Hi, gang,
Last week, we introduced you to the concept of the Arisen, the principle protagonists of Mummy. Since who/what the Arisen are is central to the game, we’re going to continue our discussion of them this week. My principle cohort on the nature and design of the Arisen was the esteemed Malcolm Sheppard, so he’ll be helping me guest-blog on all related posts. I hope you’ll welcome his contributions as warmly as you’ve welcomed mine.
Fortunately, the mummy’s magical body — his sahu — isn’t locked into a mutilated, dead state. Magic responds to thought and emotion, so an Arisen with an elementary understanding of his Memory reshapes himself into a simulacrum of his living form. But memories are unreliable. Sometimes, the mummy takes the shape of his dreams of youth and health. Sometimes he forgets life signs he never paid much attention to before — he doesn’t blink, or his heart forgets to race with exertion. And sometimes twisted thoughts inflict themselves on the sahu as physical Flaws. CAS and I designed these systems to produce atmosphere over punishment. In a game where characters possess powerful, common drives, it’s important to find ways for players to add an individual style.
Despite the fact that the sahu isn’t a projection, but a real bodily form, that’s not to say it maintains its cohesion at all times. Most of the time, it displays the mummy’s overall remembrance of itself, as noted above. At certain times, though (especially in the early moments after arising), the Arisen’s corpse-form shows through, offering the seeming of the traditional “shambling mummy.” And finally, whenever an Arisen calls upon the greatest magics at its disposal, its ancient power surges, revealing its essential nature to those nearby. For other mummies, and those capable of perceiving magical patterns, this actually results in a glorious secondary seeming, superimposed over the first. In these moments, the Arisen’s majesty and age are on full and terrible display.
Do the Arisen need to tend to their preservation, such as by renewing their rituals or maintaining a quantity of their preservation components?
When the mummy suffers severe damage, then it gets time to start lashing and stitching things together. Crafts . . . is useful.
I really want to like this, but it sounds a lot like Promethean.
Without giving away too many spoilers, it might be helpful to highlight what role the mummies play in the nWoD cosmology in a future blog post.
Hiya. While it’s true that Promethean borrowed a little bit from the mummy ethos, I took all that into account while designing the core structure of Mummy. I’ve read Promethean cover to cover and playtested it, myself, so any overlap is either purely superficial or carefully avoided. Mummy: The Curse is its own game, its characters their own unique presences in the WoD; that said, Mummy hasn’t and won’t be shying away from any pertinent concepts or aesthetics that belong rightfully to the oeuvre. By and large, all the new WoD games are marked by a return to Gothic form, and Mummy is no exception.
Even if Mummy is markedly independent from Promethean, it would still be interesting to know their relationship to one of the Promethean lineages, the Nepri, who are explicitly bound to Egyptian history and mythology. While I’m sure you want to establish the relative autonomy of this game line, there appears to me an interesting basis for possible crossovers and interactions between Mummies and Prometheans.
The themes of Mummy don’t seem like those of Promethean at all. Just because the protagonists, at a superficial look, both look dead given the right circumstances, doesn’t make it the same game. It’s the themes that define these games.
I guess the only question i have at this junction is “Is this shell wrapped around the remains and makes them ambulatory, or is the magic body seperate from the remains?” The latter would make for some interesting games of keep away and protect the artifact that can harm me the most. Merits such as the Background from OWoD Tomb could see a return also in a new and shiny form. If it’s the former, then some strange soul situations could definetly occur.
Took the question right out of my mind. I’m not sure which answer I would like better, honestly. The idea of the corpse being separate creates secrecy issues: you’d think if there were a lot of mummies around, you’d hear more stories about people accidentally stumbling upon 3000 year old egyptian mummies in peoples’ basements. But it also creates that keep away issue, which is good story fodder. So I dunno!
Think of the Ship of Theseus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus). The Arisen are old enough (and lead “interesting” enough existences) that as wear and tear destroys their flesh, their sheath of [REDACTED] provides replacements — but the replacements are solidified sorcery, applied to a body that was irrevocably changed by magic in the first place.
Malcolm, that makes total sense, but I think what Lostkith is asking (and what I definitely am) is whether the sheath of [Redacted] is wrapped around the Arisen’s original mummified body, or whether the mummified corpse is lying in repose somewhere while the Arisen’s consciousness runs around in the Sheath separately.
The answer to that . . . is not simple.
A little bit of half and half then, or is the awnser bigger? In that you can’t make a blanket statement because it’s one of the variables that each individual character has some choice or say during the creation of such said character? Perhaps it’s why some can pick up related mystical objects to heal their form but need to apply the objects/pultice/ritual to their remains in order to heal, but for other Mummy types it’s easier to heal their form because it is only a living bio-energy field and only requires a bit more juice to stabalize/heal.
