Mummy: The Curse
| Mummy: The Curse | ||
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| RPG published by White Wolf / CCP |
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| Rule System | Storytelling System | |
| Authors | Rich Thomas et al | |
| First Publication | 2012 | |
"I am he who protecteth you for millions of years. Whether ye be denizens of heaven, or of the earth, or of the South, or of the North, or of the East, or of the West, the fear of me is in your bodies. I am he whose being has been wrought in his eye. I shall not die again. My moment is in your bodies, but my forms are in my place of habitation. I am "He who cannot be known.""
- – The Papyrus of Ani, Hymn to Osiris
The last game for the New World of Darkness created before the 2nd edition update (not counting Demon: The Descent, that is). Long story short? Long before Egypt existed, there was the Nameless Empire - so called because either it's been totally forgotten, it was never named because it was the first empire the world had ever seen, or both. Ruled by necromantic sorcerer-kings called the Shan'iatu, from its capital of Irem (yes, as in "Irem of the Pillars") its influence spread out over the world. You are one of the Arisen: once a member of the elite guilds upon which the Empire's might was founded, you were chosen for your value as a servant to become Deathless, a mummified servitor who spends most of their time in the land of the dead, Duat, and arises to carry out the will of the mysterious Judges, the god-kings of Duat. In short, you're both unkillable and powerful - obscenely so. The Deathless are explicitly said to be one of the most OP splats in CofD.
Think this sounds awesome? Think again. Your memories are shot to utter hell, robbing you of anything meaningful about your past. This isn't helped by you being bound to the Sothic Turns; periods of time in which you're allowed to be awake and exist, which last barely half to two thirds of a year, tops - and then you die again. You start each Descent (cycle of life) as a stereotypical shrivelled, bandaged mummy, which is your highest level of power. The longer you're awake, you become more human but also grow weaker and weaker, until you're eventually forced to snooze for another few centuries. This is to say nothing of the fact you're little more than a puppet for eldritch unknown forces who want you to run around playing Tomb Raider with their assorted cursed trinkets and shit.
Decrees
Mummies' "Racial" splat, based on the five parts of the soul in Egyptian folklore. When the Arisen stood before the Judges of the Duat, they made a Decree that determined which soul was most important to them, which in turn determines their general abilities.
Ab
The Lion-Heads decreed Ab, the Heart (yes, the thing that carried the weight of your life's deeds and got eaten by Ammut if it was heavier than a feather), as the most important part of their soul. As such, they're the social splat, with Affinities focusing on understanding and charming others. Their Favored Attribute can be Presence or Strength, and they regain Pillars by success based on instinct and emotion, and Ab with new emotional experiences.
Ba
The Falcon-Heads decreed Ba, the Spirit (known for always being depicted as a bird with the person's head), was the most important to them. This makes them the Mummy equivalent of Rogues, and their Affinity allows them to boost their mental attributes as well as their mobility, allowing the mummy to nearly fly like a falcon. They regain pillars via attempting challenges, and regain Ba by triumphing in a challenge- the worse an idea it was, the better.
Ka
The Bull-Heads decreed that Ka, the life force, was the most important part of their soul. As could be expected from this, they're the physical splat. Their Affinity makes them strong and tough as nails. They refill pillars by correcting mistakes, and Ka by being recognized for their works.
Ren
The Serpent-Heads decreed that the most important part of their soul was their Ren, or their name. This is the splat for both intelligence and magic, with their Affinity allowing them better ways to get at the truth and preserve things important to the mummy. They regain Pillars by proving their knowledge, and Ren by completely mastering a situation.
Sheut
The Jackal-Heads, before the Judges, decreed their Sheut, or Shadow, to be the most important aspect of their self. They are, as expected, the spooky splat, with affinities allowing them to invoke vices and uncover things everyone else would rather keep hidden. They regain their Pillars by confronting harshness head-on, and Sheut by exposing great deceits.
Guilds
Their "social" splat of the Mummies is their guild. Back in the days of the nameless empire, these five guilds were the dominant middle class that still operate to this day. They were each lead by seven of the Shan'iatu, though with the fall of the Empire, they have continued serving the Judges in a more clandestine manner.
Maa-Kep, the Engravers of Amulets
Favoured Vessel: Amulet
The Maa-Kep were the managers, taskmasters, and spies of Old Irem, known for being able to whip the workforce into shape whilst also serving as a go-between for the other guilds. They're the Arisen equivalent of the Inquisition, too; they root out heresy, they act very suspicious when anyone asks how much they're watching them, and were literally the first secret police in the world. This makes them one of the most hardline traditionalistic guilds.
