So let's put supers aside for a while and take a look at some White Wolf / Onyx Path games – notably anything involving mummies. We'll take a look at them in chronological order:
Classic World of Darkness
Mummy 2nd Edition (1997)
Mummy: The Resurrection (2001)
New World of Darkness
Promethean: The Created (2006)
Mummy: The Curse (2012)
Mummy 2nd Edition is an interesting book, not the least of which because the metaplot draws together no fewer than three product lines. The war between Osiris and Set is largely vampiric in nature – over the course of his lifetime, Osiris:
- Is Embraced as a vampire, creating a cult of ghouls
- Suffers True Death...
- But somehow gets better, thanks to Anubis
- ...who helps him master the Beast, effectively reaching Golconda in the afterlife
- ...and teaches him magical secrets that, among other things, help Isis and Nephthys Awaken (Mage: the Ascension)
- All the while, fighting alongside the Mokolé and Bubastis Changing Breeds, as well as the Silent Striders werewolves (Werewolf: the Apocalypse)
- And technically, all mummies spend time as incorporeal Wraiths before returning to the mortal realm (Wraith: the Oblivion)
It's busy, but it's flavorful, and the explicit melding of multiple mythoi is far less cautious than many other corebooks in the Classic World of Darkness. It's far from the "toolbox" philosophy that Onyx Path is moving towards these days, but it's a start, and I like it.
STEP ONE: CHARACTER CONCEPT
Who are you?
- Identity: Who were you; what have you become?
- Current Name: Dawn LeFevre
- Known Name: Duayet, "dawn"
- True Name: Am-Kenmet, "eater of darkness"
- Year of Birth: 340 BC
- Apparent Age: 28 (Great Rite performed in 312 BC)
- Occupation: What were you in your First Life, and what have you brought with you from that existence?
I was born in the city of Râ-Kedet to a holy man and his wife. I opened my eyes to the sun before either of my parents, and so my father named me Duayet after the dawn I couldn't wait to see. It was, I was always told, a portent of a great destiny. The youngest of four surviving children, I was taught the old stories, and my father always said that though names may change as empires fall, a god's true heart always weighs the same on the scales of Ma'at.
Nearly ten years later, the conqueror who styled himself the son of Amun broke the back of the Achaemenid Empire and celebrated his victory by founding Alexandria in Râ-Kedet's shadow. Our fortunes grew as the new capital flourished, and my mother joined the growing priesthood as I grew older. Having taken to some of the languages that our position in the world brought to Râ-Kedet, I sought my fortune as a scribe and translator for the burgeoning civil government – no obstacle to as well-placed a family as mine.
It was during my years in the halls of power that I saw the darkest of my father's stories made flesh. As great as Alexandria became, corruption festered after Alexander left – and especially after he died. It is a small miracle that such great works could flourish in a den of vipers, or so I thought until the Shemsu-heru revealed themselves to me.
"A fine vintage," the sallow-faced servant said, "a boon from my master to celebrate the continued sanctity of our city." Though he was venal, I did not fear Sut, for we had worked together for many years, and his inborn curiosity matched my own. I raised the cup in toast to the general who protected us against the ambition of those that would succeed Alexander.
As I lifted the cup to my lips, the door burst open with a flash of sunlight – strange, as it was dusk – and the wine splashed to the floor, smoking. Sut cowered in the corner.
"Protect me!" he shouted, shielding his eyes – though I could see no danger from the luminous figure in the doorway, a stranger who wore the robes of a scribe like myself.
"Your presence is requested," he intoned with all the diction and gravity of a high priest, nodding to both of us in turn. "Both of you."
Dawn brought a strong background in Egyptian theology, language, and civil politics to the Cult of Isis, and after undergoing the Great Rite in 312 BC, to the Shemsu-Heru.
The ghul Sut, his supply of vitae depleted, aged 150 years over the course of three days, his ashes scattered to the wind.
I have been a priestess and a thief; a scribe and a spy; a soldier and a CEO. I remember it all. The faces of the damned, the battle cries of the just, and a thousand words for suffering across a thousand languages or more.
It is a weight I am glad you do not bear.
...You just wanted to know my name? Ask more carefully next time!
– Dawn Lefevre to Violet Shah on their first meeting at Café Isis, Rome
It was during my years in the halls of power that I saw the darkest of my father's stories made flesh. As great as Alexandria became, corruption festered after Alexander left – and especially after he died. It is a small miracle that such great works could flourish in a den of vipers, or so I thought until the Shemsu-heru revealed themselves to me.