Basically i’m hypothesizing that this choice is mixed in within the type of mummy genesis, certain merits and a judicious splash of descriptive power.
Wasn’t expecting them to be undead but hey I’ll go with it. Wonder how this variation in how Memory forms the details of your body will translate mechanically. Seems like a lot of crazy stuff.
Very nice thematically and I can see the mechanic of memory and emotion affecting what you perceive as you literally changing what you are. It also means insane antagonists could look anything from perfectly normal to horrifically frightening.
I approve.
If there’s any question about Mummy: the Curse I’d love to have answered, it’s this one – what do mummies do in the setting that’s interesting and fun to roleplay and gameable?
They fight crime!
Seriously, Mummy is a game that does have a straightforward-looking “mission,” but there are built-in tensions between this and character motivations.
Everybody does! It’s a miracle there’s still crime left to fight in the WoD ..
Very good; I’m a fan of straightforward looking-missions and go-to plots or games. Tensions are good as well.
I find myself getting very hyped for this game.
One thing I’m curious about, as they are going to be undead with the Memory mechanic, will they have a relation of some kind to the underworld?
You mentioned Necromatic energy, and that makes me thing straight away of the underworld and possibly along the lines of Sin-Eaters (Although their energy is from the Geist, but the Underworld seems to have sources of power)
With the Memory mechanic I think the Ocean of Fragments at the ‘bottom’ of the Underworld would be a place to avoid!
Keep in mind that this is a core game, and it isn’t designed in a “Oh look, we have to awkwardly design around this thing in another game,” fashion. Think of how, when you look at Vampire stuff, it doesn’t read like it’s been changed for the sake of Werewolf/Mage. The idea is to present standalone integrity. You can hook things up into a grand cross-game vision though — the space is there.
A fair point, and it is one of the more appealing aspects of the World of Darkness game lines for me, the ability to either run them as stand alone or crossover with relative if not total ease.
Excellent stuff, keep it coming. On a side note: please tell me this is some of the sample artwork we’ll be seeing in the core book, because I love it!
“By and large, all the new WoD games are marked by a return to Gothic form, and Mummy is no exception.”
*This* is why I absolutely LOVE the new world of darkness to its predecessor. Thank you for saying it, this may become my sig.
This is sounding better and better all the time. I’m crossing my fingers we see a GenCon release on this. I am extremely excited. This really sounds like there is a LOT of room for epic struggle, tragedy and loss, with just enough sparks of hope to make it all worth while.
I’d like to make a request, if there could be a blog post on how you intend to sell the game. If it will be pdf/hard copy through DriveThru and more details on the virtual box set.
I love this because it combines what I was afraid of with what i was hoping for.
The word ‘sheath’ sounds like a familiar concept, memories of Wraith and the Benendanti, as well as Mage and MtR; auras, hallows, khu, etc… I wonder if this description of The Memory in Flesh refers to only The Arisen, which we were told earlier were just one type of Mummy.
Though I was afraid that MtC would go to far in the undead direction, i’m glad that their bodies also sound somewhat like manifestations of the spirit (which is a nice way around being just another undead shambler character).
also, one wonders if this reliance on Memory to form an appropriate living body (and accurate reproduction of oneself) could lead you to logically conclude that some Mummies have the ability to Think the appearance they want to have, and make it so.
I’m incredibly excited to see the final product of this game, and to see whether or not the development team has dealt with mummies from other cultures than just ancient Egypt.
One thing I am curious about. In the other NWoD lines, the characters have generally become supernatural only recently (unless the Storyteller is running a game of older characters). Playing millenia-old characters has got to have a very different feel than ones that are relatively young and naive to the ways of the WoD…unless the Memory mechanic means that the Arisen never really have access to ALL of their memories at once. So, maybe their most recent memories of living in a modern world are fresh and alive, while their older memories must be sifted through like so many musty old books. Cool.
Was wishing they were not undead. Only because I thought you could explore some of the downsides of immortality a bit differently as perpetually renewing living beings rather than the undead. But at this point I’ll wait and see. As we don’t know enough about the day to day nature and supernatural qualities of the Arisen to know what they face. The exact nature of this magical superimposing makes me ask a lot of interesting questions. Given the better situation with Changelings and their nature compared to the confusion of chimerical reality in CWoD Changling. I expect that the book will go into some detail to clarify things about the nature of the Arisen body. Still I hope it isn’t so much an illusion as a magically created simulacrum. Particularly curious how this effects their senses and what Arisen can experience as a result.
