The Nephandi, Nephandus as singular, are a sect of fallen mages. They are called Naraki by the Euthanatoi. Like the rest of the Traditions, they represent one of the four Avatar Essence; in this case, the Primordial Essence. These mages represent the desire to obliterate the entire Tellurian.
Overview[]
The Nephandi come into existence in two possible ways: firstly, they can be created as the Barrabi from regular mages through the "process" of the caul, or they are simply born with inverted avatars from a previous life, which are called widderslainte. While the Barrabi are the "traitors" of the Ascension War, the widderslainte are a living argument against free will. As unawakened the widderslainte are sociopaths and monsters: an unusually vicious bully, the child who tortures pets or who is the source of all those missing young girls, if and when they awaken the fun really begins.
Even if they do not contact their colleagues the widderslainte are a Nephandi in all but name and tend to spend their time performing atrocities on their own. If they do make contact then you have another bastard to the ranks of hell who was destined to piss on the world from the start. Although on the bright side Barrabi tend to resent the widderslainte so there is always the chance that some backstabbing will occur. Occasionally the other factions will find the budding psycho first and attempt to save them, after all they have not gone through the caul yet. The problem is they do not need to go through the caul, in a sense they have already gone through the caul and any attempts to redeem them are doomed to failure and they will happily drag others down with them.
It is a mistake to compare Nephandi to simple infernalists. Infernalists are those who sell their soul for their own callous purposes – typically power; whether magical, temporal, or sexual. The Nephandi, conversely, willingly corrupt their soul in order to kill the world. In a world full of shades of grey they are the black, each without exception a monster. When a mage Descends, he enters a Caul (a sort of gateway to hell/shrine of unspeakable horror). What occurs within is not generally known as the Nephandi does not discuss it, although things are known to be within the Caul with the Nephandi and many mages do not come out again. If the initiate emerges relatively intact they will have been fundamentally and irreversibly changed; their Avatar will have been inverted focusing on Descent rather than Ascension; their very magic becomes Qlippothic.
History[]
Ancient History: Witch-Priests and Cold Sorcery[]
- Main article: Nif'ur en'Daah
The first Infernal pacts were struck by outcasts—brave souls who left the comfort of their kin to walk alone beneath the stars. They spoke to the Darkness, and sometimes, it answered. These witches and mad priests became the first to survive the midnight paths, growing in power as others joined their rites. The wild embraced them: beasts taught them through claws, the elder races whispered forbidden lore, and the Void welcomed them as its own, as they became living Voids who echoed the greater Void beyond.
As civilisation grew and compassion allowed the weak to thrive, these “witch-priests” returned. Like wolves among sheep, they culled the craven. Fight or perish became their creed. In the days of Babylon and Sumer, kings called them Qut Etemmu or Gallû—“Hands of Ghosts” and “Demons”—welcoming their strength and sorcery. In Bhât, they were the Nif’ur’en Daah, “Eaters of the Weak,” robed in dragon-skin and crowned with horns, calling spirits at the gate of the Ersetu — the Underworld.
Others lived in the wild: dancing under moons, mating with demons, learning forbidden arts from djinn and beasts alike. Some formed tribes and conquered their kin; others wandered alone, carrying their pacts into storm and sea. Their strength came at a terrible price—murder, sacrifice, self-mutilation, and worse. In return, they were granted the Nine Secrets of Creation. They served spirit patrons, not in slavery, but as apprentices or lovers, and were rewarded with powers no god of light would bestow.
Over time, cities and stone circles arose in their name—Sodom, Gomorrah, Ur, Enoch, Alba, Pohja, Kalicut. In these places, blood flowed, desires ruled, and the strong flourished. The weak, fearful and envious, turned to the gods of Light, begging for salvation. And so rose the prophets—Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Khristos, and Mohammed—leading their followers from the wolves' jaws.
Thus began the age of gods and prophets. Thus did the war in Heaven fall to Earth.
Antiquity: The God of the Book — and Lucifer[]
In time, one God rose above all others. Within His dominion, rival gods were cast down, their rites forbidden, their names cursed. Yet even this God-Above-All had a shadow: Satan, the Adversary. As the One God's power grew, His followers trembled at the name of His Dark Twin, for they knew that night must follow day, and no sin is ever banished forever.
The People of the Book—those who follow the laws of Moses, Khristos, and Mohammed—believe in no emanations of Light, Shadow, or Darkness. Their God is the One True Lord, who created Heaven, Earth, and Hell in seven divine days. From His throne of fire, He set a celestial order: angels above, mortals below, and the world crafted in His image.