"A fine vintage," the sallow-faced servant said, "a boon from my master to celebrate the continued sanctity of our city." Though he was venal, I did not fear Sut, for we had worked together for many years, and his inborn curiosity matched my own. I raised the cup in toast to the general who protected us against the ambition of those that would succeed Alexander.
As I lifted the cup to my lips, the door burst open with a flash of sunlight – strange, as it was dusk – and the wine splashed to the floor, smoking. Sut cowered in the corner.
"Protect me!" he shouted, shielding his eyes – though I could see no danger from the luminous figure in the doorway, a stranger who wore the robes of a scribe like myself.
"Your presence is requested," he intoned with all the diction and gravity of a high priest, nodding to both of us in turn. "Both of you."
Dawn brought a strong background in Egyptian theology, language, and civil politics to the Cult of Isis, and after undergoing the Great Rite in 312 BC, to the Shemsu-Heru.
The ghul Sut, his supply of vitae depleted, aged 150 years over the course of three days, his ashes scattered to the wind.
I have been a priestess and a thief; a scribe and a spy; a soldier and a CEO. I remember it all. The faces of the damned, the battle cries of the just, and a thousand words for suffering across a thousand languages or more.
It is a weight I am glad you do not bear.
...You just wanted to know my name? Ask more carefully next time!
– Dawn Lefevre to Violet Shah on their first meeting at Café Isis, Rome
- Nature and Demeanor (Optional):
I'll note that Mummy 2nd Edition only includes a few Risen-specific Archetypes, and that I'm glad that nWoD games only ever required the World of Darkness corebook to ensure playability. Onyx Path is releasing completely independent corebooks nowadays – I believe that Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition was the first, and it's a doozy.
So after plumbing the depths of VtM 3rd Edition...
Nature: Perfectionist – Regain a point of Willpower whenever you accomplish your goal without any demonstrable flaw or impediment.
My father taught me that there is a nature behind all things, and that knowing a fact and mastering a principle are thousands of miles apart. I strive for clear-headed understanding in all things, although that takes more time than some less thorough allies might prefer.
Demeanor: Traditionalist
My father also taught me that while new names may obscure the truth, they are a powerful cloak against fear and suspicion. Whoever first said "when in Rome" might very well have been a mummy.
STEP TWO: ATTRIBUTES
What are your basic capabilities?
Primary 7, Secondary 5, Tertiary 3
- Choose Physical, Social, and Mental Traits (1 dot in each automatically)
I think there's a clear hierarchy in Dawn's background of Mental, Social, and Physical traits. Here we go!
Mental
Manipulation •••◦◦
Appearance ••◦◦◦
Young Duayet inherited both of her parents' personal magnetism.
Physical
Strength ••◦◦◦
Dexterity •••◦◦
Stamina ••◦◦◦ (5 freebie points)
Mental
Perception ••••◦
Intelligence ••••• (5 freebie points)
Wits ••◦◦◦
Intelligence ••••• (5 freebie points)
Wits ••◦◦◦
Before joining the Shemsu-heru, Dawn was a keen observer and clear-headed interpreter of the world around her. She was rarely called upon to improvise, however, which is fortunate, given that she isn't the best at thinking on her feet.
Social
Charisma •••◦◦Manipulation •••◦◦
Appearance ••◦◦◦
Young Duayet inherited both of her parents' personal magnetism.
Physical
Strength ••◦◦◦
Dexterity •••◦◦
Stamina ••◦◦◦ (5 freebie points)
Dawn was never a laborer, nor much of an athlete. She naturally excelled at calligraphy in several languages, and it's not difficult to see why.
STEP THREE: ABILITIES
What do you know?
Primary 20, Secondary 15, Tertiary 10
- Choose Talents, Skills, and Knowledges
Learning wins out again -- Knowledges, Talents, then Skills.
Knowledges (20)
Computer •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn is minimally competent with computers.
Cosmology ••◦◦◦ – The world makes much more sense now, though the practical implications are far more interesting and pertinent than anything else.
Enigmas ••◦◦◦ – She never could shy away from a good puzzle.
Finance ••◦◦◦ – A couple of her siblings became moderately successful merchants, and some principles never change.
Investigation ◦◦◦◦◦
Law ••◦◦◦ – Speaking of principles that never change, Dawn has made it a priority to understand the legal traditions of the places she calls home. She hasn't been able to practice law for well over a millennium, though.
Linguistics ••••• (2 freebie points)– Definitely worth extending with freebies, giving Dawn 16 languages beyond ancient Egyptian. She gains a specialty in tomb carvings, regardless of culture – something about funerary inscriptions just naturally makes sense to her.