“Undead” is just a word, and it doesn’t really mean anything. I mean, vampires are “undead” but by any definition they eat, metabolize, and reproduce (if somewhat parasitically), so really the better word for them is “alive”. In that sense, undead is so vague as to mean “anything that stopped living the way humans do, and started living some different way”. I mean, sin-eaters are undead by a lot of reckonings, too, they just look good for it.
It sounds like the arisen get full working real human bodies, even if those bodies are magically created and sustained. Which means they do live immortal lives with basically living bodies. How that happens is just weird and complicated.
“Undead” is just a word, and it doesn’t really mean anything. I mean, vampires are “undead” but by any definition they eat, metabolize, and reproduce (if somewhat parasitically), so really the better word for them is “alive”.”
Not really. There is variation in the level of functionality and mechanic with undead beings but “undead” means something distinctly different for splats compared to folks like mortals, Mages, Werewolves, Changelings. Vampires are undead, not alive. They are ambulatory corpses with some sub distinction with that due to the nature of the Kindred. So saying undead is just a word and meaningless is at best, misleading.
And Sin Eaters are alive. Not undead. So if the writers are specifically saying they are undead, then it’s putting them in a category distinct from living splats.
Heya. “Undead” and “Necromantic” are appropriate words in this case, because the Arisen are dessicated corpses when they’re not active or when their Sahu fails – they died, back in the recesses of Deep Time, and repeatedly die through the ages since. Within that magical memory-form there’s a very old dead thing. I know there are some interpretations of Mummy-like creatures in media that aren’t undead, but the difference between the kind of Gothic Imhotep we’re going for and, say, Highlander? It’s that our guys are both animated corpses *and* serially-alive immortals. Vigorously alive, even.
See, one of the defining characteristics of corpses is that they basically never amble. Right about the time you start ambling, you’re not so much a corpse anymore. Maybe you were once, and that’s about the best definition I can think of for undead: someone who used to be a corpse but isn’t anymore.
That’s a good point, Cameron. And for what it’s worth, the Arisen are essentially both alive *and* undead. Such is the nature of their condition, and it says so expressly in the core set.
Interesting. I would definitely be more excited as we get information on this. Anything that is a new twist on the concepts of “undeath”is a plus in my book. From some rumblings I saw on the Rpg.net Mummy thread. This looks to be shaping up to be one of the more unique takes on using the NWoD Storytelling mechanics as well as fluff wise/
The undead state of the Arisen makes perfect sense in a game that is representative of the experience of old age. Consider the symbolism of characters who are dried up dead corpses beneath the illusion of healthy young bodies. It’s also thematically appropriate for the imperfect illusion to crack and split at times.
This here? This is what we’re shooting for.
As a fan of the original WoD: Mummy, I like what I’m seeing here. These dudes basically ARE Imhotep.
I’m still holding out hope that one of the other varieties of Deathless will be fully biologically alive and truly resurrect themselves rather than reanimate their corpses, but if Mummy doesn’t give us that I still have the Purified. Something about the image of someone who’s so full of life they literally won’t stay dead just resonates with me, I guess.
(I remember hearing speculation or an alleged leak that the Purified would get an expanded treatment in Mummy as a variety of Deathless, but even if not I’m sure I’ll be able to easily bodge something together, using M:tC to expand on the material in WoD: Immortals.)
Does Mummy have any kind of sideways relation to, or was inspired by, Catherynne Valente’s novel “Deathless.”
I’m noticing some similarities in the way the Sahu works and Koschei from the book. I figure there’s a low chance, but I thought I’d ask.
I think there’s a law against me using Kosciej the Deathless for inspiration any more.
So, not as far as I know. I’m off to find a copy of that book now, though.
Also. I know you all aren’t really fielding questions so if I’m being annoying I apologize in advance. Does Mummy:The Curse deal with psychopomps in any way?
I think that may be answered with my question about a connection to the Underworld further up the page. Though If I’m wrong there will probably be a post shortly saying so…
This comment is going to be critical; I just want you to know that I’m saying this constructively, and in no way to disparage your work on the book. Developing a game isn’t an easy task, so I’m saying this to help, not to piss you off.
The “Solid Magic” bit should be abolished. It’s vague, uninspired… the kind of thing I’d expect to find on a fan-website from 10 years ago. For free. Not the kind of substance I’d pay money for in a book or PDF.
It amounts to answering the question “why does a mummy’s appearance change based on their emotional state?” with “eh… just ’cause.” Changing appearance is awesome. It’s exactly what I would hope from the new mummy. I want to see mummies go from looking normal to being desiccated husks with burning eyes and dusty flesh.
But why “solidified magic”? Is there something wrong with magic keeping the dead flesh in stasis (treating magic as a process or force rather than some kind of mystical tofu)? Is there a problem with there being fluctuations in the strength of the magic that cause variations in the mummy’s appearance?