Mesen-Nebu, the First Alchemists
Favoured Vessel: Regia
Sesha-Hebsu, the Inscribers of Texts
Favoured Vessel: Text
Su-Menent, the Shepherds of the Shell
Favoured Vessel: Uter
Tef-Aabhi, the Builders of Effigies
Favoured Vessel: Effigy
Affinities and Utterances
As Mummies are insanely powerful creatures, their powers are suitably OP too. Their powers are split between Affinities, the easier and more mundane powers which they can quickly use, and Utterances, "Great and Terrible" powers that must be learned.
Affinities
Your spontaneous, garden variety abilities. Affinities come from Soul Pillars (requiring no more than 1-3 dots in each) as well as unique Guild-specific ones requiring Guild status.
Utterances
Now this is where the fun begins. As focused, learnt manifestations of Sekhem from the Arisen's very soul, the Utterances are horrendously overpowered. They're activated by the use of Pillar dots, in columns of either 1,3,5 or 1,2,4, usually featuring several different pillars for every Utterance - mainly to ensure the player doesn't lean too heavily on one specific Pillar. The things you can actually DO with these powers are immense. Wanna summon a plague of locusts to eat your target alive? Go ahead. Wanna cause an earthquake? Right on. Wanna literally fuse with your four other Mummy buddies into an (un)living megazord? Don't even worry about it.
Antagonists
Of course, if you're an immortal, ancient creature that's constantly caught up in millennia-spanning conflicts as the Arisen are, it's only natural they're gonna meet a fair share of opposition.
Rival Arisen
Because none of the Mummies know who the hell they were and only have the VAGUEST inkling as to what needs to be done, disagreements are gonna flare up. And when both parties are capable of levelling a small town, such disagreements tend to get very heated. That's to say nothing of the personal enmities that spring up between individual Mummies before they became the Deathless - after all, if a grudge can be nursed through even the haze of the Sothic Turns, then they must be strong.
Some Mummies don't even serve the judges, as well; these Arisen who abandoned their duty to the Judges try to screw up the plans of those loyal to the Duat at every opportunity. The famous of these heretical mummies are the Deceived, the forbidden sixth Guild who were struck down by the Judges for some unspecified crime they committed near the end of the Nameless Empire. The survivors are consequently a bit miffed, and take revenge on the other Guilds at every opportunity.
Mortals
Despite their power, the Arisen will often find themselves in the crosshairs of many an irate mortal. Ranging from mere grave robbers to people who (quite understandably) found out about their existence and freaked out. More often than not, some will even deliberately go after Arisen to try and steal their powers and arcane secrets for themselves. A specific group of concern is Last Dynasty International, a group with enough knowledge and resources to do with Iremite magic that they're capable of tracking down and using the Mummies to turn a profit. Very Pentex-esque.
The Lifeless
Because what would a White Wolf game be without the obligatory "PCs but eeeeeeevil" splat? The Lifeless are the less-than-perfect undead creatures created (no relation to THE created) by the Arisen. These range from Mummy-made servants to botched attempts at redoing the Rite of Return.
Books
Being a limited release, Mummy has received the usual Nine or so books, with a Second Edition released in late 2021.
- Mummy: The Curse Rulebook: The core book that presents what the game itself is about. Gives information on the setting, the way it ties into the rest of the World of Darkness, and how to run a game of Mummy.
- Guildhalls of the Deathless: The faction book, that goes into depth on the Guilds, how they are run, as well as providing new mechanics for them.
- Mummy: The Curse: Ready Made Characters: What it says on the tin; some ready-made characters and plot hooks.
- Cursed Necropolis: DC: A location book on Washington DC.
- Book of the Deceived: An antagonist book detailing the Akhem-Urtu, the Lost Guild.
- Lore of the Deceived: A companion to Lore of the Deceived, released for free alongside it.
- Sothis Ascends: A book exploring the Sothic Turn, aka the reason the Mummies keep rising up over and over again, with special detail given to the first three mass awakenings.
- Dreams of Avarice: An in-universe book written by a Mummy named The Heretic that explores the history (and hypocrisies) of their world.
- Cursed Necropolis: Rio: A location book on Rio de Janeiro.
- Mummy: The Curse Second Edition: An updates version of the game with 2e rules.
- Book of Lasting Death: A player's guide. All other information is TBA.
See Also
- Mummy: The Resurrection, Curse's OWoD counterpart.