomb’s Lifeweb, they may choose one to be their harmonic
centerpiece. This relic balances the energies of the tomb,
making it just as important as the tomb’s physical structure.
If a harmonic centerpiece is within a tomb’s Lifeweb,
the mummy receives a bonus die to regaining Pillar points
(p. XX) in addition to a tomb’s Geometry. If the harmonic
centerpiece is destroyed or stolen, its absence damages the
tomb, removing a dot of Geometry from the Tomb Merit.
ATTACKING TOMBS
Some of the Arisen’s enemies know they must strike at
their tombs. While it is possible to survive without one, a
destroyed tomb can leave a mummy defenseless and without
an easy method of regaining power or returning vessels to
the Judges.
A tomb is only truly destroyed when its sacred geometry
is ruined beyond repair. This is a great undertaking, accom-
plished by a cult action (p. XX), with explosives (p. XX),
an appropriate Utterance (p. XX), and lengthy, dedicated
assaults by individuals. One point of Effort, one point of
lethal damage, or one point of aggravated damage removes
one dot of Geometry from the Tomb Merit. Dots of Peril or
Provisions may be removed instead, if available.
VESSELS
T he lost tools of Irem. Storied treasures with fantastic pow-
ers. Experiments gone wrong. Physical embodiments of
painful memories. All these and more are vessels, the mystical
trinkets that keep the Arisen to their eternal duty.
The attachment mummies have to vessels goes beyond
mere admiration of craftsmanship. Whether forged in an
Iremite workshop thousands of years in the past or improvised
on an active battlefield three days ago, the Arisen believe
there is only one rightful owner of these vessels: the Judges.
No human alive can fully control a vessel’s power, as tragedy
after tragedy throughout history has proven. Therefore, all
vessels must return to Duat to restore power to the Judges
and ensure humanity’s safety.
VESSELS DEFINED
A vessel is any item that holds a significant amount of
Sekhem. Most were created thousands of years ago using the
lost and sacred arts of the guilds of Irem. Many also came into
being long after, either as the result of sorcery or accidental
creations birthed from an unforgettable moment.
Sekhem is anchored to a vessel by implanting it with a
memory. This central memory is also a filter, shaping the
potential of life into a clearly defined purpose and function.
Anyone activating a vessel calls upon the memory inside,
releasing the Sekhem within in the form of a distinct and
unique Power. However, without the proper training guilds
and sorcery provides, an unwitting user is unable to handle
even a filtered form of pure life force. He is then exposed to
the vessel’s Curse, a negative feedback from the sudden re-
lease of powerful energy. A Curse is also filtered by the vessel’s
defining memory, often inflicting ironic fates upon the user.
Arisen divide vessels into two categories: vestiges and relics.
VESTIGES
Vestiges are a vessel’s basic form. They can take the form
of any object on Earth. Since the Lifeweb is everywhere at
once, Sekhem constantly flows out from living things into
inanimate objects as they use them. Every day, the toys,
tools, and precious items of humanity go through a natural
ebb and flow of Sekhem.
When an item is present in a moment filled with strong
emotion, the moment may imprint on the item as a mem-
ory, sealing the Sekhem it holds and transforming it into a
vestige. Any emotion can create a vestige, but the six most
common emotions in their creation are anger, despair, hate,
joy, passion, and love. When a vestige forms, the raw Sekhem
inside it splits into two distinct patterns based on the emotion
that filters it. The first pattern is its Virtue, the highest, most
constructive form of the emotion that defines the memory.
The second pattern is its Vice, the lowest, most destructive
form of the emotion.
Vestiges existed long before Irem and will exist long after.
In addition to the many vestiges created by history, sorcerers
know a rite that guarantees their creation, though the process
may be time consuming and emotionally draining (p. XX).
Creating vestiges is important for sorcerers. Not only are
they easy access to magical power, the Sekhem inside them
can be further broken down and extracted as Pillars (p. XX),
important magical components.
A Vessel’s power is attractive, but they can provide so
much more. When their Virtues or Vices resonate with their
owner’s Anchors (p. XX), vestiges help strengthen the will,
or even the soul. Some mummies hesitate to immediately
return their vestiges to Duat and instead let them linger in
their tomb’s Lifeweb for a few centuries.
Vestiges
• Rating: Naturally created vestiges are rated at 1-5 dots.
Sorcerers can create vestiges rated at 1-6 dots.
• Object: A vestige is an object (p. XX), and has Size,
Durability, and Structure.
• Incorruptible: Vestiges are immune to ordinary wear
and tear caused by the passage of time.
• Virtue and Vice: Vestiges have a Virtue and a Vice.
• Resonance: When a character’s Anchors, such as a
mummy’s Balance or Burden (p. XX), is synonymous
with or matches a vestige’s Virtue or Vice, the vestige
resonates with the character.
• Willpower Refresh: If a resonant vestige is kept on
a sleeping character’s person, the character refresh-
es extra Willpower points after a full night’s sleep.
The character refreshes 1 extra Willpower point per
Virtue or Vice that is synonymous with or matches the
Tombs | Vessels 207
 character’s Anchors to a maximum of +2 Willpower
points. Any resonant vestiges kept in the Lifeweb of a
mummy’s tomb (p. XX) provides this benefit no matter
where the mummy rests inside the tomb to a maximum
of 2 extra Willpower points.
• Soul Refresh: When a mummy meditates in her tomb
to refresh her Pillar points (p. XX), each resonant
vestige in her tomb’s Lifeweb provides a +1 bonus to
the dice pool to a maximum of +5.
• Pillars: Vestiges provide a number of Pillar points equal
to their dot rating.
RELICS
Relics are the prized creations of the Nameless Empire.
The Shan’iatu taught their subjects the secrets of Sekhem,
how it could be grasped and forged into instruments of power.
For many years, the Iremite guilds toiled in their workshops
creating countless relics. Most served the empire’s needs,
some were made to entertain its people, and a few were
created for their own sake so that its crafter would have
something to last for all time.
208 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
An exact, reliable method to create a relic is unknown, but
the differences between a relic and a vestige are obvious once
someone knows where to look. The first is that a relic is an
object holding a distilled form of Sekhem, which radiates with
a greater amount of power. Pure Sekhem is easier to anchor
to an object, and the memories used for relics do not need to
be as emotionally intense as the kind that anchors a vestige.
Instead, the guilds of old used memories of Iremite cultural
touchstones, important values or the Nameless Empire, and
the lives of its famous heroes and infamous enemies. The
Arisen sometimes find memories of them within a relic.
The second difference is that unlike vestiges, relics appear
in very specific forms. The guilds of the Nameless Empire
developed their own secret methods to create relics, which
they never shared. The five best known relic forms are those
of the Arisen guilds: Amulets, Effigies, Regia, Texts, and Uter.
The clearly defined form of the relic shapes the Sekhem just
as much as the memory that holds it, and thus a relic has a
Power that enhances things related to the form’s purpose,
and a Curse that serves as a side effect to intense Sekhem
exposure.
The final difference is that the Sekhem within the relic
holds together even during extraction. A mummy draining
Sekhem from a relic finds that they’re able to stay in the living
world for a little while longer, though they risk punishment
from their Judge for doing so. Immortals (p. XX) can feed
on relics with no such consequences. Sorcerers are unable
to absorb Sekhem from a relic, but can contain the energy
in another object, potentially transforming it into a vestige.
Almost all relics come from the Nameless Empire. Many
have returned to the Judges, but most still reside on the
Earth, waiting to be discovered. A few relics were created
well after the Empire’s dissolution. These modern relics are
often the product of a mortal’s inspiration and passionate
dedication, and their creation is a once in a lifetime event.
Rarely, Judges expend a portion of their immense Sekhem to
forge a brand-new relic, sending it to the Earth along with
a mummy rising from henet. While an Arisen is bound to
a Judge, they are unable to create new relics of their own.
Relics
• Rating: Relics are rated from 1-5 dots.
• Object: A relic is an object (p. XX), and has Size,
Durability, and Structure.
• Incorruptible: Relics are immune to ordinary wear and
tear caused by the passage of time.
• Form: Relics have a unique kind of Power and Curse,
based on its form.
• Sekhem: Relics provide a number of Sekhem dots
equal to their dot rating. Relics created by Eternals
provide a number of Sekhem dots equal to twice their
dot rating.
USING VESSELS
Vessels are powerful objects. For many, they provide quick
access to magical power. They also aid the Arisen and are an
important part of their cycles of life and death.
However, holding a massive amount of Sekhem in one
place, refusing to return it to the Lifeweb, tends to bring
about terrible fates. Many learn that to wield great power
one must bear a terrible curse.
INVOKING VESSELS
Vessels are invoked through two methods. The first is
to touch the vessel and perform an action in sync with its
underlying memory. A vestige of protection born from an act
of affection is invoked through a sincere declaration of love.
An amulet relic forged from a memory of harsh weather is
activated when worn during a rainstorm.
The second method is to touch the vessel, call out its
name, and activate it by force of will. This invocation de-
mands a sacrifice from its user, either in the form of a Pillar
point or a Willpower point.
Once a vessel is invoked, its user receives a vague or
alarming vision related to the memory buried within it. The
vessel’s Power and Curse begin immediately after.
Vessel Invocation
• Action: Invoking a vessel is an Instant action.
• Cost: Invoking a vessel costs either 1 Pillar point or 1
Willpower point.
GENERAL POWERS AND CURSES
A vessel’s dot rating determines the mechanical basis
of its Power and Curse. In general, a Power is mechanically
represented by a bonus; and a Curse by a penalty. Where
the bonus or penalty is applied depends on a vessel’s type.
Each individual dot in a vessel’s rating can grant the
following:
Power Curse
+1 dice pool bonus −1 dice pool penalty
+1 Armor −1 Armor
+1 Defense −1 Defense
+1 Attribute rating −1 Attribute rating
+1 Skill rating −1 Skill rating
1 positive Social Influence 1 negative Social influence
shift shift
When designing mechanical bonuses and penalties for
vessels, these can be mixed and matched using a pool of
points equal to the vessel’s dot rating plus 1. For example, a
two-dot vessel has three points and could give a user two dots
in Empathy, but remove one dot of Streetwise. A five-dot
vessel has six points and could imbue a user with three points
of Armor, but remove three dots of Stamina. A one-dot
vessel has two points and could give a user 1 positive Social
Influence shift, but remove one die from a combat dice pool.
A vessel’s Power is never higher than half the pool’s points.
Powers and Curses
• Bonuses and Penalties: Powers and Curses inflict a
set of bonuses and penalties on a vessel’s user.
• Design: A vessel’s dot rating provides a pool of points
equal to its dot rating plus 1. These points are spread
between the vessel’s Power and Curse. A vessel’s Power
Vessels 209
 never has a mechanical bonus higher than half of the
point pool, rounded up.
VESTIGE POWERS AND CURSES
Vestiges are the embodiment of an emotional memory.
That memory forms the basis of its Power and Curse.
A vestige’s Power is a mechanical representation of its
underlying memory and its Virtue. An Honest vestige might
grant bonuses to Performance or improve Interrogation dice
pools.
A vestige’s Curse is formed from its underlying memory
and its Vice. The Honest vestige is also Headstrong, and
may apply penalties to Common Sense dice pools, or even
reduce its user’s Composure.
The highly personal memories that vestiges hold ensure
that the only person subject to its Power and Curse is its
current user. They are also short lived, and their Powers
and Curses last for a Scene. The only exception is when an
active vestige is close to an active relic. When this occurs,
the vestige activates a special kind of Curse: it broadcasts
its core memory to other people, inflicting them with its
emotion. The Area Affected aspect of a relic’s dot rating
(p. XX) defines the how far this broadcast stretches and for
how long it lasts.
Vestiges are useful in any situation, but their Sekhem
shines brightest when invoked during moments resonating
with the creating event. A vestige under these conditions
may gain additional effects.
Vestige Powers and Curses
• Magnificent Virtue: A vestige’s Power is based on its
Virtue.
• Vice’s Curse: A vestige’s Curse is based on its Vice.
• Familiar Moments: Invoking vestiges in situations
aligning with their rooted memories may grant addi-
tional mechanical effects.
• Range and Time: A vestige’s Power and Curse is active
for one Scene and only affects its user.
• Amplification: Active relics can amplify the emotions
of active vestiges and influence others with them.
RELIC POWERS AND CURSES
The refined Sekhem within a relic brings new, more con-
sistent powers and abilities. In addition to basic bonuses and
penalties (p. XX), relics have their own unique Power and
Curse options that can break the limits of what is possible.
210 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
Amulets
The Maa-Kep designed their amulets to preserve ideas
and principles. They were so successful that Iremite thought
lives on in a world ill-suited for it.
Amulets have the Power to instill knowledges and
abilities. These are usually represented by new Skill dots
or Mental Merits but can also provide more specific boons,
such as knowledge of a lost military technique, or even a
rite (p. XX).
The Amulet’s Curse programs its bearer with concepts
and morals to make their thinking more harmonious to the
Nameless Empire’s culture. The Curse may be broad and
obvious, such as changing a character’s Virtue, Vice, or
Aspirations, or a subtle as praising a Judge beneath one’s
breath as they wake in the morning.
Effigies
The Tef-Aabhi constructed their Effigies to maintain
order and harmony. Now, the ignorant threaten to use them
to spread chaos.
An invoked Effigy unleashes the Power to manipulate peo-
ple, objects, or concepts. This might be as simple as inflicting
a Tilt (p. XX) on a target, or it could also be new Social Skills
and Social Merits for more subtle manipulation. It could even
grant its user a Supernatural Merit, such as Telekinesis (p. XX).
An Effigy’s Curse is that it manipulates as well. They
pull power from their surroundings, weakening people and
environments around it. Some sap away at Structure, others
consume Willpower, and a few drain Sekhem. The most dan-
gerous Effigies weaken the border between worlds, creating
doors to the Nehter-Khertet and even stranger places.
Regia
The Mesen-Nebu used their superior alchemy to make
the world more beautiful. Unfortunately, even the finest
splendor rots and rusts.
Regia’s Power is to enhance physical things into a more
perfected state. Weapons enhanced with Regia may do more
damage or be able to harm creatures normally impervious
to them. Imbibing a potion brewed with Regia may grant a
user Physical Attributes or Physical Merits.
What the Nameless Empire considered “perfected” vastly
differs from our modern conception of perfection. A Regia’s
curse corrupts physical things around it. It could just poison
users, but it might also warp its subjects in unexpected ways,
twisting bodies and objects into shapes more useful to the Judges.
Texts
The Sesha-Hebsu hoped to rescue stories and culture
with the power of the written word. Now, these lost tales
 RELIC DOT RATINGS
Dot Rating Subtlety Length of Time
• Nearly Undetectable 1 Turn
•• Noticeable by Passerby 1 Scene
••• Visible to Everyone 1 Chapter
•••• Blatant to Everyone 1 Story
••••• Undeniable to Everyone As Long as Relic is Active
unfold all over the world, bringing people to unhappy
endings.
Texts hold records of grand events inside them, and
their Power manifests these events in our reality, rearrang-
ing it with incredible phenomena. A Text might create an
Environmental Tilt (p. XX) at an opportune moment or
transport its user across the globe in the blink of an eye. Any
story can lie within a Text, and thus it is the most abstract
and unpredictable of the relic forms.
What isn’t unpredictable is how they Curse the mind.
Reading a Text wreaks havoc on the unprepared. They
might sap away a user’s Integrity, or even open them up to
possession by one of Duat’s fiends.
Uter
The Su-Menent desired to show the divide between life
and death for the illusion it is. Today, perhaps they have
their wish.
Uter have the Power to enhance qualities that already
exist within a person or an object. These enhancements
may go far beyond mere bonuses. Doing a familiar activity
could become a Rote Action (p. XX). A user could have
the Inspired Condition (p. XX) when the Uter is within her
grasp. She may even develop Specialties (p. XX) she did
not have before.
As Uter are unchanging, so too is the Curse that follows
them. Uter preserves its users, preventing any beneficial
change in their lives. A user could stop receiving Willpower
from a restful night’s sleep or be unable to increase her
Integrity. It may affect a user in more subtle ways, such as
falling into rigid daily patterns or refusing opportunities she
would usually take.
Bane Relics
Like the Judges she despises, Ammut the Devourer
creates her own relics. Unlike her enemies, Ammut is more
than willing to make as many as she can, gifting Bane Relics
to her most prized Shuankhsen (p. XX).
Area Affected
User Touching Relic
Everyone in User’s Sensory Range
Most of a Community
Everyone in a Community
Everyone in a Region
Bane Relics appear in all guild relic forms but bear visible
signs of Ammut’s corruption. These signs are usually mon-
strous or blasphemous art and spider web-like runes. Their
Powers and Curses are the same as the relic forms they parody,
but only the Lifeless can use these nightmarish trinkets safely.
Rumors state that if one of Ammut’s children can hollow out
an Arisen’s chest and place a Bane Relic inside the cavity,
the Arisen is condemned to become the Devourer’s servant.
The Shuankhsen know rites capable of twisting ordinary
relics into Bane Relics and do so with fervor. Depending on their
particular Judge or specific motivations affecting that Judge’s
directives, Arisen might be urged to return Bane Relics to Duat
like any other vessel, destroy them outright in the material
world, or otherwise be branded as a blasphemer to be punished.
Either way, these twisted relics can wreak havoc on the sanctity
of a mummy’s tomb, harming Arisen and their loved ones alike.
Eternal Relics
A special kind of relic belongs to the Eternals (p. XX),
immortals who sealed away their death in handmade works
of art. Eternal Relics always contain the memory of the im-
mortal’s would-be death. Such a vivid memory is enhanced
by a Sekhem even further distilled than any other known
relic form.
Eternal Relics’ Powers and Curses always center on their
creator. Their Power grants eternal life and other strange
abilities that immortality might bring. However, their Curse
is just as powerful: Eternal Relics are not inherently incor-
ruptible like other Vessels, and their bearers must share in
whatever fate befalls the relic. When the relic is destroyed,
the Eternal dies.
Relic Dot Ratings
If they hold to a form’s archetype, relics can have Powers
and Curses beyond those suggested here. The following table
is a guideline to the subtlety, length, and area relic of which
Powers and Curses are capable. Relics are not required to
match every category level attached to their dot rating, but
usually conform to at least one.
Vessels 211
 Relic Powers and Curses
• Form and Function: Relic Powers and Curses have
access to more game effects based on their form.
• Range and Time: Relic Powers and Curses have a time
and range based on their dot rating.
CURSE IMMUNITY
The Arisen are completely immune to all vestige Curses.
The vessel’s raw Sekhem is always overpowered by the
stronger concentration of life force within the mummy’s
body. They have a limited immunity to relic Curses: a guild
member never suffers their relic form’s Curse, and only suffers
a fraction of the Curses of other relic forms.
A cult’s Tepi (p. XX), or hierophant, is immune to the
Curses of her master’s guild relic form. Sorcerers (p. XX) are
immune to the Curses of the vestiges they create.
Only the Shuankhsen (p. XX) are immune to Bane Relic
Curses. Everyone else, including Arisen, receive the full
force of the Curse.
Curse Immunity
• Vestige Immunity: Vestige Curses are not inflicted
on the Arisen. Sorcerers do not suffer the Curses of
vestiges they themselves create.
• Relic Immunity: Arisen and their Tepi do not suffer
the Curses of their guild’s relic form. Arisen suffer a
reduced form of the Curse of other relic forms. This is
either half the penalty, rounded down, or a less debilita-
tive version of any narrative effects. No one is immune
to Bane Relic Curses except for the Shuankhsen.
VESSELS AND RESURRECTION
Vessels provide an additional way to return from the sleep
of ages. They are components of the simplest Open Rite (p.
XX), known as the Call.
The Call requires a leader, usually a sorcerer or a hierophant,
several cultists, and as many vessels in a tomb’s Lifeweb (p. XX)
as possible. The cultists encircle the sleeping mummy with their
vessels, and the leader starts a chant, imploring his master to arise
and aid the cult. With enough time and no pressing danger, the
vessels’ Sekhem flares, and the mummy revives. Such an intense
blast of life energy overloads the vessels and renders them unable
to be invoked (p. XX) for the rest of the story.
If a mummy has no vessels connected to their tomb’s
Lifeweb, the cult must obtain at least one vessel elsewhere
in the world. Without the tomb’s mystical connection, the
foreign vessel is destroyed.
212 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
The Call
Action: Instant
Cost: 1 vessel
Dice Pool: Player leaders: Presence + Occult; Storytelling
character leaders: Reach + Grasp.
Suggested Modifiers: The cult uses vessels (+1 for each
vessel beyond the first vessel sacrificed), held in mummy’s
Tomb (+3), More than 20 cultists present (+2), Incense
or other ritualistic trappings (+1), Cult is in mutiny (–2),
mummy unfavored by Judge (–3).
Success: The mummy rises from death. If the mummy
has risen for the first time in this story or was forced to return
to henet in the previous Death Cycle (p. XX), the mummy
typically begins with Sekhem 10. All Lifeweb connected ves-
sels used in the Call cannot be invocated for the rest of the
story. Any vessel not connected to the Lifeweb is destroyed.
Vessels destroyed this way release their memory, but provide
no Pillar points or Sekhem.
Exceptional Success: As Success, except all Lifeweb con-
nected vessels cannot be invocated for the rest of the chapter.
Failure: The mummy does not rise from death. All ves-
sels used in the Call cannot be invocated for the rest of the
story. Any vessel not connected to the Lifeweb is destroyed.
Vessels destroyed this way release their memory, but provide
no Pillar points or Sekhem.
Dramatic Failure: As failure, and the mummy’s cult
suffers 1 lethal damage to Fidelity.
Reviving Arisen
• The Call: Cultists may sacrifice any number of vessels
to return their patron mummy from death. Sacrificed
vessels are either disabled for the duration of the story
if connected to the Tomb’s Lifeweb or destroyed if
unconnected.
• Dangerous Times: In dangerous or time-pressed
situations, a dice roll (p. XX) is necessary. In safe or
time-ideal conditions, the Call automatically activates
as if the cult had rolled a Success.
TRACKING VESSELS
Irem’s guilds were well-trained in magic and craftsman-
ship. The Rite of Return heightened those techniques to
such a degree that Arisen can detect vessels from across
the world. This is through a special sense called the kepher,
or “manifestation.”
The kepher is a special type of Investigation (p. XX). The
Clues that kepher provides are not just objects, facts, and
deductions that lead to the vessel’s location, but may also
be hints toward the vessel’s Power or Curse, snippets of the
memory that created it, or the identity of its current user.
Unlike other Investigations, the mummy begins with
significant advantages. When a Judge commands a mum-
my to find a specific vessel, or if the mummy first becomes
aware of a vessels’ existence, he receives the first Clue in the
Investigation as if he rolled a Success to uncover it. They are
also aided by the flow of Sekhem as he uncovers further clues.
The kepher of some vessels are stronger than others.
The design flaws of vestiges make them easier to track, and
the telltale traits of a guild’s relic form are unmistakable to
its members.
When a kepher Investigation ends, the mummy knows
everything about the vessel it seeks, from its name to its
exact geographical location. All they need to do is take it.
Kepher
• Investigation: The kepher is an Investigation (p. XX).
• Clues: A kepher Investigation has a Scope equal to
twice its vessel’s dot rating in Clues.
• Sekhem: A mummy always adds their current Sekhem
to the dice pool to uncover a Clue during a kepher
Investigation.
• Vestiges: Tracking a vestige always adds a +2 bonus
to the dice pool to uncover a Clue during a kepher
Investigation.
• Relics: Characters tracking relics from their guild
always roll to uncover a Clue as a Rote Action (p. XX).
CONSUMING VESSELS
All vessels will one day be consumed, either by returning
them to the Judges or cannibalizing them.
RETURNING VESSELS TO THE JUDGES
When brought to a mummy’s tomb (p. XX), a vessel is
attached to its sacred geometry and becomes a part of its
Lifeweb. The vessel remains attached to the Lifeweb if it
stays in the tomb. Placing a Bane Relic (p. XX) in a tomb’s
Lifeweb applies the Lifebane Tilt (p. XX).
When a mummy ends his Descent and rests in his tomb,
his player may select any number of vessels within the tomb’s
Lifeweb and declare that his mummy will return them to
the Judges. These vessels become regular objects, can no
longer be invoked (p. XX), and cannot provide Sekhem
or Pillar points if cannibalized (p. XX). Some cults donate
former vessels to museums, while others sell them to private
collectors for high prices.
Though the vessel is powerless, components remain.
The Arisen returns to Duat (p. XX) wielding the vessels he
took with him, recreated from their Sekhem. The vessel’s
Curse remains in his tomb’s Lifeweb for a story, eventually
attaching itself to an object, person, or settling into the tomb
as a Peril (p. XX).
CANNIBALIZING VESSELS
Arisen, Amkhata, immortals, and sorcerers can canni-
balize vessels, draining them of their power.
When a vestige is shattered, those nearby can grasp its
broken pieces and draw its energy into themselves. Sorcerers
do this to quickly gather components for rites; Arisen do this
to gain a burst of power with no consequences; and Amkhata
eat whatever life energy comes their way.
Relics are cannibalized in the same way but have a more
dramatic effect. Cannibalizing a relic is a grave betrayal to
the Judges, and the Arisen face a Descent roll (p. XX) for
each dot of Sekhem consumed. Amkhata not only feed on
the Sekhem, they can transport the excess back to their
masters. Sorcerers can trap the escaping Sekhem in another
object to turn it into a vestige.
If a vessel is pulled away from the character cannibalizing
it, and repaired within a week, the vessel keeps its undrained
portion of mystical power. Otherwise, any remaining Sekhem
detaches from the broken vessel and its remains become an
ordinary object.
When a vessel is fully cannibalized, the memory within it
is released into the world. The full, clear memory broadcasts
into the mind of the cannibalizing character and everyone
within her sensory range. If the cannibalizing character is a
mummy, she receives 1 Reminisce Beat after experiencing
the memory. If no one is present to absorb the memory, it
dissipates forever.
Cannibalizing Vessels
• Sundering: A vessel can be cannibalized when its
Structure becomes 0.
• Time: Draining 1 dot from a vessel is an Instant action.
• Repair: If a cannibalized vessel receives at least 1
Structure within a week of its sundering, the vessel
survives at a new dot rating equal to its undrained dots.
• Vestige: Draining a vestige provides mummies 1 Pillar
point for each vestige dot drained. Arisen may place Pillar
points in any unfilled Pillars. Sorcerers take 1 Pillar point
per vestige and must select a Pillar before draining.
Vessels 213
 • Relic: Draining a relic provides mummies and immor-
tals 1 Sekhem dot for each relic dot drained. None can
absorb more than their Sekhem Trait Maximum (10 for
mummies, 5 for immortals). Draining an Eternal Relic
(p. XX) provides mummies and immortals 2 Sekhem
dots for each relic dot drained.
• Memory: Completely cannibalizing a vessel provides
mummies with 1 Reminisce Beat. Completely canni-
balizing an Eternal Relic provides mummies with 2
Reminisce Beats.
RELICS
Relics are closely linked to the guilds responsible for
their creation, though mummies of other guilds and other
creatures capable of channeling Sekhem might attempt to
use one and risk its curse. As per the vessel activation rules,
invoking a relic costs either 1 Pillar point or 1 Willpower
point. The following are example relics.
AMULETS
Master’s Tool (••)
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4
The elaborate engravings on this well-worn tool don’t
hinder its proper function.
Power: This tool preserves the memories of a long-dead
master of a single Skill. When spending Willpower to en-
hance this Skill on rolls utilizing this tool, the character gains
the 8-again effect on the roll.
Curse: Using the tool is highly addictive. For the re-
mainder of the chapter, whenever the opportunity to use
the tool’s power presents itself, the character suffers the
Deprived Condition if they refuse. The Arisen resist its lure
after a scene.
Bronze Serpent Medallion (•••)
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4
A stylized asp surrounded by intricate Iremic hieroglyphs
glows in the sunlight.
Power: This amulet imparts the reflexes of a snake, al-
lowing the higher of Wits or Dexterity to determine Defense.
Additionally, any melee attack the bearer lands inflicting
lethal damage also imposes the grave Poisoned Tilt for the
remainder of the combat.
Curse: Mercy and diplomacy become foreign to the
bearer. Failures on Empathy, Persuasion, or Socialize rolls
become dramatic failures. Arisen only suffer the penalty on
Empathy rolls.
214 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
EFFIGIES
Miniature Mausoleum (•)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
This model mausoleum incorporates Iremite architectural
techniques.
Power: When activated, the mausoleum grows large
enough to house up to four people if they don’t mind being
close. It protects from naturally occurring Environmental
Tilts related to prevailing climate and weather conditions.
Curse: Echoes of ancient times and the unyielding grind
of eternity haunt guests in the mausoleum. Sleep provides no
Willpower within its walls, nor may it be regained through
one’s Virtue or Vice until they’ve rested elsewhere. The
Burden and Balance of mummies are unaffected, but medita-
tion within the mausoleum restores only their defining Pillar.
Sapphire Frog of Doud Sulmon Juma Hassan (•••)
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4
The frog’s crystalline eyes seem to hold the primordial
waters within.
Power: When activated, the bearer gains the effects of the
Psychokinesis (Water) Merit for the scene. They don’t require
further expenditure to control water during the scene, but
sacrifice their Defense on any turn they do so. Fluids within
living bodies aren’t valid targets for this power.
Curse: Water affected by this Relic assumes the Dark
Waters Tilt for the chapter, and ghosts affected by it become
hostile toward the bearer. Arisen don’t provoke the wrath
of the dead.
Lovers’ Aegis (••••)
Durability 3, Size 0, Structure 3
This matching pair of platinum swan rings once bound
the hearts of star-crossed lovers separated by an ocean.
Power: These rings only function when worn by two
people, but may be activated by either party for the scene.
When suffering injury, the wearer reflexively divides the
damage between themselves and their partner however they
wish. A single point of damage transferred is downgraded.
Both parties suffer any Tilts affecting the other.
Curse: Each time the character is injured, the transfer
consumes a Willpower point. Upon reaching 0 Willpower,
the character gains the Fatigued Condition. Arisen suffer
no Willpower loss from attacks inflicting bashing damage.
REGIA
Alkahest Flask (• to •••••)
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4
This silver flask produces a liquid that becomes highly
corrosive upon exposure to air.
Power: Each activation produces enough liquid to
dissolve Structure equal to the vessel’s rating. Living flesh
suffers lethal damage equal to its rating, but mummies and
Relics are unaffected.
Curse: The reaction produces a noxious cloud, inflicting
bashing damage equal to its rating on the user and all within
arm’s reach and imposing a −2 penalty to Stamina rolls for
the scene. Mummies suffer no penalties to Stamina.
Wanderer’s Clay (••)
Durability 4, Size 1, Structure 5
With each item holding the potential of an arsenal,
wanderer’s clay allowed for light travel and easy infiltration
for the forces of lost Irem. These objects seem carved from
iridescent nacre.
Power: When activated, wanderer’s clay becomes a
white, malleable substance capable of being sculpted into
a different object of the same Size with an Intelligence
+ Crafts roll. Failure yields an ordinary object of its type,
while success increases the equipment bonus by 1, or 2 on
an exceptional success.
Curse: The malleability of the clay spreads to the flesh
of its shaper, twisting their features into disconcerting new
forms. The character’s impression level drops by 2, and
failed Social Maneuvering attempts impose the Spooked
Condition. The effects remain for the chapter’s duration.
Subsequent uses double this duration. Arisen suffer no
increased penalties for subsequent uses.
Medusa’s Spear (•••••)
Durability 4, Size 4, Structure 8
This serpent-engraved spear, crafted of amethyst exhib-
iting an unnatural green radiance, was a failed attempt to
duplicate the Kher-Minu.
Power: When activated, the wielder’s flesh takes on a
stony texture, granting 1 Armor but inflicting a −2 penalty to
Dexterity rolls, Initiative and Speed for the scene. Foes struck
by the weapon find their flesh transmuting similarly. Every two
points of lethal damage inflicted by the weapon upgrade to a
single point of aggravated damage, and grant the same effects
experienced by the wielder, cumulative for each point of aggra-
vated damage. At Speed 0, the foe suffers the Immobilized Tilt
until they heal a point of the damage. If slain by this weapon,
the foe’s body permanently transmutes into stone.
Curse: The character suffers a −1 penalty to Dexterity
rolls, Initiative, and Speed for the remainder of the chapter
even after the weapon is sheathed. This is cumulative with
each scene the weapon is activated. Arisen only suffer pen-
alties to Initiative.
TEXTS
Song of Sorrows Unspoken (••)
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2
The aged vellum sheet is covered with musical notation
comprehensible to any, shifting in the hands to match the
instrument available.
Power: When played, the song intensifies the emo-
tions of all within earshot. For the remainder of the scene,
while the song plays, all who hear it suffer a −3 penalty to
Composure rolls as their passions surge. This drops to −2
once the music ends. Attempts to influence people by ap-
pealing purely to their emotions gain an exceptional success
on three successes.
Curse: The raw honesty forced by the song permits no
falsehoods. All Subterfuge rolls by the performer are reduced
to a chance die. Arisen only suffer a −2 penalty.
Codex of Forgotten Secrets (••••)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3
A favorite of traitors, this massive leather-bound codex
ends with several blank pages of parchment.
Power: When written onto the blank parchment, the
memories of a secret or occurrence vanish from the minds
of everyone in the community, settling into a new Vestige
somewhere in the affected area. The writer, mummies with
Memory 8 or higher, and ghosts remain unaffected. If the
Vestige is consumed or destroyed, the secret is released, and
everyone becomes aware of the writer’s identity. While the
secret remains protected, attempts to uncover it, magical or
otherwise, suffer a −4 penalty.
Curse: The writer gains the Cursed Condition related to
an aspect of the hidden memories for the remainder of the
story. Arisen suffer it only for the current chapter.
Profane Tablet (•••••)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3
Each of these Relics is a clay tablet inscribed with forbid-
den sigils and the twisted visages of fiends.
Power: A profane tablet contains the power of a single
Utterance, which may be unleashed when read aloud. No
Vessels 215
 additional effects from Pillar ratings apply. Higher Tier
Utterances require additional Pillars beyond the activation
cost. Beings without Pillars instead suffer lethal damage.
Curse: The blasphemous words taint the area with the
Unhallowed Ground Tilt, and opens the reader to possession
by a fiend. The Sekhem level normally required to unleash
the chosen Tier determines the fiend’s Rank. Mummies
immediately shunt the fiend out into the world.
UTER
Bone Ankh (•)
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2
Morticians attempted to master the Maar-Kherit’s lost
art with this bone ankh.
Power: When activated, the wearer heals as though seal-
ing the flesh for three turns and can’t bleed out during the
scene. Arisen add three turns to the duration when sealing
the flesh with Pillars.
Curse: The ankh borrows life from the future to function.
For the remainder of the chapter, natural healing times are
doubled. Arisen may shrug off this curse by sealing the flesh
without the ankh.
Oracle Eye (•••)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
Easily mistaken for an amulet, this engraved eye is stained
with the blood and ocular humors of seven seers.
Power: The wielder gains access to the Clairvoyance and
Omen Sensitivity Merits.
Curse: The character’s eyes turn white, tears of blood
flowing incessantly, and they suffer the Blind Persistent
Condition for a chapter following activation. Arisen recover
after a scene.
Sah of Per-Bast (••••)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3
With a twitch, the mummified cat stretches and rises,
awaiting her master’s bidding.
Power: When activated, the Relic functions as a cat
under the effects of the Beast Companion Affinity for one
chapter. The cat perceives Neter-Khertet and obeys orders
perfectly. The undead beast inflicts Sybaris on observers.
Curse: The cat’s mystical bond disrupts social con-
nections, lowering impression levels by 1 and rendering
it impossible to raise them. Mummies may still improve
impression level.
216 Chapter Four: Laws of the Arisen
VESTIGES
Vestiges activate automatically without cost in situations
resonant with their embedded memories. Otherwise, they
follow the same rules for activation as other vessels, costing
either 1 Pillar point or 1 Willpower point. The following are
example vestiges.
Dark Lantern (•)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
A single tear cut a streak through the dust on the trapped
miner’s cheek as the flame flickered its last, the light joining
his fellow miners in death.
Power: (Tenacious) +1 Stamina
Curse: (Hopeless) −1 Resolve. Doubles penalty
underground.
Stolen Necklace (•)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
The teenager startled as the doors snapped shut. Nobody
suspected a thing, but the necklace in the pocket grew
heavier with each step.
Power: (Agitated) +1 Larceny. Gains 9-again effect in
major retail establishments.
Curse: (Guilty) −1 Manipulation. Doubles penalty
against security officials.
Game Ball (••)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
Triumphantly holding the ball aloft, the athlete basked
in the cheers and adoration of the gathered crowd.
Power: (Proud) +2 Athletics. Doubles bonus in front of
crowds greater than 50 people.
Curse: (Competitive) −1 Empathy
Stalker’s Blade (••)
Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4
He stared at the unfamiliar car parked in his ex’s drive.
“It’s over when I say it’s over. If I can’t have you, nobody
can.” He drew his knife, slipped in the open window, and
went to his bloody work.
Power: (Furious) +2 Weaponry. Gains 9-again effect
when targeting loved ones.
Curse: (Jealous) −1 Composure
Disoriented Compass (•••)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
Far from civilization, the giggling collegians stripped out
of their clothes and dove into the bubbling spring. A false
smile concealed their guide’s distress. “Have fun!” he called.
“For now,” he added quietly. The compass needle continued
spinning wildly.
Power: (Intrepid) +1 Presence, +1 Subterfuge. Gains
9-again effect in unfamiliar locations.
Curse: (Worried) −1 Survival, −1 on rolls to navigate.
If used in the wilderness, the user suffers the Lost Condition.
Violated Diary (•••)
Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2
The pages of her open diary rustled in the wind, quietly
mocking her. Her friends wouldn’t meet her gaze, their silence
deafening. “So now you know...”
Power: (Candid) +2 Expression. Doubles bonus when
revealing a personal secret.
Curse: (Ashamed) 1 negative Social Influence shift, −1
Subterfuge
Father’s Belt (••••)
Durability 2, Size 1, Structure 3
Tears flowed from the first metallic jingle of the buckle.
The pleading began as he cracked open the yellowing pages
and began reading, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son...”
Power: (Zealous) +2 Intimidation, +1 Resolve.
Curse: (Fearful) −1 Composure, −1 Persuasion. Loses
10-again effect against authority figures.
Tyler’s Robot (••••)
Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4
“Nobody wants to play with your stupid robot! Or stupid
you!” The other kids began hurling rocks. Tyler hunkered
down, clutching the toy to his chest as he ran away in tears.
Power: (Nimble) +1 Armor, +2 Dexterity. Doubles
bonuses against children.
Curse: (Lonely) −1 Manipulation, −1 Presence. Doubles
penalties when dealing with peers.
Fallen Bouquet (•••••)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3
The revelry faded as she rushed toward her falling bride.
The bouquet tumbled to the ground, forgotten as the perfect
wedding became the precursor to a funeral.
Power: (Jubilant) +1 Presence, +2 Socialize. Gains
9-again effect at weddings.
Curse: (Mournful) −2 Composure, −1 Wits
Singing Harlequin (•••••)
Durability 1, Size 2, Structure 3
He carefully cradled the coveted doll. “It’s finally mine,”
he whispered, twisting the key. He stepped over the cooling
corpse, hurrying toward the door as the haunting music
played.
Power: (Enticing) +1 Composure, +2 on rolls to con-
vince a person to violate their personal morals. Gains 9-again
effect while the music plays.
Curse: (Obsessive) −1 Defense, −1 Resolve, −1 Wits.
If the user obtained the doll through deception or violence,
they suffer the Apprehensive Condition toward it for the
remainder of the chapter.
Vessels 217
218
 A riot is the language of the unheard.
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sekhem is life, and the Arisen pick the world clean of it.
But what of the scraps? That force ungifted, those bits
left uneaten on forgotten temple floors, energy unrestored
to those downtrodden lost to it — it must be reclaimed. The
inheritors of old Irem believe themselves cursed. If only they
knew there are curses far worse than life.
AMKHATA
I rem called them the Eternal Ones, the horrors beyond the
veil. The lion soaring upon falcon’s wings, the cobra-head-
ed bull, the saber-toothed crocodile, the fire-breathing
jackal, the Sphinx. These chimeric amalgamations are blas-
phemous, anomalistic visages spawned from careless releases
of Sekhem, doomed to a life in Neter-Khertet’s ephemeral
jungles where continued life is granted to only the fittest
and those summoned by precious sorcerers.
EMERGENCE AND THE HUNT
With a crash, relics shatter, unleashing cosmic contents
into the ether. The loosed Sekhem needs some place to go, and
without guiding hands or vessels, it seeps into Neter-Khertet
and creates life where before there was none. All Amkhata are
birthed this way, either by accident or ritual, formed piecemeal
by parts and appendages of whichever sacred creatures lay
dead nearby. Once the consumed Sekhem no longer sustains
their physical forms, they return to Twilight in a violent, re-
ality-altering spasm — but they never forget the orgasmic life
they once felt.
Upon emergence, Amkhata are damned to an existence of
starvation where their exquisite sense of Sekhem is their most
punishing torture. From beneath layers of Twilight, they sense
the distorted frequencies of reality where Sekhem resides or has
recently been. They hunt its sources like prey, follow its trails like
meandering rivers, sustain their ephemeral existence off the fumes
like oases. Amkhata sense this Sekhem for a number of miles equal
to the dots held within the particular vessel, multiplied by their
Rank, and many construct permanent nests in these locations to
the despair of those nearby in the material world. Feeding on the
cosmic energy while in Twilight grants the Amkhat 1 Essence per
week up to its maximum.
When Sekhem spills and there are no extant Amkhata
to suck up the energy, a new and confused chimeric abomi-
nation is born. The process takes approximately one hour to
complete, after which a Rank 1 Amkhat manifests. Cults use
ancient ritual practices to summon Amkhata, but the occult
process is inherently the same, involving shattered vessels to
either pull the creature from Amxaibit (in shadow) to Amxuti
(between horizons), or forge a new Amkhat entirely.
MANIFESTATION
Amkhata maintain their ephemeral forms by feasting
upon denizens of Neter-Khertet, from ghosts and spirits, to
shades, to their own kind, but Sekhem is the lock and key
to manifestation. Most monsters’ singular goal is converting
Sekhem into Essence and emerging into material reality. Until
they acquire it, these creatures rove through Neter-Khertet
seeking to obtain it, destroying those in their path.
Amkhata 219
 Manifestation Roll
Action: Reflexive
Dice Pool: Power + Finesse + Dots of Siphoned Sekhem – 5
Roll Results
Success: The Amkhat manifests within the day with its
current Essence pool.
Exceptional Success: The Amkhat manifests within the
hour with a full Essence pool. In addition, other narrative
effects the Storyteller deems appropriate may occur. For
instance, the Amkhat could manifest with an additional
Head beyond its Max Essence, all relics in the area might
turn to Bane Relics (see p. XX), or all mummies within 100
miles might awaken fully aware of the unnatural horror now
wrought upon the Earth.
Failure: The Amkhat fails to fully manifest, instead ap-
pearing as a spectral monstrosity unable to deal damage or use
abilities. It gains one of its parts (head, body, or limbs) every
five minutes until it is whole.
Dramatic Failure: The Amkhat is torn to pieces by the
overpowering Sekhem, leaving behind hundreds of Size 3 crea-
tures appropriate to the Amkhat’s parts. They are aggressive
towards all around them, until they inevitably perish an hour
later. Alternatively, other more narrative approaches to the
failure may be chosen by the Storyteller.
SUMMONING
Amkhat summoning rituals have passed down along lines
since the first rogue sorcerers of Irem. Few comprehend the
symbolic and physical requirements for such an ordeal, and
modern mortals who don’t learn the rites from an Arisen or
Shuankhsen master resort to guesswork and improvisation —
a dangerous combination.
Blasphemed symbolism and unhallowed architecture
are the cornerstones of the ritual. Inverted pyramids and
once-breathtaking tombs now marred and coated with
pungent spray paint are blatant methods of this profane
reversal, but any location now used for a purpose contrary
to its morally pure original intention, counter to its virtu-
ous design, will do the trick. The defunded and abandoned
children’s hospital where narcotics now exchange hands, the
behavioral health center converted to a for-profit prison, the
burial mound breached and looted decades previously, the
indigenous holy city burned to ashes during the War of 1812
— irreverence toward the sacred stymies the frequencies of
Twilight, which many Amkhata perceive in the same way
they do spilled Sekhem.
From there, traditional Iremite mutterings propel these
rituals toward success; objects from the Nile River Valley,
220 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
vestiges constructed for such an occasion, and any extin-
guishing of mortal life. The summoning is an extended action
with a number of successes determined by the Storyteller. The
scientists at Last Dynasty International holding the ritual
within their million-dollar inverted pyramid installation might
only require 3, while the rookie occultist reading through her
great-grandmother’s private tomes in the basement might
require 20.
Amkhat Summoning Ritual
Action: Extended
Dice Pool: Determined by Task. Stitching together the
corpses of dismembered animals could require Dexterity +
Crafts, while knowing exactly where and when to hold the
ritual calls for Intelligence + Occult.
Suggested Modifiers: Assistance from a knowledgeable
cult (+1), some required symbols or objects are missing (−1
to −4 depending on the object), a mortal human sacrifice
is offered (+2), water from a great river such as the Nile,
Amazon, or Congo is poured (+1), a mummy is leading the
ritual (+3), distracting environment (−2), Ammut or a Judge
of Duat disapproves of the ritual (−5).
Success: A Rank 2 Amkhat is summoned with a full
Essence pool. It serves the ritual leader for a week, or until
forced back into Twilight.
Exceptional Success: The Amkhat desired by the ritual
leader is summoned forth from Neter-Khertet with a full
Essence pool. It serves the ritual leader for as long as it is
provided with a continuous supply of Sekhem.
Failure: A Rank 1 Amkhat is created, but it serves no
one. While it can’t be tamed, it can be restrained and caged
like a wild dog to be loosed upon enemies.
Dramatic Failure: A wild Rank 4 Amkhat is summoned
against its wishes, without its knowledge, or in another manner
leading to its revolt against its calling. It attacks everyone
nearby until it is destroyed and thrust back into Twilight.
THE HOURGLASS
Mortals have long used Amkhata as devastating weapons
in war, but this manifestation is impermanent. All Amkhata
face a ticking clock the moment they achieve material form.
For every day of manifestation, Amkhata must spend 1
Essence per Rank of the creature. When their Essence pool is
depleted, they spend one Corpus per day until it too dissipates
completely and they return to Twilight. This transference
replenishes their Essence pool entirely, though they can’t
manifest until they obtain more Sekhem. Reversion to a
Twilight state holds severe ramifications on the environment
— whenever an Amkhat “dephases” back to Neter-Khertet,

Amkhata Breeding?
The arduous nature of Neter-Khertet means
Amkhata breed as quickly as they are destroyed
by the realm’s other denizens. In addition, the
creatures reproduce by mitosis, expending all but
1 Essence to create two Rank 1 Amkhata. Because
breeding impairs their own survival within Twilight,
many Amkhata remain in the safety of their nests,
feasting only on those venturing too close
the surrounding area suffers the Amkhat’s Curse Tilt (see p.
XX). If the Amkhat consumes a Sekhem source while mani-
fested, their Essence pool is replenished entirely.
Outside of consuming more Sekhem, Amkhata devour
mortals to preserve their manifested forms. The Amkhat gains
1 Essence toward its maximum for each mortal human heart
it consumes. Sphinxes and other manipulative, quick-witted
Amkhata coerce brainwashed humans to bring them vessels
and sacrifices, allowing them their physical form indefinitely.
THE SICKNESS
Amkhata construct abhorrent nests in locations of Sekhem
sources, sustaining their Essence on its fumes, and waiting for
some foolish mortal to break the vessel in question. When
nests remain in certain areas for over a decade, the fabric of
Twilight becomes distorted in the ancient tomb, dusty attic, or
underground lair they’ve chosen, and actions taken in Neter-
Khertet begin to affect the material world. The Unhallowed
Ground Tilt (see p. XX) commonly manifests in such an area.
Chairs topple when an Amkhat fights or breeds, and the
massive footsteps of the alpha reverberate off physical walls
and down spiral staircases. Mortals in the area often gain the
Sybaris Condition (see p. XX), and most conclude the nested
area is haunted or cursed. Believing the mysterious ancient
relic located there to be the cause of such events, mortals
often destroy the object, unleashing the Sekhem within, and
giving the Amkhata exactly what they want.
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.
RANK
Ephemeral at their core, Amkhata possess Rank just like
ghosts and spirits. This trait determines the creature’s Essence
available to progress their creation, starting Attribute points,
the monster’s classification at Last Dynasty International, and
some other traits.
ATTRIBUTES AND TRAITS
Amkhata use simplified Attributes (Power, Finesse, and
Resistance) and other traits much like ghosts and spirits,
including corresponding Speed (greater of Power or Finesse
+ Species Factor), Initiative (Finesse + Resistance), Size (de-
termined by Rank), Willpower (Resistance + Composure),
Defense (lower of either Power or Finesse), and Corpus
(Resistance + Size).
• Power represents the raw ability of the Amkhat to
manifest itself into the material world, and to manipu-
late its surroundings once through the veil. Use Power
for rolls requiring Strength, Intelligence, or Presence.
• Finesse represents how clever the Amkhat is when
control of emotions is required. Use Finesse for rolls
requiring Dexterity, Wits, or Manipulation.
• Resistance represents how easily the Amkhat evades
attacks or otherwise avoids harm. Use Resistance for
rolls requiring Stamina, Resolve, or Composure.
• Amkhata rarely ever use Skills, but the Storyteller
should use the appropriate Attribute when it makes
sense.
ESSENCE
Rank indicates the maximum Essence an Amkhat con-
tains in its pool before consuming other Amkhata, ghosts, or
ephemeral beings within Neter-Khertet. Points up to this Max
Essence are spent during creation to add the various Heads,
Bodies, and Limbs to the creature, and Essence is spent from
the pool to sustain their manifested forms in material reality,
or use powers.
SIZE AND LDI CLASSIFICATION
All Amkhata differ. Even those created from the same parts
display variations in color, supernatural aura, and size. With some
difficulty and generalization, Last Dynasty International scientists
classify them into two groups — Lesser and Greater. These two
subdivisions of Amkhata determine their size and complexity
of form and evolution. Lesser Amkhata are recently created,
unevolved, oftentimes working in packs to survive in the wilds
Amkhata 221
 Evolution
Amkhata are born into cannibalism, their only path up the ephemeral food chain being the destruction and
consumption of other creatures within Twilight, increasing their Rank by 1 with each more powerful entity
devoured. As an Amkhat’s Rank and Max Essence increases, it may spend the available essence on new
parts or Dread Powers — unnatural powers used to destroy or manipulate the world and people around it.
Amkhata never surpass a Titanic Essence Pool of 50, even if they are formed unnaturally through occult
summons, but that hasn’t stopped the more reckless scientists and Shuankhsen Cults from trying. If the oper-
ation gained the cooperation of a powerful Sphinx, or if a small hamlet is destroyed for the effort, or all of
Manhattan Island — who knows what could emerge from such a sacrifice to the monsters of Neter-Khertet?

Rank Attribute Dots Trait Limits* Max Essence Size LDI Class
1 5-8 5 dots 10 1-2 Lesser
2 9-14 7 dots 15 3-4 Lesser
3 15-25 9 dots 20 5-7 Greater
4 26-35 12 dots 25 8-10 Greater
5 36-50 15 dots 50 18 Titanic
* These represent permanent dots, neither temporarily-boosted ones, nor including bonuses provided by Amkhat
Bodies.

of Neter-Khertet. The Greater are deemed fittest to dominate
Twilight, or are pulled into being by mortal cults and their sorcerers.
Little evidence exists of Titanic Amkhata, though many
sorcerers and scientists speculate. Only vague recordings in
ancient scrolls, terrifying visages engraved into stone relics,
and the ruined remains of modern estates point to these
huge monstrosities. Iremite worshippers allegedly viewed
these gargantuan creatures as demigods, who viewed them as
mere insects in a mortal reality with which they were rarely
concerned.
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 immor-
tal’s most lethal weapon, and the Judge’s most feared messenger.
Essence Cost: •
Dread Powers: Expression Surge
Attack (Bite): 1(B) for Lesser, 3(B) for Greater
Attack: (Horn): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(L) 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 applies to the entire area, and the first
effort to strike them is rolled at −3.
AURU, THE NILE-HEADED
The Nile-Headed Amkhata bear the visage of the hip-
popotamus, the South American caiman, or Egypt’s sacred
crocodile, spending their placid existence conserving energy
and Essence in the meandering Rivers of Neter-Khertet, before
lashing out into the physical world to drag unsuspecting prey

222 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes

into Twilight for feasting. They rarely stray far from the rivers,
where Essence seems to flow more freely between worlds.
Essence Cost: •
Dread Powers: Drag Under
Attack (Bite): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater
Special Qualities (Conservant): Auru expend Essence at
half the normal rate, and regain it back at double the speed if
near a freshwater source.
HEPU,
THE JACKAL-HEADED
The Hepu, appearing as desert wolves, jackals, and foxes,
hunt in groups along the plains of Twilight, seeking out unsus-
pecting ghosts and vessels of Sekhem present in the world of the
living. The strongest of their kin make up the pack, eating the
runts for vital Essence. Through cunning minds Hepu packs 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.
KHESPU,
THE SWARM-HEADED
These ravenous beasts puke the Essence they consume
from insectoid maws, building nests and hives from the sticky
bile in the deepest cavernous recesses of Neter-Khertet. The
wretched fumes pouring from these festering breeding cham-
bers open strange wounds in the walls of reality, tunnels to
other worlds even beyond material.
Essence Cost: •••
Dread Powers: False Ka, Ravenous Feasting
Attack (Bite): 2(B) for Lesser, 1(A) for Greater
Special Qualities (Fester): The locations of their nests
become wounds, loci, or other tears in the fabric of reality,
allowing a +1 to all rolls to traverse between realities (includ-
ing the material world, Neter-Khertet, Shadow, and other
appropriate places) for each year the nest has been present
up to a maximum of +3.
MENQI,
THE SERPENT-HEADED
Serpents litter Egyptian mythology, and even the Iremites
deified them. The black asp, the naja cobra, and the Persian
horned viper all potentially manifest as the Menqi’s visage. The
Serpent-Headed thrive in the shadows, especially mountainous
ranges, and Arisen tombs populated by glowing relics. Some
Arisen have found ways to summon, capture, and tame the
Menqi to serve as eternally loyal guardians of their resting places.
Essence Cost: ••••
Dread Powers: Hypnotic Gaze, Venom (••)
Attack (Bite): 1(A) for Lesser, 2(A) for Greater
Special Qualities (Lunging Strike): With exceptional
successes on a Manifestation Roll, Menqi gain one free bite
attack upon entering the material world, dealing twice the
aggravated damage and propelling the target 10 feet per Rank,
grappling their target.
PAKHU, THE CAT-HEADED
Pakhu appear with heads of lions, cheetahs, leopards, and
hyenas, all of which wield vicious, saber-toothed maws used
to guard the boundaries of Neter-Khertet. The land of Anpu
is plagued with lost ghosts, spirits, and Shades, none of which
belong in the eyes of the Cat-Headed. These custodians of Duat’s
outskirts are found throughout Neter-Khertet, and are known for
their unnatural effect on both Twilight and the material world.
Essence Cost: ••••
Dread Powers: Ravenous Feasting
Attack (Bite): 2(L) for Lesser, 2(A) for Greater
Special Qualities (Telepathy): The Cat-Headed are
not wise, but speak basic words like help, hunt, kill, or seek
telepathically to any within 100 yards. In addition, wherever
a Pakhu remains for longer than a day, mortals in the area
gain the Sybaris Condition.
SPHINX,
THE HUMAN-HEADED
Few humans master control over the most notorious
Sphinx, and those who succeed rarely do so for long. They
reach out to humans in visions, dreams, or directly after man-
ifesting, always speaking in riddles, mysteries which seem to
make sense to those mortals subjected to them for long enough
periods of time. The Sphinx use human wits and language to
Amkhata 223
 manipulate those around them to do their bidding, discarding
the remnants when they’re finished.
Essence Cost: •••••
Dread Powers: Enrapture, Maze of Lost Souls
Attack (Bite): 1(B) for Lesser, 2(B) for Greater
Special Qualities (Dream Visitor): Once per day, the
Sphinx can infuse a mortal or mummy with a vision or dream,
filling it with symbolic imagery that progresses its own will.
All rolls to manipulate those affected in this way gain +2.
The Su are armored visages of the sacred predator of the
Nile, and of the Egyptian god, Sobek. Although slow-moving,
they are especially difficult to destroy.
Essence Cost: ••••
Attribute Alteration: +1 Power, +1 Resistance, −1
Finesse
Species Factor: 3
Dread Powers: Armor (••••), Camouflage (•••)

FALCON’S BODY (HERASU)

UTCHEFU, THE SKY-HEADED
The Herasu would be easy for Arisen to obliterate were
Utchefu bear the visage of falcons, owls, vultures, and it not for their exceptionally agile forms. The falcon-bodied
other birds of prey hunting and sustaining their Essence in Amkhata gain the Falcon’s Talons and Wings limbs for free.
the volatile Ashen Storm of Neter-Khertet. The winged Essence Cost: •••
circle the swirling dust in defensible flocks looking for ghosts
Attribute Alteration: +2 Finesse, −1 Resistance
caught in the reality-bending gales, while the earth-bound
feed on the weary and fallen at the bottom. The Utchefu Species Factor: 7
conserve Sekhem for when they need it the most, acting as a Dread Powers: Prodigious Leap
living vessel (•••) which it can activate once per chronicle to
manifest or replenish its Essence.
Essence Cost: ••• HIPPOPOTAMUS’ BODY
Dread Powers: Godly Vision (•••) (AMMU)
Attack (Bite): 2(B) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater
Blessed (and cursed) with the visage of the Devourer,
Special Qualities (Ashen Entrance): Utchefu gain +2 Ammu-bodied Amkhata are large and powerful, trampling
to Manifestation Rolls when emerging from inside the Ashen and destroying with abandon until a depleted corpus destroys
Storm, strewing the dust and ash into the area where they the monsters outright.
manifest. In addition, they may emerge from the sky, dropping
on a target in the material world. Essence Cost: ••••••
Attribute Alteration: +3 Power, −1 Finesse, +2
THE BODY Resistance
Species Factor: 5
Every Amkhat is constructed around a framework — a
Body which determines how well they interact with material Dread Powers: Destructive Aura (••), Cosmic Detonation
reality as represented by their Attributes. (•••), Armor (•)

BULL’S BODY (AHASU) JACKAL’S BODY (SABASU)

The Ahasu are burly bruisers, destructive machinations
wrecking their foes as handily as they do their surroundings
. Essence Cost: ••
Attribute Alteration: +2 Power, −1 Finesse
Species Factor: 3
Dread Powers: Destructive Aura (•••)
Crocodile’s Body (Su)
Silent and stealthy, the jackal-bodied Amkhata are especially
quick and difficult to perceive, even right in front of a mummy’s face.
Essence Cost: •
Attribute Alteration: +1 Power, +3 Finesse
Species Factor: 7
Dread Powers: Reality Stutter

224 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes

 LION’S BODY (MAASU)
Deft and swift, the Maasu are agile enough to position
themselves near an enemy only when they wish to attack, and
leap out of the fight when the going gets tough.
Essence Cost: ••••
Attribute Alteration: +2 Power, +2 Finesse
Species Factor: 8
Dread Powers: Prodigious Leap, Catlike Reflexes
SERPENT’S BODY (TETASU)
The Tetasu’s form is soft and slow, but ensnares and
constricts the life out of any enemy.
Essence Cost: •
Attribute Alteration: +2 Finesse, +2 Resistance
Species Factor: 2
Dread Powers: Camouflage (••), Constrict
THE LIMBS
Limbs often allow for additional attacks, and always pro-
vide 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. However, 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 when accompanied by the Falcon’s Wings
Limb may carry enemies equivalent or lesser in size away into
the sky for a number of turns equal to its Rank.
Amkhata 225
 FALCON’S WINGS
This Amkhat soars with the beating wings of a falcon,
hawk, or vulture.
Essence Cost: ••
Dread Powers: None
Special Qualities (Flight): With double its Speed in flight,
the creature can use a turn to take off, gain altitude, circle,
land, and utilize any other like quality of a mobile bird of prey.
HUMAN EXTREMITIES
This Amkhat is blessed with agile limbs and opposable
thumbs, allowing it to use tools, or indicate desires using
hand-gestures.
Essence Cost: •••
Extra Attack (Fists): 1(B) for Lesser, 3(B) for Greater
Special Qualities (Opposable Thumbs): The Amkhat
can manipulate items and utilize tools in accordance with
its intellect and ability, often grappling foes during fights or
stealing away relics in hands or underneath arms.
JACKAL’S PAWS
Silent and stealthy, this Amkhat’s doglike paws are near
impossible to trace.
Essence Cost: ••
Extra Attack (Claws): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater
Special Qualities (Untraceable): This Amkhat leaves
no tracks, no matter the terrain. It can be followed via other
means — scent, echolocation, destroyed surroundings, or
other powers — but not by its paws.
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 dam-
age per turn until natural or supernatural medical attention
is provided.
226 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
SCORPION’S LIMBS
This horrifying Amkhat bears a scorpion’s eight legs, two
pincers, and looming stinger.
Essence Cost: •••
Extra Attack (Sting): 1(L) for Lesser, 2(A) for Greater.
The successfully struck target gains the Poisoned Tilt (mod-
erate for Lesser, grave for Greater).
Special Qualities (Grasp): Successes in grappling become
exceptional successes, and up to 2 mortals within reach of the
Amkhat can be grappled with +2 dice.
DREAD POWERS
Dread Powers are supernatural powers inherent in the
myriad appendages of the Amkhata and in the might of the
godlike Judges. For Amkhata, they are added as the other
parts, increasing the Essence pool up to its maximum. All
Amkhata begin with the Fiendish Resilience and Unbelievable
Visage Dread Powers.
Many of the descriptions for the Dread Powers listed below
don’t have dice pools assigned to them; tailor the pool to the
Amkhat using the power. Consider how their Heads, Bodies,
Limbs, and disposition would affect the way the power manifests.
ARMOR (•
(• TO •••••
•••••))
Covered in crocodile’s flesh, the thickened hide of a hip-
popotamus, scorpion’s carapace, or some other supernaturally
Other Amkhata Parts?
The appendages listed here are merely those
most commonly recorded by Last Dynasty
International. The possibility of Amkhata created
from other parts — criollo horse, tarantula, owl,
catfish, and even extinct animals — has been
postulated by those with extensive experience in
the matter, and shaken witnesses swear a con-
dor-headed jaguar tears limbs from those delving
too far into the caverns around Cusco.
In game terms, the Storyteller can freely swap
in new animals for those listed in a narrative fash-
ion depending on the region or tone they desire.
thickened skin, this Amkhat gains an armor rating equal to
the dot rating of this power.
BEASTMASTER
The creature has mastery over the lesser beasts of Twilight.
By spending 1 Essence, it conjures up a swarm of small
ephemeral animals or lesser ghosts appropriate to its nature,
which obey its commands and with which it communicates
clearly. Spending 4 Essence summons a Rank 1 Amkhat once
per scene.
BREATH ATTACK (• TO •••••)
The Amkhat spews forth fire, lightning, acid, blistering
sands, or other appropriate elements from its maw at a target
within line of sight.
Cost: Equal to the number of dots in this Dread Power.
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Power + Breath Attack
Effect: Each dot of Breath Attack applies to direct damage,
extended damage, armor, or Defense evasion, mixing the
effects as the Storyteller desires. The weapon’s range is equal
to 10 feet per point in Breath Attack.
Direct damage: Add dots as damage to the attack.
Extended damage: The attack causes two damage per point
in Breath Attack for an equal number of turns on the target
and environment as the Storyteller sees fit.
Armor or Defense evasion: One point negates either armor
or Defense; two dots negates both.
Roll Results
Success: The attack hits causing lethal damage
appropriately.
Exceptional Success: The attack hits causing aggravated
damage appropriately.
Failure: The power fails to strike the target, but any
extended damage applied is done on the surrounding
environment.
Dramatic Failure: The power fails and cannot be used
again during the scene.
CAMOUFLAGE (• TO •••••)
The Amkhat may hide itself when in a dim-lit area or
place appropriate to its concealing nature. Unless the Amkhat
moves at full speed, characters trying to see, hear, smell, or
otherwise perceive the creature suffer −1 to Perception rolls
per dot in Camouflage.
CATLIKE REFLEXES
This Amkhat moves with the grace of the lion and panther,
dodging weaponry and other assaults with +2 to Defense and
no penalties for multiple attackers. Extraordinary successes
become normal successes when attacking it.
CONSTRICT (• TO •••••)
This Amkhat grapples, squeezes, and chokes the life out
of its victims. After a successful attack, the creature grapples
and constricts them on a Power + Finesse roll vs. the target’s
Dexterity + Resolve, dealing 1(L) per point in Constrict until
the grapple is broken or the target perishes.
COSMIC DETONATION
The Amkhat stores additional Sekhem inside itself when
it manifests. When its corpus is depleted, instead of going to
Twilight, it explodes into volatile Sekhem, dealing 3(A) to
anyone within 20 yards and releasing 3 Sekhem into Twilight
much like a shattered vessel.
DESTRUCTIVE AURA
(• TO •••••)
The Amkhat’s flailing, powerful form does damage to
its surroundings as well as its enemies. When attacking, the
creature deals bashing damage equal to its Destructive Aura
to anything and anyone within 3 yards of it.
DRAG UNDER
This Amkhat emerges into material reality and recalls itself
near instantaneously, dragging mortals into Neter-Khertet to
feast on their Essence. After spending 2 Essence, it rolls Power
+ Finesse vs. the target’s Dexterity + Composure.
Success: The Amkhat drags the mortal into Neter-Khertet
to feast on its flesh, and unless the target’s companions wit-
nessed the event, they are none the wiser.
Amkhata 227
 Exceptional Success: The Amkhat pulls its target and
any other single mortal within 10 feet underneath, applying
the Amkhat’s Curse Tilt to the area.
Failure: The Amkhat latches onto a limb of the targeted
mortal, but cannot fully return to Neter-Khertet until three
turns have passed. During this period, the target may escape
from the Amkhat’s clutches with assistance from friends, or
by amputating the appendage, but the Amkhat never lets go
willingly.
Dramatic Failure: The Amkhat misjudges its power or the
target’s location, emerging only partially into material reality.
Half its body is missing, the stump where it should be bleeds
profusely, and it barely survives the day with only its Head to
defend it before returning to Twilight. If it’s destroyed during
this time, it’s destroyed forever.
ENRAPTURE
By spending 4 Essence, the Amkhat convinces a number
of mortals equal to its Rank to do its bidding for a number of
days equal to its current Essence rating (minimum 1). After
a successful Power + Rank vs. Resolve, the mortal enters a
trance-like state, gathering humans as prey for the creature,
or retrieving relics and the like. During this time, the mortal
understands all Iremite the Amkhat speaks, and easily trans-
lates engravings in ancient tongues. Mortals closest to them
undoubtedly notice this power’s influence, and they might
seek professional help, restrain, or even kill their friend or
family member. Destroying the creature is the only other way
to break the effect, unless it spends Essence beyond what is
needed to continue control.
EXPRESSION SURGE
(• TO •••••)
The Amkhat forcefully expresses itself deeper into manifes-
tation, surging potent energy into one of its three Attributes.
By spending Essence equal to its Expression Surge, it boosts
an Attribute equal to its rating for the remainder of the scene,
affecting derived traits accordingly. If the Amkhat’s Essence
Pool fully depletes from using this power, it jolts back to
Twilight at the end of its next turn, no matter its Corpus.
EYE SPY
The creature has a specific form of remote viewing; it may
be able to see through surveillance cameras, view from the eyes
228 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
of animals, or pluck an eye out and leave a bloodied organ be-
hind to observe. Using this ability requires the expenditure of
1 Essence or Willpower point per hour. The creature remains
aware of its surroundings while observing.
FALSE KA
Evolution or wretched sorcery has infused this creature
with the swarm. Instead of blood or ephemeral matter, bees,
wasps, locusts, or other small, flying vermin appropriate to this
Amkhat’s nature crawl through its veins and arteries, ready
to feast on the flesh of the unwary. Whenever the Amkhat’s
Corpus reaches half its maximum rounded down, or whenever
it spends 3 Essence, the monster’s flesh splits and peels back,
unleashing the swarm, dealing 1(L) per turn on any targets
within 5 yards, and inflicting the Swarm Tilt on anything
within 15 yards, with a maximum number of Tilt Factors equal
to its Rank. If the Amkhat remains in the same area within
material reality for a full day undisturbed, the location gains
the Deadly Swarm Tilt Factor.
FIENDISH RESILIENCE
Shielded by its own legend, this creature fears only the
Timeless. Unless from nuclear weapons or certain relics,
this creature suffers only one bashing from wounds inflicted
by mortals, no matter how successful the attack. Sekhem-
infused beings inflict lethal damage normally with all attacks.
Supernatural attacks from other entities inflict lethal damage,
but mundane attacks inflict one bashing. All sources of ag-
gravated damage affect it normally.
FLAYING WORD
The creature inflicts a single point of lethal damage on a
successful social roll targeting another character. Inflicting no
pain, the damage may not be immediately noticed as it causes
skin to slough off and flesh to abrade away.
GHOST TOUCH
The creature can touch and attack entities in the ghostly
frequency of Twilight.

