Some players of Nephilim (myself included) have felt a need to expand play in their campaigns to encompass the possibility of humans being able to manipulate the solar magic field in a limited fashion. Even though some are of the opinion that giving humans magical ability undermines the basic tenets of the game, I feel that there's a valid reason to want to include this type of "awakened" (not enlightened) human as a new PC or NPC category - in short, I think doing so expands the roleplaying possibilities of the game, and heightens the conflict between humans and Nephilim (or ego and spirit?) to something more than just an "us vs. the secret societies" level.

I've taken the time to sketch out what I think would be a good way to incorporate solar magics into the game; so in saying that, I want to say that this in no way means that this is the only way to do it, and that this whole thing is just my opinion and is not associated with anyone from Chaosium in any way.

So bearing that in mind, here are a few notes on the internal philosophy of the system: (the metaphor, for everyone on the mailing list... ;) )

Solar magic is derived from the Sun, the source of Ka - traditionally, the Sun has also been associated with being the lifegiver, the source of power for the world, etc. We have solar minutes, hours, days, and years - our very world revolves around it. Western Nephilim believe that their Ka comes from the Sun, refracts through the various planets and such, and finally coalesces here into the various magic fields of the Earth. But to date, no Nephilim has ever been able to use the solar ka that they feel they need to achieve Agartha; bonding materially with a human seems to be the only way to access solar ka, and even then, they still have no means of manipulating it.

Humans have, in the recent past, begun to explore their inner selves more than in any other period of time - some say the approaching millennium has something to do with it; others insist that the basis for this "awakening" of humanity is scientific, calling it ESP or psychic power. The 60's introduced the first full-scale, mass awareness of inner human potential through the counter-culture movement; experiments with mind-altering drugs became common, and belief in events that were not scientifically provable became more common than ever. These events, along with a renewed cultural interest in the occult, have brought some scientists to give credence to the claims of "inner power", and today they search for explanations for the unexplainable.

(This part here is the metaphor part, my reasoning behind creating the system the way I did. You can skip it if you want to...)

My personal view on the "psychic" magic: I think that the whole thing is based on manipulation of reality. Humans are able to do this because they have a direct link to the perception of reality, something different from Nephilim... in my mind, Nephilim are the reality, they are composed of the basic, primal energies of the universe, and Man is just here for the ride - a product of the primal energies, but also a part of them. Humans perceive this reality, and in perceiving, change it. So the guts of this whole thing: Humans interact on four levels with the Universe - through Time, Space, Mind and Matter. Essentially, they do the same thing in each field - they manipulate reality by changing space-time, or changing matter, or what have you.

What this means in the greater scheme of the game:

I also happen to agree with the book's contention that when a Nephilim and a human (simulacrum) reach Agartha, they unify in body and soul, and become a being that is greater than the sum of its parts, but is still the union of both the human and the Nephilim, even though the human has remained unconscious for the whole ride to enlightenment. I think that right now, there is only one discovered path to Agartha, and the Nephilim know it, so humans can't get there by themselves (not by a long shot). But at any rate, the Nephilim needs the human to get there, and the human needs the Nephilim. Just recently, humans have started on their own path towards enlightenment (one that happens to be approaching from the opposite direction of the Nephilim, so who knows if it'll really work or not), and that's where the solar magic comes in.

There really isn't a lot that they can do with it, but then again, they aren't creatures of the magic fields, and they haven't had the eons of practice that the Nephilim have had. So their potential right now is pretty small in comparison - but it's still there. Those humans that have been awakened are going to seem extraordinary to other humans, and odd to Nephilim. But they represent a new dawning for human consciousness, and perhaps, a different kind of relationship with Nephilim.

Again, this is all IMHO, so you can take it or leave it as you choose. This is just the way I would set up things if I was writing up a Nephilim universe.

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