Mummy: the Curse 2E Conversion

[Octavo]

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.

I'm glad you like it! I meant to convert the "Informed" condition for Flashback. Thanks for the reminder!

I also agree that compassion and morality is key to Memory in the setting. I wanted to uncouple it from the Morality system since I like sample breaking points better than threshold sins, and I wanted to tweak morality breaking points to be more specific to mummies - specifically I wanted them to deal with how they relate to their cultists.

[Octavo]

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.

While I think morality is important to reclaiming one's identity in defiance of the cruel alien Judges, I do think tying MtC to the 1st ed rules was unfortunate timing. I think Mummies should risk degeneration for murder, torture, and screwing people up with Utterances, but it is weird to see petty theft on a list of sins for a Mummy.

[Octavo]

Note: I have added the Flashback condition, a rule about damage from mundane sources, and a very brief Sybaris section.

[Kirby Jerusalem]

I'm working on a lot of stuff for my own 2e patch rules, so I'm keeping an eye on this thing. I already have stuff in the works for Virtue/Vice replacements and some Sealing the Flesh buffs that border on broken.

I'm also one that would probably remove some amount of morality from Memory when I get around to it. I acknowledge the devs basing their version around compassion being the root of Memory, but that never really did much for me. I'd rather a system where you could struggle to reclaim who you were or redefine yourself as a person, even if that person is an utter bastard.

[Octavo]

I'm working on a lot of stuff for my own 2e patch rules, so I'm keeping an eye on this thing. I already have stuff in the works for Virtue/Vice replacements and some Sealing the Flesh buffs that border on broken.

I'm also one that would probably remove some amount of morality from Memory when I get around to it. I acknowledge the devs basing their version around compassion being the root of Memory, but that never really did much for me. I'd rather a system where you could struggle to reclaim who you were or redefine yourself as a person, even if that person is an utter bastard.

I'm definitely curious about the buffs and changes you're planning for your hack. One thing I'd like to see addressed in an official update is how the Judges' own moral purviews relate to the Arisen. So far, our group has had the Mummies internalize the Judge's morals. If a Judge hates blasphemy, the Arisen who serves that judge purges the heretics.

[Octavo]

Here's how I'm planning to handle Affinities and Utterances that reference rules from the original nWoD core book.

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, first look through that book to see if it has a merit available. If a derangement is inflicted on a player character, use the beat and resolution mechanics from the Madness Persistent condition to model the derangement’s effects on them.

Does this seem like a clunky fix? Does anyone have any suggestions?

[PenDragon]

Looks like a nice light update for 2E rules. I like the Memory conditions, might poach a few of them for my own homebrew.

However, IMO, Mummies need a bit of a power bump coming into 2E. Especially if they are going to be playing alongside Demons, Vampires and Werewolves under the new rules.

[Octavo]

Looks like a nice light update for 2E rules. I like the Memory conditions, might poach a few of them for my own homebrew.

However, IMO, Mummies need a bit of a power bump coming into 2E. Especially if they are going to be playing alongside Demons, Vampires and Werewolves under the new rules.

Thank you for the kind words! I didn't realize you had your own Mummy homebrew. I'm enjoying reading it - it has some very different design goals than mine does and I might refer to it in case I run into any difficulties adjudicating power use since you've done such an extensive overhaul of Utterances. I especially like how you replaced Virtue and Vice with (the Judge's) Purpose and (Mummy's) Motivation.

[Kirby Jerusalem]

I'm definitely curious about the buffs and changes you're planning for your hack. One thing I'd like to see addressed in an official update is how the Judges' own moral purviews relate to the Arisen. So far, our group has had the Mummies internalize the Judge's morals. If a Judge hates blasphemy, the Arisen who serves that judge purges the heretics.

Sure, I'll lay one out, I could use the fresh eyes and commentary.

The most complete buff is one for Sealing the Flesh, where I used new Gauru as a balancing point. The way it works is that when you Seal the Flesh, you heal all bashing and lethal at the beginning of your turn, and you have general armor equal to half your Sekhem (so a freshly awakened Mummy has a stunning 5/0 armor rating). As a clarification, sources that are still lethal (like supernatural sources since my mummies take damage like 2e vamps) still do 1 bashing damage as normal, and all aggravated sources deal a minimum of 1 agg. Mummies are still unkillable while they're sealing.