GODLY VISION (• TO •••••)
The Amkhat sees the material world clearly even from
Neter-Khertet, allowing it to hunt for seeping relics and
unguarded mortals safely. It spots vessels at increased range
equal to 1 mile for every dot in Godly Vision, and sees the
Sekhem inside both vessels and Arisen through walls and
other surfaces up to the same range.
HUSK PUPPET
(JUDGES ONLY)
As an Instant action, a successful Power + Finesse roll ver-
sus the victim’s Resolve + Stamina, slays a mortal human at a
touch, rendering their body a puppet for its will, using the same
traits and attributes as a Lifeless Thrall (see p.XX). The creature
may control up to its Power in marionette humans in this way.
HYDRA
This Amkhat has a second Head, and gains the Feign
Strike Special Quality.
Essence Cost: The same cost as the Head chosen.
Special Quality (Feign Strike): One head feigns an
attack while the other strikes. Roll Power vs. Composure to
gain a surprise attack, or use one Dread Power granted by the
Amkhat’s Heads without spending the required Essence. In
addition, the Amkhat sees in all directions at once, allowing
no way to sneak up on it outside of supernatural means.
HYPNOTIC GAZE
This charming and beguiling Amkhat wields the ancient
powers of manipulation or bears the eyes of a serpent-god.
When meeting the target’s eyes, it spends 2 Essence and rolls
Power + Finesse (or other appropriate attributes) contested
by the target’s Composure. If successful, the target gains the
Madness or Terror Sybaris Condition, or narrative effects the
Storyteller deems appropriate.
IMPOSSIBLE PROPORTIONS
(JUDGES ONLY)
The creature’s proportions do not obey the laws of physics,
and the notion of perspective breaks down in its presence.
Although the creature’s actual Size and any derived traits such
as Health remain constant, it acts as if its Size were anywhere
between Size 1 and Size 100, allowing it to pass through tiny
gaps or reach the top of a skyscraper in a single step.
LEGION
The creature comprises a number of large but independent
components acting in concert. It does not follow the rules
for acting as a swarm, but is capable of splitting itself across
various points within a scene, and can move through an area
bypassing obstacles to its true Size as long as its component
parts can find passage.
MANGLE
Once per turn, when the creature inflicts damage with
its attacks, it can spend a point of Essence or Willpower to
also inflict the Arm Wrack or Leg Wrack Tilt on the victim.
MAZE OF LOST SOULS
(SPHINX AMKHATA ONLY)
The Amkhat twists reality into a surreal labyrinth, surg-
ing through both sides of Twilight. By spending 3 Essence, a
100-yard area bears the mirage-like terrain of Neter-Khertet,
such as winding rivers, blinding sandstorms, lost ghosts, and
the jagged mountain passes of Bakhu and Manu. Structures
affected combine these features with a mess of tangled corri-
dors and rooms leading back on themselves. The effect lasts
for an hour, during which anyone other than the creature
attempting to move through the area must succeed at a Wits
+ Composure vs. the creature’s Resistance each time they
attempt to leave or progress through it to somewhere specific;
if they fail, they simply get more lost. Ghosts and spirits in
the area automatically fail this roll. Used during a mummy’s
Death Cycle, the Amkhat appears as a vague shadow of Anpu,
drawing the Arisen away from their true goal.
MIRAGE (JUDGES ONLY)
As an Instant action, the creature spends a point of
Essence or Willpower to create an illusory copy of itself any-
where that it can currently perceive. The mirage acts on the
creature’s Initiative, can act independently of its creator, and
can relay the creature’s voice. It also serves as an origin point
for appropriate Utterances, rather than the creature itself.
Amkhata 229
 Breaking line of sight with the mirage causes it to collapse
immediately, as does any sort of damage.
MONSTROUS RESILIENCE
The creature is incredibly sturdy, shrugging off grievous
wounds. When it suffers a physical Tilt it may spend 1 Essence
or Willpower as a reflexive action, ending the Tilt immediately.
NATURAL WEAPONS
(• TO •••••)
Amkhata manifest with vicious maws, rending claws,
eviscerating horns, and other formidable natural weaponry,
whose attacks are already represented by the monsters' limbs
and heads. This particularly brutal Amkhat adds to these
attacks a weapon modifier and armor piercing quality equal
to the number of dots in this Dread Power. If the creature’s
natural weaponry includes a bite, it doesn’t need to establish
a grapple first.
PRODIGIOUS LEAP
The creature makes great, bounding leaps. By spending 1
Essence, it jumps to the top of a four-story temple, or across
a six-lane highway (or the equivalent distance).
RAVENOUS FEASTING
(• TO •••)
The Amkhat devours its prey quickly and violently. After a
successful bite attack, it may make additional free bite attacks
up to its Ravenous Feasting.
REALITY STUTTER
The creature’s presence sets reality stuttering and convuls-
ing, allowing it to flicker from place to place. By reflexively
spending 1 Essence when it moves, the creature translocates
itself to any location it can see up to its Speed in meters away,
seeming to observers to just spasm in and out of reality as it
goes. Doing so adds +2 to its defense for the turn.
230 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
UNBELIEVABLE VISAGE
Amkhata are impossible for human minds to justify log-
ically. Mortals beholding one lose 1 Willpower and make
a Willpower roll with failure giving them the Madness
Condition. Arisen viewing an Amkhat make a Willpower roll
with failure costing 1 Willpower.
VENOM (• TO •••••)
The Amkhat injects its enemies with poisonous excretion.
Even Arisen are not immune to this supernatural venom, and
mummies affected by it lose nearly all magical semblance of
their human Sahu.
Action: Instant and contested
Dice Pool: Power + Rank vs. Stamina + Sekhem
Roll Results
Success: Poison is successfully injected into the victim,
imposing a moderate Poisoned, Drugged, or other appropri-
ate Tilt in affected Arisen, and a grave version of the Tilt in
affected mortals. This lasts for a number of turns equal to the
Amkhat’s Venom.
Extraordinary Success: After applying the success, the
Amkhat regains the Essence spent on this power.
Failure: The power fails.
Dramatic Failure: The power fails and the victim is im-
mune to Venom for this scene.
EXAMPLE AMKHATA
THE REVENANT
It started with the guards; those keepers of keys.
Josiah was the first. The thing downstairs didn’t realize
how much he had to lose. His house, family, backyard, patio,
industrial-strength pressure washer — his life. It wouldn’t
have mattered. The thing needed him. One after another, cell
doors opened in the night, and Josiah guided the prisoners
through a maze-like labyrinth of surreal cell blocks and wards
until finally they reached the old execution chamber, buried
under layers of concrete and piles of bureaucratic paperwork.
The deal was simple. The brainwashed guards would free
the prisoners to retrieve relics for the Revenant, and in return
the prisoners would fall asleep at night to dream of wholly
realistic lives with friends and family, beyond the confines
of the penitentiary. Multitudes of prisoners now worship
the Revenant freely while controlled guards allow them free
passage when the warden is not present. Soon, the warden
himself will be enslaved by the thing downstairs, and the next
prison will follow.
Description: The Revenant has the body of a serpent,
molded fluidly with the head of a human woman. Its lair is
displayed on forgotten blueprints secured in the warden’s
upstairs safe. In its center is an old electric chair, used to
sacrifice mortals to the Revenant and to supercharge the
Amkhat’s own abilities through Twilight.
Storytelling Hints: Local independent reporters grow
interested in the goings-on at the for-profit prison, surrounded
by rumors of mysterious disappearances, memory loss exhibited
by guards and their families, and prisoners seen walking the
streets in broad daylight only to be behind bars the next day.
The Revenant’s actions even catch the notice of a Maa-Kep
cultist posing as a guard for a nearby prison.
Attributes: Power 7, Finesse 5, Resistance 6
Rank: 3
Essence: 11
Willpower: 4
Aspiration: Permanent Life
Initiative: 11
Defense: 5
Speed: 14
Size: 4
Attacks: Bite (1B)
Dread Powers: Constrict, Enrapture, Hypnotic
Gaze, Maze of Lost Souls
Special Qualities: Dream Visitor
THE LEVIATHAN
Bright orange buckets of fresh water from Nile banks
loosed along the floor of the inverted pyramid, and the dis-
membered carcasses of a jackal, falcon, and lion removed
from portable freezers. Dr. Trombly laid the parts upon an
altar. He placed a meteorite in the falcon’s chest, muttering
something low under his breath, and scorched the ball of
scrawled papyrus in a Bunsen burner. It was all so steady and
patient up to the end. Every stone laid, every glyph engraved,
every chant uttered, but in those final moments, there was
only horror, and sacrifice.
The Leviathan emerged, the mortal sacrifice binding it to
Dr. Trombly’s will.
At once, its mission was provided — the breaching of
Arisen tombs. Nothing too drastic, of course. Cultists should
be killed in the effort, but the Amkhat should only endanger
itself enough to draw the waking Deathless back to their
headquarters to be imprisoned, studied, and used for the Rite
of the Golden Vial (see p. XX).
Description: The Leviathan bears the head of a
jackal, body of an Egyptian vulture, and the limbs
of a lion.
Storytelling Hints: The Leviathan is powerful, but
only attacks with full strength when it feels cornered.
It commits to a fight only long enough to be chased
back to its Last Dynasty masters, relying on mobility
and paralyzing venom to antagonize its foes. It
flees when wounded, and is easily traced back to
its source.
Attributes: Power 12, Finesse 14, Resistance 10
Rank: 4
Essence: 18
Willpower: 4
Aspiration: Spurring of retaliation by local
Deathless for its masters
Initiative: 26
Defense: 12
Speed: 33
Size: 8
Attacks: Bite 2(L), Claws 2(L)
Dread Powers: Beastmaster, Breath Attack (••••),
Ravenous Feasting (••), Reality Stutter, Venom (••)
Special Qualities: Fire Resistance, Pack Hunter,
Rend
THE EPHEMERAL DEAD
Amkhata are far from the only entities lurking in Neter-
Khertet. Bound by their passions, ghosts, echoes of mortal
lives, haunt the living world or descend into the Underworld.
Shades, strange shadowy entities thirsting for blood and
Sekhem, lurk in the Ashen Storm, slowly drifting toward Duat.
EPHEMERAL TRAITS
As ephemeral entities, ghosts and shades share many traits
in common with Amkhata.
The Ephemeral Dead 231
 RANK direct sunlight suffer Essence Bleed, losing 1 Essence each
hour. Entities losing their last point this way suffer 1 lethal
Ephemeral entities possess Rank reflecting their power damage, and enter hibernation. Aggravated damage strips
and awareness, which serves as a Supernatural Tolerance away 1 Essence per point. An entity may spend Essence to
trait. Ghosts begin with Rank 1 or 2, and must drink from an boost Attributes for the remainder of the scene at a point-per-
Underworld river to increase it. Shades begin with Rank 1 or dot, raising no single Attribute by more than Rank + 2 dots.
2, increasing it by consuming Sekhem, usually wrested from
Ghosts regain 1 Essence by spending a day near their
mummies experiencing death cycles.
Anchors, regaining another when remembered as a living
person by a mortal. Shades regain 1 Essence by spending a
ATTRIBUTES AND TRAITS day without exposure to light brighter than candlelight. Shed
Ghosts and shades use Power, Finesse, and Resistance, blood replenishes another point, or one for each level of lethal
calculating traits like Speed, Initiative, Defense, and Corpus damage inflicted if the blood is offered to the shade.
accordingly. Ghosts and shades are usually Size 5. They possess Entities in Neter-Khertet may steal Essence from others
Willpower equal to Resistance + Finesse. Skills important in that state. The attacker rolls Power + Finesse, contested
to the entity’s living identity persist. For simplicity, use Rank by the victim’s Power + Resistance. If successful, the attack-
for these. Merits unaffected by their ephemeral nature also er gains Essence equal to their successes from the victim’s
persist. Both retain their Virtues and Vices, but reverse their remaining Essence.
effects, gaining Willpower from their Vice like mortals do
from their Virtue, and vice versa. Integrity scores remain BANS
fixed at the point of death, no longer threatened by ordinary
breaking points. Every ephemeral entity has a unique Ban, a compulsive
behavior an entity must or must not perform. Bans increase
in complexity and consequence with Rank. A minor shade
Attribute Trait Max cannot attack those bearing candles. One ancient ghost
Rank Dots Limits* Essence Numina summoned from the Underworld returns upon uttering their
1 5-8 5 dots 10 1-3 true name thrice backward.
2 9-14 7 dots 15 3-5 BANES
3 15-25 9 dots 20 5-7
Ghosts and shades have Banes, physical elements the enti-
4 26-35 12 dots 25 7-9 ty cannot abide, which become increasingly esoteric at higher
5 36-45 15 dots 50 9-11 Rank. Salt burns a young ghost. A shade grown fat on stolen
* These represent permanent dots, not temporari- Sekhem dreads mud bricks anointed with blood from firstborn
ly-boosted ones. children. Banes are always solid to vulnerable entities, which
must spend Willpower and succeed at a Power + Finesse −
Rank roll to touch it willingly. Banes inflict one aggravated
CORPUS damage each turn of contact to Materialized entities, or lethal
to those in Twilight or the Underworld. Wounds inflicted by
Corpus replaces Health, and entities losing all Corpus to weapons composed of Banes inflict the same type of damage.
lethal or aggravated damage discorporate, reforming at safe Fettered entities suffer lethal damage each turn their Fetter
places in hibernation unless their Essence was fully depleted. maintains contact with the Bane. Entities of 2 Ranks higher
Ghosts and shades suffer bashing damage from most attacks, than their opponent also function as Banes.
except those utilizing their bane or otherwise specifying harsh-
er effects against ephemeral entities. Attacking with Power + ANCHORS
Finesse, these entities may only affect or be affected by beings
in the same frequency of existence or otherwise capable of Anchors are people, places, and objects binding a ghost to
affecting ephemeral entities. the living world. A ghost without quickly descends into the
Underworld. Shades possess no Anchors, substituting freshly
ESSENCE spilled blood for the Anchor Condition for Manifestation
purposes.
Essence sustains ephemeral existence and fuels their powers.
Ephemeral entities expend one Essence per day to remain
active. Ghosts separated from their Anchors or shades in

232 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes

INFLUENCE
Each entity has Influence over certain phenomena,
possessing dots equal to Rank, which also determines their
maximum level in a given Influence. Ghosts usually possess
Influences related to their Anchors, while shade Influences
generally relate to shadows or their Vices. Using Influence
requires Essence expenditure equal to level and a Power +
Finesse roll, which may be contested or resisted by affected
characters. Level increases both with effect and duration.

Level Effect
• Strengthen: Enhance or reinforce the subject,
or shift Anchor to Open Condition.
•• Manipulate: Cause minor changes in subject
or its behavior.
••• Control: Cause major changes in subject or
its behavior, or shift the Open Condition to
Controlled.
•••• Create: Create new specimen or apply the
Anchor Condition.
••••• Mass Create: Create multiple new specimens
up to Rank, or one permanent specimen.

Additional
Level Duration Essence
0 One minute per success N/A
• 10 minutes per success N/A
•• One hour per success +1
••• One day per success +2
•••• Permanent +2

MANIFESTATION
Ephemeral entities require certain abilities and circum-
stances to influence the material world or move from one
realm to another. Manifestations require Power + Finesse
rolls, often costing Essence. Ghosts and shades begin with
Twilight Form and additional Manifestations equal to Rank.

MANIFESTATION CONDITIONS

ANCHOR
Within Rank × 3 yards of their Anchors, ghosts don’t
suffer Essence Bleed.

The Ephemeral Dead 233

 CLAIMED
As the merging commences, the entity is safe from Essence
Bleed, and living hosts suffer the Urged Condition. Each day,
one dot of the entity’s Attributes is added to one of the host’s
Attributes of the same category, causing physical mutation of
the body. Corpses and inanimate objects receive Attributes
the same way, but Mental and Social Attributes begin at 0.
Upon completion of the merge, the host takes on the entity’s
Virtue, Vice, Ban, and Bane. The Claimed may use the entity’s
Influences, but not Manifestations or Numina, though some
develop supernatural powers as Merits. If the entity departs
(requiring Power + Finesse − Rank contested by the Claimed
hybrid’s Resolve + Composure) the host immediately loses all
Essence and supernatural powers and two dots of the added
Attributes each day, though the entity’s Virtue and Vice re-
main. Nonliving hosts lose one Physical Attribute dot every
three days once the Claim is completed, crumbling to dust
upon reaching 0 and releasing the entity into Neter-Khertet.
CONTROLLED
A subject with the Open Condition has been Possessed by
the same entity on a number of separate occasions equal to
the higher Willpower of the entity or the subject.
FETTERED
Within five yards of the subject, the entity doesn’t suf-
fer Essence Bleed and pays one fewer Essence when using
Influences on the Fetter. The entity cannot use Influences
or Numina on anything else.
MATERIALIZED
The entity becomes physical, remaining safe from Essence
Bleed. This persists for one hour per success. Materialized
entities must roll Rank successfully each turn to maintain the
Condition when touching their bane.
OPEN
The subject is conditioned to accept an entity’s use of
Fetter or Materialize.
234 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
POSSESSED
The entity controls the subject, rendering their mind un-
conscious. The entity doesn’t suffer Essence Bleed, but cannot
use Influences or Numina. The body repairs for 1 Essence per
wound, but aggravated damage cannot be healed this way. The
entity reads the host’s mind with a Finesse roll at a −4 penalty,
uses their Physical Skills at a −3 penalty or their Mental or
Social Skills at a −4 penalty, reducing penalties by one for
each day Fettered to the host. Possession lasts for one scene.
UNDERWORLD GATE
A gate into the Caverns of Neter-Khertet opens, permit-
ting passage. Ghosts regain 1 Essence per scene.
URGED
The entity reads its host’s surface thoughts with Power
+ Finesse, contested by Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance.
The entity urges specific actions with Power + Finesse rolls
contested by Resolve + Composure +1. The host gains a
Beat by following the urge.
MANIFESTATIONS
TWILIGHT FORM
The entity exists in a frequency of Twilight appropriate
to its nature, such as Neter-Khertet for ghosts and escaped
fiends. This effect costs nothing.
DISCORPORATE
The entity discorporates itself as though it had lost all
Corpus, usually to escape a greater threat. This effects costs
nothing.
AVERNIAN GATEWAY
(Requires Open Condition) The entity opens a nearby
gateway into the Caverns of Neter-Khertet by spending 3
Essence, applying the Underworld Gate Condition to the
location.
 IMAGE NUMINA
(REQUIRES ANCHOR CONDITION) Numina are supernatural abilities possessed by ephemer-
al entities. Most require Power + Finesse rolls to activate.
The Twilight form becomes visible to material beings for Storytellers may substitute appropriate Dread Powers for
1 Essence per scene. Numina and where it benefits the story, permit Amkhata the
use of Numina in place of Dread Powers, requiring they roll
Power + Rank in place of Power + Finesse for most activations.
MATERIALIZE
(REQUIRES OPEN CONDITION)
BLAST
For 3 Essence, the entity gains the Materialized Condition.
The entity wounds opponents at a distance. With a range
equal to 10 yards per dot of Power, and suffering no range
FETTER penalties, the Blast wounds as a lethal weapon. The entity
(REQUIRES OPEN CONDITION) increases the lethality of this weapon by one for 2 Essence up
to a maximum of its Rank.
For 2 Essence, the entity gains the Fettered Condition.
Living beings contest with Resolve + Composure + DEMENT
Supernatural Tolerance, suffering the Urged Condition if
the entity wins.
The entity tortures its victim’s mind at a cost of 1 Essence,
contested by the victim’s Intelligence + Supernatural
UNFETTER Tolerance. If successful, the entity inflicts the Insane Tilt
for the scene.
(REQUIRES FETTERED CONDITION)

For 1 Essence, the entity suppresses the Fettered Condition DRAIN

for a scene. Entities separated from their Fetter when the
duration ends go dormant. The entity steals Essence or Willpower (chosen at activa-
tion) from a material being with a roll contested by Stamina
POSSESS + Resolve + Supernatural Tolerance. Whichever character
wins steals points equal to successes from their opponent.
(REQUIRES OPEN CONDITION)

For 3 Essence, the entity takes temporary control over HALLUCINATION

a target, applying the Possessed Condition. Living subjects
resist with Resolve + Composure + Supernatural Tolerance.
CLAIM
(REQUIRES CONTROLLED CONDITION,
FETTER, AND POSSESS)
For 5 Essence, the entity merges with a target, gaining per-
manent control and applying the Claimed Condition. Living
targets resist with Resolve + Composure + Supernatural
Tolerance.
The entity inflicts illusions on a single target at a cost of
1 Essence, contested by the victim’s Wits + Composure +
Supernatural Tolerance. Each success over the victim’s alters
one sense.
IMPLANT MISSION
This Numen grants a vision and determination to fulfill a
task the entity wishes accomplished. The entity rolls Power
+ Finesse, spending 2 Essence. Success inflicts a vision of the
mission, imposing the Obsession Condition.

The Ephemeral Dead 235

 INNOCUOUS
The entity is easily overlooked. Perception rolls to notice
it suffer a −2 penalty. This requires no roll or cost to activate.
REGENERATE
The entity heals Corpus with Essence, spending 1 Essence
per turn to heal a point of bashing or lethal damage, healing
bashing first. No roll is required.
SIGN
The entity creates messages or images in media as a mortal
would, sending audible messages over a phone or tracing words
in dust. The Numen costs 1 Essence to create a single message.
TELEKINESIS
The entity lifts or throws physical objects without
Manifesting. This Numen costs 1 Essence with successes
becoming the effective Strength.
THE SHUANKHSEN
The Rite of Return was not free.
Wailing fields of slaves, crucified as fuel for Shan’iatu
sorcery, bound and burned alive atop mass Nubian graves
underneath. Weeping children buried behind the walls of
temples before the whole complex is brought down upon them.
The Arisen cannot fathom the cost of their special world,
but the Shuankhsen remember. They remember everything.
Every death and doorway, every love lost, every ounce of
flesh torn from their bodies by the Deathless, every painful res-
urrection thereafter. The crevassed, twisted faces of screaming
sorcerers, and the menacing Arisen who brought down the
cult 300 years ago, or 20 years from now. The chains tighten,
Ammut must be obeyed, and in their curse, the Shuankhsen
find solace in vengeance.
AMMUT, THE DEVOURER
More than anything else, the Shuankhsen remember her
— the end of beginnings and endings, the eternal Devourer
at the bottom of Duat’s deepest chasms, always waiting to
consume them again, and again, and again. Every new death
leads to her, but no death is final. The scales tipped by the
236 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
Curse of Silence
Ammut devoured more than just their souls, but also
their willingness to speak of their memories. Where
the Shuankhsen would find frustration, anger, and
a desire for reprisal against their maker, instead she
placed fear without a safety net. They do not know
what will happen if they speak out but they know
something worse than their current plight would
overcome them, and it’s never worth it.
Shan’iatu are perpetually balanced by her Shuankhsen.
Ammut is technically their Judge, but the Shuankhsen con-
sider her more as the true god — entropy.
The Bane Mummies find it hard seeing anything as new
anymore. Even the virus at the top of the mortal food chain
is cursed to mark the passage of time with the withering of
their bodies, the shrinking of their minds, the self-destruction
of their worlds. Their peace is always an illusion, a different
sort of war fought by bankers and profiteers. No matter how
tranquil the world seems at times, the centuries-old, teeter-
ing infrastructures once constructed by dead men inevitably
collapse underneath the weight of their great-grandchildren,
who construct new worlds to rise and perish at the behest of
a Deathless vision. All goes to the Devourer.
SEKHEM CURDLING
Contrary to the Arisen’s surgical approach in guiding
modern civilization, the Shuankhsen replace the natural order
with chaotic balance by unleashing great bouts of twisted
Sekhem upon unsuspecting populations. Words are whispered
in private ritual, and the dead rise around the city. Glyphs
are empowered by twisted magic, and airplanes fall from the
sky. Vessels are consumed, and swathes of mortals experience
the same nightmarish vision — the one that brought them to
your bunker, carrying rifles and hand grenades. The weapons
may change, but the war wrought by the Deathless wages still.
Shuankhsen are spawned with a full 10 dots of Sekhem
used to fuel occult rites and unnatural abilities.
BURDENS OF THE DEVOURER
Shuankhsen gain Willpower equal to their Resolve +
Composure, yet while the Deathless gain both Burden and
Balance, Shuankhsen are cursed with only the Burden, appropri-
ate to their nature. The following are examples of Lifeless Burdens.
 • Avenger: The Arisen wronged the Shuankhsen, who stops
at nothing to destroy them, often waiting millennia before
their nemesis rises once more. Regain Willpower when
inflicting physical or emotional pain upon their enemy.
• Destroyer: They must stop or destroy the Arisen drones’
guidance of the mortal machinations of the world. Regain
Willpower when the Shuankhsen directly interferes with
the Arisen infrastructure inherent in the mortal world.
• Zealot: Ammut is no slaver, but a liberator, and her
will must be expressed to any who will listen, and
especially to those who refuse. Regain Willpower
whenever an Arisen is hindered, harmed, or converted
to Shuankhsen using a Bane Relic.
ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS,
AND PILLARS
Shuankhsen gain between three and 12 dots in Pillars
depending on their potency. Their defining Pillar must house
more dots than any other, and their Remnant Pillar (the sliver
of who they were before Ammut devoured them) must contain
at least one dot. Any remaining dots are spread across other
Pillars. Defining Pillars and Remnants are decided by choosing
one Bane Rite and one Bane Affinity.
Shuankhsen begin with one free dot in each Attribute and
gain 16 additional dots to be freely distributed. The standard
maximum limitation of five dots in a single Attribute applies.
To illustrate the Shuankhsen’s ability to remember age-old
incarnations, all Bane Mummies gain 25 dots to be freely
distributed into Skills, and three accompanying Specialties.
Lastly, Shuankhsen have the same 10 dots in Merits as Arisen,
and gain the Eidetic Memory (••) Merit for free.
BANE RITES
Bane Rites are doorways to powerful change in the sur-
rounding world, and Shuankhsen cults are the key. They
determine a Shuankhsen’s defining Pillar, as well as broad
features of their cult and goals. Shuankhsen begin with the
Rite of Eternal Chains and Rite of the Lost Cause, before
selecting one more from the list underneath. Over time, the
mummy may accumulate more Bane Rites, providing her
with unmatched powers and interesting, multi-faceted cults.
RITE OF ETERNAL CHAINS
The Shuankhsen’s chief servant is a rotting, twisted mirror
of the Sadikh, bound to its master for eternity. The Fasad
is awake while their master walks the Earth, and dismissed
into incorporeal dormancy for eras in between, but nothing
stops their bodies and minds from rotting away after eons of
servitude. All Shuankhsen may transform an invested being
into a Fasad using the Rite of Eternal Chains.
Enduring the Rite of Eternal Chains automatically grants
Fasad characters The Gift of Years Merit at a dot level equal
to the defining Pillar of their Shuankhsen. Instead of applying
the Merit’s dots to Social Merits, the Fasad may spend them
on Cult Merits (p. XX).
Action: Instant, performed on a willing cultist in which
they have invested Pillars. A Shauankhsen can only have
one Fasad at a time.
Cost: 3 Pillar points
Dice Pool: Remnant + Pillars Invested
Suggested Modifiers: Participant is willing (+1), par-
ticipant is a Sorcerer (+2), participant is already bound to
another master (−1 to −5, depending on their status).
Roll Results
Success: A Fasad is created. The Shauankhsen sees
through their eyes as a Reflexive Action, and can dismiss or
conjure them from wisps of mystical air as an Instant Action.
Exceptional Success: Success applies, and some of the
cultist’s power is imbued into the Shuankhsen master. Gain
one dot in any Pillar of your choice. When the Fasad is de-
stroyed, the dot gained turns into 4 dots for one scene, at the
end of which the Shauankhsen loses it.
Failure: The rite fails, the participant dies, and the
Shuankhsen regains any invested Pillars.
Dramatic Failure: A Fasad is created, but the twisted rite
of the Sadikh connects them to the nearest Arisen instead.
The Shuankhsen is clueless to this twist, but the Arisen is not.
RITE OF THE LOST CAUSE
Like the Arisen, Shuankhsen invest their Pillars in cultists,
though the effects on the chosen are often as visceral and
horrifying as they are empowering.
Action: The Rite of the Lost Cause is an Instant action.
The Shuankhsen and her target must make physical contact
and recite Iremite words in unison.
Cost: Pillar points for investment
All-Seeing Eye: The Shuankhsen sees through the eyes
of their invested followers using a reflexive action.
Powers of the Devourer: The Shuankhsen gains a Bane
Rite or Bane Affinity (but not the associated Pillar points).
They can only do this with one investment.
Pillar Recovery: The Shuankhsen may remotely reclaim
any unspent Pillar Points from Invested Cultists at any time.
This is a reflexive action.
The Shuankhsen 237
 Inverted Geometry: Cultists with invested Pillars give off
strange and unnatural emotional bouts affecting the entire
cult. The effects depend not on the Pillar invested, but the
Shuankhsen’s Remnant. Some examples follow:
• Ab: Rending, cannibalistic horrors
• Ba: Hive-minded, relentless zealots
• Ka: Flesh-eaten, rotting vessels of death
• Ren: Brash outlaws, as stupid as they are disloyal
• Sheut: Mute, decrepit beings without self-purpose
Mortal Sacrifice: Invested Mortals happily provide their
master with their own body if needed. All invested Pillar
Points are returned to the Shuankhsen upon their deaths, or
their master may claim their body using the Body-Snatcher
Bane Affinity (p. XX).
Ashen Sorcerers: Sorcerers may conduct their master’s
Bane Rites. If the Shuankhsen is still present, the rite’s effects
are tripled.
Festering Fasad: Invested Fasad may manifest and use
their master’s Bane Affinities (p. XX).
Bane Immortal: When invested, blood-bathers, body
thieves, and other immortals gain a Bane Affinity of their
own (but not the associated Pillar points).
BRING THE FLOOD (SHEUT)
The waters rise, and with them the dead. Sekhem clots
in the sternums of corpses, where mortal hearts once stood
beating, and toppled headstones soon leer over pockmarked
cemeteries. Even Arisen are not immune to this necromancy.
Action: Extended (5 successes, each roll representing
one minute)
Cost: 4 Pillar points
Dice Pool: Remnant + Occult
Suggested Modifiers: Runes or scrawled dedications to
Ammut mar all visible surfaces (+2)
Roll Results
Success: Rivers flood, sewage overflows, and other waters
under the earth rise to the surface. The dead are raised in a
one-mile radius for a number of hours equal to the number of
successes rolled, and are completely loyal to the Shuankhsen.
Arisen raised by this rite are not loyal to the Shuankhsen, but
begin their Descent at a lower Sekhem rating, absent their
Kepher for scenes equal to the Shuankhsen’s Sheut. Use the
stat block for the Lifeless Thrall (see p. XX) for the risen dead.
This power causes the Flooded Tilt (see p. XX).
238 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
Exceptional Success: The success still applies, the area
of effect is tripled, and if desired, one or more Arisen within
the area remain unsummoned.
Failure: The rite fails, though sporadic dead still rise, albeit
without loyalty. The Shuankhsen may spend three Sekhem
to downgrade this to a dramatic failure.
Dramatic Failure: The dead awaken as planned, but the
mortals summoned do so in unimaginable pain. Open-casket
funerals turn to macabre horror shows, and city morgues are
filled with flailing bodies, unable to do anything but clutch
their chests and, if they still contain lungs, scream.
Cult: Amateur necromancers are easy to recruit once
they’ve seen that raising dead isn’t something reserved for
television, and they rarely put a cap on their efforts once
they’re a part of the team. Many lose their fear of death,
experimenting on themselves using their masters power to
save or prolong their own lives.
RITE OF CHARON (REN)
You pull the veils of the world apart, opening a doorway
between material and Twilight. Shuankhsen cannot traverse
into Neter-Khertet, but their cultists can, allowing for the
tracking of Arisen back to their tombs during their time be-
tween Descents. Not to mention, the denizens beyond who
desire to be unleashed into the mortal world.
Action: Extended (10 successes, each roll representing
one hour)
Cost: 5 Pillar points
Dice Pool: Remnant + Occult
Suggested Modifiers: Another immortal assists the en-
deavors from inside Neter-Khertet (+2), Ammut disapproves
of the ritual (−3)
Roll Results
Success: A portal between worlds is opened for a number
of minutes equal to the Shuankhsen’s Sekhem after using this
rite (minimum 1).
Exceptional Success: Success applies, and a loyal Rank
3 Amkhat or two Rank 1 Amkhata are summoned through
to the material world.
Failure: The frequencies of Twilight are stymied, causing
the Amkhat’s Curse Tilt in the area. The Shuankhsen may
spend one Sekhem to downgrade this to a dramatic failure.
Dramatic Failure: The way into Neter-Khertet is closed,
but not before its energies permeate into those assisting the
ritual. All mortal cultists aiding the Bane Rite are transformed
into Rank 2 Amkhata who obey their master's every order,
but no longer act as cultists.
 Cult: Mortal occultists and rogue scientists from Last Dynasty
International both find their way into these cults, pursuing discov-
ery and technology above all else. With great knowledge comes
even better gear, such as gigantic supercomputers built to stymie
otherworldly frequencies, or armories of harpoon rifles meant to
restrain large creatures from material and beyond.
RITE OF THE ONYX AMULET (AB)
Iremite Relics are converted into tainted shadows of their
former glory, harming the Deathless claiming them, and
transforming others into Ammut’s own Shuankhsen. This rite
exists only in whispers and sacrosanct teachings, and what is
universally known is very little.
Action: Extended (number of weeks equal to the vessel’s
Sekhem)
Cost: Iremite Relic, or 3 Pillar points and a Vestige
Dice Pool: Sheut + Occult
Suggested Modifiers: The vessel is a vestige (−3), the
vessel is a Relic of Irem (+3), sacrifices involved are willing
participants (+1).
Roll Results
Success: The targeted relic becomes a Bane Relic, de-
formed in a way appropriate to the nature of the Shuankhsen
— dark cracks spiderweb across its surface, colorful glyphs
turn black, gems and gold crack like fragile glass, or something
else the Storyteller deems viable for the chronicle. Reduce its
Sekhem to 1.
Exceptional Success: The Bane Relic is created without
damaging the Sekhem inside.
Failure: The rite fails and the vessel is drained of Sekhem.
The Shuankhsen may spend one point of Sekhem to down-
grade this to a dramatic failure.
Dramatic Failure: Volatile Sekhem explodes outward in a
radius of 25 yards per point of Sekhem infused in the targeted
vessel, dealing 3(A) to all within range.
Cult: Bane Relics find use in the hands of tainted immor-
tals attached to the Shuankhsen’s cause. Those who would
rather spring traps before engaging in showdowns frequent
these cults, as do many with underlying motivations beyond
their Shuankhsen ally’s.
VITRIOLIC SOULS (BA)
The Shuankhsen bleeds curdled Sekhem into the local
human consciousness, coercing the denizens of a city block
into a rage. The mummy inspires fury in a meret, neighbor-
hood, apartment building, or similar area.
Action: Extended (one roll per day of desired activity)
What do Bane Relics Do?
Bane Relics deal 1(A) per dot to any non-
Shuankhsen activating them and are theoretically
used in secretive rites to convert Arisen into the chil-
dren of Ammut. Outside of these powerful weap-
ons against the Arisen, the most lethal facet is that
the Deathless can still perceive them with Kepher.
Perhaps the Shuankhsen use Bane Relics to draw
Deathless, trap them, and convert them to Ammut’s
children. What if a Bane Relic were made to not
harm Arisen, but trick them?
Cost: 4 Pillar points
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Remnant – 1 for
each ten mortal targets beyond the first ten, reducing the dice
pool by the highest Composure among all targets of the rite.
Suggested Modifiers: The targeted group already displays symp-
toms of the expressed emotion (+1), emotions spread are contrary
to the sway of supernatural powers or major current events (−5).
Roll Results
Success: The targets gain the Obsession Condition for
one week beyond the ritual.
Exceptional Success: The effect spreads to double the tar-
geted populace, granting the targets the Obsession Condition
for a month beyond the ritual. In addition, the Shuankhsen
may choose to spread a completely different emotion, such
as cowardice or complacency.
Failure: The rite fails, but a single target determined by
the Storyteller is consumed by the unnatural power they felt.
They gain the Obsessed Condition and are considered to be
invested by the Shuankhsen. You may spend three Sekhem
to downgrade this roll to a dramatic failure.
Dramatic Failure: The power backfires, and immortals
are targeted. For one turn, the Storyteller controls all Arisen.
Cult: Gangland criminals and violent security contracting
companies serve as black-baggers and brutal interrogators for
these Shuankhsen cults, profiting heavily in cash and illicit
goods in the process.
RITE OF THE STORM (KA)
The mummy draws the electrical currents from the sky into
a violent storm. Electronic devices go dead in a five-mile radius,
modern vehicles stall out, and airplanes fall from the sky.
The Shuankhsen 239
 Action: Extended (10 successes, each roll representing
one hour)
Cost: 4 Pillar points
Dice Pool: Remnant + Subterfuge
Suggested Modifiers: There is already a storm outside
(+1), multitudes of radios tuned to the same occult frequen-
cies surround the ritual (+2)
Roll Results
Success: The Shuankhsen sees through all digital cam-
era devices in the area, hacking into security feeds and data
networks, and collecting all information transferred. She may
spend 1 Sekhem to upgrade this roll to an Exceptional Success.
Exceptional Success: Success applies, and the storm rains
mercury instead of water.
Failure: The rite disrupts the frequencies of Twilight,
drawing numerous ghosts and spirits to serve the Shuankhsen
like moths to a lampshade. You may spend two Sekhem to
downgrade this roll to a dramatic failure.
Dramatic Failure: Everyone within 100 yards is dealt 3(A)
from a barrage of destructive lightning.
Cult: Anarchist radio personalities and potential scientists
lost to vast and ridiculous conspiracies are often brought into
the fold to hack into television and radio frequencies, finding
signs and information for the Shuankhsen.
BANE AFFINITIES
Bane Affinities provide powerful abilities to thwart the
Deathless. In addition to the Body-Snatcher and Jaws of the
Devourer Bane Affinities, choose one of the following Bane
Powers, keeping in mind the Remnant provided must not match
the defining Pillar determined by the chosen Bane Rite. Finally,
Shuankhsen gain standard Affinities equal to their Remnant.
Some Bane Affinities contain Decays — twisted curses
and effects on their users and those surrounding them for
a specific time, or until the particular Decay is satisfied by
another occurrence.
BODY-SNATCHER
Shuankhsen have no Sahu of their own, instead claiming
mortal corpses. The wounds wrought during the Shan’iatu’s
betrayal still show upon the Shuankhsen. Broad lacerations
across the trachea scab over and ooze with putrid green pus,
and broken ribcages still splinter from their chest cavity where
the heart was pulled through.
Effect: Spend 1 point from any Pillar to transfer their
consciousness into an invested mortal body, or into the
nearest mortal corpse. This may be used automatically before
240 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
the Shuankhsen loses or spends their last point of Sekhem.
JAWS OF THE DEVOURER
Ammut’s first gift to the Shuankhsen was the ability to
consume Sekhem by devouring the individual or vessel pos-
sessing it. Doing so strengthens the Lifeless mummy, and is
one of the few things that might totally destroy an Arisen.
Due to the rate at which Sekhem is consumed using this
power, it’s more likely for a Shuankhsen to take several bites
from an Arisen and then return after the mummy’s sahu
has recovered, or somehow incapacitate the mummy so the
feeding is protracted.
Effect: Spend 1 point from any Pillar for your jaws to
widen, your teeth to extend, and for you to gain the ability to
gain Sekhem from consumed bodies or vestiges. This Affinity
remains in play for the scene’s duration.
In combat, the Shuankhsen may bite enemies without
grappling, as if using a weapon with a damage rating of 2(A),
employing Brawl as a Skill. Every time the Shuankhsen inflicts
three or more points of aggravated damage using Jaws of the
Devourer, the mummy drains a level of Sekhem from the
victim, if they have any, and gains it themselves. Subsequent
attacks are required to gain further Sekhem. If the victim runs
out of Health, further bites take no further Sekhem.
Once the victim has run out of Sekhem, one subsequent
successful bite using Jaws of the Devourer enables the
Shuankhsen to steal a dot from the victim’s Pillars, if they
have any. Subsequent bites convey no further benefits beyond
destruction of the victim’s body.
A Shuankhsen can use this Affinity to consume a mortal’s
heart, and even if they didn’t possess Sekhem, the Shuankhsen
gains a point in a Pillar of their choice. This Affinity is the
only way a Shuankhsen can cannibalize a vessel, otherwise
following the same rules as Arisen and immortals (see p. XX).
SCHISM OF FLESH
Flesh tears, and bones split, horribly reshaping the
Shuankhsen into a ferocious monstrosity.
Effect: Spend 1 Sekhem per Rank of Amkhat to transform
into as a Reflexive Action, and revert back to original form
as another Reflexive Action. The Shuankhsen reverts back
automatically at the end of the chapter.
Remnant: Ab or Ba
Decay: The hidden beast within calls the Shuankhsen,
boiling forth after one month, after which it becomes a a Rank
3 Amkhat or a Rank 5 Amkhat instead by triggering earlier.
When this Amkhat is “destroyed,” the Shuankhsen reverts to
its previous self, but with the Disabled Condition for a number
of hours equal to the chosen Amkhat Rank.
SEKHEM CLOT
The Shuankhsen manipulates the Sekhem within lifeforms
and Arisen, rendering them useless, or keeping it for itself.
Remnant: Ka or Ren
Effect: Spend 2 Sekhem to give a target the Immobilized
Condition, or spend 5 Willpower to steal 2 Sekhem from a
Deathless in line of sight.
Decay: The Sekhem within the Shuankhsen begins to clot
as well, gaining it the Disabled Condition for one month, or
until a supernatural (not mundane) cure is used.
SWARM MESSENGER
Remnant: Sheut
Effect: Swirling sands, swarms of locusts, or other violent
energies appropriate to the mummy’s nature manifest around
her at will, manipulated to display her visage, and their voice
is heard in unnatural tones. This manifestation inflicts the
Shaken Condition and any appropriate Sybaritic effects on
mortal witnesses. Roll Presence + Expression + Remnant to
appear in this way wherever an applicable Fasad is located.
The expression lasts for a number of minutes equal to suc-
cesses rolled.
Rolling Dexterity + defining Pillar vs. Sheut transforms
these elements into shadowy talons, claws, blades, tentacles,
spikes, or another visage appropriate to the mummy’s per-
sonality at an enemy. If successful, deal 2(A), increased to
3(A) in areas of near-total darkness, and the target gains the
Damaged Pillar Condition.
Decay: Using this power grants the Skincrawler Tilt to
anyone within line of sight, and those affected give the con-
tagion to any they touch for the next week.
SAMPLE SHUANKHSEN
The following is an example Shuankhsen for your
chronicle.
TIYE,
BRINGER OF THE STORM
She remembers. She watched as a meret of Deathless
breached her tomb, obliterated her cult, and sent her back
to Ammut. She recalls her dismemberment at the hands of
their brutal Utterances, the screams of those mortals with
which she had bonded herself, centuries from now. Here in
the present is where she finds her chance to stop the Arisen
ahead of time, before they ever hope to accomplish their goals.
Her cult of amateur scientists and audio engineers —
not yet destroyed — has scouted out the locations of those
Arisen tombs which will someday play a part in her demise,
but the way in is not yet clear. Spearheading efforts to surveil
the activity and possible threats around these tombs, her
favored sorcerer, Belville has discovered strange frequencies
emanating from within their sacred geometry. With enough
time and power, Belville believes the signal could be traced
to other realms beyond material. This is all the information
Tiye needed.
Neter-Khertet, the world beyond, holds the answer, and
she can’t help but see this opportunity as a gift from her
Devourer; sands of fate, guiding her to freedom beyond the
mirage. Once passage is opened, legions of Amkhata wait to
be unleashed into the world.
Description: Tiye inhabits the body of a deceased pro-
fessor, though her wrists are scarred with blackened brands
where she was chained to an Iremite crucifix. Her cult operates
around an abandoned radio station used to trace mysterious
signals and draw other cultists to the lair. Her tomb resides
in the basement.
Storytelling Hints: Depending on the era in question,
Tiye might utilize a highly weaponized security contracting
company as her cult, or swathes of Celtic warriors armed with
simpler weapons and gear. Adjust her Skills and other features
to fulfill the desired roles for your chronicle.
She desires revenge through time, but her plans are im-
possible. When it comes to her cult’s destruction, what’s done
is done, but that won’t stop her from trying, and destroying
more than the Judges care to allow. It’s possible she can
control the Amkhata to some extent, but those monstrosities
will inevitably overwhelm her. The attempt will take her life,
and her next rebirth will be at the whims of an Arisen cult
breaching her tomb.
Concept: Timeless Vendetta
Remnant: Ab
Judge: Ammut, The Devourer
Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 3, Resolve 2;
Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; Presence 3,
Manipulation 3, Composure 3
Skills: Brawl 2, Intimidation 4, Investigation
4, Occult (Twilight) 4, Persuasion 4, Science
(Spectrums) 2, Subterfuge 2, Weaponry
(Submachine Guns) 3
Bane Rites: Rite of Charon, Rite of Eternal Chains,
Rite of the Lost Cause
Bane Affinities: Body-snatcher, Jaws of the
Devourer, Schism of Flesh
The Shuankhsen 241
 Merits: Allies ••• (Academic Circle), Cult •••• pass to prove worthy of starry Aaru. They are the patrons
(Reach 2, Grasp 2), Demolisher •, Eidetic Memory and masters of the Timeless. They are holy monsters whose
••, Enigma •••, Tomb • (Geometry 1, Peril 3) word and command returns the mummies of Irem from Duat.
Willpower: 10 So too are they enforcers of the codes of civilization. Upon
Burden: Avenger their condemnations, the foundations of righteous order are
built. The groaning empire of bleak, tyrannical Irem was the
Initiative: 5 first manifestation of that order in the world, but the Arisen
Defense: 2 see all subsequent civilizations as successors to Irem and
Size: 5 inheritors of the Judges’ statutes. Through this legacy, the
Judges claim authority over all human existence.
Speed: 9
Despite this mandate, the Judges do not always reflect the
Health: 7
harmonious order of which they are supposedly the keepers.
Sekhem: 10 Few Arisen would claim to truly know the nature and reason
Pillars/Turn: 1/1 of a Judge; it’s much easier to surrender Memory to the flay-
Pillars: Ab 3, Ba 0, Ka 0, Ren (Invested: Belville, ing sands of Duat, to serve blindly and to accept the divine
Sorcerer) 5, Sheut 2 wisdom of the Judges as truth. Why, then, do Judges work at
cross-purposes to one another? Why do these dead leviathans
THE JUDGES seek to subvert or manipulate each other’s pawns, the Arisen?
And why do the Judges intrude, at times, into the world of

T o the Arisen, the Judges seem the font of all authority and
power. They are the adjudicators of the afterlife, divine
demons beneath whose baleful gaze the trembling dead must
the living in direct and even apocalyptic fashion?
If the Arisen are dutiful servants, the Judges are less than
conscientious masters. These ancient powers may invest their

