Liber Ka
Sourcebook for Nephilim RPG
Chaosium Inc.
[sterling]??? - 96pp
A couple of years ago, Chaosium released Nephilim amidst some hoo-ha about the
game's attempt to present "authentic" occultism. Now, authentic occultism is
deathly dull stuff, whereas most gamers expect their RPGs to be interesting.
This left Nephilim on the horns of a dilemma which is now being resolved by
this little supplement, subtitled "Authentic Western Ceremonial Sorcery for the
Nephilim RPG". His eyelids already glazing over, your dauntless reviewer
plunges into the text . . .
The difference in approach is obvious. The original Nephilim magic rules were
a sort of cross between Cull of Cthulhu (arcane tomes to be studied, percentile
dice to be rolled to translate) and AD&D (lists of spells grouped into
three tiers of difficulty). Very little background or magical theory was
presented. Liber Ka, however, is almost all game background and magical
theory. The history of sorcery is told through character narratives, where
ancient Nephilim reminisce on the initiation into sorcery during earlier
incarnations in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia. Sorcery in the modern era is
discussed, outlining the occult traditions of the 20th century: ceremonial
magic, neo-paganism, satanism as well as on-line virtual magic and eclectic
chaos magic. This fleshes out Nephilim's game-world immensely; it's also
interesting to read, unlike the original rules.
Sorcery's three Circles are now retitled Casual, Ritual and High Magic. The
prescriptive spell lists are gone - sorcerers can accomplish any magical feat,
without worrying about Thresholds or Foci, so long as the have access to the
right Ka-energies. Offsetting this immense flexibility is the requirement for
preparatory ceremonies - hours for Ritual Magic, days for High Magic. PCs are
expected to work within the "Laws of Magic", working with sympathetic
connections and true names. Sample spells are given and the trend is away from
the flash-bang! effects of the original rules towards subtle magics which work
through coincidences. Sorcery now involves far more input and creativity from
players, who get rewarded for designing imaginative and ingenious rituals, and
will also affect your campaign texture, since getting the ingredients and
assistants together for big rituals takes time and effort.
Overall: In terms of game design, I can't fault this one. It's what
Nephilim should have been first time round (and doubtless will be, in its
inevitable 2nd Edition) and similar revisions for Summoning and Alchemy will
doubtless follow. Though, frankly, it's all a bit bizarre, isn't it? When a
magic system reaches this degree of supposed verisimilitude, you're as well
forgetting RPGs and taking up witchcraft as a hobby. Or maybe it's the
author's note at the end; having written a game with cheerfully blasphemes
against four of the world's five major religions, the writers apologise to all
the wiccans and satanists out their for adapting occult concepts into
game-terms: "No disrespect is intended!" Go figure!
Reviewed by Jon Rowe
Product supplied by Caliver Books