On paper, that sounds really, really strong, bordering on broken. The part that makes me think this is okay is that Mummies heal all damage once per round as opposed to everyone's turn, and Sealing the Flesh still takes Pillar points to activate. The armor is supposed to get you through the round until you can heal, which is absurdly easy when you're right out of the tomb rocking 5/0 but not so much when you're near the end of the Descent - you can still spend 1 pillar to heal up all your bashing/lethal wounds outside of combat, but a roomful of guys with guns will leave you dead on the ground. I need playtesting to tell whether or not it's going to be alright as intended or if this version is too strong.

If anyone reading this wants to give this a shot, feel free and let me know how it turns out!

[Octavo]

That is pretty epic!

[Gnomish American]

While I do plan on using me own Experience chart and memory system, this is pure gold Octavo. Thank you for putting so much work into things I didn't even think of.

[Octavo]

While I do plan on using me own Experience chart and memory system, this is pure gold Octavo. Thank you for putting so much work into things I didn't even think of.

Thank you! I'm curious, how did you handle Experience and Memory?

[Gnomish American]

I was just working on typing up memory, though I did finish my take on Virtue, Vice (Akhu and Khet) and Aspirations/Purposes (which are identical to what everyone else has done) the only thing I have written down right now is Monument (think werewolf/vampire touchstone but going back to irem and waiting to be discovered.)...

Experience I just ran with the basic costs, granting 7 experience at Chargen, which would allow them to add an additional dot of an attribute, skill and Merit.

Experience Costs are:

Attributes 4 experiences
Skills 2 experiences
Specialties 1 experience
Merits 1 experience
Affinity Attainments 3 Experiences
Fated Attainments 2 Experiences
Other Attainments 4 Experiences
Other Fated Attainments 3 Experiences
Utterances 3 Experiences
Memory 2 Sebayt Experiences

Attributes cost the same as for everyone else, but the Mummy will still be impressively powerful.

here's what I've already done:

Mummy 2^nd edition
Stopgap rules

Anchors

Akhu and Khat
Instead of Virtue and Vice, Each mummy is driven by the two overarching Manifestation of their five-fold soul; that of the Akhu, the immortal radiant shining being that they were meant to become; and the Khat, the preserved, material body that they have been bound into in their service to the Judges of Duat.

Akhu Archetypes

Competitor
The competitor relishes engagement and trial. She must test herself against others in all things. She’s never comfortable not knowing if she’s capable or not.
Single Willpower: Challenge someone clearly your superior.
All Willpower: Risk Final Death to prove that you can
handle something.

Conniver
A Conniver must involve herself deeply in all things. She must have layers of machination for even the most meaningless tasks.
Single Willpower: Add a layer of meaningless complexity to a plan.
All Willpower: Refuse to take an action in self-defense without excessive, dangerous plotting.

Cypher
A Cypher blends with his surroundings, and fits in wherever he may go. He considers no group to be exclusive.
Single Willpower: Ingratiate yourself to a new social clique.
All Willpower: Burn an important bridge to guarantee acceptance in a new group.

Hedonist
A Hedonist exists to see others enjoy themselves. He revels not for only for himself, but to let others bask in his revelry. He’s a master of the art of enjoyment.
Single Willpower: Ignore a problem or responsibility in favor of immediate gratification.
All Willpower: Be the last one dancing when the party’s on fire.

Horror
A horror exists to torment, frighten, and destroy. She loathes the modern world, and spreads that loathing wherever she goes.
Single Willpower: Cause pain for the sole intention of causing pain.
All Willpower: Commit a capital crime without additional motive.

Idealist
An idealist sees a better future, and all things exist within the context of that eventuality. He never accepts compromise, only recognizing a perfect achievement of his goal.
Single Willpower: Deny a compromise that would water
down your ideal.
All Willpower: Refuse safety for fear of abandoning your
ideal’s purity.

Martyr
A martyr puts others before herself in all things. She’s
concerned with community and the cause, over her own safety and reputation.
Single Willpower: Take another’s burden upon yourself
without expecting recompense.
All Willpower: Put yourself at risk to save someone else or

Nurturer
A nurturer cares for others, and tries to bolster them to comfort and greatness. He protects and fosters, measuring his success by the success of others.
Single Willpower: Put yourself out to help another succeed.
All Willpower: Take full responsibility for another’s dangerous mistake.

Perfectionist
A perfectionist never settles for success; nothing short of flawless accomplishment is enough. She revisits and tinkers
with any minor imperfections, to the point of excess.
Single Willpower: Revisit an already successful action to hammer out a flaw.
All Willpower: Stick with a failed and dangerous plan, in order to fix what went wrong.

Visionary
A Visionary has a clear picture in his head. This picture is of something bigger, something greater. It’s his life’s work to show that vision to the world.
Single Willpower: Help someone by sharing your vision with them.
All Willpower: Put yourself at risk to show a group the power of your vision.

