Hi, gang,
I’d like to get the blog ball rolling by giving you an opportunity to weigh in on the things you’d like to see covered here in the weeks leading up to the game’s release. I can’t promise I’ll be able to divulge the skinny on certain details, of course, but I can promise I’ll be receptive to your preferences, and beyond that, that I’ll be here for any discussion that ensues.
That’s what this blog’s for, after all. 🙂
If you’re curious to hear about more than one aspect of Mummy, just give me your top two or three choices and we’ll narrow it down from there. And of course, anything I don’t get to this week will almost certainly be covered in an upcoming post.
In the meantime, here’s a look at a larger version of my avatar, since it’s cool and stuff.
Senebti!
Let’s see – I like the division of the soul from the original Mummy, but I do not recall if there were ‘partial’ Resurrected, missing one or more of the parts; if not, that’d be a hell of an addition. Failed Mummies, akin to the enemies of the Promethians. Spiritual predators out to consume part of the soul, or illnesses of the soul. Egyptian magic that isn’t covered by existing systems like Mage or Hedge Magic. Ancient secrets, natch. And what’s going to be the big threat to the new Mummies in terms of outside enemies?
Mark- Old Mummy did have partial-resurrections, they were called the Udja-Sen. People who were judged, found wanting, repaired with a mummy-soul, and then judged again and *still* found wanting, so just sent back incomplete.
CAS- I think before we can really ask coherent questions about Mummy, we need to know more about it in a general sense. Literally all we know right now is that it isn’t going to be quite like Resurrection, and it will probably be darker. So I guess that’s my question: What’s M:tC about? What are the themes, what are these new mummies like, what is their “deal” in a general sense?
The answer to that question will be the key that unlocks a billion more questions, just warning you now 😉
@Belial – Thanks! I, sadly, do not have my copy any longer, so that’s some useful information.
I’d like to see some equivalent of the Egyptian gods, of the trial the soul must go through to be Resurrected; sure, it’s only a feather, but that feather is heavy, they had it special-made. And what of those found wanting? Do they escape the jaws of Sobek?
Perhaps that might influence the Curse – the mortal sins of their lives. An intriguing twist might be that the Resurrected are being pursued not by ‘bad guys’, but antagonists – agents of the underworld that want to restore the balance and return the Resurrected to the Underworld to face their final judgment.
Naturally, that gives an endgame goal – to right things that you’ve done wrong, to purify yourself before facing that final judgment. Or to embrace your Curse and become a plague upon the living and the Resurrected seeking to atone.
I’ve been thinking about that, and honestly, I’d prefer mummies to NOT be subject to the will of the Judges of Ma’at or their equivalent. I like the idea of mummies as going against the natural order, even if they make it their mission in eternal life to preserve it; returning their bodies to life should, I think, be an act of will, not a humble request of a higher power. It would also mean that an evil or selfish mummy can’t be disposed of with the assumption that the Judges would never allow him to rise again without learning his lesson.
What does Mummy’s Skull Icon thingy look like?
Hm. Mummy creation is what intrigues me. How someone becomes a mummy, What empowers them, gives them their magic. Are they linked to any of the otherworlds of the World of Darkness? What originally spawned the mummies? Did other cultures besides Ancient Egypt have mummies as well? Can mummies be created in the present day?
Curious about the game’s themes, too, what sort of concepts it’ll be exploring.
Themes.
Antagonist. Who are they and what motivates them besides just stopping the characters?
Will they have ties to either the Shadow or the Underworld?
I concur, I also really like the idea of mummies who are missing part(s) of their soul. I’d also like to see treatment of mummies from other cultures, since there are quite a few non-Egyptian cultures who mummified at least some of their dead. I’m also curious about how you’re going to do this without making it too similar to Scion… 🙂
More importantly, though, I’m curious about how much free will a mummy character will have. Old Mummy was a bit like old Werewolf in that players were sort of railroaded into fighting against the forces of evil (Apep or the Wyrm) if they didn’t want to eventually get punished by the Powers That Be (Gaia or Anubis). Much as I liked the magic system with its emphasis on True Names, this was a bit of a turn-off for me… since in the other WoD games, you get a lot more choice as to whether your character is motivated towards good or evil. I’m hoping that choice will be the player’s instead of the game system’s in new Mummy.
Mummies in M:tR were, but in either edition of WoD: Mummy, not so much. They were much more free to set their own agenda, even though the Followers of Set and Apophis and the Bane Mummies (which would make a wicked band name, for the record) provided recurring threats.
