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The Followers of Set1

A man with no enemies is a man who has achieved nothing. Typhonist proverb.

History and Legend Set and Osiris

The origins of the Serpent Clan are tied up with the conflicts of these two mighty gods of blood, whose great battle is described in slightly contradictory detail in many other sources2. In brief, these two were brothers, and once both mighty princes, before Osiris ascended to the throne, and banished Set his brother and his rival into the depths of the Eastern desert. The princes were married to their two sisters, Osiris to Isis, Set to Nephtys; but when Set was banished, Osiris kept Nephtys for himself. Long years afterwards, Osiris was Embraced by a being known as Typhon, while Set returned from the east, likewise transformed. Set trapped and dismembered Osiris, but Isis and Nephtys restored him to fight against his brother. Even in open combat however, Osiris was unable to defeat Set, and Isis and Osiris son, Horus, was able only to wound him and drive him away. From that day, Horus and Set battled constantly over the kingdom, which would become known as Egypt. This account has two difficulties however. First of all: Who was Typhon? To the Greeks, Typhon was the most terrible enemy of the Olympian Gods, and he was associated with the Egyptian deity Set. Did Set first Embrace, then destroy his brother? If so why? And if Typhon were not Set, which of the great Cainites was he? If Set can be assumed to have found his fate in the city of Enoch, which of his brethren would travel so far to Embrace his brother, but not make any other move to oppose him? Secondly, there is the question of the nature of these princes and queens. Egyptian legend names Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephtys and Horus as gods, and Typhonists to this day hail Set as the Dark God. But the Setites are a vampire Clan, and so other Cainites have ever assumed that Set was a man, Embraced and raised to mighty power by one of the Second Generation. To the modern mind, these two versions are mutually incompatible, and the preferred solution is to accept that Set was one of the Antediluvians, who ruled in his kingdom as a god, in defiance of the equally legendary dictates of Caine. But to a Typhonist, there is no dilemma. The followers of Set are vampires, and so must Set have been a vampire. However, they know Set to have been a god, and therefore the logical conclusion is that he was both. To understand this position it is necessary to understand a basic fact about Egyptian magic and religion. The Ancient Egyptians had no true word for religion, nor for magic. The closest they had to the latter was heka, and heka was a far wider-reaching power. It was with heka that the gods created the world, and by heka that mortal priests and magicians worked their
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Version 1.2 Mummy, Mummy 2nd Edition, Clanbook Setite, Blood Magic.

spells. Since heka is therefore the sole power, it is no great leap to say that, not only must vampiric Disciplines be a method of manipulating heka, but that a powerful enough vampire would be not only godlike, but could in fact become a god; or indeed have always been one. Not that most Typhonists are truly accepting of the myth of Caine, since of necessity it acknowledges Cainites of greater power than the Dark God, but in such fashion they assimilate the disparate threads of their origins. As for Typhon, they do not use that name of this creature, calling him only the Enemy, or the Destroyer. They claim no knowledge of him, save that he was an influence of immense and dreadful power, who made Osiris a king of death and ruin, from whom Set had a moral obligation to wrest power. Indeed, many Typhonists hold that the Enemy was a demonic being, who worked in Osiris a transformation utterly unlike that of the vampire Embrace, and that only superficial similarities caused the two conditions to be treated as identical in later legend.

Set and Apophis

Once so the legends say Set was a mighty and revered god. When Horus defeated him in the battle for Osiris throne, Set was given great gifts by the sun-god Ra to ease the sting of his defeat, among them the task of defending Ras barge from the depredations of the mighty serpent Apophis during his nightly travels through the underworld. How then, can it have come to pass that the guardian of the sun should spawn a line so sensitive to the suns fire? To this question, the Typhonists give answers that are both varied and usually evasive. The most common explanation given is that Set, brooding on his defeat despite Ras placatory gifts, came to realise that Horus had beaten him only because of the interference of his mother, Isis, and that Ra had been complicit in that interference. Anger festered in his heart, until he came to see that only in the overthrow of Ra could he hope that justice would be done, and his undeniable rights asserted. To achieve this, Set conspired with Apophis to betray Ra to his nemesis. By some trick however, Ra escaped death, and in fear he placed his curse on Set and all of his line, that they might never again assail him. Another version follows much the same chain of events, but claims that Set was betrayed to Ra by one of his childer, and himself laid the curse so that none of his line could ever again seek to return to the favour of the sun. Others especially when dealing with other Cainites claim that the curse was Caines; that, as Nosferatu was made hideous and Malkav mad, so Set was cursed forever to stalk the deepest shadows, in fear of all he might achieve given his freedom to walk in the paler night with the other Cainites. Yet another version simply claims that after he became a vampire, Set grew more and more resentful of the light that was denied to him, until it pained both him and his line to walk in any light at all. Whatever claims may be made however, and whatever might be the truth of the matter, one thing stands clear in the Typhonist worldview: Set did leave the service of the sun, and enter into alliance with mighty Apophis. The serpent is, after all, the symbol of Apophis, as well as one of Sets many desert creatures, and it marks the Followers of Set as its own. It is said by some that Apophis taught the Setites the powers known as Serpentis, and that it is his influence which marks some of their number with the serpents scales. Others claim that Set wrested this power from Apophis, and that it was his gift to his children, and his gift alone. The Debate is heightened by the existence of the Bane Mummies. Immortals intended for the service of Set but subverted by Apophis, these seven abominations before Maat are considered the most open sign of the deep divisions between Sets

will and Apophis design. The Setites regard it as their duty to contain the Bane Mummies whenever possible, to prevent them bringing unguided chaos and destruction to the world which Set wishes to rule. Not that this prevents them from attempting to control the Bane Mummies and use them at time for their own purposes, but then the Setites are certainly no less arrogant than the vampires of other Clans, and many possess a deep and abiding belief in their own power in the face of past evidence.

Setite Lexicon
Ahk: An immortal and perfected version of the physical body (khet), in which form those who lived by Maat might expect to reside eternally in the afterlife. Anatite: A member of the Ecstatic bloodline. Apep/Apophis: The serpent of the night, who seeks to swallow the sun. Once Set served to protect the sun, now his followers claim that the causes of Set and Apophis are one. The older name Apep is usually used by Setites who heretically claim that the Serpent is Sets equal or master. Apophite: A member of the Typhonian bloodline. Apostate: Specifically, a Serpent of the Light. More generally also a member of the Order of Apep or the Sword of Astarte. Sometimes used to denote any non-Following Setite, c.f. Innocent. Away in the West: Dead or in torpor (the Lands of the Dead are thought to lie to the West of Egypt). Ba: One of the five elements of being. The ba is the spirit and the personality, which flies to the Underworld upon death. The ba of a god is thought to occupy its statues, and hence the statue is the god. Barque: A barge, specifically one used in ritual to transport the statue of the god. Black Land, the: The fertile ground of the Nile flood plain. Children of Apophis: The Bane Mummies. Twisted mockeries of the servants of Horus, tainted by Apophis touch and only barely held under the Dark Gods sway. Duat: The Egyptian Underworld, also called the Western Land. Ruled by the dead king Osiris, the Duat is a terrible place for Setites, but it is believed that their ba travels there whenever they are in torpor. Ears of Set, the: Nickname for Kheminteri, the youngest childe of Set. Never used knowingly in her presence. c.f. Eyes of Set, Hand of Set. Ecstatic: A Setite dedicated to furthering the spread of corruption among the weak-willed. A follower of the Path of Ecstasy. Eyes of Set, the: Pet name used for Nefertiti, childe of Set, among her followers. Refers to the Hand of Set. c.f. Ears of Set. Follower of Set: A worshipper of the Dark God; c.f. Temple. Hand of Set, the: The eldest childe of Set, and a bogeyman used to frighten the impious. Numerous disappearance of highly-ranked Setites have been attributed to the Hand over the millennia, but few can even be sure if the Hand is man or woman. Haven-god: A deity worshipped at a private shrine in a Setites haven. Heka: Supernatural power, of any kind, from mortal Numina to the power of the gods. Heka is the nearest the Egyptians had to a word for magic, but it lacks the negative connotations later attached to magic. Heka-Sutekh: Setite blood magic. Hemw: An Egyptian slave. Used to refer to ghouls and mortals in the service of Set or his Temple. Innocent: Specifically, a Setite who does not practice the worship of Set. Like all innocents, they are to be seduced in preference to slaying. Ka: One of the five elements of being; the spirit double of the physical body. The ka remains with the body after death, to guard it and receive offerings made to the funerary cult. Kenbet: A regional magistrate. In Setite terms, an elder responsible for the overseeing of good practice in the temples of a sepat, and for seeing that outsiders who attack the Temple are punished without causing a diplomatic incident. Khet: One of the five elements of being; the physical body. In death it is called the khat. Khopesh: An Egyptian sword, shaped somewhat like a sickle. The traditional and ritual weapon of Setite warriors. Maat: Loosely, balance, order, the correct way of things. To the Egyptians, the world operated as a system in balance, and excessive good was as terrible a thing as excessive evil. Sets original purpose was to be the dark and hostile force which maintained the balance. Medjay: A Setite devoted to the perfection of the art of war and the defence of the Temple. A follower of the Path of the Warrior. Named for the desert mercenaries who guarded the temples of ancient Egypt. Million: In ancient Egyptian texts and inscriptions, any infinite or very large number was expressed as a million, or millions. Mumbo: Corruption of mambo, used to denote the leaders of the Haitian Setites showy but hollow public rituals. Name: A persons name or names are their power. A Setite may bear many names, all of them important. To mock anothers name weakens them, and if a persons name is completely forgotten, he will cease to exist. C.f. Ren

Nomarch: Ruler of one of the sepat or nomes, either of ancient Egypt or of the Temple. Nww: Soldier-assistant to the Kenbet. Named after the warriors who protected the desert borders of Egypt against incursions by foreigners, in particular Bedouin tribes. Also a nickname for a member of the Path of the Warrior. Observances: Setite religious rituals. One-Eye: Horus, for whom the Followers hold an unmatched hatred. Prophet: Senior Setite priest. Unlike the wab (q.v.) the Prophets serve as full-time custodians of the temples, and are the leaders of the Followers of Set. Ra: The Egyptian sun-god (or one of them at least); a hated deity. Alternatively, to older Setites, the sun itself. Red Land, the: The barren desert beyond the inundation, where Set is king. Ren: The true name (q.v.); one of the five elements of the soul. If the ren of a person or thing is known to a priest or sorcerer, it is a great aid in his heka workings. Reversion (of Offerings): The practice of giving the food and drink rejected by the gods first to the lesser gods, then to the priests. In Setite terms, food offerings revert to those hemw (q.v.) who know the nature and value of their service. Sa-per: The title of an ancient Egyptian enforcement official, used by the Temple (q.v.) to describe those given responsibility for tracking down and containing the Children of Apophis (q.v.). Semedet: An Egyptian serf; used to describe all Followers of Set who are not priests. Sepat: One of the geographical provinces of ancient Egypt, or one of the modern regions recognised by the Setites. Also called nomes, each sepat is overseen by a nomarch (q.v.) and a kenbet (q.v.). Sesh: Translated as scribe; a cleric or bureaucrat. In Setite terms, a semedet responsible of record keeping and the mundane affairs of the Temple and its members. Seth: While more generally used by modern Egyptologists, the name Seth is not used by Setites, being reminiscent of the name of Caine and Abels younger and frankly far less important brother. Sethite: A member of the central Setite bloodline. Setite: Any member of the bloodline of Set. Seven, the: The Children of Apophis (q.v.), Shwt: The shadow or shade, one of the five elements of being. Not usually considered evil. Standard White Egyptian: Derogatory slang alluding to the portrayal of Egyptian characters by Caucasian actors in Hollywood, used to refer to a Setite who too obviously displays ostentatious trappings of worship in public life. C.f. Sunday Setite. Sunday Setite: Derogatory slang for a Setite who places personal and political gain above piety, especially one who does so within the temple precinct. C.f. Standard White Egyptian. Sutekh: The Dark God. The Egyptian name Sutekh is generally applied to the Clan founder as a god, the Greek Set to the vampire. Sutekhite: A member of the Warrior bloodline. Talking to the god/goddess: Engaging in any sexual act for personal gratification. An allusion to the pursuit of pleasure becoming a form of worship rivalling obedience to the Dark God, and used in a derogatory fashion when describing a Setite who is too caught up in his or her own pleasures. Temple: (1) The Havens of the Followers of Set, often communal. (2) A place consecrated to the worship of the Setite gods. (3) A term for the wider cult of the Followers of Set (q.v.). Tjaty: Vizier. The title granted to the most influential elders of the Temple, with supreme authority under Set. Typhon: Arch-nemesis of the Olympian gods, associated by the Greeks with Set. Alternatively the Sire of Osiris. Typhonist, Theophidian: A Setite devoted to furthering the goal of Sets resurrection and ascendancy. A follower of the Path of Typhon. Wab: One of the lesser priests of a temple; the term means purified, and refers to the ritual cleansing required prior to the performance of temple duties. Wab are not usually full-time priests, rather those Followers permitted serve for periods as wab between other duties.

