Here are my arguments in order to convince the rest to vote for the exit plan at dawn.
1. This plan has a better chance in terms of prime numbers. The stock of our cubes to convince the inner circle to discuss our proposal will be equal to 4 (manipulation) + 6 (5 persuasion + 1 specialty tempting offers)/5 tricks = 9-10 dice for persuasion. While direct combat is 3 (strength)+ 2 (brawl)= 5 dice for battle.
2. We will spend much less pillar points. Ideally, in the morning plan, we spend only one pillar point to activate the ability, in the case of a fight, at least two pillar points will most likely be spent, one on strengthening the force, the second on destroying malicious spells in the tomb.
3. I have suspicions that things are not so simple with our old cult. Why should they create new amhats, where do they get the resources for this (human sacrifices, sacred river waters, sekhem vessels, parts of sacred animals), how do they use amhats?
In connection with all these questions, I have a theory that our cult is only one of the cells of a larger group (Shuanghsen cult? Deceived? Last Dynasty International? Magicians?) which uses our tomb as a convenient testing ground for summoning amhat. And thus, if we go to the tomb with a direct attack, we will give ourselves away to this group ahead of time.
I tried to recreate the amhata that our cult called for.
KHESPU, THE SWARM-HEADED
These ravenous beasts puke the Essence they consume
from insectoid maws, building nests and hives from the sticky
bile in the deepest cavernous recesses of Neter-Khertet. The
wretched fumes pouring from these festering breeding chambers open strange wounds in the walls of reality, tunnels to
other worlds even beyond material.
Essence Cost: •••
Dread Powers: False Ka, Ravenous Feasting
Attack (Bite): 2(B) for Lesser, 1(A) for Greater
Special Qualities (Fester): The locations of their nests
become wounds, loci, or other tears in the fabric of reality,
allowing a +1 to all rolls to traverse between realities (including the material world, Neter-Khertet, Shadow, and other
appropriate places) for each year the nest has been present
up to a maximum of +3.
JACKAL'S BODY (SABASU)
Silent and stealthy, the jackal-bodied Amkhata are especially
quick and difficult to perceive, even right in front of a mummy's face.
Essence Cost: •
Attribute Alteration: +1 Power, +3 Finesse
Species Factor: 7
Dread Powers: Reality Stutter
FALCON'S TALONS
The claws of the falcon, vulture, and hawk rend and
violently carry unsuspecting victims.
Essence Cost: •
Extra Attack (Talons): 1(B) for Lesser, 2(L) for Greater
Special Qualities (Swift Catch): This Amkhat's speed is
increased by 2, and when accompanied by the Falcon's Wings
Limb may carry enemies equivalent or lesser in size away into
the sky for a number of turns equal to its Rank.
Dread Powers:
FALSE KA
Evolution or wretched sorcery has infused this creature
with the swarm. Instead of blood or ephemeral matter, bees,
wasps, locusts, or other small, flying vermin appropriate to this
Amkhat's nature crawl through its veins and arteries, ready
to feast on the flesh of the unwary. Whenever the Amkhat's
Corpus reaches half its maximum rounded down, or whenever
it spends 3 Essence, the monster's flesh splits and peels back,
unleashing the swarm, dealing 1(L) per turn on any targets
within 5 yards, and inflicting the Swarm Tilt on anything
within 15 yards, with a maximum number of Tilt Factors equal
to its Rank. If the Amkhat remains in the same area within
material reality for a full day undisturbed, the location gains
the Deadly Swarm Tilt Factor.
RAVENOUS FEASTING (• TO •••)
The Amkhat devours its prey quickly and violently. After a
successful bite attack, it may make additional free bite attacks
up to its Ravenous Feasting.
REALITY STUTTER
The creature's presence sets reality stuttering and convulsing, allowing it to flicker from place to place. By reflexively
spending 1 Essence when it moves, the creature translocates
itself to any location it can see up to its Speed in meters away,
seeming to observers to just spasm in and out of reality as it
goes. Doing so adds +2 to its defense for the turn.
If we do start fighting this amhata in a tomb where Helel can't use a ghostly meteorite, I suggest the following plan. To invest one point of the pillar in dexterity to compensate for the monstrous speed and maneuverability of the amhata, if they try to attack us using false ka, then it is necessary to spend willpower by activating the hammer to burn insects.
