Down the Darkened Hall

Hi, everyone!

After a (long) hiatus, allow me to cordially welcome you back to the blog. Back when I kicked this thing off, the initial intent was just to run it full-throttle through the Mummy Deluxe Edition Kickstarter, but it appears some people have been missing my updates and teasers (dawww), so I’m back to re-engage all you fine, Wodding folks here. Sure, there are other sources out there for product information and the like, but there’s only one Mummy blog, and this be it. As ever, thanks for tuning in.

So, with Guildhalls of the Deathless now in layout (and looking sharp, if I do say so), it seems a great time to tease a new game element that will be debuting in that sourcebook — one that my team and I are pretty excited to see all you fine players and Storytellers incorporate into your games.

It’s about talismans, see. And what, exactly, is a talisman to the Arisen? Well, have a gander at the bit of text below, which comes straight from the sourcebook, and you’ll find out.

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Talismans

Arisen scavenge the relics they once helped manufacture and steal counterparts made by mortal prodigies the world over. They can often forget their unnatural state until confronted with the fact that true life includes a subtle creative power denied them by the Rite of Return.

But in the millennia since the fall of Irem, Arisen steeped in the lore of their guilds learned to bypass this restriction, after a fashion. Through a form of occult cannibalism, they created talismans. They learned to sacrifice a fraction of Sekhem to a relic of the maker’s guild — a ready-made vessel for Arisen Sekhem. In this way, the Deathless modify relics to manifest novel abilities and enhance their innate powers.

Sesha-Hebsu say they discovered talisman-making in their research and shared it with the other guilds. Scribes might deserve praise for releasing this knowledge, but according to rumor, they unearthed it by investigating the Lost Guild and the Deceived. (Thus, some think creating them may call upon the same forces that led others astray.) Suspicious mummies don’t have any evidence, and the Judges do not punish Arisen who make talismans. Most treat the craft as a morally neutral if risky pursuit with undeniable rewards: mighty Utterances, Sekhem, and bulwarks against weakness and destruction. Some benefits go to the talisman’s maker, others work for almost any being, and others still… are best used by thieves.

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Until next time,

Senebti!