242 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes

authority into the Deathless, buy they are by no means friends
or even allies to the Arisen. For a mummy guarding Memory
from the scraping abrasions of time’s grinding wheel, the
evidence grows ever more uncomfortable; even the Arisen
balk at the alien will of the Judges manifesting in the world.
CRUEL JUDGEMENT
From the moment an Arisen declares herself before the
Judge most closely resonating with the pillars of her soul, she is
inextricably bound to this throng of godlike monsters. Though
distant and vast, the nightmare presence of the Judge always
remains with her — watching, guiding, and sometimes casti-
gating. Through Memory and Sekhem, the mummy struggles
with her Judge for self-determination and volition; ultimately
a contest between human will and the monolithic force of a
mind that has never been remotely mortal and never will be,
despite the power invested in the Arisen.
The Arisen might manage to balance the monstrous de-
mands of her own Judge and play the obedient slave. She’s un-
likely to manage this act with the 41 other Judges, the bizarre
motley of insane thought-forms and broken shapes all jostling
to impose their condemnations on the world. The Descent
inevitably comes where the Arisen ends up at cross-purposes
to one insane scheme or another, pitted against her fellow
Deathless or a more direct manifestation of Duat’s mad order.
Whether caught between the clashing imperatives of two or
more Judges, or simply facing an atrocity that she refuses to
stand aside and allow, the Arisen finds herself squaring off
against a god-monster from beyond the reach of life itself.
What foe could be more terrible than the very judges of
sin themselves?
FATE AND BLOOD
What will provoke the direct manifestation of a Judge
into the world is genuinely difficult to predict. The assessors
of Ma’at clearly follow cosmic laws beyond the Arisen’s ken.
They cannot simply exude an emanation or avatar into the
world at will, and doing so seems to greatly cost these divine
beings. Judges with large followings among the Arisen are
less likely to issue forth an emanation; they clearly prefer to
rely on Deathless servitors where they can. The necessity for
a human vessel at the heart of each emanation is a puzzling
limitation given the Judges’ supposed cosmic power, and even
a furious Judge is sometimes unable to reach into the world
regardless of how much it may desire to do so.
Judges never issue forth a manifestation without some
purpose, however inscrutable. The place of the Judges is Duat,
and it takes effort both to reach into the world of the living
and to retain such a grasp. During times of great bloodshed,
when the fabric of reality saturates under the sheer weight
of souls passing beyond, the assessors of Ma’at find it easier
to impress their leviathan desires into the world — but even
when the gates of death are slick with gore, the Judges do not
act without implacable intent.
CONDEMNATION
An ancient terror of Duat turns in its unliving slumber,
stirring with a sliver of outrage. The god’s dreaming will senses
an affront to its purpose, and it reaches into the living world.
Something far worse than Sybaris takes hold throughout the
city; wild-eyed mobs lynch transgressors against whatever
bizarre code the Judge fiercely guards. Amid the panic and
disorder, a mad prophet screeches the coming of an old
divinity. Soon enough his flesh splits in scorpion apotheosis,
a vessel for the god’s nightmare to beach itself upon reality.
Judges sometimes intrude into the world to directly
challenge perpetrators of the very crimes they are supposed
to assess in Duat. Most commonly these Judges lack Arisen
servants to carry out such condemnations on their behalf, and
above all are, for want of a better term, seen by the Arisen as
dormant. How and why a Judge deems a particular transgres-
sion to be worthy of response isn’t entirely clear, and many
atrocities pass without attention from any of the 42.
Arisen are often caught in the crossfire of such a condem-
nation. Manifestations sow chaos and can weaken or even
break Deathless cults just by proximity. A Judge’s monoma-
niacal focus on its particular transgression usually doesn’t
extend to respecting the codes of the other 41; a massacre
spurred by the fury of Maa-Nantuuf, the Seer of What Is
Brought Forth, may result in Am-Khaibit dispatching Arisen
to prosecute the agents of Maa-Nantuuf’s will. Sometimes this
clash of insane bureaucracy even occurs among the followers
of a single Judge. Many of the 42 overlook perpetration of the
very crime they oversee when performed in the course of duty,
but with seeming caprice they sometimes don’t. A Judge may
order a Deathless to quell its own manifestation.
Some manifestations of condemnation are directly aimed
at one of the Arisen. Crimes that echo across the ages, sins
committed again and again through the cycle of Descent so
often that they engrave themselves on the Deathless soul
even as Memory corrodes away all recollection of the act; a
gleaming lure to the Judges’ fury.
For the Arisen daring to question the will of the Judges,
these manifestations are a challenge to the idea of Duat’s righ-
teous order. The Judges’ place is in that dismal realm assessing
the souls of the dead, not meddling with the still-living. Loyal
apologists suggest the Judges are the font of all order and righ-
teousness and, thus, their remit extends to corrective action
in all realms so as to ensure the continuation of civilization
and due recognition of that which is holy. It’s harder to cling
The Judges 243
 to that servile explanation when the entire neighborhood
is spitting up lion-faced scorpions that scream your crimes.
HUNGER
A rich bounty of Sekhem coagulates, an unclaimed bounty
of relics pricking the hunger of a Judge. While the Arisen slaves
of other assessors work to plunder the trove, the Judge’s need
spills into reality as a nauseating wave of subtle disquiet among
the human population. Soon enough, a rich magnate turns
his immense wealth and influence towards claiming the relics,
the hunger in his gut serving as proxy to the appetite of a god.
The Arisen serve their Judges by claiming vessels of
Sekhem from the world, offering these treasures up to Duat
as a tithe to the holy order of the gods. Few question why
the Judges demand such a toll from the vital energy of the
world, or to what purpose they put it. Not every Judge has
a grand retinue of Arisen to pay its dues, though, nor does
every mummy stirred to claim such an item succeed before
Duat claims her once more.
Lacking other options, Judges sometimes slake their thirst
for Sekhem directly. A manifestation where the pure life force
of the world runs deep and rich lets the Judge drink that pow-
er away into itself. In some cases, an emanation gluts itself
upon a limited store of Sekhem, then retreats once more as
frustrated Arisen pick over the drained remnants of its ban-
quet. Occasionally, where the geomancy of Deathless tombs
or stranger natural forces saturate a region with Sekhem, the
manifestation lasts longer. A Judge may even go after the col-
lected relics of an Arisen who is slave to one of the assessor’s
peers, consuming the mummy’s eldritch treasures or snatching
a relic away before it can be sacrificed to such a rival.
For Arisen, the hungering intercession of a Judge is a prob-
lem. Acting with absolutely no care for any existing politics
or understandings among Deathless and immortals, a Judge’s
manifestation hungrily loots accrued treasures or races to seize
a particular prize. If the appearance of one emanation draws
the attention of other Judges, several hungry avatars may end
up clashing with Utterances and wild abandon, less like gods
and more like bestial harbingers of the apocalypse.
RIVALRIES
Satisfied his duty is done, the Arisen returns to his tomb.
He finds it decorated with the shucked, bloody skins of his
cultists, each painted with Iremic denunciations of trans-
gressors. Something waits amid the spilled entrails and flayed
corpses. Join me, it says, and the pillars of the world shake with
the echo of its words.
Among the 42 crimes the Judges represent, some transgres-
sions seem to overlap heavily, or are one and the same. Like feral
244 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
dogs, the Judges pull at the carcass of the sinner, each claiming
ownership of the soul over some fine distinction. Nebha is bane
to dealers in deception and lies, while Kenemti claims authority
over blasphemers — but Artem-Khet judges the use of decep-
tion to commit blasphemy, and so the third Judge meddles with
the efforts of the other two, struggling for ascendancy. When a
Judge manifests to further such a rivalry, it likely acts directly
against the cults and Arisen of its peers, seeking to undermine
or destroy them during a brief emanation.
The Arisen are a resource to the Judges, and so the asses-
sors of Ma’at treat their Deathless slaves appropriately. They
attempt to steal or subvert each other’s servants, trade them
back and forth in inscrutable bargains, or spitefully cripple the
favored pets of rival gods. An Arisen may become the target of
a Judge’s manifestation because it wants to enlarge its retinue
of Deathless, whether by the honey of offering boons if she
switches allegiance, or the whip of bringing ruin to her cult
and accomplishments alongside threats of further torment.
RENEGADES
One step ahead of his fellows, clinging to the precious reve-
lations of his carefully-guarded Memory, the rogue Arisen seeks
apotheosis. He’s getting so close, but now the skin of the world
bubbles and boils. Something vast and vengeful rises from the
depths, pouring a fragment of itself into a human receptacle,
delivering its judgment even unto the land of the living.
The Judges deem some Arisen failures, unworthy to serve
as vessels of divine order. In some cases, Arisen find them-
selves renegades through no obvious fault of their own, reject-
ed or persecuted by the cosmic strictures due to falling short
of an unknowable test imposed by uncaring gods. Usually, a
renegade brings about condemnation more directly, rejecting
the duties she owes Duat entirely, pursuing heretical beliefs,
or polluting her own soul with the power of even darker,
hungrier forces than the morbid Judges. On rare occasions, a
given Arisen becomes the prey to these jealous gods because
she is simply too perfect and obedient; her own Judge may try
to protect her, but rivals eagerly pursue her downfall.
A Judge may set its Arisen servants on the trail of a ren-
egade. Evading the Deathless long enough, or committing a
particularly grievous transgression against a particular Judge,
can provoke a heavier-handed response as a divine demon
reaches into the shallows of reality and manifests its wrath.
HERALDS OF DUAT
This section presents game mechanics for these mani-
festations of the Judges’ will into the living world. Though
divine beings of Duat, the Judges are capable of reaching
beyond that dread realm to further their alien designs. Such
manifestations are merely a sliver of the Judge’s power, no
more than a questing tendril. Even that is enough to make
the fabric of reality weep and shudder, buckling beneath the
warping might of such an intrusion.
EMANATIONS
A Judge’s presence is marked by an emanation — a
widespread impression of its will into the world. Those caught
within the emanation feel the inexorable pull of the Judge
upon their minds and their bodies, an eldritch contamination
that twists the laws of nature and humankind. Sekhem in
the region drains away, and the whispering will of the Judge
corrodes the bonds of Arisen cults. At the heart of every
emanation is a benbenet, a chosen human or piece of sacred
geometry that bears the Judge’s crown, serving as the elder
god’s right hand in return for great power.
The emanation itself is represented through the Emanation
Condition (see p. XX), applied to everyone across the area
of the emanation’s influence. Depending on the nature of
the manifestation, this can be anything from a single tower
block to an entire city, and isn’t always contiguous in nature.
An Arisen immediately senses if she enters the area of an
emanation, becoming aware that she is in the presence of a
Judge — although she does not receive specific insight into
which Judge or the purpose of the manifestation.
The sheer weight of a Judge’s presence is corrosive to Arisen
cults caught within an emanation. A cult serving an Arisen
of the manifesting Judge suffers no immediate penalties, but
should the cult witness the Arisen disobeying, working against,
or being reprimanded by the source of the emanation, they
immediately incur the Shaken Faith Condition (see p. XX).
Arisen cults that don’t serve the Judge in question suffer the
Shaken Faith Condition, as dreams, nightmares, and portents
assail their devotion. Such cults suffer one lethal damage to
their Fidelity after an hour of the emanation, another after a
day, and thereafter two lethal damage every week that passes.
Should the cult’s Fidelity fill with lethal damage from any source
and the cult enter a state of mutiny, its Doctrine derived from a
Judge immediately switches to one reflective of the manifesting
Judge, as heresy, confusion, and alien omens tear through the
ranks. This new Doctrine remains until the cult is no longer
filled with lethal or aggravated damage, and should the cult
receive full aggravated damage, it becomes an independent and
fanatically devoted tool of the manifesting Judge.
The weight of a Judge’s presence always takes a psycho-
logical and spiritual toll on the wider human population as
well. They see the twisted shapes of impossible chimera in
their dreams, hear alien whispers writhing beneath words
spoken to them by their co-workers, and feel a paranoid
sense of being watched. The Emanation Condition imposes
Integrity penalties and additional breaking points on humans
Other Forms of Benbenet
Most benbenet are humans, but rarely a Judge
focuses its manifestation through another kind
of vessel. Some are quite literal capstones, key
parts of sacred geometry or symbolically signifi-
cant architecture — quite possibly engineered for
this purpose by an Arisen or a mortal occultist.
Judges have channeled their power through vast
skyscrapers made in mimicry of ancient obelisks,
and poured their wrath along conduits of brick
and water burbling beneath the feet of unwitting
city-dwellers.
Sacred animals can also serve as a vessel. A sa-
cred animal is a creature of grandeur or abject
lowliness that receives praise and worship from a
collection of humans — whether the actual zeal of
a cult who believes the caged dog to which they
feed corpses as a pariah to deflect the punish-
ment for the murders they commit, or the devoted
village community who simply believes the swans
of the lake to be the real symbol of their commu-
nity. As with a human benbenet, a sacred animal
must have killed a human or had a human killed
on its behalf.
Most rare of all are declarations, simple state-
ments anointed by human death. An ancient
scroll of curses, a stone-carved proclamation of
defiance, or the glittering letters of a text message
detailing those who must be called to account —
what matters is not the medium, but the intensity of
emotion felt in alignment with a Judge’s portfolio,
combined with a death to anoint the declaration.
Some are immediate in effect; a man raises up his
placard over the crowd and is shot by security
forces, and as his blood spatters over it the writing
pulses and judders. Others linger for long ages,
only coming to light when an unfortunate discov-
erer unrolls a rusted curse-plate scratched with
hateful denunciations from some fallen empire.
as appropriate for the manifestation in question.
Sekhem in the area of the emanation drains away more
swiftly. Arisen following any Judge other than the one issuing
forth the emanation add two dice to all Descent rolls, and
on any roll to draw Sekhem or activate the powers of a relic.
To establish an emanation, the Judge first opens a channel
into a vessel — the benbenet. This is usually a human chosen
The Judges 245
 as an exemplar of the Judge’s nature, someone possessesing
a deep loathing for or driving motivation to act against the
same crime the Judge condemns, and who has anointed that
dedication with blood, whether directly or indirectly. The
benbenet might have performed that act through stabbing a
transgressor to death or issuing the words in a court of law
that consigned a criminal to execution; what matters is that
she willingly sealed her devotion through the sacrifice of a
human life. This is usually quite unwitting on the part of the
benbenet, but some mortal sorcerers purposefully seek the
attention of the Judge, desiring the power of its crown.
If a human, the benbenet is always someone at either the
lofty heights or squalid foot of a symbolic pyramid of authority
and power. She may be a grimy vagrant, seething with fury as
passers-by spit on her in contempt, or she may be a sneering
CEO atop a throne of subsidiaries and sycophants; the mantle
of the Judges settles on Pharaohs and beggars, on magnates
and sacrifices.
The emanation anchors itself on the benbenet through the
Crown Condition (see p. XX), a mark of the Judge’s ownership
and the benbenet’s authority. Characters with the ability to
perceive Sekhem or the soul witness this crown as an uraeus
of glowing vitality upon the benbenet’s brow. The Crown
grants the benbenet a number of benefits:
• She is unaffected by Sybaris, and she cannot be pos-
sessed or mentally compelled by supernatural forces;
she is already property of the Judge. In addition to
any existing Vices, she gains the Vice of Vengeful or
Judgmental.
• She gains 15 dots to allocate freely across her
Attributes, with which her Attributes may go above 5.
• Her first impression when attempting a social maneuver
against a human is improved by two steps.
• She gains access to the tier 1 powers of two Utterances,
which she can activate by spending Willpower points
rather than Pillar points. To determine their effects
and any Pillar-related benefits, treat the benbenet as
if she had all Pillars at 5.
• She gains additional Dread Powers or capabilities as
per the specific manifestation that has crowned her.
Transformation through the Crown is a heady rush, an
invigorating and life-changing metamorphosis. The benbenet
becomes everything she was before, but better — a paragon of
human potential. Alien words dance on her tongue as if she
were born to them. Her mind burns with ambition and a desire
to act. A presence looms over her awareness as the Judge’s will
fuses to her own. The benbenet knows she’s been chosen, and
246 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
she knows her new purpose; indeed, acting against the Judge’s
desires requires the expenditure of a point of Willpower. She
may misinterpret or misunderstand the nature of her divine
transmogrification; some Judges clearly communicate their
name and nature to their benbenet, but others leave the
champion to understand what’s happened through the lens
of existing religious or philosophical beliefs.
Killing the benbenet, or somehow removing the Crown
Condition from her, shatters the Judge’s grasp and immedi-
ately ends the manifestation. The manifestation may also end
when the Judge has completed its task, or when it has become
clearly impossible.
Removing the Crown Condition leaves the survivor alive
but deprived of the power she once wielded, and fully aware
of all that happened to her. Some benbenet surviving in this
way desperately seek out means to reclaim that power, grasping
at any opportunity like an addict. Others, horrified by their
experience now that they are no longer high on the Sekhem
flowing through them, become devoted hunters of the Arisen,
or pursue an occult path to better understand the events that
have come to pass.
AVATARS
Through an emanation, the Judge can issue forth a true
avatar for a short period of time — a world-shaking herald of
Duat’s law. An avatar is physical and terrifyingly real, even if
its presence contorts the natural principles of the world into
weeping knots. Such a manifestation is fueled by Sekhem, and
rapidly burns through the vital force to maintain its presence.
The Judge uses the benbenet as the lynchpin through which it
channels so much Sekhem, often at great cost to the chosen
one’s body and soul.
An avatar is but a shadow of the Judge’s true might, yet it
is still an instrument of colossal power. The manifestation of
an avatar may be the ultimate purpose of the Judge’s effort,
or spat forth to protect or maintain an existing emanation.
The Judge can trigger the avatar’s manifestation at any time
once the emanation is established. The benbenet can call
upon the Judge to do so, but has no control over whether
the Judge delivers it.
With a flare of Sekhem, the benbenet undergoes a trans-
figuration into the avatar form over the course of one turn.
While the avatar is present, the benbenet is entirely subsumed
into its form for the duration of the manifestation, although
she remains aware of everything that takes place.
The avatar operates under the following rules:
• It uses the simplified Attributes of a Rank 5 ephemeral
entity, but is not considered to be an ephemeral entity
and does not actually possess a Rank of any kind.
 • The avatar is always manifest and tangible in the
physical world, so does not possess Influences,
Manifestations, or other supernatural powers associ-
ated with ephemeral entities.
• The avatar possesses the Sekhem trait, which is always
10 at the beginning of its manifestation.
• The avatar possesses three Utterances and any num-
ber of appropriate Dread Powers for its form. It uses
Sekhem to activate Utterances, as below.
• The avatar inflicts a heightened version of its
Emanation Condition on the immediate scene for as
long as it remains.
• An avatar uses its Power + current Sekhem rating to
determine its Clash of Wills pool.
• Judge avatars burn through Sekhem at a ferocious rate.
For every scene the avatar remains active, it loses a dot
of Sekhem. It may also employ any of the following
capabilities at the cost of a dot of Sekhem:
• Reduce all damage from a single source to one point of
damage, although it retains its existing damage type.
• Activate any or all tiers of a single Utterance it pos-
sesses. The avatar is considered to have all Pillars at 5
for the purposes of calculating Utterance effects.
• Immediately instigate a reflexive Clash of Wills against
a single supernatural effect affecting it or that it is in
contact with.
An avatar’s manifestation ends when it runs out of
Sekhem, or when its health track fills with aggravated damage.
The subsumed benbenet may, if she desires, maintain the
avatar for additional turns by spending a point of Willpower
each turn until she ceases or runs out.
An avatar’s manifestation takes a terrible toll on the ben-
benet. When the manifestation ends, the benbenet suffers 10
points of lethal damage, reduced by the number of successes
rolled with the avatar’s Power + Resistance. If the avatar was
destroyed by damage, only its Resistance is rolled. The ben-
benet may reduce the damage further by spending Willpower
points on a one-for-one basis.
Once the emanation has extruded an avatar, it cannot do so
again for some time. The avatar regains a point of Sekhem each
day, and can be drawn through once more upon reaching Sekhem
10. The benbenet is able to drain Sekhem from relics or vestiges
when touching or holding them for one turn per dot rating of
the target. At the end of this period, the avatar regains one point
of Sekhem for a vestige, or twice the dot rating of Sekhem for a
relic, draining the vessel entirely of its power. A benbenet with
a stockpile of potent vessels on-hand can potentially bring a
defeated avatar back into the fight with alarming speed.
SEKHEM INCANTATIONS
The Judges’ avatars are majestic, monstrous terrors. Each
wields such incredible power as to shake the foundations
of reality, and even a meret of the Arisen must be cautious
before these alien and hateful divinities. However, the Arisen
do have a particular advantage they can bring to bear in what
might otherwise be a foolhardy confrontation with an avatar.
Existence shudders and retches at the unnatural presence of
a Judge’s manifestation, but the Arisen are channels between
Duat and the living world. An Arisen wields the power of her
own decree and her Sekhem to impose the might of her soul
onto an emanation of Duat, shaping and reducing its presence
but at potentially great cost.
As soon as an Arisen enters the area of an emanation,
she becomes aware of the Sekhem incantation her decree
can channel against the manifestation, and the offering that
must be made to unlock it. She doesn’t learn the specifics of
the offering — for example, she may know she must offer the
heart of the benbenet’s loyal servant, but she has to find the
identity of the loyal servant, and indeed the benbenet, the
hard way. Experienced Arisen with strong memories often
know of the full range of Sekhem incantations, but a mummy
can only ever bring forth that of her decree.
Each incantation is paired with an offering that the mum-
my must possess to use it. This often requires the Arisen to
delve into the nature of the benbenet at the center of the
emanation, investigating for secrets and symbols of the chosen
one’s nature and past. With the offering in the presence of
the manifestation’s avatar, she spits forth her own Sekhem,
empowering her decree’s incantation to lay a brief, but perhaps
vital, magical binding upon the avatar.
Using an incantation is a reflexive action on the mummy’s
turn. Each incantation affects a number of targets present in
the scene up to the mummy’s ruling Pillar value, and she can
include herself as one of these targets. When she uses the
incantation, she loudly announces her decree and infuses
the spell with Sekhem; she must immediately make a Descent
roll, meaning that these incantations can reap a terrible price
from the Arisen’s power. The incantation takes effect for the
duration of a single turn for every target, regardless of the results
of the Descent roll. To constrain and shape the power of an
avatar is an act of incredible hubris and wise Arisen make as
much use of an incantation’s brief benefit as they can.
A mummy can use an incantation as many times as she wants,
although no more than once per turn, risking Sekhem loss each time.
The Judges 247
 The incantations are as follows:
• Ashem: The offering is the benbenet’s deepest fear. This
may be the knowledge of that which the benbenet most
truly fears above all else, or it could be a physical repre-
sentation of some terrifying phobia that grips her. The
Ashem uses this fear to blind the avatar. By activating
the incantation, the Arisen renders the incantation’s
targets entirely imperceptible to the avatar for a turn
so that the avatar cannot see, hear, or even feel the
touch of them, let alone sense them with supernatural
capabilities.
• Deshret: The offering is a failed endeavor of the ben-
benet. This could be a representation of something
the benbenet strove to do yet could not, such as the
skull of a lover she could not save or the deed to a
property she lost, or the literal rubbish that’s left from
her attempt to craft something, but it must be a failure
that was meaningful to the benbenet and that still
hurts her when she recalls it. The Deshret uses this
example of failure to pierce the avatar’s defenses. By
activating the incantation, the Arisen empowers the
incantation’s targets to strike at the avatar so that the
avatar cannot pay Sekhem to reduce the damage from
any of the targets’ attacks for a turn.
• Kheru: The offering is a symbol of majesty of the ben-
benet. This could be an object representing the ben-
benet’s authority over her minions — the nameplate off
the CEO’s desk, the rod of the cult leader — or some
other personal item relating to her appearance and
grandeur, but it must have real meaning for both the
benbenet and those she influences. The Kheru uses this
symbol of majesty to rebuke the avatar’s very presence.
By activating the incantation, the Arisen forces the
avatar to move to avoid the incantation’s target and
move as far away from all of them as possible for a turn.
• Nesrem: The offering is the heart of a loyal servant of
the benbenet. This could be the literal blood-dripping
heart torn from the chest of the benbenet’s closest ally,
or it could be the presence of a hitherto loyal minion
who has had a change of heart and now wishes to aid
the Arisen, but such a turning of allegiance must be
real and genuine, and cannot be forced via magic. The
Usheb uses this symbol of loyalty to turn aside the av-
atar’s wrath. By activating the incantation, the Arisen
protects the incantation’s targets against the avatar’s
attacks, reducing the damage from any attack the avatar
makes against them to one bashing damage for a turn.
• Usheb: The offering is a secret name of the benbenet.
This could be a moniker that they nurse great loathing
248 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
for and want to forget, or a false identity that they hide
illegal deals behind and keep separate from their usual
life, but it must be a name that is not publicly or widely
known as being connected to them. The Usheb uses
this secret name to deny the power the avatar has over
the world around it. By activating the incantation, the
Arisen protects the incantation’s targets against any
and all effects of the avatar’s heightened emanation
for a turn.
THE SACRIFICE,
MANIFESTATION OF AN-HOTEP
The Sacrifice is a manifestation of An-Hotep, the Bringer
of Sacrifice. An-Hotep is Judge to those committing violence
to perpetrate oppression or slavery. It has very few Arisen in its
retinue, possessing some antipathy to the notion of chaining
an immortal being to servitude — a contradiction at the heart
of its nature. An-Hotep is particularly prone to manifesting as
a result, and the Sacrifice is its most common form.
Benbenet: She’s chattel, a victim of human trafficking
— an example of modern slavery hidden in the shadows of
the city’s gleaming spires, consigned to death to sate the sick
fantasies of a wealthy ‘client’ when she’s finally given the
strength to bring the real balance due. He’s a downtrodden
miner paying the earth’s cruel toll with his blood and limbs
while the taskmaster glut themselves on the profits, brutalized
by the police during a union strike — and then vengeful fervor
takes utter grip of his soul. The Sacrifice stirs the benbenet
to violent retribution, and gives the strength needed to do
so — but the Judge does not care to help the downtrodden
themselves, only for bloody revenge upon the condemned. It
thrives upon the pain of the oppressed, the sense of loss, upon
martyrdom for the cause.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet does not suffer wound penalties.
Instead, she gains a number of bonus dice equal to the penalty
she would normally suffer.
Emanation: Any character suffering harm or injury at
the hands of someone with more authority or power gains
an additional Vice of Wrathful for as long as they remain in
the emanation.
AVATAR
The Sacrifice’s avatar appears as a bound and chained
figure hanging in the air, shackles and ropes leading away from
it in all directions. With no visible skin or flesh, the Sacrifice
is entirely covered in cloth, not the grandeur of a mummy’s
embalming but the rough coverings of an execution victim.
Dark ichor seeps up and stains patches of its cloth with grue-
some filth. The limbs are too long to be human, as if wrenched
out of their sockets, and they’re bent and twisted at painful
angles beneath the Sacrifice’s bindings. The Sacrifice cannot
speak, instead issuing a gurgling burble that sends rotting
blood spilling from beneath its face-coverings in a torrent of
gore and corruption.
As the Sacrifice drifts along, the tormented figure twitches
and spasms, sometimes moving from one agonized pose to
another without passing through any motions in between. Its
very presence sparks the nerves with pain, leaving a copper
taste on the tongue. Victims of the Judge’s malice end up like
the wretched figure, snatched in its tangling coils of chain to
hang alongside it like broken dolls.
Attributes: Power 14, Finesse 12, Resistance 13
Initiative: 25
Defense: 12
Size: 7
Speed: 21
Corpus: 20
Dread Powers: Armor ••, Constrict •••••, Reality
Stutter
Utterances: Dust Beneath Feet, Feast of Ashes,
Rebuke the Vizier
Heightened Emanation: All wound penalties
suffered by those present are doubled. Anyone
dealing damage to either an unresisting victim or
to the Sacrifice itself immediately suffers the same
amount of damage dealt back to them, as their flesh
rips away in strips, blood fountaining from their
orifices.
THE SPHINX,
MANIFESTATION OF NEB-HERU
The Sphinx is a manifestation of Neb-Heru, the Lord
Above. Neb-Heru is That Which Watches The Watchers,
said to judge its fellow Judges, as well as claiming authority
The Judges 249
 over all judging others in ill-conceived haste. Only a few,
dedicated Arisen follow Neb-Heru, seen as distant and aloof
even by their Timeless fellows. The Judge’s manifestations
often coincide with that of another of the 42, or appear so
as to obstruct or foil the efforts of a Judge’s Arisen servitors
that have, for some reason, fallen foul of Neb-Heru’s condem-
nation. The Sphinx is its preferred manifestation for these
occasions, dispatched to directly detain and question any
Arisen unlucky enough to cross its path.
Benbenet: She’s a magistrate, seemingly with all the power
and influence of judgment at her beck and call — but she’s
always felt held back by the very code of law she serves, that
there’s a distance between the practice of the courts and the
ideal of justice itself. He’s a criminal crushed beneath the blind
wheels of order, bitter at his lack of agency in the face of a
behemoth of bureaucracy — and truly contrite over the harm
his grievous transgressions have caused to individuals. The
Sphinx gives the benbenet the opportunity to exercise their
own judgment, but does nothing to reign in their excesses,
instead stoking the flames of their passions and self-confidence
to unbearable levels. Upon confronting one of the Arisen, the
Sphinx’s benbenet truly believes they are worthy to do so —
and she likely seethes with resentment at the transgressions
of a Timeless entrusted with such power.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet gains the rote quality on Empathy
and Investigation rolls, and can glean information from either
skill that is not readily apparent via physical evidence.
Emanation: Any character faced with a puzzle, question,
or conundrum must attempt to answer or resolve it, or must
spend a point of Willpower to avoid having to do so. Once she
has spent Willpower in this way on a particular query or puzzle,
she does not have to do so for that specific instance in future.
AVATAR
The avatar of the Sphinx is a nightmare reflection of the
creature’s iconic image. The immense body of a lion is covered
in scars that seep embers and tar, each ragged wound spelling
out a glyph that tears at the mind when witnessed. Rather than
proud majesty, the bestial form is withered and gnarled; the
great humanoid head, bedecked in a corroded headdress, is
near-skeletal in its gaunt appearance. That face is crisscrossed
with sigils of glowing ink, the writing of a hundred baleful
curses upon transgressors. All sense of perspective breaks
down around the tottering beast; it rears over the horizon
even as it bends and cracks its form to slither through a sewer
grate. When it raises its foreparts up, a dozen lesser faces can
be seen running along its chest and belly — contorted human
visages that stare blankly as they recite a churning mantra.
250 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
When the Sphinx speaks — and it does so often — the
lesser heads all echo its voice. The avatar is a merciless thing,
but it abides by a code of its own strange rules. It interrogates
and questions rather than leaps to the attack and, should
the victims navigate its verbal traps, the Judge allows them
to proceed unharmed. It usually challenges Arisen with an
inquisition as to their purpose and their actions and, if it
encounters the least contradiction or hypocrisy, deems them
subject to punishment. However, it has also been known to
demand answers to riddles, complex mathematical problems,
or occult formulae. While loquacious, its expression never
changes. Even in battle, which it enters with cruel glee, it
maintains a stoic visage while ripping the entrails from its
victims and crushing them underclaw.
Attributes: Power 13, Finesse 15, Resistance 14
Initiative: 29
Defense: 13 (15)
Size: 18
Speed: 36
Corpus: 32
Dread Powers: Breath Attack ••••• (Flaying
sand), Catlike Reflexes, Impossible Proportions,
Natural Weapons •••
Utterances: Dreams of Dead Gods, Secrets
Ripped From Skies, Weighing of the Heart
Heightened Emanation: Uncontrollable epiph-
anies and whirling conundrums assail the minds of
all present. Characters gain the Inspired Condition
for all mental rolls, but failure on any mental roll
automatically becomes a dramatic failure. Any lie
a character speaks immediately brands itself into
their skin as a statement, inflicting one point of lethal
damage in the process.
THE WRITHING OF EYES,
MANIFESTATION OF BASTU
The Writhing of Eyes is a manifestation of the Judge
Bastu, the Stare. Bastu judges those having ‘eaten their own
hearts’ by attempting to cheat justice — most directly in
the way it scrutinizes the symbolic heart upon the scales of
each soul that comes before it. Bastu craves the secrets and
hidden knowledge that living beings hide within themselves,
even feeds upon such, and no deception leads it astray.
The Writhing of Eyes is an extension of that craving, often
turned against Arisen trying to hold anything back from the
Judge they serve.
 Benbenet: He’s a down-on-his-luck private investigator a
hair’s breadth from being evicted or arrested as he scrabbles
in the gutter for clues to a burning injustice that he just can’t
let go, even as it consumes his life and pushes him across dan-
gerous boundaries. She’s a rich and powerful magnate turning
her furrowed brow to the desire to know, to discover, to see
every transgression that occurs within her corporate domain
and set it right. The Writhing is drawn to mass surveillance,
both those who countenance its use and those watched and
oppressed through its application. It encourages a hunger for
total awareness within its benbenet. The Writhing’s champi-
ons can never see too much, never know too much, and no
sense of privacy or restraint holds them back.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet suffers no penalties to perception
rolls for any reason, sees perfectly in the dark or through
obscuring effects, and maintains total awareness of the area
immediately around them. Supernatural attempts at invisi-
bility or concealment avail nothing against the Writhing of
Eyes. They also gain the Eye Spy Dread Power.
Emanation: Characters attempting Subterfuge or Stealth
rolls treat all failures as dramatic failures. Doing so also causes
the character to suffer a malign growth somewhere on their
body; over the course of a day, a staring eye buds from their
flesh, inflicting an Integrity breaking point and allowing the
benbenet to treat them as part of the Eye Spy power’s network.
Leaving the emanation causes the eye to metastasize into a
normal, albeit malignant, cancer.
AVATAR
The Writhing of Eyes is horrendous in form, even by
Judges’ standards; a mass of writhing tendrils, some squamous
of hide and some fleshy, ending in an androgynous human
head with blank skin instead of eyes. When the human heads
open their mouths, though, their protruding tongues bear a
staring eyeball, or a whole polypous mass of ocular organs.
The Writhing’s tendrils seem infinitely long, snaking away to
someplace else; their terminus cannot be found. The whole
thing appears as a swaying, thrashing tangle, the heads moan-
ing and drooling as the forest of eyes obsessively tracks the
slightest movement in its surroundings.
The Writhing is content to watch at first, burning through
Sekhem while it observes and gathers information. If tracking
interlopers or transgressors, it moves through the environment
in their wake as a tendril peering from a window here, a gently
waving eye-stalk above the rooftop there. It seizes puppets with
brutal efficiency, boring into the meat of a hapless human and
rooting through their innards until it can force a tongue-eye
through their brain and into an eye-socket, dislodging the
organ there to make way for its own. When it attacks, the
Writhing descends upon prey in a grasping, flaying tangle,
ripping them apart and leaving only the heart behind.
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 14, Resistance 10
Initiative: 24
Defense: 14
Size: 25
Speed: 29
Corpus: 35
Dread Powers: Camouflage •••••, Constrict •••,
Husk Puppet, Legion
Utterances: Secrets Ripped From Skies, Weighing
of the Heart, Words of Dead Dominion
Heightened Emanation: The eyes of all those
present before the Writhing seem to burn with
insight; a character can see the pulsing heart within
the chest of any living being they look upon, wit-
nessing that character’s Vice and Virtue (or equiva-
lent trait) upon it and knowing the exact condition of
their health track and any physical injuries or con-
ditions with which they are suffering. Furthermore,
anyone who is not being looked upon by another
character apart from the Writhing of Eyes suffers
one point of bashing damage each round, as flesh
turns to sand and skin peels away. Tearing one’s
own eyes out negates this effect.
THE SCORPION BANNER,
MANIFESTATION OF HER-URU
The Scorpion Banner is a manifestation of Her-Uru, the
Face of Dread. Her-Uru presides over those using terror as
their weapon, particularly over their own kind. The Judge
accepts the place of fear as a coercive tool in the ordering and
maintenance of civilization, but is outraged by its use on the
part of those who would bring chaos. The Scorpion Banner is
a nightmarish manifestation of the enforcement of authority
against such rogue elements — a soul-crushing numbness that
denies terror its bite.
Benbenet: He weeps and rages in the ruins of his home,
wounded by a bomb blast but luckier, perhaps, than the lines
of bodies executed outside by the militia as a ‘lesson’ to others.
She’s an enforcer of law and order, representing an edifice of
power but craving the ability to surpass the red tape and weak
stomached civilians she believes hold her back from stamping
out the gangs terrorizing the district or the insurgent forces
defying her nation. The Scorpion Banner’s crown most often
The Judges 251
 settles on officials wishing to reduce their foes to dust and raise
up the battle standard of their empire over the vanquished.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet gains the Monstrous Resilience
Dread Power, and may spend a point of Willpower to grant
252 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
the 8-again quality to any teamwork rolls performed in his
presence.
Emanation: A numbness creeps through the soul, quelling
fear. Humans are unaffected by Terror Sybaris and gain a +3
bonus to their Composure against any source of terror, but
suffer a commensurate −3 penalty to Empathy and perception
rolls. A character succeeding at an Intimidate check against
another human within the past month is unaffected by both
bonus and penalty, but begins at the worst possible impression
in any social maneuver against characters who are under the
Condition’s full effects.
AVATAR
The Scorpion Banner is a colossal, warped scorpion, bigger
than a main battle tank with a carapace bristling with serrat-
ed edges, and immense claws that can crush a vehicle like a
tin can. The avatar’s face appears as the viewer’s own, eyes
contorted wide in terror and the jaw replaced with threshing
arthropod mouth-parts. Bands of gold and copper encircle the
scorpion’s limbs and dangle from the spines along its back.
From the great, arcing tail hang banners of flayed human skin,
bearing the glyphic marks of lost Irem.
The Scorpion Banner is an unsophisticated avatar, formed
purely for the purpose of destruction and slaughter. Unable to
speak, it screams in a ghastly, tortured wail that even invades
radio frequencies across the area, causing listeners’ ears to bleed.
If idle and without immediate prey to butcher, it mindlessly
skins the dead and decorates its spines with their flayed hides.
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 13, Resistance 15
Initiative: 28
Defense: 13
Size: 20
Speed: 33
Corpus: 35
Dread Powers: Armor •••••, Mangle, Natural
Weapons •••••
Utterances: Awaken the Dead, Fury of Sekhmet,
Waters of Life and Death
Heightened Emanation: The cold numbness of the
emanation intensifies, inflicting a −3 penalty on Initiative
and Defense. Any character immune to the regular ema-
nation due to inflicting intimidation or terror immediately
suffers the Arm Wrack Tilt and a point of aggravated
damage as their left hand tears itself free from their flesh,
fingers contorting and twisting to become a warped
scorpion of bone and sinew that skitters away.
THE GIVER OF GIFTS,
MANIFESTATION OF HERAF-HET
The Giver of Gifts is a manifestation of Heraf-Het, also
called Whose Face Is Behind It, a particularly obscure and
inscrutable Judge. Heraf-Het deals with transgressions of fine
distinction, where wisdom is required to assess matters properly
or where the slightest of technicalities or differences in opinion
could give rise to an unrighteous outcome. As a result, Heraf-
Het has few Arisen servitors; little about the Judge resonates
with a righteous spark in the soul of most mummies. Indeed,
The Judges 253
 Heraf-Het is reputed to use entirely different strains of immortal
as its servitors, shackling them to its service as punishment for
whatever unwise transgressions it can exploit. Whose Face
Is Behind It lacks the retinue needed to funnel a significant
portion of Sekhem into its grasp, and instead uses subtle man-
ifestations such as the Giver of Gifts to take its rightful due.
Benbenet: She is smart, clever, motivated, but the slings
and arrows of fortune have laid her low, her every effort foiled
by the judgment of fools who knew less than she. He’s a great
judge of character who made one little mistake in who to trust, a
single subtle error causing a fall from grace that he now bitterly
regrets. The Giver’s benbenet always crave a second chance, an
opportunity to try it all again armed with the knowledge and
understanding they now possess, often including the desire for
vengeance against those who benefited from their fall. The
benbenet now acts as a thumb on the scales, a trickster-figure
taking small but important actions to make sure everyone gets
what they deserve, usually as a chain of transactions that ends
up with a relic or vestige in the Giver of Gifts’ hands.
EMANATION
Crown: By allocating the benefits of any number of the
benbenet’s merit dots to another as a gift — such as purchasing
something with Resources dots, helping someone out through
Allies dots, or the like — the benbenet temporarily gains an equal
number of merit dots of any kind to use as he sees fit. These new
merits can be used once, and the benbenet cannot gain more
through the Crown until existing merits have been expended.
Emanation: Bureaucracy piles up and tangles, legalistic thought
patterns bloom parasitically in the minds of the populace, and the
letters slither off contracts to drip ink onto the floor or corrupt
a hard-drive’s data. All failures on dice pools to interact with or
navigate legal or bureaucratic matters become dramatic failures,
and extended actions interacting with such processes or laws take
twice as long as usual. Transactions or negotiations over relics,
vestiges, or other Sekhem-rich objects are exempt from these effects.
AVATAR
The Giver of Gifts appears as a mummified figure, wrapped in
linen bearing glyphs of dire portent. Ragged wings unfold from its
back, hanging with darkly-stained strips of cloth rather than feath-
ers, and its face is concealed behind a smooth oval mask of copper
polished to a mirror-sheen. When the avatar speaks, its voice
sounds with metallic echoes. If wounded or torn, spools of bloody
linen spill from the rents in its form in place of true flesh or blood.
The Giver of Gifts only rarely manifests for the specific pur-
pose of inflicting violence; instead, the Judge uses the avatar to
protect its benbenet from even worse consequences, or when
it has the opportunity to glut itself on a bounty of Sekhem. It
prefers evasion to battle, and discussion to physical conflict
254 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
— a dangerous proposition for the unwary, for its very words
can barter life-force back and forth. For some Arisen, though,
the risk is worth the reward; Sekhem traded for insight, and
a chance to harden the foundations of Memory.
Attributes: Power 10, Finesse 15, Resistance 14
Initiative: 29
Defense: 10
Size: 7
Speed: 32 (flying)
Corpus: 21
Dread Powers: Flaying Word, Mirage
Utterances: Dreams of Dead Gods, Gift of the
Golden Ankh, Shadow of Time
Heightened Emanation: Any Descent rolls
made in the Giver of Gifts’ presence have a +2 dice
bonus, and breaking points against Memory gain
the same bonus. An Arisen negotiating the trade
of her Sekhem to the Giver of Gifts in return for
greater understanding of her identity loses a point
of Sekhem immediately, gains a Reminiscence beat,
and gains a +5 dice bonus to her next breaking
point against Memory. There is no time limit as to
when this bonus can be called upon, but it always
applies to her very next breaking point; she cannot
bank it for a later lapse.
THE SCREAMING FLOCK,
MANIFESTATION OF NEB-ABITU
The Screaming Flock is a manifestation of Neb-Abitu,
called the Lord of Horns. This Judge is newly ascendant as
of the 21st Century; it claims purview over those conjuring
and spreading gossip and false news that obscures matters of
truth and serious import. Long consigned to the ranks of the
weaker Judges, Neb-Abitu now draws power from the bloated
informational madness of propaganda and communications
swelling in recent human history. As a timeless being, it is
paradoxically empowered in all previous time-frames as well.
The Screaming Flock is its greatest and most incomprehensible
manifestation.
Benbenet: He’s the conspiring leader of a state intelligence
apparatus, repulsed by the societal corruption he sees inflict-
ed by the very propaganda in which he is complicit. She’s a
queen of the social scene, stung by the morass of falsehoods
that drown her world and the dawn of the age of fake news.
Neb-Abitu doesn’t bother with anyone but the greatest and
most influential figures, benbenet who want to drown it all out,
burn the whole thing down and start again from a clean, pure
beginning. Their malevolence usually becomes wide-ranging
and indiscriminate before long, rapidly losing sight of the
difference between cause and symptom, and between truth
and their own opinion.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet gains the rote quality on perception
rolls, and never suffers penalties on hearing-based perception
rolls or on surprise rolls to detect an ambush.
Emanation: Characters stating a minor falsehood or half-
truth suffer a point of bashing damage; the tongue begins to
ache, and blisters with unpleasant boils. When a character
suffering damage in this way encounters an immortal, such as
an Arisen, who tells a lie, the character vomits up a scorpion
with the head of a lion, suffering a point of lethal damage
in the process. The scorpion screams a denunciation of the
immortal’s lies before scurrying off. Enough such scorpions
spawned through falsehood ultimately forms a lion-headed
Amkhat in the area.
AVATAR
The Screaming Flock’s avatar is a swarm of grotesquely
twisted, large owls, each bearing the head of a hairless man
with bloody rents instead of lips. The mass of wretched mon-
strosities move in cohesion. When they take wing, gusts of
sand and scraps of flayed skin whirl among their beating wings.
At rest, the whole flock roosts on whatever perches are avail-
able and stares at whoever has its attention with its myriad of
pupil-less eyes. The harpy-things speak through screeches that
somehow harmonize into a pure, clear tone — the emergence
of the beautiful from the worthless.
The Screaming Flock listens patiently to anyone speaking
to it, carefully gauging the truthfulness of their words. When
riled, the swarm whips itself into a screaming maelstrom,
sending streams of birds to tear and rip at victims with their
avian claws and all-too-human teeth. Individual harpies
are expended as needed, smashing into structures in bloody
impacts until windows shatter or walls buckle so that the
Screaming Flock can move forward; new birds emerge from
the heart of the storm. In the flock’s wake, it leaves the corpses
of the slain without their tongues, surrounded by revelations
of their true feelings written in their entrails.
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 15, Resistance 13
Initiative: 28
Defense: 15
Size: 30
Speed: 40 (flying)
Corpus: 43
Dread Powers: Destructive Frame •••••, False Ka,
Natural Weapons •••
Utterances: Pestilent Whispers, Words of Dead
Dominion, Wrathful Desert Power
Heightened Emanation: Characters in the
presence of the Screaming Flock cannot communi-
cate with anyone apart from the avatar. Whatever
means they might attempt to convey a message,
whether words, writing, or body language, is ren-
dered completely incomprehensible as long as they
remain near the Judge’s manifestation. Any attempt
to invoke an Utterance by characters other than
the Screaming Flock requires the expenditure of an
additional Pillar point to force its power past the
gibbering reality-static the avatar emits.
THE MINOTAUR,
MANIFESTATION OF NEHA-HATU
The Minotaur is a manifestation of Neha-Hatu, the
Stinking Body. The Judge’s purview are violators of another’s
basic needs — the taking of life, the denial of food or shelter,
and so on. This is a very wide-ranging remit, and constantly
brings Neha-Hatu into conflict with other Judges’ overlap-
ping portfolios. The Minotaur is among the most frequently
recorded of all manifestations by any Judge, unleashed to
contest Sekhem or interfere with other Judges’ Arisen on a
regular basis. How the Stinking Body possesses so deep a well
of Sekhem to draw upon is a mystery to the Deathless, as few
Arisen serve its overly vague and unfocused purpose.
Benbenet: He bears the marks of his deprivation in the
scars and skeletal gauntness of his frame, a poor man denied
even the basic sustenance he needed to make it from day to
day until the Minotaur’s immanence slammed into his soul.
She still looks as sick, diseased, as the day the officials drove
her away and left her to die out of fear that she might be
contagious. The Minotaur grants its benbenet strength and
resilience in wild contradiction to their apparent frailty, but
shows no particular care or tenderness. It uses and abuses
them, subordinating their will if necessary, and tossing their
ruined lives aside once it is done with whatever short-term
purpose it pursues.
EMANATION
Crown: The benbenet is unaffected by the Poisoned and
Sick Tilts, and gains the rote quality on all Stamina-based
dice rolls.
The Judges 255
 Emanation: Characters are troubled by corrupt vermin.
Pestilent rats, skittering cockroaches and bloated scarabs
scurry behind the walls and infest the home. Their numbers
are not so great as to be a plague, but enough to lend a fec-
ulent air to the area of the emanation. Characters suffer the
moderate Sick Tilt upon entering combat.
AVATAR
A ghastly chimeric being, the Minotaur is an immense and
rotting scarab bedecked with the gleaming ornamentation of a
sacred beast of Irem. Lapis lazuli and gold adornments stand in
stark contrast to splits in its carapace that ooze festering ichor
and clouds of flies. Its head is that of a bull rather than a beetle,
with large horns and a golden gorgerine armoring the neck.
Reality breaks down around the Minotaur; angles and sur-
faces cease to follow their usual meanings. Corridors loop back
on themselves or spit out impossible rooms that would leave
Escher dizzy. The avatar moves its bloated bulk along with
implacable strength, cornering foes and pulverizing or crushing
them. Vermin spontaneously erupt from the carcass of any
such victims, reducing the corpse to beetle-picked bones in
moments. The Minotaur can speak, but rarely does so except
when coercing an Arisen to join the Stinking Body’s retinue.
Attributes: Power 14, Finesses 14, Resistance 14
Initiative: 28
Defense: 14
Size: 15
Speed: 33
Corpus: 29
Dread Powers: Armor •••••, Pestilent Cloud
Utterances: Dust Beneath Feet, Pavane of Eternity,
Waters of Life and Death
Heightened Emanation: Anyone attempting
to leave the Minotaur’s presence must succeed at
a Wits + Composure check minus the Minotaur’s
remaining Sekhem else find they are back in the
scene, no matter what approach they attempt to
take.
THE SHADOW JUDGE,
MANIFESTATION OF TCHESER-TEP
The Shadow Judge is a manifestation of Tcheser-Tep, the
Exalted Hand. Tcheser-Tep concerns itself with desecration
of the dead and disrespecting their tombs, taking particular
offense at the plundering or vandalism of Arisen tombs, but
256 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
outraged at any transgression against the posthumous. The
Shadow Judge doesn’t just come for mortal offenders, though;
Tcheser-Tep’s manifestation pursues Arisen wreaking ruin
against the resting places of rivals, attempting to force their
allegiance to the Exalted Hand and receive their punishment.
Benbenet: She’s a ragged gravedigger, raging at the disre-
spect and vandalism of the old crypts in her graveyard and the
ruination of long-buried bones beneath the hungry excavators
of modern machinery. He’s a millionaire with a tendency for
the macabre, planning to be commemorated forever with the
grandest legacy he can possibly leave behind, and determined to
keep it out of the hands of his thieving family and the vultures
of the government. Benbenet of the Shadow Judge often have
a morbid streak, but most nurse an obsession with their own
posthumous preservation, desiring a monument to their life and
the protection of their remains against those who might, in the
future, desecrate their ideal place of repose.
EMANATION
Crown: Weapons and sources of harm that would nor-
mally deal lethal or aggravated damage to the benbenet only
inflict bashing damage.
Emanation: Characters in the Emanation are treated as
having the Open Condition toward ghosts.
AVATAR
The Shadow Judge assembles itself from whatever stone,
earth, or masonry is to hand, pulling bricks and rocks and
fragments together into a looming, jackal-headed figure. A
strange half-light shimmers amid the rubble, its wan rays
stirring a sense of nausea and disorientation in the minds of
those looking upon the avatar. No matter from what angle
one views the Shadow Judge, it seems to stand before a bridge
or expanse, as the fabric of space and time beyond it stretches
and warps towards a distant point of that same gray radiance.
The Shadow Judge is methodical and implacable, each
footstep shaking the earth. Tormented faces press up from
the ground in its wake, murmuring distressing portents and
begging for release. Pieces of rubble and debris in the vicinity
but unclaimed by the avatar stacks or assembles themselves
into baroque and macabre shapes, forming grinning skulls
of brick and metal or crypt-like assemblies that topple and
collapse when the Shadow Judge has passed. All color leeches
from anything the Judge touches, rendered silvery-gray and
lifeless in hue.
Attributes: Power 15, Finesse 10, Resistance 12
Initiative: 22
Defense: 10
 Size: 10
Speed: 25
Corpus: 22
Dread Powers: Armor •••••, Ghost Touch
Utterances: Awaken the Dead, Feast of Ashes,
Words of Dead Dominion
Heightened Emanation: Any character dying
in the Shadow Judge’s presence immediately gives
rise to a tormented ghost, bound to the avatar’s
command and acting to protect it.
THE IMMORTALS
T he Deathless and the Lifeless aren’t the only immortals
present in the world. The Arisen consider these other
long-lived beings deeply flawed. No Judge blessed them, and
they didn’t survive the harrowing, soul-baring experience of
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 compares to that the
Arisen gather during their Descents.
The immortals would beg to differ — they are 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 ves-
sels, but also to a network of cultists and sorcerers. Endless who
earn an Arisen’s trust gain insight into the rites that summon
Sekhem and Immortals
Sekhem serves as a Supernatural Advantage
Trait for immortals. If they are invested or other-
wise possess Pillar points, their Sekhem rating
determines the benefits received when reinforcing
Physical Attributes. They add their Sekhem rating to
the activation roll for any Supernatural Merit they
possess. In moments of desperation, the Endless
can expend a dot of Sekhem to either refresh all
Willpower points or fully heal all damage.
Most Endless don’t risk Descent, hoarding their
precious Sekhem indefinitely. Immortals spending
a dot of Sekhem on an effect recoup the costs
due to Sanctity of Experiences, but the recovered
Experiences must be used to purchase traits oth-
er than Sekhem. Losing one’s last dot of Sekhem
inflicts the Going Westward Condition until the
immortal is able to undergo their ritual to restore
their immortality.
Immortals may drain Relics of Sekhem dots, but
don’t add these to their own rating. Drained dots
are freed of the vessel and must be used within three
turns before the Sekhem dissipates into the world.
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?
CREATING IMMORTAL
CHARACTERS
Players wishing to play immortals follow the character cre-
ation procedure outlined in Chapter Three for mummy charac-
ters, which is largely the same for immortals, except they add the
Endless Template at Step Five instead of the Arisen Template.
THE ENDLESS TEMPLATE
Immortality
Decide upon the method your character uses for their
immortality.
Blood Bathers rely upon the blood of their victims to stave
off the passing years.
The Immortals 257
 Body Thieves take new bodies to replace their own.
Mystical Thieves rely upon strange rituals to seize a body,
while Psychic Thieves do so by sheer force of will.
Eternals invest their mortality into a Relic, which they
protect at all costs.
Reborn reincarnate, carrying their memories and experi-
ences from one lifetime to the next.
Each type of immortality also has associated Aspects,
mystical traits possessed by all Endless pursuing immortality
by these methods. For immortals relying upon a ritual to
maintain their immortality, this ritual doesn’t count against
their maximum number of rites. Eternals begin with a free dot
of the Relic Merit to reflect their anchor.
Curse
Determine the process required to renew or maintain her
immortality. If she’s a blood bather, determine the components
of her bathing ritual: bath, blood, frequency, and preparation.
How does the body thief transfer his consciousness from one
shell to another? What is the Eternal’s anchor, and how does
she protect it? If he is Reborn, must he perform a certain task
to ensure his next incarnation?
Favored Attribute
Each type of immortal has a favored Attribute. They gain
a free dot in this Attribute and their first dot of the Endless
Potency Merit for the same Attribute. Immortals may acti-
vate their favored Attribute’s Endless Potency Merit for a
Willpower point.
Sekhem
Immortals begin with one dot of Sekhem, and may raise it
higher for 5 Experiences per dot. The Endless have a maximum
Sekhem rating of 5.
Integrity: The Endless maintain their Integrity scores,
beginning at 7 for most Endless, or 5 for blood bathers. The
method of the character’s immortality should be taken into
consideration when deciding upon breaking points.
Virtue and Vice
Like mortal characters, immortals have a Virtue and
Vice. Use the examples of Balance and Burden (p. XX) for
inspiration.
Investment
If she’s part of a mummy’s cult, list any Pillars the Arisen
invested in her. The immortal gains the benefit of their mas-
ter’s decree (p. XX) and may access Tier 1 Utterances known
to her master, spending their invested Pillars to fuel it.
Endless may purchase Supernatural Merits as though they
were mortal characters. Many of the Endless become sorcerers,
258 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
and the secret of many immortals’ longevity rests in Open
or Closed Rites they learned or created. For these ritualistic
immortals, Storytellers and players should work out whether
these rituals carry additional effects or requirements beyond
the basic type of immortality.
Regardless of their type, all Endless gain a Beat whenever
their source of immortality is truly threatened, whether it is
an Eternal fighting to rescue her fragile anchor from a burning
building or a blood bather watching his final seconds ticking
away as he struggles to locate a replacement golden tub.
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 then that flare of pain would have been her warning.
In just a few more hours 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 hearing the tale wonder if this is a strange interpreta-
tion 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. 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.
THE BATHING RITUAL
The bather has to be willing to get his hands dirty for the
bathing ritual to work. Not only does the blood’s original
owner have to die, the person performing the rite has to be the
one to take his life. That is, most often, the hurdle would-be
blood bathers can’t get passed. It’s all academic until you’re
standing over a victim, holding a knife, and hearing them
beg. Without that last depraved act of will, the ritual fails.
A person in search of immortality frequently spends years
researching how to attain it. They study ancient texts, read up
on Elizabeth Bathory, and spend long nights on the darkest
parts of the internet. Some find a mentor willing to show them
how to achieve it, though first they have to earn the mentor’s
trust. After all, people who confess to strangers that they’re
murdering others to achieve immortality are likely to end up
in jail. Blood bathers unable to find a mentor cobble together
a ritual on their own, picking and choosing elements from
sources they’ve found until it seems complete.
Every ritual has four major components: the bath itself,
the source of the blood, how the blood is prepared, and the
ritual’s frequency.
The Bath refers to the physical vessel and setting for the
ritual. Some blood bathers use any tub that’s convenient,
whether it’s their own bathtub, or one at a no-questions-asked,
no-ID-required hotel. Others have to use one specific vessel,
or require that the tub be made of a certain material. The time
of day or year might be a factor. A few bathers don’t need to
actually submerge themselves in a tub, but can instead coat
themselves in blood to the same effect.
The Blood describes the source of the blood and the
quantity the blood bather needs. Some aren’t choosy, using
blood from whatever victims are convenient. Others only use
blood from certain people (young or old, man or woman, spe-
cific blood types), and some bathers only perform their ritual
if the blood comes from a supernatural source. Some blood
bathers use preserved blood, allowing one victim’s sacrifice
to power several cycles’ worth of rituals before they have to
replenish the supply.
The Preparation defines how the blood is prepared for the
ritual. Mixed with herbs, or stored in a bronze vessel for several
days; some blood bathers need the blood to be untainted by
other fluids, while others don’t mind a little mess.
The Frequency dictates how often the bathing ritual must
be performed for the blood bather to maintain her immortality.
For some, years might pass before they need to carry out the
ritual. Others might need to renew it more frequently: month-
ly, weekly, or even daily — though when the bodies stack up
that quickly, a blood bather’s risk of getting caught increases
exponentially. This also determines how much leeway the
bather has. Can her ritual only be performed on the same date
every year, or does she have a few days either side as a buffer?
Once a blood bather performs the ritual successfully for
the first time, that’s how he must perform it for the rest of his
life — however long that may be.
BLOOD BATHER SOCIETY
For the most part, blood bathers don’t associate with each
other. Hanging out with other mass murderers is risky for all
parties should any one of them get caught. However, some blood
bathers are willing to risk it. Perhaps they’ve found the people
with whom they wish to spend eternity and developed a bathing
ritual together. A handful of blood bathers cultivate mortal
followers, promising that someday they’ll teach them the trick
of eternal life, if they spend a while helping to hide the bodies.
While possible to do it on the cheap, being a blood bather
can be expensive. It’s easier to perform the bathing ritual in a
private space where you control access. Ritual materials get
pricey, especially when they’re hard to procure and cumbersome
to ship. Even before he performs the ritual for the first time, a
blood bather has likely spent a small fortune on research, col-
lecting rare books, and travelling around the world to interview
experts. Many blood bathers are wealthy, using the advantage
of their long years to build up sizable savings. For those lacking
any stock market savvy, they can always rob their victims.
The Immortals 259
 THE ARISEN AS FOES
Blood bathers occasionally stumble across mentions of
the Arisen while researching their bathing rituals. They hear
about the Deathless in a general sense first, attempting to
delve further into the information available. Any immortal
is potential inspiration for their own process, and the Rite of
Return presents an intriguing possibility.
Unless she discovers a specific mummy or his cult active in her
area, a blood bather usually encounters relics and vestiges before
coming face-to-face with one of the Deathless. She recognizes the
Sekhem in a vessel as the very substance flowing through her in
such sweet abundance the nights she bathes in blood. Adding the
Sekhem contained in a relic to her ritual could boost its potency,
maybe lengthen the interval between rituals, or shave another
ten years off her age, or grant her extraordinary powers.
When a blood bather meets one of the Arisen, the sheer
amount of Sekhem the mummy holds is like a beacon. So
much life force contained in one single body! She covets it,
imagining how many years the mummy’s blood would add to
her life — how many centuries.
Of course, just like with the bathing ritual, murdering one
of the Arisen is easy when it’s a theoretical exercise. In practice,
it’s probably not the idea of murder the blood bather has to get
past — he’s already a killer at this point — but the incredible
strength the Deathless possesses. Smart blood bathers look for
easier targets. An Arisen at the end of her Descent has less
Sekhem at her disposal than one fresh from her henet, but she’s
also less able to stave in your chest with one blow.
Blood bathers also occasionally insert themselves into a
mummy’s cult. Why try breaking down the doors when she
could be invited in? Joining the cult and working her way
up its ranks grants her opportunities to get near the relics in
the tomb and its Lifeweb. Once she has their trust, she only
needs to wait for her opportunity to snatch up the vessels she
needs and disappear. If the Arisen counts her as part of his
inner circle, it’s far simpler to lure him to her ritual chamber
when the time comes.
Those surrounding the mummy are also fair game to a blood
bather. The sorcerers performing the Call bring back an Arisen
whose body has been destroyed — a feat she’d surely like to
study. The Arisen invests her Pillars in her Sadikh, and while his
Sekhem levels aren’t nearly as high as his master’s, they’re more
potent than a regular mortal’s and he’s a far easier kill.
Targeting a mummy and his cult is perhaps foolish for Desperation.
a blood bather. She literally makes an eternal enemy if the Even though she’s put death off for now, a blood bather’s
Arisen finds out who’s after him. Even when he succumbs to immortality is contingent on her bathing ritual. Not all bathers
henet, his cult may come after her to eliminate the threat. enjoy taking lives to prolong their own (though some certainly
What would make a blood bather risk everything she’s worked do). With enough Sekhem enhancing her ritual, perhaps death
so carefully to build? may never catch her!

260 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes

THE ARISEN AS ALLIES
Although many Arisen tsk and tut at the blood bathers’
version of immortality, the Mesen-Nebu watch their results
with keen interest. What is a bathing ritual, if not a gory
form of alchemy? Similarly, the Tef-Aabhi study variations in
the rite, curious how each component affects the outcome.
Bathers intrigue sorcerers as well — many are self-taught, their
bathing rituals a mishmash of occult concepts that shouldn’t
even work, metaphysically speaking — and yet...
More than just guinea pigs for the magic-users, blood
bathers in a mummy’s cult participate in parts of the rituals
The Immortals 261
 not for the faint of heart, rites requiring a strong stomach and
a steady hand with a blade.
They also act as the Arisen’s assassins when the need arises.
If anyone knows how to make someone disappear without
being noticed, and how to get rid of the bodies efficiently,
it’s the blood bathers. What they do with the leftover blood
is none of the Deathless’ concern.
Favored Attribute: Presence
Aspects
Bathed in Life: The bathing ritual heals all bashing and
lethal damage, and downgrades aggravated damage to lethal.
It also keeps the bather in their prime, whether by maintaining
an ageless state or by regressing them to their younger self. If
their ritual fails, they suffer the Going Westward Condition.
Infusing the Soul: Invested blood bathers may pour one
of their sovereign’s Pillars along with the blood into their bath
in addition to the usual requirements for the ritual. Doing so
bestows a single Soul Affinity of the relevant Pillar (chosen
by the player, not the character) upon the bather until their
next ritual bath. The bather’s Sekhem substitutes for Pillar
rating for this Affinity when necessary.
Sacrificial Secrets: Blood bathers begin with six additional
starting Experiences at character creation. Whenever the
blood bather performs their ritual and successfully manages
to conceal all evidence of it without getting caught, they
gain a Beat.
Strong Immune System: Blood bathers are immune to the
effects of natural diseases, though they can still become carriers.
LISETTE MEEKS
“They say it takes pains to be beautiful. Nobody ever said it
has to be my pain.”
Immortality: Blood Bather
Curse: Lisette must perform her bathing ritual every three
months. She can use any tub, filled with scalding hot water and
essential oils before she adds the blood. Any human blood will
do, but it must have been harvested within the last seven days.
Background: Lisette’s always been beautiful; she had per-
fect teeth, perfect hair, flawless skin. She’s a fair-to-middling
actress, good enough to be a pretty face in the background, or
to deliver a few walk-on lines then get out of the main cast’s
way. She’s played plucky assistants, smart-mouthed medical
examiners, and crime scene bystanders. She likes it that way.
Stardom’s an awful lot of work, and she learned from her
Hollywood B-List mother that fame’s exhausting and rarely
as rewarding as it looks.
262 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
She learned the secrets of the bathing ritual from an older
actor friend, when she noticed the roles she was offered start
changing and the work dropping off sharply. She was getting
older, and the men in the casting departments preferred
putting fresh-faced young women in front of the cameras.
Lisette’s a mediocre actress, but an exceptional killer. Her first
victim was a casting director known for his shitty treatment of
women. She mixed his blood into the bath when she returned
home, and rose from the water looking ten years younger.
Though she knows it’s the ritual that does the trick, Lisette
can’t help but feel like the act of killing rejuvenates her as
well, giving her that rosy glow.
She’s hunted outside of Los Angeles ever since, so the trail
of the missing doesn’t lead to her. She smooth talks her way
into strangers’ homes or hotel rooms, relying on the various
roles she’s played: country girl in the big city, carefree drifter,
mysterious customer at the bar, whatever piques their interest
and gets them talking. From there, she lures them somewhere
quiet and kills them.
Lisette’s looking for a way to make her youth last longer,
and research has pointed her towards the concepts of vessels
and Sekhem.
Description: Lisette’s a thin, dark-haired white woman
appearing to be in her early 20s. She’s on top of fashion trends,
and always camera-ready.
Storytelling Hints: Approachable and friendly, Lissette
happily lets people underestimate her. She’s protective of
other women in her industry, and doesn’t believe in tear-
ing other women down to lift herself up. Trying to pit her
against colleagues pisses her off. Her mild disposition hides
her ruthlessness. She files bits of information away from her
conversations to deploy when the need arises.
Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 4;
Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; Presence 2,
Manipulation 4, Composure 3
Skills: Athletics 2, Drive 1, Expression 2,
Investigation (Crime Scenes) 3, Larceny 2, Occult
2, Persuasion (Fast Talking) 3, Politics 2, Stealth 2,
Socialize 3, Subterfuge (Short Cons) 4, Survival 1,
Weaponry 2
Merits: Danger Sense, Endless Potency
(Manipulation) •, Fast Reflexes ••, Gift of Years
•••, Resources ••, Striking Looks •, Supernatural
Resistance •••, Sympathetic, Telepathy •••, Unseen
Sense ••
Investment: None
Willpower: 7
Virtue: Determined
 Vice: Ambitious
Integrity: 5
Initiative: 6
Defense: 5
Size: 5
Speed: 5
Health: 5
BODY THIEVES
He’s worn so many faces over the years that he forgets which
one was his own. Tonight, he’s a security guard at the muse-
um, watching the last of the patrons filter out. In a few hours,
he’ll leave here with an amulet in his pocket and pass it off to
a stranger on the street. He’ll walk away as that stranger, and
they’ll never find him. He’s done it a dozen times before.
A woman lingers in the exhibit hall entryway. She looks famil-
iar. Does he know her? Has he been her? She glances back at him,
and her smile jogs the recognition loose: she resembles the woman
carved into the amulet. A passing resemblance, little more.
“Ma’am?” he says, as aw-shucks and polite as the man
whose body this is would say it. He’s practiced for weeks. “Sor-
ry, but the museum’s closing.”
Her smile widens, and the resemblance goes from passing to
uncanny. “Of course,” she says. “I’ll see you soon.”
No you won’t, he thinks. He can’t say why, but he’s sud-
denly afraid.
WHO THEY ARE
Humans daydream about what it would be like to be some-
one else for a day, or a week, or forever. Hollywood makes
movies about it. Entire television series deposit extremely
different people in one another’s homes and film what hap-
pens for the viewers’ amusement. It’s rarely as glamorous as
it sounds.
Body thieves have figured out how to make the switch
for real. They hop from life to life with little regard for the
souls they’re displacing. Some are tourists in other peoples’
lives, visiting for a few days before returning back to their
own flesh. Others take a more permanent tack, leaving their
former bodies behind forever. Maybe they were old. Maybe
they were ill. They traded for younger, stronger selves, and
never looked back. Now they shed bodies like a snake sheds
its skin, moving on when they feel like it, leaving an empty
husk behind.
Out of the Old,
Into the New
A Mentally Talented body thief pushing an-
other person out of their own body so he can
inhabit it is a form of possession. This is an ex-
tended, contested roll, pitting the thief’s Resolve
+ Composure against his target’s Resolve +
Composure. Whoever loses the roll loses a point
of Willpower. After the thief whittles his oppo-
nent down to 0 Willpower, he spends a point of
permanent Willpower to transfer to the target’s
body. Shortly thereafter, his previous body dies
of what appear to be natural causes. What hap-
pens to the soul he pushed out of his new body
is unknown.
For the Magically Talented body thief, the ma-
gician must possess an object that forms a sym-
pathetic connection to his victim. This may be
a favorite book, a hairbrush, or a lock of hair.
Alternately, the victim must be carrying an item
containing a piece of the magician: hair, skin, or
blood are possibilities. This is an extended, con-
tested roll. Roll the body thief’s Manipulation +
Occult vs. the target’s Resolve + any supernatural
tolerance. The target number is the victim’s full
Willpower.
On a Dramatic Failure, the would-be body thief
loses a point of Willpower, and can’t attempt to
steal that victim’s body again for a full week.
HOW IT WORKS
Like blood bathers, body thieves’ methods differ from
person to person. They can be grouped into three broad cat-
egories, though each has countless variations within.
The Mentally Talented are body thieves who have learned
to slip into someone else’s body by sheer will, transferring
themselves with a thought. They are often individuals with no
latent psychic talents, but are merely strong-willed. The yearn-
ing to be someone else grows so strong that he simply leaves
his own body behind and goes walking in another. Mentally
Talented body thieves require some kind of sympathetic
connection to be able to switch into a target’s body. This may
be as simple as a physical touch. In some cases, the body thief
needs a lock of hair, a drop of blood, or a tear-soaked tissue
The Immortals 263
 to facilitate the swap. The connection can be more abstract
as well, like fierce love or burning hatred.
Unless he switches back to his old body almost immedi-
ately, a Mentally Talented body thief’s swap is permanent.
Within minutes of the transfer, his old body dies.
The Magically Talented learned how to make the switch
via spells and rituals. Like the blood bathers, body thieves of
this type came across the concept while chasing immortality.
They read accounts of sorcerers walking distant lands in other
bodies, of spies scouting enemy territory wearing their digni-
taries’ faces. Their theft requires more preparation. The body
thief memorizes a ritual, either passed down from a mentor
or gleaned from studying arcane texts. As with their coun-
terparts, the Magically Talented need an object that forms
a sympathetic connection between herself and her target.
The swap is temporary, usually only lasting a week, though
well-crafted spells can extend that time out to nearly a month.
If she wishes the transfer to be permanent, she either
needs to find a soulless body or kill the body she left behind.
Other types of body thieves exist as well; lumped together
as Oddities for the rarity and strangeness of their methods.
These include strange fringe science experiments, potent
psychotropic drugs, and frighteningly hypnotic websites. The
details of these particular body thieves and their methods are
left up to Storytellers’ imaginations.
BODY THIEF SOCIETY
Where blood bathers tend to be solitary, body thieves
frequently form networks of similarly-talented individuals.
Changing faces and lives so many times gets surprisingly
lonely — who are you, when you’re never truly anyone? They
seek one another out for companionship and the reassurance
that no matter the face you wear, someone knows you for
who you really are. These networks also provide cover and
aid for one another.
Contacts within a body thief’s network help her transfer
money and other possessions from one life to another. Jumping
into a wealthy person’s body allows the thief an opportunity to
go on any kind of spending spree she likes, but it has its limita-
tions. She can purchase material goods for the next body she
intends to inhabit, but moving everything in her host’s bank
account to someone else’s name leaves a paper trail grieving
family members will surely try to trace. Her allies offer help,
sometimes in the form of legal aid or doctored accounting,
sometimes by slipping briefly into a family member’s body and
signing papers in their name, making them complicit.
Other body thieves understand the meticulous kind of
research that goes into stealing someone else’s life. He might
be able to wing it for a little while — a few days at most — but
264 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
any longer than that and the body thief has to be utterly
convincing while masquerading as his new self. He needs
to recognize friends, coworkers, and family, and understand
the dynamics of each relationship. His clothing choices can’t
change drastically without someone asking questions about
the new style. Every interaction’s an opportunity to slip up.
He practices with friends in his network for weeks beforehand,
and has them to fall back on when he needs a break from
pretending.
Aside from the ability to move into a different body, body
thieves are entirely human. They suffer damage like anyone
else, though they have the option of abandoning a wounded
body for an uninjured one if they get the opportunity.
THE ARISEN AS TARGETS
Sekhem fuels the sympathetic connections that allow body
thieves to steal their targets’ shells. Just as it imbues relics and
vestiges with memories, Sekhem permeates the bodies of the
living. Body thieves latch on to its flow through their targets’
bodies and tie it to their own. The presence of items familiar to,
or representative of the magician and his target, act like ves-
tiges, enhancing and strengthening the connection between
them. Body thieves lucky enough to discover Sekhem-rich
vessels soon prefer using them to facilitate their rituals.
They’re especially fond of those sacred relics crafted long
ago in Irem. Some Mystical Thieves employ Amulets to form
their sympathetic links to a target. The ones made by the
Maa-Kep serve incredibly well and are particular favorites,
with Tef-Aabhi effigies a close second. The Mesen-Nebu
gift of transforming objects and people into their perfected
forms resonates with body thieves, and some of their rituals
closely echo those of the Alchemists. Others follow snippets
of spells written down long ago by the Sesha-Hebsu. When
body thieves receive word of a new text surfacing, they jump
at the chance to own it and study it, frequently competing
with mummies in search of their relics.
The Su-Menent simultaneously fascinate and repulse
body thieves. On one hand, the mummies’ mastery over
death intrigues them; surely they have wisdom to impart on
thwarting the inevitable. At the same time, few body thieves
want to get too close. The feeling is mutual: The Su-Menent
view the body thieves’ work as a sin.
Rather than attempting to break into a mummy’s tomb
and abscond with their relics, body thieves take a more in-
sidious approach: they steal cultists’ bodies. While normally,
a Mystical Thief could simply swap bodies for a day or two,
doing so gives the cultist a chance to figure out who’s behind
the crime. Cultists experience all kinds of strange terrors
throughout their service. Waking up in a body that isn’t her
own is temporarily disorienting, but any good cultist collects