[x] Attack by night. There will likely be fewer to face within the house after sundown. You will go to your former home, confront any squatters that linger and destroy the Amkhat. Overnight, you will have time to examine your Tomb, and in the morning your remaining enemies will present themselves to you. A direct approach, but one that will likely lead to difficulties if you are forced to resort to lethal force either tonight or tomorrow.
Can a ghost join a mummy cult?
And if so, are there any restrictions imposed on them? For example, they can summon a mummy from the henet or take a Tepi post?
Can a ghost join a mummy cult?
And if so, are there any restrictions imposed on them? For example, they can summon a mummy from the henet or take a Tepi post?
The main restriction upon a ghost comes from the ghost's own nature as a nonphysical being; not all ghosts possess the Numina to manifest into or interact with the physical world. Their Passions and Fetters and other obsessions can make them difficult to interact or work with as well. Finally, a ghost cannot be Invested with pillar points by Helel.
The main restriction upon a ghost comes from the ghost's own nature as a nonphysical being; not all ghosts possess the Numina to manifest into or interact with the physical world. Their Passions and Fetters and other obsessions can make them difficult to interact or work with as well. Finally, a ghost cannot be Invested with pillar points by Helel.
Is this way of protecting the tomb possible?
A mummy with the Blessed Panoply affinity (to remove the need to repair the tomb) with the help of The Lifeweb having (having Ren 5 for extra durability of the tomb) creates a tomb in a place where it is very difficult to find and reach such as the ocean floor, an underwater cave system, deep under the desert sands. Once built, this tomb is inhabited by ghosts who can perform an awakening ritual. If the mummy needs to be awakened, the cult can send a few of its ghosts to alert the tomb ghosts to begin awakening.
Is this way of protecting the tomb possible?
A mummy with the Blessed Panoply affinity (to remove the need to repair the tomb) with the help of The Lifeweb having (having Ren 5 for extra durability of the tomb) creates a tomb in a place where it is very difficult to find and reach such as the ocean floor, an underwater cave system, deep under the desert sands. Once built, this tomb is inhabited by ghosts who can perform an awakening ritual. If the mummy needs to be awakened, the cult can send a few of its ghosts to alert the tomb ghosts to begin awakening.
In theory yes, though putting your tomb in a hard to reach place means it can be very difficult for a Mummy to leave the tomb and reach the place they need to be in time to help. It's generally not done, in part because it isn't necessary.
Behind you the morning star shimmers, the light overcast above painted by the sun as it climbs across the sky. Before you stands the Hall, and at your ear you have Gracie's cellphone, already ringing. The Hall would not open for a little while yet; enough time to try and trick these thieves into closing it for the day. You knew the inner circle was present by watching Hannah and George drive in earlier. Cory seems to have remained on site.
There is a click. "Hello? Redwell Hall speaking, how may I help you," a woman answers. Her tone is businesslike and cordial, with the faint undertone of someone struggling a little to maintain that tone so early in the morning.
"Hello, my name is Elisa Morgan. I'd like to speak with Hannah Anderson; I'm a historian interested in the Hall and its blueprints," you rattle off quickly.
The woman on the other end of the phone gives a polite sound of interest. "I see. Elisa Morgan, yes? I'm Ms. Anderson." There is a rustle of paper and the click of a pen. "Ah, yes, Mr. Rosser sent us a message. When would you like to meet with us?"
"This morning, before tours start," you say, then head her off before she can interrupt. "I know it's early, but I only have so much time in town, I'm afraid." Then, the honey for this particular fly. "And I believe I have in my possession a relic of the Summertons which may be of interest to your organisation."
There's a pause before, "Can you describe it to me?" Her curiosity has been piqued.
"A smith's hammer with a haft long as my forearm, marked by faded knotwork. I believe it may have been an heirloom of Julius Summerton's," you answer. "I've some documents which suggest it was in his possession at the time the Hall was built - and I thought it might be of interest to you."
The silence on the other end of the line is palpable.
[Exceptional Success on Persuasion]
"I… yes, one moment please, I might be able to fit you in. Let me speak to Mr. Fisher," Hannah says hurriedly and you can easily hear the phone clunk onto the table and then distant voices you cannot make out.
More rustling heralds Hannah picking the phone back up. "Hello Ms. Morgan, are you still there?"
"I am," you intone.
