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Mummy: the Curse 2E Conversion

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  • Mummy: the Curse 2E Conversion

    Mummy: the Curse - 2E Update
    Builds on material from the White Wolf forums by JMobius

    Purpose for this hack
    I am a bit of a crossover fiend, and I want to make Mummy: the Curse mechanically compatible with Demon and the other Second Edition games. Also, I think that the Aspiration system and custom Memory Conditions can strongly reinforce the themes of Mummy.

    Limitations of this hack
    Modifying every single power to be in line with 2E games would take a lot of work and ultimately, it would generate a huge list of errata, which would make the game harder for me to run. Specifically, I won’t be modifying how ghosts are handled and I won’t be getting rid of the derangements inflicted by Utterances. I might convert some of those derangements into conditions in case they end up being inflicted on player characters, such as cultists. Also, too many powers key into the static list of Virtues and Vices, and I don’t know of an easy way to handle converting all of them to handle the 2E freeform Virtues and Vices without creating a giant list of errata.

    Character Creation and Experience costs

    Starting Experiences

    Starting mummies get 5 Experiences
    Acclimatized Arisen get 10 Experiences
    Descent Veterans get 20 Experiences
    Legendary Immortals get 40 Experiences

    Experience Costs

    Attributes - 4 Experiences
    Skills - 2 Experiences
    Skill Specialties - 1 Experience
    Merits - 1 Experiences per dot
    Willpower Dots - 1 Experiences
    Affinity Favored by decree, guild, or judge - 3 Experiences per dot
    Other Affinity - 4 Experiences
    Utterances - 3 Experiences
    Defining Pillar - 1 Experiences per dot
    Other Pillars - 2 Experiences per dot
    Memory - 3 Experiences

    Special considerations

    Attributes
    Mummies gain a beat for raising any attribute.

    Fated Affinities
    If a player buys a Fated Affinity, the character gains a beat.

    Affinity liquidation
    Liquidating an affinity grants 2 Experiences.

    Sebayt
    When the rules indicate that an Arisen earns Sebayt experience points, instead grant Sebayt beats. Five Sebayt beats equal one Sebayt Experience. Sebayt Experiences can only be spent on Memory and each expenditure to increase memory must use at least one Sebayt Experience.

    Cults
    The cult merit, while complex, relies on the Merit system, which means its costs seamlessly translate from 1st ed to 2nd ed. Two points of clarification seems necessary. First, to gain any cult benefits from selecting a type of cult, the player must first invest in at least one point of Reach or Grasp. Second, Reach and Grasp benefit from the Sanctity of Merits rule.

    Modified Traits

    Aspirations
    Arisen characters typically receive three aspirations, just like mortal characters. In rare cases, they will receive a fourth. They are selected as follows:
    • Personal goal - selected by the player character. If the Mummy attains Apotheosis, all three aspirations are personal goals.
    • First Purpose - Typically chosen by the cult that summons the Arisen, but if a mummy wakes due to the disturbance of their remains, and the plunderer escapes long enough for the mummy’s Memory to rise above 0, then Vengeance becomes the First Purpose. During a Sothic awakening, a mummy may select their own aspiration instead of a First Purpose.
    • Acquire vessels - This aspiration represents the constant urge to seek out and collect relics and vestiges. This aspiration refreshes itself when resolved, and it even persists through a Sothic awakening. Note - this aspiration grants a beat when the Arisen acquires a vessel, not when the vessel is sent to Duat.
    • Final Purpose - Rarely, Arisen will acquire a fourth aspiration related to the goals of their Judge. See MtC p 24. Arisen can no longer receive a Final Purpose if they attain Apotheosis.
    Language

    Instead of paying an experience to gain a new language after character creation, instead discard a beat. If the character has no beats, then they are put into debt. This modifies MtC page 79.

    Memory
    When the Arisen commit cruel acts or damages their identity, they suffer breaking points that can cause their respective memories and personalities to be suppressed.

    The dice pool is listed by the Memory rating + any circumstantial modifiers.

    Memory 10 (5 Dice)
    Concealing one’s identity.
    Disregarding the feelings of mortals.

    Memory 9 (5 Dice)
    Failing to meditate upon one’s Pillars daily.
    Harming one’s Cult in service to the Judges.

    Memory 8 (5 Dice)
    Pursuing one’s Judge’s purpose to preserve one’s Sekhem.
    Accidental injuring another

    Memory 7 (4 Dice)
    Destroying any remnant of the Nameless Empire.
    Sending a familiar Mummy into henet.
    Intentionally injuring another

    Memory 6 (4 Dice)
    Losing possession of a vessel created by one’s guild.
    Grand theft (burglary).
    Intentionally supernaturally damaging someone's mind.
    Torture

    Memory 5 (3 Dice)
    Destroying a vessel created by one’s guild.
    Intentional, mass property damage (arson).
    Accidentally killing

    Memory 4 (3 Dice)
    Allowing one of one’s vestiges to be destroyed.
    Impassioned crime (manslaughter).