I honestly never cared for how M:tR changed the nature of mummies; I only picked it up for the cleaned-up magic system. I hope the new game returns brings back their relative independence, and ditches the whole “modern host body” thing… Unless some mummies have to do that every time they resurrect.
Mn. When you say ‘modern host body’, do you mean the concept of an ancient spirit bound to a modern mortal?
…Would that differ in any noticeable way from the concept of someone who’s the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian, and who’s been transformed into a mummy by an immortal lover?
‘Cause I like the idea of playing someone who got mummified by Boris Karloff’s Imhotep.
That’s exactly what I meant, as that’s how it was in Mummy: the Resurrection. It’s one of the things I really didn’t like about it. If certain mummies or mummy antagonists are serial body thieves, though, that could work. (Or I would just use the body thieves from Immortals.)
As for what would differ… If you’re really the reincarnation of someone the mummy knew, then it would be memories of your own past life being returned, as opposed to a completely separate entity swooping in and either taking over like a Vaylen or merging with you against your will like a hostile Trill.
And furthermore, that would be the actions of one mummy, not the default state of being for ALL mummies.
I’m curious as to how mummies will be distinct from Mekhet and Osirans, given that both of them already represent “dead, yet not” from a (mythical pseudo-)ancient Egyptian perspective.
I’d like to know which are the Splats from Mummy, and if there’s some reference to other Mummyesq splants from other gamelines (Mekhet Kindred, Osirean Prometheans, Purified Immortals).
Well, of course i wanna know EVERYthing, but if I had to narrow it down to a most important top 3 …
What makes this iteration of Mummies different from the other undead/immortal/revenant type characters we already have in the NWoD? How is a Mummy alive? Or undead? Or a manifested spirit? What makes Mummies different from vampires, prometheans, and geists?
Why “The Curse”? Are mummies cursed with immortality? Or are they themselves The Curse?
and last …
What sort of themes does a Mummy story deal with? Obsession with death? Obligation to Gods? Passion for life? … A Storytelling Game of ________________?
Are mummies bringing true immortality to the table? And what are the options for playing mummies as heroic characters?
What is the Curse?
The first thing is perhaps asking too much. Namely in regards to the game’s title. Mummy: the CURSE. So the first thing I would want to know is, are they the cursed ones? And if so, how?
The other would be, what is the primary Theme of Mummy?
In order of interest:
My top topic: How does becoming a mummy affect your personality? Vampires are driven by the Beast. Changelings are paranoid because of their Durance. But what dose mummification instil in you? A sense of duty? A tendency to curse people?
My second topic: How old is a mummy PC going to be. Is it a reasonable charachter concept to have been around in Ancient Egypt? Given sufficent exp, is it a reasonable concept to have been active for all that time?
My third topic: What is the Morality stat for Mummies?
1) What are the mood and theme of Mummy: the Curse?
2) Will the game be tied to a single mythological feel — such as Egyptian — or will it be more multicultural than that?
3) What is the nature of the mummy condition? Or is it variable? By that I mean, are they alive but immortal? Undead? Do they appear alive if they’re undead? Are they tied to the Shadow Realm like the purified? Things like that. Whatever you want to tell.
Thank you very much for your time. I am really looking forward to this one.
A storytelling game of __________?
1. How is MtC going to be different from MtR For instance what are the key themes that separate the two?
2. How are non Egpytain Mummies going to be incorporated into the game?
3. Where do Mummies fall on the spectrum of alive and not so alive?
Do mummies have a version of the Riddle, i.e. A Beast I am, lest a Beast I become?
It’s probably a wrap song. 😀
Ouch. 🙂
OH, COME ON.
😀
I know, I know, it was terrible. 😛 No need to Curse.
Lots of things I’d like to see, actually. In both the original Mummy and Mummy: the Resurrection the big bad guy was Apophis and his minions, such as Bane Mummies. I think it’s safe to assume you’re keeping with (at least primarily) the Egyptian mythos, but I would love to seen expanded information on Antagonists. It’s always felt that keeping the mysterious nature of Apophis’ minions was more important than giving the players (and Storyteller) concrete information to work from when using them as antagonists.
I also hope you’re keeping the non-Egyptian Mummies; although my favorite are the Egyptians, I loved that other cultures had Mummies, too. Though, it made very little sense to me that immortal beings with the kind of power Mummies had wouldn’t have encountered each other and had more of a relationship and would love to see some of that history developed. Though, I can see why that would be hard to put in the core book.
More information, both on the historical reality and the game fluff of how mummification works and how the characters become Mummies would be awesome.
I’m pretty excited about this project!
One thing I would be interested in seeing would be how these creatures interact with the rest of the WoD, or nWoD as is the case.