Grand Theft Sahu
Mystical Thieves may attempt to steal the bod-
ies even of supernatural creatures like vampires,
werewolves, or changelings, albeit briefly. The
spell only lasts a day, but during that time she
may use the creature’s powers, if she can figure
out how to wield them.
Mummies prove a special case. Usually, the
Arisen are immune to any form of possession,
but generations of body thieves have experi-
mented with their rituals, desperately seeking to
cheat their way into the Rite of Return. By forg-
ing a strong enough link to the Arisen’s Sekhem,
the thief temporarily bypasses their protections,
splicing herself into the mummy’s soul. Making
the attempt requires a stronger sympathetic link,
such as the mummy’s canopic jars or the harmon-
ic centerpiece of their tomb. The mummy’s Pillars
also serve for this connection, whether invested in
the thief or stolen through the ritual sacrifice of an
invested mortal or sorcerer.
If successful, the thief gains control of the sahu for
a day and access to the mummy’s powers, save
those reliant upon the defining Pillar. Consuming
vessels or sacrificing invested cultists extends this
time by a day each. The mummy seizes another
body, but it is seldom the thief’s. Most claim the
body of another invested cultist, but some awak-
en in a nearby corpse.
Mummies maintain their defining Pillars and asso-
ciated Affinities, but find their access to Utterances
severely limited by their available Pillars. With
their soul stretched between their current body
and their sahu, the mummy suffers the Confused
and Relentless Conditions. If either the mummy
or the thief is slain, the Arisen may immediately
attempt to regain their sahu by rolling Sekhem
+ defining Pillar. Upon losing control, the thief is
shunted back into their own body, if it still lives.
herself and starts gathering clues before the spell wears off. If
she finds any, the body thief will have an entire cult on his trail.
He may devise a plan to keep his old body locked in a
dark room, or make the switch moments before a prescrip-
tion-strength sleeping pill puts his original body down for the
count. However, he knows the only way to be completely
certain no cultist returns with information about the swap is to
simply make sure the cultist doesn’t return. The body thief as-
sumes his victim’s place in the cult, carrying out her duties and
gathering information about their operations. Some thieves
seize the first opportunity to snatch a relic and run. Others
stay in their stolen body for months or even years, studying
alongside the sorcerers and basking in the Lifeweb’s warmth.
THE ARISEN AS ALLIES
As frequently as they’re at odds, mummies and body
thieves also come to mutually beneficial arrangements. Their
talents grant them access to spaces the Arisen and their cults
would otherwise have to break or bribe their way into. No
need to sneak into the museum after hours when you can
take over the head curator’s body and give your “VIP donors”
a private tour.
A sorcerer approaches a body thief when the body of the
Arisen she serves has been completely destroyed. She needs
an empty shell to Call his soul back to, and the word in occult
circles says that’s a service the magician can provide. Rather
than having to sneak into the tomb, the body thief becomes an
invited and valued guest. She trades her services for access to
the vessels in the Arisen’s collection (carefully monitored by
the cult, of course), and may even be able to acquire vestiges
of her own, crafted by the cult’s sorcerer.
Body thieves serving an Arisen over many lifetimes provide
valuable information at the beginning of a Descent. She can
share an unbroken, firsthand narrative of the mummy’s his-
tory, beginning when she joined the cult. While other cultists
keep meticulous records to recite back to their Deathless
charge, they may be telling a tale that happened a hundred
years before they were born. The body thief was there.
When a body thief earns the mummy’s trust, the Arisen
imbues him with Pillars via the Rite of Investment. This power,
above and beyond anything he’s able to wield on his own, is
one of the strongest incentives for a body thief to join forces
with the Arisen rather than fight against them.
Favored Attribute: Manipulation
Aspects
Borrowed Prowess: The thief keeps their own Mental
and Social Attributes, but assumes the Physical Attributes of
their new form. The thief keeps their own Skills, but borrows
five dots of the host body’s Skills while within. Merits and
Conditions reliant upon a specific body remain with the body,
while those affecting the mind or soul remain with the thief.
The Storyteller is final arbiter of what is kept and what is lost.
Soul Link: With their Arisen sovereign’s Pillars acting as
a sympathetic connection, invested body thieves may attempt
to seize the bodies of their sovereign or their invested cultists
The Immortals 265
 from any distance. By spending a Pillar point, the thief may
add their Sekhem to rolls to seize a body.
Steal Sense: With a sympathetic connection or a clear
view of their target, the thief spends a point of Willpower to
seize one of the target’s senses to enhance their own. If the
thief wins the Wits + Empathy vs. Resolve + Sekhem roll,
they gain a +2 bonus on rolls with that sense, which become
Blessed Actions. On a dramatic failure, sensory overload
imposes a −2 penalty on perception-related rolls. All effects
last for the remainder of the scene.
Unobtrusive: Body thieves easily fade into a crowd when
they wish, adding their Sekhem rating when rolling to blend
into the human background of a scene.
DARRIN KNAPP
“I can get it for you. I just have to be someone else for a little while. “
Immortality: Body Thief (Magically Talented)
Curse: To switch bodies, Darrin requires an item of
personal significance to them. He reads a spell from an old
grimoire while staring into a full-length mirror.
Background: Darrin spent most of his childhood hanging
out in his aunt’s occult bookshop. He wasn’t sure he believed
in any of it, though he liked reading the books and trying
out the spells. He never got results, but chalked that up to
having to substitute rare components with what he could find
around the house.
The first spell that ever worked for him is also the only one
that ever has. He read off the words to a spell promising to “let
you walk around in another man’s shoes” while holding his
elder brother’s football trophy. Next thing he knew, he was out
on the field during practice, about to get sacked. It jolted him
straight back into his own body. He might have dismissed it as a
particularly vivid daydream, until the phone rang a few minutes
later. The coach reported that James had taken a particularly
hard hit and gotten a concussion. At the hospital, James told
the family that he’d had a weird dream as he blacked out, about
looking in a mirror and seeing Darrin’s face instead of his own.
Darrin snuck the trophy back into James’ room before his
brother came home, but kept the grimoire.
He’s been a body thief for seventy years. He’s switched
bodies permanently three or four times, but prefers shorter
jaunts into other peoples’ lives. Darrin has a reputation as
a procurer, able to retrieve items from places thought to be
nearly impenetrable. He serves as part of a mummy’s cult,
helping to smuggle vessels back to the Arisen’s tomb.
Description: Darrin’s current body is that of a heavyset
black man. He prefers jeans and collared shirts, and keeps a
266 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
sport jacket with him in case he needs to dress up his look a
bit on information-gathering missions.
Storytelling Hints: Darrin listens more than he speaks,
a habit he picked up while walking around in other peoples’
bodies: if you don’t talk too much, it’s harder to slip up.
Among trusted friends, however, he’s chatty and displays
slightly old-fashioned mannerisms, reflecting the era of his
childhood. Because he needs a personal item to facilitate his
swaps, Darrin learned the art of pickpocketing. Many people
carry photos, ticket stubs, or other small mementos in their
wallets and purses, making that his first go-to.
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3; Strength
3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2; Presence 2, Manipulation 2,
Composure 3
Skills: Academics (History) 4, Athletics 2, Brawl 1,
Empathy (Calming) 3, Intimidation 2, Investigation 3,
Larceny (Pickpocketing) 4, Occult (Spells) 4, Persuasion
2, Socialize 3, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 2
Merits: Common Sense, Gift of Years ••••, Language
(Iremic), Library ••, Relic Sensitivity, Scorpion Cult
Initiation ••, Supernatural Resistance ••, Telekinesis ••••,
Trained Observer •••
Investment: Ab 1, Ka 1
Integrity: 5
Willpower: 5
Virtue: Compassionate
Vice: Curious
Initiative: 7
Defense: 5
Size: 5
Speed: 7
Health: 7
Sekhem: 4
ETERNALS
All she wants is to be left alone.
When a piece comes into her collection that they’d want, she
calls the number on the card the suave gentleman gave her fifty
years ago. She keeps it in her rolodex, where it’s gone soft and
slightly yellow with age. Funny that this little card has aged but
neither she nor the gentleman have. She calls that number and
he comes by. She makes tea and he makes small talk. He takes
whatever curiosity she’s acquired with him when he leaves, and
that ought to be the end of it.
 But someone always comes knocking, sooner or later.
The suave gentleman can’t keep them all away. She’s tired of
changing locks, of spending money on security system upgrades.
It’s one thing. One! Thing! Their Judges can’t have, one thing in
the entire world, but they never stop trying to take it from her. It
doesn’t matter to them that it’ll kill her if they take the tiny stone
sculpture that holds her very life in its carved granite hands, but
she’ll be damned if she gives it up without a fight.
They ought to have learned that by now.
WHO THEY ARE
Out of all the immortals, the Eternals want the least to do
with the mummies. They dedicate their lives to art, to preserv-
ing ancient wonders, and to sponsoring the great works of the
future. They don’t age, and spend their long years traveling
the world seeking beauty, or stay in one place cultivating it
in their hometowns. They jealously guard one single, special
piece in their vast collections.
The piece, always a handcrafted work of art, houses their
life essence. It’s the object into which they diverted their
death, and as long as it exists, they can never die.
It’s easy for other relic hunters to assume an Eternal’s a push-
over, that their peaceful lifestyle makes them easy marks. Yet,
rare is the Eternal who hasn’t had to defend his artifact. He’s the
embodiment of been there, done that, where “there” is the fight
for his life and “that” is killing anyone before they can kill him.
HOW IT WORKS
An Eternal has already died, once — or nearly so. She
worked long and hard, building a life for herself and garnering
occult knowledge to learn how to prolong it. The candidate
procures a work of art. It must be handmade, and they must
own it outright. Stolen items or artworks of dubious legal
ownership fail to work as anchors. Though some choose por-
traits or fabric-based arts as their item, most Eternals opt for
stone or jewels, durable materials that will last for centuries
and withstand fire, flood, and other disasters.
The ritual she undertakes is a closely-guarded secret
among the Eternals, though some act as guides for newcomers
wishing to perform the rite. She transfers her mortality into
the artwork, and does this by actually dying. The manner of
her death varies. Some are grisly and agonizing; others may
be quiet and as dignified as she can pretend to be when star-
ing down her own demise. At the moment of her death, the
artwork absorbs her passing, and the Eternal lives on. From
that moment, she can’t be killed.
However, if her anchor is destroyed, the Eternal shares
its fate. If it burns, she burns. If it crumbles, she does as well.
ARISEN AS FOE
The Eternals would generally be happy to leave the Arisen
be. They’d gladly acknowledge them the way some people do
when they make accidental eye contact with a stranger: polite
nod, tight smile, walk swiftly on. They don’t need anything
from one another, and where their interests might overlap,
an Eternal is content to give way to the Arisen. Opportunities
always come back around if you wait long enough.
Unfortunately, the anchor that keeps the Eternal alive is
full of Sekhem. The moment of her death elevated it from a
beautiful yet mundane work of art into something far greater.
It’s an especially potent relic: hundreds or even thousands of
years as the Eternal’s anchor have distilled the Sekhem within
into its purest form, and Memories stored within are as vivid
as they day they occurred. Mechanically, draining an Eternal’s
relic grants the Arisen two dots of Sekhem for every Relic
dot drained, while cannibalizing it completely provides two
Reminisce Beats. Once an Arisen senses the relic, the kepher
leads him to it — often with the furious Eternal close by.
Draining the Sekhem from the anchor, or sacrificing it to
the Judges, would kill the Eternal just as surely as melting it
down into slag. If the Arisen insists on trying to take the item
from its owner, the Eternal is ready to defend it. She’s not
only learned how best to fight one of the Deathless, but has
likely laid traps in her home or in the vault where she stores
her anchor. Eternals also know the value of buying yourself
enough time to flee with your anchor, even if that means
burning everything else down.
ARISEN AS ALLIES
Some Eternals do associate willingly with the Arisen.
Immortality gets damned lonely, and Eternals view the
Deathless as fellow travelers along that road. They politely
ignore the mummy’s snobbery about flawed immortal states,
and gently steer the conversation toward shared experiences:
reminiscing about historical eras, discussing recent finds at a
dig site. Like body thieves, Eternals provide a welcome, first-
hand perspective on a mummy’s previous Descents.
Some Eternals join a mummy’s cult for protection against
the Shuankhsen and other Arisen seeking to steal their an-
chors. They offer up their connections in the art world, or
hint they can use their pull on the history museum’s board
to procure other relics and vestiges, if only the mummy and
her cult ensure the Eternal’s anchor remains intact. It’s a
risky gambit, especially if she has to take her anchor out of
her vault and attach it to the tomb’s Lifeweb as part of the
bargain. What recourse does she have, if one day the Arisen
decides to use his anchor as leverage over her?
Favored Attribute: Stamina
The Immortals 267
 Aspects
Appraisal: By handling an object, the Eternal learns any
powers and curses it possesses, and recognizes whether it’s
an anchor for an Eternal or other entity in a flash of insight.
Consequence Free: The Eternal lives life to the fullest,
confident the ravages of age and substance abuse will leave
no mark upon their body. By spending a point of Willpower,
they can reflexively shunt a Physical Condition or Tilt, such
as Fatigued, Arm Wrack, or Drugged into their anchor. This
lowers the Durability of the anchor by 1 for the chapter.
Soul Repairs: Invested Eternals spend a Pillar point to
instantly repair a point of lost Structure while touching their
damaged anchor.
Vital Shell: As long as the Eternal’s anchor persists, the
Eternal cannot permanently die. They heal from even the
most grievous wounds at their normal rate, even regenerating
lost limbs or gouged eyes over time. Damage to the Structure
of their anchor inflicts aggravated damage upon the Eternal,
which may not be healed until the anchor is repaired.
KASSIA LASKARIS
“No, that piece isn’t for sale. It’s part of a private collection.”
Immortality: Eternal
Curse: Kassia fiercely protects her anchor, a ten-inch tall
marble statue of the goddess, Athena. The little finger on its
left hand has broken off.
Background: Kassia longs for the smell of the sea and the
crying of the gulls. She was born in Greece around 460 BCE,
and grew up in a small fishing village. As a young woman, she
traveled to Athens and watched the Parthenon being built.
She befriended a young sculptor, an apprentice to the famed
Phidias, who gifted her with a small statue of Athena. By the
time she was 30, she was a skilled painter herself. A mentor
taught her the secret of eternal life, and though he was too
frightened to go through with it himself, Kassia undertook
the ritual on her own. She chose the statue of Athena as
her anchor, and thanked the goddess for diverting her death
into the stone.
Today, Kassia is a curator of antiquities at a major met-
ropolitan art museum. She’s stuck in her office most of the
time, though the job allows her some degree of travel as
the museum plans new collections and expeditions. She’s
well-connected throughout the world of antiquities dealers
and has acquired a small but impressive personal collection,
which she keeps in her home. The Athena statue normally
remains in a room-sized vault at the back of her private gal-
lery. Arisen and Shuankhsen alike have tried taking it from
268 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
her over the centuries, forcing her to continually upgrade her
security systems and study ways to defend herself against them.
In addition to physical devices and alarms, she’s laid several
supernatural traps for anyone getting too close.
Description: Kassia is a Greek woman in her mid-30s. She
wears her dark, curly hair up in a twist, and favors tailored,
jewel-toned suits. The little finger on her left hand is missing,
mirroring the one missing on her anchor.
Storytelling Hints: Kassia is perpetually wary of new
people. She has to deal with plenty of strangers in her line of
work, but she’s always on the lookout for cultists posing as art
enthusiasts and other ruses. She’s seen them all, and is quick
to spot a phony. She drops tests into her conversations if she’s
suspicious, offering up erroneous information and seeing if her
companion catches on, or asking their opinion on a sculptor
or work of art that doesn’t exist.
Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 4, Resolve 4;
Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; Presence 3,
Manipulation 2, Composure 4
Skills: Academics (Ancient Art) 5, Athletics
(Running) 4, Brawl (Boxing) 3, Crafts (Restoration)
4, Empathy 3, Expression (Painting) 4, Firearms 2,
Investigation 3, Occult 2, Socialize 3, Streetwise 3,
Survival 3
Merits: Area of Expertise (Antiquities), Contacts
(Art World), Danger Sense, Endless Potency
(Strength) •••, Fleet of Foot, Gift of Years •••••,
Psychometry •••, Resources ••••, Relic Sensitivity,
Safe Place ••••, Supernatural Resistance ••••
Integrity: 7
Willpower: 8
Virtue: Clever
Vice: Impatient
Initiative: 7
Defense: 7
Size: 5
Speed: 6
Health: 6
Sekhem: 5
THE REBORN
The young man waits for the high priest to finish speaking.
He’s listened to lecture after lecture about how it was in the old
man’s day, how the woman on the slab before them likes things to
be just so when she rises. She’s been laying there for two hundred
years; the old priest’s never seen her so much as twitch a finger.
 The last time she walked the earth, she held him prisoner when
he was an old man too weak to break free. She hates what he is,
or will, when her memory returns — but it won’t come back for
a while yet.
And there he’ll be, young and full of hate and vengeance,
waiting at her side.
WHO THEY ARE
Birth, death, and rebirth. Immortality for the Reborn is
an endless cycle. They experience life after mortal life, their
memories intact, and the lessons they learn in one lifetime
following them into the next. Of all the immortals, the Reborn
have the most freedom. The Arisen hate them for it. They
capture the Reborn when they can, and take that bitterness
out on them. The Reborn remember, and that’s an unforgivable
affront to the Deathless.
HOW IT WORKS
The path to reincarnation starts within. A person wishing
to be reborn must fully understand himself, not only his pos-
itive qualities, but also his flaws and failures. He may spend
years purifying his body, mind, and soul, studying philosophy
and meditating. He may instead spend it in utter debauchery.
Either path teaches him to transcend the body and to let go
of physical reality. Notably, some Reborn do nothing at all
to earn their reincarnation, simply gifted immortality by the
universe.
Though they don’t consciously manipulate Sekhem — and
often don’t even sense its flow — the Reborn have essentially
learned how to carry the same essence from one life to the
next. It’s not their bodies acting as vessels, but their very souls.
Other beings sensitive to Sekhem and its effects may notice
something different about its presence in one of the Reborn.
They bear no more and no less of it in them than a normal
human ought to, but it feels different. Older. Refined.
While the Reborn is, to some degree, aware of whom he
is and has been almost immediately after his rebirth, he does
not have access to all of his memories right away. They return
to him over time, often in the form of incredibly vivid dreams,
along with skills and abilities he acquired in earlier lifetimes.
His parents think he’s a prodigy, picking up a foreign language
with ease; in truth, he’s simply remembering a tongue he spoke
the last time around.
Some Reborn treat each life as another step in a sacred
journey, building upon what they learned in prior incarnations.
They assess what they’ve learned so far, seek to right wrongs
and correct their failings. Certain Reborn have to continue
living an ascetic lifestyle to insure their souls remain part of
the cycle. They may have to complete a specific ritual or task
before their death. Others only have to die to come back again.
Stories of what occurs in the interval between death and
rebirth differ. Many experience no gap at all, exhaling their
last breath one moment and gasping in their first the next. A
select few swear they’ve seen other worlds. Rarer still are the
Reborn claiming they can send their consciousness forward
or backward in time, controlling when they next emerge into
the world. They’d have interesting notes to compare with the
Deathless on living lives out of order, if the enmity between
them weren’t so great.
Religious orders devote themselves to the Reborn, seeking
the wisdom they collect across their lifetimes. Students take
notes on their recollections and pore over their stories in the
search for their own enlightenment.
Reborn learn ways to find one another with each new
incarnation. Communities composed solely of Reborn form
in remote pockets of the world; their gates always open to old
friends. They develop codes to use out among the mortals,
leave cryptic notes in newspapers and on message boards
with hints leading to a meeting place. Some keep standing
appointments for centuries, returning to a particular park or
claiming a table at a restaurant on a certain day each year.
Any Reborn showing up is welcome to join.
ARISEN AS FOES
The Deathless find most other immortals inferior. Their
longevity comes at a steep price, and uncertainty is a con-
stant companion. If a bathing ritual fails, or a body thief’s
stuck in a dying shell with no others to steal, or an Eternal’s
anchor goes up in flames, they die. The Reborn have no such
obligations, no fine print on their reincarnation cycle. Even
Reborn who must complete a task to assure their rebirths have
it easy — they have a lifetime to get it done, and it’s almost
always a labor they want to perform. No Judges watch their
every move, no cults compel them to destroy enemies or seek
out lost artifacts.
The Reborn are free in a way the Arisen can never be.
They retain their memories. They have lifetime after lifetime
to build a legacy, and can watch how the plans they set in
motion change the world. Their lack of supernatural power is
a cold comfort to the mummies, but one they exploit. Arisen
send their cults to capture and enslave the Reborn, punishing
them for their freedom.
The Reborn dying at a mummy’s hands never forgets. She
returns to the world angry and wrathful, and spends her early
years plotting revenge. She has lifetimes to exact it — if the
Arisen who ordered her torture has returned to his henet,
she can wait. Perhaps she destroys his cult while he sleeps.
Perhaps she joins it and dismantles it from within. She may
attack from afar, turning corporations she’s built up against
The Immortals 269
 his long-term interests, or tip off law enforcement agencies
to the cult’s unsavory deeds.
ARISEN AS ALLIES
For the Arisen who can put aside their animosity, the
Reborn make impressive allies. Like other immortals, their
longevity and recall of past events help mummies adapt at the
outset of each Descent. The Reborn harbor deep sympathy for
the loss of memory that comes with being Deathless. Though
they only understand a fraction of the frustration, the Reborn
know what it feels like for memory to seep back in slowly,
and recall their early years when they couldn’t yet access the
entire tapestry of their previous lives. Reborn reincarnating
out of chronology share even more common ground with the
Arisen than they do other immortals.
Favored Attribute: Intelligence
Aspects
Dreams of Lives Unlived: When the Reborn sleeps,
their dreams are filled with vivid glimpses of their other lives,
both those lived in the past and those potentially awaiting
them in the future. Once per chapter, the player may ask the
Storyteller for a fated vision. This may answer a question as per
the Common Sense Merit or give them valuable information
regarding their current circumstances.
Memory Anchor: Invested Reborn serves as repositories
for the Arisen’s fading memories. The mummy gains a +2
bonus on Memory breaking point rolls, which does not stack
in the case of multiple invested Reborn. When successful,
the Reborn gains a Beat. When the mummy fails, the Reborn
gains the Informed Condition about the mummy as glimpses
of the escaping memories filter through the Reborn’s mind.
Solid Integrity: The Reborn maintains their Integrity
through countless lifetimes, gaining a +2 bonus when facing
a breaking point.
Untrained Ease: Once per scene, the Reborn may spend
a point of Willpower to gain access to the Encyclopedic
Knowledge Merit for the Skill of their choice for the remainder
of the scene, drawing details from previous lives. The Reborn
also never suffers untrained Skill penalties.
REGINA PEREZ
“We met once, a lifetime ago.”
Immortality: Reborn
Curse: Regina must seek out someone she’s harmed in a
past incarnation — whether by intent or by accident — and
make amends with them (or, if they’re gone, with their family).
270 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
Background: Regina was born for the first time in 1750.
She remembers the Revolutionary War, how she picked up
her father’s musket and went off to fight. She didn’t survive,
but discovered she liked the soldiering life. Every time she’s
come back since, she’s joined the army as soon as she was
old enough to enlist. She’s seen a lot of battle, some of which
she’s come home from, some of which she hasn’t. Dying has
never deterred her.
In the 1950s, a Maa-Kep got wind of Regina and sent his
cult to capture her. She killed a handful of her attackers, but
ultimately lost to their superior numbers. She’s neither forgot-
ten nor forgiven him, and of all her deaths, considers that one
her worst. She died in Vietnam. She survived Afghanistan.
She’s spent those past two lives figuring out how to get her
revenge on the Arisen, keeping tabs on his cult and the pat-
terns of his Descents.
Description: Regina is a Latina woman in her early 40s.
She keeps her dark hair cut short and carries herself like a
soldier. She’s extremely fit, continuing with her exercise and
strength-training regiments even after she left the army. She’s
quick to laugh and has a bawdy sense of humor.
Storytelling Hints: Regina is practical, patient, and coldly
strategic when she’s in pursuit of her goals. Two hundred and
forty years of soldiering has honed her tactical instincts, and
ever since her capture she’s made sure she’s always got line of
sight on the exits wherever she goes. Regina is straightforward
and no-bullshit, which some people read as blunt but she
simply considers honest.
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3;
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Presence 2,
Manipulation 3, Composure 4
Skills: Academics 2, Athletics (Parkour) 5, Brawl
3, Computer 3, Firearms (Rifles) 4, Intimidation 3,
Medicine (Field Medicine) 3, Politics 2, Socialize
2, Streetwise 2, Survival (Hunting) 4, Weaponry
(Improvised Weapons) 3
Merits: Contacts (U.S. Army) ••, Fast Reflexes ••,
Gift of Years •••, Indomitable, Laying on Hands,
Parkour •, Professional Training (Military) ••••,
Supernatural Resistance ••, Thief of Fate, Unseen
Sense
Investment: None
Integrity: 7
Willpower: 7
Virtue: Assertive
Vice: Stubborn
Initiative: 8
 Defense: 10
Size: 5
Speed: 7
Health: 8
Sekhem: 3
OTHER IMMORTALS
Humans refuse to accept death’s inevitability. Throughout
history, they seek ways to thwart it, hide from it, escape it, or
put it off just a little while longer. They devise esoteric meth-
ods and complicated rituals to prolong their lifespans with
varying results. The Arisen encounter these other immortals
from time to time, working alongside them or competing
against them.
The Patchwork People rarely understand the secrets of
their own immortality. They’re the ultra-rich, slapping down
their credit cards and traveling to countries where question-
able medical procedures go on unquestioned. Their doctors are
the architects of their immortality, and most of them prefer to
go unnamed for legal reasons. The Purified have found a way
to tie their own consciousness to the Shadow Realm, where it
retreats if their physical body dies. Their return comes closer to
the Rite of Return than anything the Arisen have discovered,
though their focus on the spirit world keeps their affairs well
apart from most mummies’ earthly concerns. Visitors are
parasites who latch onto human brains, using their victims
as pawns in an esoteric war. They hint at things about the
Rite of Return and the Judges they have no business knowing,
which intrigues the Arisen.
Storytellers who wish to introduce these or other strange
immortals to their chronicles should consider the following:
What makes these characters Endless? How do they compete
with the Arisen for Sekhem? What makes them good foes?
What makes them useful allies?
SORCERERS
T he Guilds contained the greatest Sekhem artisans in the
history of the world. Their expertise built the Nameless
Empire. They uplifted stone and brought song to steel. The
Arisen say that when Irem was lost to the sands, their prac-
tices went with them. Never again would mankind shape and
control Sekhem.
This is not true. Sorcerers existed from the moment Irem
fell, humans capable of perceiving and manipulating the
Pillars within Sekhem. Sorcerous traditions exist within every
culture on the planet, using their concepts of sacred power
and rituals to perform rites.
Sorcerers are a perplexing thing to the Arisen. Some serve
them well, using their powers to carrying out their will. Others
are deadly nuisances, robbing vessels from the Judges. Then,
there are the deadly few, vicious sorcerer cults that stop at
nothing to pursue mummies to the ends of eternity.
TO BECOME A SORCERER
Almost anyone can practice sorcery, pulling off any sorcer-
ous effect as long as they follow the right instructions. Many
rites have easily obtainable components and fast, morally
unchallenging rituals to perform them. In modern times,
learning a rite can be as simple as stumbling upon a true ritual
on the internet.
However, simply performing a rite or two does not make
someone a sorcerer. Dedication to sorcery means trespassing
into private libraries and wasting hours in shady bookstores,
carefully handling ancient tombs bound in flesh. A sorcerer
discovers the best components and the most powerful rituals
that get the least amount of questions from the neighbors.
Walking the sorcerer’s path requires exploring the unknown
into places the weak fear to tread. Reality is tapestry filled
with loose threads. If someone pulls the threads, they can
reshape the tapestry in new and exciting ways. Sorcerers have
the knowledge and confidence to grab one of the threads and
yank it as hard as they can.
At its best, a sorcerer’s life is defined by discovery and
success. Who could have known that shattering the shells
of snails, hermit crabs, and turtles on a crisp fall night could
allow someone to conduct the ocean waves the next morning?
How many other people on Earth could say that they pulled
the Seven Tongued Liar, infamous Fiend of Duat, from the
throat of a coworker while on lunch break? Sorcerers have
the power to change the world, while still being capable of
living like an ordinary person.
Then, there are the worst times, when a sorcerer realizes
how alone they are, and how much of their art is trial and
error. Who believes the latchkey kid when she tells them the
trials and tribulations of creating a rite to fly in the sky? What
good is being able to speak with the wind if it can’t pay the
rent? If that weren’t enough, some sorcerers comes across the
other creatures of the world, those who only feed on blood
or nightmares yet can do far more than the most powerful
sorcery ever could.
To live as a sorcerer is a kind of exile — both from those
living a mundane life and from those standing far apart. Perhaps
this is why sorcerers inevitably seek out others like them and
train apprentices, but also start violent feuds and throw hideous
curses upon each other. Sorcerers crave companionship, but
refuse to be seen as inferior in the eyes of others.
Sorcerers 271
 SORCERERS AS CULTISTS
Sorcerers cross paths with the Arisen more than any other
kind of supernatural being. No one is sure why. Sentimental
cultists argue that because sorcerers practice a tradition that
uses a mummy’s power, they are bound to the fate of the
Deathless. Cynical sorcerers see it differently. Once a sorcerer
discovers they can create and use Vestiges, it won’t be long until
a several thousand-year-old monstrosity busts down the door.
Joining a mummy’s cult can be a mutually beneficial
partnership. Mummies constantly generate Sekhem and can
provide Pillars to the sorcerer through the Rite of Investment
(p. XX). Invested Pillars make the difference between having
to chant over smoldering incense and fresh bones at the top of
the land’s highest mountain to summon the rain, and simply
asking the sky for a downpour. In return, a sorcerer uses their
arts to protect the mummy, and can lead her cultists in rites
once she has returned to Duat.
The Arisen tend to treat their sorcerers well, if only because
they often depend on them to lead the Call (p. XX) that returns
them to life. Sorcerers quickly carve out an important role in a
cult. They’re often the ones in charge of delineating a mummy’s
orders to cultists and the ones filtering and re-interpreting the
Iremite religion to appeal to modern day adherents.
It may not be an ideal relationship, but a sorcerer cultist
finds that servitude brings a hefty chunk of power.
SORCERERS AS INTERLOPERS
Some sorcerers refuse to serve, to settle for the chance to
be someone else’s second most important person. Why should
someone commanding ghosts suffer the indignity of serving a
creature that doesn’t even remember its true name? A sorcerer
may not be able to live forever or summon meteors from the
sky, but at the very least, they’re human and free.
That doesn’t mean they ignore the Arisen. Mummies are
the best at tracking down vessels, but not necessarily the best
at obtaining them. Some sorcerers use that to their advantage,
stalking a mummy and her cult in secret, and then snatching
away their treasure at the last second. It’s dangerous, but it
beats needing to engage in long, complicated rituals.
These sorcerers may even declare a moral high ground or
greater purpose as they pursue their targets. Often in tow with sea-
soned monster hunters, they claim that they thwart a mummy’s
quest to protect the planet’s life force, to take back humanity’s
magic, or some other noble goal. The Arisen do not believe them.
There is only one true owner of the world’s vessels, the Judges,
and only one word for those preventing their return: thief.
Of course, for all their passion and power, a sorcerer is still
mortal. They can stalk and steal all they like but one day, they will
272 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
be dead and the Arisen will still be very much alive. Sorcerous inter-
lopers are merely flies: annoying, short-lived, and easily squashed.
SORCERER CULTS
Even flies gather into swarms.
Half social club and half coven, sorcerer cults are the
best of both worlds. Joining one means a person can practice
sorcery without isolation. It puts a sorcerer in contact with
people who believe in her ability, and teaches her rites she
would have never found on her own. They also provide ben-
efits such as income, food, and shelter, things that sorcerers
often end up lacking as they pursue their craft.
Sorcerer cults have lasted for centuries, with some tracing
their heritage back to the Hellenistic era and even earlier.
This is perhaps the greatest advantage sorcerer cults provide.
Individual sorcerers may not live forever, but their cult will.
Sorcerer cults keep lengthy, dedicated records in their secret
vaults, providing a well-maintained cult access to every rite
a member has ever studied or performed. Unlike their Arisen
rivals, a sorcerer cult has a perfect memory.
While every member of a sorcerer cult can be killed, that
is not necessarily the end of the cult. Unless their vaults are
destroyed, they lie in wait for the next sorcerer to come along
and use them. New sorcerer cults are often founded after the
discovery of these vaults, taking the knowledge within them
and remixing it for a modern age.
Sometimes, when a mummy’s cult falls apart, a sorcerer
cult rises in its place. These defunct cults find themselves flush
with Sekhem, whether it’s from stolen vessels or the mummy
they now hold power over. With so much life force on hand
and with rites being so easy to learn, disgruntled cultists find
new life as powerful sorcerers.
It is also possible for a mummy’s cult to subjugate an
ailing sorcerer cult. When a sorcerer cult is at their lowest,
an Arisen can step in and offer the power and structure they
need to thrive. Their adherents often find it hard to resist
the temptation, and eventually come to worship the mummy
as their master. Many modern Arisen cults began this way.
MECHANICS
Any character that takes the Ritual Sorcerer Merit (p.
XX) is a sorcerer. Sorcerers receive the following benefits:
• Sorcerous Rites: The Sorcerous Knowledge Merit (p.
XX) allows a player to take additional Sorcerous Rites
and create new Closed Rites (p. XX).
• Sorcerous Rite Slots: Every unfilled Sorcerous Rites
slot can hold either one Open Rite Mastery (p. XX)
or one Closed Rite.
 • Sybaritic Resistance: A sorcerer always has a +3
bonus to the dice pool to resist Sybaris (p. XX). If
the sorcerer is a mummy’s cultist with Scorpion Cult
Initiation ••+ (p. XX) and obeys the cult’s Doctrines,
they are completely immune to Sybaris.
• Sybaritic Insight: A sorcerer can always interpret a
Sybaritic Omen (p. XX) when touching a Sybaris-
afflicted character, as if they had the character’s Sybaris
Condition (p. XX). This may reduce and even resolve
the character’s Condition.
• Forbidden Knowledge: Whenever a sorcerer under-
goes a Breaking Point (p. XX) because of supernatural
forces, the player can choose to lose a point of Integrity
(p. XX) instead of rolling. If she does so, the player gains
one new Sorcerous Rite slot and permanently reduces
her character’s maximum Integrity by 1.
OPEN RITES
Any action that a character without a supernatural tem-
plate can do that causes a supernatural effect can be taken as
an Open Rite. The term is a broad umbrella, encompassing a
wide variety of esoteric abilities ranging from reading auras to
summoning fiends from Duat. Unlike the formalized Closed
Rites, Open Rites use wildly different rituals and systems to
cast.
Anyone can perform an Open Rite, which has given them
the reputation of being safe. That is not the case. Their ac-
cessibility comes at the price of perfection: once a character
learns an Open Rite, they must follow the components and
ritual method to the letter. Improvisation or forgetfulness
can be deadly: summoning a fiend by mispronouncing their
name might do nothing, but it might release the fiend into
the world, unbound and thirsting for blood.
Commonly known Open Rites include:
• Mortal interactions with ephemeral entities (p. XX):
Abjuration, Binding, Contact, Exorcism, Summoning,
and Warding (Chronicles of Darkness Core
Rulebook, pp. 139-140). Each individual interaction
is considered a separate Open Rite.
• Amkhata summoning (p. XX): An Amkhat combina-
tion created after a Success or an Exceptional Success
may be placed into an unfilled Sorcerous Rite Slot. If
the sorcerer chooses to do this, they may summon the
combination again with no roll necessary. Any essential
environments or components for the summoning are
still required.
• Creating a Vestige (p. XX).
• Summoning unclean spirits from Duat, known as
akathartoi to the sorcerers, translated as “fiends.”
Summoning an individual fiend is considered a sep-
arate Open Rite, even from the summoning of other
ephemeral entities.
• Performing the Call (p. XX).
• Sybaritic Omen Interpretation (p. XX).
Sorcerers can master Open Rites they study. If the player
fills a Sorcerous Rite slot with an Open Rite Mastery, they
choose the Open Rite it represents and the sorcerer gains
additional benefits when performing the rite:
• The choice of either one additional Mental or Social
Attribute dot for the duration of the rite. The chosen
Attribute must either apply to the rite’s dice pool or be
thematically appropriate to the rite. This benefit con-
tinues during breaks or short interruptions during the
rite, lasting no longer than one scene. The additional
dot may raise the Attribute above its normal maximum.
• +1 bonus to any dice pool involved in performing the
rite. This bonus stacks with Skill specialties.
• If a sorcerer uses a Pillar point during the rite, its dice
pool receives an additional +1 bonus. The player may
choose an additional Mental or Social Attribute to receive
+1 bonus dot. The Pillar point must come from a Pillar
appropriate to the rite. The chosen Attribute must not
be the same Attribute enhanced by learning the Open
Rite. This effect lasts for the duration of the rite.
VESTIGE CREATION
One of the most important Open Rites is to create Vestiges
(p. XX). Many sorcerer cults consider this the bare minimum
of competency, and a disciple is not inducted into the cult’s
deeper mysteries unless witnessed creating one.
A Vestige is created in three steps:
Step One: Acquire a Sekhem-filled Object
Ordinary use of objects inherently imbues them with
Sekhem. Because of this, sorcerers tend to make Vestiges out
of often-used household objects or antiques. These objects
increase a sorcerer’s chance of success. The small amounts
of Sekhem donated through repeated use or great age make
these items into hefty reservoirs of life force.
When sorcerers need the Vestige to be a specific object
and have no time to wait, they turn to another method:
Sorcerers 273
 cannibalizing Relics (p. XX). Exposing an object to a broken
Relic immediately after the vessel’s sundering fills the object
with a portion of the Relic’s Sekhem. Even a fraction of the
Relic’s distilled power is enough to prepare an object to be
a Vestige.
Step Two: Imprint a Memory on the Object
Now the object is imbued with Sekhem, and the sorcerer
must implant a highly emotional memory into it.
How this is done depends on what the sorcerer wants the
Vestige to do, and what kind of memory would best form the
basis for its function. A sorcerer creating a Vestige that makes
his clothes bulletproof may recall the day his best friend was
shot to death, or some other personal traumatic memory of
gun violence.
Using memory alone can lead to problems. A sorcerer’s
memory may not be recent enough or strong enough to prop-
erly seal the object, the memory, and its Sekhem together. If
the Vestige is not created within a week of enacting the rite,
the Sekhem within flows back into the greater world and the
sorcerer must start the rite from the beginning.
Sorcerers resolve this problem with a dangerous method:
they engineer events to create the emotional memories they
want. Sorcerers only need a memory to create a Vestige, not
necessarily their own memory. As long as the object is physical-
ly present during the event and near the person experiencing
the memory, it imprints. The sorcerer creating the bulletproof
Vestige might put himself in a situation where someone shoots
him, or might just shoot someone else, placing the Vestige-
to-be beside his bleeding-out victim.
Step Three: Seal the Vestige
Sometimes, if a memory is very recent, and highly emo-
tional, no further action is necessary. The Vestige is created
and can be invoked immediately after.
Most of the time, however, sorcerers need to perform
one final aspect of the rite. This step creates a mystical “seal”
between the object, the Sekhem within, and the anchoring
memory. Sealing a Vestige is a highly personal ritual, and
some sorcerers never perform the same sealing ritual twice.
One sorcerer may always carve runes into their Vestiges, while
another may bury theirs in consecrated soil.
Sealing the Vestige
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Varies
Suggested Modifiers: Object imprinted with a fresh
memory (+3), Object imprinted with a memory made more
than five years ago (−1 for every five year period), object was
imbued with Sekhem from a Relic (+2).
274 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
Creating Relics
Can a sorcerer use the Vestige Creation rite to
make a Relic? Yes, with three major caveats.
The first is that the sorcerer must find a way to re-
fine the Sekhem inside an object. Even among the
most powerful sorcerer cults, there is no known,
reliable method for refining Sekhem. Once
Sekhem leaves the mystical binding of a Relic, it
immediately returns to an unrefined state.
The second is that creating a Relic is a major di-
vergence in the working of an Open Rite, stretch-
ing an already permissible rite beyond its limits.
Failing a Relic creation could permanently dis-
able the sorcerer’s ability to create Vestiges, or
worse.
The third is that not only do the Judges imme-
diately know when a Relic is created, but it can
now be tracked by kepher (p. XX). Without the
protection of a mummy or a sorcerer cult, a Relic
creator finds themselves in great danger.
Success: The seal is complete. The object is now a Vestige
(p. XX). The player may give their sorcerer’s Vestige a dot
rating up to their dots in Occult (minimum 1, maximum 5), a
Virtue, and a Vice. The player and Storyteller should collabo-
rate to create an appropriate Power and Curse for the Vestige.
Exceptional Success: As success, except the player may
give their sorcerer’s Vestige a dot rating up to their dots in
Occult +1, potentially overcoming the known limits of vessels
(minimum 2, maximum 6).
Failure: The seal falls apart. The object does not become
a Vestige. The sorcerer may try again with a −2 penalty to
the dice pool. If the object is not made into a Vestige within
a week, the rite has failed.
Dramatic Failure: The seal implodes, shattering the ob-
ject. The object is destroyed and the rite has failed.
CLOSED RITES
Closed Rites are the workings of true sorcerers, the fruit of
years of study and sacrifice. They are only available with the Ritual
Sorcerer Merit (p. XX), representing their dedication and prac-
tice. Learning a Closed Rite always uses up a Sorcerous Rite slot.
These rites are at once more and less difficult than Open
Rites. Closed Rites are formal and straight forward. They
follow the Rule of Three. All Closed Rites consist of three
separate elements, all working in unison. For example, a
rite to become invisible may consist of these three elements:
mixing cracked eggs and the practitioner’s blood in a bowl,
praising a god with sixty names over the bowl, and consuming
the mixture in one go. Closed Rites have fewer overall steps
than most Open Rites, but each step is specific and difficult.
Closed Rites can be made less complex with Pillar points
(p. XX). These either come from cannibalizing Vestiges (p.
XX) or the Rite of Investment (p. XX). Receiving Pillar points
from a mummy is more convenient, as they have access to
every Pillar at once. A Closed Rite can only take one Pillar
point at a time, no matter the source.
Pillar points alter Closed Rites in three ways:
• If a Pillar point aligns with one of the three elements,
it either replaces it entirely, or allows for a wider inter-
pretation of the element. For example, if the invisibility
rite is given a point of Ren, the practitioner no longer
needs to praise a god with sixty names. If the rite is
given a point of Ab, the practitioner no longer needs
to mix their blood into the eggs. If the rite receives a
point of Ka, the practitioner can feed the mixture to
anyone while praising the god. The other elements of
the rite must still be successfully completed.
• All participating sorcerers receive 1 additional Attribute
dot connected to the Pillar (p. XX) for 24 hours.
• The donated Pillar point enhances the rite, granting it
an additional Storyteller approved effect. A Pillar point
that does not align with any of the rite’s elements still
provides an additional effect, even if it cannot replace
or simplify a rite element. A Sheut point might make
the caster soundless as well as invisible. A Ba point
might allow the caster to see into a Twilight frequency,
as he is just as invisible as the entities within it.
LAST DYNASTY
INTERNATIONAL
Purity holds a righteous arm over hubris.
For many, Last Dynasty International is just another name
in the vast pharmaceutical industry. They manufacture drugs,
vaccines, and materials for cellular and gene therapy. They
have a significant interest in the transportation industry and
in wildlife preservation, headed by two subsidiaries. Their
headquarters are in Thun, Switzerland and they’re incorpo-
rated in the Seychelles. They own a major research unit in
the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina.
There, they hold open houses giving graduates from the area’s
universities a glimpse into the corporation’s famously secret
manufacturing process.
It’s very important for Last Dynasty to keep their secrets.
While most of their products are regular pharmaceuticals, a
few have developed an obsessive following. Urban legends
say that Amphex, an immune system booster, can eradicate
an HIV infection. Elite soldiers tell harrowing stories of
grave injuries healed in mere moments after a single dose of
Notromadine. Athletes and their trainers search desperately
for Mendathinol, a perfect and undetectable steroid. Tabloids
hawk rumors of a cellular therapy process that literally reverses
aging, reserved for the company’s researchers, executives,
stockholders, and anyone willing to pay billions to get on the
waiting list.
All of these are true, but their miraculous properties come
at a price: all of them are laced with Sekhem wringed from
the bodies of captured Arisen.
HISTORY
Last Dynasty International formed centuries ago as
Parangelἱa Seth, a cult of Greeks, Egyptians, and Nubians
worshipping the god, Set, and conning the rich with parlor
tricks in the guise of sorcery. They deceived their way into
the upper echelons of kingdoms and empires, and even the
Arisen respected their influence and trickery. They recruited
them into their cults.
Then, sometime after the second Sothic Turn, the cult
learned actual sorcery. Legend claims that Set personally
appeared to the cult, blessing them with fertility and sacred
stones that described the cult’s first Closed Rites. The cult
continued to serve the Arisen, but tensions arose. Set did not
permit stasis and demanded his adherents challenge all rulers,
including the Deathless.
Then, the cult discovered the Scrolls of Isis; a prophecy
claiming Azar would be reborn in the form of Cleopatra’s son,
Caesarion, ending the Arisen’s purpose. Azar would gather the
mummies and leave for another realm with the entire world’s
magic in tow. The Set worshippers realized that this would
lead to the destruction of reality, if not at least the loss of their
patronage. They swore to oppose Azar’s rebirth. Under the
guidance of the Shunakhsen, Nefersobk, they betrayed their
Arisen masters and took part in the end of Cleopatra’s reign
and the murder of her son. Nefersobk claimed Parangelἱa Seth
as her own cult, now named the Loyalists of the Final Dynasty.
A series of further betrayals and shakeups followed. The
Mistress, Nefersobk’s favored prey, fell to Ammut and became
Shuankhsen. The Final Dynasty chose to serve the Mistress
and drove Nefersobk into the wilds. The Mistress, too, was
later betrayed by the Final Dynasty — perhaps because, despite
her nature, she longed for Azar’s revival; perhaps because, for
Sorcerers 275
 all her attempts to disguise herself as Arisen, the cult could not
follow a bad liar. Whatever the reason, the cult’s high priests
destroyed her and claimed she had vanished. They turned the
congregation towards studying Amkhata creation. The Final
Dynasty hoped they could create powerful monsters to devour
vessels and all involved with the Rite of Return, to honor Set
and prevent Azar’s return. While they thwarted the Scroll of
Isis’ prophecy, the cult feared that Caesarion’s birth had only
been the god’s first attempt at revival.
This lasted until the 1800s, with the appearance of
Adam Drake, Esquire; Major Rhys Treharne, M.D. (ret);
and the Rt. Hon. Viscount Curke Island, James Killwarden.
The three Englishmen aided Muhammad of Ali of Egypt’s
rise to power through an exciting caper lost to history. Not
long after, Major Treharne aided a Final Dynasty cultist in
helping Egyptians escape Ali’s mandatory conscription, and
in return she inducted him into the cult. Treharne recruited
his friends, and the three used their new mystical abilities to
oust the Turkish from Egypt, and then oust the cult’s high
priests from the Final Dynasty.
World War I scattered the Final Dynasty across Europe,
Asia, and Africa. Reassembling during World War II, it spent
the next two decades in hiding. Seeing an opportunity in
increasing corporate greed, the Loyalists of the Final Dynasty
incorporated Last Dynasty International in the 1970s. Now,
the cult hides in plain sight.
STRUCTURE
Last Dynasty International functions as an Enterprise cult
(p. XX). Led by a CEO and a board of directors, work is divided
into several committees. Most of its employees are ordinary
workers, spending their entire time at the corporation devel-
oping, manufacturing, or transporting its mundane products.
The actual cult behind Last Dynasty consists of its leader-
ship, major shareholders, and a few employees throughout the
corporate hierarchy. They recruit members from within the
payroll, using corporate events and “psychological batteries” to
determine an employee’s aptitude for sorcery. Unlike most sor-
cerer cults, Last Dynasty also brings ordinary people into the
fold, using their exceptional organizational or public relation
talents to keep the cult hidden even within the corporation.
Though it appears to be a unified cult to outsiders, Last
Dynasty International is embroiled in an internal cold war.
The cult is divided between two tendencies:
• The Friends of the Three Gentlemen are the dom-
inant tendency, led by the Three Gentlemen them-
selves. Cell-scrub therapy keeps them young and allows
them to manage the company in disguise. Under their
leadership, the cult created the Rite of the Golden Vial
276 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
(p. XX), the secret to the corporation’s success. They
believe that they have a duty to change the world for
the better, but only if it makes them a hefty profit.
They order the capture of vessels and the creation of
Amkhata to use them as bait for the Deathless. The
fourth Sothic Turn excites them, as they now have an
opportunity to draw enough Exudation to last for years.
• The Loyalists of Set comprise of the ideological
descendants of the Final Dynasty’s ousted leaders,
identifying themselves as the High Priests of Set. They
believe the blind pursuit of money has turned the cult
away from stopping Azar’s rebirth. The fourth Sothic
Turn shocked them into action, and they plot to pull
away the company from the Three Gentlemen. Once
they control the company, they will take it back to its
roots, and use the corporation’s resources to engage in
all-out war with the Arisen.
For now, the tendencies agree that the Arisen must be
hunted and drained. To achieve this, the cult uses three
major divisions:
• Under Dr. Reece Trombly’s oversight, Last Dynasty
Pharmaceuticals manufactures the corporation’s
products, and its cultists perform the Rite of the Golden
Vial. The Exudation the rite produces is the source of
the miraculous properties of its medicine.
• James Killwarden III manages the Killwarden
Memorial Conservation Fund. The fund preserves the
territories of endangered species, finances educational
outreach efforts, and provides conservation biologists
access to its biome models. Its cultists are on the cutting
edge of Amkhata creation, incorporating animals from
their preserves for their projects.
• Vice President of Transportation Security Drake Adams
is the secret master of Integrated Transport Solutions,
LLC. The company ensures that Last Dynasty products
are developed in-house and in the highest quality. It
also serves as infrastructure by which cultists transport
vessels, Amkhata, elite security teams, and captured
Arisen specimens.
CLOSED RITES OF THE LAST
DYNASTY INTERNATIONAL
Rite of the Golden Vial
The masterwork of the Three Gentlemen, the Rite of the
Golden Vial accelerates an Arisen’s Descent (p. XX). The lost
Sekhem is expelled from the mummy’s body in the form of
Exudation, a thick, golden plasm. The plasm goes a long way,
and one unit serves as the basis for 50,000 doses of Amphex,
2,000 units of Nortromadine, or 100 courses of Mendathinol
treatment. It is also a necessary component of cell-scrub therapy.
The three elements of the Rite of the Golden Vial are:
• The ceremony must start at noon, local time. A point
of Ba allows the ceremony to be held at any time.
• The leading sorcerer must lead a blasphemous change
in Iremite, announcing to all that she will work to
destroy all the Arisen create. A point of Ren allows
the ceremony to be carried out in silence.
• The sorcerer must slice open the mummy’s spleen,
heart, lungs, right carotid artery, and left eye with
golden daggers. A hollow spike must be driven into
the mummy’s skull immediately after. A point of Ka
allows the use of any cutting instrument. No matter
what materials are used, the rite must end with a roll.
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult
Suggested Modifiers: The mummy isn’t restrained (−4),
the mummy is exposed to bright sunlight (+1), the mummy
has Sekhem 3 or below (−3).
Success: One unit of Exudation pours from the mummy’s
skull. The mummy loses a point of Sekhem and one Pillar point
from every Pillar with at least one point remaining.
Exceptional Success: Two units of Exudation pour from
the mummy’s skull. The mummy loses two points of Sekhem
and one Pillar point from every Pillar with at least one point
remaining.
Failure: The mummy takes six lethal damage; one for
every incision made into her Sahu.
Dramatic Failure: As Failure, and the mummy may choose
to immediately die and enter a Death Cycle (p. XX). While a
mummy is dead, her body cannot be used in the rite.
Rite of Purity
The Rite of Purity is known among all sorcerer cults with
close ties to Arisen, but Last Dynasty practices it the most.
In their line of work, it is necessary before encountering a
mummy.
The three elements of the Rite of Purity are:
• The rite must be performed on a moonless night, be-
tween evening and dawn. A point of Sheut allows this
rite to occur at any time.
• The sorcerer must prostrate themselves before an
image of one of the Arisen, or one of the Deathless
themselves. A point of Ab allows this to be the image
or actual presence of a non-Arisen loved one.
• The sorcerer must cut themselves, dealing at least
one lethal damage. Blood from the wound is squeezed
into a receptacle and offered to the image or person.
A point of Ka negates the requirement for a fresh cut,
exchanging blood for saliva.
Completing this rite gives the sorcerer complete immunity
to Sybaris (p. XX) for an entire lunar month but prevents the
interpretation of a Sybaritic Omen (p. XX) on another Sybaris-
afflicted person. A point of Ba allows for the interpretation
of Sybaritic Omens, and completely refreshes Willpower. A
point of Ren allows the sorcerer to know the name of the last
mummy that attempted to inflict him with Sybaris.
WILFRIED MOELLER
“An Amkhat is just like any other animal. Train it well,
always keep it fed. You’ll help with that last part.”
Background: Willfried Moeller grew up on a farm where
he learned to raise livestock and came to love animals. He
pursued a career in Ethology, the study of animal behavior.
Wilfried became especially interested in animal social inter-
action and studied group behavior.
He thought his Killwarden Fund internship would just be
padding for his curriculum vitae. Then they showed him the
Amkhata. Last Dynasty needed to know if the Sekhem-hungry
creatures had any psychology beside their hunger, and Wilfried
had the potential to become a sorcerer.
They were right on the money. The creation of a new life,
with a new psychology, was exactly what Wilfried wanted
to study. He swore to serve Last Dynasty International and
learned how to create a few Amkhata of his own.
Description: Wilfried is a towering Swiss man in his early
thirties. He keeps his black hair slicked back. Despite his
imposing figure, he has a gentle demeanor enhanced by his
kind, blue eyes. He never feels at peace unless he’s around
animals, especially the Amkhata he creates.
Storytelling Hints: Wilfried is a fast learner, but he’s
having a hard time acclimating to the Killwarden Fund’s work
environment. He disapproves of the sheer cruelty displayed
when his co-workers work a summoning, and his bosses are
uncomfortable with all the questions he asks about the cult’s
two tendencies. The cult has yet to induct him deeper into
their mysteries for these reasons. Still, they can’t deny his
usefulness. No one else can make a pack work in perfect
formation like Wilfried can.
Sorcerers 277
 Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 3;
Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; Presence 1,
Manipulation 3, Composure 2
Skills: Academics 2, Animal Ken (Training) 4,
Athletics (Weightlifting) 2, Empathy 3, Intimidation
1, Investigation 2, Occult 1, Politics (LDI Corporate
Structure) 1, Science (Zoology) 2, Socialize 3,
Survival 2
Merits: Giant, Interdisciplinary Specialty
(Training), Multilingual (French, English), Ritual
Sorcerer
Open Rites: Amkhata Creation
Closed Rites: Rite of Purity (p. XX)
Investment: None
Integrity: 6
Willpower: 5
Virtue: Compassionate
Vice: Nosy
Initiative: 4
Defense: 4
Size: 6
Speed: 10
Health: 8
THE NYCTOPIAN MASTERS
We will be your all, and we will be worth it.
Many have attempted to prove the existence of an empire
older than Egypt’s Middle Kingdom over the past century, but
no one’s claims hold up to scrutiny. This is due to actual false
claims and evidence, and the direct intervention of the Arisen.
Some cultists are shocked to learn that their masters
would spend time and effort keeping the Nameless Empire a
secret. The Arisen loudly proclaim their faith in the Judges,
punishing sins in their name. When a mummy’s Memory is
strong enough to remember her past, her closest allies are
the first to know every single detail. Some Deathless fly into
rants about how empires like the United States barely hold a
candle to their lost kingdom. With all that in mind, wouldn’t
they want the Nameless Empire to be known historical fact?
Wouldn’t it make their purpose easier?
The Nyctopian Masters are a living example as to why
Arisen hide Irem’s existence. Led by a sorcerer with ambitions
of supreme power, the cult is filled with just enough knowledge
to be a threat. To add insult to injury, when the cult destroys
a vessel or sends a mummy back to henet, they do it while
cursing the Nameless Empire.
278 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
HISTORY
The Merry Pranksters faded into history as a colorful
footnote, but they were a revelation for Henry Cooper. The
psychedelic enthusiasts stopped in his town while on a road
trip to the 1964 World’s Fair. They threw a huge party, and
Cooper snuck out to attend with a couple of friends. It was
the first time he took acid. A few years later, he saved up
what little money he had and, like many others at the time,
moved to San Francisco to live among the hippie subculture.
While some turned to revolution and others to Eastern
religion, Cooper traveled down a different path. He fell in
with the Temple of Eternal Life and Love, one of the many
community centers that sprung up in the area. The food was
good, the drugs were better, and its members were happy to
bring the young man in. Though the group had only formed a
few months ago, the esoteric knowledge, taught by the centre’s
unseen benefactor, impressed Cooper. What he couldn’t have
known was that the Temple was a desperate effort to ensure
a mummy’s undisturbed rest.
Sarna was a loyal Sesha-Hebsu until he read the Dreams
of Avarice, a heretical text claiming to tell the truth behind
the Arisen’s creation serve as a first step towards Apotheosis.
He believed the text and cannibalized the Relic his Judge
commanded him to retrieve. He spent decades roaming the
world in search of enlightenment, consuming vessels to stay
alive. By the late 1960s, Sarna lost his cult, was stranded in
the United States, and achieved nothing. Convinced he had
been deceived, he resolved to start the Temple as a new cult,
return to henet, and beg his Judge’s forgiveness.
Cooper learned all he could from the Temple and devel-
oped a knack for sorcery. Sarna was sure that he found his
next high priest and helped develop his talent over the next
several years. He allowed Cooper access to his personal library
of occult texts, all Iremite history coded in the myths of other
cultures. Only one book was off limits: Sarna’s annotated copy
of the Dreams of Avarice, which he could not find the heart
to destroy. This would be his undoing.
As soon as Cooper knew the book was off limits, he coveted
it. He craved all of Sarna’s knowledge, not just the piecemeal
bits fed through filters of lies. He stole it the first chance he
could. He read the book while under the influence of his
“spiritual cocktail” — acid, marijuana, and amphetamine.
The truth of the Iremite religion enhanced by the careful
notes of a mummy who remembered almost everything was
too much for Cooper’s mind. He fell into a delusion that he
was the Nameless Empire’s Pharaoh reborn, and that the
Shan’iatu betrayed hm. Instead of giving him immortal life
and power like they had the Arisen, they cursed him to live a
mortal life. They needed to be punished. The Deathless must
be destroyed, and Duat itself must be torn asunder.
That night, he gathered the Temple into a secret meeting,
where he told the congregants of his revelations. A few left
that night, never to return. The others marched with him to
Sarna’s makeshift tomb, where they slew the weak, defenseless
mummy and destroyed his canopic jars. Once it was done,
they pledged to serve Cooper for eternity.
Henry Cooper declared himself to be the Scorpion, the
True Pharaoh and inheritor of the world. The Temple of
Eternal Life and Love became the Nyctopian Masters, named
because they mastered their own destiny in a single night.
In 1979, the cult published The Handbook of the Nyctopian
Masters, a manifesto on the threat of Duat backed up by
duplicated portions of Sarna’s copy of Dreams of Avarice.
Distributed through head shops and underground circles,
with digital copies easily found on the internet, it has gone
through four editions, with the most recent publications in
2011 on the eve of the fourth Sothic Turn.
STRUCTURE
The Nyctopian Masters function as a Tribal cult (p. XX).
Every aspect of the cult is under the Scorpion’s direct control.
The cult is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and
spread through the United States with pockets of activity in
Central America, East Asia, West Africa, and Eastern Europe.
These four international branches are led by a high priest or
priestess named after a legendary ruler or warlord, all trained
and approved by the Scorpion. Half of them are fantastically
loyal to the True Pharaoh, and the other half are very good
at pretending.
Until 2012, the Nyctopians focused on recruitment,
drawing from college students, the older working class, and
middle-aged dilettantes of New Age beliefs. The fourth Sothic
Turn has shifted the cult into a proactive stance, seeking out
vessels and Arisen to destroy. The Scorpion also orders his
underlings to investigate recruiting within the tech industry,
as he believes that programmers and hardware developers
are true modern-day artisans and deserve to become a guild
in his new empire.
The Nyctopian Masters want nothing less than the com-
plete domination of the planet. This may seem difficult due
to the cult’s small size, but the Scorpion has a master plan.
First, all vessels must be destroyed, and their Sekhem allowed
to return to the earth. Second, all mummies must be killed
and permanently returned to Duat, which the Nyctopians also
refer to as “Starry A’aru.” Once the Deathless and Lifeless are
sent back to what the Masters believe to be their unified para-
dise, they will perform a powerful ritual to destroy the realm.
Finally, they will use the power of all the liberated Sekhem
to conquer the world, eliminate all traces of the Nameless
Empire from human culture, and then rule the planet as the
Endless Empire.
The Scorpion has made it clear that the plan must be ac-
complished quickly. Every single creature that runs on Sekhem
must be discovered and destroyed, and there won’t be another
opportunity to accomplish this for another millennium. The
cultists understand this, and act with an intense zeal. The
Endless Empire is at hand, and there is no room for error.
CLOSED RITES OF
THE NYCTOPIAN MASTERS
Rite of Vision
Sometimes, reading passages from the Handbook or of-
fering free lunches aren’t enough to get people to remember
their very first past life in the Nameless Empire. When the
Nyctopian Masters need to recruit an important person, or
at least convince them that they truly believe what they say,
they turn to this rite.
The three elements of the Rite of Vision are:
• The rite must be performed during a downpour. A point
of Ba allows the rite to be performed during any kind
of weather.
• The target’s eyes must be covered with mud. A point
of Sheut lets anything that blocks vision cover the
target’s eyes. If the rite is worked on multiple targets,
all targets must have their vision blocked.
• The sorcerer must lead other sorcerers in a performance
of the vision they want their target to see. A point
of Ka lessens the requirement to one performer. The
lead sorcerer’s player must always roll to complete this
element.
Action: Extended (12 Successes required. Each roll is
10 minutes.)
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression
Suggested Modifiers: Rite is performed on a stage (+2),
rite is performed in a private area (+1), audience members
can visible see the rite’s performance (−2 for each member
that can see).
Success: All targets experience a vivid hallucination of
whatever the sorcerer wants him to see. For the next scene,
any attempts to Persuade or Intimidate the targets receive a
+3 bonus to the dice pool.
Exceptional Success: As Success, and every sorcerer who
participated takes the Inspired Condition (p. XX).
Failure: All targets experience temporary blindness until
the mud or other vision blocking object is removed.
Sorcerers 279
 Dramatic Failure: As Failure, and any attempts to Persuade
or Intimidate targets receive a −3 bonus to the dice pool.
Rite of the Pharaoh’s Ear
The Nyctopian Masters are spread throughout the world. In its
early days, they faced a major challenge: members would need to
spend long periods out of direct communication with each other,
and especially with the Scorpions and his clergy. This Rite was
developed to make sure that the True Pharaoh’s adherents would
never be far from each other — whether they want to be or not.
The three elements of the Rite of the Pharaoh’s Ear are:
• A living creature must be killed and torn apart in the
name of the Endless Empire. While cultists usually
use rodents, some vindictive Masters sacrifice their
neighbors’ pets. A point of Ba allows the use of animal
carcasses killed by other means.
• An object must be slathered with parts of the animal’s
body, while the sorcerer chants an admonishment
towards the gods of Irem. A point of Ren negates the
need for the chant.
• For the next six nights, the sorcerer must keep the
object in their bed, and sleep while cradling it. A point
of Ka negates this requirement entirely. In either case,
the object can never be washed.
When the rite is complete, the object becomes a oneway
psychic microphone, broadcasting anything it hears into the
mind of the sorcerer that created it. The object works at any
distance, but the sorcerer cannot shut out the noise it picks
up. This effect lasts until the object is destroyed. A point of
Ab allows for two-way psychic communication through the
object, and a point of Sheut allows the sorcerer to hear the
deepest desires of the voices the object broadcasts.
SACHIKO ISHII
“You stand in the way of my birthright. Why should I show
mercy?”
Background: Sachiko Ishii has been a Nyctopian Master
since birth. Her parents, Aya and Souta, marched with Henry
Cooper on the night he became the Scorpion. They returned
to Japan and founded a local branch of the cult and raised
their three children in the faith. Memorizing passages from
the Handbook was mandatory, as was learning sorcery. Out
of all their children, Sachiko was the most talented sorcerer.
Hana and Yuuka, her older sisters, escaped from the cult
once they were old enough to attend college. They begged her
to break away as well. After a long, agonizing time, she finally
280 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
refused. Sachiko felt useful to her parents and the Masters,
and she couldn’t imagine giving that up. She cut ties with her
sisters and has served the cult without question ever since.
Description: Sachiko is a Japanese woman in her late
thirties. She is of average height and has brown eyes. She
keeps her black hair at shoulder length. She always feels cold,
and wears long-sleeved sweaters, regardless of the weather.
Storytelling Hints: Sachiko is taking on an active role
in the day-to-day operation of Japanese Nyctopian Masters.
Her parents are getting too old for the job, and she hopes to
replace them. The elders of the cult, all next in line for head
priest, severely disapprove of her actions.
She truly believes in the faith and claims that she re-
members her entire past life in the Nameless Empire. Still,
she misses her sisters and hopes for one last family reunion
before her parents die.
Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 4;
Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3; Presence 3,
Manipulation 3, Composure 3
Skills: Athletics 2, Expression (Speeches) 3,
Intimidation 2, Investigation 3, Medicine (First
Aid) 2, Occult 4, Persuasion 3, Politics 2, Stealth
(Shadowing) 2, Survival 2, Weaponry (Knives) 4
Merits: Holistic Awareness, Library (Occult) •,
Relentless, Ritual Sorcerer, Sympathetic
Open Rites: Create Vestige (p. XX), Sybaritic
Omen Interpretation (p. XX)
Closed Rites: Rite of Vision (p. XX), Rite of the
Pharaoh’s Ear (p. XX)
Investment: Ab 1
Integrity: 5
Willpower: 7
Virtue: Loyal
Vice: Sentimental
Initiative: 5
Defense: 3
Size: 5
Speed: 9
Health: 8
THE SANGUINE FELLOWSHIP
Blood is eternal, and we control its flow.
A local butcher drains the excess blood from her daily
deliveries. Every month, she brings a huge tub to the man
renting her spare room. He makes it into an elixir that keeps
the leukemia at bay for just a little longer. He always tells her
that if she brought him the same amount of fresh human blood,
it’d cure her completely. One day, she’ll give in.
The soldier hears his sentence with his head held high. The
press calls him a monster. Shock sites share leaked videos of
what he did to a town square in a faraway country. The judge
says he’s committed a horrendous crime, but he knows better.
For the price of a massacre, he’s ensured that his country wins
a war he foresaw in the guts of a comrade.
She’s the best at selling guns, missiles, and drones. Tonight,
she’s securing a several billion-dollar contract for the govern-
ment, but the generals she hosts in the meeting room are here
for another purpose. After the usual slideshow of figures and
charts, she projects an image of Iremite writings and leads
them in prayer. When it’s over, she’s won the contract and
the generals have their holy marching orders.
The man in the spare room, the soldier, the saleswoman
and the generals, all are members of the Sanguine Fellowship,
though they may not know it by that name. Blood is perhaps
Sekhem’s closest manifestation, and the cult deals with it
exclusively. They are masters of war and killers without re-
morse. Now, as Sothis ascends, the Fellowship considers its
most contentious decision yet: serving the Arisen once more.
HISTORY
The Sanguine Fellowship is not forthcoming with its
history, but its most dedicated adherents know the basics.
The Fellowship was once several independent cults of
blood sorcerers from the Greek island of Karpathos. United by
a desire for immortality and a hunger to learn ancient magic,
the cults banded together as the Adelfoἰ Aἰmatos and traveled
to Ptolemaic Egypt where they were accepted with open arms.
Like many sorcerer cults of the time, the Adelfoἰ Aἰmatos
served the Egyptian Arisen. The Deathless used them as
assassins, tacticians, and fortune tellers. The cult flourished
under their patronage, and even discovered sacrificial rituals
that aided early Blood Bathers (p. XX).
It was not to last. A shadow war erupted among the sorcer-
ers of Egypt, and the cult chose the wrong side. Their Arisen
patrons fell into henet, leaving them defenseless. Their allies
saw an opportunity and betrayed them, accusing them of poi-
soning important leaders. The cult, nearly wiped out, fled the
nation and served an Arisen known as the Crimson Pharaoh.
When Marc Antony marched to Alexandria, the Crimson
Pharaoh and his cult came with him, and attempted to
transform Cleopatra’s son, Caesarian, into Azar reborn. The
ritual failed, and the Crimson Pharaoh abandoned Antony.
The Arisen fell into henet not long after the Roman Empire’s
birth, and the Adelfoἰ Aἰmatos scattered to the winds once
more. While the sorcerers still gathered in secret meetings,
developing a cellular organizational structure was crucial to
their survival after the empire’s fall.
The blood sorcerers survived though the ages, hiding among
armies and warbands. In battle, the cult could use their bloody
and violent rituals with few questions, and their magic could
help turn the tide for their patrons. As cells formed around the
world, the Adelfoἰ Aἰmatos became the Sanguine Fellowship. On
every side of every major war in history, their cultists eventually
nestled into the modern military-industrial complex.
STRUCTURE
The Sanguine Fellowship operates as a Conspiracy cult (p.
XX), consisting of autonomous cells worldwide ranging from
2-15 members each. Cells pursue their own projects, but are
not permitted to interfere with another cell’s project.
While the leader of every cell is aware of the cult’s true na-
ture, this is not necessarily true for the other cell members. Cells
can take the form of heretical orders in mainstream religions,
mystery cults within the military, interest groups in hobbyist
circles, and political action committees. Whatever form the cell
takes, they usually have enough similar imagery and beliefs to
cooperate. If necessary, cell leaders will not hesitate to step in
and reveal the truth to their adherents, especially if their actions
would inadvertently hinder another cell’s goals.
While cell goals are varied, the hunt for immortality unites
them. They keep tabs on known immortals (p. XX) and track
the Arisen when they awaken. They are especially close to
Blood Bathers, though these days they can’t help but see
the ritual as a waste of blood’s true potential. The Sanguine
Fellowship has existed long enough to see the benefits and
drawbacks of every form of immortality and find all of them
wanting. They will settle for nothing less than truly living
forever in one body — with no drawbacks.
Another universal goal is the need for war, which provides
cover for their sorcery, and provides blood, and the Sanguine
Fellowship is exceptionally good at waging it. They use their
positions in governments, militaries, and weapon developers to
encourage it. However, the cult approaches their warmongering
with caution. The cult fears nuclear war above all else. Initial
deaths from a nuclear bomb shed little blood, so is therefore
pointless, and no sorcery in the world could reverse the damage.
Every year, cell leaders gather in one location, chosen at the
previous year’s meeting. This gathering, called the “Reunion,”
is when they report on their progress and collectively decide
on the cult’s actions. Once the year’s agenda is complete, the
Fellowship celebrates with sacrifice, sorcery, and debauchery.
The Reunion of 2012 posed an important question:
now that the Sothic Turn has arrived, should the Sanguine
Sorcerers 281
 Fellowship join the Arisen’s cults once more? The topic
was met with violent debate. The cells eventually agreed to
continue observing the Arisen and revisit the question next
year. Several years have passed since, and the Fellowship is
no closer to an answer.
CLOSED RITES OF
THE SANGUINE FELLOWSHIP
Rite of Innocence
The Sanguine Fellowship kills. There is no better way to
obtain the fresh, human blood that powers their rites. Not all
its members are stone-cold killers, and still feel remorse, guilt
and sadness over their murders. This rite is designed to shut
down those pesky feelings.
The three elements of the Rite of Innocence are:
• The sorcerer must drain the blood of a proven warrior
into a deep bowl or container, filling it to the rim. A
point of Ab allows it to be anyone’s blood.
282 Chapter Five: Immortal Foes
• The sorcerer must dunk his head into the blood, long
enough until they run out of breath. A point of Ka
changes the requirement so that the sorcerer’s head
only needs to be soaked in the blood.
• The sorcerer must remove his head from the blood
and praise Ares while facing the sun. A point of Ren
negates the need for praise, allowing the rite to be done
in silence.
Upon completion, the sorcerer can kill with impunity for
the next twenty-four hours. No matter how many people he
kills, or how it is done, the sorcerer never suffers a Breaking
Point. A point of Sheut erases all traces of the killer’s identity
on the victim’s body once the kill is complete. A point of Ba
extends the sorcerer’s killing power to Ephemeral entities; the
sorcerer harms them as if they were manifested.
Rite of Haruspicy
When the cult served the Crimson Pharaoh, they learned
the art of Haruspicy, a form of divination that used the en-
trails of sacrificed animals. The Sanguine Fellowship still
practices the art with just one major difference: they use
human sacrifices.
The three elements of the Rite of Haruspicy are:
• The sorcerer must kill his sacrifice without damaging
the sacrifice’s abdomen. A point of Ba allows the rite
to be performed on any corpse if the abdomen is intact.
• The sorcerer must slice open the corpse’s abdomen with
a silver-tipped blade, removing the liver and dividing
it into five equilateral pieces. A point of Ka allows the
use of anything that can cut flesh.
• The sorcerer must drink blood from each of the five
pieces, and then arrange them into a pentacle. A point
of Ab negates the need to drink blood. Traditionally,
sorcerers enhancing the rite with Ab pour the blood on
top of a reflective surface, but even this is not necessary.
Upon completion, the sorcerer receives a vision of an
upcoming major life event. A point of Ren allows the sorcerer
to see the identity of every person in the vision. A point of
Sheut reveals the greater context of the event, eliminating
any potential misinterpretations or deceptions.
PETER ROUSSES
“Of course you need my help. Fair warning, it’s going to be
messy.”
Background: Peter Rousses never cared about conse-
quences. He seized every opportunity he could. When he
wanted something, he took it. When he discovered a book on
how to summon and bind ghosts, he followed it to the letter.
He got so good at it that when his parents discovered his
talent they burned the book and sent him to military school.
There, he was recruited into the Bleeding Goat, the
school’s time-honored secret society and a cell of the Sanguine
Fellowship. Delighted to be in the company of fellow sorcerers,
he rose to prominence and graduated with top honors. He
enlisted in the military soon after, keeping in contact with
his cell.
After two tours of duty, Peter used his connections to form
a new cell: Spearpoint, a private military company. Now, he
serves the cult as a high priest, making conflicts bloodier and
profiting from the carnage.
Description: Peter is a fit, muscular Greek man in his
early fifties. He has dark olive skin, which contrasts with his
blond hair and gray eyes. When he isn’t wearing the finest
suits money can buy, he wears button-down shirts and khaki
pants. He wears a bloodstained apron when he works his
rites. It’s the same apron he wore for his very first sacrifice in
military school.
Storytelling Hints: Life is good for Peter, and it can only get
better. With the world in crisis, there’s never been a better time
to own a mercenary company. States and private clients around
the world inquire about hiring Spearpoint every day, and his
employees have played a part in decisive battles around the world.
The Arisen’s return annoys him. Those in favor of serving
them claim that the Deathless are the most feasible example
of immortality, but Peter refuses to buy that. He believes that
if he can prove his soldiers are better at locating and securing
vessels, and if he can get his top-secret cellular regeneration
project off the ground, he can convince the cult to finally wash
their hands of these archaic, pointless monsters.
Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 4;
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; Presence 4,
Manipulation 3, Composure 4
Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl (Blocking) 2, Empathy
2, Firearms (Handguns, Shotguns) 3, Intimidation
(Interrogation) 3, Investigation 2, Occult (Ghosts)
3, Medicine 3, Persuasion 3, Politics 3, Socialize
(Formal Events) 3, Stealth 2, Streetwise (Black
Market, Navigation) 4, Subterfuge 3, Survival
(Shelter, Weather) 2, Weaponry 3
Merits: Contacts (Military), Contacts
(Mercenaries), Encyclopedic Knowledge (Politics),
Fast Reflexes •••, Fleet of Foot •••, Inspiring, Iron
Stamina •••, Professional Training (Soldier) ••••,
Ritual Sorcerer, Sorcerous Knowledge, Trained
Observer
Open Rites: Create Vestige (p. XX), Exorcism,
Summoning, Sybaritic Omen Interpretation (p. XX),
Warding
Closed Rites: Rite of Innocence (p. XX), Rite of
Haruspicy (p. XX)
Investment: None
Integrity: 4
Willpower: 8
Virtue: Steadfast
Vice: Indulgent
Initiative: 7
Defense: 7
Size: 5
Speed: 14
Health: 9
Notes: Peter’s Professional Training Asset Skills are
Firearms, Streetwise, and Survival.
Sorcerers 283
284
 I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness,
will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.
— Friedrich Nietzcshe
D eathless awaken outside conventional timelines and ideas
of past, present, and future. They Descend and arise in
locations miles away from the warmth of their homeland,
sometimes in years prior to their last awakening, sometimes
in years far into the future. They walk among people from
every part of the world, adopting cultures not even their
scarce Memory recalls, and feel the inexorable pull to hunt
their artifacts. Throughout centuries, the Deathless spread
and wander in pursuit of their own faith.
They crawl from tombs and crypts, some Arisen for the first
time, others for the hundredth, some asleep on top of undisturbed
mountains or deep within silent bogs, others to the noise of cars
in a large pulsating city. Different as their circumstances are, the
survival and adaptation in a world once again new and unexplored
is a shared need for all of them. What little they have left of their
Memory is the only thread tying all of what was lost in a previous
life to a new Descent, and the foggy puzzle pieces are enough to
create meaning or pave the road for what is to come.
Use the examples in these templates to create playable
areas for a first chronicle. Traverse different time periods
and experience how the existence and goals of the Deathless
change according to the context in which they exist.
CUZCO, PERU
E ven before the first Sothic Turn, villages existed in the
fertile valleys along the northern coast of the land now
known as Peru. Around the time of the second turn the Chavin
civilization brought both the lowlands and the highlands
Historical Adventures
Though the countries and cities presented in this
chapter provide settings for play in the modern day,
Mummy is a game that encourages Storytellers
and players to set their games in historic and even
future eras. The nature of the Timeless Chronicle
is such that books such as Dark Eras, Dark
Eras Companion, and Dark Eras 2 are per-
fect sourcebooks for Mummy: The Curse, with
Mummy receiving special coverage in eras in-
cluding Cleopatran Egypt, Revolutionary France,
and Scandinavia when wracked by its witch tri-
als, to name a few. The eras absent of mummies in
these books are still incredibly useful, with many
locations, events, and characters transferable into
a game of Mummy with minimal effort.
under imperial control. They built massive monuments in the
Ancash highlands, including a vast temple marking out the
cardinal points of solstice and equinox, following principles
familiar to those studying sacred geometry. The Huari and
Tiwanaku empires dominated the third turn and continued
the tradition of building sacred geometry in solid stone as did
the Inca who followed.
Cuzco, Peru 285
 As well as masonic arts, the region houses many mummi-
fied bodies, the oldest verified individual dating back to 7020
BC. This would seem, at least on the surface, to be prior to
the time of Irem. Could the Shan’iatu have been active in
the Andes before they came to Irem? Was the Rite of Return,
perhaps, not first performed in Irem? These questions fascinate
the Whisperers and the Morticians, many of whom have sent
their cults to join the flocks of tourists and archaeologists
frequenting the area in modern times.
Although tourism provides the primary source of income
for the people of Cuzco there have been interesting agricul-
tural developments in recent decades. Many local farmers
have reverted to Inca crops and methods of cultivation. This
has proven profitable (the Inca, after all, fed huge numbers
of people from a limited amount of land) and many of the
ideas and methods are spreading to other mountainous areas
around the globe. Some locals believe that restoring traditional
methods of cultivation may help combat climate change.
THE ORIGIN
The Inca rose to prominence in the early 1400s and contin-
ued to dominate the area until the Spanish invasion. In Cuzco,
they kept royal mummies, and clad their Temple of the Sun in
plates of gold. Pizzaro entered the city in 1533, six years after
his appointment as governor and captain of conquests in New
Castile. The Inca, weakened as they were by civil war and the
diseases the Spanish bought to the Americas, presented him
with little challenge. The Spanish knocked down the walls of
the temples, stealing the gold and building their churches on
the foundations. The conquerors records state they tracked
down and destroyed every last Inca mummy, bringing an end
to idolatrous worship.
The churches built upon the walls of Inca masonry came
down in a devastating earthquake in 1950, but the Inca
buildings remained as intact as the conquistadors had left
them. The city became a UNESCO world heritage site in
1983, since when tourists have been flooding in. Most of the
population now works in services supporting tourism. Indeed,
all the local universities run oversubscribed courses in tourism.
Some visitors stay only a few days, touring round the museums
and the older parts of the town, acclimatizing themselves prior
to taking the challenging trek up to Machu Picchu. Colorful
street markets and traditional festivals, along with a significant
student population keep Cuzco lively, as well as an array of
nightclubs and bars.
No one knows precisely how long Iremite mummies and
their cults have been active in Cuzco. There are certainly
rumors that some Necromancers travelled to the Americas
around the time of the first Sothic Turn. Some believe at least
some made their way across the Amazon and the Andes were
286 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
present when the Inca made Cuzco their capital. Whatever
route they took from Irem, there was a definite Su-Menent
presence in Cuzco during the Inca era, and possibly before that.
Whether or not the conquistadors succeeded in destroying
all the mummies, their cults took a hit. Cultists are not im-
mune to measles, smallpox, influenza, and other plagues the
Spanish brought to the continent. Many sacrificed themselves
bravely in defense of their mummies. Enough, however, lived
to pass their lore on to their descendants.
After Pizzaro took the Inca capital he moved on, leaving
a garrison behind, amongst which were the core cultists of
Zadkhiau, a mummy of the Tef-Aabhi fascinated by tales of
the ancient buildings in the Andes. His cult carried him in
secret to New Castile where Zadkhiau installed himself in one
of the temples high in the Andes, an area as rich in vessels
as the cities had been rich in gold. The cult swiftly gained
the trust of the Inca resisting conversion to Christianity and,
together, they were able to prevent the despoiling of many
more remote caches of Sekhem.
Macchu Picchu is on every backpacker’s bucket list.
However, there are plenty of Incan, and even older, ruins
within a day’s travel from Cuzco. Many Inca descendants
earn their living accompanying tourists on lesser known trails.
Zadkhiau’s tomb, once hidden, has become more accessible
as tourists — thieves, cultists, sorcerers, and worse among
them — infest the Cuzco region. Mummies are not the only
seekers after Sekhem.
For centuries, Zadkhiau felt secure from the Shuankhsen
and other rivals for his hidden horde of vessels. All that
changed with the UNESCO listing and the re-discovery in
1999 of the mummified bodies of three children sacrificed
on the peak of Llullaillaco volcano about five centuries ago
at the height of Incan dominance. Suddenly, there’s a huge
increase of interest from the Tef-Aabhi and the Su-Menent,
and the desire to profit from these discoveries brings these
guilds into conflict.
STORY HOOKS
• LIDAR is a relatively cheap technology using pulsed
lasers mounted on airborne vehicles to generate
three-dimensional mappings of structures on or just
beneath Earth’s surface. LIDAR’s ability to reveal
previously hidden tombs has been a game-changer for
Arisen all over the world, but it is having particularly
devastating effects in the Americas. An archeological
expedition headed for a site found in this manner is
currently assembling in Cuzco. The academics are
hiring guides and preparing their equipment. They
are heading for a location containing a sizeable cache
 of vessels. Some Arisen are encouraging their cultists
to infiltrate the expedition, whether as academics or
local guides, to ensure these vessels return to Duat.
• Around the time of the first turn, several of the Arisen,
hearing tales told by merchants blown adrift while
rounding the Cape, took that route deliberately and
arrived on the coast of Brazil. Slowly but steadily they
made their way west. Eventually they arrived in the
area that is now Peru and, over the next millennia,
fostered cults that reached their zenith along with the
Huari, a civilization preceding the Inca. When the con-
quistadors arrived, the cultists guided the Inca to hide
the sacred mummies from conquistadors determined to
wipe out all traces of paganism. This game of cat and
mouse required every scrap of ingenuity and influence
the cultists could summon.
• Petemet of the Su-Menent undertook the journey to
the Americas, but only the descendants of her cult
know anything about her. Most believe the conquis-
tadors destroyed her, as they confidently reported no
mummies remained. Report writers, however, would
often recount what they believed their superiors wish
to hear. Some of the cult’s descendants believe that
Petemet survived and they want to find her.
THE GUILDS
Until the current turn there were few Arisen present in
Cuzco. Now, with the ease of air travel, news travels faster
and the guilds have all heard of the treasure troves of vestiges
hidden in the area.
MAA-KEP
Maa-Kep cults in South America are active in syncretic
religions and social justice issues. They are aware that the vast
area covered by the Andes holds many treasures and there is
some debate within the guild as to whether they can spare the
resources to look into every single Inca, Aztec, or Huari ruin.
Some reliable cultists have travelled to Cuzco to investigate
and, should it prove worthwhile, mummies will follow.
MESEN-NEBU
At the time of the conquistadors, when all talk was of
cities of gold, many Mesen-Nebu became interested in South
America. They found less gold than they hoped, and the aes-
thetic of the pre-Columbian cultures was far from Irem. Did
dedwen flow through the work of the Inca artists? While the
Brokers debated, the Inca’s works were melted down, lost in
the mountains, or shipped off to Spain. The Alchemists still
don’t fully comprehend the pre-Columbian aesthetic, but some
have decided that Incan artifacts are worthy of closer study.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Inca had no writing. They kept records by tying knots
in strings, storing these quipu carefully as a means of keeping
their accounts. The Lorekeepers explored, of course, along
with the Spanish, but they found little to interest them. Happy
enough to leave exploitation of the area to others, they con-
centrated on the northern and eastern parts of the continent
where records existed in more florid format.
Since Macchu Picchu became a tourist magnet, the Scribes
have been re-examining the area. The beliefs and practices of
the pre-Columbians seem to many like a distortion of the true
belief and just laws of Irem. Some Diplomats begin to wonder
whether a mummy was responsible for these distortions and
are keen to look into the possibility of irresponsible behavior.
SU-MENENT
The Shepherds dominated the small group of Arisen
travelling to the Americas during the first Sothic Turn and
subsequently established their cults among the Huari and,
later the Inca. Today, even those unaware of this part of their
guild’s history on the continent find the Andean mummies
fascinating and wish to study them further. Unfortunately,
from their point of view, there is a movement, apparently
driven by indigenous people, opposing the uncovering and
study of further mummies.
The cult of the Necromancer Ta-Hemi have encouraged
a number of indigenous elders to express concerns about the
distribution of the economic benefits arising from the display
of Andean mummies. “Surely there would be more profit for
the children of the Inca were more such bodies displayed,”
they reason. During the fourth turn, they organized a motion
at the Third World Congress of the Quechua Language to
support further investigation of the Llullailloco Children,
arguing that this would allow the greatness and evolution of
the Inca ancestors to diffuse widely through global culture,
emphasizing the continuity of belief from ancient times to
the present day.
TEF-AABHI
The Tef-Aabhi presence in Cuzco dates back to the
Spanish defeat of the Inca, though only Zadkhiau has re-
mained consistently in this nome. Zadkhiau mobilized his
cult to protect his own tomb and resources from rivals and to
prevent the destruction of vessels. Through Quechua language
media, they started a movement to protect the mummified
corpses of the Andes. Archaeologists believe there are at least
40 unexplored sacred sites high in the Andes, but the Director
Cuzco, Peru 287
 of the Museum of High-Altitude Archaeology has given in to
the cult’s demands and forbidden any further disturbance of
mummies in the area.
Zadkhiau’s relationship with his guild has, to date, been
distant. However, now the non-Inca world is realizing the
value of pre-Columbian artifacts, the area is attracting more
exploration and exploitation. As more humans and Deathless
move in, the Tef-Aabhi are taking a keener interest in
Zadkhiau’s activities.

NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Zadkhiau: Zadkhiau has been in the area since 1533.
The recent influx of tourists has forced him to adapt to the
presence of other seekers after Sekhem. He fears coming
under investigation by his own guild as, to his shame, he has
been hoarding vessels he should have returned to Duat. His
cult’s efforts to prevent further unearthing and study of the
Andean mummies are bringing them into conflict with the
Morticians’ agenda.
Ta-Hemi: Ta-Hemi believes that some mummies of her
guild migrated to the area at the time of the first or the second
Sothic Turn. She is keen to know more. She believes Zadkhiau
has relevant information but, as they are at odds over the
disposition of the Llullailloco Children and other Andean
mummies, they have not been working together.
Vitas Varnas: A sorcerer in the Cult of Ta-Hemi, Varnas
is studying the vessels her team unearths. Their explorations
encounter constant opposition from the Cult of Zadkhiau.
Vitas has had some contact with Zadkhiau, himself, as both
spend long hours at the museum.
Vitas is unsure where his future best interests lie. He does
not like Ta-Hemi, feeling she is too arrogant. He is beginning
to suspect that Zadkhiau is an immortal being of some kind.
Varnas could well become a double agent.
Doud Sulmon Juma Hassan: A Shuankhsen going by the
name of Doud flew into Cuzco economy class and has since
overstayed his tourist visa. He is aware that there are many
valuable vessels in remote parts of the area. After stealing
LIDAR records from the Andean University of Cuzco, he
tracked down a previously unexplored ice mummy tomb.
Hiring a couple of local petty criminals to assist him, he broke
it open and stole the vessels it contained. He needs more,
but the tombs he can reach are well-guarded by Zadkhiau’s
cult. Doud is looking for ways to get around the security but,
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
meanwhile, he has become convinced that he can find what Choquerquirao Regional Conservation Area: Zadkhiau’s
he needs along the Inca Trail. He finds it easy to tag along tomb is here and many of those responsible for the area’s
with parties on the trails towards Machu Picchu and does conservation are members of his cult. His tomb once housed
his best to manipulate them into carrying out actions which a Huari mummy who does not seem to have experienced the
perpetuate his existence. Rite of Return. Zadkhiau moved his tomb’s former occupant to

288 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring

Vilcabamba, a site which only became known to archaeologists in
2011. For the best part of 500 years, Zadkhiau has been looting a
vast number of vessels from Vilcabamba. He has delivered some
to Duat but he keeps many more in his tomb. Despite Zadkhiau’s
depredations, Vilcabamba remains rich in history and relics.
The Inca Trail: Only limited numbers are permitted
to walk the trail at any one time and it is an expensive and
exhausting experience. It represents a significant gathering of
rich tourists made vulnerable by the rigors of the hike. There
is little blatant robbery, but small cons like persuading a client
to tip overgenerously or selling “handmade” souvenirs mass
produced in the PRC are common.
Some tourists report seeing odd things; ghostly figures that
fade in and out of sight, a tall, pale man with sharp incisors or,
Cuzco, Peru 289
 maybe, fangs, a jaguar that seems to be made out of smoke,
something that looks like rotting flesh wrapped in bandages.
Hikers tend to ascribe such experiences to altitude sickness,
exhaustion or the gastro-intestinal disturbances that plague
so many walkers on this trail.
Ahmet Almasi is always keen to offer his services as an
‘unofficial’ guide that knows the way to places the authorities
do not want the public to visit.
DENMARK
B urrowed deep within the frozen mulch of arid planes,
drowned in compact swamp water, and hidden under-
neath cliffs and caves, lies ancient secrets with origins far
away from the cold North. Times of secular beliefs and pa-
ganism mark the grounds and generations of Scandinavian
inhabitants. The belief in several gods is not uncommon to
its people, and with the appeasing of the gods came sacrifice
— living sacrifice, some of whom once again arise. The raw
and untamed frozen climate forced families together, in efforts
to forget the bitter cold. Some became more than family, and
found solace in cultism and untraditional beliefs, performing
rituals in effort to forget the hardships of living.
In modern times, Danes no longer fight for survival and
Denmark is a country with high living-standards, social se-
curity, widely regarded as a healthy location to live for both
body and mind. However, the old and dark days still flow in
Danish veins, reminding them of their origins and what secrets
sleep beneath their feet.
Now, the bogs once again pulsate with magical ener-
gies. Sekhem sparks old bones and preserved remains into
existence. Traditions of cultists surviving generation after
generation call Deathless from their tombs, returning to their
masters in hopes their necromancy will not be in vain.
THE ORIGIN
Denmark covers a large area of diverse cultures, but centu-
ries of fighting for survival has created a hardened mindset in
many modern Scandinavians. Nothing comes between them
and their nearest, and relations with strangers are prioritized
last. This state of mind creates isolation, which keeps them safe
from harm but prevents many opportunities for social interac-
tion. They do not take kindly to strangers, not because they
dislike diversity, but because they see ill intent before positive.
Before vikings and the foundation of established chiefdoms
and towns, Denmark was home to the Maglemosians, the first
people to inhabit the Scandinavian peninsula after the Last
Glacial Maximum. They hunted and gathered their way into
a previously frozen Denmark, and became some of the first
humans to settle down in the region. Not much is known about
290 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
the Maglemosians’ cultural traditions, but a particular group
went down in Deathless history as the earliest northerners to
successfully awaken an Arisen from Scandinavian soil.
What brought a group of three North Africans to the
stark North in the first place remains unknown. When the
communal grave of the three individuals was excavated,
several spices, fabrics, oils, and ceramics only found in Egypt
proved they were migrants from areas specific to the Nile, and
scientific tests show they were around the same age and all
male. They also died at the same time, as they were found in
the same grave, placed in fetal position next to one another,
with several bone lacerations and fractures. According to the
Sesha-Hebsu, these three individuals were not mauled by a
wild animal or attacked by anything human. They were slaugh-
tered by the mummy they carried to Denmark and awoke on
its soil. Despite the group’s thorough preparations, they appear
to have quickly succumbed to the mummy, and many other
settlements fell victim to its wrath upon awakening.
Spring of 1920 saw the mummy’s excavation from a bog
with a loose noose around its neck, facts leading the Su-Menent
of today to assume it was forced into slumber. When the
Necromancers heard word of the mummy excavation, it did
not take long for them to confiscate the archaic drawings and
symbols found on the linen buried in the muddy tomb, before
mortal hands dug in too deep. The mummy is still in the hands
of the Su-Menent, and they keep its whereabouts confidential.
Denmark attracts sorcerer cultist from around the world,
and the cult that worshiped the first bog mummy never truly
died out. Stories of the cult spread throughout the super-
natural inhabitants of Scandinavia, and a young hunter cell
calling themselves “Gungnir” have taken a great interest in the
former cult. The guilds fear the Sekhem of the first mummy
still lingers in the bog where it was found, and the mummy
somehow uses its slumbering powers to gather a new cult and
once again rise. As its guild affiliation is unknown, as well as
its Decree and why it didn’t wake during any of the Sothic
Turns, how it’s been able to sustain a cult through its dreams
is a mystery the mummies of Denmark want answered.
STORY HOOKS
• Mortal interest in the first mummy of Scandinavia,
kept in custody by the Su-Menent, is growing. Gungnir
researched intensively in its history and whereabouts
and the public eye in shape of media attention is
compromising the safety of the mummy. Websites and
groups on social media sharing their knowledge of the
mummy grow and increasingly spread information,
factual and otherwise. The Su-Menent are forced to
open up to their fellow guilds to gain their support and
protection from mortal scrutiny.
 • A mass grave recently excavated in a bog near Roskilde
revealed up to 30 bodies arranged in contorted and un-
natural positions. All of the bodies were arranged to shape
a large wheel, all buried with their faces pushed toward
the bottom of the bog. Each of them is either arranged
with or holds what archeologists describe as “objects not
originating in Denmark or wider Scandinavia”. They
believe the bodies were sacrifices but are unsure by whom
and for what purpose. Pictures of the objects circulate
in newspapers and social media and are theorized to be
millennia-old artifacts originating from the Nile region.
• A black metal band, Screams from the Bog, are a new,
disordered cult claiming to feel the surge of Sekhem
calling them to locate and summon the ancient mum-
my, or the “Urfader”, from his slumber. This catches the
attention of several guilds. Exposure of the Deathless
world could cause a public uproar and the possible
demise of mummies in Denmark and later Scandinavia
at the mouths of hungry Shuankhsen. Additionally, if
these “Screams” truly feel the Sekhem of the Urfader,
they could wield dangerous powers and unleash a
destructive Deathless they have no control over. The
guilds expect Screams from the Bog will meet the same
fate as the group awakening the Urfader years before
them, but the concern comes from what the mummy
will do with its peers after waking.
THE GUILDS
Over centuries, Denmark and Scandinavia have attracted
enough mummies to create sizable representations of each
guild. Through years of adaptation, they have been shaped by
society and shaped it with their own values and ideas. Their
focus and purposes are different, but what is common for every
guild is their desire to create a world suited for the Deathless.
MAA-KEP
The Engravers are one of the latest additions to Denmark,
and only grew large enough to truly represent and utilize their
abilities in the last 90 years. They simply never saw Denmark
as an important area. This all changed when the Urfader was
first unearthed. As the former secret police of Irem, they feel
an unmatched need to keep an eye on the powerful creature.
Unlike other guilds, they do not seek to manipulate it directly,
but rather observe other Deathless and their behavior around
the ancient mummy. They want to ensure whatever happens will
happen with respect for the Shan’iatu and the Judges. Although
they do not hold the largest representation in the North, they are
powerful enough to make an impact on other mummies and make
them look over their shoulders before taking unorthodox action.
MESEN-NEBU
The Alchemists came to the North primarily for the vast
amount of raw material, such as oil, and little to no competi-
tion in the beginning of the 19th century. Many Mesen-Nebu
to this day influence large parts of the oil export trade. They
paid little attention to the unearthing of a Deathless’ bodily
remains, and had even less interest in getting their hands
on it. However, they did find the prospect of something so
untamed and raw with such potential power intriguing, and a
few Mesen-Nebu fell in love with the idea of polishing a lump
of coal into a diamond. Before they could get their hands on
it, the mummy disappeared out of sight, and it is only now
with the increased attention they once again become aware
of its presence.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Scribes are one of the oldest guilds of Denmark. They
were greatly involved in the Scandinavian witch trials, as
some of their own were hunted as demons due to their unholy
magical abilities. Since then, they settled down and made it
their duty to prevent any future mortal hunt of the Deathless.
They wish not only to record history from the perspective of
the mummy, but also learn from it and adapt and reform into
something better. The Sesha-Hebsu followed the path of the
Urfader closely, and have used centuries studying old texts,
runestones, and drawings describing the legend. They think
the Su-Menent’s direct involvement with the creature is
despicable and unnatural, and believe history should take its
natural course. A potential awakening of the mummy would
be dangerous, yes, but so very interesting to record.
SU-MENENT
The first guild fully established in Denmark, the Shepherds
arrived long before any of their peers. Rumors that the Urfader
is Su-Menent has sparked interest from the guild. Attracted
by the conversion from one large set of beliefs, from Asatru to
Christianity, the Su-Menent made its way to the North. They
felt a spiritual connection to the shift in faith and pure curi-
osity drove them onward. When the Urfader fell into mortal
hands, they had to act immediately. Disturbing the tomb of
something so rare and ancient could be fatal and is also against
any Judge’s will. They stole the bog mummy without leaving
a trace, and have only grown more protective with the public
eye slowly turning toward the activities of their servitor cults.
TEF-AABHI
The New Pharaohs arrived in Copenhagen as Christian
IV expanded the city. He built one extraordinary building
after another as a band-aid on the gaping wound that was
Denmark 291
 his kingdom’s defeat in the Thirty Years’ War. He could not
manage the constructions alone and hired builders from around
the globe, and thus Tef-Aabhi cults smuggled their masters in.
The immortal architects settled down as an established guild in
the 16th century, hearing rumors about a disturbed tomb and
mortal fingers in what is supposed to be a resting place. The
heka had been destroyed and they intended to recreate what
was lost and are now more interested in bog than the Urfader. If
only they could get more information from the Su-Menent, they
could rebuild the mummy known as Urfader to its former glory.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Urfader: When Urfader’s cultists awoke him upon arrival
in the land that became Denmark, his Sekhem was so powerful
and his summoners so unprepared, he destroyed them where
they stood, flinging them into a nearby bog with several lacera-
tions. He raised havoc in nearby settlements, almost destroying
the entire population. The last mortals standing made a final
blow, bound the mummy and through a sacrificial ceremony
subdued him in a nearby bog. His Sekhem, although not
enough to awaken him, affects groups of mortals dedicating
time enough to research him, and he is on the verge of once
again roaming Denmark.
Daunil Khamet: As a Deathless, she arose with one pur-
pose only: to protect the Urfader’s remains. She has known
nothing else throughout her existence in Denmark and serves
as the mummy’s protector and keeper. The Su-Menent treat
her as a lesser being, almost like a Sadikh, although she is as
powerful as any other Deathless. Her guild reasons that if
they kept her in isolation from the world, and only focused on
shepherding Urfader, they might prevent the sleeping mum-
my from infecting her with its dreams and spreading chaos
throughout Copenhagen. Daunil is slowly realizing there is
more to her existence than bodyguarding, but her increased
curiosity is not welcomed by her guild.
Sarkalis: Sarkalis — a dreaded Iremite legend of folklore
among mortals and mummies alike — exists and thrives in
Denmark. Rumors often heard in temples and tombs around
the world tell of the mummy, Sarkalis of the Wadjet-Itja,
who gambles with the Judges over the lives of thousands for
his own personal enjoyment. Many wars are ascribed to the
flawed mummy, who — with his meret — was supposedly
brought low by a Judge’s outraged avatar. In the late 1800s,
his body was disinterred and transported to the Danish
National Museum as part of the first mummy exhibition on
Scandinavian soil. Mortal archaeologists unearthed him from
a mass grave containing many of his kind, the corpse wearing
only torn rags. He wouldn’t have drawn much attention but
for his pristine body, which led to his selection as an exhibit.
Sarkalis currently wanders the museum basements, where he
292 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
drains the Sekhem from stored away mummies and antiques,
but his supply is running low and he will soon be forced from
his hiding place to hunt Arisen among the Danes.
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Grauballe Bog: The bog in which Urfader was found is
situated in the city of Silkeborg. The bog in itself is small and
unnoticeable in the landscape, but holds great importance to
the people in its area, providing them with peat to heat up
their homes and stoves. A peat digger stumbled upon Urfader’s
body as he dug his spade into the mummy’s shoulder blade.
Since then, the bog has attracted activity from curious mor-
tals wanting to visit and even search the waters for findings
making them famous or wealthy. The Deathless have also
been drawn to it. If a being of such power was found in the
bog, chances are he wore, or brought with him, artifacts of
great importance. Merets, therefore, search the area hunting
items to gain information about the Urfader and his story.
The National Archives: According to mummy scholars,
the National Archive in Copenhagen holds the most informa-
tion about the Urfader and several reports of mummy activity
throughout time. Even Sesha-Hebsu, being the owners of the
most mummy information in Scandinavia, yearn to dig deeper
into the lore of the Deathless from the perspective of mortals.
What they know about the Urfader might prove valuable to
them in their research but falling into the wrong hands could
end in catastrophe. The chief historian running the archives
does not give out information to just anyone and has begun to
wonder where the interest for the ancient mummy originates.
Tingstedet: When the cellar bar opened in the early 1970s
in Odense, a city placed in the middle of Denmark, between
Jutland and Sealand, the Sadikh owner had more in mind
than serving customers. He wanted to create a free haven for
mummies to enjoy their evenings without having to fear mortal
interruptions. The bar is heavily guarded without being visibly
so, ensuring no unwelcomed guests enter. Tingstedet has long
been a known spot of security for Deathless and increasingly
attracts both them and their cults. The bar is one of a kind,
highly loved and protected by the Deathless community.
K’JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX),
CANADA
S ea and storm buffet Halifax, the largest Canadian city
east of Quebec. Famous for its breweries, waterfronts, and
proud military history, Nova Scotia’s capital hosts Canada’s
largest naval base. Halifax’s intimacy and comfort attract
thousands of university students from across North America
each fall. Yet Halifax does not comfort the Arisen.
 Mummies have a long history in Halifax, rich with war,
resentment, and betrayal. The city’s guilds never unified and
still strive to undercut each other. Under the best of condi-
tions, this makes Halifax a nest of conspiracy and intrigue, but
these are not the best of times. Vessels no longer flow from
Halifax to Duat, and the Judges are angry. The Arisen search
amid their ranks for the mummy whose sabotage disrupts the
natural order, but everyone knows their shattered Memories
have robbed them of crucial information. The Saboteur could
be anyone, even the mummies searching for them.
Facing the Judges’ wrath, the Arisen must adapt or face
oblivion, yet they are stubborn and unchanging creatures.
The return of Memory forces Halifax’s mummies to confront
uncomfortable questions. If the guilds set aside centuries of
hatred and mistrust, does anything stop them from setting aside
their devotion to the Judges as well? Are the Judges gods worth
worshiping? No one has an answer yet, but one thing is sure:
When change comes, it will crash like a cold wave on the cliffs.
THE ORIGIN
Settlers founded Halifax in late 1749, but Arisen pres-
ence in the region dates back even further. Hidden amid the
Acadian colonists from France in the 1600s, Shepherds were
the first mummies in what is now Nova Scotia. The Mi’kmaq
First Nation utilized Halifax Harbour for centuries, calling
it K’jipuktuk, the Great Harbor. Catholic priests hoped to
convert the Mi’kmaq to Christianity, while the Su-Menent
saw them as a vector to spread their cults inland and establish
themselves in the new world.
British imperial ambition shattered the relative peace
between the Acadians and the Mi’kmaq. Frequent skirmishes
broke out as British colonists expanded northward from the
Thirteen Colonies, but the establishment of Halifax directly
challenged the French and Mi’kmaq power in Acadie. The
Su-Menent found themselves conflicted. Their cultists fought
to retain their way of life, but the Maa-Kep and the Tef-Aabhi
both allied with the invading British. Deportation to the
Thirteen Colonies or back to France followed the Acadian
defeat in 1755. The Necromancers remained, yet those re-
membering the Great Expulsion have not forgiven the other
guilds for devastating their cults.
With Nova Scotia now firmly under British control and
Halifax as its capital, the city’s fortunes rose and fell with
the tides of war. Halifax served as a primary naval base for
the Empire through the Seven Years’ War, the American
Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the American Civil
War. Blood flowed on the ocean’s ship decks and the world’s
battlefields as war funded Halifax’s development. The Arisen
took their due, using the sacrifice of military souls to harness
Sekhem, dedwen, and heka.
Initially, World War One marked the continuation of this
wartime prosperity. Halifax languished for decades following
Canadian Confederation, but war in Europe meant Halifax
was the last port of call for soldiers from across the nation.
Their raucous parties before sailing off to make the ultimate
sacrifice fueled debauched Arisen rituals. The war lingered
on and dragged more and more cultists away to die across
the sea. The few that returned came back broken, even the
immortals. In December 1917, the TNT-laden French SS
Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in Halifax
Harbour, setting off the largest detonation the world had ever
seen. The Halifax Explosion decimated all the guilds, but the
Su-Menent were the worst hit and blamed the other guilds
once again for destroying their cults.
In the following decades, the guilds regrouped, infiltrat-
ing Halifax’s neighborhoods once more — among them the
long-neglected and abused African-Canadian community of
Africville. Something about Africville’s population, marginal-
ized yet vibrant and thriving, stirred the Arisen’s Memory, re-
calling a time before the Shan’iatu demanded their service. A
disproportionate number of mummies developed Touchstones
within the region, creating a neutral ground where the guilds
laid aside their grievances. For the first time, Halifax’s guilds
began to coalesce into a unified whole, but then mortals
ruined everything.
In the mid-1960s, Halifax’s government forced the people
of Africville from their homes, seizing and demolishing their
property to make way for industrial development. In the chaos,
the Arisen lost their Touchstones as the community broke
apart. The Arisen attempting to defend Africville found that
the Judges considered such actions to be a frivolous waste of
Sekhem, barring them from aiding the community. Denied
an outlet for their anger and remorse, the Arisen lashed out
at their oldest foes — each other.
Deathless flesh smashed Deathless bone as the Tef-Aabhi
and Maa-Kep accused each other of intentionally withholding
information about Africville’s impending doom. The Mesen-
Nebu lamented the other guild’s foolishness in squandering
Africville’s potential, while the Su-Menent protested that
losing their Touchstones was one more grievance is their list
that reached back to the Acadian cults. There would be no
peace, no grand coalition. War came to Halifax once more,
but this time it was a supernatural war in the shadows far
from mortal eyes.
Today, the Royal Canadian Navy maintains a strong pres-
ence within Halifax, but the city moved on beyond its military
roots. For decades, Halifax has used its universities to attract
young minds, many of whom put down roots in the city. Halifax
now possesses one of Canada’s top tech sectors, a booming
manufacturing industry, and a hotbed of political activism. The
K'jipuktuk (Halifax), Canada 293
 mummies stand in contrast to the eddies of change ensnaring
their cultists. Centuries-old grudges encase the Arisen like
insects in bloody amber, as they wring each other’s throats for
Sekhem and power. Enraptured in their constant feuds, the
guilds failed to notice when one of their number broke ranks
and crippled the city’s Relic Architecture. Now the Saboteur’s
vandalism threatens to bring the Judge’s wrath down on every-
one, but the Arisen are too myopic to notice.
STORY HOOKS
• Halifax’s Necromancers hear whispers amid the ghosts
of Argyle Street of something powerful, valuable,
and lost on the Titanic. Many of Halifax’s Arisen
assume this is a potent Relic, but others suggest it is
a high-ranking mummy, perhaps even a guildmaster.
Mending the ghosts’ fragmented memories uncovers
the truth, but reaching the wreck on the Atlantic’s
floor is a different matter.
• Captain William Kidd met the gallows decades before
Halifax’s construction, but rumors have always persist-
ed that he buried treasure along Nova Scotia’s south
shore. Most Haligonians have fixated on Oak Island as
the location of Kidd’s stash, but something calls to the
Arisen through the Lifeweb as construction disturbs
the city’s foundations. Is the buried pirate treasure in
Halifax itself?
• Not all Necromancers remained in Halifax during the
Acadian expulsion. Wesem chose to return with her
cultists to France, instructing them to transplant her
to Spanish Louisiana. In New Orleans, the Acadians
became Cajuns and the cult rebuilt its power, but
revenge never left her mind. She has yet to return
to Halifax, but even now her cult works to insinuate
itself within the Junta’s and the Geomancers’ minions.
When the time is right, Wesem intends to claim her
foes’ vessels, to desecrate their tombs, and to shatter
their cults, whether or not they remember their crimes
from centuries ago. Revenge is a dish best served cold
and paid with interest.
THE GUILDS
History fractured Halifax’s guilds. For centuries, resent-
ment has built between them, which now comes to a head
thanks to the Saboteur’s meddling. Clenched teeth and a
dagger hidden behind the back accompany what little coop-
eration exists between the guilds. While this has never before
handicapped executing the Judges’ will, it now places Halifax
on the precipice of disaster.
294 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
MAA-KEP
When the British set off across the Atlantic Ocean, they
needed labor, organization, and strong bodies to build their
colony — all things the Junta were happy to provide. The
Maa-Kep knew the Acadians’ defeat and expulsion would
have a detrimental impact upon the Su-Menent, but they
viewed this as a necessary sacrifice. Halifax would not be-
come a monument to Irem if a hostile fifth column developed
within the city. These days, the Spies have evolved to exploit
university journalists and activists, to keep their fingers on
Halifax’s pulse and to weaken their foes through manipulation
and propaganda.
Maa-Kep opinions on the Saboteur are uniform, they
must find and stop this heretic. The Judges decreed that
vessels must flow to Duat once more and the Spies are
willing to pay any price to fulfill this command. For all their
zealousness, they refuse to consider if the Saboteur could be
from within their own ranks. If the arsonist is found to be a
Maa-Kep, it could unify the guild’s enemies and spell their
end in Nova Scotia.
MESEN-NEBU
The Mesen-Nebu weren’t in the first wave of mummies to
arrive in Halifax, but the northeast coast’s dramatic transfor-
mation during the Seven Years’ War made it clear powerful
dedwen was active in the region. The Alchemists occupy a
liminal space within Halifax. They observe the transformation
of dedwen on transatlantic and transcontinental journeys of
people and ships in and out of Halifax. Their cults spread
across Canada and the Atlantic, while the Arisen remain in
Halifax like a spider sitting in a web. Most mummies struggled
through the World Wars, but the Alchemists thrived on the
constant flow of people through Halifax, callously watching
the transformative power of spending their lives.
The mastery of dedwen the Saboteur exhibited in manipu-
lating the Lifeweb intrigues the Revolutionaries. They are sure
that if the Saboteur isn’t Mesen-Nebu, they are familiar with
Alchemist philosophy. They have every intention to eliminate
the Saboteur, but they intend to learn as much from them as
possible before that day comes.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Lorekeepers are a neutral party in Halifax’s guild
squabbles. The Sesha-Hebsu were relative latecomers, but
they thrive in Halifax universities, recruiting from their presti-
gious law, history, and philosophy programs. The Lorekeepers
clash with other supernatural organizations embedded within
the schools, including independent sorcerers and the Sanguine
Fellowship.
 The Arbiters are uncertain how to deal with Halifax’s vessel
crisis. The Judges demand they bring the Saboteur to justice,
but what happens after restoring order? Defeating the Saboteur
won’t put an end to the guild war that has plagued Halifax for
decades. Furthermore, recording the failure of Halifax’s Lifeweb
onto the Scroll of Ages would despoil the sacred history, but
as far as anyone can tell the damage the Saboteur has wrought
is unique. If the Sesha-Hebsu keep the Scroll ignorant of this
blighted time do they risk even greater folly in the future?
SU-MENENT
Halifax’s Shepherds are self-made pariahs, resentful toward
the other guilds for slights real and imagined. The Spies and
Geomancers devastated their Arcadian cults, the Alchemists
let the other guilds drown during the World Wars, and the
Lorekeepers refuse to take a side, even though justice demands
they do so. Fortunately, the Shepherds have a secret ally. No
one knows how the Kher-Minu came to Halifax, but the Su-
Menent have discovered Stone Spears throughout the city and
have kept their existence a secret. The guildmasters are loath
to deploy the Stone Spears, least they tip their hand, but soon
they will be in position to cripple all their enemies at once.
The Shepherds fear the Saboteur is part of their guild
and lashed out at Halifax’s Arisen in righteous frustration.
Whatever the identity of this mysterious Arisen, the Su-
Menent intend to find the Saboteur before the other guilds
to prove they are the Judges’ most loyal servants.
TEF-AABHI
British Geomancers recognized the value of colonies.
Instead of molding a preexisting city’s Lifeweb to suit their
purposes, building Halifax from the ground up gave them
immediate dominion over the settlement. The New Pharaohs
wish to force the Dapifers into submission, but they despise
the Morticians, feeling no guilt over the shattered Acadian
cults. What did they expect when obstructing the Judge’s
designs? The Tef-Aabhi have every intention of grinding the
Morticians to dust and to ensure it, they made a deal with the
devil. The Tef-Aabhi recently promised every Su-Menent in
Halifax to Last Dynasty International in exchange for LDI’s
performance enhancers and scientist-sorcerers. Already the
Geomancers have helped kidnap several Morticians with many
more abductions planned.
The New Pharaohs agonize over the Relic architecture
within Citadel Hill. Failing to recognize the subversion of
Halifax’s Lifeweb wounded their pride, making them quick
to lash out against any getting in their way. Beneath this an-
gry bluster is a fear no Tef-Aabhi wants to admit. Whoever
perverted the Lifeweb manipulated architecture. Any of them
might be the Saboteur without realizing it.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Halifax has accumulated a large collection of sorcerers,
cultists, immortals, Lifeless, and Deathless over the centuries.
These are a few of the most prominent.
The Locust Man: When thousands of insects consume
corpses, cultists know the Locust Man stalks the streets. The
Locust Man preys on mortals and immortals alike, but as a
Fasad, he must be cautious when combating mummies. The
Locust Man isolates his Arisen foes — consuming their mortal
allies and eroding their powerbase. As their Descents end,
clouds of insects ambush the Arisen and begin gnawing at
their sahu. None know which Shuankhsen the Locust Man
serves, but the Lifeless master will reveal herself soon.
Kaneferu: Halifax’s most prominent Bull, Kaneferu is a
Diplomat who records Halifax’s history to discern the city’s
Essence. Anyone searching for secrets buried in the past
would be wise to consult her, as would anyone attempting
to call a ceasefire between the guilds. Kaneferu also studies
the Essences of other supernatural beings as a passion proj-
ect. Rumors say she obsesses over vampires whose Ka have
abandoned their bodies. These whispers are more accurate
than anyone suspect. Kaneferu’s most trusted lieutenant is
just such a vampire invested with several Pillars.
The Saboteur: This anonymous mummy is the source of
Halifax’s woes. Over an entire Descent, spite drove them to
modify public works throughout the city so the Citadel would
act as a trap for vessels, starving the Judges of the Sekhem
they require. Their Descent then ended and they reawakened
without remembering their crimes. As a final act to vandal-
ism before returning to rest, the Saboteur commanded their
cultists to seek out and destroy as many immortals. By send-
ing them westward they deny the Arisen their most potent
allies, although they must do so behind their newly awaken
master’s back.
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Argyle Street: In 1912, the survivors of the Titanic’s colli-
sion with an iceberg arrived in New York on the Carpathia, but
the dead came to Argyle Street’s morgue. Today, downtown
Halifax’s best clubs, eateries, and theaters line Argyle Street.
The morgue became a high-end restaurant in the Seventies,
but some of the Titanic’s victims’ ghosts remain. Tourists
visiting the Titanic graveyards provide the Essence to sustain
these shades, and several tour guides are cultists ensuring the
ghosts receive the tithe keeping them loyal to the Arisen.
Citadel Hill: The star-shaped fortress atop Citadel Hill
is Relic architecture, linking the Lifewebs of Arisen tombs
into a massive Sekhem-collecting network. This Sekhem
draws a large population of Arisen and sorcerers, all looking
K'jipuktuk (Halifax), Canada 295
 to exploit the abundant resources. A year ago, the Saboteur
subverted the Citadel, anchoring every vessel within the city’s
Lifeweb and preventing mummies from consigning them to Duat.
Bastu’s Manifestation, the Writhing of Eyes, conveys the Judge’s
displeasure, and commands the Arisen to remedy the situation
or be held complicit in this blasphemous crime.
The Universities: Halifax’s six universities are the city’s eco-
nomic engine, as well as being a major attraction for Arisen aiming
to expand their cults. Young, impressionable students come to
Halifax seeking life-changing experiences the Arisen are happy to
provide, but Amkhata infestations plague the campuses. A jilted
professor on Last Dynasty International’s payroll has gone rogue
and distributes the company’s manuals to various student groups.
Armed with just enough knowledge to make them dangerous,
these undergraduates become useful pawns or treacherous rivals.

ANTARCTICA
T he Nameless Empire wiped itself from the annals of history,
but mummies know that its remnants lie all over the world.
Irem lives on through its Arisen. Resurfaced memories reveal
just enough to give cultists a vague sketch of its history, with its
expansions being the clearest. By almost all accounts, the empire
was strongest in North Africa, with major annexations within
Eastern Africa and the Levant. Few know the exact details of its
apparent connections to other parts of the ancient world.
The memories within some vessels, however, show a different
aspect of the Nameless Empire, a desert of snow and ice. The
vessels bring strange images and sensations to their users: masked
figures riding many-limbed horrors trudging through the sea,
animals and people chained together in the freezing wind, priests
dying of exposure on the ice.
Some learned the vessels’ origin long before others, but the
fourth Sothic Turn made the answer clear for all Arisen: the
Nameless Empire maintained a colony in Antarctica, an Irem in
frozen desolation. Its secrets will bring answers, or merely death.

THE ORIGIN
The full story of the continent’s discovery and subsequent co-
lonial outing is still unknown. If all the vessels forged during that
time were collected and consumed at once, the memories within
them would still not fill in major gaps in its history. However,
corroborating visions and memories with very careful studies of
archeological records reveal a basic historical outline that the
guilds can agree upon.
Sometime between the empire’s rapid military expansion and
the Rite of Return’s casting, the continent came to the attention
of the Shan’iatu. There are two theories as to how this happened.
The first is that a naval scouting force tasked to sail to Southeastern
Sumer, through the Persian Gulf, went wildly off course and

296 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring

returned to tell the tale. The second is that the empire’s mystical
research pointed them toward an immense source of power in
the south, well beyond Africa. The idea of a vast, unconquered
land must have been attractive to the empire, since a large
settling party set out for Antarctica soon after.
The colonists landed somewhere in East Antarctica, on
what is now known as Dronning Maud Land. Then, like
now, the land was bitterly cold and with only two half-year
long seasons. The guild members among the colonists used
memories of their people’s suffering to create vessels that
would make life bearable. Their efforts worked, since initial
findings show evidence of Iremite civilization spreading to the
Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. There, the settlers constructed at
least one pyramid, which still exists beneath the shelf. Today,
Arisen refer to this area as “Second Irem.”
Second Irem provided little food, precious metals, or slaves,
but it brought knowledge to the Nameless Empire. The six
month long night proved beneficial to the empire, bringing
about updated astrological charts. The penguins, birds, and
sea life became fodder for Amkhata construction experiments.
The guilds embraced the challenge of Antarctica’s desolate
Lifeweb and made unique Relics. Some Arisen speculate that
Second Irem grew large enough to serve as a base camp for
further expeditions around the world.
For all its theorized success, the fact remains that the
colony completely vanished, just like its namesake. Those
active during the 19th and 20th century were delighted by
the continent’s discovery by modern civilizations, and partially
funded research expeditions. Some even placed cultists on
expedition crews. In the years since the Sothic Turn began
anew, the Arisen’s interest in the continent increased. Those
learning of Second Irem hope to be the one to discover the
truth behind its fate.
There are no Arisen that remember living in Second Irem,
and even those with a strong Memory to recall their time in
the Nameless Empire only remember it as something only
mentioned in passing, or idle talk of a faraway vassal state.
There are three theories as to why. The first is that only
mediocre or faulty guild members were sent to Second Irem.
The Rite of Return needed the very best crafters and magi-
cians, an impossible task if even one of them lived on the
bottom of the world. The second theory claims that after
the Rite of Return and the empire’s decline, Second Irem’s
population migrated to Patagonia, the southernmost region
of South America. The recent reemergence of Amkhata on
the continent and the appearance of ancient ghosts that stalk
the Arisen form the basis of the third theory: Second Irem’s
people were annihilated in a single, horrific event.
If the first theory is true, the continent is a mere historical
footnote. If the second is true, it’s an important cultural link.
If the third is true, Antarctica is a forsaken land that craves
only vengeance.
STORY HOOKS
• Belgrano II, an Argentinian research base, is haunted
by Golden Mourners, ghosts with a grudge against
the Arisen. Their grieving howls keep the twelve
crew members awake at all hours, and contact with
the stains of their golden tears induce vivid visions of
mass sacrifice. Ben Valdez, the base’s head scientist,
becomes convinced that sacrificing some of the crew
will appease the ghosts and prepares an altar. One of
the meret’s cultists is a member of Belgrano II’s crew
and on Ben’s kill list. The cultist sends a desperate plea
for help, and then goes dark. Can the meret stop the
sacrifice and banish the ghosts?
• It was supposed to be a simple task. Impersonate a visit-
ing science team, convince an inland camp’s personnel
to give you access to their resources; seek out the
powerful Relic the Judge wanted, then head home. It
was going so well, too: the crew still believes your cover
story and the Relic is yours. Then the wind kicked up
and trapped the camp in a furious snowstorm. Now,
the meret and crew must survive and await help. To
make matters worse, a pack of Amkhata have tracked
you down, and they’re starving for Sekhem.
• After years of cutting red tape, the meret organized
an excavation team to dig into the Filchner-Ronne
Ice shelf and raise up the pyramid of Nekhenhu the
Innocent. Whatever secrets lie inside will be yours.
There’s just one problem: Neith of the Tef-Aabhi and
her cult have infiltrated the excavation company, hop-
ing to claim the discovery themselves. At the moment
she’s unaware that her rivals are the dig’s secret bene-
factors. The meret must thwart her without alerting
her cult, or stopping the excavation entirely.
THE GUILDS
The Arisen agree that Second Irem served a purpose for
the Nameless Empire. Whether the purpose was useful is a
matter of debate among the guilds.
MAA-KEP
The Maa-Kep believes that disloyalty brought about
Second Irem’s downfall, a natural consequence of leaving so
many people on a land distant from its imperial master. They
see the continent as a cautionary tale with a still-unknown
climax. The Spies embark on private expeditions funded by
Antarctica 297
 world governments and large charities, hoping to uncover
moments of treachery that doomed the colony.
What fascinates the Junta is that Antarctic Amulets
appear to be instruction manuals formed from the dying
memories of victims to the continent’s harsh climate. Their
bearers become perfect survivalists, dedicated to overcoming
any situation — at the expense of everyone else, including
their loved ones. The initial settlement period must have
been horrific, and some within the guild fear that while their
creations saved lives, they may have sown the seeds of the
colony’s destruction. If so, perhaps the continent’s cautionary
tale is their own.
MESEN-NEBU
The Mesen-Nebu, with the benefit of hindsight, see Second
Irem as an ambitious plan destined to fail. Anything can be
polished, all things can gleam, but even the Alchemists know
that doing so is a matter of time and attention. Somethings
just aren’t worth the effort to improve them. The Nameless
Empire had rivers and precious metals from which to build
upon; Antarctica barely had stone.
This doesn’t mean the guild is uninterested in the conti-
nent. Antarctic Regia strengthens a body’s resistance to the
elements in exchange for missing or repurposed organs, and
that alone is worth returning to the Judges. It is also important
to uncover all of the colony’s shortcomings and develop ways
to rectify them. As mankind looks to the stars and faces climate
disaster, there will be a need to build another Second Irem, and
the Revolutionaries will show their peers how to do it properly.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Sesha-Hebsu searched for evidence of the Antarctic
settlements long before the continent’s discovery. Their duty
to the Scroll of Ages compels them to fill in the gaps of the
Nameless Empire’s history, and Second Irem may be one
of its greatest absences. Now that the colony has a specific
geographic location, the guild feels vindicated. Mankind may
have more literacy than the Scribes are comfortable with, but
its strong academic interest in Antarctica allows the guild
to place their cultists on the continent’s research bases with
little difficulty.
One of the most surprising aspects of Second Irem is the
rarity of its Texts. With such a great distance between colony
and colonizer, the Lorekeepers expected to find a wealth of
their written word about the continent. It is for the best. An
Antarctic Text evokes the continent’s beauty, but the tales
of hypothermia, isolation, and cannibalism within can be too
much for the mind to bear.
298 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
SU-MENENT
The Su-Menent were the first to purpose that Second
Irem met a violent end. Their evidence lies in the Golden
Mourners, a kind of Ghost (p. XX) tethered to the continent.
They weep streams of golden tears and scream at all passersby.
The Necromancers are certain the ghosts are a creation of the
guild’s making, for a reason none can remember. Some attempt
to put them to rest, while others bind them into their service.
Antartica’s Uter may have played a part in the Golden
Mourner’s creation. They enhance strength, speed, and heart-
iness at the cost of dampening a person’s ability to feel positive
emotions. Perhaps the ghosts were people who became too
dependent on the Shepherd’s Relics, and are only now able
to express the anger and grief they suppressed in life. If so, the
vessels must return to the Judges immediately.
TEF-AABHI
The Tef-Aabhi are proud of Second Irem. What other
guild could design as city to compliment one built from the
spine of Azar? While its fate was probably grim, its remains
exist within the ice, and therefore stand as a monument to
the Nameless Empire’s power. The New Pharaohs study the
regions where the Iremites may have landed, migrated, and
settled, hoping to glean an approximation of what Irem’s
sacred geometry might have been like. The most ambitious
hope the colony can be restored, and made into a holy place
for the Judges to dwell.
The Antarctic Effigies may make both of these goals dif-
ficult. While they transform land, sky, sea, and animal into
more hospitable and fertile forms, they also tear at the fabric
of space and time. Antarctica’s reality is surprisingly easy to
shatter. Perhaps it is naturally that way. Some Geomancers
wonder if the continent’s temporal weakness may have played
a hand in the colony’s fate.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Ian St. John: St. John was a respected scientist well before
he discovered sorcery. This made life very difficult for him.
While Sekhem can be measured scientifically with the right
tools, convincing the skeptic community that it’s an ancient
life force was another matter entirely. His failure drove him
to lead a low-profile life, employed in the one place where he
can be alone with his studies. By day, he studies ice core, but
by night, he trains Amkhata, preparing his revenge.
Nuru: Nuru claims that she is the Guildmaster of the
Antarctic Sesha-Hebsu. No one challenges her title seeing as
that most of the time, she’s the only Scribe on the continent. She
takes her duty seriously, and has instructed her cultists to prepare
a tomb that can withstand the continent’s harsh climate. Once
that’s completed, her next plan is to construct a mighty Guildhall,
one that’s ready for use in the fifth Sothic Turn.
Kambish: The Shuankhsen remember everything, and
Kambish remembers Second Irem. When he’s not ripping
Sekhem from Arisen foolish enough to cross him and scien-
tists foolish enough to be alone with him, he spends his time
walking among the flurries. There, he talks to the Golden
Mourners. He begs them to speak to him as they did when they
were alive. They never respond to his pleas, and many scream
at him at an even louder volume than they do for the Arisen.
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Recuredo: The first stop an Arisen makes on an Antarctic
journey is usually Recuredo, or “Reminder.” It’s a small, unofficial
base on an island off the coast, run by the cult of Pisiris of the
Mesen-Nebu. The cult ran to the island years ago, for reasons they
refuse to disclose, but they offer their headquarters and supplies
to all swearing an oath to remain loyal to the Judges, and to owe
Pisiris one favor when he next rises. The Sothic Turn’s power
has yet to revive him, but the cultists have no desire to speed up
the process. They will wait for as long as it takes.
Killwarden Base: The base is, officially, an indulgent side
project of Last Dynasty International. It’s a part of a feel-good
PR campaign, promoting the corporation as a caretaker of
nature. It’s a large base, with forty people working all year
round. In reality, it’s an Amkhata wrangling center, an ex-
tension of LDI’s research. They are particularly interested in
the development of penguin-based Amkhata. They’ve made
excellent progress, and have quite a few prototypes online.
The Pyramid of Nekhenhu the Innocent: The pyramid
is the largest remaining structure of Second Irem, and perhaps
the only remaining structure of the Nameless Empire. From
deep within the Filcher-Ronne Ice Shelf, it emanates a radio
signal. Mortal scientists discovered the pyramid through the
signal, but cannot decipher what it was and have no explana-
tion as to how such a building can exist in the first place. The
Arisen hear its Iremite message loud and clear: “Step within.
See the shadow of lies torn apart.” No one has entered the
pyramid, but it is only a matter of time.
JOHANNESBURG,
SOUTH AFRICA
O nce farmland, Johannesburg transformed into South
Africa’s largest city thanks to the discovery of gold and
subsequent the rush. The Mesen-Nebu and Tef-Aabhi have
long made the city a battleground while the other guilds
look on in confusion. The metropolis is home to an array of
cultural, technological and commercial interests that draws
in tourists, industry and money, and the criminal element
inevitably associated with these.
Before the goldrush, the immortals barely noticed the
farm that would become a city. In ages past, long before the
modern gold discoveries, the Sotho people worked the area
and attracted some minor interest from the Arisen for their
skill at mining and smelting. Though crude compared with the
magical, wondrous workings of the Nameless Empire, some
Alchemists dabbled with cults in the northern stretches of the
Sotho kingdoms, but no Deathless has yet claimed memory
of having been as far south as what became Johannesburg.
THE ORIGIN
Bustling cities founded on gold strikes is nothing new.
Immortal eyes barely took notice of the mortals scurrying to
make their brief fortunes. This changed when Uadjit of the
Mesen-Nebu acquired a nugget of the newly uncovered gold.
At first, she thought nothing of the purchase; she simply re-
quired some unworked aurum to further one of her projects.
Her attitude quickly changed when she held the nugget. She
could feel concentrated Sekhem lingering within. On closer
examination, she believed the nugget to have once been
part of an artifact, somehow broken to base component and
returned to ore beneath the earth.
This discovery spurred Uadjit to activity, moving south to
be closer to the origin of the strike and uncover more of the
mystery. Each additional piece of gold she gained strengthened
her hypothesis that some lost wonder of Irem once stood at this
location, and uncovering its secrets was her duty to her Judge
and her Guild. Uadjit couldn’t maintain sole authority over
the area for long. Other Mesen-Nebu came and other guilds
soon followed, drawn to the newborn city and the growing
pull of unearthed Sekhem.
Conflict arose when the Tef-Aabhi arrived with Menkhetu
as vanguard. The landscape actively repulsed the geomancers
— ley lines radiated a sense of wrongness demanding correc-
tion. As Johannesburg grew from mining camp to city, the
Tef-Aabhi fought to guide its layout, directing what should be
dug up or destroyed, and where structures should be built. The
changes began to reshape the incorrect geomantic energies to
align them with sound, ancient principles. Unfortunately, the
macro changes to the cityscape weakened the concentration
of Sekhem bound within the raw ores brought up from the
mines. Whatever grotesqueries existed in the landscape were
inexorably tied to Johannesburg’s value to the Mesen-Nebu.
The stubborn immortal wills of the Uadjit and Menkhetu —
combined with an aura of mistrust permeating through the
area — couldn’t help but bring the two guilds into conflict.
Mortal tensions overtook immortal concerns when the
Second Boer War brought British-loyal forces to occupy young
Johannesburg, South Africa 299

Tensions
The broken energies underlying Johannesburg
makes the Deathless more inclined to view small
sleights and disagreements in the worst light pos-
sible. This effect isn’t strong enough to require
systems or dice rolls, but Storytellers should de-
scribe the actions of other mummies and their cults
through this lens. Coincidental meetings appear
as deliberate maneuvers. Minor misunderstand-
ings are calculated insults to draw a reaction.
Manipulating how events appear gives an aura
of paranoia and suspicion to everything going on
in the city. The inability to trust precisely what she
sees and feels about events is as much part of the
mummy’s curse as is the loss and slow recovery
of memory.
Johannesburg. Violence broke out in battlefields around the
city and much of the workforce left to avoid the conflict,
creating labor shortages and confounding both Uadjit and
Menkhetu’s maneuvers. The vacuum left by worker shortages
soon filled with Chinese immigrants taking on the work and
establishing themselves as an enduring presence in the city.
Along with this influx, the Maa-Kep took the opportunity to
bolster their presence and bring in more of their cultists and
allies to develop a better understanding of what was feeding
the conflict between guilds.
As mortal peace returned to the city the stalemate
between the Revolutionaries and the Architects couldn’t
hold for long. Rebuilding brought new opportunities for the
Tef-Aabhi to reaffirm the sympathetic connection between
the strong city foundations and the slowly transforming
landscape, but the Mesen-Nebu controlled the wealth and
flow of materials and moved to confound the Architects
wherever possible. The struggle reached a stalemate, with
both sides making minor advances but neither able to secure
dominance over the city.
None of the Arisen introduced the racist apartheid
policies to South Africa, but Menkhetu swiftly took ad-
vantage of the human misery and weaponized it against
the Alchemists. Many of Uadjit’s cultists were now legally
defined as lesser people, restricting their ability to wield
influence on her behalf. In contrast, Menkhetu’s follow-
ers walked among the privileged and powerful to move
Johannesburg along with the Architect’s vision for the
city. Uadjit’s forces appeared to be all but defeated while
300 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
the Tef-Aabhi moved vast amounts of earth and humanity
in their ascendency.
Though South Africa finally managed to free itself from
the shackles of apartheid in the 1990s, Uadjit’s cults are only
slowly rebuilding their influence in the city and working to
undo the damage caused by the Tef-Aabhi — if it can be recti-
fied at all. The Engravers have an opportunity with Menkhetu
almost preparing to return to Duat. Uadjit may finally have
freedom of action, but her time is also short — the conflict’s
nature may soon transform as a new generation of Arisen gain
power over Johannesburg.
STORY HOOKS
• The Nameless Empire wasn’t as all-powerful as the
Deathless (sometimes) remember. It had dissenters and
opposing views, usually scattered far from the heart of
the kingdom. Within these rogue states blasphemous
experiments ignored the proper order and tapped into
mercurial and dangerous powers to achieve their goals.
Irem crushed these dissenters when it could, grinding
their works to dust so the horrors they leashed could
never rise. Johannesburg squats above the shattered
ruins of one such corrupted rebel, with profane works
waiting to be discovered and horrors locked in stasis
ready to run amok across the world. Only the unending
conflict between the Mesen-Nebu and the Tef-Aabhi has
prevented this misery from sweeping across the world.
When Uadjit and Menkhetu’s times pass the true nature
of what Johannesburg covers may be revealed.
• Both the Tef-Aabhi and Mesen-Nebu have validity to
their views. In other places and times, the Guilds would
compromise for the greater good, but Johannesburg is
different. Ancient machinations stir antagonism and
irritation between the Deathless. This affects other
supernatural creatures to a lesser degree, and mortals
barely at all. The curse drives mummies to fight along
their ideological lines, between and within guilds.
Civility and accord between immortals is near impossible
to find, and cultists for all Arisen grow weary of how the
vindictiveness of their gods prevents them from working
towards the cult’s needs. Different cults have tentatively
reached out to each other — even those serving warring
Deathless — to compare notes and work out how to
remove the mummies if they’ve outlived their usefulness.
THE GUILDS
While the Alchemists and Architects have historical-
ly been the most notably active Arisen in Johannesburg,
mummies and cults aligned with all the major guilds exist in
the city with many firmly entrenching themselves within its
fabric. As distracting as the schemes of Uadjit and Menkhetu
can be, Arisen from other guilds try to focus on their own
interests and avoid falling victim to the selfish, irrelevant
skirmish of the squabbling children.
MAA-KEP
The Spies’ perceptions are just as twisted and paranoid
as every other Arisen in the city, but the Maa-Kep are
familiar with the game and aware that what they’re seeing
isn’t the truth of what’s going on. Something doesn’t want
the Deathless to decipher Johannesburg’s mysteries and that
just makes the Maa-Kep even more intrigued. With their
awareness, the Spies are playing peacemakers between other
guilds, which when combined with the uneasiness in the city
is a role they feel ill-suited to perform.
MESEN-NEBU
The Mesen-Nebu aren’t anti-progress like the Tef-Aabhi
would like to believe. They sponsor local designers and artists
— even mortal architects — to design works to improve the
city. The precise form of an artistic endeavor is unimportant,
what matters is the local connection to the city and its use of
locally-sourced materials. Pulling the ingrained Sekhem from
beneath the Earth and spreading it around the city strengthens
the guild and frustrates the Tef-Aabhi’s plots to destroy the
natural resource. Like the Architects, Mesen-Nebu cults push
to take advantage of the city’s bureaucracy and gain repre-
sentatives and allies that can protect their treasures through
mortal means, but aren’t above violent sabotage if needed.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Diplomats are frustrated. They work to bridge the
gap between the Tef-Aabhi and Mesen-Nebu, but the goals
of each guild appear incompatible and no single Arisen in
this place appears willing to work in good faith. Even fellow
Sesha-Hebsu are suspect and seem to be working against the
guild’s intentions. Diplomats are increasingly abandoning any
pretense of solving this issue and simply work towards collect-
ing as much Sekhem as they can before seemingly inevitable
open immortal war breaks out.
SU-MENENT
The Necromancers feel omens of lingering doom about
Johannesburg, piquing their curiosity. The Su-Menent believe
something much worse will come from this place that will
overshadow all petty squabbles. They want to discover the
city’s secret, but the guild is split on what to do when they
find it. Half believe they must work to prevent the coming
darkness, while the rest insist that the Judges want to unleash
the death and destruction as a new Irem will rise like a beacon
to unify humanity. The Su-Menent are uncommon in the city,
more interested in the caves of ancient humanity outside its
boundaries. Every secret they learn here provides more fuel
for the guild’s debate.
TEF-AABHI
The Tef-Aabhi don’t trust one another, but are united
under Menkhetu’s banner. They’ve forged partnerships with
rich property investors and maneuver their cultists into key po-
sitions in the city’s planning offices and courts. The Architects
confound the Mesen-Nebu’s spies by flooding the bureaucracy
with a myriad of design proposals and urban renewal projects
across the city. The sheer number of geomantically-irrelevant
proposals hide those that will truly reshape Johannesburg’s
Lifeweb. As Menkhetu prepares to pass, the guild’s unity is
already suffering and individual Architects turn their thoughts
to more self-serving projects.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Menkhetu, the Visionary: Menkhetu is close to the end
of his Descent. He has taken a long time working towards
achieving his mission and he is frustrated that it will likely
end in failure. Menkhetu is also frustrated at his impasse
with Uadjit, with whom he has no reason to quarrel except a
difference of opinion over what the Judges would consider the
best outcome for Johannesburg. In moments of quiet contem-
plation, he can see Uadjit’s point of view though he politely
disagrees with it. In moments of decision, confrontation, and
action, he only sees her as an intransigent stumbling block
dedicated to confounding the will of the Judges. In these
moments, he wants nothing more than to destroy her and all
the Mesen-Nebu. Above all, Menkhetu is tired. He has one
last gambit involving the Ponte City apartments, having had
his cult quietly fill the renovated sections with people loyal to
a vision of stability and growth for Johannesburg. This makes
them allies of the Tef-Aabhi, though none have any direct
knowledge of the Arisen or the true struggles going on.
Uadjit, the Master Crafter: Uadjit’s days are numbered.
She has lingered too long to understand the source of Sekhem
and knows that profound punishment awaits her in Duat.
She wanted to be able to present answers to her Judge,
but they’ve always been just out of reach. Her desperation
has driven her to madness as she’s convinced that the Tef-
Aabhi will triumph when she departs the living world. She
plans to prevent this loss by bringing mass destruction and
devastation to Johannesburg so none can claim its prize. Her
followers have planted explosives and deadly chemicals in
buildings, structures and public places across the city, intent
Johannesburg, South Africa 301
 on so thoroughly impacting the population and cityscape that
the Tef-Aabhi will be forced to abandon Johannesburg. Uadjit
has placed her most faithful servants in charge of enacting the
plan, but many more moderate cultists are hesitant about car-
rying out their mistress’s final wish. Unfortunately, these more
sensible individuals don’t know where every device hides and
need considerable help preventing the wave of death that will
sweep across the city.
Nemur, Who May Remember: Nemur has no memory of
it, but he stood where Johannesburg now stands back when it
was a hidden outpost for a breakaway kingdom. As a mortal,
Nemur was completely given to his devotion to the Shian’atu.
He infiltrated the rogue state and gained access to its secrets.
He learned of the blasphemies conducted to destroy Irem and
fled back to his masters just ahead of discovery. Nemur suffered
terrible mental and physical tortures on his return to Irem to
verify his loyalty and the truth of his reports. Impressed with
Nemur’s skill and commitment, the Shian-atu rewarded him
with eternal service while they buried the rogue kingdom in fire
from the heavens and plagues of creatures that devoured ev-
erything living and dead to return them to their base elements.
Today, Nemur remembers none of this and works to unravel
the mystery of why his fellow Arisen are so quick to conflict
with each other. He feels a deep unease with Johannesburg that
he can’t quite place, and experiences a strong pull towards the
Cradle of Humankind where he believes he may find answers.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Ponte City Apartments: Johannesburg’s unique architec-
tural jewel serves as an effigy to hope and folly for the city’s
human inhabitants, and a raging battlefront to its immortals.
The cylindrical Ponte City was intended to be a crowning
achievement for the Tef-Aabhi, a gravity point for geomantic
energies that would drag the unharmonized Lifeweb back into
alignment, dampen the negative energies while realignment
took place, and eventually focus the correctly aligned Sekhem
in service to the Judges. Unfortunately for the Architects, the
Mesen-Nebu learned of its purpose. They were too late to
prevent the tower’s construction so used their wealth and their
cults’ lower-caste status imposed on them by the country’s pol-
itics to draw brutal, organized crime gangs to the area. Though
the apartments stood, the Architects couldn’t maintain the re-
quired utterances and oblations without engaging in prolonged
bloodshed that would have been incompatible with the required
changes. After nearly 30 years of civic wars to eradicate the
criminal element, they managed to reclaim the area and have
secretly repopulated the renovated sections of the building with
people supportive of their goals for the city. The Mesen-Nebu
haven’t discovered this link, but Uadjit’s most loyal servants
have riddled the structure with explosives, ready to bring the

302 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring

whole thing down with callous disregard of the humans living
within when their mistress returns to Duat.
Cradle of Humankind: Not within Johannesburg itself,
the Cradle of Humankind is a site 31 miles northwest of
the city, riddled with limestone caves that hold the remains
of some of humanity’s earliest ancestors and competitors.
The fossilized remains of thousands of different non-Homo
sapiens species, each up to millions of years old, across the
different caves within the network, makes the site a World
Heritage listed treasure trove for the scientific community.
Undiscovered caves deep within the limestone labyrinth
hold other horrors waiting in undead stasis to awaken and
bring pain and suffering to the world. These flawed horrors
are products of the breakaway kingdom, dreaming of their
never-ending hunger for warm, living Sekhem. Without a
constant supply of life to devour, the horrors’ withered bodies
fall still, but their minds never stop hungering with awareness
of the slow passage of time as they wait in the never-ending
dark. Even without this madness-inducing hunger, having to
suffer the passage of millennia one moment after the next has
driven each horror beyond all reason. All they need is one
human to inadvertently stumble across their resting place and
the horrors will be free to hunt, kill, devour, and grow ever
stronger. Once these creatures are unleashed upon the world
the Deathless would have little time to restrain them before
their hunger and fury brings about a scenario consistent with
prophetic end times.
WELLINGTON,
NEW ZEALAND
I n a faraway corner of the world, New Zealand is a hidden
beauty of the southwest Pacific. A popular tourist destination
and well-known Hollywood set, one could think that these
secluded lands are as untouched as advertised. However,
scratching the surface of this modern façade reveals the
Arisen’s influence permeating the capital. The different guilds
work together to preserve their history by creating untouched
tombs while the world outside grows ever more uncertain.
Tensions often flare up between them, but they sizzle down
quickly as they all see the big picture — in this isolation, co-
operation benefits them more than competition. Though their
collaboration seems peaceful at first glance, everyone acts as
if monitored by someone or perhaps something. Both Arisen
and their loyal followers try to be on their best behavior, as
showing any signs of hesitation means they could become the
next target of the Netra-Peri.
The Netra-Peri — the bold cleansing warriors — are a
group seeking to “purify” those beginning to turn their back
on the Judges and the glory of Irem. While those taken never
return, they send messages to reassure everyone that they’ve
found true purpose in their re-education. In the beginning,
many tolerated these Purists as they believed it was necessary
to use force to keep everyone on the straight and narrow path.
However, as the number of abductions increased, fear began
spreading among the Arisen that this secret sect might be a
dreaded enemy establishing their hold on the islands.
THE ORIGIN
Being one of the last places colonized by humans, early
Polynesian settlers came by canoe in multiple waves between
1250 and 1300. These pioneers, under long isolation, devel-
oped the unique culture of the Maori people. The Arisen didn’t
come to New Zealand until after 1841, when New Zealand
became a British Colony. Though some believe mummies
and their followers may have arrived earlier, the Sesha-Hebsu
remain adamant on their status as the pioneers, since no
evidence before their arrival exists.
Through the British Empire the Deathless first learned
of the islands, and so the first wave of the Arisen moved to
the newly established colony to learn more. The subsequent
migrations occurred during the World Wars. Masked as lo-
gistics of war, massive transportations between the different
territories of the empire carried the Arisen and their relics
to New Zealand. Of the two world wars, the second was the
most significant influx of arriving Arisen. The third wave
outlasted the war, as the uncertainties of the world shaped
the conservation mindsets of many now in New Zealand. The
1940–50s in Egypt evoked fear in many as the growing Arab
nationalistic movement increasingly showed signs of hostility.
Fearing that further destruction by war was inevitable, they
fled with priceless relics as far as they could, so they could live
to serve the Judges another day, perhaps even undisturbed.
Island life is indeed peaceful, perhaps too peaceful for
the ones looking to serve the Judges faithfully. The laidback
attitude of New Zealanders often frustrates the Arisen, who
have not acclimatized to the islander’s pace, but those who’ve
been here for a while remind them to let things take their time.
One can afford to be patient when immortal. Though it may
be strenuous to remain on cordial terms with other Deathless
and their followers whom you may not agree with all the time,
you always feel like they are nearby. There aren’t enough re-
sources to go around for all cults to be prosperous even if the
country has modern technology and western influences. An
element of competition is prevalent among the guilds, but they
know that if they turn their back on each other, they won’t
last very long in isolation. Hence, they make a valiant effort
to remain civil with the others to try and have a collaborative
effort as the islands aren’t large enough to escape each other’s
presence without cutting all ties that may help you to serve
Wellington, New Zealand 303
 your Judge. However, being “trapped” in a small area means
that if it’s harder to get in, it may be easier to keep others out.
As it was a new place for mummies and their cults, they
believed that through strong regulations they could keep their
enemies out. These barriers, namely the importation laws, are
also one of the first hurdles an Arisen faces when attempting
to interact with the world. It’s a system set in place to protect
the environment, and many items get seized due to being
hazardous to the wildlife — occasionally some of these goods
are ancient relics.
The farther away one is from the original home, the more
likely one is to remain more conservative and traditionalist.
Some welcome new changes, others desperately cling onto
their old traditions, even when those traditions continue
to change in their country of origin. For many in this place,
Starfall begins as one starts to embrace something new and
different — an aspect or perspective which they felt was miss-
ing in their existence. For some, it’s the unique nature that
surrounds them. While the Nameless Empire was a beauty in
the desert most cannot remember, they cannot help be in awe
of the landscape that’s in front of them. Winds are dangerous
in lands of sand, but in Wellington where windy weather is
commonplace and not as destructive, the Arisen can enjoy the
feeling of the wind going through one’s hair and watch how
the air moves both land and water. Others find themselves
absorbed by the different cultures and people living here. Like
in other civilizations with modern western culture, many of
the Arisen don’t understand the concept of individualism until
something triggers a lost memory to return.
Those having seen this pattern before try to remind their
friends or followers not to forget their sense of purpose. The
Arisen of New Zealand have a unique opportunity to work on
the conservation of Irem in a remote place with easy access to
modern technology, so the more traditional Deathless think
of the outside cultures as distractions.
Many thought the members of the Netra-Peri are of the
traditional persuasion that wants to maintain the culture of
the Nameless Empire, but their true intent remains unknown.
Are they targeting those starting to lose their sense of pur-
pose because they don’t want to see their comrades fall? Or
are they targeting them because they are in a vulnerable and
impressionable state?
STORY HOOKS
• The rumored relic thief struck again. One of the guilds
used their influence to fly over ancient relics from lost
civilizations for a temporary installation at one of the
museums in Wellington. The transport was intensive-
ly planned out and carried out to perfection. Right
304 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
after landing, the items passed their verification, but
someone intercepted the delivery route between the
airport and museum. The relics have all been replaced
by copies, meaning that the thieves were fully aware
of what the relics are and had ample time to make
forgeries of them. Who are these thieves, and what
do they do with the antiques they steal?
• Every mummy and their cult knows the second wave of
Arisen, who migrated here after the Second World War,
are dedicated to their cause of building and preserving
secret tombs. Now that modern tools of war shatter
the earth, and scientific devices detect sacred burials,
convinced that more than ever Arisen need hidden
shelters undisturbed by mortals, these traditionalists
operate in secrecy. The locations of these tombs are
only shared by a trusted few, but disturbing reports of
a map found in Wellington Harbor is said to show the
location of several tombs all over the country.
• Reports emerge of the destruction and death of all
the cultists of one of the missing Arisen chosen by
the Netra-Peri for purification. It’s a new pattern in
the behavior of the Purists; often the Deathless leave
messages stating they were in dire need for re-educa-
tion, otherwise they will lose sight of their purpose. No
one had foreseen that Hakim would be chosen, so with
his destruction, investigators are thinking it may be a
copy-cat, or perhaps the Netra-Peri are finally showing
their true colors?
THE GUILDS
As New Zealand’s capital, Wellington acts as the hub of
activity for the Arisen. While not the most populous city,
Wellington is the political center, but also an international
hub for those culturally hungry, providing resources for all the
guilds to tap into and to do what suits them best.
SESHA-HEBSU
A Sesha-Hebsu named Aharon led the first meret to New
Zealand. Wanting to learn as much as they could about this
new part of the world, they came under the guise of British
diplomats and settlers. Today, you can find the Diplomats
gathering knowledge in the National Archives of New Zealand
and Victoria University of Wellington. The Sesha-Hebsu are
using their influence in the academic world to ensure the
international university offers courses on subjects on which
they wish to collect information.
Their presence and status are weaker than in the past,
and they prefer to remain where they have the most power.
Clinging to their history, Aharon, being the most prolific
Diplomat in the city, is commonly asked to attend meetings
as a moderator and offers his counsel in important matters,
and so his cult awakens him at least every five years.
TEF-AABHI
After the Diplomats came the Tef-Aabhi, who imme-
diately began researching the unique Maori buildings and
planning the constructions of the British settlements. The
Architects are spread out in the country, pulling their strings
in the regional offices of Heritage New Zealand to preserve
monuments brimming with Sekhem. The head office is in
Wellington, the Antrim House, a grand manor surrounded
by skyscrapers.
MAA-KEP
The Maa-Kep view themselves as the most successful
guild in Wellington, but don’t openly flaunt their influence.
Instead, they smirk to themselves as the other guilds come to
them for aid. Anyone wanting something from outside of the
country must ask the Maa-Kep; they have contacts in all of
the international airports across New Zealand.
They have infiltrated the political and law enforcement,
and the Mesen-Nebu are the ones coordinating imports of
regia. While the airport isn’t a spiritual place, the Spies likes
to arrange meetings there, as it’s a significant place where they
hold power. Anything caked in mud can carry foreign seeds
or insects, or goods made of animal or plant matter coming
from abroad must be declared. Objects failing declaration go
to the incinerator — at least for the common public.
Tension between the guilds arise when precious vessels
or vestiges are either delayed or end up in the wrong hands,
ending with the Maa-Kep sweet-talking some sense to the frus-
trated guild while sending out cult members to fix these errors.
MESEN-NEBU
The Mesen-Nebu was the last guild to establish a foothold
in the country, but with them came an increasing success. In
recent years, New Zealand and its capital has garnered more
attention as its untouched nature have been featured in big
blockbuster movies, resulting in the nickname Wellywood.
The Mesen-Nebu’s attention shifted to the movie industry
to capitalize on this sudden transformation. The Alchemists
arrived to the city after the Second World War and settled
in the Cuba Street neighborhood, which now is known as the
artistic part of Wellington.
There’s a strong divide among the guilds who want to
focus on innovation stemming from the country, rather than
risk inviting foreign powers. The traditionalist views aren’t
the prominent one among the Alchemists, something many
attribute to their guild not being present in the country until
after the World Wars.
SU-MENENT
While the Necromancers are prominent in the country,
only a few reside in Wellington, mostly sending out represen-
tatives in their stead. They arrived in the country early, and
studied the Maori funeral rites. An Arisen of the Su-Menent
lost his faith after seeing what consequences the British
colonization had on the native people and became the first
recorded Starfall. It brought memories back on how history
always repeats itself and erases those refusing to assimilate —
he could no longer serve the Nameless Empire, which at its
height sought to conquer all nations.
The National War Memorial is a location the Necromancers
of New Zealand visit, almost like a pilgrimage. The tomb of
an unknown soldier is poetic and evokes a response in most
Arisen, but for the Necromancers, who constantly contem-
plate the existential journey of death, it’s a sacred place in
need of protection.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Aharon of the First: Aharon, the most famous mummy
in Wellington, was part of the first meret that arrived in New
Zealand. Whether he keeps in contact with his meret is un-
known, but whenever rumors arise about the other members
Aharon disappears, supposedly chasing up the hearsay. His
periods of vanishing have increased both in frequency and
duration away, raising suspicions among the Deathless that
he has connections with the Purists.
Baraja, the Heretic: Baraja is a suspected Shuankhsen
on the mind of those fearing the Purists. When a follower
serving one of the missing Arisen soon after died, the ru-
mors began as to Baraja’s identity. Only little was extracted
before the servant perished, but all of it sparked both a
sense of hope and dread. The leader of Netra-Peri is not
serving Irem; the missing Deathless are either forcefully
taken or have turned their backs on the Judges. As bleak
as this may seem, there have been escapees who know the
sect’s inner workings.
Uma: A mummy of the Su-Menent guild whose current
location is unknown. She and her cult vanished, leaving only
a letter signed by an unknown person stating Uma needed
purification. Recent reports mention a sighting of Uma on the
outskirts of Wellington. Whether she’s part of the Netra-Peri
or not isn’t known, but her followers leaked the information
of the Purists’ leadership.
Wellington, New Zealand 305
 NOTABLE LOCATIONS
The Beehive: Nicknamed after the building’s unique
shape, the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament
Buildings is known as the Beehive. The Maa-Kep utilizes
their observation skills to tap into the on-going plans and
discussions in these buildings. As one of the most distinctive
buildings in the country, it drew the Tef-Aabhi to its archi-
tecture. A common meeting ground for the Architects, they
chuckle among themselves about how the mortals going in
and out of the buildings do indeed fit the image of bees —
mindless drones in a hurry to carry out their simple jobs as
tools, but an important job nonetheless.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: Built in commem-
oration of the lives lost in wars, the National War Memorial
in Wellington consists of several parts. The War Memorial
Carillon, the Hall of Memories, and the Tomb of the Unknown
Warrior built in 2004 are the most famous ones.
This modern tomb resonates with many, and serves as a
neutral ground where either one’s belief is reaffirmed or shaken.
It’s a place the Su-Menent has great interest in and are trying to
find the reason to why this particular place awakens an Arisen’s
lost memories. A rule to monitor any Arisen in this place is being
enforced by some cults to prevent desecration by Shuankhsen,
or a Deathless group referred to as “the Deceived”.
HONG KONG
A city born out of two clashing cultures, Hong Kong has
long been known as a place where East meets West. It is
a dense, bustling, vibrant jungle of concrete, steel and glass,
on which the towering structures of wealthy corporations
reach high above the teeming masses bustling through its
narrow streets.
The Deathless have made many forays into China over the
centuries. Many cults made the long trek across the trackless
expanses of the world in search of lost treasures, and many
enemies followed. The Shuankhsen flocked to the realm like
a dark tide, devouring everything they could find. The first
Arisen to arrive there found a land in turmoil, riven by domes-
tic strife. They required a safe harbor from which to conduct
their business and through which their allies and compatriots
could be safely brought in to the region.
The British “acquisition” of Hong Kong as a result of the
Opium Wars of the 1800s provided well placed Iremites with
just such an opportunity.
THE ORIGIN
The Treaty of Nanking, in 1842, ceded Hong Kong to the
British. The struggling colony was little more than a minor
306 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
fishing port until it expanded following further conflicts to
include Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island. As a
safe port for European sailors rebuffed from Chinese ports for
decades, it quickly became a key trading site for merchants
looking to sell highly prized commodities such as tea, silk
and porcelain.
The opportunities created by this colonial port were not
lost on the Deathless, whose tendrils had already crept into
London society. Contacting Chinese cults, Arisen began po-
sitioning themselves around the area in greater numbers so
as to facilitate the movement of personnel and materials out
of China and into Hong Kong, where it could be returned to
its rightful place and spared from the hands of Shuankhsen.
While many Iremites supported and celebrated this stride
forward in the recovery of their lost relics, others feared such
a gathering of Arisen in one place would only increase the
ravenous hunger of the Shuankhsen and attract them to the
city. Such fears would not prove unfounded and the cultists,
hirelings and Triad gangs of rival immortals have let blood on
the streets of Hong Kong for many years, particularly looking
to control the means of shipping and Victoria Harbour.
Arisen in this region are newly landed reinforcements,
some of whom are brought into the bodies of native cultists
through the ancient rituals of Irem. Others have been oper-
ating in the region for many hundreds of years. Those are well
established, often in the guise of respected businesses, niche
collectors’ trusts, ritualized crime syndicates and even tour
operators offering transport to and from mainland China.
The end of British colonial sovereignty in 1997 broke
down one of the main political barriers holding back Ammut’s
forces from entering the city. The Arisen do not know how
fully, if at all, the Shuankhsen have infiltrated the Chinese
administration and its officers, who now oversee the special
administrative region. As they strive to maintain both their
strong position in the area and the authority of their interests,
which are linked in many ways to the Hong Kong government,
they must contend with the unknown quantity seeking to
leverage ever more of the region’s autonomy back to Beijing.
Paranoia grips the slumbering hearts of the Arisen and each
new face that visits the Executive is a potential enemy or ally.
The situation is precariously balanced between those wishing
to preserve their standing in the region and those believing
the time has come to strike out once more into the mainland
as their forebears did.
The Diplomats hold the keys to power in the region, which
is to be expected in this multicultural and diverse place. They
form the networks allowing the Arisen and their cultists to
move freely throughout the territory. Their hegemony is
supported by the Maa-Kep, who move in the city’s underbelly
and keep their ears to the ground for the influence of the
Devourer. Challenging the status quo, new arrivals of the
Mesen-Nebu and Su-Menent look to exploit both the vast
riches that have been gathered in this metropolis and the
poverty and deprivation suffered by those on the wrong side
of the poverty line.
For now, a cabal of ancient cults keep the old guard in
place and the challengers on the fringes. However, as enemies
gnaw at the defenses of the Deathless’ tombs and relics of
increasingly greater power pass through the port, opportunities
arise for new powers to stake a claim on the region. This could
challenge even the Tef-Aabhi, rumored to be maintaining a
presence within modern day China through their centuries-old
links to powerful families.
Part melting pot, part pressure cooker. Hong Kong is teem-
ing with life and death. It is one of the most densely populated
Deathless cities on the planet with large numbers of Arisen
active in the city at any one time, either passing through or
from one of the many long-established cults.
STORY HOOKS
• The ancient Cult of the Wave Dragon lives on in Hong
Kong as the Lucky Serpent Shipping Company. The
Diplomats all look to Khama’at as their senior, for he
has been here since the 1500s. His Sadikh, Shang Mo
Chou, was once a feared pirate, known as the Queen
of Guangzhou, but now her life of adventure has been
tied to the fortunes of her slumbering master. A life of
freedom shrunk to a small measure as she directs the
very trade upon which she used to prey. Now, Khama’at
has awoken and called a conclave of the Diplomats.
Ms Shang knows it is no mere coincidence that her
master awoke just after that luxury vessel containing
the negotiators from Beijing pulled into the harbor.
• A shadow war has engulfed the streets of the city as the
14K Triad and their traditional enemies, the Sun Yee
On, are battling for supremacy in the illicit drug trade
running through the docks. The Deathless of the Maa-
Kep guild have ostensibly supported both organizations
at different times and rivalries between cults are ignited
by the conflagration. As a new cult comes into town,
they must choose a side, or perhaps they can negotiate a
peace between them both. One thing is for sure, without
the Maa-Kep’s foot soldiers monitoring for signs of the
Shuankhsen, the streets are far less safe. This situation
needs to be resolved and soon.
• The Tef-Aabhi, Wang Zhang Wei, extends his new
“colleague” an invitation to meet him and a couple of
other new arrivals at the Central Government Building.
His people secreted a truck with an ancient relic of Irem
into the city, but they have reported being pursued by
the Shuankhsen and some of their number died bring-
ing it into the safety of Wang’s new tomb. To prevent
the shipment from being discovered before the Lucky
Serpent can move it out of the city, Wang proposes
it be moved each night to a different safe house and
guarded by each of their cults in turn. He adds that he
can offer extra assistance from his many hired guards
and loyal followers, if any of the others should require
it — for a price. Some believe Wang has been infected
by the memory of his new host body, others seem keen
to take him up on his offer. It remains uncertain if he
intends to help the other new arrivals or attempt to
embarrass them with failure.
THE GUILDS
A feeling of paranoia grips the guilds of Hong Kong, as
mummies from other guilds test the Diplomats’ influence over
the region and the Shuankhsen look for any opportunity or
point of egress they might exploit to erode Deathless control
over their cults and vessels here.
MAA-KEP
Largely concerned with the lower classes of the city, the
Maa-Kep have a firm agreement with the ruling group of
Diplomats that they keep watch on the streets for the arrival
of any Shuankhsen from China or beyond. The many relics
gathered here are a great attraction for the hungering foe
and the Spies have the eyes on the street to spot them and
enough gunmen within the Triads whom their cultists control
to do them harm.
They seem to have accepted their role as unofficial
Deathless police force of the city, since it not only affords
them access to the rich spoils of relics, wealth and informa-
tion flowing through the busy ports and markets of Hong
Kong, but it allows them to pull the strings of the lesser
guilds, many of whom are keen to send their members into
China via this strongpoint. They clash mostly with the res-
ident Mesen-Nebu, whose propensity to gentrify the lower
value areas of the city as part of some ridiculous quest to
perfect its structure has robbed them of many viable safe
houses and dens for their operations.
MESEN-NEBU
Hong Kong’s Alchemists seek to marvel at the immense
spoils being returned from their loss to China and craft the city
into a shining jewel and example of all that can be achieved
from well guided endeavor.
Hong Kong 307
 The oldest and most well-established of the guild’s
members in the city were at the forefront of the campaign
to demolish the Kowloon Walled City and replace it with
the park that now stands there. Tearing down that eyesore
and stain on the city’s populace proved a great boon to the
Mesen-Nebu, but earned them the ire of the Maa-Kep and
their Triad associates. The campaign did, however, give the
Mesen-Nebu excellent links within the offices of the Executive
Council and the Alchemists have extended an invitation to
certain members of the New Pharaohs to join their efforts
in directing the growth and prosperity the city enjoys. Such
tactics may shift the ire of the Maa-Kep from this ambitious
guild, but will do nothing to please the ruling Sesha-Hebsu.
SESHA-HEBSU
The most well-established cults in the city belong to the
Diplomats. Some came with British delegations when the colony
was first being established, others used the city as a safe haven
from which to strike at the Shuankhsen and gather information
on the lost relics within China for others to pursue. In modern
times, they operate as consummate professionals, smoothing re-
lations between the local government and the Chinese Central
Government as well as monitoring and guiding the activities of
the other Arisen coming and going from the city.
Hong Kong is the gateway to the east for many of the
Deathless and the Sesha-Hebsu enjoy the news that such
travelers bring from across the globe, as well as the many news
outlets and international trading firms in which they have
an interest. If Hong Kong is a gateway then the Diplomats
are the gatekeepers. They have long established allies among
the oldest and strongest cults in the city, and they brook
no challengers to their very comfortable seat. Besides the
Shuankhsen, the Sesha-Hebsu fear the arrival of Tef-Aabhi
in numbers, both from China and further afield. The New
Pharaohs are instantly suspected of being there to usurp the
Diplomats from their unusual spot as top dogs in this city.
SU-MENENT
The Necromancers are strangely limited in number in such
a densely populated city teeming with the hum of life and
energies of death. Many independent sorcerers have studied
the arcane secrets within Hong Kong and their secrets are
certainly of interest to the discerning Necromancer.
More than anything else, the Su-Menent see Hong Kong
as a proving ground for all sorts of experimental rituals and
procedures. The streets are awash with spiritually bereft and
hopeless people, just ripe for the picking and willing to sac-
rifice just about anything for a chance at a better life. While
such experiments are beneath the immediate concern of the
Sesha-Hebsu, they do not sit well with the Maa-Kep or the
308 Chapter Six: A World for Exploring
Mesen-Nebu. Both for their sheer wastefulness of life and
in the attention it draws to certain parts of the city’s under-
world. With most of the Arisen in Hong Kong worried about
Shuankhsen attacks, reports of ritual blood sacrifices and the
like attract the wrong kind of attention.
TEF-AABHI
The New Pharaohs are the ascendant guild in China,
so it is surprising to find them relatively under-represented
here. However, the Diplomats have always tried to point
those arriving in Hong Kong to pastures new, and there are
no shortage of suitable destinations within striking distance
of Hong Kong. More recently, Architects have been coming
in at the invitation of established cults of Mesen-Nebu and
have looked to exploit their links within the local political
community to begin to exploit their synergistic goal of bringing
order to the chaos that is this city.
Some people may disdain the rigid order and ruthless en-
forcement of law favored by the Chinese, but the Tef-Aabhi
understands that to keep structure in place, you must apply
to it the most careful order. The Diplomats think they are in
control of the city, so be it. The New Pharaohs are happy for
them to harvest all of the scribblings in the world for their
dusty scrolls. Meanwhile, they will get on with the real work,
which is making Hong Kong a beacon of all that Irem could
have been in time.
NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Khama’at: This enigmatic member of the Sesha-Hebsu
is regarded as one of the foremost Arisen in the city and
perhaps in the whole of China, depending on with whom
you speak. His influence over the Victoria Harbour and the
airports means that nobody enters or leaves the city without
him hearing of it. Khama’at’s cult are a loose collection of
merchants, academics and political aides led by his Sadikh,
Shang Mo Chou, once a feared pirate. She now operates the
Lucky Serpent Trading Corporation in her master’s name as
well as maintaining many of her age-old underground links.
Many mummies whisper that she and not Khama’at truly runs
Hong Kong, as her links to the Triad families forms the basis
of the Sesha-Hebsu alliance with the Maa-Kep that keeps
Khama’at in his lofty position.
Wang Zhang Wei: Mr Wang claims to be a member
of a family of imperial descent. Staunchly pro-Chinese, he
arrived in the city not long after the British lease expired.
As a relatively new face on the scene, this crafty Tef-Aabhi
has made a habit of befriending new arrivals to the city and
offering them opportunities that, ultimately, indebt them to
him. He is enigmatic and strange, even to other Deathless,
who feel that his adoption of his host’s name and, seemingly,
some of his mannerisms, is a sign of his deterioration. Perhaps
the transposition ritual was not entirely successful in his case,
as when he is awake he seems to retain more memory from
Mr Wang than from his former Iremite self, down to the fact
that nobody knows his true name. Some even suspect that he
himself cannot remember it. A rumor boosted by his voracious
hunger for artifacts coming out of ancient Chinese stories for
any hint of memory as to who he was and where he came
from. Wang hides this behind his grinning façade and is an
impresario that likes to hold meetings in important buildings.
Khimpec the Hollow: The ancient malice this Shuankhsen
feels for Khama’at and his brethren knows no bounds. He
spent a century growing fat off of the delights brought to him
down the silk road, only for the Deathless to follow him and
ruin it all. While his compatriots are scattered, Khimpec has
lost none of his foul hunger and rage over the years. If Hong
Kong falls, the glory days return, and if he plays his cards
right, perhaps he can even keep the relics and unsuspecting
Deathless rolling in to the city to sate his hunger for all time.
NOTABLE LOCATIONS
Victoria Harbour: This natural harbor is the main reason
for Hong Kong’s primacy and growth as a colony under British
rule and for much of its prosperity even now. Its location in
the South China sea makes it a perfect hub between colonies
in the southern archipelagos and mainland China and Japan.
It also services shipping from the United States, Canada
and any number of Central and South American Countries.
Controlling this landmark area is the key to controlling Hong
Kong and the Lucky Serpent’s grip on the shipping makes sure
the Sesha-Hebsu stay in control for now.
Temple Street Night Market: A visit here is like stepping
back in time and many Arisen come here to get lost in the
faded memory of their distant past. The buzz of bartering and
the bizarre mixture of sights and smells are evocative and
attractive to many. The Maa-Kep keep this area under a tight
leash as many a shady deal can be done in the ramshackle
stalls of this area, especially if the local police are paid to look
the other way.
Kowloon Walled City Park: Once, this historical park was
the site of the worst slum in Hong Kong. A series of run-down
towers, each block within it, a town within itself. Overcrowded
and dangerous. The Mesen-Nebu see this park as a testament
to everything that is great about their philosophy, a sign of
the grandeur that awaits all of those joining them in bringing
perfection to the world.
Hong Kong 309
 Ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as
unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying
order in the world.
— Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time

T here are many ways a troupe can tell a story of Mummy:

The Curse, and what appeals to one group may not nec-
essarily appeal to another. Some groups prefer competition,
and some prefer co-operation; each are equally valid. The
most important thing a Storyteller can do prior to planning
a chronicle is to sit down with players and try to get a feel
for what they want, introducing the players to the bones of
the chronicle she is planning. Is she envisaging a cinematic
chronicle with the meret encountering increasingly powerful
foes until they get to the final confrontation with their archen-
emy? Or, perhaps, something more contemplative where the
characters explore what it means to be an extremely powerful,
immortal being doomed to live episodically, with little oppor-
tunity to learn from the past, bound into service to a barely
recollected god? There is, of course, no rule to say the troupe
can’t have a bit of both these extremes. Different troupes
want different emphases and a long-running chronicle works
best when everyone starts out with the same understanding.
At this initial meeting, the Storyteller should find time to
discuss the characters the group is interested in playing and
start to work out how these would fit into the chronicle. She
should try to discourage people from setting their hearts on
playing a concept unsuitable for the rest o f the meret, or a
concept ill-suited for the game’s flow. For example, if most of
the group want to play co-operatively toward common goals
then playing a character whose main goal is to undermine
the rest of the meret can be difficult to incorporate. On the
other hand, if the players are asked “would you be happy if
characters worked against each other in this game?” it might
provoke excitement and intrigue within the story.
TIPS FOR THE
STORYTELLER
A mummy’s existence is tough. No doubt about it. She exists
to serve her Judge and mostly, when she returns to the living
world from henet, she doesn’t remember what she was doing before.
However, if the chronicle is entirely dark, the troupe starts to take
this for granted. Darkness works best when contrasted with light.
Sometimes mummies and their cultists relax; sometimes they
enjoy the presence of a friend or a lover, the feeling of satiation
after a wonderful meal or the thrill of attending a concert. Do not
be afraid to include the occasional shot of humor.
AVOID SAYING “NO”
When a member of the troupe comes up with an idea that
seems, on the face of it, to be incompatible with the chronicle,
don’t just say “no”. The Storyteller may need to ask for time

Tips for the Storyteller 311

 to think about it. Most ideas can fit into most chronicles with
a bit of ingenuity. If it’s really off the wall, she may want to
ask that player to compromise, to alter her amazing idea so it
fits in with the rest of the story.
This guideline is particularly important when a new player
joins an ongoing chronicle. Existing players need to acknowl-
edge that a new member of the group may take things in a
different direction, and this is something to celebrate.
There are situations when a Storyteller needs to say “No”
and those occur when a player or players are taking things
down a track that spoils the story for another player, takes
away another player’s agency or cuts another player out of the
action. In such cases, no really must mean no, but follow up
with an explanation of why this decision was made.
NOTHING SURVIVES
CONTACT WITH PLAYERS
A Storyteller must love the concept they have for their
chronicle, else everything feels flat. Players, however, are
intensely creative people and will want to take things their
own way. A storytelling game is a collaborative effort and
sometimes the best laid plans of the Storyteller do not come
to fruition because the meret has decided to do something
utterly unpredictable. In such situations, the Storyteller needs
to think on her feet. Not everyone finds this easy and it’s
perfectly fine for the Storyteller to take a break or run a side
scene or even to tell the players they weren’t expecting these
developments, and they need time to think about them. The
worst thing a Storyteller can do is to try to force the meret
back onto the path they had planned. Character actions are for
the players to decide. The Storyteller should let them handle
the consequences of their decisions, but never let them think
their characters’ decisions cannot affect the story.
In real life, most of us want to make a difference. This is
even more the case when it comes to participating in a story.
The characters are not spectators, they want to be awesome
and effective in this story, and the storyteller’s job is to make
sure this happens.
MAKE IT FEEL REAL
The use of appropriate lighting and a suitable soundtrack
helps many people, though it’s not always practical. There
are also number of storytelling tricks that increase immer-
sion and enjoyment. The most important of these is ‘show,
don’t tell’. Rather than just saying “It’s dark in the alley” try
expanding: “As you enter the alley a shadow seems to fall
over the world. The streetlight flickers intermittently. It’s not
bright enough to see clearly. Clouds obscure the moon. You
312 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
find yourself squinting as you try to make out detail of the
rotting crates stacked against the wall.” Rather than saying
“Your questioning makes the shopkeeper angry” try: “As you
ask the shopkeeper what he saw last night, his face turns red,
you see his left hand shake slightly as he forms a fist with his
right, his eyes narrow and he brings his right fist down hard
on the shop counter.”
Try to avoid making up a new Storyteller character for
each situation. Use and re-use the same cast so the charac-
ters can form relationships with them. Let them have their
friends and enemies, the stall holder they believe they can
trust, the bartender who always shortchanges them. Use a
few, well-described locations so that exploring somewhere
strange and unfamiliar becomes a significant contrast to the
places they know so well. Let them have places where they
feel comfortable and places where they know they must pay
attention to their surroundings.
EVERYONE IS AWESOME
Every character in Mummy: The Curse has some special
skill or resource. Every character has some weakness or flaw.
All of these should feature strongly in every story. As the meret
progresses through its journey, characters (and players) should
develop an increasing awareness of what their companions
can do well and put those characters forward for tasks at
which they can shine. They may also learn to cover for each
other’s weaknesses.
SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT
In a roleplaying game, everyone deserves an equal share
of the Storyteller’s attention. Some players like to be in the
spotlight all the time; some are more reluctant to grab it.
Part of the Storyteller’s task is to ensure that everyone gets
a chance to shine, though some people will want to shine
less obviously than others. Storytellers should ensure every
character — from the mightiest Deathless to the most humble
mortal cultist — has a chance to stand at the forefront of their
tale, providing players with the opportunity to tell a story and
providing the chronicle with a study in contrasts, where a
mummy’s concerns might be cosmic, and a cultist’s might be
when his starving family are next going to eat.
TROUPES AND PYRAMIDS
T he nature of the Arisen makes it unlikely that a great
many of them are active in the same place at the same
time, unless it’s a universe-shaking chronicle. Even then,
there may be stories where only one or two members of the
meret are active.