    Memory 3 (3 Dice)
    Allowing anyone stealing from one’s tomb to go unpunished.
    Planned crime (murder).

    Memory 2 (2 Dice)
    Committing “suicide” by intentionally burning out one’s Sekhem or
    destroying one’s body.
    Casual/callous crime (serial murder).

    Memory 1 (2 Dice)
    Destroying evidence of one’s mortal life.
    Utter perversion, heinous act (mass murder).
    Killing one's Sadikh

    Special Circumstances

    Here are a few breaking point modifiers. The design goal here is that if Mummies suffer breaking points in defense of something or someone key to their identity, then they should have an easier time on the roll. Total modifier should never be greater than +/- 5 dice.


    Modifier / Breaking Point
    +1 Character is acting in accordance with her Virtue, Vice, or Decree.
    +1 Character is protecting a beloved cultist.
    +2 Character is protecting a Sadikh.
    -1 Character is acting against a Mummy seeking Apotheosis.
    -2 Character is destroying information related to Apotheosis.

    Roll Results
    Dramatic Failure: The character’s memories and sense of self has been warped and damaged. Lose a dot of Memory and choose from the following Conditions (or create a new one with Storyteller approval): False Memories, Fugue, or Madness.
    Failure: The character’s world view has been shaken and she probably questions his sense of self, her own moral worth, or his sanity. Lose a dot of Memory and choose one of the following Conditions (or create a new one with Storyteller approval): Lost, Detached, or Chastened.
    Success: The character has come through the breaking point intact. She might feel guilty or upset about what happened, but she can cope. Choose one of the following Conditions (or create a new one with Storyteller approval): Guilty, Inspired, Flashback. Gain a Sebayt Beat.
    Exceptional Success: The character somehow manages not only to survive the breaking point, but to find meaning in it, to reaffirm her own self-identity, or to pass through fire and become tempered by it. The character takes a Sebayt Beat and regains a point in his Decree Pillar.

    Falling into Duat

    If an Mummy is above the default rating, then descending into Duat (unless the Mummy

    rose in response to a disturbed tomb) will cause Memory to drop by one point.
    Before the Guilds were reformed during the era of the 1st Sothic turn, the default of Memory was 1. By the modern era, that default has been raised to 3.

    Memory related conditions
    All beats gained by resolving a Memory related condition are Seybat beats.

    False Memories (Persistent)
    You remember something that never really happened — maybe you think that your high priest served your enemies in a previous Descent, that a doppelganger has replaced your Sadikh, or that that you were originally a Pharoah of Dynastic Egypt and not a servant of Irem. You believe your memories to be true no matter what; even conclusive proof has a hard time getting through to you. Being faced with proof that your memory is fake is a breaking point for you at a level set by the Storyteller.
    Possible Sources: Memory loss.
    Resolution: Face proof that your memory is false and succeed at the breaking point, or gain a point of Memory
    Beat: Your character trusts someone or takes a risky action based on his faked memories alone.

    Fugue (Persistent)
    Your ability to form new Memories and assert your identity has been fractured. You are prone to blackouts and lost time. Whenever circumstances become too similar to the situation that led to the character gaining this Condition, the player rolls Resolve + Composure. If you fail the roll, your character’s Memory rating temporarily becomes 0, as though your character had just returned from henet. You may still roll to ward off a breaking point as described on page MtC 76.
    Possible Sources: Memory loss.
    Resolution: Regain a dot of Memory, lose another dot of Memory, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.
    Beat: You enter a fugue state as described above.

    Madness (Persistent)
    Your character traumatic loss of Memory has jarred her loose from reality. This isn’t a mental illness born of brain chemistry — the Deathless Sahu has no brain chemistry. This madness is the product of a sudden loss of self, sometimes prompted by terrible deeds performed in the service of alien gods. The Storyteller has a pool of dice equal to 10 – (character’s 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 Memory, lose another dot of Memory, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.
    Beat: The character fails a roll because of this Condition.