But His most radiant servant, Lucifer the Lightbringer, rebelled. Proud and eloquent, he led a third of Heaven’s Host against their Creator. When the war was lost, they were cast down to Earth and condemned to the Pit. In rage, Lucifer became Satan and pledged himself to the Darkness.
Other legends speak differently. Some say Lucifer was not a servant, but Yahweh’s brother, cast out for questioning His commands—or for loving Lilith. In some tales, Lucifer refused to crawl in servitude, raising a burning sword and leaping to Earth as a conqueror, not an exile. Despite every curse and scourge, his spirit endures. Scripture calls him “prince of this world,” and he has played that part well—both shepherd and wolf.
In the beginning, Yahweh created a paradise. There, Man and Woman found sanctuary from the Fallen angels that raged across the world. But the Garden did not last. Some say Lilith was cast out for her pride. Others claim Eve was seduced by Lucifer, who came as a serpent and led her to the Tree of Knowledge. In either story, humanity was expelled. When God disapproved of the paths they chose, He sent a flood to cleanse the Earth. But Satan did not drown.
Satan knows the secret of humanity. He understands the language of desire and the call of the Void. Where Yahweh commands, Lucifer seduces. And in their hearts, many mortals find the latter more compelling.
Thus, Satan becomes a symbol—not just of rebellion, but of the Adversary that lives within even the Lord of Light. For the God of the Book has ruled through fire and slaughter. His armies razed cities raised to other gods: fire rained on Sodom, Jericho's walls fell, Egypt suffered plagues, and the armies of Saul and David drowned the land in blood. Solomon bound 72 demons into brass and passed their rites on to later generations. Entire nations—Philistines, Canaanites, Levites, Egyptians—tasted the wrath of the God who said, “Thou shalt not kill,” then killed without end.
As the empires of the witch-priests crumbled, the God of Light established His Dominion. Prophets rose like storms; kings waded through blood to seize thrones. Slaves were freed, and free men were enslaved. With the Nazarene, this Garden God took up a new sword. Though he spoke of love and peace, his followers quickly learned to butcher. Mohammed, too, brought a similar paradox—mercy for believers, conquest for the rest.
Eventually, this Lord of Light declared all other faiths heresy. With miracles and wars, He overthrew the old gods and claimed their people. Those gods who survived took new forms—masked as demons, hidden in shadow.
And so the One God forged chains: eternal laws to bind the souls of men to Light or Darkness. Those who refused were cast out or burned beneath His judgment.
And it was good.
Or so He believed.
But Satan is still laughing. Since the rise of Rome, His laughter has only grewn louder.
Dark Ages: The Broken Chain[]
- Main article: Devil-King Age
According to the Book, the One God forged a divine chain to restrain chaos. But the heart of mankind howls with the Void, and even the devout strain against the links of virtue. On the fringes of the Dominion, holy men still speak to gods, but in the heart of His realm, His followers baptize the earth in blood and ash—and the Devil laughs.
He laughed anew when men twisted the words of Khristos to suit the vanity of high priests. When Romans burned Christians alive or fed them to lions, Satan whispered: tenderness is not survival. Then came the swords, the pyres, the doctrines. “Judge not” gave way to “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Pagans roasted Christians; Christians burned infidels. By the fall of the Empire, the Light of Khristos had dimmed beneath the darkness in man’s soul—and it would darken further still.
In the deserts of Arabia, a Nephandic dynasty ushered in the Devil-king Age. The black oases of ancient days became cities of splendor and suffering: Hel’jibb the Unforgiving, Arraka the Golden Pit, the Flesh-Gates of Kyphon. Here, the Eaters of the Weak summoned wicked spirits and fed them souls. The strong were taken to the citadels and taught the secrets of the Art; the weak were bound in chains. Sodom and Bhât rose again in all their cruel majesty. Great libraries were built to catalog torment, demons prowled the streets, and vampires drank from living vessels.
Such wealth bred war and trade. As Alexander’s empire crumbled, Infernal armies swept across the land. Under the stars, caravans full of wonders—gold, slaves, silks, wishes—traveled from Rome to Mali. The Ahl-i-Batin and their allies resisted the Devil-kings, but they were few, and the Eaters were many. Until the rise of Mohammed, the realm flourished.
Then the Prophet came, carrying the Garden God’s blessing in one hand and a sword in the other. With the Subtle Ones and Persian Weavers beside him, he shattered the cities of the Devil-kings and slew tens of thousands. When the Oasis of Eternal Bliss turned to glass, the Adversary laughed. Though Allah reigned, the blood-stained sands pleased the Fallen One.