"Great, I think we can fit you in around twenty minutes from now."
Twenty minutes of preparation means little to you. "That is acceptable."
"Excellent," Hannah says happily. "See you then."
"See you then. Goodbye," you say.
She wishes you goodbye and then you hang up. The bustle you can imagine inside the manor house does not make itself evident through the windows, so you count down the minutes and wait.
At two minutes to the meeting time you knock on the front door. It opens a moment later to reveal a large man, salt-and-pepper hair kept back in a ponytail and a thick work jacket wrapped around his barrel of a chest. He squints and then smiles. "Ah, Ms. Morgan?" He asks, sounding like he is somewhat unsure.
You nod and hold out a hand. "Yes, you are?" You ask him as he grasps your hand in a firm grip.
"George. George Harlow," he says, giving you an odd look as he releases you. He pushes the door open fully, stepping inside and holding it for you. "If you'll follow me to the meeting room?"
You step inside, but as you do so you halt for a moment, overcome by a disorienting sense of nostalgia unmet by reality.
The entrance hall is achingly familiar, and yet entirely wrong. The long walls and high, arched ceiling remain the same. The doors are in the same places. The two staircases which curve up towards the second floor remain as they ever were. But the subtle patterns of colour in the marble floor are obscured by a Persian rug, its reds turned to a dusty maroon by time and feet. Gaudy flower pots sit smugly on end-tables beside the doors - end-tables you remember from the upstairs library, where they carried your collection of less-sensitive books.
The walls are papered over with prints that look a little less unlike flowers than they do anything else; nothing short of a crime when you compare them to the memory of the engraved yew cladding you placed there, through which heka flowed like water, and which gathered Sekhem like heady incense in the hall. Worst of all is when your eyes land on the furthest wall. In the space between the stairs there should be a tapestry, depicting…
A sucking hole in your head. There should be a banner there, and you can't remember what it looked like in the slightest. You feel the pang of lost memory like a thorn.
"Ma'am?" George asks off to one side.
You shake your head. "My apologies, its my first time being here," you tell him, injecting a cheery tone into your voice as you imagine closing your hard, dead hands around his throat. Thankfully your lapse had only lasted a moment.
He has the grace not to chuckle, smiling instead. "Happens sometimes." He shrugs and points again. "This way." And leads you through the door on the right.
He does throw some curious glances at your clothing, but for whatever reason George stays silent. The rest of the first floor is just as bad off, with more bad wallpaper, rearranged furniture and a distinct wrongness to the flow of Sekhem tingling against your skin. Present, but dissonant. You're glad when you reach your destination in the right wing of the house. "Here we are," he says as he opens the door for you.
The other two are already waiting. One is a tall, slim woman, her dirty-blond hair loose over the shoulders of her flannel shirt. The other is a man of middling height, stocky but broad rather than pudgy, the thickness of his arms visible through his sweater.
[Successful Perception roll]
In his pale blue eyes, though, your Godsight allows you to pick out the spark of something more. A candle-flame compared to the blaze of your own soul, true, but still present. Whatever this man may be, he is more than a mere mortal.
Certainly the most noticeable element in the room, however, is the beast which sits in Twilight at the shorter man's feet. It is just as Danika described it; the size of a large dog, befitting its sleek grey body and jackal paws, but surmounted instead with the head of a gigantic wasp, and bearing the dappled blue-black wings of an outsized falcon. Each part might have been bearable enough alone, but the aberrant combination grates at your senses and forces you to hold your thoughts in an iron grip.
Despite the blasphemous thing lurking at the man's feet and fixing you with a hungry faceted gaze, however, you give no sign of seeing it.
[Spent 1 Willpower] [Successful Godsight roll]
With an effort of will you open your senses to the true play of reality. The mortal world fades in your gaze, overtaken by a wash of varicoloured flame. Your house burns with the golden fire of Sekhem, its lines twisted and warped by subtle irregularities in its structure. The Amkhat is a mangled abomination of spirit, while the ragged tatters of spells hang about the man's shoulders like the fading echoes of a cracked bell - but there are no other powers active in this room - none besides the hammer you have in your bag.
If you had lips beneath your veil, they would have curved. These sorcerers have invited you into their stronghold, so blinded by their greed as to not even prepare defences.