    Lost
    Your character has no idea where she is or how to reach her target or why she is where she is. Characters with the Lost Condition remove one die from their Composure dice pools. This does not influence derived traits; it only influences dice pools that use these Attributes. A Lost character cannot make any headway toward her goal without first navigating and finding her place. This requires a successful Wits + Streetwise action (in the city) or Wits + Survival action (in the wilderness). If she cannot remember her goal, then the above roll will allow her to find her Tomb.
    Possible source: Memory loss, arriving alone in a new city.
    Resolution: Your character gives up on reaching her intended destination, or she successfully navigates as described above.
    Beat: You are forced to admit to a Cultist that you have lost your bearings.

    Detached
    Your character has lost more than her Memory - she’s lost her emotional connection to her memories. Your character suffers a –2 on any Social rolls against anyone connected to his past, including members of her meret or Cultists from previous Descents. This penalty applies to a First Impressions roll she makes with a Mummy who does not remember her.
    Possible sources: Memory loss
    Example Skills: Subterfuge, Socialize, Persuasion
    Resolution: Gain a point of Memory, regain an emotional connection with people from your past.
    Beat: Gain a Sebayt Beat when an friend expresses emotions to you that you cannot reciprocate.

    Chastened
    The loss of Memory has caused your character to stop caring about her personal goals as nothing matters but the will of the Judges. She may not gain beats from achieving the Personal Goal Aspiration.
    Possible sources: Memory loss, Guild discipline
    Resolution: Gain a point of Memory, raise a Pillar rating, discover something that makes you doubt the Judges.
    Beat: Take an action showing that you internalize the goals of your Judge to the exclusion of your own. Example: Anakhem the Silver Vizier was uncommonly kind to his cultists for centuries and allowed them any religion they chose, but after being Chastened by Artem-Khet, he has violently purged the members of his cult who are involved with the leadership of the corrupt religion “Panography” and has instituted mandatory worship of Azar.

    Flashback
    You remember something immediately important from a previous Descent or Sothic turn. Perhaps you remembered the name of a Shuankhsen or found out a terrible truth about one of the six Guilds. Gain 9 again when acting on this information. Lose 10 again on all other actions until you act on this information.
    Possible Sources: A Storyteller-guided flashback session. A success on a Memory breaking point.
    Resolution: Take meaningful action based on this memory. Lose a dot of Memory.
    Beat: You remember even more about this particular event or discovery.

    The Inhuman Condition
    Due to 2E's changes in weapon lethality, Mummies now take only bashing damage from non supernatural sources.

    Sybaris
    Sybaris is fully compatible with 2E mechanics. If you have player cultists, I recommend granting them beats (once per scene at most) based on how well they roleplay suffering the effects of any effect of Sybaris.

    Mummy Powers
    To avoid creating a giant list of errata, I recommend that anytime an Affinity or Utterance references granting a Mummy a merit, reference the nWoD 1.0 rulebook even if it has a superior version in the GMC or 2E core. Ditto for derangements.

    If your player cultists are using the God Machine Chronicle or 2E core to build their characters, and a Mummy power grants them a merit, first look through that book to see if it has a merit available. If a derangement is inflicted on a player cultist by a Mummy power, use the mechanics from the Madness Persistent condition to model the derangement’s effects on them.
    Last edited by Octavo; 04-10-2015, 06:29 PM.


    Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
    Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

  • #2
    Please feel free to let me know if you have any conversion ideas, or if you have any problem with my interpretation of the rules/setting. I'd like to know if I missed something.


    Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
    Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

    Comment


    • #3
      No mentions of things like 'Mummies take only Bashing from mundane attacks, like vampires'?


      Revlid wrote:
      Yes, hollowing out your humanity to become an utterly utilitarian asura is the exact suggestion I would expect from you, Aiden.

      Comment


      • #4
        I'm really digging this. Needs a little polish, but I love it so far. Might play around with Sebayt Beats next game.

        Originally posted by Aiden View Post
        No mentions of things like 'Mummies take only Bashing from mundane attacks, like vampires'?
        This hack only covers information different from core. If it doesn't get changed, no reason for it to be here.



        Remi. she/her. game designer.

        Comment


        • #5
          I just figured the damage taking was something universal to the undead in Second Edition and was worth a mention, but okay.


          Revlid wrote:
          Yes, hollowing out your humanity to become an utterly utilitarian asura is the exact suggestion I would expect from you, Aiden.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Aiden View Post
            No mentions of things like 'Mummies take only Bashing from mundane attacks, like vampires'?
            I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, especially since Sealing the Flesh and using Pillars to massively boost Stamina is MtC's way of mitigating/recovering from damage.

            Mummy has a lot of moving parts compared to Vampire and I don't fully understand how they interact.
            Last edited by Octavo; 04-09-2015, 09:12 PM.


            Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
            Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

            Comment


            • #7
              It certainly makes sense given that Mummies are as biologically dead as vampires are. They already took damage in exactly the same way vampires did in 1e, treating bullets as Bashing.