Safety Guidelines
What many players want from Mummy: The
Curse is an intense, immersive experience facili-
tated by a deep and complex backstory, the im-
mense power available to Arisen, the tragic loss
of Memory, and the inexorable drive to achieve
one’s purpose. The issue with intense experiences
is they have the potential to get out of hand and
cause distress to participants.
Propose a gesture, word, or place an X-card with-
in reach of everyone in the gaming space. This
mechanic is there for a person to “tap” when they
are not feeling okay, or if they need to pause the
game for any reason. Everyone needs to know it
and respect it. The person gesturing might wish to
continue with the action toned down a notch, or
they might need a break to think things through. A
player should always be able to use a gesture or
X-card and they should not have to explain their
reasons to anyone. This is really an issue of giving
every member of the troupe the space they need
to feel comfortable.
THE MUMMY MERET
Finding four or five mummies active in the same place at
the same time outside a Sothic Turn is rare without a joint
cult to summon the entire band, a tomb robber raiding a
communal burial ground, or a widespread necromantic event
raising them from henet. There is no reason why a troupe
should not use such rare events to tell a story, however. Such
stories make the mummies primary players on the world’s stage
and provide players with a lot of resources to have fun telling
tales of godlike power.
DO ALL THE MUMMIES HAVE
THE SAME CULT?
Mummies may possess individual cults or pool a larger
one between the meret. Cults, however, may have their own
designs. Over the centuries, two powerful cults may well
decide to merge, increasing their power and having relations
with two or more mummies. If this is going to be the basis for
a chronicle, the mummies could pool their Merits to buy up
the Reach and Grasp of their shared cult. This is a solid design
for a troupe that likes their characters to work harmoniously.
Where the mummies have separate cults, there may be
some intra-meret conflict. During the character creation
phase, it is worth taking time to ensure that, while the char-
acters and their cults might have different aims, these aims
are not so incompatible as to tear the group apart. Differing
philosophy, precise direction, and ideal methodology, does
not necessarily rule out uniting to combat mutual threats and
achieve common goals.
The cults of two or more mummies might merge as part of
the ongoing chronicle if the plot gives them adequate reason
to do so. To some troupes this may feel more organic and au-
thentic than announcing that the cults merged at some time
in the past as part of the chronicle background. Of course, the
non-linear nature of this game’s timeline raises the possibility
to revisit past events in future chapters.
MUMMIES AND CULTISTS
Not every player has to portray a mummy all of the time
or even at all. Some troupes might enjoy the power disparity
involved when only one character is a mummy. This game
includes a number of features that make playing a member of
the mummy’s cult especially rewarding.
When a mummy arises, for whatever reason, she is full to
the brim with Sekhem and has little memory, no knowledge
of the current cultural matrix and scant self-control. At
this point, her cultists play a vital role in covering up any
untoward incidents or faux pas the mummy makes, teaching
the mummy how to operate in the time and place to which
she awoke and pointing the mummy in the right direction to
achieve her purpose. The mummy has more raw power, but
without her cultists she may not be able to use it effectively.
As the Descent progresses, the mummy becomes less powerful
and may invest more and more of her Pillars in her cultists.
This does not constitute a role-reversal, but it does change
the balance of respective roles.
While some cultists are normal mortals, a Storyteller might
give them some extra experience, so they become exceptional.
In this model, one member of the gaming group could play the
mummy’s Sadikh: an immortal who can funnel their Arisen
master’s Sekhem but rises and falls with the mummy. Other
immortals and sorcerers can ally with the Arisen and there
is no reason to avoid bringing in monsters from other game
lines if the players and the Storyteller agree.
ROTATING MUMMIES
In a long running chronicle, players can take turns at por-
traying the mummy. That might mean a single mummy, played
by different individuals each session or each Descent. Where
players are looking to run a long chronicle with considerable
Troupes and Pyramids 313
 time jumps, having a different player portray the same mummy
for an entire Descent is an interesting concept because of the
way it mirrors the gradual growth of memory during a mummy’s
time in the world. An alternative arrangement would be for each
player to have two characters, one of whom is a mummy and
one of whom is something else, such as a vampire or sorcerer.
This allows for different mummies to be present in different
chapters of the chronicle. The non-mummy character might
be responsible for summoning the mummy character into play.
Another issue worth considering is how to run a chronicle
spanning eons of time when some of the characters are mortal.
A vampire, Sadikh or Blood Bather may be with the mummy
in 1546 CE and again in 1832 CE, but that is not going to
be possible for most mages or sorcerers. Reborn and Eternals
are workable solutions here. The Reborn reincarnate over
and over again, retaining their memories, which makes them
an interesting foil for mummies. Often regarded as hostile (as
they remember all the unpleasant things mummies have done
to them) they could just as easily be allies. Unlike mummies,
they exist in linear time, so they may remember things in a
different order. In any case, having a Reborn in their cult,
or even as an ally, would be of value to a mummy who cares
about regaining her memory. The Eternal store their souls
in relics. To the average mummy, these relics are a store of
Sekhem, to return to Duat or drain. What will the mummy
do when he discovers the relic discovered houses the soul of
someone of importance to his cult? The Eternal is a suitable
candidate for a player character in a pyramid troupe where
the apex rotates.
Alternatively, in a time-hopping chronicle, members of
the troupe might prefer a choice between re-creating their
mortal character with enough twists to make them credible as
a grandfather or great-grandchild of the character they played
previously and making a completely different character for the
next time zone. The Storyteller should grant such characters
some or all of the experiences earned by the characters played
by those players previously to maintain balance with any
immortal characters in the mix.
PLAYING THE PYRAMID
Every character should have a chance to make a difference
to the outcome of the story. Some prefer to work quietly
from the shadows, but they deserve the Storyteller’s time and
attention just as much as the social butterfly character. In a
pyramid-style chronicle — whether a single player portrays
the mummy or there is some form of rotation — this becomes
even more essential.
In this type of chronicle, it pays for the mummy to invest
her Pillars in the rest of her meret. The mechanics explaining
how to do this start on p. XX. The Storyteller can help here by
314 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
making sure everyone starts with enough experience to min-
imize the difference in power between the various character
types, though the balance of power changes over the course
of the chronicle as the mummy descends.
How do the mummy and her cult members feel about each
other? Do the cultists worship their mummy and try to appease
her? Do they see him as a resource for exploitation? Most will
be somewhere between the two extremes and not every member
of the meret needs to feel the same. This is a point of potential
character growth and change for the entire troupe. Perhaps the
mummy’s behavior encourages the cult to feel greater awe; per-
haps she acts in a way that makes them start to despise her. All
these dynamics feed into the story of a pyramid-style chronicle.
If mechanical balance doesn’t matter to the group, exam-
ining mummy through the lens of different levels of cultist —
one playing a mortal, another a sorcerer, another an immortal
— provides many opportunities for interesting stories. The
Storyteller must keep in mind that although the mummy is
godlike, he acts as a beacon to Shuankhsen, pulsating with
Sekhem, suffers from a loss of Memory or subtlety, and of
course inflicts Sybaris on those unfortunate enough to come
close to him. Mortals have access to a whole world beyond
the mummy’s reach. Sorcerers have access to a kind of magic
and society neither mummies nor mortals can understand.
Immortals practice rituals and consort with others of their
kind, pursuing their own paths while attempting to strengthen
their long lives. Every character offers something to the tale.
THE TRULY EPIC CHRONICLE
Mummy: The Curse lends itself to a truly epic style of play
where the action takes place over different periods of time and
areas of space. This type of chronicle is bound to raise questions
about how time travel works. The meret may not necessarily
experience time travel, but, as there is no need to play out the
story in strictly chronological order, everyone should give some
thought to how scenes occurring in 1591 CE might interact with
an already-concluded story set in 2015 CE. Mummies may have
little by way of memory when they first begin each Descent, but
players all bear the responsibility for keeping continuity. The
meret may think they have put an end to that sadistic Blood
Bather in 1591 CE, but clearly, she found some way to revive
herself and come back to taunt them in the 2015 CE story. How
pleased she must be to find the mummies and their cults have
completely forgotten their victory and how angry she must be
that the epic battle five centuries earlier did not make much
of an impression on the meret. That amulet the sorcerer cultist
found in the attic in 2007 CE? Who put it there for him to
find back in 1736 CE? This chronicle gives the troupe infinite
opportunities to backfill the plot holes that inevitably occur in
the best planned of story arcs.
CULTISTS AND
OTHER ALLIES
S adikh and Witnesses are the obvious possibilities for
pyramid play. Other allies (even cultists) are possible and
immortals like Blood Bathers (p. XX) and Body Thieves (p.
XX), though normally perceived as adversaries, may join or
work with a cult. Some combinations are more likely than
others. Sorcerers and Deathless can work very well together
and are as likely to be allies as they are to be enemies.
SADIKH
Arisen create Sadikh, half-alive servants — sometimes
called “companions” — who are sometimes interred with them
at death, chained to the same cycle of death and rebirth as
their masters. When the mummy wakes, the Sadikh wakes too,
without the issue of lost memory. For this reason, the Sadikh
makes for a useful guide for every mummy.
Sadikh are the most obvious choice for a mixed-meret
chronicle. They are almost as immortal as their Arisen part-
ners and have an obvious and well-defined role in relation to
their mummy. They may not exercise the same raw power, but
they have a much better grasp on the ever-changing world of
mortals as well as having considerable sway over their arisen
partners. What they lack is an ongoing relationship with the
mummy’s cult, due to their need to rest whenever the mummy
slips into henet. They might become jealous of a powerful
cultist getting too close to the Arisen in the meret and equally
possible that cult members would be resentful of the ‘special
relationship’ between the mummy and the Sadikh.
BLOOD BATHERS
Although many regard the Blood Bather’s manner of
attaining immortality (p. XX) as abhorrent, a meret could
value an individual able to remain alive and without mental
infirmity through vast tracts of time. A Blood Bather could
help orient the mummy to his current Descent and ‘jog’ the
mummy’s memory of past Descents. Only her inevitable loss
of Integrity limits the Blood Bather’s usefulness. The struggle
against that decline forms a central part of this character’s
story and other members of the meret either help her resist or
take advantage of her hardened heart by having her perform
actions they find too horrible to contemplate.
BODY THIEVES
Body Thieves share with mummies a hatred of Shuankhsen,
who can drain life from the Thieves. This makes Body Thieves
keen members of scorpion cults as they believe they offer
some degree of protection or, at least, a common enemy. As
with other immortals, the Body Thief brings memory with her
when she becomes part of a cult or even a meret. She can be
present at any number of Descents. In return, the cult may
provide her with a succession of hosts and the mummy can
invest her with Pillars.
Body Thieves are, ultimately, ordinary mortals. They
carry their Mental and Social Attributes and Skills from
body to body, but adopt the physical equivalents of the body
they inhabit. Although they are functionally immortal, they
tend to be weak in several areas compared to some other
characters in the meret. The Storyteller might wish to give
them more experiences to reflect their great age, but those
should go into Mental and Social Skills and Attributes and
appropriate Merits.
A Body Thief character can take part in stories cov-
ering many Descents and can change her body to suit the
circumstances.
ETERNALS
Eternals have removed their own Sekhem and stored it in
an anchor while their body, mind, and spirit persist. Their im-
mortality persists for as long as they can protect their anchor.
They are viable as members of a meret and might be useful in
helping to procure vessels, due to their familiarity with relics.
They work well with the Mesen-Nebu due to a mutual interest
in dedwen (though the Eternal do not necessarily recognize
that term). Like other immortals they can assist with memory
and many mummies regard this as a desirable trait.
In return for service to a mummy, the Eternal could gain
protection for her anchors, though trusting a mummy would
be a big step. Building up that trust could be a theme that
runs through the chronicle.
REBORN
In some ways the diametric opposite of mummies, these
mortals have learned to keep their identities and memories
through successive incarnations. A mummy would learn a
great deal about memory and techniques for retaining and
regaining it through different Descents if she had a Reborn
in her cult. They retain memories of their previous lives, but
these take time to develop and a young Reborn is very vulner-
able to loss of the thread that holds her incarnations together.
As with the other Timeless, it might take several Descents
for the Arisen and the Reborn to learn to trust each other.
On the face of it, dealing with a mummy spells danger for the
Reborn, while for the mummy, the Reborn represents an almost
perfect form of immortality with all the joys of youth, love, and
even death presented to these immortals again and again.
Cultists and Other Allies 315
 MORTALS
Mortals are almost always the largest group within the
mummy’s cult. Mortals have a number of advantages other
creatures lack. They have real and unbroken connections to
the contemporary world. They have living connections to
supportive friends and family, who may be influential within
their communities. They have real identities that stand up to
the closest inspection. Each mortal is unique and, therefore,
unpredictable. Mortals are familiar with the way the world
works for ordinary people, something other types of creature
often find difficult to understand.
The Arisen need mortals. They need them to interact with
the alien (to them) world in which they find themselves on
each Descent. They need them to provide hope, connections,
and friendship. They need them to form and sustain their cults.
Ordinary mortals are important for the meret and while
they may lack gnarly supernatural powers, their mortal skills
and social contacts are more generically useful. If some of the
troupe are playing mortals, it is important to ensure they are
provided with the strong skills and social contacts which more
obviously powerful characters need to achieve their aims. For
some players, this may not compensate for only being able to
participate in one or two Descents (whereas the Timeless and
316 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
Deathless keep going through millennia) and general lack of
supernatural power. Others, however, may enjoy playing the
apparently weakest character in a meret, relying on his natural
endowments and wits rather than sweeping all obstacles aside
with a powerful Utterance. Storytellers should pay special
attention to ensure this character does not miss out the action
by arranging things so that, from time to time, the mortal’s
community connections or specialist skills are the only thing
that can get the meret out of a tight corner. This way, the
character proves that ordinary people are a match for the
Deathless, the Timeless, the Lifeless and everything between.
SORCERERS
Anyone can perform sorcerous rituals if they possess the
correct tools, knowledge, and setting. Learning sorcery is a
lifetime’s study, however, and most mortals have other things
to do with their lives. Sorcerers are ordinary mortals that have
devoted their lives to learning to do extraordinary things.
Sorcerers and the Arisen can form mutually advantageous
bonds. The mummy provides the sorcerer with Sekhem and
invests her with Pillars, both of which make sorcerous rituals
more efficient. In return, the mummy and her cult gain a
member or ally with a deep understanding of ritual and one
who may be able to create vestiges.

Monstrous Cultists
Vampires, being functionally immortal are an ob-
vious choice for cultists. Vampires, like mummies,
have periods of inactivity and, while they tend
not to forget everything from past active periods,
they suffer from torpor dreams that distort their
memories. Though some were active at the time
of the First, Second, and Third Turns, a vampire
would unlikely remember much about Irem. Both
mummies and vampires have their fingers deep
inside mortal political and social issues using their
influence to tune Empires to their agendas.
The Awakened with an interest in the soul or the
nature of the afterlife might well find the memories
of mummies fascinating and could join a meret
out of curiosity and a desire to discover more. The
Created are interested in all forms of immortality
as they wish to counter their own. The effects οf
Sybaris on the mortal subconscious might draw
the attention of a Begotten and some Sin-Eaters
would be fascinated by a creature straddling life
and death. A changeling could perceive a mum-
my as a powerful defense against her pursuers.
Many such characters, however, have a limited
lifespan, just as a mortal does.
The Storyteller is free to say that Sybaris does not
affect mages, vampires, and other creatures al-
ready entwined with the supernatural.
Sorcerers are mortal and are not able to serve the mum-
my or her cult through multiple Descents. Sorcerous cults,
however, keep extensive records whether written or through
oral tradition, and being in a position to consult these can be
profitable to the mummy and her cult. A sorcerer cult member
is in a good position to obtain access to the lore of mummies
and fellow sorcerers alike.
WITNESS
From the Arisen’s point of view, having at least one
Witness in her cult is very convenient. Given the Witness’
obsession with mummies, they are not difficult to recruit.
There is often a strong reciprocal emotional connection be-
tween the Witness and the mummy he serves. As a mortal,
the Witness cannot directly assist the mummy in remembering
her own past. He may remind her of someone she knew or
something she felt in the distant past but the Witness himself
does not remember. He may act as the mummy’s Touchstone
or as a member of her cult, valued for his individual abilities
or connections.
Witness characters give their player a chance to weave
the complex relationship between the Witness, the mummy
and the rest of the meret into their story. Like other essen-
tially mortal characters they can provide access to mortal
communities and resources as they are inherently rooted in
the living world around them, but unlike mundane mortals,
Witnesses do not feel all the pains of Sybaris, and might one
day become Sadikh.
PURPOSE
AND DESCENT
P urpose is one of the fundamentals of a mummy’s existence.
While most characters have choices about their priorities,
a mummy’s purpose is set in stone and forms an essential
part of this game’s dynamic. There is a constant tension here
between fulfilling purpose and the preservation of Sekhem.
Non-mummy characters in the meret may influence this
balance in interesting ways. They, after all, have their own
needs and motivations. Everyone wants to influence the apex
of the pyramid to follow their personal agenda, though the
character may see it as doing the right thing rather than doing
things their way. If the cult awakens the mummy, they set the
mummy’s waking purpose. Due to this, while the mummy may
be able to exercise powers beyond a mortal’s wildest dreams,
her cultists are firmly in the driving seat. While not every
cultist may realize this, they could learn it over a period of time.
In a pyramid-structure chronicle, the Storyteller may wish
to be stricter with Descent rolls than she would be if dealing
with a meret of mummies. As the mummy loses her Sekhem,
the pyramid flattens. The non-mummy characters may choose
to take advantage of this, or they may rally around their failing
god and much depends upon their personal choices.
NETER-KHERTET
“I’m right here!” Officer Wilson screamed, but his fellow
officers heard nothing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the crocodile-headed
horror slowly drifting toward him. With a scream, he ran blindly.
At the sight of a man shining like a beacon, embers of hope
rekindled. He called out as he ran towards him, but the shining
one’s gaze remained fixed on the horizon. He looked towards
the approaching horror, then back to the man. Grabbing him, he
shook, finally resorting to a slap across the face. “For the love of
God, help me!” he screamed.
Purpose and Descent | Neter-Khertet 317
 “You shouldn’t have interfered,” the blazing man replied
coldly, turning away. “Suffer the consequences.”
Deathly Twilight laps at the world of the living, waves of
death crashing onto the shores of life. Occultists, mortal and
otherwise, understand Twilight as the natural state of ghosts
outside the Underworld, an ephemeral existence composed
of death, emotion, and memories. They glimpse only the
shallows. The Arisen perceive a realm in its own right, the
kingdom of Anpu, Opener of the Way. A desert shadowscape
filled with blistering winds, echoing voices, and chaotic mem-
ories, Neter-Khertet disorients those falling into it unprepared.
Neter-Khertet mostly shares its geography with the physical
world, though there are some notable differences. In Neter-
Khertet, most physical features of the environment appear to
be heavily shadowed and worn, Light and sound seem muted
and distorted, as though perceiving them underwater. Physical
matter is naturally intangible to entities in Neter-Khertet.
Entities touched by Sekhem perceive two great mountains
dimly visible on the eastern and western horizons, called
Bakhu and Manu respectively. Traveling far enough in either
direction eventually brings an entity to the mountain, where
gateways for souls remain eternally open. Each sky gate, or
akhet, is a shimmering portal permitting souls to move be-
tween one realm and another. Transient gates open in other
places, often resulting from interactions of sacred geometry
with celestial events.
SHADES
In addition to ghosts, wild Amkhata, and escaped fiends,
Neter-Khertet is also home to strange shadowy entities called
shades, similar but distinct from ghosts. Frequently preyed
upon by fiends and Amkhata, shades lurk within the storm
of Neter-Khertet, hiding in unnoticed corners and clustering
in groups. Shades appear as living shadows, some seeming
almost human, others monstrously deformed. Like ghosts,
shades hold memories of once living people, sometimes even
identifying as them when convinced to communicate. Unlike
ghosts, they require no Anchors to resist the Underworld’s
pull, instead being faintly drawn towards Duat. Shades avoid
confrontation, striking opportunistically at weakened entities
when they feel they have the advantage. Rumors persist of
more potent shades, nourished on stolen Sekhem, lurking
deep in Neter-Khertet.
THE ASHEN STORM
An eternal storm, called the Neshshu by the Arisen, whirls
through the depths of Neter-Khertet, concealing them from
ghosts and other Twilight observers beyond a hazy shroud of
sand and funeral ashes. The storm does no harm, but whirling
318 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
The Soul Unleashed
When a mummy is killed, they gain the
Disembodied Condition. In this state, the mum-
my exists in Neter-Khertet, but remains focused
on the events of their death cycle, unless outside
influences pull them from away. With no sahu to
shelter it, the mummy’s soul shines like a beacon.
The sight of their eternal soul revealed is terrify-
ing to ephemeral entities of lower Rank, inflicting
the Awestruck Condition. Mummies attempting
to hide in the Neter-Khertet storm shine even
through the swirling sands, suffering their current
Sekhem as a penalty.
Arisen distracted from their death cycle by out-
side forces and those outside of their bodies by
other means may freely interact with other entities
in Neter-Khertet or explore as far as the Rivers in
the Caverns.
When Neter-Khertet entities defeat an ephemer-
al mummy, they discorporate, reforming at sunset
beside one of their Anchors (p. XX) with a single
level of Corpus and a single point in each depleted
Pillar. Reforming consumes a dot of Sekhem, po-
tentially plunging the mummy into henet.
sands and echoing voices are disorienting, inflicting the
Sandstorm Tilt. Entities aware of it may attempt to hide in
the storm, concealed as though within shadows — a common
tactic for Amkhata, fiends, and shades. This is a basic attempt
at stealth, but success renders them functionally invisible. Any
being capable of perceiving deathly Twilight may attempt to
pierce this concealment, contesting it with a Perception roll.
THE CAVERNS
OF NETER-KHERTET
Accessible through gates appearing in places strongly
affected by death, the Caverns of Neter-Khertet beckon
Arisen intrigued by death and the afterlife. These infernal
gates periodically open, pulling ghosts down into its depths.
Mummies in Neter-Khertet may follow these hapless ghosts
if they wish, entering an area called the Upper Reaches by
mortal occultists. Explorers find a network of caverns sheltered
from the storm, steadily descending towards patchwork cities
crafted by the teeming hordes of the forgotten dead alongside
bizarre Rivers dividing the Upper Reaches from the Lower. A
constant source of frustration for inquisitive mummies, Anpu
appears to turn them back from the Rivers, denying them the
ability to cross over into the strange lands of the dead beyond.
Anpu also appears to mummies seeking to leave the Caverns,
opening the Gate to allow them back into the living world.
DEATH CYCLES
Although death drops mummies into Neter-Khertet,
they do not share the experiences of other entities in this
state unless compelled by an outside force. The mummy is
only vaguely aware of events occurring in Neter-Khertet
or the physical world, instinctively journeying in search of
resurrection through a haze of memories. The mummy’s pur-
pose drives them toward Anpu, while one without purpose is
adrift in Neter-Khertet, more prone to falling victim to other
entities dwelling within the storm. Anpu awaits them at the
end of this journey, offering a torch to guide them, sometimes
silently imparting wisdom or important revelations as well. If
their first purpose has been fulfilled, Anpu offers the choice
between resurrection and henet, the torch and the jar of ashes.
When taking the torch, the mummy must journey towards the
akhet that returns them to life, facing the echoes of their past
along the way. The visions encountered force the mummy to
confront forgotten or repressed aspects of their past.
System: When killed, the mummy gains the Disembodied
Condition. The mummy remains focused on their death cycle
unless damaged by an outside force or targeted by supernat-
ural powers. Navigating their labyrinthine memories to find
Anpu requires they follow the guiding symbols, provoking a
Memory roll, suffering a −2 penalty if their first purpose has
been fulfilled. Record the result. Anpu directs them toward the
appropriate akhet, granting the mummy the ability to perceive
and use the soul portal. Accepting the ashes and henet im-
mediately ends the mummy’s current Descent, bestowing any
remaining Sekhem upon Anpu. Accounts of Anpu offering
this Sekhem to desperate mummies with unfulfilled purposes
remain apocryphal. The torch illuminates any akhet the
mummy nears, making it visible as a shimmering portal, but
they must still journey to their sahu or organs. Confronting
their past is a purely narrative experience, although success-
fully facing it always carries revelation for the mummy. Upon
reaching the akhet, the mummy may attempt resurrection.
RESURRECTION
The mummy steps through the akhet to their sahu or
organ. Roll Memory. If the Memory roll to find Anpu suc-
ceeded, add one die, or two for an exceptional success. If it
failed, subtract one die.
Success: The mummy loses one dot of Sekhem to
resurrection.
Exceptional Success: The mummy resurrects, immedi-
ately suffering a Descent roll.
Failure: The mummy loses one dot of Sekhem to resur-
rection, and immediately suffers a Descent roll.
Dramatic Failure: The omnipresent shades of Neter-
Khertet see the mummy wavering, and descend upon them,
tearing apart their Sekhem. The mummy loses two dots of
Sekhem in their resurrection.
DUAT
“It doesn’t have to be this way. I can make it stop,” she said.
Meresankh looked up, tears streaming down her face. The
speaking woman wore the beautiful face of her lover, marred by
a smile far too wide and sharp.
“Say the word,” she continued. “Give yourself to me and it
all ends.”
Meresankh collected herself, staring defiantly up at the De-
vourer. “I will not! My soul is scarred by battle, but I have faced
a thousand fiends and still stand!”
“I know,” she said, pleasantly. “You’ll face a thousand more. It
doesn’t end, Meresankh. Suffering never ends. Not without me.”
In the timeless Before, the Judges decreed the Law of
Suffering, that all that lived and died would obediently suffer
pain, fear, and misery. The Nameless Serpent, Set, recoiled from
this cruelty. While he could not revoke the Law, he decreed
that life would have will and rebel against their lot. Duat was
birthed to judge the worthiness of souls, to allow those capa-
ble of proclaiming the Decree of Will to rise above the Law
of Suffering and achieve starry A’aru. Those failing dwell in
Duat, eternally awaiting sacrifice to the jaws of the Devourer.
All entering Duat face judgment; all entering Duat suffer.
Neither time nor death offer respite. Within Duat, nothing
truly dies, except those giving themselves to the Devourer,
who stands eternally ready to offer an end to suffering.
Determining which experiences are true and which mere fig-
ments of the mind, whether the companions one meets along
the way are real or merely visions or fiends, is impossible in
Duat. The lands are different for each who enter, the geog-
raphy twisting itself to challenge every soul, subjecting them
to the mercy of fiends and their past. The Pillar Trials, testing
each aspect of the soul in turn, grow from the memories of
the Descended, shaped to inflict the greatest torment. Henet
is not rest. The Decree of Will is not a choice, but a journey.
DENIZENS OF DUAT
Regardless of appearances at a given moment, Duat teems
with entities bound to the Law of Suffering, both inflicting
Duat 319
 and enduring it, often in equal measures. These entities are
known as fiends, or more rarely, as akheriu. Neither living
nor dead, fiends serve as enforcers of the Law of Suffering
and its purest expression. Existing in a state of constant
torment, fiends find their pain lessened by inflicting suffering
upon others. Death offers no release for fiend or victim. A
shade eviscerated by a Slaughterer’s blade awakens to find
their Trials continue. A mummy armed with relic weaponry
slashes through hordes of minor fiends, but this gives only
brief respite; the horrors’ destruction a mere inconvenience
to them. Bypassing the challenges instigated by fiends requires
personal decisions — a battle of wits and riddles, the striking
of odious bargains, or pushing through a harrowing nightmare
without faltering. Victory resides not in a lucky roll of the dice,
but in the choices made.
Fiends are incredibly diverse in form and capabilities — no
two are identical. The weakest cower in hidden corners of
Duat to avoid the attentions of their more potent brethren.
The greatest fiend, Ammut’s monstrous serpent, Apep, dreams
of consuming the gods and even the Judges themselves. The
clouded vagaries of memory render comprehensive classifica-
tion of fiends impossible, but flashbacks to the horrors of Duat
and fiendish intrusions into the sunlit world have allowed the
Arisen to recognize some of these horrid entities.
ANUKHU — MORTIFIERS
The Anukhu feast upon regret and self-loathing. In their
natural state, Mortifiers appear as shimmering hazes of noxious
gas, twisting into vague shapes to express themselves. Upon
encountering the Arisen, it takes the form of its intended vic-
tim, distorting their perceptions and clouding their memories
until the mummy is unable to be certain which of them is the
mummy and which the fiend, and which memories are true
and which the twisted fabrications of their foe. This direct
assault upon the mummy’s memory overwhelms them with
remorse for sins never committed. The fiend generously offers
absolution, but acceptance unleashes its plague upon the sunlit
world, binding it into an object until a mortal touches it. The
Mortifier infects this host, spreading from person to person
like a highly contagious disease. Infected individuals find
their memories bleeding into the memories of other victims,
twisting their perceptions, leaving them questioning their very
identities. As the Mortifier clouds memories and twists the
flesh of one to resemble another, the barriers between the self
and the other crumble.
BEHENU — SAND VIPERS
These children of Apep pursue those denying their Trials
by fleeing or lingering. The Behenu lurk mostly in the sandy
reaches of outer Duat, rarely bursting forth into Neter-Khertet
320 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
or the other realms of Duat in search of prey. Sand Vipers are
enormous red and black scaled serpents burrowing through
the desert sands hunting errant souls. The smallest Sand
Vipers rely upon a venomous bite to lay low their prey, but
their more commonly encountered gigantic relatives prefer
to simply swallow their prey whole. Sand Vipers more easily
escape from Duat, but unlike most fiends, they prefer to
remain below, breaching the surface only briefly to consume
unfortunate shades. When called to the sunlit world, they
single-mindedly pursue a single target to drag down to the
depths of Duat.
FETU — SOUL-GNAWERS
Dwelling within the realms of the Pillar Trials, each Fetu
resonates with the connected Pillar and is unable to cross
any Gates without the shelter of an Arisen soul. These small
fiends seem cobbled together from fragments of different an-
imals, but the Arisen seldom see this form before it’s too late.
These fiends take advantage of a mummy’s Trials, wrapping
themselves in the illusion of something pitiful — often a lost
loved one or an imperiled human soul. What they wait for is an
invitation or offer of aid, exploiting any compassion a mummy
might have to obtain it. When such an invitation is made, the
fiend reveals its true form, forcing itself down the mummy’s
throat to bind to one of their Pillars. The mummy cannot rid
themselves of the parasite in Duat without intervention of
Anpu or the Judges. Upon returning to the sunlit world, the
fiend is immediately shunted into the world by the mystical
protections inherent to the mummy’s sahu. The Soul-Gnawer
flees in search of humans to prey upon, targeting those favoring
their resonant Pillar. Breaking the bond requires the fiend be
slain while the mummy’s resonant Pillar is depleted. So long
as the bond persists, the Soul-Gnawer is dragged to and from
Duat with every Descent.
KHETI — BROKEN FACES
Broken Faces are among the most pitiable of fiends, and
among the most human. Each Kheti seems spliced together
from two or more shades, often possessing a greenish tinge
to their twisted flesh. Their minds are similar patchworks,
with each possessing a minimum of three identities. Two are
completely human, holding fractured memories of life in the
sunlit world. Many of these are even helpful. There is no more
deception here than any human would offer, and a Broken
Face swearing friendship often means it wholeheartedly. The
trouble lies in their fiendish third identity. While the human
identities remain unaware of each other, the fiend is com-
pletely aware of their shared experiences and their fractured
identity. Filled with envy and bitterness at those blessed with a
consistent identity, it wishes to tear away that stability, ripping
 Fiends in the Flesh
The natives of Duat sometimes escape into the sunlit
world, either through gates opened through bizarre
astronomical conjunctions or the crafting of repre-
sentations of the creatures. Their torment is muted
outside of Duat, and mortals provide easy targets for
their attentions, easing their misery further.
Fiends in Duat lack any form of mechanical traits, re-
quiring creative narrative decisions to outmaneuver or
overpower. When they escape from Duat, fiends may
be confronted directly by the Arisen or foolhardy mor-
tals. Fiends encountered in the sunlit world function me-
chanically like Amkhata, with the following differences:
Fiends have Heads, Bodies, and Limbs appropriate
to their appearance where applicable. The Essence
total of these parts sets their minimum Rank at the
lowest where the combination is possible. Attribute
dots are distributed accordingly.
Fiends have the Twilight Form and Idol Manifestations,
as well as a number of additional Manifestations
equal to their Rank. Fiends using the Possess
Manifestation may choose to leave the host con-
scious but helpless by spending one Essence. Fiends
automatically have the Fiendish Resilience Dread
Power, plus a combination of additional Dread
Powers or Numina equal to their Rank.
away memories and experiences to add to its own. It seeks
completion, to be a whole being rather than a twisted horror
stitched together from the shards of other identities. Splicing
new memories into itself never brings this completion, though,
as each new fragment added brings merely another fractured
identity to join the others. On the rare occasions one reaches
the living world, they abduct people who seem comfortable in
their own skin, tearing their minds apart with endless tortures
in an attempt to discern the secrets of integrity.
MEKHARR — GUARDIAN FIENDS
Shackled to their duties, their lack of freedom eternally
frustrates Guardian Fiends. Guardian Fiends are tasked with
watching over something, often one of the Seven Gates,
protecting it from all trespassers. Bearing the heads of scarabs
or other insects, the armored Mekharr must lie in wait for
someone to violate the sanctity of their charge before inflict-
ing suffering upon them. Guardian Fiends do not naturally
Fiends have an Influence related to suffering, such
as agony or sorrow, equal to their Rank. Fiends feed
on this aspect of suffering, regaining one Essence
per day when witnessing this suffering at work, or
a number of Essence per day equal to Rank if they
personally inflict it. Each Essence requires a different
target. The presence of their Influence provides the
Open Condition.
Unhallowed Presence: Fiends do not belong
outside of Duat, and where they linger for more
than an hour, the world itself suffers. In areas with
lingering fiends, the Unhallowed Ground Tilt applies.
Fiends are immune to this Tilt, but such areas provide
the Open Condition for them. The Tilt remains active
in the area for the same amount of time the fiend has
lingered multiplied by the fiend’s Rank. Fiends suffer
the mechanical drawbacks of Unhallowed Ground
in areas with the Hallowed Ground Tilt.
Idol: By spending two Essence, the fiend instant-
ly transports itself to a visual depiction of itself in
the sunlit world. This depiction provides the Open
Condition for the image or sculpture itself and its sur-
rounding area. The fiend may use Idol instead of the
Fetter Manifestation, but only for the depiction itself.
slumber, nor may they hunt victims of their own. They must
abide by the rules governing their vigil, which often spare those
successfully passing a Trial or exploiting loopholes. Those
unprotected by such things find Guardian Fiends to be as
brutal as any other fiend. While Guardian Fiends called to the
sunlit world must still stand guard over something, they often
have more leeway in interpreting and enforcing their orders.
MENHU — SLAUGHTERERS
Of all the fiends, Slaughterers are the ones most familiar to
mummies. This is partly due to the cruelty and brutality they
inflict upon their victims, but also because Menhu are among the
most aggressive in seeking escape from Duat. Their most notable
feature is a stone blade sharper than obsidian appearing just before
they attack. One wields a great stone axe, while another has a
stone hook in place of a hand, but every Slaughterer has one.
Slaughterers possess humanoid torsos and arms, but their heads
and lower bodies are invariably monstrous. Few see this form
Duat 321
 before it’s too late, however. Slaughterers speak with voices echo-
ing people prominent in the memories of their intended victims,
and may choose to appear as the owner of the voice while using
it. Many Slaughterers maintain the illusion by quietly humming
as they stalk their prey or lie in wait. Slaughterers live for the
moment when their blade sinks into a fresh victim, regardless of
whether the victim is a mummy or a forlorn soul. A Descended
mummy unable to overcome or escape a Slaughterer’s attacks
will have a Pillar point stripped from them in addition to the
other consequences for defeat in Duat. When unleashed upon
the mortal world, Slaughterers often rack up large body counts
before their banishment back to Duat.
THE SEVEN GATES
Upon returning to henet, a mummy enters Neter-Khertet,
but they cannot be distracted or hindered from their journey
to Duat. They feel the inexorable pull of Duat, drawing them
ever westward until they encounter a great river of blood.
The Nebtet, formed from the tears of Set, flows towards the
western mountain, Manu, where the river falls through an
akhet into Duat, flowing through the realm like the Nile.
Guardian Fiends protect this Gate against any entry, slashing
at the steady flow of shades descending into Duat. They take
a special interest in the Arisen, but calling upon Anpu brings
the Keeper of the Way to permit them peaceful entrance to
the realm below.
THE FIRST GATE:
THE OUTER REALMS
Beyond the First Gate, the Descended beholds a desert of
red and black sand and the endless chasms of outer Duat. While
the Arisen do not recall their time in Duat, the horrors of it
haunting their dreams most frequently are found within the out-
er realms. Here, one finds great cities of fiends, eternally seeking
to lure the unwary into their lairs with familiar voices and
whispers of temptation. Here, one finds Khast, the legendary
Lake of Fire. Oases of blood, surrounded by poisonous flowers,
call one to rest for a time. A thousand perils and more await
in this hellish land, and beauty is but an enticement to tarry
long enough for the fiends to find the unfortunate once more.
The Descended must walk through this grim desert,
following the path of the twinkling stars in the sunless sky.
The Descended is not alone. Fiends of all sorts dwell here,
waiting to torment any weaker than themselves to ease their
own suffering for a time. The shades, descended from Neter-
Khertet, seem human here, every bit like a person who once
lived, but they must also endure the torments of Duat or hide
in places of perceived safety. Some of these offer friendship or
aid, others standing as foes against any encroachment upon
their shelters. Even when walking alone, there are times the
322 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
Descended feels crowded, echoes of murmuring unseen crowds
or whispering voices emanating from all around.
Passing this Trial requires only that the Descended reach
the Second Gate, facing the eternal yet ever-shifting lands, and
their constant perils. Following the Nebtet westward brings the
Descended into dangers, but these ordeals must be endured
to reach the Second Gate. Beyond it, crafted from memories
unique to each mummy, the Pillar Trials await.
THE SECOND GATE:
THE TRIALS OF HEART
Beyond the Second Gate, the Descended face echoes of
their passions. Memories of places where the Heart once sang
with delight, rage, or sorrow shape the land. The Trials of
Heart create emotional experiences for a mummy to endure.
One faces a dire enemy, while another reunites with lovers
long lost. Some relive their most passionate moments, choos-
ing paths untaken or savoring forgotten moments. Passing
the Trial requires one’s Heart to sing once more, embracing
it without drowning in its song.
THE THIRD GATE:
THE TRIALS OF SPIRIT
Beyond the Third Gate, the Descended must prove their
mettle. Memories of places where the Spirit was tested and
forged shape the land. Through endless battlefields, blazing
fires, and roaring storms, the greatest challenges the mummy
faced return to haunt them. This gives some a chance to
succeed where once they failed, while others must confront
the consequences of their victories. One cannot hide, for
cowardice brings only death. One who would pass the Trial
must be bold, but never reckless.
THE FOURTH GATE:
THE TRIALS OF ESSENCE
Beyond the Fourth Gate, the Descended must withstand
incessant hardship. Memories of places persisting from one
life to another shape the land. Timeless oceans and blistering
deserts join with gauntlets of cruel fiends to turn the mummy
from their destination. Some find themselves endlessly set upon
by foes or echoes of torments once endured. Others face mo-
ments from the living world where their resolve once wavered.
Shunning both arrogance and despair, one must endure the
torments to pass the Trial.
THE FIFTH GATE:
THE TRIALS OF NAME
Beyond the Fifth Gate, the Descended tests the keenness
of their mind and their self knowledge. Memories of places
visited and geography seen only in the mind’s eye shape this
land. Some mummies must decipher riddles or reveal their
knowledge to impress guardians with their cleverness or ed-
ucation. Others must craft elaborate deceptions to mislead
others into taking a desired course of action. Passing the Trial
requires one to demonstrate knowledge and cunning, but
never proclaim knowledge unknown.
THE SIXTH GATE:
THE TRIALS OF SHADOW
Beyond the Sixth Gate, the Descended must demonstrate
their wisdom and insight into occult practices. Memories of for-
gotten things, secret places, and sacred ground shape the land.
Some mummies are called to enact sacred rites or the crafts of
their guild. Others must defeat powerful fiends, or deal with un-
worthy shades trapped within the Trials, binding them or helping
them to escape from their prison. With resolve and humility, one
must bear the torch of their wisdom to pass the Trial.
THE SEVENTH GATE:
THE CITY OF BLACK SPINES
Beyond the Seventh Gate lies the City of Black Spines, where
the Descended face the Trial of Judgment. A road of bronze and
lapis lazuli leads to a city of black stone, where endless dwellings
house peaceful shades and tranquil fiends. The road leads to a
great square, known as the Place of Slaughter, overlooked by Azar’s
great throne. The Pharaoh of Duat holds no audience with the
Descended, sparing them the madness certain to arise from their
unworthy ears hearing his sacred voice. Shezmu, Winemaker of
the Gods, stands ready to crush unworthy souls into wine for the
pleasure of the Judges and the Gods. While other gods dwell here
as well, Anpu and the Judges hold interest in the Arisen. The very
sight of the Judges drives madness into the souls of their servants,
preventing the Arisen from looking upon them directly.
The Judge of the Descended gazes upon them, and cruelly
lashing them with past failures and blasphemies, judging their
worthiness. The loyal servant is rewarded with continued
service, while the truly worthy may be granted freedom from
their Curse and starry A’aru. Those unable to prove any
worthiness face oblivion. To pass this Trial, one must endure
the torments and accusations of their Judge, holding true to
their decree and will to justify their existence, lest their Judge
cast their unworthy servant to the Devourer. With judgment
fulfilled, Anpu offers the Descended a cool drink, permitting
a brief rest before their inevitable return to the sunlit world.
Duat 323
 THE TRIALS OF DUAT
Any being entering Duat must endure the Trials, but only
the Arisen receive any guarantee of returning to the sunlit
world after. Other entities return only through the good graces
of Anpu, the Judges, or the Devourer, and none help without
strings attached. Attempts to avoid the Trials only delay the
inevitable, as the changeable eternal geography of Duat twists
back upon itself, bringing only greater torment. Through their
efforts to avoid the Trials, a character often discovers they
have been enduring them all along.
Every player gets a chance to be the Storyteller during the
Trials of Duat, as each player poses a Trial for the mummy to
endure. The Trials can last as long as a group wishes. Each
Gate might indicate the beginning of a new scene with a single
brief Trial, or a new story with a particularly involved Trial
or multiple Trials. An entire chronicle could be run within
the depths of Duat, if every player is amenable. The player
responsible for creating the Trial runs the scenes, and acts as
the final arbiter of whether the mummy passes the Trial or not.
Other players and the Storyteller offer input while creating
the Trial and control characters involved with it.
The Trials are intended to be an intimate and sacred
experience for each mummy. At their core, each Trial should
threaten to destroy the mummy, physically, mentally, or emo-
tionally. The Trials of Duat should be extremely traumatic
for the mummy enduring them (not the mummy’s player).
Each Trial is a single narrative scene, and should be resolved
through the character’s choices. Neither the mummy nor their
foes possess character traits within Duat, so the character’s
intent is very important. Any actions the character takes
should succeed, with success or failure in the Trial depending
on choosing the right course of action rather than luck. Each
should give the mummy a chance to develop as a character,
learning more about themselves from their success or failure.
At the discretion of the player running a given Trial, the
mummy may gain a benefit for exceptional performance or
catharsis.
The mummy may benefit from suitable Affinities and
Utterances, paying any costs immediately upon rising. They
may also freely use any relics they carry with them, gaining
the benefits of wielding them without the drawbacks of their
curses. Any curses instead settle into objects within the mum-
my’s tomb or in close proximity to their remains, affecting the
first valid individual to touch the object. Relics may also be
used to bribe the Guardian Fiends at the Gates. Such bribery
allows a mummy to bypass a Trial. While this doesn’t count
as passing the Trial, it doesn’t impose a penalty.
One inevitable event during the Trials is the offer of
Ammut. She, or one of her underlings, such as Apep, always
324 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
approaches the Descended at some point to offer an escape
from their Curse. This is not a Trial in its own right, but the
consequences are far direr. While she often wears a pleasing
form, the Devourer doesn’t conceal her identity. She offers
whatever she thinks will tempt the character to give them-
selves to her. This may be the full return of memory, but
most often she offers an end to suffering. Even the promise of
oblivion should be regarded warily, though, as any swearing
themselves to the Devourer likely arise as Shuankhsen.
Upon completion of the Pillar Trials, the mummy passes
through the Seventh Gate into the City of Black Spines, where
their Judge awaits them — a role the Storyteller should play.
The Judge confronts the character, and the mummy needs to
justify their actions, both during the Trials and during their last
Descent. The Judge then determines whether they are worthy
to resolve their Curse. Almost invariably, the mummy is not,
as the Judges are loath to lose useful servants in the world.
Any relics carried must now be surrendered to the Judge.
Once the Judge has given their verdict, the mummy is free to
wander the City of Black Spines to their heart’s content, although
most wish only to rest by this point, and their next Descent cannot
begin until they have done so. Anpu offers the weary mummy a
cup of cool liquid to quench their thirst. Consuming the liquid
immediately strips the mummy of a dot of Memory, along with
the memories of their journey through Duat. Weariness overtakes
the mummy, as they settle down into a sarcophagus for a brief
respite, sleeping dreamlessly until they are called once more to the
sunlit world. Any benefits or penalties settle onto the character
upon awakening. Mummies incarnating into the body of a cultist
also gain the Memory Bleed Condition.
BENEFITS
Benefits reflect blessings from Anpu, the Judges, or the
Trials of Duat, which enhance the mummy’s experiences in
their next Descent. Benefits are chosen by the Storyteller,
with input from the players based upon the events of Duat.
The player may choose to sacrifice a benefit to cancel a pen-
alty. The mummy earns a benefit for passing their first Trial
successfully, and another if all Trials are passed successfully.
Offering one or more relics to their Judge earns another. The
Judge may grant another benefit if they are pleased by the
mummy’s behavior.
• Anamnesis: Visions of other Descents inundate the
mummy, bestowing a dot of Memory or the Echoes of
Descent Condition.
• Blessed Life: Your character’s Sekhem is blessed. The
mummy receives the Auspicious Descent Condition.
• Moment of Destiny: The mummy receives a vision
reflecting future glory, gaining the Driven Condition.
 But I Don’t Want to Torment My Friend!
Some players may not feel comfortable designing Trials for a mummy to endure or playing a role in said
Trials, leaving the Storyteller to handle these details. While this can be done in a private session between the
player and the Storyteller, some players may still wish to be included. Here are some optional approaches
to including other players in the Trials:
• Aspect of the Shabti: In this approach, other characters bring representations of themselves in the
form of carved shabti statues to the Lifeweb of the character in henet, spending a point of their defining
Pillar while meditating on their relationship with the slumbering character. The shabtis vanish into Duat,
where aspects of the characters appear to accompany the Descended on their journey. While these are
not truly the characters themselves, they are able to interact with the Descended as though they were,
acting as additional bodies for actions related to their defining Pillars, wielding relics or offering encour-
agement and advice.
• Henet Pact: When you’re part of a meret, you’re never alone. The characters journey through Duat
together, facing the torments and challenges united. All of the characters find themselves challenged,
but they may assist each other in these challenges, or even complete them for each other. Completing
the challenge of another successfully gains neither character a benefit or penalty at the conclusion of the
Trials. Henet pacts make the journey somewhat safer, but also require all characters to enter henet before
they can begin.
• Loyal Service: Sadikh, Inheritors, or Witnesses may be entombed in specially prepared chambers
within the mummy's tomb, allowing them to accompany the Descended through the Trials. While they are
tested as well, they do not acquire benefits or penalties. The mummy may choose to use one of their own
benefits to bring their servant back with them if the servant passed their Trials. If the servant fails the Trials,
a penalty may still bring them back, albeit bound to a fiend.
• Skip It: Some may not want to subject their players to the stress of the Trials, or they may wish to keep
the events occurring in Duat a secret from the players as well as the characters. Storytellers wishing to
avoid dealing with the Trials entirely are free to fade to black for them. If the benefits and penalties are
still desired, have the Descended’s player roll each Pillar in turn, treating each successful roll as a passed
Trial and each failed roll as a failed Trial. Use the defining Pillar for the first and last gates, and give a
benefit for offering Relics as usual.

• Omens: The character gains insight into the events PENALTIES

of their future. The character benefits from a Sybaritic
Omen, usable at any time during their next Descent.
• Reinforced Pillars: The mummy’s Pillars are strength-
ened from their Trials. The mummy gains the Luminous
Pillars Condition.
• Sanctified Ground: The mummy’s tomb is purified
upon their awakening, gaining the Hallowed Ground
Tilt until it is desecrated or the mummy returns to
henet.
• Shifting Stones: The mummy’s tomb subtly alters
itself to promote the flow of Sekhem, bestowing the
Geometric Alignment Condition.
Failed Trials cannot destroy a mummy or prevent them
from beginning a new Descent, but they can make things
more difficult for them. Penalties reflect complications for
the mummy’s next Descent, and are chosen by the player.
The mummy suffers a penalty for failing a Trial, and another
if all Trials are failed. Dying in Duat inflicts another. The
displeasure of the Judge may impose another.
• Amnesia: Your character’s memory is impaired by
the Trials more than usual. The character suffers
the Amnesia Condition upon awakening. Selecting
this penalty multiple times lowers the character’s
Memory by one each time or bestows the Forgotten
Skill Condition.

Duat 325
 Escaping the Cycle
The Curse is not something easily shed. While a mum-
my is judged after each Descent, the game is rigged
against them, and the mummy is unlikely to ever be
deemed worthy of escaping their Curse. Without
something extraordinary occurring, the mummy is
doomed to return to Duat time and again, never to
enjoy the blessed fields of starry A’aru. There are
several hypothetical ways to break the usual cycle
of Duat:
• Abandonment: The Judges loathe losing a
useful servant, but they may willingly part with
a mediocre one. This is a difficult path to walk,
as one must prove useless enough to abandon
without enraging the Judge enough to destroy
them. This involves suffering constant penalties
from displeasing the Judges, resulting in a series
of miserable Descents. The mummy would also
need to do something that pleased their Judge
enough to spare them without giving them a sec-
ond chance. Abandoned mummies, or Nehu,
labor under the Curse of the Arisen, but are un-
able to regain Sekhem without consuming relics,
and are barred from Duat upon entering henet.
Instead, they drift aimlessly within Neter-Khertet
until their cult or Fate assigns them a purpose.
Barring extraordinary circumstances, Nehu
arise at Sekhem 1.
• Apotheosis: Achieving Apotheosis reputedly
draws the mummy’s True Name away from the
Judges. These mummies experience a death
cycle instead of Duat during henet, arising at
Sekhem 1 if they awaken.
• Reward: Earning true release is hypothetically
possible, but in practice the Judges never re-
lease useful servants. A worthy servant is more
likely rewarded with greater power and respon-
sibilities. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a Judge
pleased by prolonged terms of faithful and ef-
fective service may rarely bestow an akhu, a di-
vine soul, upon their favored servant. The result-
ing Amakhu gains a sixth Pillar, Akhu, at 1 dot,
• Damaged Pillar: One aspect of the character’s soul
has been horribly damaged. The character gains the
Damaged Pillar Condition for one of their Pillars, which
is never their defining Pillar.
326 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
which may be increased like any other Pillar. By
spending a point of Akhu, the mummy increases
their effective Sekhem by their Akhu rating for
a number of turns equal to their defining Pillar.
Points in the Akhu Pillar may only be regained
when all other Pillars are fully replenished. By
meditating, the Amakhu and one of their Judge’s
other Arisen may share senses. This is always the
same mummy, chosen by the Judge when be-
stowing the akhu — and either may initiate the
link. The Judge chooses Affinities to bestow upon
their champion for this Pillar. The Judge may be-
stow new missions upon their champion at any
time, imposing the Penance penalty. Flaunting
the Judge’s will is not tolerated. Descent rolls trig-
gered by increasing Memory or acting against
the Judges gain bonus dice equal to the mum-
my’s Akhu rating. Upon returning to henet, the
Amakhu must endure the Trials, but they are con-
sidered to have passed regardless of outcome
due to their Judge’s favor. A Judge pleased with
their champion’s performance likely grants fur-
ther benefits, while a displeased Judge is certain
to rip the akhu away from an offending mummy.
• Secret Names: Uncovering the True Name of
their Judge or Anpu may allow a mummy to es-
cape the normal cycle of Duat. Learning the True
Name of their Judge allows the Arisen to de-
mand their freedom in exchange for the Name,
or other services at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Learning the True Name of Anpu allows the
mummy to shift their allegiance from the Judges
to Anpu, who would now be free to help his new
servant however he wishes.
• Usurpation: Overthrowing one’s Judge and
taking their place would be the subject of an
entire chronicle in its own right. Success at the
endeavor, considering the Judges’ vast power,
is nigh impossible. Success would trap the mum-
my in the Judge’s role, bestowing both servants
and duties upon them.
• Fiend Haunted: Echoes of Duat follow you to the
sunlit world, inflicting the Ominous Condition. This
Condition is linked to a fiend loose in the sunlit world,
and cannot be resolved until it is banished back to Duat.
 No Time Police for Me, Thank You
Mummies are timeless, unique creatures made from magic that never should have been and broke the world.
Through this, the Arisen have a relationship with time that differs from that of every other creature. This section
explores high concepts underpinning Deathless existence and reality within the Chronicles of Darkness. It
gives descriptions for parallel time streams, endlessly repeating cycles, and areas that run faster or slower
than normal, and tools for characters to take advantage of them. Here, players have the opportunity to
explore the depths of what ‘timelessness’ can mean.
This aspect may not be for every group, especially those with mortals, other immortals, or other supernatural
creatures who aren’t mummies. These other beings are mostly blissfully ignorant of the totality of Deathless
existence, even if they work alongside a meret. Mummies themselves are often ignorant of the temporal truths
behind their lives. They arise, they seek Sekhem, they Descend, mostly unaware of why or how time works
differently for them. When you’re a magical immortal being from a sorcerous kingdom before recorded
history, you stop questioning many things and simply accept.
Nothing will break if you do not use the options presented here at your table. The Arisen still live their lives out
of order, but at your table that just means you get to run whatever period you want each time the mummies
awaken. Ultimately, the purpose of any game is to have fun; only use what makes it fun for you.