If we needs must narrow it down to a single thing – more information on the Curse, sir! Knowing the motivating forced would focus things wonderfully.
Just realized I was so busy thinking of what I wanted to know that I didn’t even notice the symbol until tonight.
Over on the RPGnet forums, while we were trying to sort out what “dark pulp-fantasy” meant, someone mentioned that the phrase made them think of authors like Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. I made an offhand comment about how that led me to imagine a game about ancient sorcerers and priests like Thoth-Amon, Klarkash Ton and Khai of Khem all resurrected in the modern day, pitting their magic and cults and centuries-old plots against each other, saying that I had not idea if that was what we were getting, but I’d play the hell out of it if we were.
Then Greg Stolze popped in and offhandedly mentioned how he’d written the cult rules for the game, and now everyone in that thread is wondering the same thing:
Was my random spitballing actually on target at all, and if I was off, then by how much?
I support this question. I’ve now got my hopes up for a game where ancient sorcerers with their own cults of followers plot against each other across the ages with some wondering immortal heroes to mix things up.
Is this really how things are going to be? It would be so awesome if it was.
What I think for such a game could be cool is something a little different between the nWoD policy of not having a “background” history. I mean, in old games there was the quite sacred “metaplot”, but what maybe this new game could bring is not really a whole plot, but a complex history of mummies’ traditions. Said this, I don’t know the old Mummy, and I really don’t know what to expect from this. However, since “mummy” brings to my mind history, sand and ancient secrets, I’d like to feel from this game something like “Not only this is the world of darkness… but it has always been. And out there, in places unreachable and mostly unknown, there are secrets so ancient and so powerful that you’d pray the Gods to not know them closely. But unfortunately, it’s there you are headed.”
All the nWoD games have history – background, but not metaplot. Vampire’s is deliberatly vague because of the way their memories fail with age, but nMage, for example, has just as detailed a background as cMage did.
“As detailed as” I doubt it, but yes, you’re right, both in Mage and in Werewolf there is the “Creation” Myth. What I’d like to have with MtC is more a “history” than a “tale” background as in Mage and Werewolf (tales I love, however, don’t misunderstand me =P). However, the most important thing should be the feeling of “the World of Darkness has a history, full of darkness itself. And being a Mummy will get you to know shards of that history, may you will it or not”.
I’m not talking about the Creation Myth (cMage didn’t really have much of one of *those* beyond the Wyck, the Pure Forms and hints toward the end) – I’m talking about history. Over its line, nMage has built up quite a detailed history of what Mages were doing and when – it just isn’t collected anywhere like cMage’s was in the Guide to the Traditions.
(I long to do a history chapter like cMage’s Guide to the Traditions for nMage. Chalk it up with Pathbooks for likelyhood, though.)
Vampire doesn’t do that. Even Ancient Mysteries was presented as snapshots and the Clanbooks were riddled with lies (which were even pointed out as such). It’s because of the way the Fog of Eternity works.
As for Mummy… That would be telling. Does it have a creation myth, and does it have a detailed history between that myth and the modern day? That’s two seperate questions.
I have alot of questions about MtC, but I would have to say that the one that most interests me is how are they *different* from other supernatural denizens (splats if you will)? What is their specific purview?
I am very excited about this project and more so that it’s helmed by one of my favorite developers (besides Ethan of course).
Aw, thanks, Mojo. 🙂 New update coming tomorrow.
Oh good, I can stop wearing out my F5 button. 🙂
To me, the idea of Mummies and Curses smacks of the weight of history. The idea of what Mummies have done or endured in the past appeals to me, from human history to encounters with other supernaturals, either in general or specific incidents.
Also, any hints about the “City of Adventure” would be appreciated. So far, we’ve hit New Orleans, Miami, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver and Chicago. So which one’s next?
Maybe something this other side of the Ocean =P
Actually, there are two default settings this time — one in the U.S., one outside of it. The American city is the only obvious choice.
I would laugh for days if it turned out to be Memphis, TN.
Or Vegas.
Now I have visions of a mummy singing Viva Las Vegas.
Oh wait…who got detroit? I just mentally went through all the supernatural base cities and that’s the only one I can’t place.
It’s the Promethean-associated city, getting covered in “Saturnine Night”. Chicago is the Big Three’s ‘shared’ city.
Huh. DC might actually make an interesting one…lots of museums. Tons of conspiracy theories about occult architecture.
So, any word on a new blog post/spoiler?