              Revlid wrote:
              Yes, hollowing out your humanity to become an utterly utilitarian asura is the exact suggestion I would expect from you, Aiden.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Aiden View Post
                I just figured the damage taking was something universal to the undead in Second Edition and was worth a mention, but okay.
                That might be true, especially because of the way all weapons deal lethal damage now.


                Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
                Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by atamajakki View Post
                  I'm really digging this. Needs a little polish, but I love it so far. Might play around with Sebayt Beats next game.
                  Thank you, I'm glad you like how Sebayt was converted.


                  Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
                  Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    That said, it's somewhat notable that Sadikh took damage like second edition Vampires...

                    But then, my general impression running Mummy is that something presenting a physical danger should be the rare (probably magical) exception, so being near-impervious to damage from mortal sources is pretty much in keeping with the mechanics as they stand.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Aiden View Post
                      It certainly makes sense given that Mummies are as biologically dead as vampires are. They already took damage in exactly the same way vampires did in 1e, treating bullets as Bashing.
                      Oh, I missed the rule about bullets being treated as bashing for Mummies. I'll look that up and modify the original post if the rule doesn't step on any key affinities. Thanks!


                      Mage: the Ascension - Redesigned Prime Sphere; Streamlined Wonder Creation
                      Mummy: the Curse - Lightweight 2E Conversion; Disciples of Duat

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Octavo View Post

                        Oh, I missed the rule about bullets being treated as bashing for Mummies. I'll look that up and modify the original post if the rule doesn't step on any key affinities. Thanks!
                        The only crazy interaction I can think of is actually with Tier 2 Ancestry of Forgotten Stars, with its "Downgrade all damage taken" step now rendering the Mummy immune to all mundane forms of attack.

                        But that's probably ok, since you need to be on 2 Aggravated Damage just to cast it in the first place and it only lasts a number of turns equal to your Sekhem.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I like this a lot. I've got my own hacks I'm using, but this definitely helped my (somewhat lacking) Memory update; I was having trouble with Conditions, especially.
                          I will note that the Mummy core book recommends "Depression" as a useful Derangement for Mummies who lose Memory, so "Broken" is also appropriate as a Condition for them to take.
                          Also, you didn't actually post what the "Flashback" Condition is, and I'd be hesitant to provide "Inspired" for a success since it's positive.
                          I'm toying around with some kind of version of "Obsessed" for a success, even though it's Persistent.


                          My Promethean Homebrew.

                          Yes, I made it the same way as a Promethean. No, the authorities haven't found me yet.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Considering the 2nd editions rather welcome departure from a moral trait, Humanity/Integrity/Harmony/Cover have been somewhat separated from moral issues with Humanity and Cover being traits that count how connected to humanity you are instead of how morally good human you are and Integrity more tied with sanity and ability to endure mental trauma rather than moral actions and Harmony being a scale of how much closer you are to spirit/flesh, why do you still see it necessary to tie Memory to morality stat? Especially since Mummy already has immoral antagonists whose memories are not impaired for being immoral, which makes little to no sense at all in general.

                            Just asking cause that tie to morality is the greatest failing of MtC, one that is easy to House-rule but non-the-less it is there.

                            Still considering how much I love MtC I find it rather sad that it is forced to dredge in the awfulness that is 1st edition nWoD rules while the rest of the lines are moving on. Why is it we couldn't get an official update to second edition? Especially since such an update requires more work the more we get new books with the old system.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I'm super against removing the moral component from Memory.
                              The Devs are on record saying that "Compassion is the root of all identity;" Memory isn't a big storage bank, it's your sense of self. If you want to be a monster, you're fine at low Memory - if you want to raise it, then you have to remember how to be a person.
                              This means you have to remember how to not be a monster.

                              This, from the other thread about 2e Mummy.
                              Also, a few posts down.

                              I mean, you could remove it, but what would you replace it with?
                              Arguing that a high Memory Arisen should be able to act monstrous with no repercussions sort of, misses the point (not to be blunt or rude), while arguing "they should be able to be bronze age monster-gods" - well, they can be, at low Memory. Raising it is about realizing how much that sucks and moving away from it.

                              Did you ever bully anyone when you were 6?
                              Why did you stop doing that?
                              Didn't you learn better, and doesn't that memory of how shitty it felt - to bully or be bullied - stop you from doing it again, sometimes?
                              Last edited by Ben Quo; 04-10-2015, 03:24 PM. Reason: Added the second link.


                              My Promethean Homebrew.

                              Yes, I made it the same way as a Promethean. No, the authorities haven't found me yet.

                              Comment

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