• Fleeting Sekhem: Your character’s Sekhem is
weakened. They begin their next Descent with the
Precipitous Descent Condition.
• Penance: Your character gains a specific mission from
their Judge. The character begins their new Descent
with the Obsession Condition related to this mission,
but working towards this mission doesn’t count as
denying the primary purpose of their current Descent.
• Tempted: The Devourer’s words echo within, inflicting
the Devourer’s Urge Condition.
STORYTELLING
Sekhem across every time for their masters. This irresolv-
able paradox exists within each mummy, establishing their
existence as inevitably fixed points within time, while being
unanchored and ever-subject to its chaos. Understanding the
Deathless requires examining how time’s nature and how it
interacts with the mummies.
ADRIFT IN ENDLESS WATERS
Non-Arisen scientists and philosophers sometimes de-
scribe time as river, with its waters forever flowing from past
to future. They say each decision makes a potential branching
point where the waters can follow one stream or another,
endlessly branching as the future unfolds. Others suggest that

TIMELESSNESS time’s inevitable momentum ignores most change points and

continues its flow in a single direction until encountering a

T he origins of the Arisen’s curse of timelessness comes
from the same source as the curse of their fractured
Memory — the Rite of Return. The great magic performed
by the Shan’iatu broke the world but served the Judges well.
The Rite drew upon — or created — Duat’s own timeless
nature, separating the shifting sands from the limitations of
a world bound by finite time. Sekhem bound to the souls of
the Deathless established their immutability. None but the
Judges can permanently alter the Arisen, and even they face
limitations.
The Rite of Return also forced a different state on their
unending servants, who must walk in the world to secure all
temporally significant event, from which the river may branch
to follow the different outcomes. Still other wise people be-
lieve that time follows its path regardless of the choices made
by lesser beings, and that those choices were inevitabilities
regardless of any illusion of free will. Regardless of how these
theories visualize the future, they know the past is unchang-
ing, and even if interference was possible, it would result in
further branching and potentially disastrous paradoxes that
could destroy the world as we know it.
Mages and other mystical beings with access to magic
influencing and controlling time quickly abandon the river
metaphor, preferring to take the still imperfect description

Storytelling Timelessness 327

 of Time as a spinning wheel that gathers strands of unspun
temporal material and weaves them into a tight thread. To
these individuals, the future is unwritten and ever-changing.
They can use their magic to see possible futures, but these
are only potentialities that can be changed until they come
to pass. Though the past is bound within the thread, they
can magically separate the strands and alter what occurred.
Changing the past this way isn’t simple, as the weight of history
resists alteration as much as it can, but mages with enough
power can achieve such effects anyway.
THE CHURNING MAELSTROM
The Deathless have a far less gentle experience. To them,
time isn’t a flowing river but a deep ocean of violently turbulent
waters, dragging those within it beneath the surface with irre-
sistible force and tossing them every which way in the chaotic
darkness. The undying victims of these rips and currents occa-
sionally manage to reach the surface to take a too-brief breath
before inevitably disappearing once again into the mysterious
depths. When the Arisen speak of time at all, they personify it
with the ancient Egyptian god, Osiris, who Irem once knew as
Azar, the divine patron of the Nameless Empire. Though Azar
and the other gods were secondary to the Judges, they still held
power and influence. As well as watching over Irem, Azar was
god of water, fertility and cycles. As Osiris, he was torn asun-
der and scattered by his jealous brother, who commanded the
desert and storms and wanted to usurp Osiris’ power. Despite
the destruction, Osiris resurrected upon his reconstruction and
took the domains of resurrection and afterlife for his own. To
the Deathless — who serve the jealous, spiteful Judges in their
desert kingdom prison — the tale holds many truths to their
experience. They see a more powerful hand at work in their
existences and wonder if the old gods of Irem have their own
interests, and how those intersect with that of Duat.
Other creatures move at the surface of the maelstrom, their
footsteps splashing ripples at the unremarkable beginning of
their journey until they vanish from the ocean at their unex-
ceptional end. Even great immortals who view their existences
as analogous with mummies make only slightly larger, more
sustained waves before they too fade.
Unlike everything else treading time’s surface, or even the
strange, alien creatures that inhabit the darkness below, each
Arisen has been flung the length and breadth of the ocean,
from the sands of the shore where it all began to the cliff-face
rocks marking the point that it all ends. From the moment
where the magic of the Rite of Return broke the world and
divorced the Deathless from the natural cycle, every mummy
immediately existed across all of time, beneath the surface
in the timelessness of Duat and throughout history making
ripples of their own.
328 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
Mummies and Paradox
As creatures of the grand ocean of all time,
spread across its breadth and depth, simultane-
ously existing everywhen and nowhen, mummies
are immune to temporal paradoxes that may trou-
ble lesser beings.
Some speculate that this is because everything
and every possibility is already in the Arisen’s
past. Others say that the Deathless are more real
than everything except the Judges and Duat, and
the shadows of lesser beings can’t trouble their
progress. Ultimately, regardless of why, mummies
act and time adjusts. They can kill the parents
of someone they despise in a later time but that
doesn’t change the fact that they grew to hate that
person in the other period. They’re unlikely to re-
turn to that time to discover whether their actions
had an effect, and if they remember to research
him in future Descents in some he’ll exist and oth-
ers he won’t.
In short, this may be a mystery that infuriates
other creatures, but mummies don’t have all the
answers, don’t have the luxury of spending their
time musing on the nature of existence, and the
Judges don’t care. Duat is even more timeless
and disconnected from reality than the Arisen
themselves.
By this reckoning, every waking moment of each Arisen is
already mandated and done. That each individual has yet to
experience it is irrelevant to the churning maelstrom. This is
the singular fate of every Deathless, an inescapable truth. Yet
the waves each mummy makes in these waking moments ripple
outward for an eternity, overlapping with each other, echoing
with their own footsteps from other periods, and building or
silencing the motions other creatures make on time.
Those musing on temporal theories talk of time splinters,
parallel paths, or alternate realities, which mummies view as
currents in Osiris’ ocean. These different flows occur naturally
with remarkable frequency in time’s vast ocean, but can also be
the products of deliberate artifice by those who know enough
about time’s workings. Even those with a different view and
paradigm can alter the temporal flows if they have magic or
other power to do so. Regardless of origins, differing time
currents are never completely divorced from one another.
They always swirl around and through each other though
few creatures can detect them. They can leave vague sensory EYES OF THE STORM
impressions, confusion and mirages as they move through one
another and influence the different instances of everyone Throughout time’s grand ocean of divergent currents,
within each current. swirling waters and strange tides, the Deathless exist as
points of calm certainty, though individual mummies may
Differing flows don’t necessarily affect the entire world at
believe their existences are anything but. The Rite of Return
once. Some do, and changes within an alternative time stream
shattered the world and rebuilt it around the chosen few as a
may be wholly different to what we would consider the norm,
never-ending paradox. Though each Deathless always exists
such as global geopolitical landscape being entirely different
across the lengths of time, they are also definite points firmly
if the Axis powers won the Second World War, or the entire
established in their cycles of death and awakening. They are
ecosystems changing if a key species had never died out. Such
the greatest snarls in past, present, and future, experiencing
dramatically different realities are rare, and differing times
their lives out of order, but they are also calming points that
are more likely to have a local or regional effect with the
smooth out the ripples of disruption on a cosmic scale. When
world around them being oblivious to the differences. Urban
mummies walk, time returns to its established path. Where
legends of small towns or valleys that seem stuck in decades
the Deathless rise, events become more certain and harder
past are commonplace, as are those where people live with
to shift. What the Arisen care about becomes weighted in
revolutionary technologies beyond what should be possible.
historical significance.
These tangles of time exist alongside but apart from the main
currents but non-mummies rarely stumble across these areas Whatever the Anchor in a divergent time period, mum-
and they remain in the realm of stories and myth. mies can work to identify, understand, and resolve it and
return the strange flow to the primary waters. The form of this
As all of time is part of the ocean, no time periods,
resolution varies depending on the Anchor and the current,
alternative histories, or unlikely futures are off limits to
and can be as simple as ending a life, but often requires more
Deathless, whether awoken by cult or fortune. Similarly, none
effort to achieve. Alternatively, Arisen have the power to work
of time’s peculiarities permanently limit the Deathless con-
to strengthen these time variations, protecting the Anchors
dition. Sekhem still depletes even in recalcitrant time loops.
and encouraging the development of more. In this way, they
Mummies still function where time moves faster or slower
can look to rewrite the future, but they only have a limited
than normal progression. Alternative histories that never were
period to achieve these goals. Sekhem continues to drain
or futures that can never be cannot stop the presence of the
no matter how local time works. Eventually, the Deathless
Arisen even if that particular timeline never allowed for the
completes her Descent and departs the alternative current
possibility of their existence.
to return to Duat.
ANCHORS IN THE WATERS DIFFERENT FLOWS
Every type of divergent time current has at least one
The most common peculiarities to time’s flow are outlined
Anchor that drags the flow away from the main stream. This
below. None exist as isolated events, merely being part of
Anchor could be a person, event, location, or almost anything
time’s vast ocean. Though the waters sometimes run faster,
within the current, and is usually involved — unaware — in
slower, or in different directions to the rest of the ocean,
the point where the current diverted. A woman who chose
they’re all linked and affect one another, as the ripples and
to catch a train instead of a cab could be the Anchor for
forces of one inevitably brush against those alongside it.
one divergent current, while a man who can’t move on from
Similarly, though people, other creatures, and objects are
the death of his husband may be the Anchor of an endlessly
usually singular entities within time, nearly everyone always
repeating whirlpool. An example of an Anchor dragging time
exists as a variable and possibly infinite number of versions
into a slow eddy could be a beloved building scheduled for
across different time streams, all coexisting and constantly
demolition, where the residents refuse to accept its fate. Or
splitting, rejoining and diverging again. This has no ill effect
Anchors for accelerated time rips frequently occur around
on individuals and is one cause for the baseline uncertainty
holidays and vacations, which always rush by so fast for the
that plagues much of humanity.
children Anchors, who eagerly awaited their arrival. Longer-
lasting flows tend to have more than one Anchor as the Currents: What other time models may call splinters,
weight of history reinforces the alternative time, giving itself forks, or parallel universes the Arisen know as different
power within time’s ocean. If an alternative current becomes currents in the ocean. All of time moves with their currents,
sufficiently weighted with Anchors it could even threaten to and most move from past to future. Within the ocean there
overwhelm and subsume the primary time streams within it. is no one correct current, though some have a greater weight

Storytelling Timelessness 329

 Feeling the Flow and Timeless Conditions
At the moment they underwent the Rite of Return,
each mummy became an avatar of timelessness. As
outsiders looking in, Deathless can sense when time
moves differently. Arisen can use different time flows
to their advantage, gaining appropriate Timeless
Conditions (detailed in the Appendix, starting on
p. XX). Certain types of timestream have their own
Condition, whereas others can apply across a va-
riety of currents. Applying appropriate Timeless
Conditions is one way of rewarding characters gain-
ing exceptional success on rolls while near, expe-
riencing, or interacting with time’s variations. While
the Deathless are attuned to these, the Storyteller can
decide that awarding such Conditions is appropriate
for other characters as well.
A mummy can try to ‘Feel the Flow’ to see if she
senses that she is in an alternative timestream. This
requires an instant action and rolling her Defining
Pillar + the Pillar in which she has the fewest dots,
comparing the result as below. Arisen can attempt
of history behind them. Alternative currents move away
from the main flows constantly, randomly following the
ramifications of a decision taken differently or an uncertainty
collapsing towards a different outcome. Sometimes these cur-
rents endure for years or even centuries, but most often they
succumb to the greater impetus of the larger flows and drift
back to rejoin their turbulent waters. A separate current may
experience radically different choices with distinct outcomes,
but these differences usually fade as the momentum of the
more powerful stream overwhelms the inertia of the lesser
current. Those living within the currents rarely notice any
difference beyond feelings of déjà vu or dreamlike memories.
Minor and quickly resolved shifts in the currents can result
in small changes like a person misremembering where he left
his wallet or keys, whereas larger alterations may lead to that
person — or many people — being unable to find a location
they know well and have visited many times before. Most are
inevitably explained away or forgotten as human memory and
flawed history adjust to cope with the differences. After all,
people forget things all the time, everyone has at least a few
instances of keys, jewelry, or other personal items not being
in the usual place, and historical records frequently contradict
one another or remain vague on details of precisely who was
responsible for outcomes.
330 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
this roll even when in a normal time current. Though
this can confirm the normal flow of time they don’t
gain Timeless Conditions as a result.
Success: The Arisen knows what kind of alternate
time flow she is within, but doesn’t feel sufficient af-
finity to directly influence it. She may spend a point
of Sekhem to upgrade this success to an exceptional
success and gain the relevant Timeless Condition.
Exceptional Success: The character’s Pillars reso-
nate strongly against the altered time flow. She gains
the relevant Timeless Condition and possesses the
ability to manipulate local time to her advantage.
Failure: The Arisen knows that time moves different-
ly, but she doesn’t know how. She may change this
to a dramatic failure and take a Beat.
Dramatic Failure: The character can’t feel any
differences to time and is simply another swimmer
caught in its currents.
Eddies: Strong or fast currents sometimes leave eddies in
their wake. These swirling, meandering pockets of time move
more slowly than the surrounding waters. Time within an eddy
moves in pace with itself, leaving the inhabitants unaware of
the different pace of the world and having little to compare it
to. Though they move more slowly than the main flows around
them, eddies usually resolve much like alternative currents
through assimilation into a time stream with a greater weight
of history behind it. When eddies rejoin the main flows, the
people within may feel that the world somehow moves along
faster than they can grasp, and that technology and society
changes so quickly.
Mirages: The adage that history repeats itself is somewhat
true. Fate moves in cycles and events with temporal similarity
resonate with their past and future alignments. Strong ex-
pressions of this resonance can overlay sensory impressions
of other times on people, structures, or events in the present,
creating a mirage of other times. Temporal mirages are more
than just false sights, sounds and smells, and those willing to
take the chance can try to focus on the alternative views to
live out those versions of events and try to gain insight into
the workings of their own and other times.
Rips: The opposite of eddies, rips drag time along faster
than everything around them. These direct currents are as
self-contained as other flows and tend to rejoin the more
historically weighted time streams as their Anchors lose
importance or distinctive potential. People within rips don’t
consciously experience the difference but often have a sense
of the rest of the world lacking energy and vigor. Everyone
else seems stuck in the past and unwilling to move on, even
though both may find themselves at the same point when the
time swirl completes.
Whirlpools: More unusual than rips and eddies, time
within whirlpools loops back on itself to repeat the same events
endlessly. Most whirlpools have a natural transition point of
similar environment where the most advanced moment links
to the loop’s beginning without drawing undue attention to
itself. The darkest hours of the night or the middle of thun-
derous storms or snow-filled blizzards that occupy the first and
last moments are common transitions, where time’s passage
loses clarity even outside whirlpools. Rarer whirlpools are less
subtle, simply jumping from one point in time to another.
These are more common when centered on an Anchor in
an intense emotional state. Such whirlpools may start when
the individual and her lover enter their vehicle and suddenly
return to the beginning just before another distracted driver
smashes into the side of the car, killing the loved one in an
act of random change. Whirlpools like these are short and
brutish and allow little opportunity to resolve them. Most
whirlpools run their course over a reasonable length of time
— 24 hours or a few days, perhaps a month. Those with the
greatest unresolved historical weight can run years but are
rare. Even the Deathless must ‘reset’ when the whirlpool
begins its course again, but certain absolutes can’t be cheated
even within the loop. The mummy’s Sekhem continues to
deplete as time stretches on and doesn’t increase with the
restarting of events, and relics or other containers of Sekhem
can’t be harvested more than once — the physical form of
the relic returns for the Arisen to find again, but it is lifeless
and inert once harvested.
STILL, CALM WATERS
Though the ocean of time is a vast, chaotic pool of in-
terweaving and swirling currents moving in different speeds
and directions, not every moment is so unpredictable. Each
Sothic Turn is a moment of silence within time, a great cer-
tainty where the ocean calms and the primary currents flow
in a single direction. Here, the waters grow shallow, pushing
Storytelling Timelessness 331

Mummies and
Awakened Magic
For those with Mage: The Awakening, at-
tempts to use the Fate or Time Arcana magic on
an Arisen, except Knowing or Unveiling Practices,
automatically fail. Mages have no innate aware-
ness of this and still compile and roll their dice
pool, but gain no effect for disallowed Practices
regardless of the number of successes achieved.
Additionally, the spellcaster automatically incurs
Paradox dice equal to the highest Fate or Time
Arcana used, even with permitted Practices. If
the Paradox dice pool achieves success (or ex-
ceptional success), the caster suffers the Abyssal
Backlash Condition as the Judges in Duat take
notice of the mage’s meddling, as if they were an
Annunaki in the Abyss. Similarly, magic affecting
the Arisen’s Memory also automatically fails, but
such spells don’t invoke additional Paradox or
incur a backlash unless they also incorporate the
Fate or Time Arcana.
Whether time or fate manipulating powers of
other creatures work against the Arisen depends
on the source of those powers. Those trying to
modify the mummy’s anchored existence through
rules not imposed by the Rite of Return — such as
the conceptual bargains changeling draw upon
with their Contracts or pledges — inevitably fail.
However, the powers of those working within the
rules — such as demons, even though they under-
stand the nuances of such rules in far greater de-
tail than other beings — work as normal against
the Deathless.
If in doubt, the Storyteller should call for a Clash
of Wills (p.XX) and see whose reality triumphs.
every Deathless to the surface to wakefulness. At the Sothic
Turn, so many weaker currents fade and return to the main
streams, currents of different speeds and directions alter to
match the weight of history all around them. Some of the
more powerful streams persist, but overall the ocean shrinks
at these points of history.
Blasphemous Deathless suggest that the Sothic Turn is
when Duat grows closer to the living world and the Judges
taste the warmth of Sekhem directly, almost to the point of
taking it for themselves. At the turning of the wheel, the
332 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
Judges hunger for life and all mummies rise to feed their alien
appetites. In these shallow times, the Arisen walk without
clear purpose and dictate their own fates as much as they ever
can. Though they have rare surcease from the demands of the
Judges, this may not be true freedom. Indeed, the choices and
actions of Deathless in these times are perhaps all that pre-
vents starving gods breaking free of their self-imposed prison
kingdom to bring apocalypse as they feast upon the world.
Time’s stillness in the Sothic Turn never fully departs the
Arisen as they are Duat’s servants. Other beings with the
ability to sense temporal flows feel the permanence of the
Deathless and their resistance to change outside their own
fates. These creatures feel the horror of the Rite of Return
tearing world-defining paradox on each of the Arisen, the
shattering of time’s grasp and the ever-clutching maelstrom
that rules their existences. The bonds of time and fate upon
the Deathless are as alien as the gods they serve and anti-
thetical to powers lesser than those that broke the world.
Common sense would be to flee or at least avoid angering
these old gods, but the lure of power and mystery is too much
for some. To fate and time, the moment each Arisen survived
the Shan’iatu’s magic she lived out her entire existence in a
moment, spreading across all of time until she reached its
inevitable end. The fact that individual mummies haven’t
yet experienced all time yet is a paradox as irrelevant as any
other to the Rite of Return.
TALES THROUGH THE
SANDGLASS
M ummy: The Curse is a Storytelling game of incredible
breadth and depth. The Deathless spawn from a time
before time and assume that as long as Sekhem remains in
the world it is their duty and curse to arise again for their
Judge’s pleasure. Mummies live and die through impossible
realms divorced from logical reality and endure countless
hardships on their journeys to satisfy the never-ending hunger
of ancient gods.
The Arisen’s timeless nature gives access to everything
that happened in history — and everything that never hap-
pened, except in lost splinters and closed loops. The Storyteller
has more than a world to play with; she has the entirety of
humanity at her fingertips. Nor does this only apply to the
mummies themselves. Everywhere in the living world that
the Deathless walk, their servants, cults, and other immortals
are never far behind. These other denizens don’t follow the
same chaotically timeless paths as mummies, but many endless
immortals endure the ceaseless turning of day into night and
back again for the times where they once again meet their
timeless friends or foes.
 Together, these factors mean that a Mummy: The Curse
chronicle can be set almost anywhere and at any time. A
chronicle could explore the challenges of daily existence in a
world unfamiliar from anything the character knows. It could
focus on Deathless society and how once-human individuals
work to relate to each other and those around them through
fragmented memory and the crushing inevitability of brief
lives. Or the chronicle may let the characters take the fight to
the gods themselves, challenging the Judges and questioning
their claimed divine right to punishment and retribution.
The scope of Mummy: The Curse chronicles is as endless
as immortals themselves. Explore, challenge, and have fun.
BIKER FIENDS FROM DUAT
Violent crime is on the rise. A biker gang terrorizes the
city, murder and mayhem keeping the populace fearful to
leave their homes at night. Police take their time responding
to reports of gang activity, desperately hoping they have moved
on before they arrive. The worst biker gang stereotypes have
come to life, putting the city at its mercy with no hope of
salvation. It wasn’t always like this.
The Spears of Michael Motorcycle Club was once a wel-
come sight to the city’s destitute. Sick of seeing justice denied
to those most in need of it, the Spears formed to bring safety
to their neighborhoods. Embracing the biker lifestyle, the
club started cleaning up the community, organizing charity
events and helping the people wherever possible. Perhaps most
importantly, they engaged in vigilante justice, driving out the
local gangs and severely curtailing the drug trade.
While celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of
their club, the Spears stopped into Death’s Head Ink to get new
tattoos. Falling in love with the terrifying images created by the
young tattooist, Salvador Rosales, each chose one of his images,
unaware they were choosing the Slaughterers that would take
over their bodies. Salvador’s new sketches depict horrifying
creatures in elaborate detail, each drawn from the nightmares
he’s experienced. Salvador has always coped with nightmares
by depicting them, but he has recently begun dreaming of
Duat. Completely unaware of the truth behind his new designs,
Salvador thinks nothing of tattooing them on anyone requesting
one. With undeniable talent, his popularity grows, and with it,
the number of people gaining fiendish tattoos.
The fiendish intrusion brings unfamiliar perils. Some
possibilities:
• While initially dismissible as typical human violence,
the mayhem coupled with the formation of unhallowed
ground forces the cult to acknowledge something
unusual is occurring. As the violence continues to
escalate, they realize their mummy might be their best
chance to survive and end the gang’s reign of terror.
If the fiends perceive the mummy’s tomb or sense the
imminent Call, they’ll stop the cult at any cost.
• With the Spears of Michael gaining a fierce reputation,
many unsavory individuals begin seeking membership.
The leader of the fiends, Aarta, clothed in the flesh
of Heather Davidson, embraces the idea of a recruit-
ment drive, and newly welcomed members are taken
to Death’s Head Ink for initiation. Complications
arise when someone dear to the cult or their mummy
receives an invitation.
• The presence of so many active fiends causes magic in
the area to go awry more frequently. While the horrible
effects of chaotic magic are untenable at the best of
times, intrusions of strange entities from botched rituals
twist reality, leaving the future uncertain for all.
• The Spears terrorize everyone, but Salvador is under their
protection. In the face of the disasters befalling the city,
he seems to be living a fairytale life, discovering needed
things conveniently left where he can find them. Now,
a major publication has heard of him and seeks to do an
article on his work. Aarta’s ambitions have grown beyond
one city, and now she wishes to bring him to prominence.
When he becomes famous, she’ll gain additional hosts
she can seize or allow more fiends to escape from Duat
to wreak havoc. Either way, Aarta wins.
THE SHADOW OF SOTHIS
The Tef-Aabhi understand sacred architecture and effigies
better than any other, but some mysteries baffle even the
Geomancers. One of these is the Eternal Star, an effigy tied to
Sothis itself, which appears following odd astronomical events.
When installed into sacred architecture, the effigy causes all
mummies within a metropolitan area to rise from henet. This
has only become more potent as urbanization expands the size
of cities and surrounding suburbs. Some philosophers among
the Architects hypothesize that ever increasing urbanization
and dwindling wilderness will eventually allow the Star to
awaken entire continents at once. Wars have been fought
between cults over the object, the effigy seldom remaining
in the possession of one group for long. Tef-Aabhi records
indicate it has been destroyed or consigned to Duat on sev-
eral occasions, but the effigy continues to resurface. Some
hypothesize the object is as Deathless as the Arisen, while
others assume there’s simply multiple effigies in existence.
Whatever the truth, with the latest Sothic Turn having
passed, knowledgeable Arisen and sorcerers suspect the Star
shall soon resurface.
Tales Through the Sandglass 333
 Here are some potential ways the Eternal Star could
surface:
• A museum unveils the unusual object discovered in
their collections, drawing attention from several cults
bent on obtaining it for their own use or denying it to
their rivals. As efforts to retrieve the object intensify,
the conflict between cults threatens to spill out into
the open.
• An aging sorcerer has compiled all the information they
can about the Eternal Star. With its recent discovery at
an archeological dig, they recruit the rest of the cult to
obtain it to ensure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
The sorcerer conceals their true motives. They are
ready to become Eternal, and believe the Star could
prove the perfect anchor.
• After discovering the Star on the shelves of a curio
shop, the cult uses the relic to call the mummy back
to life. Following the unexpected murder of a young
cultist, the mummy begins undermining the cult’s long-
term efforts. With creeping dread, the cult begins to
suspect a traitor in their midst.
• The meret awakens without an immediate purpose to
act upon. They feel as though Sothis has arisen once
more, but a single look at the night sky reveals the next
Turn to be far in the future. Aware of the consequenc-
es awaiting them, the cult responsible hasn’t given a
purpose yet. As the mummies search for answers, the
cult searches for an expendable patsy to pay the price.
THE ETERNAL STAR (EFFIGY •••••)
Durability 4, Size 1, Structure 5
Some relics seem to lead strange lives of their own. The
effigy known as the Eternal Star has surfaced and vanished
from the attention of the Arisen and their cults innumerable
times, always resurfacing in the wake of significant astronom-
ical conjunctions. While it dates back at least as far as the
third Sothic Turn, the Tef-Aabhi have yet to determine the
ones responsible for its creation. Crafted from meteoric iron,
the Star consists of a central disk of roughly hammered metal
surrounded by eight smoothly polished rays. When installed
into relic architecture, the silvery Star blazes with blue light,
causing nearby mummies to arise en masse. The Star can be
destroyed or consigned to Duat normally, but consuming it
destroys it without benefit.
Power: When installed into the Lifeweb of relic archi-
tecture or a mummy’s tomb, a pulse of Sekhem bursts forth,
awakening all mummies in henet within the connected
334 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
metropolitan area. Mummies arise without a first purpose
as during the Sothic Turn. This can change. By touching
the Star and spending a point of Willpower to activate it,
an individual may declare their wish. This becomes the first
purpose of all mummies raised by the Star until it is fulfilled
or a new order is given.
Curse: The Eternal Star hungers for Sekhem, consuming
life force in every possible way to power itself. Mortals activat-
ing the Star suffer the Soulless Condition as the relic absorbs
their soul, with further uses causing a level of aggravated
damage. Mummies activating the Star immediately lose a
level of Sekhem.
FAR FROM HOME
Memory is forever a curse for the Arisen. No matter
the call, a mummy inevitably awakens angry, confused, and
without the sense of self awareness that everyone takes for
granted. As the Descent begins anew and the Deathless sees
her surroundings without the red mist of rage and violence
over her eyes the first scraps of knowledge start to return.
She is helped along this journey of rediscovery by devoted
servants passing down knowledge of her history from parent
to child, maintaining the exclusivity of secret knowledge
and indoctrinations. If the mummy is particularly lucky, she
awakens within a meret who are initially just as unaware but
who work together to begin reassembling the broken pieces
of their minds.
Without those support mechanisms the Arisen is even
more confused and alone. Throughout history the cults of the
Deathless watched over their charges, tending the tombs with
the proper care and protecting them from incursions of the
ignorant and the unbelieving. For millennia these guardians
had greater control over such events as their charges’ resting
places remained isolated from the wider world and hidden be-
neath the sands that buried Irem and left the Nameless Empire
without even whispered legends. Discovery was unlikely with
distance and inconvenience, while those explorers and grave
robbers uncovering the secrets then faced the combined chal-
lenges of enraged mummies briefly awakening at the distur-
bance, or when that failed the tyrannies of distance and crude
transport to return the stolen treasures — and remains — to
civilized people, who would desire and purchase such wares.
The coming of the modern age overcame most of these
challenges. To immortal lifespans, the greed of coveted wealth
evolved into the greed of scientific exploration and discovery
in the blink of an eye. Tomb robbers were now well financed
and resourced, with powerful tools to discover and uncover
the hidden tombs and even more powerful backers to make
political and legal obstacles go away. Protective cults were
swept aside and unliving probes were the first to disturb the
Deathless and face its wrath. Humans followed safely behind,
careful to recover, catalogue, and classify everything they
found and return it to civilized museums and universities for
further study.
None know how many tombs remain unsullied by these
archeological expeditions, but more are discovered each year.
Tombs are excavated with depressing frequency; treasures
are separated from their inert Deathless and sent to different
expert locations for further study, disappearing into private
collections, or displayed for children to gawk at when they
can tear their eyes away from the latest app on their hand-
held device.
• The inert Deathless are separated from their artifacts
and taken to warehouses and entered into a complicat-
ed distribution system. Merets are scattered across the
globe while the sleeping mummies have no awareness
of what awaits them. When the Arisen awaken, they
lack even the familiarity of cults who know the proper
exchanges, or other Deathless who cause any recogni-
tion to flicker in confused minds. They’re unlikely to
know where they are and few but the luckiest are close
to where the Judges demand their attention. These
merets of chance must decide whether they will band
together or go their separate ways in pursuit of purpose
and the relics that were stolen from them. Recovering
their treasures will take time and effort — perhaps more
of both than these scattered Deathless have available.
• A cult for the new age wants to open the eyes of the
hapless masses to the truth of the world and the de-
monstrable power of their gods over the hidden faith
of mainstream religions. They’ve decided the best
way of converting the world is to show the power of
their master-servants over death itself. This cult has
the smattering of lore required and everything needed
to perform the rituals of summing, except the Arisen
to answer their cause. Luckily, the local museum has
scheduled an Egyptology exhibition and has unknow-
ingly secured the loan of a group of gods from the true
old kingdom. The cult will enact its ritual to a lives-
tream broadcast and reveal the secrets to the world.
Unfortunately, for the cult, they have little idea what
awaits them if they succeed.
• For reasons unknown, the Deathless wake in transit,
bursting forth from their carefully packaged sarcophagi
to the usual confusion and destruction. Unfortunately
for the mummies, this time their rampage occurs at
30,000 feet in the air, tearing through flimsy fuselage
and bringing down the air transport in a fiery crater
of twisted metal and molten plastic. The renewed
power of Sekhem coursing through their bodies keeps
the Arisen from suffering serious injury despite the
cataclysm surrounding them as they walk from the
destruction, unaware of their location but with the
distant sounds of emergency first responders racing
to the scene and coming closer with each second the
mummies wait in confusion.
• The Arisen awaken within the halls of display, mis-
identified as the legacy of some lesser civilization
that copied the trappings, but not the power, of the
Nameless Empire. Confused and somewhat delighted
or bemused crowds watch as the Deathless return to
life in a masterpiece of interactive entertainment. The
benign witnessing swiftly turns to horror as the mind-
less mummies rampage through the crush of innocent
onlookers vying for a better view of the show. Copious
bloodshed, dozens of gruesome deaths and mass hys-
teria and the terrified crush of fleeing victims follow
before the Deathless can take control of themselves.
As word reaches the city’s other Arisen, they must take
action to control the damage and rescue their peers
before the situation deteriorates any further.
CHILDREN OF IREM
The Rite of Return tears apart an Arisen’s soul, reforging
it in the fires of pure Sekhem and binding it forever to the
mummy’s immortal existence. The Rite brings life to the
Deathless at the cost of so much of their humanity being
sacrificed to the altar of eternal service. The earliest stages
of when a mummy returns to life reveal the monster forged
by the Rite of Return. Sekhem’s life force provides anima to
desiccated flesh and bone, but makes no pretense of the hu-
manity long left behind. As the Descent sets in the Sekhem
begins to fill out the mummy’s appearance, giving him the
superficial semblance of humanity to aid his service to the
Judges. Despite appearances, the burning Sekhem and fragile
memory ensure the Arisen is ever-aware that he only moves
among humans, but is never one of them.
Though the Descent is inevitably too brief, many Arisen
take the opportunity of walking the living world to briefly
enjoy the transient pleasures that flesh provides. Mummies
indulge in food, drink and other pleasures when able. This
hedonism isn’t condoned by the Judges, but it’s overlooked
as long as the servant continues to fulfill her obligations. If
the Deathless strays too far from purpose in the pursuit of
pleasure, his Judge simply has something more with which to
torment and challenge when he next enters Duat.
An Arisen’s artificially-prolonged shell only obtains
limited joy from these pleasures anyway. Food and drink are
Tales Through the Sandglass 335
 empty flavors that aren’t required for continued existence as
Sekhem provides. Sex is simply stimulated nerves without
any hope of fulfilling biological imperatives or establishing
true emotional connection. The Rite of Return has tarnished
even these small moments that make life worth living. As
the physical shell is no longer meant to allow fully function-
ing humanity, neither can Arisen have children. Beyond
biology, raising offspring and furthering a new generation is
a distraction that the Judges cannot allow. The Deathless
swore devotion to the Judges above all else and are not
permitted to divert this purpose to such trivial, temporally
fleeting concerns.
Nonetheless, a mummy has claims to have produced a
child and foes assemble to challenge the Deathless, exploit a
weakness, or punish him for the oversight. For his part, the
Arisen parent is determined to prolong his Descent to give
the child the best start and provide the parenting it needs to
the best of his ability.
• The meret awakens with a call to join the hunt for the
rogue parent. The mummy is derelict in its duties to the
Judges, who have decreed that the Deathless and all of
its line must be punished and exterminated from the
world. Though the punishment of death may inevitably
be temporary for the Deathless, the remembered pain
of its failure and the destruction of what it created will
serve as an eternity of punishment.
• The Su-Menent possess a prophecy concerning a
half-immortal child, though whether this comes from
sorcerous scrying of the future or partly remembered
history from a future waking is unknown. What the
Necromancers do recall is that the child will usher in
the Nameless Empire reborn, or erase all trace of its
existence — including the Deathless — once and for
all. Now, the guild takes sides and draws in supporters
to ensure what is foretold comes to pass, or to prevent
it from ever happening.
• The meret decides to reject the Judges’ demands and
assist the parent. Maintaining protection on the im-
mortal offspring against all threats is further hampered
by the hastening of the Arisens’ Descent as they avoid
their masters’ decree. The time with the child is a
sweet instant in their never-ending existences, perhaps
extended for mere moments if they can recover relics
and keep the Sekhem for themselves. Or perhaps these
Arisen sacrifice the artifacts they find to ensure the
child’s parent can endure just a little longer.
• The child of the Deathless is a unique and sorcerously
potent component, coveted by other immortals to use
336 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
for their own vile purposes. The best scenarios call for
raising the child to prepare it for sacrifice or transfer of
the immortal’s essence into this infinitely more potent
vessel. The worst plans need to drain the child of blood
and life as soon as possible in excruciating fashion.
Whatever the designs, the scion is a wellspring of po-
tential with competition that will do almost anything
to secure the prize.
THE DARKEST TURN
The Sothic Wheel turns regardless of the actions of mortal
or immortal creatures. The Shan’iatu were wise and power-
ful, but not all seeing. They were the scholars and possibly
architects of the wheel of death and rebirth, and knew more
of it than perhaps anyone since, but even their knowledge
was incomplete. The Deathless are the undisputed experts of
experiencing the effect of the wheel’s grinding renewal, but
they don’t necessarily understand its sorcerous workings better
than anyone else. Whether the Shan’iatu knew of the bond
between Sothic alignment and temporary freedom of purpose
for their servants may never be known. Whether they knew
of the lesser alignments is even more inscrutable.
Several lesser alignments influence the Deathless in ways
they barely understand. Some awaken all the Arisen of a par-
ticular guild, or all mummies with particular strength in one
of the pillars of the soul. Others call forth Deathless without
any discernibly consistent traits. In these times, the Arisen
sometimes believe that their Judges have some mysterious
purpose for them, even if they waste their Descent in confusion
trying to discover these intentions.
One Sothic alignment brings a shiver of dread to even
the most resilient of immortals. This darkest manifestation of
the Rite of Return is a time of horror and disharmony for the
Deathless. For this one turn, the failure of memory is more
blessing than curse, as few mummies want to remember their
actions in these times. This unnamed alignment drags the
Arisen from their graves filled with a hunger and desperation
for Sekhem beyond anything else they experience. The Descent
begins immediately and progresses faster than at any other time,
driving the Deathless to feed the relentless starvation.
The horror comes not from the hunger, but from the in-
ability of any relics or artifacts to satisfy it. The only vessels of
brightly shining Sekhem that grant some temporary reprieve
are the bodies of other Arisen. In the dark Sothic turn, the
Deathless hunt, slaughter, and consume each other until the
remaining few are unable to reach each other and finally fall
into the ravaging starvation pain until the cycle finally ends.
• In this time, the Arisen avoid alliances and friend-
ships with their own kind. Other mummies are simply
 victims waiting to happen. Unfortunately, none of the
Deathless can hide as their Sekhem cries out for others
to notice. The mummy’s cult becomes more important
than ever, concealing their charge as best they can,
confounding anyone who comes seeking the Arisen,
while hunting out and exploiting the weaknesses of
other cults to make their charges vulnerable. The
secret societies formed in this time pass down very
different legends of the Arisen and may have strange
expectations when their descendants next seek out the
Deathless’ service.
• The call to destroy their own doesn’t stop between
members of a meret, but it can be diverted somewhat
by a constant feast of mummies other than immortal
friends. The Deathless can clamp down on the urge to
a degree, ignoring it the way a human can ignore the
rumbles and pangs of hunger within her belly, but just
like hunger eventually it demands to be fed. In a meret,
the urge most frequently comes about at times when
a mummy is distracted or another Deathless displays
weakness before her. Merets swiftly turn on their weak
and few Arisen can control the hunger for long when
harboring such obvious morsels.
• The horror of these times doesn’t end when a mummy
nears his Descent’s end and prepares for the trials of
Duat. As the Arisen’s flesh shrivels the hunger doesn’t
end, nor does the last traces of Sekhem fade from his
body. The Deathless remains tied to the living world,
unable to move or speak, but dimly aware of events oc-
curring around him, and keenly aware of the starvation
that gnaws at his stomach and sanity. This last lingering
Sekhem still calls to other Deathless for them to come
and consume. The last awareness of many immortals in
this time is being eaten alive by their fellow mummies
as they’re unable to beg for death’s release.
• The Sekhem within the Deathless shines like beacons
to draw in others like moths to a flame. Sometimes
other scions of Irem, such as the twisted Deceived or
other immortals, also attract the Arisen to bring hun-
gry enemies towards them. Perhaps the Judges watch
on in amusement as their servants engage in global
gladiatorial combat. Perhaps the Rite of Return was
flawed and this price balances the cycle. Or perhaps no
explanation exists for the bloodlust that sweeps across
the cursed and they simply have to endure this as one
more aspect of their eternal existence, and somehow
look their fellow Arisen in the eyes when the next, less
murderous turn arrives.
MEMORY BROKER
The only thing that hurts the Deathless more than the
loss of memory is its return. The mindless rage and instinctive
violence as the mummy awakens once more into life is a time
of purity before the Arisen knows what she is or what she has
become. As the Descent takes hold, she slowly regains more
of herself, always too little and too late. As she learns who
she is, she must reconcile that with what she has done in
service of the cult that called her forth, and the Judge whose
will she serves. She sees the blood staining her hands and the
sins staining her soul and knows that this isn’t who she has to
be. She knows that she could be more — is more — and that
the hateful sands of Duat steal this away from her each time.
Worse, so often she learns that her wants and needs are always
secondary to what others want just in time to descend into
the sands to face Judgment once more, scrubbed of everything
that made her unique.
Mummies sometimes wonder how their existences would
change if they didn’t suffer the curse of unknowing. If they
returned to the world fresh and whole, would they be masters
of their own existences or would they find that they were still
at the mercy of others? Other powerful beings from the dawn
of time watch the cycle of life, death, blood, and pain that
endlessly consumes the Deathless. Most of these creatures
rightly stay far away from the Arisen, cowed by their own
memories of the Shan’iatu, who bound or banished them, or
flayed their Essence in pursuit of sorcerous experimentation
or morbid curiosity. Others know nothing of the Nameless
Empire, but are wary of the vengeful powers held by those
with magic that defies death.
These creatures can’t remain timid forever. The lure of
power is hard to resist and as these denizens of the shadows
have watched and learned they’ve come to the realization that
the Deathless walk alone in the world, the last remnants of
a failed empire that is never coming back. They believe they
deserve the service of eternal slaves, and stealing them is so
much easier than trying to create their own. What enticements
could attract the Deathless better than a promise of remem-
brance and self-awareness from the moment they awaken?
One such creature stalks the modern world. Sef-ammut, an
ancient godling of regret and renewal that skulked the fringes
of the Nameless Empire, has finally decided that its time has
come and the Shan’iatu are no longer returning to drive it
away. Sef-ammut retains everything that anyone ever trusted
into its care; taking away pain and leaving the happiness of
obliviousness. Unfortunately, Sef-ammut’s clients live such
short, pointless lives that it barely gains any sustenance from
the bargain. The ignorance that Sef-ammut gifts to others is
the curse the Arisen are desperate to overcome. Sef-ammut
has served the needs of the Arisen’s cults for millennia,
Tales Through the Sandglass 337
 consuming the unspeakable demands and horrors they’re
forced to comply with for their masters. The rituals to call the
memory-eater are passed on easily between cults, all seeking
some respite from the trauma of the unspeakable demands
in return for the knowledge they pass down from Irem. Sef-
ammut cares for these clients with the precision of a scalpel,
taking away the trauma and has slowly pieced together just
enough lore to know that the sorcerers of Irem are no more
and their former servants are now vulnerable to its approach.
• Creativity of thought is not a feature that comes natu-
rally to the creature, but more than one of the cultists
believed that its services could be valuable or dangerous
to their control of their undead servant/masters. The
cult no longer believes this — the memories are long
since taken — but the creature has approached the
cult’s mummy with an intriguing proposal. Entrust
the creature with the mummy’s memories before they
descend to Duat and it will find the Arisen and return
the memories when they come to life once more.
• Holding and imparting memories isn’t the creature’s
only talent. It can blend what it holds in new combi-
nations, changing the nature of what an Arisen might
think about herself. It can swap memories entirely,
imparting a mummy with the personality and recol-
lections of someone other than who they are. The
creature doesn’t do so for amusement, it experiments
on its new clients to twist their perceptions and make
better, more effective servants for itself.
• The Rite of Return makes an Arisen a fixed point,
with some flexibility but essentially immutable with
each Descent and reawakening. The creature can’t
permanently steal away the core being of the Deathless
— if it can’t reach a client in time the mummy’s own
fractured personality and recollections begin anew. If
the creature does return the memories as soon as the
Arisen returns her own natural memories are locked
away for that Descent.
• The meret awakens with the task of recovering a host
of Deathless that have disappeared from the Judges’
oversight. The number of missing servants increases
with each passing Descent, and the Judges are jealous
masters who won’t tolerate others having power over
their slaves. The missing mummies have fallen for the
temptation of self-knowledge and remembrance and
have entrusted themselves to Sef-ammut. They no
longer remember their proper purposes or histories,
only that they should continue to serve Sef-ammut as
best they can. Though they don’t admit it, the Judges
338 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
are desperate for the return of their servants, and afraid
of what might happen if this doesn’t occur.
MORTAL POWER
Fake news, manipulation of information and subversion
of systems designed to protect the will of the people. Every
mummy has experienced plenty of each in their existence.
Now, one of them prepares to exploit these flawed human
systems and build himself the greatest cult in Arisen histo-
ry— an entire country — or, at least, the majority of one that
believes in the dream of freedom and wealth.
This isn’t the first time one of the cursed has desired mastery
over others, but it is certainly the most obscenely ambitious
attempt. Over the endless years, it hasn’t even been unusual for
a Deathless to be awoken for the purpose of subduing some tribe
or nation standing in the way of the Judges’ relentless need for
Sekhem. During each Sothic Turn, so many Arisen build their
influence over others as part of defining their purpose until they
once more succumb to the Descent. However, every previous
exercise of power has always been of far more limited scope.
No one has even considered trying to cow and awe a nation of
millions before, especially in this modern time. The relentless
media scrutiny combined with the realities of the Descent places
a burden on the immortal candidate unlike that experienced
by her mortal competition. The Arisen has the advantage in
being tireless as long as the Sekhem sustains him, but the con-
stant public appearances and need to interact with humanity
may unravel the whole scheme. In the world of social media,
fake news and dissembling politicians, a Deathless can make
a killing. No one knows precisely what could happen with a
mummy as president of an emerging Balkan nation, solidifying
its belief and purpose after seemingly endless regional conflict,
cementing power while anchored with the inevitability and
certainty of its secretly immortal leader. He could usher in a
golden age guided by the wisdom of eternity or bring a wave of
further darkness to the world as supernatural enemies all take
aim at the Arisen making a target of himself.
• The religious truths laid down by the Shan’iatu and
followed by cults dedicated to the worship of the Judges’
power have spread throughout the world, even calling
to powerful nations like modern America. Indeed, the
shadow halls of elite colleges and universities have long
concealed groups willing to use any advantage in their
desire for wealth and power. Ensuring the success of this
Balkan nation may help these young, ambitious, and
morally ambiguous future leaders with their own political
goals, with a powerful ally behind them as they follow the
mystical trappings of the Nameless Empire’s religion on
their own route to power. That they work to summon
servants to help fulfill the cult’s goals is a bonus.
 • The plan is as audacious and unlikely as it appears.
The modern route to power has rules and requirements
placed around it by tradition and privilege in part to
ensure that the wrong types of people can never gain
the throne. The Arisen, backed by his cult, is deter-
mined to subvert and tear apart these norms and expose
them for the false limitations they are. The candidate
and his entourage have employed money, intimidation
and supernatural power to sweep away the resistance
of these structures, but they remain a vulnerability that
could be used to expose the truth.
• Drawing out enemies is precisely what the cult intends
from such a grotesquely public display. While the
Arisen enjoys the spotlight and the trappings of power,
he still remains a pawn to more powerful interests —
just as always. The cult is hoping that providing such
a prominent and obvious target for those aware of
the candidate’s true nature is more than their hidden
foes can stand and that they will be forced to reveal
themselves in a desperate attempt to destroy the cult’s
influence. Thankfully, the realities of the process mean
the Deathless is surrounded by hordes of mortal pro-
tection with the final line of defense being an angry
mummy himself.
• The Judges chose each Deathless as an avatar of
never-ending servitude and submission. When their
masters call, the mummies respond. Most Deathless
make some kind of peace with this existence — the
absence or unreliability of memory certainly robs them
of much agency otherwise — but a few periodically try
to throw off the shackles and rise to something greater.
Throughout the ages these petty queens and chieftains
have risen to importance within their limited regions
before fading to obscurity as they reentered Duat once
more. History remembers the names of some of these
historic personages and ascribes legendary acts to their
greatness, but these stories have no more credence than
any other tale that grows in the retelling.
FIRST AND FOREMOST
Among the Deathless, a rumor exists of a force that per-
meates from the Judges in Duat, a force driven to shape the
world and events to suit the gods’ unknown design. Among
the cursed giving credence to such tales the force is called
Shaba-nekh, and they believe it is a manifestation of the
Judges’ combined will given anima in the lands of the living.
The Arisen believe they play a different role, providing for
the Judges and enacting their individual desires. The power
of this force seeps into mortal consciousness and influences
their paranoia and suspicions. Because of this, mortals have
developed many names for the effect, personifying it as a
shadowy unseen group that has fingers in every pie and
controls everything for the power and wealth it delivers. A
common name for the Shaba-nekh in the modern world is the
Illuminati, with its well-known iconography of the all-seeing
eye within the pyramid believed by the Deathless to not at all
be a coincidence, but instead a glimpse into the truth of reality.
A symbol of the Judges that witness everything Deathless do
and decide what their servants must do next to please them.
Unsurprisingly, the mortal conspiracy theorists are wrong.
The Illuminati isn’t a group with control of everything, twist-
ing the world to their benefit. The Arisen are also wrong,
and the Shaba-nekh is not a metaphysical trickle-down from
the Judges in Duat to the Earth. However, the Deathless are
correct that something serves as the Judges’ herald to mold
the world into what they need it to be. This power — the
Shaba-nekh — stretches back to the Nameless Empire and
is in fact a single, ancient woman, Khepriya.
For untold thousands of years, Khepriya has maneuvered
herself into the role of adviser, counselor, vizier, confessor,
and more. She walked from the Nameless Empire at the dawn
of time to guide the historic destiny of each tribe, nation, or
kingdom that she came across. Through this all she always
draws together webs of cults, favors, promises, and coercion.
Ever limited by the tyranny of distance that even her great
power couldn’t fully overcome, she always ensures the segment
of humanity she guided moved towards a future aligned with
Irem’s grand vision. Recent centuries — the blink of an eye
to Khepriya — have seen a change in the grandeur of her
task. Modern communication, rapid transportation, and the
complex web of international economics resembling nothing
less than sorcerous workings have expanded her power until
it reached everywhere.
Khepriya‘s existence and task has always been different
from other mummies. Without a guild, she did whatever
task the Shan’iatu demanded. Rewarded for her efforts and
dedication, she was honored with the still-developing Rite of
Return, that she might give her life and suffering so that the
Shan’iatu would be one step closer to unlocking the secret
of immortality. To their surprise, it worked, but was far from
perfect. Many more failed experiments would die during
mummification before the Rite was considered ready. Gifted
with one success, not yet understanding the true nature and
limitations of the Deathless’ endless death and rebirth, the
Shan’iatu gave Khepriya a task that may take all of human
history to accomplish. According to the legends, Khepriya has
never reentered Duat or suffered the harrowing memory loss
that accompanies the Call. Her memory of all time is perfect
and she recalls every betrayal, hurt, and manipulation from
her impossibly long Deathlessness.
Tales Through the Sandglass 339
 • If the stories are true and Khepriya has lived so long
one day at a time, she knows that what other mummies
consider a curse to be a blessing. Even the beneficiaries
of the Rite of Return shouldn’t exist forever and know
everything. The endless ages have sent Khepriya quite
mad, twisting her psyche to something more like a
Judge than any mortal being. Humans exist for the
briefest lives and are almost beneath her notice. Even
other Deathless seem transient and barely important
to her. Their value comes simply from their utility
when she manipulates their cults into following her
will or summoning their brief charges to life so they
can unknowingly serve her needs, and those of the
Judges, of course.
• Some believe that Khepriya’s existence is an essential
part of the Rite of Return, anchoring all Deathless to
the living world. Without her the fivefold soul wouldn’t
have the foundation to finally claw its way back to
life. While Khepriya was hidden away from the world
she was safe from enemies of the Arisen looking to
disrupt the Rite and break their power. Now that she
is revealed to the world they are aligning themselves
against her. Not every threat is external either. The
curse of immortality has led many Deathless to also
view Khepriya as the best way for them to destroy the
Rite of Return and end their eternal suffering.
• The Judges want Khepriya returned to Duat to face
their scrutiny over her long and largely unaccountable
existence. The meret rises once more, urged by the
Judges to bring about the death of one of their own.
Khepriya’s ongoing Descent has allowed her to amass
a treasure trove of artifacts, knowledge, and power
against such assaults, and she is ready and willing to
repel attackers with whatever force she can muster.
The Arisen must study her carefully to learn of any
possible weaknesses that might help them achieve
their goal. This assumes that Khepriya can actually
suffer death and return to Duat. If this is possible, the
meret must also contend with the real possibility that
ending Khepriya’s life will also permanently sever the
Arisen’s ability to cheat death.
• Khepriya is the only Deathless who may know the truth
of the fall of the Nameless Empire. The others arose
for the first time long after the civilization was gone,
with no information around what had transpired to
kill off the most powerful kingdom the world had ever
seen. This knowledge could hold the key to raising
Irem from the grave just like the Arisen rise, or it could
point to some unknown and insidious enemy that could
340 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
destroy such a powerful civilization with little trace
remaining. Khepriya may even hold what happened to
the Shan’iatu in the final nights, and their final fates
in connection with the Judges.
BUILD-A-BEAST
In several cities, Arisen cults have been stealthily attacked,
their cult leaders brutally slain and the slumbering mummies
vanishing. Although seemingly the work of large predatory
animals, the attacks almost seem coordinated. Reports of
strange creatures begin pouring in, baffling law enforcement
and animal control officials. Numerous alleged unicorn attacks
are reported by local fringe media, as mainstream media quietly
buries these unbelievable encounters.
The creatures in each incident have been Amkhata
created by a group of sorcerers calling themselves the Jigsaw
Concern. The sorcerers convert their unnatural talents into
material gain, selling customized Amkhata for obscene prices.
Each Amkhat is designed to order, carefully constructed from
the highest quality cadavers available, and fitted with a control
talisman permitting the bearer to command it. Discounts are
offered for those providing their own components or ritual
sacrifices.
With so many Amkhata in the hands of amateurs, chaos
spills out into the streets, leaving mortal authorities at a loss
for how to proceed. The Arisen and their cults struggle to
keep the situation from getting further out of hand, often
becoming targets of the creatures in the process. To make
matters worse, Last Dynasty International caught wind of
the Jigsaw Concern’s operation and actively searches for the
sorcerers with every intention of dismantling or appropriating
the operation.
These are some of the Jigsaw Concern’s clients:
• Oscar Marchand has big dreams, and he’ll do anything
to achieve them, even purchasing a jackal-headed lion.
Already a successful businessman, Oscar knows he can
do better, and he’s already sent his creature to slay some
of his business rivals. Now turning his eyes towards
politics, it’s only a matter time before his detractors
begin meeting gruesome ends.
• A trio of Shuankhsen purchased multiple beasts from
the Jigsaw Concern to strike against their foes. Sending
the abominations to strike at Arisen cults, they’ve had
success eliminating the leaders and absconding with
their slumbering mummies. Rescuing the lost mummies
and stopping the Shuankhsen won’t be easy, but the
alternative is waiting until the meret becomes their
next target.
 • Damian Leroi prides himself on his wealth, but when
it comes to pleasing his spoiled daughter, Myra, money
is no object. Used to getting whatever she wants, Myra
is prone to loud, violent tantrums when denied. When
Myra began demanding a unicorn, Damian purchased
one for her ever-expanding menagerie of impossible
creatures. With a horse’s head, a bull’s body, and a nar-
whal’s tusk upon its head, the unicorn was everything
she’d hoped. Having lost her control talisman, Myra’s
unicorn now continues acting on its last orders, which
were “Go feed yourself.” Myra demands a new unicorn,
threatening to unleash the rest of her menagerie if she
doesn’t get her way.
• Outside the city, a gigantic inverted pyramid has been
constructed, far larger than the Jigsaw Concern’s usual
facility. The construction is funded by Final Twilight, a
doomsday cult willing to pool their resources and offer
their members’ labor to expedite the process. They wish
to create the largest Amkhat in history, constructed
from myriad species. They believe the world is already
doomed, but intend to preserve themselves by sacrific-
ing the rest of the world to the Devourer.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
Knowledge is power. The Lorekeepers agree on this point.
Differences in opinion arise about who deserves this power
and how it should be used. Two mummies, Kagemni and
Ahaneith, have warred against each other over this point for
millennia, but the advent of modern communications has
ramped up hostilities. Other Sesha-Hebsu choose a side or
seek to mediate their rivalry, but their battle has intensified
to the point where even outsiders find themselves threatened.
Kagemni seeks to concentrate knowledge into as few hands
as possible, parceling it out as needed to achieve his ends. His
cult, the Veiled Lantern, encourages ignorance among the
mortal populace, ensuring the power of knowledge remains
in the hands of the worthy few. The Veiled Lantern carefully
records valuable information, concealing it until Kagemni
finds it expedient to utilize it. The unworthy masses receive
deceptions; false accounts repeated enough to be accepted as
truths, encouraging unreasoning hatred and distrust. While
ostensibly seeking to ensure the Sesha-Hebsu maintains a
position of dominance, he is paranoid about someone else
overthrowing him and wresting control of his vast stores of
knowledge.
Ahaneith directs her cult, the Hetchi-Abata, to spread the
light of knowledge across the world. The existence of secrets
grates upon her, driving her to provide information to all wishing
it. The exceptions to this are her own, although she justifies this
by acknowledging these, too, will one day be known to all. The
Usheb wishes to uncover every secret and witness the comple-
tion of the Scroll of Ages. Mortals may not be as wise as the
Arisen, but they are numerous, curious, and exploitable. The
Hetchi-Abata encourage research in all fields, but especially
areas where mortals come in contact with the supernatural. The
madness inflicted and lives destroyed by subjecting mortals to
the supernatural are small sacrifices. When the Scroll of Ages
is completed, the mysteries of the world will stand unveiled,
and the one holding it will command power greater than the
Judges. Ahaneith intends to seize if for herself.
With their war intensifying, several extreme measures
could be taken:
• The internet has proven a mixed blessing for Ahaneith.
While an excellent method of disseminating informa-
tion, rumors and lies spread faster than truth. With ef-
forts to improve data quality failing, the Hetchi-Abata
seek to bring the worldwide computer network down,
so it might be rebuilt under their watchful eye.
• Mummy cults possess esoteric knowledge, even if
their sovereign has misled them. The Veiled Lantern
infiltrates the ranks of other cults, feeding information
back to their master until the right moment arrives to
destroy the cults from within.
• Kagemni’s paranoia has grown through the centuries.
Upon returning to henet, the cult destroys the Kheru’s
remains, permitting their master to return in a new
body each time. His changing face makes it harder for
rivals to track him, and provides new information with
each Descent. Seeing foes everywhere, he undermines
other Arisen, even former allies. Hiding behind an
unknown new face, rumors spread that he’s struck an
alliance with the Shuankhsen, offering other Arisen
to keep himself safe.
• The Hetchi-Abata’s efforts threaten to expose the ex-
istence of the supernatural to the mortals. Where once
they could isolate mortals to study them in asylums,
they now must find other ways to conduct such studies.
The choice of a nearby small town seemed sensible
initially, but their experiments are causing something
large and unnatural to rouse beneath the town.
MUMMIES ON MARS
Arisen and their Cults calculate that the fifth Sothic Turn
will occur in the 32nd century, as humans in the fourth turn
measure time. Both 21st century scientific theory and the
memories of Arisen having experienced Descents in the future
Tales Through the Sandglass 341
 indicate that the Earth will be in a degraded state by that
time, possibly uninhabitable by humans. The guilds debate
how best to prepare for this.
Some decide it is time to look towards other planets with-
in the solar system for the events of the next Sothic Turn.
Cultists take influential roles within space agencies, such as
NASA and ESA and, once there, they promote launching
probes to Mars and work toward human flight to the red
planet. This is a distant prospect, but the next turn is many
centuries away, so there is no great hurry. Their placement
• On the dying Earth, the Arisen — facing Judges hun-
within the agencies gives them access to landers, several of
which have carried material the governments associated with
the agencies do not know about.
More than 50% of landers fail to communicate with Earth
centers after arrival on Mars. The general belief is that, as the
space agencies report, they failed to land safely. This is not
the whole truth. Many of these lost landers carry canopic jars
so, when human cultists finally arrive on Mars, the Deathless
can awaken in their new home.
• It is the fifth Sothic Turn. A meret of mummies awaken
on Mars where there is a small but thriving human
342 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
colony. They struggle to find the remnants of their
cults. The meret learns that Earth is a burned-out husk,
with relics ever more difficult to find and the planet
desperately over-populated and polluted. Mars, on the
other hand, is a hive of human creativity. Furthermore,
each original colonist brought with them objects from
Earth and many of these, handed down generation
to generation, have become vestiges, brimming with
Sekhem.
gry for an ever-diminishing supply of Sekhem — are
desperate to find vessels. Some actively seek to migrate
to the off-Earth colonies. On Mars, perhaps, or maybe
one of the asteroids or moons of Jupiter, could they
build a new Irem? With effort, cultist could secure hotly
contested space for their masters on the few ships that
still leave Earth headed for the colonies. Once there,
however, how will the meret find the vessels their
Judges demand or the Sekhem they need to achieve
their aims? How will they persuade the independent-
ly-minded colonists to support their agenda?
DUAT FALLS
An inevitability for all Deathless, Duat tears at the soul
and strips away everything that a mummy is except the core
tenet of her being, the one thing a worthy soul refuses to
relinquish no matter what the torment. Duat is the home of
the Judges, where they are most powerful, where they exercise
ultimate authority over the souls coming before them. Duat
is where a mummy must prove her worth to prevent being
utterly destroyed and lose the final piece that she clings to.
Duat is a lie. A lie the Judges desperately hope their ser-
vants never realize.
Far from being a place of power where the Judges are unas-
sailable. The City of Black Spires is a prison where the Judges
hunger for the scraps of Sekhem their harrowed servants offer.
The Seven Gates of Duat purposely demand confrontation
and sacrifice from individual mummies to ensure they only
come to the Judges from a position of weakness and servitude
and desperate hope for favor. Even the glamour of the Judge’s
sanity-shattering visages work to prevent an Arisen seeing
beyond the superficial and realizing that the balance of power
is not what they were told. It’s all theatrics with little behind
the curtain.
The truth is that an Arisen’s soul can triumph over the
trials and emerge at the City of Black Spires filled with strength
and will. A mummy learning this can stand before the Judges
and dictate the outcome of her trial and dare the Judge to
disagree. The Arisen can refuse Anpu’s cup and return to the
world filled with memory and purpose. This cycle reinforces
itself as the Arisen undergoes her Descent, returning to Neter-
Khetet and Duat still in possession of the knowledge required
to overcome the Judges’ rigged game.
• The Judges are petty tyrants, jealous of the power they
hold over their servants. They know that Duat can be
overcome and they conspire to learn which of their
servants have the will to beat them at their own game.
These mummies are more likely to suffer even greater
challenges and more terrifying foes when they return
to Duat, as their Judges try harder to break them and
return them to ignorant slavery. This isn’t without cost
to the Judge, who risks further weakening its position
if the Deathless doesn’t halt her advance.
• A meret of Arisen have severed their leashes and are
dictating their own destinies more than ever before.
This group is eager to recruit like-minded Deathless to
teach the secret and have another mummy join them
in shaking off their shackles. The meret intends to gain
enough support to overthrow the Judges once and for
all. Whether they choose to end the cycle of life and
death or usurp the thrones of gods is unknown. The
Judges are aware of this insurgency and call forth loyal,
ignorant servants to hunt their own and protect their
gods. This is a dangerous gambit as they risk exposing
more servants to the corruptive influence of rotten
freedom.
• The Judges’ role is twisted and abusive, but not without
purpose. The Sekhem they take from down beaten
supplicants doesn’t just sustain the Judges’ existence; it
fuels the ongoing magic of the Rite of Return. Without
the offerings the Rite begins to fail. Fewer Arisen
answer the call to life and those who do return suffer
the Descent faster than ever before. The rebellious
Arisen can see the changes and know that only one
source can truly answer the cause and what can be
done. Together they must confront the Judges and do
something no mummy has done before — discuss the
problem before Judge and Arisen both end as their
symbiotic cycle drains the last of its power. What will
these Deathless be prepared to sacrifice to continue
their own existence? Will they reenter slavery, or is
the price too high and they consign all their kind to
extinction?
• The meret learns of rituals that short-circuit the
Descent and draw the Deathless together in Duat,
making their journey united in strength, willing to
suffer and sacrifice for each other. Through this ritual
the Deathless stand before the Judges together instead
of apart. The characters are approached with this
knowledge to trigger their own return to Duat filled
with power and Sekhem with the goal of overthrowing
the Judges and ascending to godhood. Will they take
this ultimate challenge in pursuit of greatness and
power, or will the loyal servants wait until the time is
right to betray the others in the hope of earning reward
from their masters for their treachery?
A GLIMPSE OF THE END
In the 32nd century, the Sothic Wheel turns once more.
Arisen drag themselves to life to find nothing but the lifeless
husk of a burned-out world and the slowly eroding ashes of
what was once long ago humanity’s triumph and folly. The
world’s dwindling Sekhem pools in the last few relics the
Deathless can find and recover. Most mummies endure an
all-too-brief Descent before falling back into Duat to face
the wrath of starving Judges, whose endless hunger may have
brought this apocalypse to the world.
Is this the inevitable fate of the world, or is this future a
glimpse of possibility that the Deathless have the opportunity
Tales Through the Sandglass 343
 — and possibly the responsibility — to prevent as they con-
tinue to move through timeless Duat? Have the mummies
themselves facilitated this nightmare by removing life’s
energies from the living world and passing them to undead
gods? Some Deathless believe the events are unconnected,
that Sekhem is eternally replenishing and inexhaustible, and
no amount of the energies gifted to the Judges could bring
about this future. Others concur that they are the cause of the
destruction; that Sekhem is the life of the Earth itself and the
Deathless drained it over millennia like innumerable stinging
parasites. Still others blame humanity, who forever possessed
the greatest capacity toward self-destruction, mutilating the
planet around them.
• Detail is hard to find in a world of death and ruin, but
some Arisen manage to find scraps of information and
news scattered alongside the dead. They discover the
cause of humanity’s fall wasn’t the previously imag-
ined candidates of climate change and destruction, or
mutually assured destruction from weapons of unholy
power. No, the Deathless brought on this fate one
relic at a time, dragging Sekhem’s life force away from
the living world and casting it into the hungry maws
of dead gods. As the Descent comes all too quickly to
these mummies, can they change anything of the past
to prevent this dead future?
• Some Deathless take an optimistic view of this dead
time, wondering at a future where no humans exist
except the immortals rising and congregating every
millennium. The world now truly belongs to the
Arisen, who now appear ready to share their brief fu-
ture Descents forever going into the unknown future
until the Earth finally dies in dying solar fury and the
mummies have nothing left to return to. From now
until that bleak eternity, these Deathless try to make
something enduring to look forward to. Sekhem is a
rare commodity — mostly what the Arisen bring with
them on rising from the grave — but they can turn
that toward building an eternal city of the second, or
third Irem.
• Whatever the truth of why the world is now this way,
mummies are faced with a stark reality — they may
continue to rise and die in an ever-worsening existence
until the world is utterly destroyed and the stars finally
burn out and end the Sothic alignment. This depressing
thought leads more than one to seriously contemplate
seeking out a means to secure final, unrecoverable
destruction of themselves so they’re no longer forced
to endure the horror.
344 Chapter Seven: Creating Timeless Tales
• A mummy has memories of waking in a distant future
time. As he remembers, he leaves messages with in-
formation and clues on how to fix the future. He faces
the inevitable challenges of remembering his purpose
every time, figuring out where he would leave clues,
and interpreting the meaning of the clues his other
timeless self-imparted. Perhaps he is part of a meret of
like-minded individuals leaving clues for themselves
and each other, working together to piece together
what the past and future hold. Unfortunately, this
Arisen isn’t alone in seeking the clues and decipher-
ing their meaning. Powerful beings have considerable
interest in knowing what the future holds and have
also discovered tantalizing snippets left behind by this
unknown prophet. Some may even seed their own
clues for the prophet to find, either so he unknowingly
serves their interests, or to send him hunting for false
information and undesirable outcomes.
BEGINS AGAIN
The Rite of Return forever linked the mummies’ existence
with the Sothic Cycle, bringing forth all Arisen in accordance
with the cycle of the stars and the turning of the world. That
the cycle exists is beyond question. Whether it existed before
the Rite of Return was enacted, or whether the Rite itself
bound the heavens within the magic is unknown. The Arisen
are also blind to whether the Sothic Turn was deliberately
woven into the enchantment binding their souls to eternal
life and service, or whether it was an accidental side effect
of powerful magic that could never be entirely controlled
by humanity. Most Deathless don’t dwell on the details and
simply accept the truth that they will have times when they
awaken without purpose and have freedom to define their
own destinies for time.
But what few Arisen — and perhaps none of the Shan’iatu
— considered, was that the nature of cycles moves forwards
and backwards. The turning of the Sothic period combined
with the unknowable timelessness of Duat means the
Deathless sometimes rise from their tombs with fragmented
memories of when they were active in a future time with
events yet to unfold. Sometimes their Descents can take them
far back indeed.
Whatever the truth of the Sothic Turn, once it existed
after the Nameless Empire was no more it also existed before
the great civilization had ever stood. Binding the Deathless
to the cycle gives access to these earliest times, paradoxically
to even before the Rite of Return was performed to bind the
mummies.
This is the time the Arisen awaken into, as the stars align
in the nights before the Shan’iatu leash the eternal slaves to
the Judges’ never-ending service. The mummies walk in the
long forgotten Nameless Empire, drawing upon the broken
pieces of their fragmented memories to make sense of the time
without the benefits of cult to help them adjust. Awakening
now is an opportunity for the Deathless to shape their own
destinies — perhaps the only true chance they will ever have.
They may even alter their own fates to prevent their mortal
selves from being bound by the Rite of Return and the turning
of the Sothic Wheel.
• Any changes the Deathless make in this time risk
unknown changes or paradoxes in the future, possibly
even costing them their existence. Or perhaps they
were always present at the beginning, making the Rite
of Return a stable paradox loop. Every step a mummy
makes may have already been trod by her long before
she was cursed with immortality. She may make herself
known to the Shan’iatu — who may be horrified by
what they see or emboldened in their own skill and
power — or keep away and focus on other elements of
her existence. Every Arisen carries fleeting memories
of unfinished business and lost loved ones from their
mortal years, times that they desperately want to relive.
This Sothic Turn gives them that chance, to make
right the things they never said, or undo the harm they
carry with them forever. A rare few may even succeed
in rewriting their regrets and moving to their Descent
with renewed conviction in themselves.
• Many Arisen are weary of their existence, its eternal
servitude and the relentless torture that awaits them
at the end of each Descent. When their fickle mem-
ories work, they recall how they’ve grown to loathe
harvesting power for malevolent gods who seemingly
care nothing for the world except what they can take
from it. For these mummies, awakening in this back-
wards-cast Sothic Turn gives an opportunity to end
their torment before it begins. They can work to stop
the Shan’iatu before they enact the Rite of Return,
either through direct and brutal means, or by disrupting
the rite. Some Deathless may use this opportunity to
subvert the Rite of Return to serve their own needs,
either seeking to take the place of their Judge or forging
a less painful path through Duat.
• The Shan’iatu first came to Kemet from unknown lands
beyond, gifted with powerful magic and rumored to
not be entirely human. Is it possible that the Arisen
could awaken in a time before the Nameless Empire
began, to fulfill the roles of their own rulers who would
later find and choose the ones who would become
their immortal servants? What does this mean for the
Deathless? Do they seek out their mortal selves and
curse them to an eternity of torment, and find other
victims to curse in their stead? Are such changes even
possible, and what does it say about history and memory
if the Deathless can’t find their previous incarnations
to carry the curse’s burden? Perhaps this is the nature
of the eternal cycle; that the world resets and the same
individuals are not doomed to forever live out the loop.
• For some Deathless the secrets of Irem aren’t their
focus in this time. Instead, they look for ways to avoid
attention and prolong their Descent until long past
the Rite of Return. These mummies seek the truth of
what happened to the Nameless Empire, what dark
fate felled the greatest empire with the most potent
sorcerers the world had known. For these Deathless,
remaining active to witness the nation’s descent is of
prime importance. Was it an external force, did the
Judges strike down the overly ambitious empire for
their presumptuousness, or did the Rite of Return itself
inadvertently destroy the Shan’iatu and the Nameless
Empire when the awesome magic they wielded proved
too much for any mortal being to control?
Tales Through the Sandglass 345
 CONDITIONS
T he list below provides some Conditions that can apply to
characters throughout your chronicles.
ACCELERATED DESCENT
Duat hungers for your character’s Sekhem, leeching
it away faster than usual. She suffers from a +3 bonus on
Descent rolls.
Possible Source: Failing the Trials of Duat.
Resolution: Gain a point of Sekhem.
ACCURSED KNOWLEDGE
Your character traded sanity for power, clouding her soul
and alienating those around her. When she gains this condition,
specify a Closed Sorcerous Rite she does not know. She suffers a
–1 penalty to all rolls and must open an extra door during social
maneuvering, but may shed this Condition to perform that Rite.
Possible Sources: Bargaining with fiends; researching
obscure lore.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
ADDICTED
(PERSISTENT)
Your character is addicted to something, whether it’s drugs,
gambling, or other destructive behaviors. She needs to indulge
her addiction regularly to keep it under control, and it takes
346 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
over her life. Choose a specific addiction upon taking this
Condition; characters can take this Condition multiple times
for different addictions. Being unable to feed the addiction
results in the Deprived Condition.
Possible Sources: Alcoholism, substance abuse.
Resolution: Gain or lose a dot of Integrity, or achieve
exceptional success on a breaking point; for mummies, gain
or lose a dot of Memory.
Beat: Your character chooses to get a fix rather than fulfill
an obligation, or causes significant complications for her meret
by indulging her addiction.
ALTERNATIVE CURRENT
(TIMELESS)
Your character is caught in an alternative time current
that moves along a path significantly divergent from the main
flows. Your character can assert the absolute certainty of his
nature on the inhabitants of this weaker facsimile, spending
a Pillar point to inflict the Sybaris Condition on a susceptible
individual as if she had failed her resistance attempt. This
Condition fades without a Beat if the mummy leaves the
altered time flow.
Possible Sources: Achieving exceptional success on a
‘Feeling the Flow’ test while in a parallel time stream.
Resolution: The character completes his Descent and
returns to Duat.
Beat: The character completes his Descent at time’s
mandated pace without taking advantage of this Condition.

AMNESIA
(PERSISTENT)
Entire portions of your character’s past have been forgot-
ten, resulting in lost time and causing difficulty whenever
those memories would be relevant.
Mummies immediately suffer a Memory Gap upon receiv-
ing this Condition. All Memory breaking points suffer a −2
penalty while this Condition persists.
Resolution: Uncovering the truth, restoring the lost
memories. Gaining a dot of Memory.
Beat: Problems arising from the forgotten periods return
to threaten the character.
APPREHENSIVE
The loss of someone or something seems imminent, and your
character is terrified. The character loses the 10-again effect
on rolls unrelated to protecting the subject, and they suffer a
−1 penalty to all actions when believing the subject is actively
endangered. Anyone plausibly threatening to wrest the subject
from the character may apply the Leveraged Condition.
Example Skills: Intimidation, Subterfuge
Resolution: Ensure the safety of the subject, by any means
necessary.
AUSPICIOUS DESCENT
The Sekhem suffusing your character’s sahu is particularly
tenacious. For purposes of Descent intervals, your Sekhem is
considered one lower than its rating, facing no further sched-
uled Descent rolls at Sekhem 1.
Possible Sources: Performing exceptionally well during
the Trials of Duat.
Resolution: Returning to henet or violating their Judge’s laws.
AVARICE
Enough is never enough. Your character’s lust for worldly
power and material wealth knows no bounds. Composure rolls
to resist temptation suffer a −2 penalty, and anyone offering
opportunities for material advancement gains an exceptional suc-
cess on three successes for Social rolls influencing the character.
Example Skills: Persuasion, Subterfuge
Resolution: Resist an opportunity for significant material
gain or give generously to the needy, suffering large financial
loss without hope of reward.
AWESTRUCK
(PERSISTENT)
Your character sees before her a glorious and terrifying fig-
ure, and something in her brain kicks her to kneel and grovel.
She suffers a –2 penalty to attack rolls against the source of
the Condition. She also suffers a –3 penalty to contested rolls
against social actions from the source of the Condition, and a
–3 penalty to her Composure and Resolve against actions and
powers that the source of the Condition uses on her.
Possible Sources: Compulsion from supernatural powers.
Resolution: The source of the Condition leaves your
character’s presence.
Beat: Your character takes an action that serves the de-
mands of the Condition’s source.
BERSERK
Your character has had a spark of berserk rage lit within her. The
fury inside demands that she lash out, and the descending red mist
makes it hard to tell friend from foe. Each turn, she must succeed
at a Resolve + Composure roll or attack the nearest target with
whatever weapons she has to hand. Even if she succeeds, she suffers
a –3 penalty on all actions other than attacking the nearest target.
Possible Sources: A relic’s curse.
Resolution: The character becomes unconscious. There
are no targets left to attack.
BLESSED MINIONS
Tales of your character's journeys through Duat inspire her cultists.
At the beginning of a Cult Action Task, you may shed this condition
to count three successes as an exceptional success for that Task.
Possible Source: Succeeding at the Trials of Duat.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
BLIND
(PERSISTENT)
Your character cannot see. Any rolls requiring sight may
only use a chance die. If she could reasonably substitute
Conditions 347
 another sense, make the roll at −3 instead. In an action
scene, she suffers the drawbacks of the Blinded Tilt (p. XX).
This Condition may be temporary, but if that’s the result of a
combat effect, the Blinded Tilt would apply instead.
Resolution: Your character regains her sight.
Beat: Your character encounters a limitation or difficulty
that inconveniences her.
BROKEN
(PERSISTENT)
Whatever your character did or saw, something inside
him snapped. He can barely muster up the will to do his job
anymore, and anything more emotionally intense than a raised
voice makes him flinch and back down. Apply a −2 to all
Social rolls and rolls involving Resolve, and a −5 to all use
of the Intimidation Skill.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot
of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking
point; for mummies, regain a dot of Memory or lose another
dot of Memory.
Beat: Your character backs down from a confrontation or
you fail a roll due to this Condition.
CHARMED
(PERSISTENT)
You’ve been charmed by a mummy’s supernatural force of
personality. You don’t want to believe that anything he says
is a lie, and you can’t read his true intentions. The mummy’s
Manipulation rolls against you gain the rote quality, and any
Wits + Empathy or Subterfuge rolls you make to detect his lies
or uncover his true motives suffer a penalty equal to one-half
his Sekhem, rounded up. Using supernatural means to detect
his lies become a Clash of Wills.
You want to do things for the mummy to make him happy.
If he asks, you’ll do favors for him like he was one of your best
friends — giving him a place to crash, lending him your car
keys, or revealing secrets that you really shouldn’t. You don’t
feel tricked or ripped off unless you resolve the Condition. It
expires normally (without resolving) after one hour per dot
of the mummy’s Sekhem.
Possible Sources: Certain Utterances.
Resolution: The mummy attempts to seriously harm you
or someone close to you, you make a significant financial or
physical sacrifice for him.
Beat: You divulge a secret or perform a favor for the mummy.
348 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
CONFUSED
Your character cannot think straight, either because of
some mental power or good old-fashioned cranial trauma.
You take a –2 die penalty on all Intelligence and Wits rolls.
Resolution: Take half an hour to focus and clear your
mind, or take any amount of lethal damage.
CONNECTED
(PERSISTENT)
Your character has made inroads with a specified group.
While she has this Condition, she gets a +2 to all rolls relating
to that group. Alternately, she can shed this Condition to gain
a one-time automatic exceptional success on the next roll to
influence or otherwise take advantage of the group. Once
Connected is resolved, the character is considered to have
burned her bridges and is no longer an accepted member. The
character may be able to regain Connected with the specified
group per Storyteller approval.
Example Skills: Politics, Socialize
Resolution: The character loses her membership or oth-
erwise loses her standing with the group.
Beat: The character is asked to perform a favor for the
group that inconveniences her.
CROWN
(PERSISTENT)
A Judge anoints your character as their benbenet, the
sacred capstone channeling the Judge’s will in mortal lands.
The benbenet receives the following benefits:
• The Judge’s presence fills the benbenet, rendering
her immune to Sybaris, Possession, and mental
manipulations.
• Improve her first impression when social maneuvering
against mortals by two steps.
• She gains Vengeful or Judgmental as an additional Vice.
• She gains 15 dots to freely allocate to her Attributes;
these dots may raise her Attributes above 5.
• She gains the tier 1 powers of two Utterances, which she
activates by spending Willpower points. Treat the benben-
et as having all Pillars at 5 when using these Utterances.
 • She gains additional Dread Powers or capabilities as
per the specific manifestation crowning her.
Possible Source: A Judge bestows their crown upon the
character.
Resolution: Choose to transgress against the Judge’s dic-
tums and renounce the power bestowed upon you; have the
crown forcefully taken from you by occultists.
Beat: Bring harm to someone close to you by demanding
your whims be obeyed.
CURSED
(PERSISTENT)
A mystical curse afflicts your character. Misfortune plagues
whichever aspect of the victim’s life the curse targets, such
as athletic endeavors or their familial relationships. Failures
in the accursed area become dramatic failures. Spending 1
Willpower negates this effect for one action.
Possible Sources: Supernatural curses
Resolution: Removing the source of the curse.
Beat: The first time the curse manifests in the scene.
DAMAGED PILLAR
Your character’s soul is damaged, denying use of one of
their Pillars. Associated Affinities do not function, and the
character can have no points in the Pillar. Resolving the
Condition restores no Pillar points, but allows them to be
regained normally.
Possible Sources: The Trials of Duat
Resolution: Engaging in the Pillar restoration method of
the associated decree.
DEAD DREAMER
(PERSISTENT)
Your character is preoccupied with horrifying and prophetic
dreams of dust and death, rendering them unable to focus on
new situations. These dreams guide you toward a specific task,
unveiling aspects of your future. Thrice per chapter, you may
declare a single mundane roll to be a Blessed Action. However,
all actions not spent pursuing the task become Blighted Actions.
Each time you take the Blessed Action offered by these
dreams, you may ask the Storyteller one question about the
future, which must be answered truthfully.
Possible Sources: Dreams of Dead Gods, Unease Sybaris.
Resolution: The character succeeds or definitively fails
at Fate’s commandment, or becomes unable to fulfill it and
thus an invalid target for this Condition. A subject can suffer
this Condition from multiple mummies; pity the poor, mad
dreamer.
Beat: The character fails to fulfill another obligation due
to pursuing her prophetic dream.
DELUSIONAL
(PERSISTENT)
Your character believes something that isn’t actually true
— maybe he thinks that someone is poisoning his food, that
he is still in Irem, or that something lives in the shadows of
his apartment. He doesn’t actually hallucinate images that
reinforce his delusion; he may believe that he’s covered in
spiders, but just looking at himself is enough to clarify matters.
Germs, on the other hand…
He can’t truly repress his belief, but spending a point of
Willpower lets him come up with an explanation (albeit one
that sounds psychotic when he explains it to someone else)
as to why his delusion does not apply to a specific situation.
Resolution: The character completely disproves his de-
lusion, or gains a new Touchstone.
Beat: The character adheres to his paranoid belief despite
evidence to the contrary.
DÉJÀ VU
(TIMELESS)
Your character momentarily feels extreme familiarity with
a location and events unfolding around her, as if it has all hap-
pened before. Although she may not realize it, currents of the
different versions of that moment are all flowing through one
another, connecting her to the potential outcomes. As part
of an action, the player may choose to resolve this Condition
and gain 8-again on her dice roll.
Possible Sources: Achieving an exceptional success in
the presence of unusual time currents.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit.
Beat: The character dramatically fails the roll despite
this benefit.
Conditions 349

DEPRIVED
Your character suffers from an addiction. Because your
character is without it, she’s unable to focus and contain
herself. Remove one die from her Stamina, Resolve, and
Composure dice pools. This does not influence derived traits;
it simply influences dice pools that use these Attributes.
Possible Sources: Failing to feed an addiction.
Resolution: Your character indulges her addiction.
DEVOURING URGE
Your character survives the Trials of Duat, but not without
exposure to the whispers of Ammut’s seductive oblivion. Even
now your character hears her voice urging him to tear every-
thing to the ground. He suffers a –2 penalty to all Mental rolls.
Possible Source: Fail the Trials of Duat.
Resolution: Drain a Vessel of Sekhem.
DISABLED
(PERSISTENT)
Your character has limited or no ability to walk. Her
Speed trait is effectively 1. She must rely on a wheelchair or
other device to travel. A manual wheelchair’s Speed is equal
to your character’s Strength and requires use of her hands.
Electric wheelchairs have a Speed of 3 and allow the free use
of the character’s hands. An injury can cause this Condition
temporarily, in which case it is resolved when the injury heals
and the character regains mobility.
Resolution: Mundane or supernatural means cure the
character’s disability.
Beat: Your character’s limited mobility inconveniences
your character and makes her slow to respond.
DISEMBODIED
Your character’s body no longer shelters their soul. The
mummy exists in Neter-Khertet, functioning similarly to a
ghost with an effective Rank equal to their defining Pillar. The
mummy’s Power equals the current rating of their Ab + defining
Pillar, Finesse their Ba + Ren, and Resistance their Ka + Sheut,
to a minimum of 1. Disembodied mortals use their Intelligence,
Wits, and Resolve for Power, Finesse, and Resistance respec-
tively. The mummy may use Utterances normally, but must
350 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
spend a point of Willpower to affect the material world with
them, which is only possible in the presence of their Anchors.
The mummy’s remains, their tomb, cultists invested with their
Pillars, and guild relics all serve as Anchors. Mummies are
unaffected by Essence Bleed and lack Numina.
Possible Sources: Entering a death cycle, the Jackal’s
Shade Affinity.
Resolution: Returning to the body.
DISINTERRED
Your character’s tomb is no longer secure. Perhaps the
sacred geometry was disrupted, or the central relic purloined.
Regardless of the cause, the mummy is unable to utilize any
of their tomb’s benefits.
Possible Sources: Destruction of the mummy’s tomb, or
theft of its central relic.
Resolution: Repair your tomb, or establish a new one.
DISORIENTED
Your character cannot get her bearings and dealing with
simple tasks is daunting. The character is at a −2 penalty to
any Physical action. She can defend herself normally, but her
disorientation prevents her from making ranged attacks at all.
Resolution: The character finds something to help her
orient herself to her surroundings, such as a familiar landmark
or a friend. If a supernatural power caused this Condition,
then it resolves when the power ends.
DISTRACTED
Constant confusion and distractions buffet your character
from all sides. She cannot take extended actions, and suffers a
–2 die penalty to all rolls involving perception, concentration,
and precision.
Possible Sources: Being in a highly confusing environment.
Resolution: Leaving the environment.
DORMANT SOVEREIGN
(PERSISTENT)
The Arisen watching over your character’s cult has
suffered greatly in Duat, and now they are having trouble
arising again. The mummy does not awaken if their remains
are disturbed, and attempts to rouse the mummy ritually
suffer a −3 penalty. ECHOES OF DESCENT
Possible Sources: The mummy performing poorly during
the Trials of Duat. Your character’s mind reverberates with echoes of se-
crets long forgotten or yet unlearned, buoying their memory
Resolution: Awakening the mummy, or pledging alle-
against the tides of amnesia, granting a bonus die on Memory
giance to a different one.
breaking points.
Beat: Losing the mummy’s remains, or suffering a loss
A mummy focusing on these echoes gleans wisdom from
because the mummy could not be awakened.
future experiences. The Deathless may resolve this Condition
at any time, selecting one of the following benefits:
DRIVEN • Your character gains a dot of an Attribute or two dots
of a Skill for a chapter, limited by the cap imposed by
Your character knows they are destined for greatness. their current Sekhem.
When spending Willpower to enhance a roll, the character
retains the Willpower point on an exceptional success. When • The Arisen benefits from a Soul Affinity they don’t
using their final Willpower point to enhance a roll, the char- currently possess for a number of scenes equal to the
acter may find a new reserve of inner strength, resolving this associated Pillar’s rating.
Condition to fully replenish their Willpower. • The mummy gains access to an Utterance currently
Possible Sources: The Trials of Duat unknown for the remainder of the scene.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit.
The benefits of this Condition end immediately when the
duration lapses or when the Arisen loses a dot of Memory.
Arisen with Memory 8 or higher double the duration.