He laughs still, for we are more numerous now than ever. The Absolute screams in ecstasy, having tasted suffering and found it sublime.
The One God is jealous. He sees no Shadows, no emanations, no Void. He believes Himself alone. And for His worship, He gives His followers a ragged purse of battered copper and clipped silver. Priests take the gold, and the people fight over the scraps. Crusades and burnings shake Heaven, and Hell yawns wide.
He guards a dying world. In France, mercenaries skin villagers alive. In London, children eat plague-rats while kings feast. In Rome, bishops consort with whores while witches burn. Across the mountains, soldiers of Christ and the Prophet feed each other to wolves. Skin-banners flutter by the Caspian Sea. All creation sings in agony. If a Divine chain exists, it is fraying. The Void strains every link. When it snaps, the Sun will go out. And that, is what they desire.
The Nephandi are not servants of Darkness—they are its avatars. Nephandi believe they're the cosmic joke given form. Every act of cruelty sharpens them. Every starving peasant, every raped maiden, every feast of flesh and fire, strengthens the Adversary. With each horror, the chain grows weaker. Satan laughs louder—and the Nephandi laugh with Him.
For humanity lives on the edge of an abyss—not Hell, but the one within. They are born predators, made to tear innocence apart and feast on entrails. Beasts know this. Gods know this. And the People of the Book have taught us the same.
The Light flares against the Darkness, a solitary flame in the infinite Void. But every fire burns out—campfires, hearthfires, sunfires, godfires. None last forever.
The souls of mages, it would seem, are particularly delightful to twist and corrupt. They obviously make better servitors than does a Commoner. That goes a long way to explaining why there is a cult intent on corrupting mages. This cult worships the Infernal, the absence of all divinity. What little is known about them was compiled by the Ahl-i-Batin in a text called Sebel-el-Mafough Whash, “Path of the Voracious Beast.” It was later translated into Latin as the Malleus Nefandorum, a text familiar to most Hermetics and some of the better-educated Messianic Voices. Members of the cult described in this book are called “Nefandi.”
By infernal temptation, the cult works together to bring new blood into the fold by, essentially, turning a mage’s soul inside out, and marking him forever as one who has turned from the ways of humanity.
None of the six Mystic Fellowships are immune to temptation or malice. Like any tool, magic can be wielded for weal or woe. At various times throughout history, members of all six Fellowships have been lured into aligning themselves with the forces of hatred, horror and Hell, and some have bargained away their free will or their immortal souls to get a firm grip on power that otherwise would not have been theirs. Below is a brief explication of the corrupted paths of each of the Fellowships.
Renaissance: The Witch Craze[]
In a way, the Renaissance is a rebirth of witchcraft, too, at least in the public perception. The combination of religious strife, social upheaval and artistic rebellion lays fertile seed for both Infernalism and the fear of it. Before the age is through, a handful of Satanic sects will grow into behemoths, and millions of people (mostly innocents) will be consigned to torture, the noose and the stake. As the Church’s corruption is exposed in the late Middle Ages, heresies arise. Some, like the Pastoureaux, Free Spirits and fl agellants, violently oppose the Church and actively hunt clerics and their servants down; others simply form their own sects and preach alternative paths of God. The Church responds with several Papal bulls and Inquisitions against heresy. Combined with campaigns against Jews, Pagans, Muslims and witches, this creates an atmosphere of violent paranoia in which anyone even remotely different becomes suspicious. It also incites anyone who has an axe to grind with the Church. By the time the Rebirth begins, the faithful see enemies everywhere, and many more enemies actually exist.
Infernalists take advantage of this climate, and spread hatred and heresy throughout Christendom. Some sects, like the Nephandi, use the Inquisitions as weapons against their rivals, exposing other cults while hiding their own activities. Most sects grow; as people get disgusted with the Church, they take their anger out on God and join His enemy. The religious authorities, looking for (and finding) satans everywhere, frenzies. More bulls are issued. More hunts begin. More people, both innocent and guilty, are dragged to the torture, and the accounts of their crimes grow wilder and wilder. The vicious cycle picks up speed as furious rebels top each other with atrocities. Black Masses grow blacker still, and town squares abound with witch-fires and gibbet-irons.
The worst is yet to come. With the Daedalean Oath of Fire in 1452, the foundation of the Council of Nine in 1466 and the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum in 1486, the bloodshed and blasphemies reach pandemic proportions. The next 200 years will see millions of people burned, hanged or tortured; the genesis of the vampiric Camarilla and Sabbat; and the rapid growth of the Nephandic sect. The whirlpool of sin picks up speed in the Renaissance, and the world becomes a darker place.