The Setites and the Followers

As anyone who knows their methods will affirm, the Setites will be the first to tell you that they are grievously misunderstood. Usually this is seen as yet another ploy in their great game of corruption, but even if the Setite in question is precisely the tempting fiend he is taken for, the general statement holds much truth. Like the Tremere, the Ventrue and the Giovanni, the Setites are perceived as having a single, Clan-wide goal and hierarchy, but as with these others, this is far from an accurate picture of the Clan. There are many divisions within the ranks of the Setites, and for that matter, many ranks with no single head. The Dark God is the symbolic head of the Clan, but few active Setites can claim with any degree of truth to have ever met with the mighty Sutekh. Certainly the Typhonists claim to speak for him, and to be the bearers of his standard, but for the most part, they have heard his message only from their Sires, who have it from their Sires in turn. Most importantly, not all Setites are Followers of Set. While outsiders may use the terms interchangeably, to the Setites themselves they are distinct. Setite describes any member of Sets bloodline, whereas Follower of Set specifically describes one not necessarily a Setite who worships the Dark God, performs his rituals and does his work upon the earth. The majority of younger Setites are not true Followers, as the strictures on the granting of the Embrace have slackened over time, and many of the older Followers are either in torpor, or have ceased to keep watch over the young. Moreover, a strong line of the Innocent as the Followers have mockingly dubbed them persists from ancient times. The average, workaday Setite is a largely unremarkable vampire, and save for an unusually acute aversion to bright light, could easily pass for Toreador. In fact, this is what the vast majority of Setites do, secreting themselves, usually within the Camarilla, to live out their unlives as they see fit under the mantle of the Rose. Some few even live openly among the Camarilla, although such individuals are rarely trusted, and can find unlife most uncomfortable, as others reject them for their skin without bothering to look beyond. Only the Tremere seem to welcome such rare individuals into their cities, and perhaps this is only because it gives the other Clans someone to distrust even more than the Warlocks. To be fair, it is reasonable to look askance at anyone claiming to be a Setite, but not to be a lying seducer, since that is what a Follower would say as well, but it makes for a raw deal for the Innocent. As with every Clan however, the image is spread by the extremists, and it is of the Followers that everyone thinks when they consider the Setites. After all, the Innocent has little to distinguish him, while the Followers unlife is colourful in the extreme. Surrounding themselves in layers of myth and mystery, performing elaborate ceremonies to their Dark God, and seeking to corrupt the innocent and the virtuous; small wonder these are the Setites who get all of the press.

The Followers of Set

The Followers of Set are the faithful; those who do not fear to hold to the old ways and the ancient practices in the face of modern disapproval. They conform in part to every dark and sordid stereotype of the Setites, but what few other Cainites realise and least of all the snivelling Innocents is that behind the webs of deceit and corruption, the rites of blood and the dogma of the Paths of the Serpent, there is a faith so ancient and pure that it puts to shame the vast majority of mortal religions.

The Followers are not mere brainwashed fanatics, praying to a blood-bloated vampire lord; they are the worshippers of an ancient and primal force, of a god older and as they at least believe more potent than Yahweh or Christ. The popular image of the Setites crazy, cackling schemers, making devilsdeals with unwitting vampires and wallowing in the decadence of their corrupting lifestyle is of course far from accurate. If the Followers of Set were so transparent, they would hardly constitute a threat to anyone. The Followers are dangerous because they are good at what they do. An accomplished corrupter will never have to offer anything, never have to ask what you want; he implies availability and waits for you to ask. Most also charge an almost extortionate price for their more exotic services and wares, since everyone is suspicious of such things when they come at a bargain rate.

Organisation - The Temple

The Followers of Set refer to themselves as The Temple, and they form a loose association with representatives across most of the western world. Although strongly opposed by other Clans in Central and Southern Africa and the East, few if any of the vampires of Europe and the New World take the threat which they represent seriously, and that is the climate in which the Serpents flourish. Their work is subtle and gradual, for they have adapted their methods well to the vampiric condition. A successful Setite is not hasty or grasping, and few indeed of the Followers are the indolent hedonists others might like to think them. Members of the Temple are discouraged from indulging in the corrupting influence which they wield, and most Followers of any significant age are cold and calculating in a way few other vampires can easily conceive. The strength of the Temple is not in numbers or force, but in organisation. The Followers of Set have a cellular hierarchy, with a web of loosely autonomous temples connected by their obedience to Set. Communication between sister-temples is sporadic, but the ties between a temple and its mother-temple (the temple which supplied the original members) are stronger. It is by these lines that the greater body of the Temple is ordered, and specialists moved from one temple to another as needed. Within each temple, loyalty and communication are strong. While they are secretive with others even other temples within a temple it is vital to the cause that the members know what each other are doing, the better to co-ordinate their efforts.

Setite Temples
What most often surprises outsiders is the powerful bond of loyalty and trust which exists between the members of most Setite temples. While there are certainly individual Followers who do not work well with others, and specific temples in which infighting and internal politics dominate, most temples maintain a spirit of fellow feeling through the observances of Set, and troublemakers are either dealt with harshly or transferred to other temples. Also, the hierarchy is less draconian than some assume. Each Follower seems expected to find his own place, rather than being pressed to conform to a role determined by his elders. This is a matter of practicality and efficiency, as the Setites can neither afford to squander their resources where they are not well-used, nor to swell their numbers until they seem a threat. The centre of any temple is its physical components, the precinct and the shrine. Setite precincts are often located underground, and invariably enclosed. Their forms vary greatly, according to taste and necessity, but always at the heart is the shrine. The

shrine to Set consists of a statue of the god usually, but not always, standing, over six feet tall, arms outstretched which stands in a palanquin, on which it can be lifted and carried by bearers. There are sometimes other shrines to lesser deities; in particular followers of the Path of Ecstasy often maintain a shrine to Anat, consort of Set and founder of the Path. An important point to note is that in accordance with the tenets of Egyptian religion the statue of the god is, in a very real sense, the god himself. The statue of Set is Set, the statue of Anat is Anat. Any insult to the statue, any desecration, is a direct and personal affront to the god, and must be punished and avenged as such. Moreover, any rituals performed in the shrine are witnessed by the god, and thus Setite religion remains a very serious business. The precinct is only directly connected to the havens of the temple members if the location is extremely secure, as the Followers rarely like to place all of their eggs in one basket. The precinct is always guarded, by Medjay, ghouls or shabti (see below), but most Setites will maintain separate havens to rest in. There are two other physical components to the temple: the crypt and the cache. The crypt is a burial complex beneath the precinct, which, like the precinct itself, can be anything from a single chamber to a network of catacombs. Here the elders of the temple are placed when they enter torpor, and to each elder stored a small shrine is erected in the antechamber of Sets shrine, through which the temple can tend the needs of the sleepers. The cache is simply a storeroom, often attached to the crypt, in which the mummified remains of the temples sacrificial victims are kept (see Setite Observances below). These mummies are of those chosen by the temple to be offered as servants-in-death to the Dark God, and their destruction is as grave an insult to the temple as the desecration of the elders in the crypt. A typical temple has no more than five Setite members, but rarely fewer than three. These will be a mixture of prophets (senior priests), wab (part-time junior priests) and semedet (non-priests). At least one prophet will be the High Prophet of the temple, and its leader. The High Prophet is responsible for the mission of the temple (typically to spread corruption and the worship of Set, and to pave the way for his imminent return), and for leading the observances. The prophets are his deputies and aides, and rarely venture forth from the temple. The bulk of the temples members will be wab and semedet, with the primary distinction between the two groups being that the wab are privileged to take up temporary priestly duties typically for seven days out of forty, after three days of ritual purification as well as conducting the outer affairs of the temple. In addition to Setites, it is acceptable for members of other Clans to become semedet, if they can show themselves worthy of trust and true to Sets cause. The most loyal and faithful of these may even be granted the privilege of serving as wab, although only Setites are ever permitted to be prophets. It is rare for outsiders to be so trusted, but those who are accepted as true Followers of Set are aside from the restriction on becoming prophets treated as equal in all ways to Setite Followers. Thus the practices of Set can be spread without the Setites exposing themselves personally. Additionally, the temple will be served by a number of hemw; translated literally, slaves. Hemw is a catchall term used to refer to ghouls and true mortals who serve the Dark God, or who are controlled by whatever means, blood bond, bribery, blackmail by members of the temple. Their ranks include some minor new age Egypt cults and Set-as-Satan worshippers, but more usual are corrupt officials, police officers and politicos, as well as some street gangs or organised crime groups.

The greatest Setite temples are few in number, but high in status. The Ecstatics recognise the temple of Istanbul as their modern Mother-House (the original temples of Anat in Canaan having long-since fallen to the Jews), and the temple of Hollywood a mighty seat of corruption and decadence as their foremost house in the New World. Typhonists name as their Mother-House an ancient catacomb beneath the ruins of Memphis, and the temple of Cairo as its successor. The Medjay keep few temples, but their most revered is in Libya. The greatest temple of all however is in Uganda. There, hidden on the shores of Lake Victoria, is the House of Set, in the crypt of which is said to lie the torpid form of Set himself, and from which his highest prophets direct the doings of the lesser temples

The Priests
The priests of Set are the heart and soul of the Temple. They lead the semedet in the Observances of the Dark God, but perhaps more importantly they tend the temple precinct. Being a priest of Set is perhaps two parts power to ten parts duty, and of those ten four of ritual and six of general housekeeping. Setite temples the houses of the gods must be kept spotlessly clean, including a great deal of scrubbing bloodstains from the foot of the great statue. Because the cleanliness of the precinct and shrine is of vital importance as a show of piety, this is a duty to be performed by the priests, not by mere servants. In addition, between blood sacrifices the gods and elders of a temple must be fed on bread and given wine or beer to drink. It is likewise the duty of the priests to see to the bringing of these offerings soon after sundown, their removal at the end of the night and their distribution to the hemw in reversion. In most temples the bulk of these priestly duties falls to the wab who are currently performing their week of service. Only the most devout prophets seem to feel it necessary to get their hands dirty at such everyday tasks, and many High Prophets even decline to lead any but the most important Observances. Such behaviour is officially frowned upon, but unofficially indulged so long as the temple remains active, inviolate and unified. In the event that a High Prophet displeases one of the Elders however, a failure to perform these less dramatic functions regularly is often a part of the justification before Set for deposing him.

The Sesh
The sesh are perhaps the least glamorous and most important members of the Temple. Sesh is an Egyptian word usually translated as scribe or bureaucrat, and refers to a range of court functionaries. The sesh maintain temple records, and also the personal accounts of many members of the temple. They record which semedet have been given the right to control which hemw; which non-Setites have been granted access to the temple and investiture as semedet; which temple members are permitted to act as wab, and when they are scheduled to do so. Sesh are also trained in a form of hieratic script and an ancient Egyptian dialect known only to their particular caste, and used in all secret communications between temples. Messages in this form can be sent via courier, fax, telegraph, or by any electronic media in almost complete security. As with the use of Navajo as a code in WWII, Setite hieratic is unbreakable as a code because it is not a substitution but a language and script all but unknown outside the Temple. Aside from a handful of Innocent, and perhaps a few radical Egyptologists whom nobody else quite believes, no-one outside the Temple could translate these messages even if they intercepted them.

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For preference, all temples will have at least one sesh who may also be a wab although in smaller temples it is more common to simply appoint a prophet with such training. The Tjaty, nomarchs and kenbet each have a personal scribe, who is their constant companion, and often a Tjaty at least will have more than one in their entourage. Sesh are fairly rare, because the chances of advancement are slim and most eventually move on to another path. Strangely, the Medjay respect those who are or who have been sesh, even those who have never walked the Warrior Path.

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The Elders of the Temple

The Elders of the Temple are its oldest and most revered prophets. They are unique in that they alone of all Setites regardless of age and personal power can hold greater rank within a temple than its High Prophet. Ordinarily outsiders are expected to respect the High Prophet in his domain, where he is Sets emissary to his Followers. The Elders however are the pinnacle of the Temples hierarchy, and their embassy from Set travels with them, instead of being vested in a single shrine. They are of three divisions the Tjaty, the nomarchs and the kenbet each with distinct duties and powers. The nomarchs and kenbet are Sets highest officers within the somewhat anachronistic geographical regions in which the Followers hold sway. The Tjaty are Sets most trusted and powerful servants, and can overrule any other priest at any time, save only another Tjaty. Additionally, there are the Sa-per, whose unenviable duty is the tracking and capture of the Children of Apophis.

The Tjaty
Only the greatest of all prophets are granted the right to bear the title Tjaty, applied in ancient Egypt to an office roughly equivalent to that of vizier in the Ottoman Empire. The Tjaty have supreme authority under Set, for they are those members of the Temple closest to his wisdom. They dwell in the House of Set in Uganda such proximity to the Dark God being their honour and from there guide the actions of the Clan. In theory their power an influence is absolute, but in practice it is limited by their relative immobility and lack of familiarity with the modern outside world. Should a Tjaty choose to visit a temple, he or she will of course be treated with all honour and respect, but in their absence the nomarchs rule as they please (as in the nomarchs absence the High Prophets take the governance of their temples in hand). In the modern day they are seen as policy makers, but ill-qualified to be trusted with actual strategy in the modern world. Moreover, much of their time is spent competing for position amongst themselves. There are currently five Tjaty, three male and two female, but little more than this is known to the majority of Followers. They are known as Sutekhotep (Sutekh is satisfied), Akhensutekh (glory of Sutekh), Weret Hekaw (great of magic), Anat-taMeretset (daughter of Anat beloved of Set) and Meretseger (she who loves silence). The five are believed to be the oldest Followers of Set still active, and Akhensutekh and Anat-ta-Meretset are said to be two of Sets grandchilder. In addition to the five, Sets direct childer are also permitted to use the title Tjaty when active. Currently, three of Sets childer are believed to be awake: Nefertiti who also acts as Nomarch of Europe and Kheminteri are well accounted for. In addition, the eldest childe of the Dark God is said by the older Followers to be active at present, but the ever-mysterious Hand of Set has long been dismissed as a bogeyman by younger generations of Setite.

The Sa-per
The Tjaty are also ultimately responsible for the containment of the seven Bane Mummies, and for assigning the Sa-per who are given the task of tracking them down. Only experienced and highly-trusted Followers of Set, skilled in the sorcerous arts of Heka-Sutekh are ever awarded this prestigious title, which confers far more responsibility than authority. Life expectancy is not high, but the appointment can not

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be refused. For reasons of information security, all Sa-per if they have not done so already are trained as sesh and instructed in the Setite Egyptian dialect and hieratic script. It is a life-long appointment, and although the holders of the title are permitted to lead their own unlife at most times, if word or even rumour of a Child of Apophis reaches them, they are expected to drop everything and respond. Aided by those that they can recruit as their deputies, the Sa-per have the unenviable task of tracking, overthrowing and binding any Child of Apophis which walks free upon the earth and overseeing its transportation to the House of Set in Uganda.

The Nomarchs
The Nomarchs are the regional leaders of the Temple, and although nowadays typically more concerned with their own temples than their wider duties, they were once a powerful force. These days they like the Tjaty have lost much of their political muscle, as younger Setites fill out the ranks, and as the world grows faster than the Temple can react. Also, as the Clan has spread across the world their concentration has fallen, until the role of nomarch is all but obsolete. However, the Setites are nothing if not traditional, and the role still exists in name where not in effect. Moreover, a few nomarchs actually manage to make their mark on the temples under their jurisdiction. In particular, Nefertiti has managed to create her own consort-cult within the temples of Western Europe, and to establish strong lines of communication between the Setites whom she oversees.

The Kenbet
Like the nomarchs, the kenbet are regional officials, but unlike the nomarchs, they are far from obsolete. Magistrates of the Temple, enforcers of Sets law, the kenbet hold a rank somewhere between that of Camarilla Justicar and Archon. They travel widely within their sepat, lending their assistance at request or at their discretion in important matters of Setite religious law. Such may matters include any case where a High Prophets word has been disputed, or where a Setite feels deserving of greater reward than he has received, but the kenbets principle role is in the enforcement of offences committed by outsiders. Kenbet are chosen for their age and piety, but also for their diplomatic skills and powers of persuasion. It is their task to track down those who intrude upon the observances, commit sacrilege before the gods or steal from the Temple, without bringing down the wrath of the outside world upon the Followers of Set. They are assisted in this duty by helpers known as nww (after the soldiers who guarded Egypt against incursion, especially by Bedouin tribes). There are ten kenbet, one for each sepat, and one to carry out the duty for the Tjaty along the course of the Nile. As the long arm of Sets law, they are feared by the Followers above any other save the Tjaty and the Dark God himself, but conversely they have an unparalleled reputation among outsiders. Careful always to comport themselves decorously and with great respect for others territory, they are also open about their Clan and never jeopardise their duty by trying to corrupt anyone on the side.

Initiates of the Temple

Everyone has to start somewhere, and the Followers of Set are no exception. Setite initiates come from a variety of backgrounds, but regardless of a Serpents

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other qualifications it is considered essential by the Temple that his or her faith be proven before the Embrace is given. A candidate for the Embrace must prove himself to his Sire, and to the High Prophet of his Sires temple, before the gift of Sets blood can be granted. A Setite will typically observe a potential childe for some months, or even years, before beginning to approach them. Unlike other vampires, they are passing a divine spark to their chosen ones, not some ancient blood-curse, and so mistakes are not lightly forgiven. Once deemed suitable, the chosen one is introduced to the philosophy of the Temple, and his reactions gauged. The next step is to bring the candidate into the worship of Set, first through a mortal cult or through personal piety, and only later by bringing them before the true altar and introducing them to the truth of Sets being and goals as hemw. If the candidate still displays no reason why he should be rejected he is granted first ghoulhood and then, finally, following a sufficient display of piety and conviction to impress both Sire and High Prophet, the Embrace. It should be noted that not all Setite ghouls need be so carefully selected, only those whom the Domitor wishes in time to Embrace. The Embrace is a solemn event for orthodox Followers of Set, attended by a ritual of initiation and rebirth; the Passage into Shadow. The candidate is wrapped to the neck in linen bandages and brought before the great statue in the shrine of Set. His Sire-to-be then drains his blood, and his head is bandaged, leaving only the mouth uncovered. The candidate is set upright before the statue of Set, the officiating prophet performs the ritual opening of the mouth, parting the corpses lips with an adze, and whispers in the candidates ear his name-in-Set. The Sire then approaches, offers a little of his blood as a sacrifice to Set, and gives his blood to the candidate. Once the Embrace is complete, the Sire cuts his childe free of the bandages and welcomes him to the Temple. Once Embraced, the childe is trained in his duties, and taught the tenets of one of the Paths of the Serpent by his Sire and his Sires allies. For at least a decade he may not hold a priestly rank, but he may be trained as such, to be initiated as wab when the time is right. The outcome of this process is a Clan united in their devotion to the Dark God, and consisting only of the pure and pious. Of course, it doesnt really work that way. Younger Setites in particular are given to the same frivolity in granting the Embrace as members of any other Clan, and more Setites than the Temple Elders would like were chosen for their looks or charm, rather than their devotion or ability. Typhonists often chose those who are corrupt and power-hungry, and some Ecstatics will try to use the Embrace as a tool of corruption. In these nights of small, isolated temples, standards wane, especially in regards to the childer of the High Prophet. Moreover, the approval of candidates too often comes down to a matter of favour and prestation, such as occurs in Camarilla courts. Many elders despair at the state of the Clan, feeling that the younger generations have let the blood down; and badly. Moreover of course, this behaviour is selfperpetuating, each generation of Setites being less truly devout than the last, with the result that they are more likely to Embrace without regard to the prescriptions. Young Setites are increasingly all but indistinguishable from other young vampires, and many elders whisper of a purge. However, on an international scale such a purge would be impossible, and so the rot continues.

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Names
You may think at first that Im mad as a hatter, When I tell you a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES T.S. Eliot, The Naming of Cats Followers of Set place a great deal of importance on the names of people, creatures and things. A name defines a thing, gives it its powers and its properties, and thus in many respects a thing is its name. If you know a things name, you know its nature, and can control it. The same applies to a person, and the ren, or true name, of a person is deemed the essence of their being. Anyone who knows a persons ren has power over that person. The use of true names is the heart and soul of Setite and other Egyptian magic. As a result of these beliefs, Followers routinely use and possess multiple names, the better to confound their foes. Most Setites in fact will have at least three names, very much in the mould of Eliots cats. First is their everyday name, one chosen to be discrete and inconspicuous, and which is often that which they bore in their old life. This name may be changed, especially if the Setite must move between cultures and with the passing of time, but is typically distinct from more casual aliases. The second name is that which they use among the Followers of Set, and is usually a descriptive in an Ancient Egyptian dialect. Again, these names may change with the progression of the Setites deeds and reputation. Watcher-of-the-Door would be a fine name for a young Medjay, but as he rose in status he might come to be known as Keeper-of-the-Keys, or Overseer-of-the-House. If he then chose to be reborn, and to walk the Path of Typhon, he might use the name Patient-in-the-Serviceof-Set, and so on. An important facet of these Temple names is that it is deemed exceptionally poor form to name yourself. Friends, lovers, colleagues, rivals, superiors, servants and even enemies may give you a name, but to assume your own is considered presumptuous. The usual test of whether a given name should be adopted in place of your old one is whether it sticks or not. In such a way, the Temple name reflects the bearers standing in the Temple.

The Name-in-Set
Above and beyond, theres one name left over, And that is the name that you never will guess; T.S. Eliot, The Naming of Cats A Setites third and most important name is his name-in-Set. This name is given to him by the priest officiating at his initiation into the Temple, and is known initially only to the priest, the initiate, and of course to the Dark God. This name above all others is important, because once Embraced the name-in-Set becomes the Setites ren; his true name, of which all other names are merely shadows. This is the name that defines a Follower in the service of Set. To tell another your name-in-Set is a mark of absolute trust, and as such among the Setites is a rare thing indeed. To do so grants power over the teller, and thus shows that you trust the listener not to abuse that power. The person who abused such an honour would be despised indeed by the Followers of Set, and the one who allowed the abuse if he survived would forever be dubbed a fool.

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The Nomes - The World of the Setites

There are nine modern nomes, or sepat, of varying size and importance.

The First Nome

The course of the Nile from Lake Victoria to the delta is considered the sole domain of Set, represented by the tjaty. The rest of North Africa constitutes the most important modern sepat. This is the First Nome; first in time and first in importance, for it is the home of Set, and the spiritual home of all Setites. The Nome Capital is in Cairo, and although its importance pales next to the House of Set, the temple of the First Nomarch is still a major centre of Setite pilgrimage. The ruins of the temple of Memphis once the House of Set, before the citys fall are also a site of great spiritual significance to the Followers, and even the lesser temples of Egypt have a special place in the Setite heart. The Nomarch is Ramses, an elder of awesome age and power but ever more out of touch with the world. He is said to have met with Set in person, but his control of his sepat is flagging as he slides ever closer to torpor. The stability of the region lies almost entirely now in the hands of the kenbet, Mont, doyen of the Warrior Path.

The Domain of Set

The tjaty rule the course of the Nile in the name of the Dark God, and it is their strongest holding. The lands around the Nile have been in Setite hands since the diaspora of the Shemsu-Heru, and they have no intention of surrendering their homelands. Their activities here often seem somewhat limited, but this is because the Domain is home to the oldest and subtlest serpents. The power of the Setites over the Black Land is at its greatest when it is least observed. Although technically a part of the First Nome, the Domain is not subject to the regulation of the nomarch, and has its own kenbet. For many centuries now, the kenbet of the Domain has been Karimala, childe of the tjaty Meretseger. Karimala was a Nubian princess in life, and in undeath has come to be one of the most feared Setites in Africa. Noted for her beauty, cunning and diplomacy, she is well regarded by Africas other Cainite factions as well as the Setites, often rated above others far older than her, and wielding greater personal power.

The Second Nome

The sepat of Syria-Palestine and the Sea Kingdoms (the Mediterranean) is the Second Nome. The name of this sepat gives some idea of its antiquity, and it is home to some of the Clans oldest and most prestigious members. The current Nomarch, Orestes ben Saul, is a Greek Setite, the childe of Saul the Israelite, who is said by many (especially within the sepat) to be the first non-Egyptian to have been blessed with the Setite Embrace. Others, especially Ecstatics, point out that before becoming Sets consort, Anat was already a goddess to the Caananites, but whether she was truly an Embraced priestess, or whether like Set may have been more than a mere vampire is an unresolved issue. The modern Nome Capital is in Athens, to which it was moved after Orestes became Nomarch, but the most important temple is in Damascus, and there Saul rests in torpor and has his shrine. Most Followers within the sepat try to make a pilgrimage to Sauls shrine at least once a century, and many non-Egyptian elders travel from far further afield. The eastern territories of the sepat are dominated by Ecstatics, who hail

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it as the home of their goddess. The sepat also contains Istanbul, home of the current Ecstatic mother-house. The other glory of the Second Nome is Crete, one of the greatest jewels in the Setite crown. The Serpents have maintained an influence there ever since their magics broke the Baali labyrinth, where the combined forces of the other Clans had failed miserably. It is here, more than anywhere in the world, that the Followers of Set are truly respected. Crete is also home to the kenbet, a pre-Dynastic elder currently answering to the name of Jolenta, reputed to have participated personally in the sundering of the Labyrinth. Jolenta rarely travels, and when she does, the Setites of the Second Nome tremble. She has a reputation for dispensing extremely harsh sentences to Setites who must be seen to be punished, in order to retain the diplomatic relations which allow her to call for similarly tough measures against outsiders who wrong the Temple.

The Third Nome

The sepat of Western Europe the domain of Nefertiti is the Third. It has no capital, Nefertiti preferring to travel between the temples of her servants than to settle, but its greatest temples are in Amsterdam, London and Berlin. Setite fortunes here have been mixed, for the Camarilla consider this their home, and guard it jealously. But they also feel safe and secure here, and without the pressures of imminent Sabbat invasion, many are willing to rest a little too easy, with the aid of services the Followers are only too willing to supply. The Iberian peninsula is a source of some difficulty for Nefertitis followers, as it is the home to a number of old and canny Sabbat, who have less love for the Setites than even the Camarilla. The tensions created by the Sabbat presence also leave the Camarilla less complacent than they are further north, and Followers here must work harder to make gains.

The Fourth Nome

The sepat of Southern Africa where native Kindred and other, less understandable beings make gaining any headway difficult is the Fourth Nome, noted in recent nights for new gains in the country of South Africa, especially by the members of the Durban temple. The sudden influx of new trade and visitors has spawned a market to supply exotic local goods and services to the tourist industry, and the Durban Setites have been quick off the mark in establishing themselves as purveyors of authentic Zulu erotica, prostitutes and medicines. Setite power here is somewhat limited, although they made considerable gains during the period of European dominance, luring the colonials into acts of unspeakable cruelty and depravity against the people some considered little better than animals. Many consider the growing strength of African human rights recognition to be a great loss; others enjoy the challenge. Besides which, there are still enough African Republics where life is cheap and power expensive for the Temple to feel at home. The Nomarch of Southern Africa is Thadeus van Oosten, a Dutch colonial. He is a skilled power-politician, and even while alive had no sense of morality as recognised by other humans. His absolute ruthlessness is feared by the other Setites in his sepat, including the kenbet, a deceptively gentle-looking Xhosa woman named Lindiwe. Lindiwe has the difficult task of maintaining the Setites standing with not only Camarilla but also the enigmatic African kindred. She is known to use radically

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different approaches in each of the enemy camps she visits, projecting an air of power suitable to each one. She is even known to allow her one of her male nww to speak for her when a womans voice would not be heeded.

The Fifth Nome

To be awarded the Fifth Nomarchy, that of the Balkan sepat, is to the Setites analogous to the being a Roman general granted the Palestine command a punishment equivalent to the death sentence. The last of the Tzimisce lords and the Tremere interlopers still fight bitterly over these lands, and woe betide the Setite who upsets either party. The current Nomarch is one Alice Grozny, a local girl Embraced by her nowdeceased predecessor, the Frenchman Paul Fitzroi. Alice has held the Nomarchy for almost a decade, longer than most, and despite her extreme youth holds more sway than many nomarchs, possibly because the dangers of the Balkan sepat force a greater degree of unity than is seen in other areas. The kenbet is an Arab elder named Tariq, who hails originally from Constantinople. He has survived many long years in the Balkans through diplomacy and careful exercise of personal power and by maintaining a complete detachment from the succession of nomarchs whose coming and going he has witnessed. With Grozny however he has hit a small problem, in that he has taken a liking to the girl. He has twice intervened to prevent her death, once at the hands of an angry Tzimisce, once by order of a Tremere Regent. Both times he has managed to smooth things over, but he has more or less tied himself to Groznys fate, and if she should fall, the sepat will need a new kenbet as well.

The Sixth Nome

There is no nomarch of the Scandinavian sepat, for the Sixth Nome exists only in theory. Few, if any, Setites ever go there, for the vampire populations like the human populations are sparse. Those who do travel so far north rarely go beyond Denmark or the southernmost regions of Sweden, where more temperate climes and larger towns allow a less constrained field of action. The sepat is effectively ruled by its ancient kenbet, Lord Scorpion, who after over two centuries in the frozen north dwelling as it seems somewhere in Finland is believed by most to be quite mad.

The Seventh Nome

The Seventh is the sepat of Russia, and extends as far into former Soviet territory as any Western Kindred influence. During the difficulties brought about by the awakening of the Nosferatu ancient, Baba Yaga, the old Nomarch a local vampire named Olaf Alexandrov was killed, and his successor a Balkan veteran named Varek forced his people to adopt a policy of near immobility until the dangers could be fully assessed. Only recently have the Followers become truly active in the new Russian Federation, moving to take advantage of the swelling market for western luxuries and western vices. The Nome Capital is in St Petersburg, the old Moscow temple having fallen with Alexandrov. The sepat is vast, but sparsely populated even relative to the human population with many Followers having lost their lives to Baba Yagas servants. Now, although all seems quiet, Varek still presses for caution, but in this scattered territory few heed him, and many are convinced that the danger is passed.

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The Eighth Nome

The Australian sepat is geographically the second largest, and politically the least important. Australias sparse population makes large scale operations difficult without large numbers of Setite operatives, or at least a great deal of travel through open country. The Nomarch, Sarassine, rules from his great temple in Sydney the highest proportion of non-Setite Followers in any sepat, himself maintaining a faade that he is a Toreador. There are few prophets in Australia as most of the Temple members there, not being of the Blood of Set, are not permitted to hold such a rank and so there are few true temples. Observance is slack, and Sarassines own decadence does not enhance the reputation of the sepat. Many whisper that Set stirs now in his slumber, and that if he should wake, it may go ill for the Followers in the Eighth Nome.

The Ninth Nome

America is the largest of the nine sepat, encompassing as it does both the northern and the southern continents, including Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and the Caribbean. The Setites there have achieved great success, especially in areas such as Haiti, Southern California, Las Vegas and Colombia. In this New World they have followed the new vices, and many of Americas most prominent Serpents have cut themselves a slice of the drugs trade or the gambling industry with which to further their efforts. Others have latched onto the American dream, cashing in on capitalism, political corruption and the plain unfettered greed sponsored by the attitude that whatever you desire, you deserve. Despite widespread influence and rich pickings however, the Americas remain a small corner of the Setite world. Despite repeated representation from the Nomarchs of America (of whom there are five), the Tjaty refuse to recognise more than one American sepat. Indeed, America is only recognised at all because the Tjaty deigned to notice that they were receiving reports from areas of which they had no knowledge. Only two Tjaty Meretseger and Kheminteri have even visited America, and have any idea just how vast the continent is, and in their ignorance, they refuse to recognise it as anything more than a province. Moreover, they have as yet failed to note that there are five competing Nomarchs claiming simultaneous title to the nome, rather seeming to assume that this is indicative of an ongoing power struggle, suggesting that the territory is too unstable to chance splitting it further.

The Tenth Nome

The Tenth Nome is a Setite term for the forbidden lands of Asia. The Orient is a place where wise Serpents do not stray, and while some few Setites have had some success running drugs or vice there, it has never been made an official sepat. The tjaty have always been against colonisation of the East, although they have never said why. Now, the Setites who had made their homes there have found themselves fighting for their very existence against the resurgent Kuei-Jin, and some wonder if the tjaty did not know of the existence of these beings all along.

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The Blood of Set

The Blood of the Antediluvians rarely runs in a straight and true succession, and Sets blood is no exception. There are four notable strains in the Setite fold: the Sethites, the Apophites, the Anatites and the Sutekhites. The Sethites form approximately 50% of the Clan, including some of its oldest and youngest members, and the vast bulk of the Innocent. The other bloodlines each stem from the practices, peculiarities and refinements of one of the Paths of the Serpent, and a person Embraced into one of these is likely already a Follower of Set at the time of his or her transformation, as they tend to be far more selective. The Serpents of the Light are also now considered a separate and despised bastard bloodline.

The Sethites (Children of Set)

Those Sethites who care consider themselves to be the original bloodline, predating Sets association with Apophis, and therefore possession of Serpentis. Their founders they claim to be the first childer of the Dark God, millennia before the Egyptian language even had a word for evil, in the modern sense. While the body of the Innocent come from this line, those who go on to follow one of the paths of the Serpent are often among the most fanatical Followers of Set. Lacking the trademark Discipline of Serpentis, they tend to study hard the rituals and practices of the cult of Sutekh in order to make up what is seen as lost ground. Disciplines: Auspex, Obfuscate, Presence.

The Apophites (Chosen of Apophis)

The Apophite bloodline grew from the Path of Typhon, although not all Apophites are Typhonists, nor all Typhonists Apophites. The majority are Embraced as the disciples and students of their Sires, and raised to follow in their footsteps along the Paths of the Serpent. After the Sethites, the Apophites are the largest of the bloodlines, and are what is commonly perceived as typical Setites. To their disgust and shame, it was from the ritualists of the Apophites that the Order of Apep arose, holding that they descend ultimately from Apophis, who is greater than Set. Disciplines: Obfuscate, Presence, Serpentis.

The Anatites (Disciples of Anat)

The Anatites are to the Path of Ecstasy as the Apophites are to the Path of Typhon. Unlike their Typhonian brethren however, Anatites usually choose a promising candidate for the Embrace and allow that candidate to prove himself and choose his own path to Set, instead of attempting to create carbon copies of themselves; hence the bloodline is more disparate than the Apophite. Disciplines: Auspex, Presence, Serpentis.

The Sutekhites (Swords of Sutekh)

The Warrior line disputes the claim of the Sethites to be the original bloodline. As the Warrior Path claims to be the most ancient of the paths of the Serpent, so the Sutekhites claim that Sets blood has passed undiluted to they who most closely follow his original ways. Sutekhites are the most homogenous of the bloodlines, for almost all are warriors, chosen for their rigid determination and conviction, as well as for their prowess in combat. In addition, excepting those few members of the line who have abandoned worship of the Dark God, all Sutekhites begin their unlives on the Path of the Warrior. Disciplines: Potence, Presence, Serpentis.

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The Paths of the Serpent

Whereas the Bloodlines of the Setites are a matter of lineage, the Paths of the Serpent are a matter of philosophy. As the Sabbat teaches its Paths of Enlightenment, so the Followers of Set promote the Paths of the Serpent as an alternative to the flawed and irrelevant ways of mankind. While most Innocents fight to retain their Humanity, Followers almost invariably adopt a Path to ward off the power of their inner Beast. The three Paths of the Serpent emphasise three different aspects of the Dark God. The Path of Typhon follows the ideal of the God-King, and is dedicated to the resurrection and ascendancy of Set. The Path of Ecstasy sets its adherents to follow the example of the Opponent, and urges the continual testing to destruction if need be of all of societys morals and mores. Finally, the Path of the Warrior upholds the values of Set as the mighty hunter and defender, and those who walk the Path defend the other Followers from their enemies.

The Path of Typhon

I wont hurt you; so long as you do as I say. Nickname: Theophidians, Corrupters, Typhonists. The beliefs and practices of the Typhonists are laid out in Vampire Revised. The Theophidians are nominally the spiritual and often also the temporal leaders of the Followers of Set, and it is their goals which are usually perceived as the goals of the Clan. However, it is believed by many Setites that the Path of Typhon is the youngest Path of the Serpent, having arisen only at the time of Sets alliance with Apophis a belief at which most Theophidians chafe, but which they find difficult to contradict. Furthermore, the Ecstatics question the Typhonists spiritual authority, and even the dutiful Medjay decline to give their full respect to a priest who has never been a warrior. Most but far from all Theophidians are Apophites, although there are also a large number of Sethite priests. They are strong believers in ritual, and maintain the forms and observances of the Cult of Sutekh with painstaking precision. Many older Setites in fact accuse the younger generations of concentrating too much on the admittedly important form of the rites, to the exclusion of their true meanings, and feel that it is a long time since any neonate truly believed that their cause was truly the cause of Set. Nevertheless, the Theophidians retain power, and claim to be closer to the will of Set than the other Paths. The Typhonists are corrupters of great skill, but tend to be less businesslike than the Ecstatics, and more prone to indulge their own vices while pandering to others. Above all else however, Theophidians delight in power, and in the knowledge that they can control others. Their corruption always has a purpose; a goal, however obscure. They tend to choose targets for corruption who can offer them something, instead of the innocents favoured by Ecstatics.

Typhonian Generation
Followers of the Path of Typhon do not reckon their Generation by distance from Caine, but from Set. Some treat this literally, and simply subtract two from the Generation which a Cainite observer would ascribe them. Consequently, such a Typhonist of the 8th Generation (from the flawed Cainite perspective) would regard himself as of the 6th Generation. Others refuse to use a Generation tag at all, unless they feel it necessary in dealing with Cainites, while others still hold that there are two or even three lost generations of Setites, and that their Generation is the same as that of a Cainite because Sutekh was of the same Generation as (or one lower than) Caine.

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The Path of Ecstasy

I wont hurt you; unless you want me to. Nickname: Imperfecti (sarcastic), Ecstatics. Basic Beliefs: The central tenet of the Path of Ecstasy is that of Maat, according to which everything in the world exists in a state of balance, which must be maintained if the world is to continue and the sun continue to rise. Whereas the Theophidians might be happy to see the sun cease to rise, the Ecstatics understand that this would be an unthinkable state of affairs, and would result in the destruction of the entire world, themselves and Set included. The creed of the Ecstatics is that there is no dark without light, nor light without dark. Corrupters are as vital to the health of Maat as heroes and martyrs, and without evil, how could good have any value. The adherents of the Path believe that true service to Set requires that they be the darkness beyond the light, the storm behind the calm. As society forms its rules, the Ecstatics break them, but more importantly, they encourage others to do the same. Any idiot can be a murderer, a rapist or a drug addict; the challenging role is that of the pusher, the one who leads the others out of the bonds of society, into the indulgence of the chaos of dark desire, which lurks within their secret soul. Ecstatics work to keep the wheels of vice and depravity turning, for only in so doing can they play their part in averting the end of all things. Unlike the Theophidians, Ecstatics do not despise innocence and purity, for they see these things as necessary opposites to their own path. Innocence is a starting point, from which all must eventually move on, whether into vice or to virtue. Purity is the antithesis of the Ecstatics, and as such they consider it vital to their continuance. While a Typhonist may seek to destroy that which they can not corrupt, the Ecstatics bear an almost awed reverence for the pure and true of heart, matched only by their respect for those who unaided by them or their faith manage to free themselves from the bonds of morality by their own efforts.

The Ethics of the Path

Set is the enemy of the light, and we are his children; never forget your place. Maat is the mistress of all. Provide the opportunity for other to indulge their secret passions. Blind conformity to societys rules is not virtuous. Keep your vices separate from those which you peddle to others; the addict is a poor dealer. Do not in anger destroy that which remains pure; without the light, our darkness would not be seen. Mastery of the self is more important than mastery of others.

Virtues
Like all Followers of the Paths of the Serpent, Ecstatics are driven by belief and duty, not by guilt, and so they possess the Virtue of Conviction. Moreover, they are even more fanatical about their personal discipline in the face of the temptations which they procure for others than the Typhonists, and therefore possess Self-Control.

History
The Path of Ecstasy has an ancient and honoured pedigree, dating to the earliest years of the Egyptian kingdoms. With the growing sophistication of the concept of Maat, the Followers of Set came to see their purpose as adversaries of mainstream society as something subtler than simple guerrilla warfare and crop-blighting. The first Ecstatics, including the goddess Anat, consort (and childe?) of the Dark God from who the Anatite line is said to descend began to gnaw at Egyptian society from within, seeding themselves among the great and the good, and working to bring about their downfall. As time passed, Anat is said to have seen that their efforts while undeniably effective were ultimately too limited. Each Ecstatic would throw him or herself into the seduction and corruption of a certain lord or king, bring them down, then move on, and this was altogether too little. Thus, Anat created a code of conduct for her followers, the code which in time grew into the Path of Ecstasy. Now, instead of the direct seduction of a specific target, the Ecstatics spread their attentions, and set

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themselves up as purveyors and procurers of vice. Moreover, by the dissemination of narcotics and the encouragement of more and more depraved and fetishistic behaviour, they were able to turn their victims into the tools of corruptions spread. Despite great successes, adherence to the Ecstatic ways faded somewhat against the brutal and bloody background of the Iron Ages. It never went away however, and when the Follower of Set know as Khaytall persuaded the mighty Toreador Patriarch Michael to allow him not only to settle with his followers in Constantinople, but also to actively and openly promote vice and decadence in order to constantly test Michaels social order, the Path of Ecstasy rose like a phoenix. Since that time, the Ecstatics have been constantly active, and the foremost sowers of corruption among all of the Followers of Set.

Current Practices
The Ecstatics are usually the first Setites to enter any given area. One or two Ecstatics will enter virgin territory and begin very carefully to spread corruption among the locals. Their own selfcontrol helps them greatly in this, as they themselves are usually straight-laced enough to escape local suspicion, at least at first. Their first act will be to find havens and establish a temple of Set as a focus of worship, after which they will begin to insinuate themselves into the Cainite population. They will almost invariably be quite forthcoming to the locals in regard to their identity, leaving nothing to be easily discovered under any stones a suspicious vampire might turn over. Once a reasonable core of vice has been established, the Theophidians arrive, to begin the conversion of any who seem to show Judas potential. Ecstatics usually like to keep their temples separate from those of the Theophidians, finding the Typhonist love of absolute formality stifling. The Ecstatics are organised into their own priesthood, separate from that of the Typhonists. Ecstatic temples are usually austere places, lacking the extravagant furnishings of Typhonist shrines, although decorated with fabulous ritual murals. Ecstatics prefer to keep their places of business away from their temples, and these are often extremely extravagant. Ecstatics are often extremely wealthy, but use this wealth as yet another bait to trap and tempt the unwary, rather than for their own comforts.

Description of Followers
The majority of Ecstatics are either Anatites or Sethites; Sutekhites rarely Embrace those with the patience for the Path, and Apophites usually try to keep their childer in house. A few hail from other Clans considered most useful in early or delicate infiltration but these can not achieve any great rank among the Ecstatic priesthood. Ecstatics are a diverse crowd, but are usually socially gifted in some way. Some are beautiful, some charming; some are seducers, some persuaders. Some have a gift for deception, some are simply disarming. Whatever their particular talent however, all have some ability to make others either trust them, or want to trust them. Most have some degree of money, since many of the vices which they purvey involve considerable overheads, and since money in itself can serve as a lure and a corrupter. They tend to keep expensive apartment for entertaining guests, and separate, less luxurious quarters for themselves, to remind them that their place is not to wallow in decadence, but to sell it. In private at least, they are usually guarded and courteous individuals, however wildly gregarious they may be when going about their business. They are almost always in absolute control of themselves, but adept at seeming otherwise. Most importantly however, Ecstatics are devout. Theirs is a dangerous and thankless task, always paving the way to new gains, then letting the power-hungry Theophidians seize the day and all of the glory. It is vital that an Ecstatic have a deep and pious understanding that what he does is a holy task, and that while the Theophidians may not appreciate their work, the Dark God does. They must also believe that what they do is not merely the will of Set, but an absolutely necessary part of creation itself.

Following the Path

Common Abilities: Subterfuge is almost a prerequisite for an Ecstatic, and Empathy, Performance, Expression and Streetwise are also common. Social Attributes are obviously of importance, but so are Mental; stupid tempters get addicted to their own pleasures, or at worst caught. Ecstatics will also tend to have dots in Culture, and a wide knowledge base, to allow them to better infiltrate a variety of social situations while always having something to say.

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Preferred Disciplines: Presence is favoured highly by the Ecstatics, but not so highly as Auspex. Ecstatics of the Apophite or Sutekhite lines are always pushed to develop Auspex as far as they possibly can, since it is insight into the souls of others which gives the Ecstatic power to act.

Path of Ecstasy Hierarchy of Sins

Score Moral Guideline
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Not remaining absolutely in control of your own desires Failing to attempt the corruption of the innocent Failing to attempt the corruption of the virtuous Failing to observe Setite rituals Subjecting someone to an indulgence which kills them Despising the truly corrupt or the truly virtuous Wallowing in luxury and vice Killing someone truly corrupt Killing one who resists all temptation Attempting to retain spiritual purity or virtue

Rationale
Only he who wants nothing can devote himself completely to bringing others what they want Innocence is only a beginning, and must pass into either virtue or vice Virtue is a worthless lie if untested Only through our rites can Set and his purpose stay clear in our hearts. The corruption of the dead is far harder than the corruption of the living We must appreciate the necessity and value of both of these states Temptation is our tool, not our master The corrupt spread corruption; they can not do so if they are dead True virtue is rare and precious, for without virtue, all vice is meaningless While we value puritys existence, it is not, and never can be, a part of what we must be

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The Path of the Warrior

I wont Who am I kidding. Nickname: Medjay (desert mercenaries who guarded the Egyptian temples), Nww (officials who patrolled the desert against Bedouin attack) or Ssha (a harem guard, especially used of a Warrior in the service of the Ecstatics). Basic Beliefs: Set was once a warrior, and a mighty hunter. The Path of the Warrior teaches that, before one can even begin to understand Sets true will, one must first perfect the arts of combat and pursuit. Medjay further believe that as Set was once Ras guardian until, very importantly in their belief structure, Ra betrayed Set by favouring Horus and attempting to buy the Dark God off with offices and consorts so they should seek to follow him by defending the Temple the other Followers of Set. It is a tenet of faith to the Medjay that the Path of the Warrior was the first Path of the Serpent, and indeed many believe that once they have reached the zenith of the warriors craft they should move on to follow one of the later, priestly paths (usually Typhon), as Set himself passed on to become something more than just a warrior god. Warriors spend much of their time training and practising, and push themselves hard through hardship and abstinence. They are extremely ruthless to themselves, and expect no less a dedication from others. Many Medjay are actually quite disdainful of Typhonists and Ecstatics who have not walked the length of the Warriors Path, but since it is not their place to debate the issue with the priests, they keep this to themselves. The duty of defending the Temple is one which all Medjay take very seriously indeed, but they do not consider that it makes them inferior to the priests. Adherents of the Path choose for themselves how best to defend the Temple, and the priests can like it or lump it.

The Ethics of the Path

As Set once did, so we must perfect ourselves; physical perfection is the first step to spiritual perfection. The Temple must not fall. A warrior must never be idle; test yourself every day. Develop the arts of the warrior and the hunter, to as great a degree of perfection as you are able. Only by doing so will you begin to understand what it is to be as Set is. Respect your elders. Acknowledge your betters, then seek to better them. Do not allow yourself to be distracted or abused by the petty designs of the priests, only see to it that the Temple is protected.

Virtues
Guided by duty, the Warrior naturally follows the virtue of Conviction. Also, while a warriors instincts are important, they should guide him, not control him; therefore the Medjay also follow SelfControl.

History
As mentioned above, the Medjay believe that theirs is the original Path of Set. In his desert exile, his triumph over Osiris, and in his duty as guardian of the Sun, Set was the ultimate warrior. He defeated Osiris; Horus defeated him only with the forbidden aid of his mother, Isis. Nightly, he would spear the Apep Serpent, Apophis, and emerge victorious at the prow of the solar barge. Only when at last he saw that he had been betrayed, and joined his strength to Apophis, did he choose to walk the Path of Typhon. Sets first childer before Anat created the Ecstatics were warriors, strong in duty, and they perpetuated Sets Path, even after he had begun to follow a new way. In time, many of them also converted, but by that time there were many others to keep the Path of the Warrior well-trod. Over time however, ambition gained ascendance over piety, and while the Typhonists kept the forms of worship, they forgot the true way of following Sets decree and taught their childer their own Path from the very beginning. The Path of the Warrior became a minor sect within the Followers of Set, much to their disgust. Nevertheless, they were strong in duty, and continued to serve. But always now, the allegiance of the Medjay is to Set and the Temple, not to the priests of Typhon or Anat.

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Current Practices
Modern Medjay are much like their predecessors, proud and dutiful, and thus they continue to fill the same role. When not defending either a temple or one or more of the priests, the Medjay are to be found at practise. Their training regime is harsh, and in a single night of practise they may expend enough blood to necessitate the deaths of as many as two humans to replenish them. They spend much blood in the enhancement of their bodies while merely training in order to promote lasting improvement, and in order that they will be used to acting with their abilities so improved. For preference they train in pairs or groups, engaging in vicious combat with a variety of weapons and nominal rules. Any Medjay who suspects that his training partner is giving less than his all would be considered well within his rights to attempt to kill the individual. When defending the Temple, Medjay are ruthless and professional, and will allow nothing to interfere with their duty, least of all the petty preferences of the priests. The Medjay decide on their own strategies and methods, and the priests are rarely consulted. Many a Typhonist has been horrified to be suddenly informed of a radical change in the security arrangements of the temple, requiring his movement to other sleeping quarters. Few priests have not been in the position of being rudely disillusioned of the notion that the Medjay are their servants and legbreakers. Not that the Medjay will never perform tasks when requested, merely that they will require at least some explanation. They will always be more forthcoming with a priest who earns their respect usually through age, noted wisdom, honesty in dealing with the Medjay, or especially through having walked the length of the Warriors Path and with those who respect and value the Medjay for what they are, not what they would like them to be. The other group for whom the Medjay hold particular respect are the sesh, seeing their calling as vital to Maat, if not quite that of a true devotee of the Dark God. No Medjay is permitted to wear the mantle of a prophet, but they may act as wab priests. Medjay wab have a particular additional duty, which is to officiate at Warrior observances, in particular the observance of the Passage From the West, which marks the end of the Warriors Path.

Description of Followers
Medjay are proud, stubborn and wilful. They are invariably tough and savvy, and difficult to sway or influence. Even amidst the zealous piety of the Followers of Set, their sheer tenacity of belief stands out as extraordinary. Medjay are usually either Apophites or Sutekhites by Embrace, although all four bloodlines are represented. Sutekhites are by far the most common, since Sutekhites tend to Embrace childer with an eye to bringing them into and through the Warriors Path before allowing them to set foot on one of the priestly Paths. Medjays bodies are often adorned with ritual scars and tattoos, and they rarely travel unarmed. They almost always appear determined, and spare few words for anyone but another Follower of Set. They rarely possess or carry a great deal of money, feeling that worldly comforts and riches are a distraction, and that their strength, and the will and guidance of Set will provide all that they require. The only things which have true value to the Medjay are blood and duty. That being said, a number of warriors in the defence of Ecstatic temples have found their resolve tested beyond endurance by the priests; the nickname Ssha is reserved for these few. The Ssha were originally harem guards, but to the Medjay the word has come to be equated with these fallen warriors. Although still dutiful, the Ssha are typically weaker and less determined than their brethren, having failed the tests set them by the Ecstatics. The other Medjay do not blame the Ecstatics for these failures, that is laid squarely at the door of the Ssha.

Following the Path

Common Abilities: Medjay value all physical and combat attributes and abilities, and also such traits as Hunting, Tracking and Survival. Willpower is typically high, and while few are great debaters, Mental Attributes tend to be at least average. Social skills have little place among the followers of the Warrior Path, for the Medjay are not given to mingling, although Leadership and Intimidation may well be high. Common Disciplines: Medjay strive to develop Celerity and Fortitude in addition to their Potence, in order to become still better fighters. Auspex is also favoured, for a guard must be alert as well as a superb warrior. Serpentis is also important, especially among those already high on the Path.

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Leaving the Path

Uniquely, the ultimate goal of the Medjay is to abandon the Path which they follow, or rather to move beyond it. The Medjay hold that all must follow the Path of the Warrior when they first begin to worship Set, because that is what Set himself originally was. Only one who has walked the earth as warrior and hunter, and stood between the Temple and that which would destroy it can a Follower of Set truly claim any understanding of the Dark God. However, as Set moved on from his beginning, so too should his servants. Therefore, in the fullness of time, a Medjay with a steady Path rating of 10 can and indeed must leave the Path for a new life. Once the Medjay feels that he can progress no further as a warrior, it becomes his duty to move beyond combat, and to embrace the later roles of Set. To this end, he becomes the personal servant to a priest of his choice invariably one of high honour and piety and studies from the priest either the Path of Typhon or of Ecstasy. After many months, the Medjay formally abandons the Path of the Warrior, and embarks on his new Path following a ritual of rebirth. His new Path rating begins at the same level as his Conviction, and he is expected to work hard to raise it, and keep it raised.

Path of the Warrior Hierarchy of Sins

Score Moral Guideline
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Not striving constantly for absolute perfection Allowing an enemy of Set to live (an enemy, not merely a non-Follower) Allowing a week to pass without combat, either in training or in earnest Failing to observe the Setite rituals Giving way to pain Giving way to pleasure Abandoning your post Allowing a priest to be slain, unless to protect one more important Allowing a temple to fall to the enemies of Set, or allowing the crypt or cache to be desecrated Slaying a priest save one who is a traitor to Set Betraying the Temple Wearing the robes of a Prophet

Rationale
We can not progress unless we seek to be all that we can. All who would oppose the Temple must fall Inaction leads to entropy, and dulls the edges of our swords and wits Set must always be revered Duty knows no excuses Vice is the tool of the priests; to us it is only a distraction To betray our duty is to betray both Set and ourselves We live to defend the Temple, it is not us to let them die in our stead If we fail in our duty, we fail the Dark God, and are become as nothing We defend the Temple, we do not destroy it The traitor to the Temple is the only creature more wretched than one who fails it We are not ready to serve Set in this way; that most priests are not is immaterial

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Setite Heka
Setite magical practices are rooted in the ways of ancient Egypt, and as such are never referred to as magic, but as heka. In strict terms, all vampiric Disciplines are considered by the Followers of Set to be heka, as are all forms of supernatural power, but their blood magic is considered distinctly as Heka-Sutekh the Power of Set. Mechanically, Heka-Sutekh is very similar to regular Thaumaturgy, but its practice is rooted in a completely different type of magical theory. The principles of HekaSutekh are fairly simple: by obedience to certain formulae, and the exercise of certain will, a practitioner of Heka-Sutekh may manipulate the creative force which invigorates the world around him to achieve certain ends. The powers of Heka-Sutekh are wielded mainly by Typhonist priests, but members of all Paths and bloodlines may learn them. The paths of Heka-Sutekh emphasise the principle that men (and vampires) may command the power of gods, and permit the priest to personally exercise the powers of Set for his glory. The principal paths of Heka-Sutekh carry the names of Sets roles and titles: Lord of the Northern Sky, Lord of the Red Land, Lord of Beasts, Killer of Kings, Lord of Woes, Great of Strength in the Barque of Millions and Taker of the Seed of Pre.

Lord of the Northern Sky

As Lord of the Northern Sky, Set dwelt with Ra and was the source of all storms and clouds. Thus, this Path allows the Heka practitioner to rouse or lull the weather around him, much as the Thaumaturgical Path of Weather Control3 (although Lord of the Northern Sky can never be used to call down snow). This Path is favoured by Typhonists for the application of its more spectacular effects to emphasise the dramatic power and impact of their oratory. !!!! Sandstorm: Not a common weapon in the Tremere or Tzimisce Stormcallers arsenal, this power is however extremely popular among Setite sorcerers. It combines the mechanical effects of Storm with the additional element of flying sand and grit. It is only usable where a sufficiency of loose sand or earth is available, but causes two levels of lethal damage to any creature within the storm each turn. This damage can be soaked as normal.

Lord of the Red Land

The Red Land is the desert, and this Path reflects Sets dominion over that infertile, unwelcoming realm. Accordingly, its effects inflict upon the sorcerers victim the ravages of the desert: hunger, thirst, exhaustion and despair.

Hunger
The victim of this power notices no immediate effect, but once the caster touches them, the next scent of food, however slight or unsavoury, will trigger a feeling of immense, gnawing hunger. This power has no effect on other vampires. To cast the spell, the vampire must prepare a short scroll with the targets name surrounded by hieroglyphs for hunger and famine. System: The player rolls Manipulation + Occult, difficulty of the intended targets Stamina (-1 if the name on the scroll is the targets true name rather than a use name), and expend a Willpower point to prepare the spell, and must then touch that person to complete it. The next time the target smells any kind of food even a food they do not like they are overcome with crippling hunger pangs. The pangs reduce all dice pools by one until the person eats, and they must make a Self-Control roll not to immediately consume any food put before them (difficulty will vary with how long it has been since the effect began, and how appetising the food is). No roll is needed to affect one of the Bubasti with this power.

Thirst
The target of this power is gripped by an overpowering thirst as soon as the spell is completed. The Sorcerer need not touch the target, but must complete the incantation of the spell in the targets presence. Against human targets the effect causes severe discomfort; against vampires it can induce
3

Guide to the Camarilla

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outright frenzy. Either way, it is a favourite for disrupting important speeches. The effects last until the target drinks. System: The player rolls Manipulation + Occult, difficulty of the intended targets Stamina (-1 if the true name of the target is known), and expends a Willpower point to cast the spell. Human targets will be immediately gripped by a desperate thirst, and find themselves all but unable to speak as their throat dries out. This causes the target to loose two dice of all pools, plus an extra two dice from Charisma and Manipulation for anything except rallying a sympathy vote. Used against a vampire, the spell causes the target to mislay one blood point per success. Although the blood is not physically lost, and can still be spent as normal, the effective level in the vampires pool drops for the purpose of determining resistance to hunger frenzy, usually causing at least distraction, even if the target does not immediately succumb to the red thirst.

Wither
This spell unleashes the power of the Red Land upon the Black, causing plants to wither and die. This has no affect upon living animals or vampires, only on plants. The spell consists of a brief incantation, but this must be pronounced volubly over the land to be affected. The affect on plant life is fairly permanent, but the land will recover fertility in time. System: The player expends a Willpower point, and rolls Manipulation + Survival, the difficulty of the roll varies according to location. Arable farmland would be an 8, arid scrub a 4; the Nile flood plain such as it is since the Aswan Dam is a 9, but the areas no longer flooded are a 3, regardless of their current condition. Each success allows the Setite to cause an acre of land to become infertile, and whatever plants already grow there to wither and die in matter of hours. The land remains infertile for one month per success.

Despair
The greatest danger of the Red Land is despair, for only true will can ever bring a person safely through the desert. With this spell, the sorcerer saps that will, striking at the determination of his target to soften him up for other trials. As with Thirst, the spell is cast by reciting a short incantation in the presence of the target (who need not consciously hear the chant). System: The player spends a Willpower point and rolls Manipulation + Intimidation, difficulty of the targets Willpower (-1 if the targets true name is known). Each success drains either drain one temporary Willpower point from the victim, or imposes a one die penalty on all dice pools. In addition, if temporary Willpower is reduced to zero all dice pools are halved, and the target must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 8, to perform any significant action. The spells effects end the next time the target regains Willpower.

Shrivel
This nasty spell makes the apparent effect of Thirst a reality, actually draining fluid and life energy from the victim to fuel itself. A powerful sorcerer can desiccate a human victim completely, and leave a vampiric opponent literally gasping for blood. System: The player rolls Willpower, difficulty 8 (or 7 if the targets true name is known). Each success drains two Health levels from a living target or two blood points from a vampire. The Health levels lost can be restored quickly by taking in fluids, but intravenous supply may well be required.

Lord of Beasts
As with the desert itself, the beasts who dwelt in the Red Land especially those harmful to humans were deemed the servants of Set. Equally, dangerous creatures making their homes in the Black Land were deemed to have been sent forth by Set to trouble man. Even animals who represented other gods were not exempt for this, and it was not unusual to see for examples Crocodiles ritually slaughtered as the beasts of Set no more than a days walk from the cult centres of Sobek, the crocodile god. By the use of this power, the sorcerer may call forth beasts to harry his foes, summoning said beasts apparently from empty shadow. To summon forth beasts, the sorcerers player rolls Charisma + Animal Ken, difficulty equal to the level of the spell + 3, and expends a point of blood and a point of Willpower. Although the cost is high, the results of this spell can be impressive, as animals emerge from thin air to do the casters bidding. These beasts are spirits in animal form, and can not be controlled by Animalism, although all powers affecting spirits will affect them, at 1 difficulty if the wielder of the power also possesses Animalism. To a trained eye (Animal Ken 2+) it is apparent that the beasts are not true animals, but rather possess a somewhat stylised form. While in animal form, the beasts cause ordinary lethal damage, but the poison of venomous beast is effective against even Cainites. The beasts vanish at the end of the scene, or if the caster attempts to use the same spell again.

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There is one absolute limitation to this Path; no Setite may ever summon forth birds of any kind, for these are creatures of Horus.

Vermin
The sorcerer summons a number of pests from the fabric of the buildings around him. The most commonly summoned pests are rats, locusts, frog or flies. No venomous creature may be summoned. The spell involves the caster marking the walls of the affected buildings with the hieroglyph for the creatures in question. System: Each success on the Charisma + Animal Ken roll, the spell calls up 3-5 rats, up to 10 frogs or locusts or 25 flies. Generally speaking enough are summoned to be unpleasant, but not to be truly dangerous to a human let alone a vampire. Nevertheless, the vermin spread throughout the building will be unusually vicious, and attack almost anything which moves.

Beast
The sorcerer can summon forth a larger animal, up to the size of a large dog; dogs and jackals are the most commonly summoned creatures. The spell may alternatively be used to summon up poisonous snakes or scorpions. To cast the spell, the sorcerer must spend a full turn chanting a summoning prayer. System: If a large animal is summoned, only one appears, but each success above the first adds an extra Health level to the creature. If poisonous creatures are called, 1 snake or 2 scorpions are summoned per success.

Swarm
Altogether more impressive and intimidating than Vermin, this spell allows the caster to chant the summons and call forth a great swarm of vermin from the shadows around him and the folds of his clothing. More grotesque sorcerers may even cause some of the vermin to burst from their mouths and skin. System: The swarm summoned has the following traits: Vermin Damage Health Initiative Rats, large (c. 12/success) 6 3/success 5 Flies, biting (c. 50/success) 2 2/success 6 Locusts (c. 30/success) 3 bashing 2/success 4 Frogs (c. 20/success) special 2/success 3 In addition to physical damage, flies and locusts will obscure vision, and all swarms inhibit hearing with the noise they make. A person caught in a rat or frog swarm is at 1 to all Perception dice pools, and those in a fly or locust swarm are at 2. Most attacks only inflict a single Health level of damage on a swarm, with the exception of fire, explosions or other area-affecting attacks. Most physical attacks have no affect at all on fly and locust swarms. A swarm with no remaining Health disperses and returns to the spirit world. Anyone trying to fight or move through a swarm of frogs will find himself wading in squashed frogs, and must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 8) to keep his feet. A living creature incapacitated in the middle of a frog swarm may be smothered by the vicious little amphibians, but otherwise they are unlikely to cause serious harm in spite of their unnaturally spiteful tempers; for the most part they are just extremely unpleasant.

Pack
With this spell, the sorcerer calls forth a pack of beasts, or a venomous swarm. Otherwise the spell very much resembles Swarm. Most sorcerers choose to allow Packs to manifest from the shadows, but at least one instance exists of a sorcerer vomiting an entire pack of wild dogs from his mouth, and serpents and scorpions from the clothing and bodily orifices are always popular with the Typhonists. System: The pack has the following traits: Vermin Damage Health Initiative Jackals or cats Pack consists of 2 beasts per success Dogs Pack consists of 1 dog per success Snakes (c. 3/success) 3 + poison 3/success 5 Scorpions (c. 5/success) 1 + poison 2/success 4 Snake and scorpion swarms have the same rules as rat swarms.

Elephant
Despite its name, this spell summons just about any large beast. Elephants are popular, but considered somewhat vulgar, and lions are more common. The main distinguishing feature of the beasts summoned by Elephant is that their teeth, claws and horns inflict aggravate damage. No reliable record exists of a Setite summoning one of these monsters out of his mouth, although folklore attributes such an act to the legendary elder Swallower-of-the-Sun.

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System: The caster must accumulate 5 successes to summon forth the Elephant, but may do this over several turns, so long as no roll is botched. This spell is more expensive than most, costing an extra two blood points, and requiring an extra Willpower point for each additional roll. If successful however, the result is both devastating and intimidating, especially when an actual elephant is the subject of the summoning chant.

Killer of Kings
As well as slaying his brother, Osiris, Set was an enemy of the Pharaoh-as-Osiris and was as god of all foreign lands considered at least partially responsible for the success and failure alike of all foreign ventures. Thus the Killer of Kings was to be feared in all places as the force that thwarted the best of plans. Killer of Kings is the Path described in Blood Magic as Path of the Dry Nile, but each use requires the expenditure of a Willpower point, in order to inflict the sorcerers will upon the target.

Lord of Woes
As enemy of Egyptian society, Set was responsible for much pain. This Path, which revisits some of that pain upon its victims, is identical to the Thaumaturgic Path of Curses4.

Great Strength in the Barque of Millions

This was the name of Set as he stood in the prow of the Barque of Ra, and the name which the Medjay have chosen to take for their preferred Path of Heka-Sutekh. These spells reflect the Medjay obsessions of duty and strength, and are mostly concerned with combat or vigilance. The Path is rare, as it is not commonly practised beyond the Path of the Warrior, and there are few Medjay sorcerers. All of the spells in this Path are cast as normal Thaumaturgy powers, with a Willpower roll and the spending of blood.

Restless Vigil
Use of this spell at the beginning of a vigil ensures that the Medjay remains alert throughout his watch. The spell is a simple incantation, spoken as the watch begins. System: The spell grants and extra 2 dice to any Perception pool for the duration of a specific vigil, and prevents his mind from wandering in the course of the watch.

Dauntless Guard
This spell calls upon the heart of the Medjay to be hardened against influence and fear which might sway him from his duty. The spell must be cast at the beginning of a watch or combat, and lasts until it ends. System: The Medjay gains +2 Courage, and his Willpower is considered to be two higher for the purpose of resisting mind control or any fear-inducing powers.

Stand Against the Rabble

In dire need, the Medjay can stand against a host of lesser foes by the use of this spell, which must be cast at the beginning of combat. It is a very draining spell however, and not to be used lightly. System: The Medjay gains an extra action each turn, in addition to his Celerity if he has any. However he must spend a blood point each turn to activate his Celerity, or if he has no Celerity spend two blood points and gain a further action. If no blood is spent in this way, the extra action is lost for the remainder of the combat.

Striking the Serpent

Calling upon all of his combat experience, the Medjay can use this spell to focus on an enemys fighting style so completely that the foe can not hope to evade the Warriors strikes. This spell can be cast at any time in a combat and lasts until it is ended. System: The target of the spell may try as much as he likes to dodge the Medjays attacks, but without success; the Medjays player ignores all Dodge successes by the target. However, the Medjay becomes so focused that any action he takes against any other enemy is at +1 difficulty.

Vigil Under Ra
This spell involving a long prayer to Apophis and Set in the incantation allows the Medjay to shrug off one of the greatest obstacles to his vigilance; the lethargy of the sun.

Blood Magic

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System: This spell must be cast at daybreak, and lasts throughout the day. The Medjay remains capable of acting at his full dice pools throughout the day, but shortly after sunset falls into an almost torpid slumber for a full hour. The spell grants no protection against the suns light.

Taker of the Seed of Pre

The Seed of Pre (or Ra) is a mythical figure closely related to Hathor the divine prostitute. According to legend, Set was once incapacitated when he attempted to molest the Seed. But while she caused Set pain, Ra faded into decrepitude without his consort, causing dire harm to the world until she returned. The powers of this Path used almost exclusively by the Ecstatics draw upon the motifs of this story to afflict the enemies of the sorcerer. The Path is considered almost blasphemous to some Typhonists, since it paints Set in such a poor light. The powers of Taker of the Seed of Pre are activated by a Willpower roll and the expenditure of a blood point.

Obsession
As lust overtook Set at the sight of the Seed, so the Ecstatic sorcerer causes a wave of intense desire to wash through his targets mind at the sight of something he may want. The spell must be performed while both the target and the chosen object of desire are within the Setites line of sight. The only other limitation is that the Setite himself can not be the object. System: The spell causes a frozen moment, in which the target sees the object, it grows to fill their perceptions and their mind plays out fantasies of desire for the object, whatever it may be. This moment is not enough to cause even a significant break in the targets stride, and the fantasies are a matter for the targets imagination, not the sorcerers will. The sole affect of the spell is to unlock the targets potential desires for the object, sparking a nagging obsession.

The Seed Sprouting Inside the Skull

The fanciful name for this spell comes from the method in which the Seed of Pre incapacitated Set. It is said that when he grabbed her, she leapt up into his forehead, and thereby caused the pain which incapacitated him. This spell is less demanding, and requires only that the sorcerer touch the forehead of the intended victim, rather than climbing inside it. System: The victim of this spell suffers agonising headaches, reducing all dice pools by 1. In addition, any action involving concentration including any Willpower roll is at +1 difficulty, and if the victim wishes to spend Willpower for any reason, the cost is always one higher. The pain fades at the next rising of the sun.

The Thing Most Desired

This spell is a simple but effective method of increasing the chances of addiction to a given vice. It requires that the Setite be touching the target when the vice is experienced or indulged. It must be a vice, something forbidden which make some small part of the target feel guilty be it drugs, some form of sexual fetish or perversion, or even the adrenaline rush direct or vicarious of violence or danger sports. The spell heightens the sensations created five-fold, forcing all other pleasures to pale by comparison. System: The spell greatly enhances the rush, buzz or euphoria of the vice being indulged in. The target must make a Willpower roll to cease indulgence voluntarily, and gains +2 Stamina for the purposes of continuing (enhancing endurance, creating a greater resistance to overdose or similar). He is at 2 to all dice pools to do anything other than continue until the episode of indulgence ends, and at 1 to all dice pools for the remainder of the night. Thereafter, for one week per success in casting the spell, the target has +2 difficulty to all Willpower rolls to resist repeating the vice, although he does have 1 difficulty to resist any other temptation.

Violation
All of the harm in the story of the Seed of Pre was caused by the Seeds original violation by Set, and the Ecstatics know well the place and power of violation. This spell considered the vilest curse by the Ecstatics generates a feeling of total violation, physical and spiritual. More terribly, it leaves no notion of who or what might have caused the sensation, and as a result makes it all the more difficult for the victim to recover from the incident. System: The sorcerer needs to touch the victim, but simply brushing against them in a crowd is enough. The contact triggers a form of panic attack, in which visions of horrible violations assail the victim. The attack lasts only a few seconds, but the effects can last a lifetime. The victim can resist the spell with a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) and if successful is able to shrug off the episode. Otherwise, the visions remain with him forever.

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Good psychotherapy can clear the difficulties, but until this is done all physical contact begins to become traumatic, and can trigger another panic attack. Resurgent attacks are resisted by Willpower (difficulty 8), and if the victim ever gets five successes on the roll, the visions rapidly begin to loose their potency. These attacks incorporate feelings of panic and further violation, driving away any who try to offer comfort. They typically last a few minutes, but all dice pools are reduced by 2 while the attack lasts. Moreover, many analysts could cause the victim to attempt to associate the feelings of violation with their experiences, resulting in false recovered memories of abuse by loved ones.