Medicine ◦◦◦◦◦
Mythology (New) ••••◦ – Once the veil over the Egyptian mythos was lifted, Dawn's curiosity couldn't be restrained. She has an excellent working knowledge of classical and contemporary myths, though her first-hand experience is naturally focused on ancient Egypt.
Occult ••◦◦◦ – Dawn has a good bullshit detector where the supernatural is concerned, and mystic abilities that fill in the gaps.
Science ◦◦◦◦◦
Thanatology (New) •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn did not serve the Cult of Isis for very long before joining the battle against set as a member of the Shemsu-Heru. Her cross-cultural understanding of death is more limited than her mythological studies, and she tends to view most dead and undead through an Egyptian lens.
Talents (15)
Animal Empathy (New) ◦◦◦◦◦
Alertness •◦◦◦◦ – Although she has better ways of seeing than mortal eyes, Dawn still keeps them open.
Athletics ◦◦◦◦◦
Awareness (New) •••◦◦ – Dawn has an intuitive understanding of magic, and at three dots, can read auras and general moods naturally.
Brawl ◦◦◦◦◦
Divination (New) •••◦◦ – You never forget your first liver. Dawn has served as a priestess in several cultures after becoming immortal.
Dodge ◦◦◦◦◦
Empathy ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – Being immortal can be lonely, and Dawn can assuage that to a certain extent in shorter-lived beings.
Expression ••◦◦◦ – Although she certainly never reached the heights of either of her parents, Dawn can be quite stirring when the situation calls for it.
Intimidation •◦◦◦◦ – She exudes a certain aura of authority, though she's not the most imposing figure.
Streetwise ••◦◦◦ – Her fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries, and though she's doing well nowadays, she has never forgotten how to fade into a crowd.
Subterfuge •◦◦◦◦ – A little lie never hurt anyone.
Skills (10)
Crafts (New) ••◦◦◦ – Dawn can still inscribe clay and stone with hieroglyphs.
Drive •◦◦◦◦ – Not every immortal can do this.
Etiquette ◦◦◦◦◦
Firearms ◦◦◦◦◦
Leadership ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – She can keep a small team on task.
Meditation ◦◦◦◦◦
Melee ••◦◦◦ – Can't rightly fight a war without a weapon. Dawn can still hold a knife with confidence.
Performance ◦◦◦◦◦
Scribing (New) •••◦◦ – Her hand is still steady.
Security ◦◦◦◦◦
Stealth ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – As an initiate in the Cult, young Duayet was called upon to spy on the lower echelons of Alexandrian government. Laying low is still a priority.
Survival ◦◦◦◦◦
Knowledges (20)
Computer •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn is minimally competent with computers.
Cosmology ••◦◦◦ – The world makes much more sense now, though the practical implications are far more interesting and pertinent than anything else.
Enigmas ••◦◦◦ – She never could shy away from a good puzzle.
Finance ••◦◦◦ – A couple of her siblings became moderately successful merchants, and some principles never change.
Investigation ◦◦◦◦◦
Law ••◦◦◦ – Speaking of principles that never change, Dawn has made it a priority to understand the legal traditions of the places she calls home. She hasn't been able to practice law for well over a millennium, though.
Linguistics ••••• (2 freebie points)– Definitely worth extending with freebies, giving Dawn 16 languages beyond ancient Egyptian. She gains a specialty in tomb carvings, regardless of culture – something about funerary inscriptions just naturally makes sense to her.
Medicine ◦◦◦◦◦
Mythology (New) ••••◦ – Once the veil over the Egyptian mythos was lifted, Dawn's curiosity couldn't be restrained. She has an excellent working knowledge of classical and contemporary myths, though her first-hand experience is naturally focused on ancient Egypt.
Occult ••◦◦◦ – Dawn has a good bullshit detector where the supernatural is concerned, and mystic abilities that fill in the gaps.
Science ◦◦◦◦◦
Thanatology (New) •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn did not serve the Cult of Isis for very long before joining the battle against set as a member of the Shemsu-Heru. Her cross-cultural understanding of death is more limited than her mythological studies, and she tends to view most dead and undead through an Egyptian lens.
Talents (15)
Animal Empathy (New) ◦◦◦◦◦
Alertness •◦◦◦◦ – Although she has better ways of seeing than mortal eyes, Dawn still keeps them open.
Athletics ◦◦◦◦◦
Awareness (New) •••◦◦ – Dawn has an intuitive understanding of magic, and at three dots, can read auras and general moods naturally.