Leaving the question unanswered, or answering it with “some mummies theorize that…” would both be better choices. Otherwise, you’re looking to print the kind of thing that gets ret-conned in the next edition. Maybe not as bad as “soul-eaters” but on about the same level of creativity.
I’m sure a lot of people will look at what’s written and not see any problem with it. The problem I see is that if you’re making a new edition of Mummy, you should be trying to write a better book than the older game. This isn’t to disparage the original writers, but to progress the game and the company beyond what has already been done.
If this is the quality of the content we’ll be seeing, though, I’m not interested.
Again, please don’t take this as an attack on your creativity. If the idea didn’t seem cool to you guys, you wouldn’t have wrote it in. I’m challenging you to go deeper and don’t settle for crap like “tangible voodoo” to explain something so fundamental to the mummy’s state.
I have a question that’s not directly related to the above post. If it’s been answered somewhere else, feel free to just post a link.
Anyway, I noticed that the Tagline for this game is “The Curse” and I’m curious is to why that term was chosen for the game over, say, “the Arisen,” which seems to be the name of the main group of protagonists, or some variation on “Reawakening” or “Resurrection.” I mean, there doesn’t seem to be much “Curse” so far.
Hi, Wuse. That’s a fair question. And the answer is two-fold: “Mummy: The Arisen” would indeed have made a fine title, but it would also have resulted in another “MtA” acronym, and we like to avoid those sorts of confusing redundancies where possible. Beyond that, you’ll just have to stay tuned… there’s a *lot* to the world of Mummy that we haven’t even yet hinted at, and that includes the role and meaning of the game’s name.
For those who haven’t seen, there’s a new blog post up. 🙂
In the following blog, there is an explicit rejection of Cartesian dualism. That’s very exciting to me, as modernism seems the inescapable subtext of roleplaying despite many games purporting to deal with pre-modern (or even post-modern) ways of thinking about the world. But in this entry, the comments about memory shaping the sahu seem to totally undermine that declaration. The very phrase “solidified magic” presumes that magic is an immaterial thing that can become reified into matter. The premise seems extremely Cartesian to me: not only does thinking imply my existence but it also defines it.
I am not quite sure why people keep comparing this to Promethean. Promethean is nWOD. Mummy has been with oWOD for a very long time (2nd Edition was published in 1997). Mummy the Curse inhabits the oWOD. I think the thing that has impressed me thus far is how true this work is staying to the orginal Mummy themes and central ideas. I absolutely agree with CLAVDIVS…mummy characters are Imhotep pure and simple. Their motivations and conflicts span millenniums (not centuries). They are playing out chess games where moves may take decades, centuries, or longer. The absolute pillar to a mummy capaign is time and memory. In Mummy 2nd Edition the Virtue Memory indicated how much the Mummy could remember of his fragmented memories from the millennium. Storytellers could use this as flashback mechanism in which maybe you give the player a glimpse (like a passing thought or a dream sequence) or you could make it a scene (I had my mummy players have seperate character sheets for time periods their characters lived in) or even a campaign.
Mummies are not the crime fighters or the secret saviors of the oWOD. Mummies have very personal agendas, feuds, and personal desires that have had centuries upon centuries to develop, mature, fester, and twist into the dark and terrible fuels for their actions. With this amount of time at one’s fingertips a storyteller can create all kinds of different antagonists. Obviously other mummies make great antagonists , but also immortal vampires (traditionally the Followers of Set have been a major foe) who are trying to rule the WOD from the shadows (or awaken Set), cultist groups, hunters, and magicians all cross pathes with mummies. Also, the mummies are operating in 2 realms. While I have focused on the mortal world, the mummies are tied to the Underworld. Not only do they have to worry about the agendas of other mummies, vampires, and mortals, they are active players in the affairs of the Underworld. The Egyptian pantheon has its own goals and plans and the mummies (whether they want to are not) will end up being involved in the conflicts of the Underworld and its rulers and denizens.
In the end though, the mummies themselves are their own antagonists. they have watched not just their friends and family die, but they have witnessed their ENTIRE civilizations die. They have seen their world transformed into something utterly alien. Worse they can’t hope to possibly remember every event, person, and place in their lives regardless of how trival or important. Everything and everyone fades from their lives and then their minds. They are constantly trying to adjust to a world that is becoming darker and more twisted in the Modern Nights (this is the oWOD and the Time of Judgment does loom).
As a storyteller, this is the way I always approached my Mummy campaign. My players not only had to contend with the outer antagonists that they faced (some old and some new; some in this world and some in the afterlife) but they were constantly having to grapple with their own mortality and memories (of the things and people they have lost in this eternal journey).
“Mummy the Curse inhabits the oWOD”
Uh. Not really, no.