Modern Nights[]
There are rumours that the Technocratic Union has been infiltrated by Nephandi. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
(...)
Hierarchy[]
Though all Nephandi serve Oblivion, they maintain a fairly rigid hierarchy based on power and closeness to Oblivion. This theocratic despotism is prone to constant violent infighting and backstabbing plots at the Lower (greater) levels. the hierarchy is loosely broken into the following categories:
- Pawn (Dregvati) - The scum (hence the nickname dregs), these are the lowest on the roster loosely divided into non-awakened servants of the sect such as hired thugs, cultists or pimps, as well as more powerful dupes of the cult. Minor supernatural servants or non-Nephandic mages who are being manipulated by the Nephandi. The "weak link in the chain" so to speak, these poor bastards are usually unaware of what they serve. Of course, there is always a chance of promotion through the caul...
- Nephandus - A true Nephandi is first born by emerging from the Caul. This term also broadly refers to any member of the hierarchy upwards from here, and later ranks can be considered "titles." It is at this rank that most of the Nephandi's Shaytan (those Nephandi who are highly violent and act as soldiers and assassins) can be found. The fist of the Nephandi forces, these are the guys who are the most likely to be encountered in direct confrontation.
- Adsinistratus - The sergeants. After building a network of supporters, a Nephandus begins to have the clout to command lesser Nephandi and act as a full-time tempter. The Adsinistrati are primarily responsible for luring Pawns into the Caul, as the lower ranks lack the subtlety and skill to do so. When necessary, the Adsinistrati are also the diplomats of the Nephandi, making contact with other beings of corruption such as Black Spiral Dancers.
- Prelatus (f. Lili) - The generals of the Nephandi are almost always powerful, inhuman, and inscrutable. Most Prelati are able to visit Earth for short periods but generally find long-term residence difficult. These Nephandi direct large-scale operations.
- Gilledian - The highest ranking Nephandi are the rulers of the Labyrinths, Nephandic realms in the Umbra. Most are very old, very powerful, and very experienced. While unable to leave the Umbra, these beings exert tremendous political force from a distance. They are not even by the loose standards of their colleagues usually anything even resembling a human. In fact, quite a few are technically dead.
Beyond the Gilledians there are no unifiers of the Nephandi. Though a handful of Aswadim (superhumanly powerful masters of Qlippothic magic) exist, they act (at most) as symbols to the Nephandi, or as avatars of Oblivion. They do not take an active role in leadership.
Sects[]
Although united in their aims the Nephandi are divided in method and master. Although they all strive for the death of the universe how they go about it varies greatly. There are also a large variety of dark gods/demons/horrible dead things for the Nephandi to gain "sponsorship" from. This results in several factions within the group. Although at a casual glance they appear the same a more in-depth study will reveal a great deal of variation. On the bright side this leads to much internal squabbling and backstabbing as the various dark gods play their pawns off against each other and they in turn attempt to boost their masters position. Unfortunately, this also provides ample cover for the minor factions like the festival-minded Goatkids and the technomantic weaponmasters of the Ironhands to exist in obscurity, hiding behind the politics of their "betters."
Infernalists[]
- Main article: Infernalists (MTAs)
The most "normal" and "human" of the factions. These Nephandi worship demonic entities (or potentially something pretending to be a demon). The Nephandi Infernalists are different to standard infernalists who sell their soul for their own gain – these guys sell their soul to kill the world (there is also the issue of the exact nature of their masters). They are the most internally organized and socially skilled of the factions, able to pass fairly well within human population. They are also the most human in behaviour and mindset. This makes them all the more dangerous as they are more subtle and insidious than their more insane counterparts as they have more success at infiltration and recruiting. They do not get along well with the Malfeans whose chaotic and primal mindset does not mesh with the formalized ritualistic traditional demon worship.
Malfeans[]
- Main article: Malfeans (MTAs)
Not to be mistaken with the Neverborn of Oblivion (although connected in a manner of speaking). These Nephandi worship the Wyrm: the primal force of entropy and corruption. They are somewhat wild and primal in their evil. Often with close ties to the Black Spiral Dancers. The Malfean are often quite insane and zealous in their devotion to the Wyrm. The style of their methods tends to be strongly based on simplistic primal concepts. Their caul process is surprisingly similar as opposed to the other sects, usually they tend to walk the so-called Black Spiral during their inversion. The areas they practice their work in tend to be rotten shit holes of squalor, pollution and filth – it is as though they deliberately pick or corrupt these areas...