Brawl ◦◦◦◦◦
Divination (New) •••◦◦ – You never forget your first liver. Dawn has served as a priestess in several cultures after becoming immortal.
Dodge ◦◦◦◦◦
Empathy ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – Being immortal can be lonely, and Dawn can assuage that to a certain extent in shorter-lived beings.
Expression ••◦◦◦ – Although she certainly never reached the heights of either of her parents, Dawn can be quite stirring when the situation calls for it.
Intimidation •◦◦◦◦ – She exudes a certain aura of authority, though she's not the most imposing figure.
Streetwise ••◦◦◦ – Her fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries, and though she's doing well nowadays, she has never forgotten how to fade into a crowd.
Subterfuge •◦◦◦◦ – A little lie never hurt anyone.
Skills (10)
Crafts (New) ••◦◦◦ – Dawn can still inscribe clay and stone with hieroglyphs.
Drive •◦◦◦◦ – Not every immortal can do this.
Etiquette ◦◦◦◦◦
Firearms ◦◦◦◦◦
Leadership ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – She can keep a small team on task.
Meditation ◦◦◦◦◦
Melee ••◦◦◦ – Can't rightly fight a war without a weapon. Dawn can still hold a knife with confidence.
Performance ◦◦◦◦◦
Scribing (New) •••◦◦ – Her hand is still steady.
Security ◦◦◦◦◦
Stealth ••◦◦◦ (2 freebie points) – As an initiate in the Cult, young Duayet was called upon to spy on the lower echelons of Alexandrian government. Laying low is still a priority.
Survival ◦◦◦◦◦
STEP FOUR: ADVANTAGES
In what ways are you unique?
- Choose Hekau Paths: three dots, plus one free dot in Necromancy
Amulets •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn can craft small wards against certain types of magic and damage.
Alchemy ◦◦◦◦◦
Celestial ◦◦◦◦◦
Necromancy •◦◦◦◦
Ren-hekau ••◦◦◦ – The power of names is deeper than Dawn's father ever imagined.
Ushabti ◦◦◦◦◦
- Choose Background Traits: six dots
Arcane •◦◦◦◦ – Dawn is harder to remember than most people, having spent time making her Name less visible.
Retainers •◦◦◦◦ – One member of the Cult of Isis still keeps the faith for her. Violet Shah is an initiate of the Cult that practices a limited version of Hekau, specializing in the creation of Amulets. Strictly speaking, Violet is better at it than Dawn. Violet helps maintain Dawn's Tomb, and the two have fought the agents of Set together on more than one occasion.
Resources ••••◦ (2 freebie points) – Dawn is reasonably well-heeled. (This will get at least another dot when freebies are spent.)
Tomb •••◦◦ (1 freebie point) – Located on the outskirts of Rome, Dawn's Tomb has served her in her efforts against the Kindred of Italy for thousands of years.
- Choose Virtues: 7 dots in Memory, Integrity, and Joy (1 dot in each automatically)
Memory ••••◦ – Eidetic
Integrity •••◦◦ – Virtuous
Joy •••◦◦ – Sunny
STEP FIVE: LAST TOUCHES
- Record base Willpower = Integrity + Joy = 6
- Record base Humanity = Memory + Integrity = 7 + 1 for 1 freebie points
- Record base Sekhem = 3 + 2 for 4 freebie points
- Record Ba = single d10 = 10
- Record base Ka = 5 + 1 for 4 freebie points
- Spend 30 freebie points – done! Note that I am using the Mummy 2nd Edition errata, which completely revamp the costs.
- Acquire Merits and Flaws – nah. Also, if Merits and Flaws give freebie points, why the devil does this come afterwards?
- Acquire base spells
Well, this is certainly interesting. The total number of difficulty levels of spells you can take is equal to Sekhem times the sum of Hekau paths. Dawn can thus take 5*4 = 20 difficulty levels.
Amulets (max level 1) – Simple Ward (6)
Necromancy (max level 1) – Revisit Death (6)
Ren-hekau (max level 2) – Asking the Trees (Level 1, Difficulty 3), Mend the Flesh (Level 2, Difficulty 5)
And that's it! Let's look at everything!
To be honest, this character creation process left a lot of questions unanswered – but I believe that more modern RPGs, even less narratively focused ones, tend to ask more pointed questions of players. Some systems are basically nothing but writing prompts, where characters are made of principles and themes far more than numbers and abilities. Luckily, this isn't the last we've seen of Dawn...
Next time, we'll take a look at Mummy: The Resurrection, and see how the war between Apophis and Ra has played out in the shadow of the devastating Dja-akh.
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