Khat Archetypes

Devotee
A Devotee needs direction, and is loathe to come up with it on his own. He devotes much of his attention to finding the right person to offer that direction.
Single Willpower: Follow a directive blindly, for the sake of following.
All Willpower: Follow a dangerous directive without hesitation.

Emissary
An Emissary infiltrates, and uncovers intelligence that others wish to keep hidden. She does whatever the situation demands in order to uncover hidden truths.
Single Willpower: Build a new contact or uncover a secret.
All Willpower: Uncover a damning secret that could end someone.

Flagellant
A flagellant embodies regret and lessons learned. He cannot make a mistake and allow it to go unpunished. The only sin is to mistake without learning.
Single Willpower: Punish yourself for a mistake.
All Willpower: Risk death to correct an egregious error in judgment.

High Priest
A High Priest wants for faith and devotion. He may have faith and devotion of his own, but he wants for a group to adore him and his word above all. This may or may not be a religious cult.
Single Willpower: Convince someone to deny logic because
of your word.
All Willpower: Risk exile or death to defend your cult’s belief system.

Inquisitor
An Inquisitor cannot accept anything at face value. She must poke and prod, finding the holes in logic and function. She asks the questions that everyone else wants to ask.
Single Willpower: Challenge an accepted truth.
All Willpower: Put a long-believed truth to the test, at your own peril.

Law-Giver
A Law-Giver needs structure. He can be on top of it, or on the bottom of it, but he must adhere to some external concept and hierarchy in order to feel complete.
Single Willpower: Choose an obviously disadvantageous path, because it fits with protocol.
All Willpower: Stand by the losing side with shield at the ready, because it’s your side.

Overseer
The Overseers were the slave drivers and task masters of Irem, quick with a flail and eager to pin the blame for his own shortcoming on those beneath him.
Single Willpower: Find someone to take responsibility for your mistake.
All Willpower: Mete out physical punishment for another’s failure, beyond the point of safety and reason.

Pharaoh
An authoritarian must be on top. She prides herself not in competition, but in control. She must assert her superiority and dominance whenever possible.
Single Willpower: Shut down an inferior trying to rise to your level of power.
All Willpower: Commit a widespread hit against a rival’s mortal connections.

Scholar
A scholar must study, and must learn. She’s never satisfied with base explanation; she must always dig deeper and uncover the truths behind the truths.
Single Willpower: Uncover a lost piece of information.
All Willpower: Uncover forbidden knowledge.

Vizier
A vizier lives to learn, and to impart that knowledge to others. She’s a repository and font of wisdom on every topic she can manage to study.
Single Willpower: Give advice that someone uses to succeed.
All Willpower: Give protected, dangerous information without asking for payment.

Monuments
Monuments seem rare among the Arisen. Possessing an object that links you to an ill-remembered life that ended more than six millennia ago does little to moor the power the Mummy’s memory against the ravages of time and the deleterious effect of the Rite of Return.

What none realize is that most Mummies already possess such Monuments, they are the relics that act as the focal point of their Life Web, their Canopic Jars, and the Vessels that never find their way into the arms of the Judges.

These Monuments are powerful anchors but they mean nothing to those who have no memory of their true import.

Once a Mummy achieves Memory six, their player may choose one item amongst the various vessels and trinkets within their tomb and declare it their Mummy’s Monument, an object of great personal significance that they only now recall. Once they possess this Touchstone they gain some respite from the weight of their own memory, should the judges attempt to

Purposes
Each Mummy begins play with three Purposes rather than Aspirations thought they do act in near identical capacity to a mortal’s aspirations they are outside the control of the Mummy himself.

The First Purpose is granted to the Mummy as it rises from its tomb, either granted by his Cult, the theft of his Relic or more rarely, his Judge.

The character’s second purpose is one made by his Memory, this purpose is identical to a mortal’s Long Term Aspiration and is associated with the character’s long forgotten mortal hopes and dreams.

The Character’s Final Purpose is granted by his Judge and is directly inspired by that Judge’s own duty.

I'll have memory up later, but the long and short is that The way of losing memory is the same as yours (I think) BUT when one gains Memory 4 you may ask one of 5 questions (similar to the ones for integrity) when Triggered you roll Intelligence + Composure each success granting 1 sebayt beat. At memory 5, 6, and 7 you can answer another question.

[Gnomish American]

Actually... I don't know why I thought you did something different with experience... weird. Oh! and pillars are the same cost as yours. (why did I think yours were more expensive)

[Octavo]

Thanks for sharing! I like the Akhu and Khat system.