You greet the two smilingly as everyone sits, and confirm that the woman's name is Hannah, while this second man is indeed Cory Fisher. Small talk doesn't last long, the two of them casting curious glances at your garb as you talk, before Hannah asks "You mentioned a hammer, though?"
"Ah, yes," you say. "I have it here. I thought it might be of interest to you." You draw out your hammer, wrapped in brown paper, and set it on the table - your table - with a weighty thunk. You unwrap it slowly, using a showman's finesse to keep their eyes fixed on what you unveil. You catch the indrawn breath as you reveal the hammer in its entirety, and then speak into the silence.
"Lift it."
Cory blinks, shaking his head like a dog shedding water. "Pardon?"
"Try to lift it," you say, indicating the hammer. Everyone's eyes land on it as Cory gets up.
Casting a glance your way, the man circles the table and reaches out to the hammer's haft. He lifts the wood easily enough, but comes up sharp with a jerk as he tries to lift the head from the table's surface. He tugs again, and succeeds in shifting the hammer a few millimetres. He lets it go, expression confused. George sits up from his side of the table with a grunt.
"Let me?" he says, and Cory waves him over. Together the both of them yank on the haft and it only moves a few centimetres. George lets out a loud grunt as he steps away, shaking his head and his hand. "Hell of a thing." He settles back in his chair, rubbing at his wrist.
You don't miss Hannah leaning back slightly and her eyes widening as she stares at the hammer as well.
"That's… quite an object you've got there," Cory says into the silence that follows.
"Yes," you say. "And I'm sure an organisation of your… calibre has some hint of its nature."
Cory returns to his seat and sits before he speaks again, hand near the Amkhat where it sits, still staring at you with its gem-like eyes. "Which leads me to my questions; who are you? And what do you want?"
[] "I am Morgan, and I have a prior claim on the land upon which this house is built. I'm sure we can reach an accord, however." These fools and what they've done disgust you, but they have skill. You can suborn that skill to your cause, even if it is distasteful, and you have power and knowledge to offer in plenty to such mortal sorcerers.
The Rectifier will not approve of such mercy.
[] "I am the mistress of this house. I laid the stones of its ten-times predecessor when Boudicca walked the Isles. You will serve me." These mortals have blasphemed against your purpose and violated your sanctum - but their deaths would be a waste. Satisfying, certainly, to you and your Judge, but a waste nonetheless. You shall bring them under your sway whether they wish it or not, and put an end to the Amkhat.
Your Judge may be dissatisfied with this, but you do not know his mind.
[] "I am Helel of the Rectifier, and today you die." These foolish creatures have stolen and desecrated your home and blasphemed against your Judge. Nothing less than their deaths and that of their creature shall suffice to make amends - and you cannot pretend there will be no vindictive catharsis in the doing.
You are certain Uatch-Rekhet will approve.
Manipulation 4 + Persuasion 5 + Tempting Offers Specialty 1 = 10 dice, to gain access to the Hall.
Author's Notes: And we're back with another exciting round of How Do You Want to Fuck With These People! Thanks as always go to @BungieONI for doing a great deal of the work, and to @GardenerBriareus for being the resident ideas guy in the background.
[X] "I am the mistress of this house. I laid the stones of its ten-times predecessor when Boudicca walked the Isles. You will serve me."
- Use the third level of the "Dreams of the Dead Gods" imposing Grandeur (Victims gain the Awestruck Condition towards the Risen)
- Demand unquestioning obedience to the divine laws of Uatch-Rekhet and faithful service to Helel as a guide of his will (an attempt to appease the judge)
- - If someone tries to resist us, we will use the first and third levels of Rebuke the Vizier to block amhata in the twilight and prevent Cory from conjuring. We let the others see the futility of his attempts and effectively kill the sorcerer by placing a burning hammer on his body proclaiming his crimes against Uatch-Rekhet.
--- After that, we put a pillar point into dexterity with the help of a hammer and kill Amhata while she is helpless.
- After everything is over, Helel forces them to tell us all the events that happened after Helel disappeared at sea.
[X] "I am the mistress of this house. I laid the stones of its ten-times predecessor when Boudicca walked the Isles. You will serve me." These mortals have blasphemed against your purpose and violated your sanctum - but their deaths would be a waste. Satisfying, certainly, to you and your Judge, but a waste nonetheless. You shall bring them under your sway whether they wish it or not, and put an end to the Amkhat.