K'llasshaa[]
- Main article: K'llasshaa
The archetype of the Nephandi. The K'llasshaa worship the Outer Lords. Little is known or even possible to understand about their masters, however it is clear that they claim to have ruled this world in the long past, were banished through treachery or fate, and now wish to return. If this is true or not is not known or strictly speaking important, what is certain is that they lay claim to the world and all within it. Whatever the K'llasshaa serves is at least on a philosophical level the most disturbing of the Nephandi, being by far the most alien. Contact with what this sect serves is known to drive the subject completely mad. What is known however is that these beings feed on negative emotions; this in essence leaks into their servants, who are the most bizarre and fortunately, the easiest to track. The K'llasshaa are surprisingly straightforward in their method, usually with minimal dogma and greater emphasis on violence. Their rituals are more akin to a torture session or a snuff film than a mystic ritual (although there is overlap, further confusing the issue).
If one were to impose the Metaphysic Trinity upon Infernal ranks, the Infernalists would reflect Stasis, the K’llashaa would represent Dynamism, and the Malfeans would embody Entropy.
Minor Sects[]
Most of these new factions remain secrets from all but their own members, a handful of rival Nephandi, and a very small number of outsiders who’ve begin to notice their presence and effects.[1]
- Baphies, or Goatkids, counter-culture hedonists also known as the Dancers of the Beast
- Obliviates, or Exies, who pursue the extinction of humankind
- Heralds of Basilisk, corruptors of the Digital Web
- Ironhands, tech-Nephandi with an interest in WMDs.
- Mammonites, capitalist predators
Stats[]
Mage: The Ascension Revised Rulebook
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2, Charisma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 2, Awareness 3, Cosmology 2, Enigmas 3, Expression 4, Leadership 4, Meditation 2, Occult 3, Subterfuge 4
Backgrounds: Avatar 2, Destiny 1, Sanctum 1, Talisman 3
Arete: 4
Spheres: (Qlipphothic) Entropy 3, Spirit 3
Willpower: 8
Quintessence: 2
Paradox: 0
Resonance: (Dynamic) Slippery, (Entropic) Corruptive, (Static) Smothering
Video[]
Mage the Ascension- Book of the Fallen
Gallery[]
_-_Dancers_of_the_Beast.jpg "Baphies (Goatkids) - Dancers of the Beast.jpg (58 KB)")
_-_Devotees_of_Extinction.jpg "Exies (Obliviates) - Devotees of Extinction.jpg (97 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ MTAs: Book of the Fallen, p. 76-91
- MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Rulebook, p. 23, 27, 29, 34, 286
- MTAs: GURPS Mage: The Ascension, p. 23, 32, 149, 151, 171, 189, 190
- MTAs: The Book of Shadows: The Mage Players Guide, p. 81-83
- MTAs: The Book of Madness, p. 11-37
- MTAs: The Book of Mirrors: The Mage Storytellers Guide, p. 74-87
- MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Second Edition, p. 6, 9, 11, 18, 54, 114, 280-281
- MTAs: Mage: The Ascension Revised Edition, p. 34, 41, 43, 276-278
- MTAs: Tradition Book: Euthanatos, p. 11, 21
- MTAs: Mage Storytellers Handbook, p. 50-54
- MTAs: Initiates of the Art, p. 69-71
- MTAs: Masters of the Art, p. 80 (Arch-Nephandi)
- MTAs: Lost Paths: Ahl-i-Batin & Taftâni, p. 11, 22, 71
- MTSC: Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade Rulebook, p. 52, 121, 122, 281-282
- MTSC: Infernalism: The Path of Screams, p. 15, 96-99
- DAM: Dark Ages: Mage Grimoire, p. 146-147
- MTAs: Book of Madness Revised, p. 13-49
- MTAs: Digital Web 2.0, p. 13, 35 (Neffie, Billy-Boys)
- DAM: Dark Ages: Mage Grimoire, p. 146-147 (Nefandi)
- MTAs/cMET: Laws of Ascension, p. 23, 262-263
- MTAs: Ascension, p. 78, 186-187, 193
- WTO: The Sea of Shadows, p. 16
| Mage: The Ascension Factions | |
|---|---|
| Council of Nine Mystic Traditions • Technocratic Union • Disparate Alliance • Nephandi • Orphans • Marauders | |
| Mage: The Ascension Nephandi Sects | |
|---|---|
| Major Sects | Infernalists • Malfeans • K'llasshaa |
| Minor Sects | Baphies • Obliviates • Heralds of Basilisk • Ironhands • Mammonites |