Done and posted. 🙂
1) Will this be the first game having a band like Nile or Behemoth listed under inspiration or suggestion? 🙂
2) I realy´d like to see a powers-system like in the core NWoD games. While i love P:tC and G:tSe their power-system is way to complicated and non-streamlined. Something very straigth forward where you litteraly can guess what power level 5 will be, when you know what power level 1 is going to do.
3) I hope for excellent artwork. Well like always in WhiteWolf since twenty years. Tell us, who´s gonna be in there? A teaser picture maybe?
4) What will the signature city be?
I’m gonna disagree with you on Geist, at least. Geist had a really cool, really unique power set. You can fully guess what any level five power is gonna do: what level 1 did, but better. I would much prefer a wide range of powers grouped under a loose heading, a la C:tL and P:tC, then sequential powers like V:tR. But that’s my two cents.
Well, you´re right. Only thing that still confuses me personally (making the Geist system straight imho) is the whole thing with the different Keys. Love that idea but a terrible thing to look up and play at the table, at least in my experience.
Guess most people would disagree with me 🙂
Don’t know if that’s a most, but anyways. It was easy for me to memorize what key had what effect. So there’s that too
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This post is quite late as I just discovered the website. WOD Mummy 2nd Edition was my favorite WOD book in the oWOD line and I ran a year long campaign set in modern Istanbul using Mummy (with the Vampire the Masquerade and Wraith the Oblivion core books) back in college. I can’t thank you enough for deciding giving the green light to a Mummy Core Book!!! The idea of having a self-contained Mummy system that doesn’t require other core books to operate makes me want to cry. The fact that these mummies are going to be ancient…I think I just wet myself.
While this topic is quite old, I just wanted to throw in a few thoughts. Mummy 2nd Edition Ka and Ba mechanic led to characters having to return to the Underworld if their bodies were destroyed in order to build up the necessary Ba to resurrect their bodies. While in the Underworld the Wraith System was employed. I hope that this idea of having the characters (and the mechanics) for running adventures in the afterlife/underworld are provided. Part of what made the Mummy campaign so enjoyable for the players was that about half the story was set in the modern gothic-punk night and the other half was set in the Egyptian Underworld. With this book, there is a massive opportunity to fully flesh out the Egyptian afterlife setting, denizens, and mechanics specific to the Mummy Afterlife. I am not saying that the entire Wraith rules need to be updated and included (in fact I had to modify the Wraith rules a lot to make it more Egyptian, i.e. Mummy’s don’t have Shadows so that mechanic was dropped). Instead, there is an opportunity to do a unique Egyptian afterlife system. Further, an afterlife system would lead to a second layer of depth and completely different story opportunities outside of the gothic-punk mood (much like the Werewolf Umbra). Further, it allows for the player’s personal exploration of death and religion in the post-modern/gothic-punk setting. On a personal note, I actually dug up my old AD&D 1st Edition Deities and Demi-God book and Budge’s “Egyptian Religion” to create a fully fleshed out Egyptian pantheon using the Wraith rules.
Just a quick thought on the default city settings. I do hope that we see an Egyptian City. While Cairo would be the obvious choice, I would actually vote for Alexandria. The city has such a deep history and lots of cultural interactions (read potential plot and character ideas): Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Coptic, Jewish, etc. For the “American” setting, I would vote for Mexico because it allows for the Aztec religion/afterlife to be employed.
Finally, I hope that the heavy Vampire meta-story influence is scaled back. While it is an interesting one that leads to a bevy of plot opportunities and great antagonists, I think that interactions and conflicts between the mummies and their followers/cultists/worshipers should be the dominate meta-story. However, I think it would be a waste (of great plots and antagonists) to completely divorce the Vampire element from Mummy. I hope an appendix covering the Followers of Set (and Vampires) will be provided with in-depth background and rules (within the Mummy context, again we don’t need the V20 rules reprinted, but much like V20 did with Wraiths or Werewolves).
I am going to make a plea. Please, PLEASE do a full appendix on Mummy Cultists. They deserve to have full character creation rules and mechanics so that players/storytellers can run cultist campaigns. Much like Ghouls: Fatal Addiction, Mediums, Sorcerer, or Damned and Deceived, cultist campaigns would be fascinating player stories to explore. Seeing and taking part of ancient Mummy conflicts through the eyes of a mortal (perhaps gifted with certain advantages by the mummy they worship as a god and/or the potential to learn Hedge Magic) would be a completely different way to experience the Mummy world. Further the cultist campaign would have themes unique to its mortal characters.
Man, how much more stuff on cultists do we need? They have already been covered way back in WoD: Antagonists, Blasphemies for Werewolves, more than one Vampire book , Hunter and probably a few books I don’t recall at the moment.