Conditions 351
 Possible Sources: The Trials of Duat. At the Storyteller’s
discretion, this Condition may occur when the mummy gains a
dot of Memory or is exposed to unusual temporal phenomena.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit. Losing a dot
of Memory removes the Condition without a Beat.
EDDY
(TIMELESS)
Your character is caught in a time eddy, swirling slower
than the main time currents, though most creatures within
have no awareness that time passes more slowly for them. Your
character can divorce himself from the slower time by spend-
ing 1 Pillar point, after which he appears to move faster than
everything around him. For the remainder of the scene, the
character can apply Defense against ranged attacks, may add
his Defining Pillar to his Speed and Initiative characteristics,
as well as to Resistance Attributes (such as Defense) where
superior speed would help avoid harm. This Condition fades
without a Beat if the mummy leaves the altered time flow.
Possible Sources: Achieving exceptional success on a
‘Feeling the Flow’ test while in a time eddy.
Resolution: The character completes his Descent and
returns to Duat.
Beat: The character completes his Descent at time’s
mandated pace without taking advantage of this Condition.
EFFORTLESS EFFORT
Your character’s cult turns minor successes into significant
advantages. When rolling to complete a task, you may shed
this Condition to generate an extra point of Effort.
Possible Source: Achieving an exceptional success on a
Cult Action Task.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
EMANATION
(PERSISTENT)
A Judge makes their presence known in the area, punishing
all transgressing against its will. Any character in the area of
an emanation are subject to the following effects:
• Mortals suffer a –2 penalty on Integrity checks.
• Mortals suffer a Breaking Point when committing the
sin the Judge causing the emanation presides over.
352 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
• Mummies suffer a +2 bonus to Descent rolls.
• Mummies suffer a –2 penalty when attempting to
activate or draw Sekhem out of a relic or vestige.
• All characters are subject to additional effects as per the
specific manifestation emanating through the region.
Possible Source: A Judge crowned a benbenet to exert
their will over the region.
Beat: Fail an Integrity check or succeed at a Decent roll.
Resolution: Kill or remove the Crown Condition from
the Judge’s benbenet.
EMBARRASSING SECRET
Your character has a secret that could come back to haunt
him. If this secret gets out, he could be ostracized or maybe
even arrested. If the secret gets out, this Condition becomes
the Notoriety Condition (below).
Resolution: The secret gets out.
ENERVATED
(PERSISTENT)
The character is in the second stage of soul loss. Her in-
stinctive efforts to shore up her Willpower by giving into her
urges have failed, her Integrity has gone and her Willpower is
now fading. In addition to the effects of Soulless, she can no
longer regain Willpower through her Virtue, only her Vice.
Indulging herself brings diminishing returns — whenever she
does so, her permanent Willpower drops by one dot before she
regains Willpower points to the new maximum.
Possible Sources: Soul loss.
Resolution: The character regains her soul.
Beat: Lose a dot of permanent Willpower.
FALSE MEMORIES
The way you remember things doesn’t match up with how
they happened. You might remember a son who didn’t exist,
your alcoholic father abusing you despite being raised an
orphan, or never getting married. You believe your memories
to be true no matter what; even conclusive proof has a hard
time getting through to you.
Possible Sources: Failing the Trials of Duat, losing
Memory.
 Resolution: Face proof that your memory is false and
succeed at the breaking point.
Beat: Your character trusts someone or takes a risky action
based on his faked memories alone.
FAR-REACHING
Your character’s cult makes inroads with politicians,
business owners, and community leaders. You may shed this
Condition to benefit from a +3 bonus on a Reach roll.
Possible Source: Achieving an exceptional success on a
Cult Action Task.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
FATIGUED
Your character is utterly exhausted. Every six hours, you
must make a Resolve + Stamina roll to avoid passing out. Even
if successful, you suffer a cumulative −1 penalty to all dice
pools, including rolls to stay awake. Long periods of strenuous
activity, such as fighting, increase the penalty to −2 or −3.
Ordinary humans pass out automatically once they’ve been
awake for a number of days without sleep equal to the lower
of their Resolve or Stamina. Once a character passes out, they
remain asleep for 8 hours plus 1 for each six hour period they
remained awake. Attempts to rouse them suffer a penalty equal
to that suffered by the character before passing out.
Possible Source: Staying awake for 24 hours, being dosed
with a sedative or anesthetic.
Resolution: Sleeping, as described above.
FLAGGED
Whether it is a cultist ringing a bell or laser detector,
something alerts the location’s security, such as tomb guard-
ians, that your character is somewhere she shouldn’t be. Your
character suffers a –3 penalty to any rolls to hide from, evade,
or deceive security personnel.
Possible Source: A Dramatic Failure within a secure
location, such as a tomb.
Resolution: Disable the alarm system, evade detection,
or convince security you have clearance.
FORGOTTEN SKILL
(PERSISTENT)
Your character’s decaying memory diminishes one of your
Skills. The Skill functionally has no dots, and rolls involving
the Skill suffer the untrained penalty. The character may re-
solve this Condition to upgrade a failed roll to a single success,
or a success to an exceptional success. This Condition fades
without a Beat upon falling to henet.
Possible Sources: Beginning a new Descent.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit.
Beat: Suffering a dramatic failure with the affected Skill.
FRIGHTENED
Something’s scared you to the point where you lose rational
thought. Maybe you’ve just looked down at a hundred-story
drop, or seen a tarantula the size of your fist crawling up your
leg. Whatever the case, you need to leave right now. Your
only priority is getting the fuck away from the thing that’s
frightened you — to hell with your stuff, your friends, and your
allies. If someone tries to stop you from escaping, you fight your
way past them. You can’t approach the source of your fear or
act against it — and if the only way out involves going near
the source of your fear, you collapse on the ground in terror.
Supernatural creatures prone to loss of control must roll to
avoid doing so. This Condition lasts until the end of the scene;
suppressing its effects for a turn costs a point of Willpower.
Resolution: The character escapes from the source of his fear.
FUGUE
(PERSISTENT)
Something terrible happened. Rather than deal with it
or let it break her, your character’s mind shuts it out. She is
prone to blackouts and lost time. Whenever circumstances
become too similar to the situation that led to her gaining this
Condition, roll Resolve + Composure. If you fail the roll, the
Storyteller controls your character for the next scene; your
character, left to her own devices, seeks to avoid the conflict
and get away from the area.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of
Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point; for
mummies, regain a dot of Memory or lose another dot of Memory.
Beat: Your character enters a fugue state as described
above.
Conditions 353

GEOMETRIC ALIGNMENT
Your character auspiciously redirects Sekhem toward her tomb.
When an attack damages your tomb, you may shed this Condition
instead of losing a point of Geometry, Perils, or Endowment.
Possible Source: Succeeding at the Trials of Duat; manip-
ulating the flow of Sekhem in your tomb’s vicinity.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
GOING WESTWARD
Eternal life does not mean eternal health. Given the right
circumstances — or the wrong sorcerer’s anger — even immortal
bodies break down. Your character’s body is failing and she suffers a –3
penalty to all Physical rolls, along with a –1 penalty to all other rolls.
Possible Source: The source of your character’s immor-
tality becomes corrupted.
Resolution: Sacrifice an innocent life or consume Sekhem
from a mummy to renew your immortality.
GRACEFUL DESCENT
Sekhem flows through your character’s sahu, staving off
the Descent. When making a Descent roll, you may shed this
Condition to benefit from a –3 penalty to the roll.
Possible Source: Succeeding at the Trials of Duat.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
GUILTY
Your character is experiencing deep-seated feelings of
guilt and remorse. This Condition is commonly the result of
a successful Breaking Point roll for mortals (p. XX). While the
character is under the effects of this Condition, he receives
a −2 to any Resolve or Composure rolls to defend against
Subterfuge, Empathy, or Intimidation rolls.
Resolution: The character confesses his crimes and makes
restitution for whatever he did.
HAPHAZARD CULTISTS
Coordination within your character's cult is all but impos-
sible, preventing them from achieving their potential. Reduce
the cult’s Task limit by 1.
354 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
Possible Source: Suffering a dramatic failure on a Cult
Action Task.
Resolution: Banish or punish the cult’s upper echelons
for their incompetence.
HERESY
(PERSISTENT)
A contradictory, potentially blasphemous belief spreads in the
cult. The cult gains a temporary Doctrine describing their specific
heresy. When the cult indulges in the heresy and uses it to gain a Cult
Beat, the Storyteller notes it. All cult action tasks become contested
actions with a dice pool of (Attribute + Dominance) versus (the
number of Cult Beats generated from the heretical Doctrine). If the
Heresy wins, it receives Effort instead of the cult action. If the Heresy
has more Effort than the cult action after all tasks are resolved, the
Storyteller replaces one of the cult’s Doctrines with the Heresy.
Possible Sources: The cult’s Fidelity track fills with
aggravated damage. The Shaken Faith condition worsens.
The cult experiences a supernatural epiphany without the
characters present.
Resolution: The cult falls into mutiny. The heretical
faction of the cult is destroyed. The heresy is adopted as a
new Doctrine.
Beat: The cult advances the heretical Doctrine.
IDENTITY CRISIS
Your character’s memories and identity have been addled,
leaving them uncertain as to who they truly are. Rolls for
Integrity or Memory breaking points suffer a −2 penalty. Any
time the character acts on their Balance, Burden, Virtue, or
Vice, they must succeed at a Resolve roll to recover Willpower.
Failure on this roll inflicts a −1 penalty on all actions until
the character successfully regains Willpower.
Possible Sources: Fiendish influence, complications due
to Memory Bleed.
Resolution: Achieving an exceptional success, or gaining
a dot of Integrity or Memory.
IMPASSIONED SHADE
Entrusted with duties by an Arisen sovereign, the ephem-
eral entity finds itself infused with renewed vitality. As long
as it works toward the task’s completion, the mission serves as
an Anchor. They suffer the effects of the Obsession Condition
toward their mission’s completion.
 Possible Sources: A mission bestowed upon an invested
ephemeral entity or certain supernatural powers.
Resolution: Completing the mission. Losing their invested
Pillar or the revocation of their orders causes it to fade.
INFORMED
Your character has a breadth of research information based
on the topic she investigated. When you make a roll relating
to the topic, you may choose to resolve this Condition. If you
resolve it and the roll fails, consider it to have a single success.
If it succeeds, consider it an exceptional success.
The roll that benefits from the Informed Condition can be
any relevant Skill roll. For example, a character with Informed
(Werewolves) might gain its benefits when using researched
information to build a silver bear trap with the Crafts Skill.
Combat rolls cannot benefit from this Condition.
Example Skills: Academics, Investigation, Occult,
Science
Resolution: Your character uses her research to gain
information; you resolve the Condition as described above.
INSPIRED
Your character is deeply inspired. When your character
takes an action pertaining to that inspiration, you may resolve
this Condition. An exceptional success on that roll requires
only three successes instead of five, and you gain a point of
Willpower.
Example Skills: Crafts, Expression
Resolution: You spend inspiration to spur yourself to
greater success, resolving the Condition as described above.
INTOXICATED
Your character is drunk, drugged, or otherwise dulled to
the world around her. While she’s probably not hallucinating,
her inhibitions and reactions are lower than they should be.
Your character suffers a −2 penalty to Dexterity and Wits
dice pools. Characters using Social Maneuvering against her
face two fewer Doors than usual.
Possible Sources: Heavy drinking or drug use.
Resolution: You sleep it off or face a breaking point.
IRON GRASP
Not even the most heinous actions give your cult pause
when they enact your will. You may shed this Condition to
benefit from a +3 bonus on a Grasp roll.
Possible Source: Achieving an exceptional success on a
Cult Action Task.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
ISOLATED
Your character’s cultists do not appreciate others meddling
in their business, even when an allied cult tries to help them.
Outsiders cannot assist your cult during Cult Actions.
Possible Source: Suffering a dramatic failure on a Cult
Action Task.
Resolution: Suffer 2 lethal Fidelity damage to purge this
xenophobia.
LEVERAGED
Another character has blackmailed, tricked, convinced, or oth-
erwise leveraged you into doing what they wish. You may have the
Leveraged Condition multiple times for different characters. Any
time the specified character requests something of yours, resolve this
Condition if your character does as requested without rolling to resist.
Example Skills: Empathy, Persuasion, Subterfuge
Resolution: Your character may either resolve the
Condition by complying with a request as above, or if you
apply the Leveraged Condition to the specified character.
LOST
Your character has no idea where she is, or how to reach
her target. She cannot make any headway toward her goal
without first navigating and finding out where she is. This
requires a successful Wits + Streetwise action (in the city)
or Wits + Survival action (in the wilderness).
Resolution: Abandoning the goal, successfully navigating.
LUMINOUS PILLARS
Your character’s soul has been fortified through the trials
it has endured, their Pillars blazing with vitality. Attempts to
Conditions 355
 locate the mummy through supernatural means gains a one
die bonus. The character may resolve this Condition in place
of a losing a Pillar dot, or at any time to completely restore
all Pillars.
Possible Sources: The Trials of Duat
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit.
MADNESS
(PERSISTENT)
Your character saw or did something that jarred her loose
from reality. This isn’t a mental illness born of brain chemistry —
that, at least, might be treatable. This madness is the product of
supernatural tampering or witnessing something that humanity
was never meant to comprehend. The Storyteller has a pool
of dice equal to 10 − (character’s Integrity or Memory). Once
per chapter, the Storyteller can apply those dice as a negative
modifier to any Mental or Social roll made for the character.
Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot
of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking
point; for mummies, regain a dot of Memory or lose another
dot of Memory.
Beat: You fail a roll because of this Condition.
MEGALOMANIACAL
Your character seeks to emulate the Judge’s example to
make up for their failures before them in Duat, blinding him
to danger his actions expose others to. Your character auto-
matically fails any actions using the Empathy Skill and gains
Selfish as an additional Burden.
Possible Source: Failing the trials of Duat.
Resolution: Place your cult in harm’s way and have them
take aggravated Fidelity damage as a result.
MEMORY BLEED
(PERSISTENT)
Your character’s soul is fusing with another, and their
memories and identity are not entirely their own. A cultist
senses the eldritch presence of an eternal horror inexorably
rising within, slowly subsuming their soul into itself. A mummy
scrambles to find purchase in the world, anchoring themselves
within the memories of their cultist. The two personalities
slowly meld into one. The primary personality is the character
the player chooses.
356 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
• Your character knows some things, but not all, known
to the other personality, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Recalling specific memories from the other personality
requires a Memory roll for mummies or an Intelligence
roll for mortals.
• Due to conflicting identities, rolls for Integrity or
Memory breaking points suffer a −2 penalty.
• Whether disoriented by whirlwind visions of a strange
new world or haunted by a sense of impending doom
from an ancient soul arising within, your character
regains no Willpower from rest.
• Your character does not suffer the untrained penalty for
any Skill possessed by the secondary personality, unless
they also suffer from the Forgotten Skill Condition.
• Your character gains an additional short-term
Aspiration and an additional long-term Aspiration
from the secondary personality.
• Your character gains an additional Balance and Burden
or Virtue and Vice related to the secondary personality.
• Affinities immediately function normally. Each
Utterance requires a Willpower point the first time it
is used after receiving this Condition.
• On any dramatic failure, the character suffers the
Identity Crisis Condition in addition to any other
effects.
Possible Sources: Melding of souls.
Resolution: Gain a dot of Memory, or return to henet.
Upon resolution, the personalities fuse into an amalgam of
the two, with the player deciding relative dominance.
Beat: The character acts in a manner consistent with
the secondary personality, rather than their own, to their
detriment.
MIRAGE
(TIMELESS)
Your character is experiencing a mirage, where events in
the present resonate with similarities in the past and future,
interposing their own sensory impressions over the experience
of the moment. The character can choose to focus on the
mirage to gain better insight into herself, her own actions and
the events unfolding around her. She takes an instant action
to resolve this Condition and can use the equivalent of the
Common Sense merit (p. XX) that achieved an exceptional
success. She must ask the questions of the Storyteller within
this scene. This Condition fades without a Beat if the mummy
leaves the altered time flow.
Possible Sources: Achieving exceptional success on a
‘Feeling the Flow’ test while in a time mirage.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefit or complete
the Descent and return to Duat.
Beat: The character completes her Descent without taking
advantage of this Condition.
MISMANAGED
Your character’s cult is inefficient due to a stifling bureau-
cracy, uninspiring leaders, or a general malaise among the
cultists. All the cultists’ attempts to generate Effort suffer a
–2 penalty.
Possible Source: Suffering a dramatic failure on a Cult
Action Task.
Resolution: Achieve a success when generating Effort.
MUTE
Your character cannot speak. Any communication must
be done through writing, gestures, or hand signs. Illness,
injury, or supernatural powers can inflict this Condition on
a temporary basis.
Resolution: The character regains her voice through
mundane or supernatural means.
Beat: Your character suffers a limitation or communication
difficulty that heightens immediate danger.
NOTORIETY
Whether or not your character actually did something
heinous in the past, the wrong people think he did and now
he’s ostracized by the general public. Suffer a −2 on any Social
rolls against those who know of his notoriety. If using Social
maneuvering (p. XX), the character must open one extra Door
if his target knows of his notoriety.
Example Skills: Socialize, Subterfuge
Resolution: The story is debunked or the character’s
name is cleared.
OBSESSION
(PERSISTENT)
Something is on your character’s mind and she just can’t
shake it. She gains the 9-again quality on all rolls related to
pursuing her obsession. On rolls that are unrelated to her
obsession, she loses the 10-again quality. Obsession can be a
temporary Condition per Storyteller approval.
Resolution: The character sheds or purges her fixation.
OMINOUS
(PERSISTENT)
Bizarre phenomena and strange omens haunt your char-
acter’s steps. Your character seems to be a harbinger of doom,
drawing blame for the slightest misfortunes. Your character
gains the 9-again effect on Intimidation rolls, but suffers a −2
penalty on other Social rolls.
Possible Sources: Supernatural curses
Resolution: Remove the curse or overcome its source.
Beat: The character is shunned or attacked because of
this Condition.
PRECIPITOUS DESCENT
Your character’s life is fleeting, their Sekhem barely
clinging to their sahu. For purposes of Descent intervals and
Descent rolls, your Sekhem is considered one higher than
its rating.
Possible Sources: The Trials of Duat
Resolution: Returning to henet. Cannibalizing a relic,
which provides no Sekhem.
RELENTLESS
(PERSISTENT)
Your character’s foe cannot escape the mummy’s wrath.
Your character always knows in which direction her target
resides, although not their distance. Your character suffers
the effects of the Obsession Condition toward finding and
eliminating their target. While doing so, the character benefits
from 2 Armor effective against all damage sources except fire.
Possible Sources: Supernatural curses. Some relics trigger
this Condition in a mummy when stolen from their tomb.
Conditions 357
 Resolution: Slaying the target. If this Condition results from
a cursed relic stolen from a mummy’s tomb, it doesn’t resolve
until the item is reclaimed, instead shifting the target to the next
person who came in contact with the relic when one is slain.
Beat: The character fails their other duties while pursuing
their target.
REPRESSION
Memory can be a heavy burden. The Arisen’s service to the
Judges is so much easier if they ignore the past and their sense
of self. Your character automatically fails any rolls involving
the Academics Skill.
Possible Source: Failing the trials of Duat.
Resolution: Take an action so self-destructive it causes
your character to lose Memory.
RIP
(TIMELESS)
Your character is caught in a time rip, dragging along faster
than other flows. Though your character must mostly follow
358 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
along at time’s dictated pace, he can somewhat divorce himself
from the faster time flow when his actions must be protracted
yet precise. When undertaking extended actions, your character
gains exceptional success on three successes instead of five. He
may also take an additional roll past his maximum if required,
at a cost of 1 Pillar point per roll. This Condition fades without
a Beat if the mummy leaves the altered time flow.
Possible Sources: Achieving exceptional success on a
‘Feeling the Flow’ test while in a time rip.
Resolution: The character completes his Descent and
returns to Duat.
Beat: The character completes his Descent at time’s
mandated pace without taking advantage of this Condition.
SHAKEN
Something has severely frightened your character. Any
time your character is taking an action where that fear
might hinder her, you may opt to fail the roll and resolve this
Condition.
Example Skills: Brawl, Firearms, Intimidation, Weaponry
Resolution: The character gives into her fear and fails a
roll as described above.

SHAKEN FAITH
(PERSISTENT)
The cult is troubled, and questions everything it believes
in. Whenever cult members fulfill the cult’s Virtue, they
only regain a single point of Willpower. At the start of each
chapter, the Storyteller rolls (10 – Dominance) and keeps any
successes. When she accumulates 10 successes, replace this
condition with the Heresy condition. If another action inflicts
this condition a second (or subsequent) time, immediately
replace it with the Heresy condition.
Possible Sources: The cult learns that one of its leaders
violated a Doctrine. The cult’s Fidelity track is filled with
bashing damage.
Resolution: The cult gains a dot of Dominance. The
problem worsens, and the cult gains the Heresy Condition.
SOULLESS
(PERSISTENT)
The character is in the first stage of soul loss. Without a
soul, she can’t attempt abjuration, warding, or binding. She is
also more susceptible to possession — any dice pools to resist
being taken over by another entity are at a –2 die penalty. The
effects on Integrity and Willpower, though, are more severe.
For as long as she has this Condition, she does not regain
Willpower through surrender or rest, and her use of Virtue and
Vice is reversed — she may regain one Willpower point per
scene by fulfilling her Virtue without having to risk herself, and
regains full Willpower once per chapter by fulfilling her Vice
in a way that poses a threat to herself. Regaining Willpower
through Vice, though, is now a breaking point with a –5 die
penalty unless the character has reached Integrity 1.
Possible Sources: Soul loss.
Resolution: The character regains her soul.
Beat: The character loses Integrity because she indulged
her Vice.
SPOOKED
Your character has seen something supernatural — not
overt enough to terrify her, but unmistakably otherworldly.
How your character responds to this is up to you, but it cap-
tivates her and dominates her focus.
Resolution: Resolve this Condition when your character’s
fear and fascination causes her to do something that hinders
the group or complicates things (she goes off alone to investi-
gate a strange noise, stays up all night researching, runs away
instead of holding her ground, etc.).
STEADFAST
Your character is confident and resolved. When you’ve
failed a roll, you may choose to resolve this Condition to in-
stead treat the action as if you’d rolled a single success. If the
roll is a chance die, you may choose to resolve this Condition
and roll a single regular die instead.
Resolution: Your character’s confidence carries him
through, and the worst is avoided; the Condition is resolved
as described above.
SWOONED
Your character is attracted to someone and is vulnerable
where they are concerned. He may have the proverbial “but-
terflies in his stomach” or just be constantly aware of the object
of his affection. A character may have multiple instances of
this Condition, reflecting affection for multiple characters.
He suffers a −2 to any rolls that would adversely affect the
specified character, who also gains +2 on any Social rolls
against him. If the specified character is attempting Social
maneuvering on the Swooned character, the impression level
is considered one higher (maximum of perfect; see p. XX).
Example Skills: Persuasion, Subterfuge
Resolution: Your character does something for his love
interest that puts him in danger, or he opts to fail a roll to
resist a Social action by the specified character.
SYBARIS
(STAGE ONE — UNEASE)
The mummy’s presence fills the victim with existential
dread, which investigating the occult alleviates. The mum-
my reduces the number of Doors she has to open in Social
Maneuvering against the victim by one, but suffers a –2
penalty to avoid the victim’s attention.
Possible Source: Exposure to Sybaris triggers (pp. XX)
Resolution: Stay away from the mummy causing this
Condition for at least a week; join the mummy’s cult; interpret
a Sybaritic Omen.
Beat: Once a session, the player of the mummy inflicting
this condition can take a Beat by choosing one of the following:
Conditions 359
 • The victim gains the Informed Condition with regards
to the mummy.
• The victim gains the Obsession condition with regards
to one of the mummy’s relics.
• The victim gains the Dead Dreamer Condition.
• The victim identifies a member of the mummy’s cult.
SYBARIS
(STAGE TWO — TERROR)
Fear consumes the victim, who perceives the mummy as a
walking nightmare. When attempting to intimidate or terrify
the victim, the mummy achieves an exceptional success on
three successes but suffers a –3 penalty to all other Social rolls
against the victim.
Possible Source: Upgrading from Unease Sybaris, expo-
sure to the Malignant
Resolution: Stay away from the mummy causing this
Condition for at least two weeks; join the mummy’s cult;
interpret a Sybaritic Omen.
Beat: Once a session, the player of the mummy inflicting
this condition can take a Beat by choosing one of the following:
• The victim flees in terror from the mummy, and their
sudden panic causes others in the scene to do the same.
Any attempt to prevent this flight results in the victim
becoming violent.
• The victim attacks the mummy at an inconvenient
moment.
• The victim draws negative attention to the mummy’s cult.
• The victim steals one of the mummy’s vessels.
SYBARIS
(STAGE THREE — DESECRATION)
The victim perceives the mummy as a dark god, so blood-
soaked and terrible they are unable to respond to the mummy
except with immediate flight or violence. This reduces the
mummy to a chance die on all Social rolls against the victim.
Possible Source: Upgrading from Terror Sybaris.
Resolution: Stay away from the mummy causing this
Condition for at least a month; join the mummy’s cult; in-
terpret a Sybaritic Omen.
360 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
Beat: Once a session, the player of the mummy inflicting
this condition can take a Beat by choosing one of the following:
• A fiend from Duat possesses the victim.
• Any scene the victim is in gains the Unhallowed
Ground tilt.
• The victim aims to thwart the mummy’s cult. He stops
at nothing to investigate the cult’s current goals and
do everything he can to sabotage them.
• The victim steals one of the mummy’s vessels with the
intent of destroying it.
THRALL
(PERSISTENT)
The character has fully succumbed to the effects of
soullessness. She may not spend Willpower points for any
reason, may not use her Defense in combat, may not spend
Experiences, and suffers all the effects of the Broken Condition
(pg. XX) as well. The player should only continue playing a
character with this Condition if there’s a chance of regaining
the soul.
Possible Sources: Soul loss.
Resolution: The character regains her soul.
Beat: The character is victimized as a result of her
Condition.
WANTON
Your character wants for the sake of wanting. He’s distract-
ed with temptations of excess and indulgence. Any Composure
or Resolve rolls to resist temptation suffer a –2 die penalty. As
well, the character that brought forth this Condition achieves
exceptional success on three successes instead of five when
making any rolls to tempt your character.
Resolution: Indulge in something that constitutes a
breaking point.
WHIRLPOOL
(TIMELESS)
Your character is caught in a time whirlpool, spinning a
recursive loop that always returns to the potential where it
started. Though your character must ‘reset’ with events as
dictated by the whirlpool’s individual parameters, he can
somewhat divorce himself and take advantage of his timeless
nature. By spending 1 Sekhem, the character can ‘set’ the
outcome of an action or challenge within the loop. Thereafter,
each time this event occurs in the loop it must meet the
outcome dictated by the mummy. The Arisen can withdraw
this direction without cost, but doesn’t regain the Sekhem.
The character can set as many events as she wishes as long as
she can spend Sekhem to sustain them. This Condition fades
without a Beat if the mummy leaves the altered time flow.
Possible Sources: Achieving exceptional success on a
‘Feeling the Flow’ test while in a time whirlpool.
Resolution: The character completes his Descent and
returns to Duat.
Beat: The character completes his Descent without taking
advantage of this Condition.
ZEALOUS
Your character’s cult takes joy in their work and achieves
more than less dedicated cults. At the beginning of a Cult
Action, you may shed this condition to generate a number of
Tasks for that Action equal to Complexity + 1. Your charac-
ter’s cultists benefit from a +1 bonus when rolling to generate
Effort for those Tasks.
Possible Source: Achieving an exceptional success on a
Cult Action Task.
Resolution: Use the Condition for its benefits.
TILTS
T ilt Factors are qualities that modify a Tilt, allowing for
altered or added effects to apply. A character suffering the
Deadly Swarm Tilt takes lethal instead of bashing damage,
while the Venomous Swarm Tilt inflicts bashing damage as well
as the Poison Tilt. Under some circumstances, multiple Factors
may apply, so a swarm with the Harmless and Ravenous
Factors consume massive amounts of vegetation while leave
people and animals distracted but completely unharmed.
AMKHAT’S CURSE
Environmental
Description: When returning to Twilight, Amkhata un-
leashing a torrent of occult energy that solidifies ghosts and
turns the unwary into ephemera.
Effect: All ghosts in the affected area gain the Materialized
Condition. Dramatic failures in this area drag characters
(including mortals and mummies) into Twilight.
Causing the Tilt: An Abara emerges from Twilight; an
Amkhat returns to Twilight.
Ending the Tilt: The tilt lasts for one hour per Rank of
the Amkhat creating this Tilt.
ARM WRACK
Personal
Description: The character’s arm is painfully (and debil-
itatingly) injured.
Effect: The affected character drops whatever they’re
holding in that arm and can’t use it to attack opponents. If
this effect spreads to both limbs, roll only a chance die on any
rolls that require manual dexterity, and take −3 to all other
Physical actions.
Causing the Tilt: Supernatural power or targeted blow
(−2).
Ending the Tilt: Mark an X under the leftmost Health
box affected by the attack. The Tilt ends when the damage
that caused it has healed.
AVALANCHE
Environmental
Description: A rockslide, mud slide, or veritable wall of
snow or similar material is careening down a mountainside
or other incline toward you.
Effect: Each turn your character is within the avalanche’s
reach, he takes a point of lethal damage from the force. Unless
he also succeeds in a Dexterity + Athletics roll, he’s also
moved along by the wave of material at the avalanche’s Speed.
This may have its own detrimental effects — if you are swept
off a cliff, for instance, you have a lot more to worry about
than some rocks rolling down a mountain at you.
Causing the Tilt: A loud noise in a snowy pass might
break enough snow loose, or selecting the right boulders on
a rocky slope may do the trick.
Ending the Tilt: Avalanches continue until they run out
of momentum or material.
Tilts 361

BEATEN DOWN
Personal
Description: The character has had the fight knocked
out of him.
Effect: The character cannot take active part in the
fight without extra effort. The player must spend a point of
Willpower each time he wants the character to take a violent
action in the fight. He can still run, Dodge, and apply Defense.
Causing the Tilt: The character suffers bashing damage
in excess of his Stamina or any amount of lethal damage.
Ending the Tilt: The character surrenders and gives the aggres-
sor what he wants. At this point, the character regains a point of
Willpower and takes a Beat, but can take no further action in the fight.
BLINDED
Personal
Description: The character’s eyes are damaged or
removed.
Effect: The character suffers a −3 penalty to any rolls
that rely on vision. Increase to −5 and loss of all Defense if
both eyes are affected.
Causing the Tilt: The normal way to inflict the Tilt is
to deal damage to the target’s eyes, a specified attack with
a −5 penalty (see Specified Targets, p. 94, Chronicles of
Darkness). An attacker can inflict temporary blindness by
slashing at her opponent’s brow, throwing sand into his eyes,
or kicking up dirt. This requires an attack roll of Dexterity +
Athletics with a −3 penalty. (Defense applies.) If the attack
succeeds, the target is Blinded for the next turn.
Ending the Tilt: Mark an X under the leftmost Health
box affected if the attack does damage. Aggravated damage
causes the eye to lose vision permanently. Otherwise, the Tilt
ends when the damage that caused it is healed.
BLIZZARD
Environmental
Description: Heavy snowfall carpets the ground and is
whipped up by howling winds into a barrage of whirling white.
Effect: Rolls to see things close to the character’s person
suffer a −1 penalty. Each additional 10 yards/meters inflicts
an additional −1 penalty (cumulative) on all visual Perception
rolls. This penalty also applies to ranged attacks.
362 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
Every four inches of snow applies a −1 penalty to appro-
priate Physical rolls, including combat rolls.
Causing the Tilt: For the most part, the weather is out of
the characters’ control.
Ending the Tilt: Without supernatural powers, characters
can’t end a blizzard. Proper equipment (such as goggles and snow
boots) can add +1 to +3 to a roll, offsetting some of the penalties.
CHARNEL GROUND
Environmental
Description: Bloody gods demand bloody offerings, so
hearts fill with murder and knives cut a bit deeper.
Effect: All sources of damage deal an extra point of
damage.
Causing the Tilt: Triggering a Peril within a tomb; a fiend
lingering in the area.
Ending the Tilt: The tilt generally lasts one scene.
COLLAPSING CEILING
Environmental
Description: The roof caves in, filling the area with falling
wreckage. This tilt can represent any scene with fast moving
objects, such as busy street pedestrians are trying to cross or
boulders chasing tomb robbers.
Effect: Half each character’s Speed as falling debris gets
in everyone’s way. Characters take between one and three
points of lethal damage per turn, which a successful Dexterity
+ Athletics roll downgrades to bashing damage and an ex-
ceptional success negates entirely.
Causing the Tilt: Structural damage to a building; trig-
gering a Peril in a mummy’s tomb.
Ending the Tilt: Most ceilings don’t contain enough ma-
terial to collapse for more than a few turns, but large buildings
and underground structures can collapse for a scene. The tilt
ends when the ceiling disintegrates or stabilizes.
CONCEALED PIT
Environmental
Description: False floors hiding pits to contain intruders
fill this area. This tilt can also represent an area where the floor
cannot bear weight, such as deep snow or a collapsing building.
 Effect: Failures in this area inflict one point of bashing
damage and halves the character’s speed on their next turn
as they climb out of the pit. Dramatic failures inflict one point
of lethal damage along with the Leg Wrack Tilt.
Factor (Deep): Deep pits increase the damage done to two
points of bashing damage on a failure and reduces the charac-
ter’s speed to zero on their next turn as they climb out of the pit.
Factor (Oubliette): The pit is specially constructed to
keep its victims from escaping. Victims are unable to leave
the pit without specialized equipment or the help of someone
outside the oubliette.
Factor (Spiked): Concealed spiked pits increase the dam-
age done to one point of lethal damage on a failure and one
point of aggravated damage on a dramatic failure.
Causing the Tilt: Triggering a Peril within a tomb.
Ending the Tilt: The pits built into this area are perma-
nent. Only leaving the area ends this tilt.
DARK WATERS
Environmental
Description: Crocodiles guarded the moats of Irem, but
away from the Nile, the Dead and the Lifeless take their place.
Effect: Amkhata and ghosts touching this water gain the
Materialized Condition.
Factor (Fiendish): Duat Fiends gain the Materialized
Condition instead.
Factor (Obverse): Characters touching these waters are
pulled into Twilight.
Factor (Spiritual): Spirits gain the Materialized Condition instead.
Causing the Tilt: Triggering a Peril within a tomb.
Ending the Tilt: The tilt generally lasts one scene.
DEAFENED
Personal
Description: The character can’t hear.
Effect: If the character is deaf in one ear, he suffers a −3
penalty to hearing-based Perception rolls. A character struck
deaf in both ears only gets a chance die on such rolls, and
suffers a −2 penalty to all combat-related dice rolls.
Causing the Tilt: A particularly loud noise within 10 feet
of the character may cause temporary hearing loss, as though
the character were deaf in both ears. Alternatively, a targeted
attack on the ear — at a −4 penalty — can deafen a character.
Ending the Tilt: Deafness caused by loud noises fades
after (10 − the victim’s Stamina + Resolve) turns. Mark an
X under the leftmost Health box affected if the attack does
damage. Aggravated damage causes permanent hearing loss
in the affected ear or ears. Otherwise, the Tilt ends when the
damage that caused it is healed.
DRUGGED
Personal
Description: The character’s mind is addled by mind-al-
tering substances.
Effect: A generic narcotic can be represented with one
set of modifiers; the character suffers a −2 modifier to Speed
(and static Defense, if used) and a −3 penalty to all rolls in
combat. The character ignores wound penalties.
Causing the Tilt: If the character has chosen to take
drugs, he suffers their effects. To administer drugs to another
character is a Dexterity + Weaponry attack, suffering a −1
modifier for the improvised weapon.
Ending the Tilt: A generic narcotic lasts for (10 – the vic-
tim’s Stamina + Resolve) hours. Medical help halves this time.
EARTHQUAKE
Environmental
Description: Everything shudders and shakes, and rents
tear the ground wide open.
Effect: When the earthquake’s actually occurring, all
Dexterity-based dice pools (and Defense) suffer a −1 to −5
penalty. Characters take between 1 and 3 points of lethal
damage per turn of the earthquake’s duration. A reflexive
Stamina + Athletics roll downgrades that damage to bashing
— or cancels it on an exceptional success.
Causing the Tilt: Without tremendous supernatural pow-
er, it’s almost impossible to cause an earthquake. A powerful
explosion could create the same effect.
Ending the Tilt: Earthquakes are quick events. It’s very
rare for one to last more than a minute (20 turns).
EXTREME COLD
Environmental (sometimes Personal)
Description: Bone-chilling winds bite through the char-
acter, or trudging through knee-deep snow takes all of the
sensation from his limbs.
Tilts 363
 Effect: When the temperature is below freezing, characters
can’t heal bashing damage. Supernatural beings and characters
who heal faster than normal halve their normal healing rate.
For every hour that a character is affected, he accrues a −1
penalty to all rolls. When that penalty hits −5, he instead
suffers a point of lethal damage per hour.
Causing the Tilt: A frozen environment, a walk-in freezer,
etc.
Ending the Tilt: Find a source of warmth or warm clothing.
A character with hypothermia requires medical attention.
EXTREME HEAT
Environmental (sometimes Personal)
Description: The character might be stumbling through
the desert with the sun beating down on him, or running
through the steam tunnels surrounding an old boiler room.
This Tilt can also be the result of a debilitating fever.
Effect: Characters can’t heal bashing damage. Supernatural
beings and characters with faster than normal healing, instead
halve their normal healing rate. For every hour that a char-
acter is continuously affected by this Tilt, he accrues a −1
penalty to all rolls. When that penalty hits −5, he instead
suffers a point of lethal damage per hour.
Causing the Tilt: This Tilt is usually caused by environ-
mental factors — being out at noon in the desert, or spending
too long in a sauna or forge.
Ending the Tilt: Get out of the heat. In a desert or similar
environment, finding shade is paramount.
FLOODED
Environmental
Description: Some liquid has risen enough to impede the
character’s progress.
Effect: Each foot of liquid inflicts a −2 penalty to all
Physical dice pools. If the water goes up over her head, the
character has to swim (Dexterity + Athletics). Alternatively,
she can try to hold her breath (Stamina + Composure).
Causing the Tilt: Normally, this Tilt is the result of heavy
rain, sudden snowmelt, or a broken water main.
Ending the Tilt: Characters can escape flooding by getting
to high ground, which is enough to mitigate this Tilt.
364 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
FROZEN TIME
Environmental
Description: Light glimmers eerily in the air as movement in
the world grinds to a halt, the hourglass sands freezing mid-fall.
Effect: Affected objects and individuals are immobile and
immune to all harm, but unconscious of events occurring
around them.
Factor (Ageless): Within the affected area, time seems
to flow normally on the surface, but the people and objects
within neither age nor decay. Residents never notice beyond
an odd sense of déjà vu, largely ignorant of the world passing
around them or their own unchanging state.
Factor (Dragging): Time moves impossibly slowly. Affected
objects and individuals may be moved by those unaffected by
the Tilt, cancelling any of the subject’s previous momentum.
Moving a thinking being gives them a reflexive Resolve roll
to shrug off the Tilt. A moving object’s momentum may be
redirected with a Wits + Athletics roll, allowing a character
to carefully adjust the trajectory of an object to follow a new
course. Any injury to a person affected by this Tilt inflicts only
one point of damage, immediately ending it for that individual.
Causing the Tilt: Bizarre mystical occurrences.
Ending the Tilt: Successfully Feeling the Flow, or the
effect runs its course.
HALLOWED GROUND
Environmental
Description: This is holy ground, upon which magic
becomes more potent.
Effect: Achieving three successes on activation rolls for
supernatural merits, powers, and rituals counts as an excep-
tional success.
Causing the Tilt: Affinities, purification rituals
Ending the Tilt: The tilt generally lasts for one scene.
Sanctified areas are always under the effects of this tilt.
HEAVY RAIN
Environmental
Description: Torrential rain lashes down in knives.
Effect: Heavy rains cause a penalty of −3 dice to
Perception rolls.
 Causing the Tilt: Short of a supernatural power or a fleet
of cloud-seeding aircraft, Heavy Rain is the result of natural
weather patterns.
Ending the Tilt: The best way out of the rain is to get
indoors.
HEAVY WINDS
Environmental
Description: Howling winds buffet the characters.
Effect: Loud winds impose a −3 penalty to aural
Perception rolls. Grade the wind from one to five; one is
tropical-storm level (around 40 MPH), three is hurricane level
(around 80 MPH), and five is tornado level (150+ MPH).
A penalty equal to the wind’s grade applies to Physical dice
rolls. Characters suffer bashing damage equal to grade each
turn, though the damage may be avoided with a reflexive
Dexterity + Athletics roll.
Causing the Tilt: Tornadoes, hurricanes, and wind shears,
whether natural or supernatural, are all sources of this Tilt.
Ending the Tilt: Finding shelter against the winds.
ICE
Environmental
Description: The ground’s covered in a layer of ice that
sends wheels spinning and people’s feet flying out from under
them.
Effect: Divide the character’s Speed in half. All Physical
rolls (and Defense) suffer a −2 penalty. Attempting to move
at full Speed increases the Physical penalty to −4. Any dra-
matic failure on a Physical roll inflicts the Knocked Down
Tilt. When driving halve Acceleration, and take a −5 penalty
to Drive rolls.
Causing the Tilt: This Tilt applies to any surface that’s
slick and slippery, including a spill of industrial lubricant or
just a well-polished wooden or linoleum floor.
Ending the Tilt: “Get off the ice” is good advice, but that
can take work. Characters can use heat or fire to melt ice,
or throw down copious quantities of salt or grit to increase
traction.
Tilts 365

IMMOBILIZED
Personal
Description: Something holds the character fast, prevent-
ing him from moving.
Effect: The character can’t do anything. He can’t apply
Defense against incoming attacks, and can’t take combat-re-
lated actions. If someone’s holding him down, he can spend
a point of Willpower to deliver a head butt or similar attack.
Causing the Tilt: The usual way to inflict this Tilt is
through the Restrain grappling move.
Ending the Tilt: An Immobilized target can break free
by escaping from a grapple or snapping whatever binds her.
If held by an item, the character must make a Strength +
Athletics roll penalized by the item’s Durability. Take a −2
penalty for restrained limbs; increase to −4 if hogtied. A
success breaks free. Each roll, successful or not, deals a point
of bashing damage.
INFERNO
Environmental
Description: The area is on fire. Anything flammable is
either already burning or will start burning soon.
Effect: All characters suffer a –2 penalty to all rolls due to
smoke and pain from the fire. After two turns, any character
that breathes suffers 2B per turn due to smoke inhalation.
After three turns, the character suffers 1L per turn from burns.
If the character catches fire, he suffers 4L per turn until he dies.
Causing the Tilt: A meteorite from the dawn of time
does the trick.
Ending the Tilt: All fires burn out eventually, though fire
suppression methods help. Most meteorites have an extremely
cold core, and atmospheric entry doesn’t change that, so their
heat tends to dissipate rapidly.
INSANE
Personal
Description: The character suffers from a panic attack,
sudden imbalance, or a full-on psychotic break.
Effect: The character gains a +1 bonus to all combat rolls,
but takes actions after everyone else. A character suffering
from this Tilt cannot spend Willpower in combat, and suffers
a −3 penalty to all Social rolls.
366 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
Causing the Tilt: Any character with an appropriate
Condition may acquire the Insane Tilt. The Storyteller can
call for a Resolve + Composure roll to resist a general anxiety
that gnaws at the character’s mind.
Ending the Tilt: The specific effects of this Tilt don’t
normally last beyond the end of the scene. To end earlier,
roll Resolve + Composure as an instant action, contested by
a dice pool of (10 − her Willpower). Take no other actions
this turn, and don’t apply Defense to attacks.
INSENSATE
Personal
Description: The character shuts down, either due to
extreme fear or sudden pleasure.
Effect: The character can’t take any actions until the Tilt
is resolved. He can apply Defense to incoming attacks, and if
he takes any damage from an attack, the Tilt ends.
Causing the Tilt: Several supernatural powers can leave
their victim in a trance-like state of heightened emotion. A
hallucinogenic drug might have similar effects; administering
such a drug is a Dexterity + Weaponry attack, which suffers
a −1 modifier.
Ending the Tilt: The Tilt wears off at the end of the scene.
The victim can spend a point of Willpower before then to act
normally for one turn. A successful attack also ends the Tilt.
If a character has been knocked insensible by drugs, this Tilt
is replaced with the Drugged Tilt when it ends.
KNOCKED DOWN
Personal
Description: Something knocks the character to the floor.
Effect: The character is knocked off her feet. If she hasn’t
already acted this turn, she loses her action. Once she’s on the
ground, a character is considered prone. The character can
still apply Defense against incoming attacks, and can attempt
to attack from the ground at a −2 penalty.
Causing the Tilt: A melee weapon (damage modifier +2
or greater), or a firearm (damage modifier of +3 or greater)
can knock a character down. A close combat attack with
a targeted attack against the legs (−2 modifier) can knock
someone down. If successful, the target is knocked down, but
takes only half damage.
Ending the Tilt: Standing up takes an action. A character
yet to act can make a Dexterity + Athletics roll minus weapon
modifier. If successful, she avoids the effects of this Tilt.

LEG WRACK
Personal
Description: Pain or numbness in the leg.
Effect: If their leg is broken, sprained, or dislocated, halve
the character’s Speed and suffer a −2 penalty on Physical
rolls that require movement (and Defense). If both legs are
wracked, the character falls over — taking the Knocked
Down Tilt. Speed is reduced to 1; moving precludes other
actions. Physical rolls that require movement are reduced to
a chance die.
Causing the Tilt: A character can have their leg knocked
out by a targeted blow to the leg (−2 penalty) that deals more
damage than their Stamina.
Ending the Tilt: If the Tilt is inflicted as a result of an
attack, mark an X under the leftmost Health box affected by
that attack. The Tilt ends when that damage that caused it
has healed.
LIFEBANE
Environmental
Description: By devious trickery or foolish design the
tomb’s Lifeweb incorporates a Bane relic, corroding the wills
of those entering the area.
Effect: While in this area, characters must spend an
extra point of Willpower to gain its benefits. Additionally, all
characters entering the corrupted Lifeweb suffer the Bane
Relic’s curse.
Causing the Tilt: Fixing a Bane Relic into the Lifeweb.
Ending the Tilt: Mystically disentangle the Bane Relic
from the Lifeweb. On its own, removing the relic from the
tomb does not end this Tilt.
POISONED
Personal
Description: Poison is tearing the character apart from
the inside.
Effect: A poison is either “moderate” or “grave.” A moder-
ate poison causes 1 point of bashing damage per turn. A grave
poison deals 1 point of lethal damage per turn.
Causing the Tilt: Ingesting a poison inflicts this Tilt.
Injecting an opponent with a poison counts as a Dexterity +
Weaponry attack, and suffers a −1 modifier.
Ending the Tilt: Immediate medical attention. For each
turn that your character is poisoned, roll Stamina + Resolve
as a reflexive action. If the character intends to act, the roll
suffers a −3 penalty. Success counteracts the damage for one
turn only.
POWERFUL CURRENT
Environmental
Description: The water flowing through this area is strong
enough to drag the unwary to their deaths.
Effect: Divide the Character’s Speed by four. All Physical
rolls (and Defense) suffer a –3 penalty. Characters take two
points of bashing damage each turn as they swallow water
into their lungs. Characters can make a reflexive Strength
+ Athletics roll to avoid damage and to move at half Speed.
Causing the Tilt: This Tilt exists anywhere there is fast
moving water, such as a sudden flood, a raging river, or a
powerful tidal current.
Ending the Tilt: Arisen can use obscure Utterances to
change a river’s course or part the seas, but most characters
cannot end this Tilt by any means short of exiting the water.
SANDSTORM
Environmental
Description: The wind picks up the area’s sand or dust,
flinging it through the air and cloying everything.
Effect: Sandstorms make it hard to see anything beyond
one’s immediate surroundings. Rolls to see things within five
yards of the character suffer a –1 penalty. Each additional five
yards inflicts an additional cumulative –1 penalty. The blowing
sand also imposes a –3 penalty on all Physical rolls while out
in the storm — including Drive rolls. Living characters take
one bashing damage each turn as the sand scours their lungs.
Causing the Tilt: Environmental factors, such being
unprotected in a windy desert or trapped outside in a dust
bowl, create this tilt.
Ending the Tilt: The best way to avoid sandstorms is to
move indoors.
SCYTHING BLADES
Environmental
Description: Falling swords and spinning blades strike
from behind cobwebs to separate heads from shoulders.
Tilts 367
 This Tilt can represent other hazards filling an area, such as
shrapnel from an artillery barrage or superheated steam vents
in a volcano.
Effect: Dodging and avoiding the blades whirling around
halves all character’s speed. Any Failures rolled while amid
the blades inflicts one lethal damage, while any Dramatic
Failures rolled inflict one aggravated damage.
Causing the Tilt: Triggering a Peril within a tomb.
Ending the Tilt: Disable or destroy the mechanism con-
trolling the blades.
SICK
Personal
Description: The character suffers from nausea, fever, or
related symptoms.
Effect: A sickness is either “moderate” or “grave.” A
moderate sickness causes a −1 penalty to all actions during
combat. That penalty increases by 1 every two turns. A grave
sickness inflicts the same dice penalties as a mild sickness, plus
1 point of bashing damage per turn.
Causing the Tilt: Exposure to disease either from living
sources or sample.
Ending the Tilt: Penalties fade at a rate of one point per
turn once the character has a chance to rest. Any damage
remains until the character can heal.
SKINCRAWLER
Personal
Description: A beetle, scorpion, spider, or other small
vermin works its way under your character’s skin and eats
him from the inside out.
Effect: The vermin burrows through the character’s in-
nards, inflicting 1 lethal damage each turn.
Causing the Tilt: Interact with trapped treasure.
Ending the Tilt: Dig the vermin out from under your skin
by inflicting one Aggravated Damage to yourself.
STUNNED
Personal
Description: The character is dazed and unable to think
straight.
368 Appendix: Conditions and Tilts
Effect: The character loses her next action, and halves
her Defense until she can next act.
Causing the Tilt: A character can be stunned by any
attack that does at least as much damage as their Size in a
single hit. Some weapons have a “stun” special ability. These
double the weapon modifier only for the purposes of working
out whether the attacker inflicts the Stunned Tilt. Attacks
against the target’s head count the character’s Size as 1 lower.
Ending the Tilt: The effects of this Tilt last one turn. The
character can end the Tilt during their action by reflexively
spending a point of Willpower, but a −3 modifier applies to
any actions they take that turn.
SWARM
Environmental
Description: Your character is mobbed by small animals,
such as insects, rodents, or scorpions.
Effect: Swarms, composed of animals of Size 1, are mea-
sured by their radius in yards. When attacking, swarms inflict
one bashing damage each turn to all targets within their radius.
Swarms increase this damage by one each time they condense
down to half their radius, allowing an eight-yard swarm to
inflict two bashing at four yards or three bashing at two yards.
Armor is ineffective against the swarm unless covering the
full body, and that only provides half its rating.
Swarms also distract targets, inflicting a −2 penalty to all
actions within their radius.
Factor (Breeding): The swarm grows at a supernatural
rate. Whenever it inflicts a total of damage equal to its original
size, it increases its radius by one yard, resetting the counter
to zero before the swarm grows again. The swarm can grow
to a maximum of double its original size.
Factor (Deadly): The swarm inflicts lethal damage.
Factor (Harmless): The swarm inflicts no damage, but
other effects still apply.
Factor (Liminal): The swarm acts as a threshold between
one realm or state of being and another, such as between the
physical world and Neter-Khertet. Within the swarm, beings
on either side may freely interact. Upon leaving the swarm,
characters must succeed at a Resolve roll to control where
they emerge.
Factor (Obscuring): The swarm inflicts an additional −2
penalty on Perception rolls.
Factor (Persistent): The swarm loses only one yard of
radius for each point of damage suffered.
 Factor (Ravenous): The swarm is gigantic, its functional
size multiplied by ten for the area covered. The Tilt only in-
flicts one bashing every five turns on a target, and the swarm
cannot increase this by condensing. All vegetation in the
radius is devastated.
Factor (Venomous): The swarm also inflicts the Poisoned
Tilt.
Causing the Tilt: Naturally occurring when disturbing
a nest of stinging insects, or resulting from certain traps or
supernatural powers.
Ending the Tilt: Only area-affecting attacks, such as a
flame, can affect the swarm. Regular attacks are ineffective.
Each point of damage inflicted by a valid attack halves the
swarm’s size, with the remainder of the swarm dispersing once
reduced below a one-yard radius.
TIME LOOP
Environmental
Description: Your character is trapped in a whirlpool of
repeating time, often lasting between a scene and a few days,
although longer ones are possible. Each whirlpool has one or
more places where a character may slip back into the domi-
nant time stream, and a sequence of altered events capable
of resolving the loop entirely.
Effect: The whirlpool resets itself at the end of each
iteration, and dying within the loop results in the character
awakening at the beginning of the next iteration. With each
iteration, the character begins at the same location and in the
same physical condition they were in at the beginning of the
first iteration they experienced.
The character clearly remembers each iteration, barring
other memory difficulties. When performing actions attempt-
ed during previous iterations, the character gains the 9-again
effect. Spending a point of Willpower on such actions grants
the rote quality. Residents of the loop don’t receive this benefit.
Causing the Tilt: Rarely occurring naturally, but usually
due to mystical occurrences.
Ending the Tilt: Escaping or resolving the time loop.
UNHALLOWED GROUND
Environmental
Description: All walking this cursed land feel its foul luck
infecting their magic.
Effect: All failures on activation rolls for supernatural
merits, powers, and rituals become dramatic failures instead,
without generating beats.
Causing the Tilt: Desecration Sybaris, fiends lingering in
the mortal world.
Ending the Tilt: The tilt lasts for one scene. Cursed areas
are always under the effects of this tilt.
Tilts 369
 ARMOR
Type Rating Strength Defense Speed Availability Coverage
Modern
Reinforced clothing* 1/0 1 0 0 • Torso, arms, legs
Kevlar vest* 1/3 1 0 0 • Torso
Flak jacket 2/4 1 −1 0 •• Torso, arms
Full riot gear 3/5 2 −2 −1 ••• Torso, arms, legs
Archaic
Leather (hard) 2/0 2 −1 0 • Torso, arms
Chainmail 3/1 3 −2 −2 •• Torso, arms
Plate 4/2 3 −2 −3 •••• Torso, arms, legs

Rating: Armor provides protection against normal attacks and firearms attacks. The number before the slash is for gener-
al armor, while the number after the slash is for ballistic armor.
Strength: If a character’s Strength is lower than that required for her armor, reduce her Brawl and Weaponry dice pools
by one.
Defense: The penalty imposed on a character’s Defense when wearing the armor.
Speed: The penalty to a character’s Speed when wearing the armor.
Availability: The cost in Resources dots or the level of Social Merit needed to acquire the armor.
Coverage: The areas of a character the armor protects. Unless an attacker targets a specific unarmored location (see
“Specified Targets,” p. 184), the armor’s protection applies. Wearing a helmet increases the armor’s coverage to include
a character’s head.
* This armor is concealed, either as normal clothing (e.g. biker leathers) or from being worn under a jacket or baggy shirt.
Attackers have no idea the target is wearing armor until after they land a successful hit.

370 Quick Reference

 MELEE WEAPONS
Type Damage Initiative Strength Size Availability Special
Sap 0 −1 1 1 • Stun
Brass Knuckles 0 0 1 1 • Uses Brawl to attack
Baton 1 −1 2 2 n/a
Crowbar 2 −2 2 2 •
Tire Iron 1 −3 2 2 •• +1 Defense
Chain 1 −3 2 2 • Grapple
Shield (small) 0 −2 2 2 •• Concealed
Shield (large) 2 −4 3 3 •• Concealed
Knife 0 −1 1 1 •
Rapier 1 −2 1 2 •• Armor piercing 1
Machete 2 −2 2 2 ••
Hatchet 1 −2 1 1 •
Fire Axe 3 −4 3 3 •• 9-again, two-handed
Chainsaw 5 −6 4 3 ••• 9-again, two-handed
Stake* 0 −4 1 1 n/a
Spear** 2 −2 2 4 • +1 Defense, two-handed
Stun gun 1 1 1 1 • Stun; bonus successes don’t add
(melee) to modifier for damage

Type: A weapon’s type is a general classification that can apply to anything your character picks up. A tire iron might be
any metal club, such as an antique mace, a metal baseball bat, or a hammer, while a hatchet might be a meat cleaver or
an antique handaxe.
Damage: Indicates the number of bonus successes added to a successful attack. Weapons always deal lethal damage
against ordinary people. The type of damage may vary against supernatural opponents.
Initiative: The penalty taken to Initiative when wielding the weapon. If using more than one weapon, take the higher
penalty and increase by 1.
Strength: The minimum Strength needed to use a weapon effectively. A wielder with a lower Strength suffers a −1 pen-
alty on attack rolls.
Size: Size 1 items can be hidden in a hand; two Size 2 items can be hidden in a coat; Size 3+ items cannot be hidden.
Availability: The cost in Resources dots or the level of Social Merit needed to acquire the weapon.
Concealed: A character that wields a shield but doesn’t use it to attack can add its Size to his Defense, and uses its Size
as a concealment modifier against ranged attacks.
Grapple: Add the chain’s weapon modifier to grappling dice pools.
Stun: Halve the victim’s Size when aiming for the head with intent to stun.
Two-handed: This weapon requires two hands. It can be used one-handed, but doing so increases the Strength re-
quirement by 1.
* To pierce the heart, a stake must target it specifically (−3 to attack rolls) and must deal at least five damage in one
attack.
** The reach of a spear gives +1 to Defense against opponents who are unarmed or wield weapons of Size 1.

Armor | Melee Weapons 371

 RANGED WEAPONS

Availability
Initiative

Example
Strength
Damage

Range
Type

Size
Clip
Revolver, light 1 20/40/80 6 0 2 1 •• SW M640 (.38 Special)
Revolver, heavy 2 35/70/140 6 −2 3 1 •• SW M29 (.44 Magnum)
Pistol, light 1 20/40/80 17+1 0 2 1 ••• Glock 17 (9mm)
Pistol, heavy 2 30/60/120 7+1 −2 3 1 ••• Colt M1911A1 (.45 ACP)
SMG, small* 1 25/50/100 30+1 −2 2 1 ••• Ingram Mac-10 (9mm)
SMG, large* 2 50/100/200 30+1 −3 3 2 ••• HK MP-5 (9mm)
Rifle 4 200/400/800 5+1 −5 2 3 •• Remington M-700 (30.06)
Assault Rifle* 3 150/300/600 42+1 −3 3 3 ••• Steyr AUG (5.56mm)
Shotgun** 3 20/40/80 5+1 −4 3 2 •• Remington M870 (12-gauge)
Crossbow*** 2 40/80/160 1 −5 3 3 •••
Stun gun (ranged)**** 1 5 1 0 1 1 • Taser
Pepper spray 0 1/2/3 n/a 0 1 1 • Stun; Penalty, deals no damage
Javelin 2 Thrown n/a −2 2 2 •••

Damage: Indicates the number of bonus successes added to a successful attack. Weapons always deal lethal damage
against ordinary people. The type of damage may vary against supernatural opponents.
Ranges: The listed numbers are short/medium/long ranges in yards/meters. Attacks at medium range suffer a −1 pen-
alty. Attacks at long range suffer a −2 penalty.
Clip: The number of rounds a gun can hold. A +1 indicates that a bullet can be held in the chamber, ready to fire.
Initiative: The penalty taken to Initiative when wielding the weapon. If using more than one weapon, take the higher
penalty and increase it by 1.
Strength: The minimum Strength needed to use a weapon effectively. A wielder with a lower Strength suffers a −1 on
attack rolls.
Size: Weapons of Size 1 can be fired one-handed; Size 2 weapons must be fired two-handed and can be hidden in a
coat; Size 3 weapons can be fired two-handed, but not hidden on one’s person.
Availability: The cost in Resources dots or the level of Social Merit needed to acquire the weapon.
Stun: Halve the victim’s Size when aiming for the head with intent to stun.
Penalty: Pepper spray inflicts a −5 to all actions, reduced by one for every turn the victim spends rinsing his eyes.
* The weapon is capable of autofire, including short bursts, medium bursts, and long bursts.
** Attack rolls gain the 9-again quality.
*** Crossbows take three turns to reload between shots. A crossbow can be used to deliver a stake through the heart (-3
penalty to attack rolls; must deal at least 5 damage in one attack).
*Stun; bonus successes don’t add to the modifier for damage

372 Quick Reference

 SAMPLE TOMB TRAPS
Trap Damage Availability Tilts
Pressurized Darts 1 • Scything Blades, Poisoned
Choking Sands 2 ••• Powerful Currents
Concealed Holes in the Wall* 1/2/3 •• Swarm
Falling Columns 2 •• Collapsing Ceiling
Fire Streams** 1 •• Scything Blades
Hidden Pit* 1 • Concealed Pit
Rolling Boulder 3 ••• Collapsing Ceiling
Sacrifice Altar n/a ••• Charnel Ground
Scarab-Headed Canopy 1 • Skincrawler
Spiked Pit 1 •• Concealed Pit
Statue of the Devourer*** n/a •••• Charnel Ground
Sudden Flooding Mechanism* 2 •• Powerful Currents
Swinging Blades 1 ••• Scything Blades
Unholy Fountain n/a •••• Dark Waters

Damage: Indicates the amount of damage characters take for each turn of exposure to the trap. The damage is always
lethal against ordinary humans unless specified. They type of damage may vary against supernatural opponents-
Availability: The cost in Tomb dots applied to Perils needed to acquire the trap.
Tilts: The associated Tilts which provides the detailed mechanics of what a trap does when triggered.
* Damage from the trap is bashing.
** Dramatic Failures rolled while amid the trap do not cause aggravated damage, but they ignite anything combustible
on the characters.
*** The trap tags those who trigger it with the Cursed Condition.

Ranged Weapons | Sample Tomb Traps 373

 SERVICES
Die Die
Service Availability Bonus Service Availability Bonus
Academics Athletics
Historical specialist consulting ••• +3 Meditative assistance ••• +2
Research assistance from grad •• +2 Personal trainer ••• +3
students
Throwing an athletic •••• +4
Translation of a dead ••• +2 competition
language
Brawl
Computer
Arrange underground boxing ••• +2
Custom phone application ••• +2 ring
Digital image enhancement •• +3 Bodyguard service ••• +3
Graphic design/forgery •• +2 Self-defense classes • +1
Crafts Drive
Antiquities restoration ••• +2 Chauffer •• +2
Auto repair •• +3 Stunt performance/mock crash ••• +3
Custom equipment ••• +2 Tour bus rental •••• +2
modifications
Firearms
Investigation
Antique gun repair ••• +2
Consultation on evidence ••• +3
Cover fire from gangs ••• +3
Investigative photography ••• +2
Procuring smuggled military •••• +2
Private investigation/back- •• +2 arms
ground check
Larceny
Medicine
Breaking and entering ••• +2
Black-market surgeon •••• +3
Security consulting ••• +2
Expert medical witness •••• +2
Stealing a protected relic •••• +3
Rush plastic surgery •••• +2
Stealth
Occult
Strategic distraction ••• +3
Esoteric consultant/sage •••• +3
Tailing a suspect ••• +2
Exorcist ••• +2
Targeted vandalism •• +2
Protective amulets or wards •••• +1
Survival
Politics
Field dress and preserve an animal ••• +1
Campaign assistant ••• +3
Trail guide •• +3
Cutting red tape (read: bribe) ••• +2
Weatherproof a shelter •• +2
Spin doctor ••• +2
Weaponry
Science
Properly forged sword ••• +2
Fact checking •• +3
Identify wound from obscure ••• +2
Falsifying research/coverup ••• +2 weapon
Lab access •• +2 Training in archaic warfare ••• +2

374 Quick Reference

 SERVICES
Die Die
Service Availability Bonus Service Availability Bonus
Animal Ken Persuasion
Buy a trained animal ••• +2 Defense attorney ••• +3
Identify animal droppings •• +1 Hostage negotiator •••• +3
Rule out natural causes of ••• +2 Pickup artist ••• +2
death
Socialize
Empathy
Catering ••• or •••• +1 or
“Good cop” interrogator ••• +2 +2
Neutral arbitrator ••• +2 Elocution consulting ••• +1
Therapy session •• +1 Escort ••• +2
Expression Streetwise
Document forgery ••• +3 Arrange a rave or block party ••• +2
Ghostwriting •• +2 Black market access •• +2
Motivational speech ••• +1 Find crash space •• +1
Intimidation Smuggling contraband ••• +1
Anti-interrogation training •••• +3 Subterfuge
“Bad cop” interrogator ••• +2 Amateur actor/actress •• +2
Deprogramming therapy ••• +2 Con artistry ••• +2
Gambling ringer ••• +2

Services 375
 NAME: PLAYER:
CHRONICLE: CONCEPT:
GUILD: DECREE:
BALANCE: BURDEN:
JUDGE: MERET NAME:

POWER Intelligence Strength Presence

FINESSE Wits Dexterity Manipulation
RESISTANCE Resolve Stamina Composure

MENTAL MERITS HEALTH

(-3 unskilled)
Academics
Computer WILLPOWER
Crafts
Investigation
Medicine
Occult SEKHEM
Politics
Science
MEMORY
PHYSICAL 10 O
(-1 unskilled) 9 O
PILLARS 8 O
Athletics 7 O
Brawl AB 6 O
Drive BA 5 O
Firearms 4 O
KA
Larceny 3 O
Stealth REN 2 O
Survival SHEUT 1 O
Weaponry
AFFINITIES TOUCHSTONES
SOCIAL
(-1 unskilled)
Animal Ken
CULT
Empathy
Expression Name: Virtue / Vice:
Intimidation Concept: Reach:
Persuasion UTTERANCES
Type: Grasp:
Socialize
Streetwise Size: Armor:
Subterfuge Defense: Beats:
Speed: Experience:
Initiative Mod:
 NAME: PLAYER:
CHRONICLE: CONCEPT:
IMMORTAL/CULTIST TYPE: CURSE:
VIRTUE: VICE:
INVESTMENT: MASTER’S NAME:

POWER Intelligence Strength Presence

FINESSE Wits Dexterity Manipulation
RESISTANCE Resolve Stamina Composure

MENTAL MERITS HEALTH

(-3 unskilled)
Academics
Computer WILLPOWER
Crafts
Investigation
Medicine
Occult SEKHEM
Politics
Science
INTEGRITY
PHYSICAL 10 O
(-1 unskilled) 9 O
ASPECTS 8 O
Athletics 7 O
Brawl 6 O
Drive 5 O
Firearms 4 O
Larceny 3 O
Stealth 2 O
Survival 1 O
Weaponry RITES
CLOSED / OPEN UTTERANCES
SOCIAL CLOSED / OPEN
(-1 unskilled) CLOSED / OPEN
Animal Ken CLOSED / OPEN
Empathy CLOSED / OPEN
Expression CLOSED / OPEN
TOUCHSTONES
Intimidation
Persuasion AFFINITIES
Socialize
Streetwise Size: Armor:
Subterfuge Defense: Beats:
Speed: Experience:
Initiative Mod: