Mummy 2nd Edition
World of Darkness Supplement
White Wolf Games Studio
144pp - [sterling]10.99
Mummy turned up back in 1992 as an odd supplement for Vampire: the
Masquerade, detailing the ever-reincarnating beings who have been the
beneficiaries/victims (delete as appropriate) of the Ritual of Life.
The Mummies are truly immortal - if they die, they just sojourn awhile in the
spirit world then bounce right back again. They're tied in with Egyptian
mythology and the vampiric Jyhad, since the Antediluvian Set is
their arch-enemy. So far, so good, but things have moved on since those early
days: Vampire's mythology has grown more complex, Mage has
worked out the metaphysics of magick and Wraith has defined the
Underworld, so White Wolf have decided on a thorough overhaul, and right
glad I am they did.
Now the Shemsu-heru (aka the "Children of Horus" or simply the "Reborn")
are worked out in greater detail. There's more background on ancient Egypt and
the Osirian League, a sort of United Nations of shapeshifters,
mages and mummies dedicated to destroying Set's minions. To widen the options,
the Ishmaelites are mummies who have turned their backs on Horus'
crusade, while the Cabiri are European infidels who somehow got their
hands on the Great Rite and wound up immortal. There are also the enigmatic
"Others", so now you can have mummies from darkest Africa or Aztec Meso-America
or whereverthehell. The Code of Horus gives the Shemsu-heru goals and a
set of laws (more honoured in the breach than the observance) and their
political structure, with Viziers monitoring supernatural activities in
every continent, is explained. All of this puts the mummies, though few in
number, on a footing with the Kindred, Garou and Mages as Shakers & Movers
in the World of Darkness.
Character generation resembles the 1st Ed., but is more consistent with
the other Storyteller rules - and incidentally you need one rulebook,
probably Vampire, to make use of all this. The Virtues of Memory, Joy
and Integrity tie into a neat little mechanic for exploring the soul-destroying
attrition of so many lifetimes, so many memories. Lots of mummies go mad.
Egyptian magic, Hekau, is revised: it's now simple, relatively
maths-free and compatible with Mage's True Magick and Vampire's
Thaumaturgy. It's powerful, too, but somewhat narrow in focus.
The big news is about the Underworld, now treated from a Wraith
perspective. Neter-khertet, the Egyptian Shadowlands, gets its own
history, then it's off to Amenti, the Dark Kingdom of Sand. This little
realm in the Tempest is a recreation of pharaonic Egypt, ruled by Osiris
himself and guarded by Anubis, the Ferryman. Way cool. Full crossover
rules are provided, which make "dead" mummies into tough cookies in the
Underworld.
We conclude with interesting NPCs, character templates and a beefing-up of the
nasty Bane Mummies, now gifted with Powers and Taints like the Fomori in
Freak Legion.
Overall: Lots of thought and research has gone into making this just
about as good as it can possibly be. Mummy ties into just about all the
other Storyteller games in a big way: the Reborn make great "wild
cards" in a Vampire or Mage chronicle, have historical alliances
with werewolves and the treatment of the Underworld expands the Wraith
cosmology too.
Review by Jon Rowe