A Maa-Kep is at home directing others, but their magic is ugly and fallen. No need to indulge it or betray our Judge.
[x] "I am Helel of the Rectifier, and today you die." These foolish creatures have stolen and desecrated your home and blasphemed against your Judge. Nothing less than their deaths and that of their creature shall suffice to make amends - and you cannot pretend there will be no vindictive catharsis in the doing.
[X] "I am the mistress of this house. I laid the stones of its ten-times predecessor when Boudicca walked the Isles. You will serve me."
- Use the third level of the "Dreams of the Dead Gods" imposing Grandeur (Victims gain the Awestruck Condition towards the Risen)
- Demand unquestioning obedience to the divine laws of Uatch-Rekhet and faithful service to Helel as a guide of his will (an attempt to appease the judge)
- - If someone tries to resist, Helel use the third level of Rebuke the Vizier and block his ability to magic. Helel let the others see the futility of his attempts and effectively kill the sorcerer by placing a flaming hammer on his body proclaiming his crimes against Uatch-Rekhet.
- After everything is over, Helel forces them to tell us all the events that happened after Helel disappeared at sea.
[x] "I am Helel of the Rectifier, and today you die." These foolish creatures have stolen and desecrated your home and blasphemed against your Judge. Nothing less than their deaths and that of their creature shall suffice to make amends - and you cannot pretend there will be no vindictive catharsis in the doing.
Yes, I agree that it will be a good revenge. But this is an insane amount of new problems at the same time. Firstly, the concealment of the murder, secondly, getting the tomb into our property, and thirdly, attracting the attention of undesirable personalities. Well, in the end it's the loss of three sorcerers who can train our other cultists, giving birth to even more sorcerers. And sorcerers can do a lot of useful things, and most importantly create Sekhem vessels.
[X] "I am the mistress of this house. I laid the stones of its ten-times predecessor when Boudicca walked the Isles. You will serve me."
- Use the third level of the "Dreams of the Dead Gods" imposing Grandeur (Victims gain the Awestruck Condition towards the Risen)
- Demand unquestioning obedience to the divine laws of Uatch-Rekhet and faithful service to Helel as a guide of his will (an attempt to appease the judge)
- - If someone tries to resist, Helel use the third level of Rebuke the Vizier and block his ability to magic. Helel let the others see the futility of his attempts and effectively kill the sorcerer by placing a flaming hammer on his body proclaiming his crimes against Uatch-Rekhet.
- After everything is over, Helel forces them to tell us all the events that happened after Helel disappeared at sea.
In general yes, with two caveats; the Amkhat is still in the room and able to act, and Cory as noted in Helel's Godsight is more than a mortal. Dream of Dead Gods may not work on Cory, and it certainly won't work on the Amkhat.
E: And for sorcerer's to make Relics, it will take significant sources of Sekhem which Helel currently does not have access to.
In general yes, with two caveats; the Amkhat is still in the room and able to act, and Cory as noted in Helel's Godsight is more than a mortal. Dream of Dead Gods may not work on Cory, and it certainly won't work on the Amkhat.
E: And for sorcerer's to make Relics, it will take significant sources of Sekhem which Helel currently does not have access to.
The Gauntlet isn't involved with Twilight - it separates the Shadow/Spirit World from the physical world. Twilight is a seperate "frequency" of the same world, and there's a bunch of different ways to either cross frequencies, take up more frequencies, act from one frequency to the other, etc.
As Potato Anarchy says, it doesn't need to cross the Gauntlet. However, it will need to Manifest before it can attack Helel. If it does attack Helel definitely has tools to attack it even before it Manifests.
There's two ways to make a Vestige: They can arise naturally from important objects caught in events of very strong emotion and memory (like the death or birth of a mortal), or they can be created by a sorcerer with a specific Open Rite used upon a suitable object.
In the case of a sorcerer forcibly creating a Vestige, they need to pick an object that has either seen a lot of use and so has a small amount of Sekhem in it, or cannibalize a Relic for its Sekhem and put that extracted Sekhem into another object. Once the Sekhem is in a given object, it needs to be imprinted with a strong memory and then Sealed (which is the final roll in this process). Once the object is Sealed, it is now a Vestige with a power determined by the memory imprinted onto it.
The process to make a full on Relic is fuzzier, and requires A Lot of Sekhem and effort on the part of the sorcerer or mortal making one.