Theft of Potency
The most terrible effect of the attack on the Seed of Pre was that the sun god lost his vigour and potency, becoming decrepit and sterile. With this spell, which requires that the Setite kiss someone for whom his intended victim cares or feels desire, the sorcerer inflicts this same terrible curse on the victim for the span of an entire month. System: The Theft of Potency causes a loss of energy in all physical functions. The victim looses one dot from Strength, Dexterity and Stamina, and also from Charisma and Appearance as his vim and vigour are noticeably reduced. A male victim is rendered utterly impotent, and a female victim while able to go through the motions will be frigid, and incapable of orgasm. A vampire victim can not bite, although he can feed through an open wound, nor can his vitae be used to effect the Embrace, create a ghoul or form a Blood Bond for the duration of the curse.

Heka-Sutekh rituals
Like other forms of blood magic, Heka-Sutekh has a number of more involved, formulaic workings as well as the Paths. Most of these rituals must be performed or at least prepared in a dedicated temple of Set (see Observances), and all involve long-winded incantations and invocations of Set and his minions. Setite rituals take 10 minutes per level to perform somewhat longer than most, but then any given god should be invoked by at least half-a-dozen names and requires a roll of Intelligence + Occult, difficulty of the rituals level +3 (maximum 9).

Level One Rituals

Create Wedja
This ritual or rather series of rituals is used to enchant a small, protective amulet. The form of these amulets is important, although they made of any material, and frequently sorcerers will possess the Craft skill and make their own amulets in preferred medium. While the shape of a wedja must reflect the harm it protects against, a wedja may be a pendant, a ring, a piercing fixture or any other form of adornment, or simply a token carried within the clothing or even under the skin. Each wedja adds one die to soak or resist a specific form of harm to the wearer (unarmed blows, animal teeth, bullets, arrows, spears etc). Each time the wearer of a wedja is protected by the amulet, the Storyteller should roll one die; if it comes up a one, the power of that wedja is exhausted. The wearer of the wedja need not be its creator, and many sorcerers trade wedja for minor favours. It is also quite possible to wear more than one wedja, but with certain limitations. If more than one wedja is worn with the same function, neither will work. Nor is it possible to carry backups; in the case of wedja, having the amulet on your person equals wearing it. Multiple wedja of different kinds also begin to create a form of mystical distortion around the wearer, and for every three wedja worn the wearer looses a die from all rolls relating to magic or supernatural perception (such as Auspex and Heka-Sutekh). Further, more than ten wedja begin to interfere with each other; each time a one is rolled for a wedja carried by one so overburdened, not only the affected wedja, but also 1-10 others fail. Finally, the wedja for different forms of harm require the sorcerer to learn separate rituals.

Create Sa
Similar to a wedja, a sa is a defensive amulet in the shape of a twisted and folded reed mat (the hieroglyph sa). The sa has a number of Health levels equal to the number of successes at its creation. Any attack against the wearer will take one Health level from the sa before harming the wearer, until all of the Health levels are exhausted, whereupon the amulet crumbles. Only one sa may be worn at any time, or the effect is neutralised, and as with wedja, carrying is the same as wearing.

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Level Two Rituals

Numb Rush
Originally developed to protect their agents from becoming addicted to their own wares, this ritual has become a particularly cruel form of punishment for failed pawns. To enact the ritual, the recipient must be placed upon the altar of Set. Prayers and magical formulae are spoken over his prone form, and he is given a hefty dose of whatever drug the caster wishes to affect with the ritual. If the casting fails, this dose is often fatal, but if successful it has no effect on the recipient whatsoever. The rituals effects last for one lunar month per success, and for this time the chosen drug has no effect on the recipient, positive or negative, however much they take. Initially this was intended to shield the recipient from addiction, but at some point a particularly sadistic ritualist discovered that the ritual does not remove an existing addiction, and that if performed on an addict it simply makes it impossible for them to ever satisfy their craving.

Mocking Name
To enact this ritual the sorcerer must first compose a mocking acrostic or punning verse about the name of the intended victim. Then the verse must be repeated to the statue of Set in the temple, and then to the victim of the ritual (who need not wish to listen, but must be in earshot of the reading). In order to perform this ritual the sorcerer must make a Manipulation + Expression roll in addition to the usual roll, but the effect is impressive. From the moment he hears the verse, for one week per success on the Expression roll, the victims Social rolls suffer a penalty of 3 dice, as all he comes into contact with find him inexplicably but undeniably ridiculous.

Guardian Stones
This ancient and revered ritual is used to create a set of four magic bricks to protect the haven of the sorcerer. Each brick must be fashioned from clay, and set with a specific talisman. Once in place in the four walls of the Setites sleeping chamber (and no Setite sorcerer is likely to break tradition by sleeping in a room with more or fewer walls) they watch over him as he slumbers, and will automatically wake him if intruders enter the chamber. Moreover, the power of the bricks allows the Setite to act at full strength in the daytime, although afterwards the bricks must be replaced. The bricks are not affected by Obfuscate or Chimerstry, although they will not allow the sorcerer to penetrate such powers once awakened.

Level Three Rituals

Blood of Damnation
Some Setites have naturally addictive blood a powerful weapon indeed but for those without Heka-Sutekh supplies an alternative. The Setite must lie for a day and a night upon the altar of Set, and offer up a libation of his blood (three blood points) to the Dark God, but for one year thereafter his blood will be as addictive as heroine. One taste is enough to hook a victim, who must thereafter expend a point of Willpower whenever hungry or else seek out the Setite for a drink of his blood.

Negative Confession
When the Egyptians were buried, they took with them into the afterlife a negative confession, a list of the unrighteous things which they had never done. Likewise, when they felt persecuted by the world a similar list might be placed upon a stela to avert the anger of the gods. The interesting thing about such negative confessions however was that there was no compunction against claiming never to have done things which you knew that you had. The negative confession was a con, and under the auspices of Heka-Sutekh, it still is. A sorcerer who fears interrogation will use this ritual and write a list of all the terrible deeds he has never performed, including whatever it is that he has done and does not want discovered. He then lets a point of his vitae flow over the tablet on which the list is recorded, and for three nights thereafter may not be forced to confess to any listed crime, nor can it be detected as anything but the truth when he proclaims his innocence, unless the wielder of the detecting power can defeat the caster in an opposed, resisted Willpower roll.

Shattering the Serpent Will

When the serpent Apophis assailed the barque of the Sun-God, his protectors were all paralysed by the serpent's gaze; all save Set. From that fact Sets sorcerers drew this power, a sort of Pavane of Foul Presence for Dominate. In performing this ritual, the sorcerer must dedicate a snakeskin on the altar of Set, and wear it somewhere visible about their person. For the remainder of the night, any and all attempts to Dominate the sorcerer fail outright. Furthermore, if a Dominate attempt scores fewer

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successes than the sorcerer gained in performing the ritual, the command is reflected back upon the issuer, as if with the sorcerers net successes.

Level Four Rituals

Healing Blood
One of the few Setite rituals specifically performed outside the bounds of Sets House is also one of their only benevolent powers. Frowned upon by many Typhonists, it has been retained by some Ecstatics as means of ingratiating themselves with outsiders. To perform the ritual, the sorcerer must have prepared a shrine, housing a stela dedicated to one of a small group of deities considered appropriate by the Setites. The sorcerer must allow some of his blood to fall over the stela, whereupon it is transubstantiated into a powerful healing elixir. The elixir can not create ghouls or Blood Bonds, nor be consumed as blood. Its only power is to heal, and even that power can not be used upon the sorcerer. The precise power of the elixir depends upon the deity to whom the stela and shrine are dedicated. Deity Bastet, Cat-Goddess of Bubastis Selket, ScorpionGoddess Imhotep, MedicineGod and deified scribe Effect The elixir will heal 1 wound even aggravated for every blood point shed. The elixir will purge all poisons and drugs from the body of the drinker. It will not cure addictions. The elixir will remove the ravages of any bacterial or viral disease. This elixir does not cure genetic conditions and cancers.

Ironically, this the only selfless effect in the modern Setite sorcerers repertoire is the one used with the most cut-throat wheeling and dealing. Those Setites who do use the ritual will always charge a high price, and insist on absolute secrecy from any recipient.

Seal of the Pharaoh

This spell a powerful magical seal is used only when closing the crypt-haven of a torpid elder. Once the elder has been wrapped and placed in his sarcophagus, the ritualist oversees the placement of the closing slabs and the great seal of Set an intricately carved cartouche, placed above the door lintel before casting the final ritual of sealing. A door closed with this ritual can not be forced from the outside, only destroyed, and it has three times the usual soak and Health levels for a door of its construction. Breaking in may be facilitated by destroying the seal itself, but breaking the seal invokes a dire curse. The one who destroys either the door or the great seal immediately falls under the curse, losing two dots of Stamina, and all soak rolls are henceforth made at +1 difficulty. Only a powerful magician, with skill in the arts of cursing (Cursing Thaumaturgy or Hedge Magic path at 4+, Entropy Sphere 4+), or a person of True Faith four or greater can lift this doom.

Level Five Rituals

Crawling Assassin
A particularly vicious weapon in the Setite arsenal, this ritual is used to condemn a powerful enemy to an unpleasant death. The sorcerer must first obtain a scorpion or serpent of notable size and atavism, to be the bearer of his anger. The creature must be naturally venomous. This creature must then be ghouled to the sorcerer, usually by the method of doping its food or water (especially difficult with the scorpion). The sorcerer now has a large, vicious, venomous ghoul, but this is merely the first stage of the ritual. The sorcerer must now obtain a large bowl, and inscribe the rim outside with his name, and inside with the name of the victim (the story of a sorcerer who placed his name inside and his enemys outside is a common cautionary tale for apprentices). He fills the bowl with five blood points his own vitae, whilst performing a chant to Serket and Sekhmet, in which he demands the destruction of his foe by Serkets kiss (a euphemism for poison). Next he kills his ghoul, and places the body in the bowl. Invoking the name of Apophis, he calls his servant to return from death to fulfil his need for revenge, which burns in his blood as the kiss of Serket will burn in his enemys. Provided the spell is successful, the body of the creature absorbs the blood from the bowl and arises from death, blood-bloated and filled with a burning need to seek out and destroy the target of the rituals anger and loathing. The creature has five blood points, each of which can be used to deliver one

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bite or sting. Each attack inflicts seven dice of aggravated damage, and causes burning pain in the victim, so intense that it reduces all dice pools by 2, on top of wound penalties. Once its blood is expended, the assassin simply dies.

Defence of the Sleeper

Another powerful means of protection for an elder in the grip of torpor, this ritual creates an amulet with the power to ward off even the curse of Ra to a limited degree. The creation and enchantment of the amulet itself takes a full lunar month. To complete the ritual, the elder must be wrapped in the bindings of a mummy, with the amulet safely tucked between the layers of cloth, then the body permeated with embalming fluids and bitumen, taking another month. Usually the ritual is performed by a servant of the elder, but the sleeper may do so himself if he able to complete the ritual by possessing a servant through the use of Dominate. The amulet may be created years before it is needed, but the binding must still be overseen by a sorcerer skilled in the ritual. Once wrapped, the body of the elder is inviolate, so long as he remains at rest and the amulet remains within the bindings. Neither sun nor fire will burn him, no stake will pierce the cloths and no blade will be able to penetrate the bindings to cut his flesh, let alone sever his neck. To destroy the elder he must be cut completely from his bindings and the amulet removed from between the layers now adhered one to another with bitumen. If the vampire awakens, the wrappings will dry and crumble from his body in moments, breaking the spell.

Preparation of Fatal Pleasure

One of the most potent weapons in the Typhonist arsenal is this terrible ritual. By its use, the sorcerer is able to create a drug so potent, so utterly addictive, that not only will its victims do anything to maintain their supply, but they will actually physically fade away without it. The ritual is long and complicated, requiring the sorcerer to mix in precisely prescribed manner and quantities some of his own vitae with the venom of a scorpion and of an asp, the ground bones of a crocodile, dried lions dung, the crushed petals of a blue lotus, the milk-white sap of an Egyptian lettuce, numerous herbs and spices and the pulped flesh of a human pituitary gland. The process of mixing and refining the drug takes three nights and a specialised apothecarys workshop, during which the sorcerer may do nothing else save tend the mixture and must each night place a point of blood into the blend. A servant must be trained to watch over the proceedings during the day, but need have no great skill at sorcery. After the three nights, the mixture must spend another week cooling, but this needs minimal overseeing. Once completed, the ritual provides enough of the drug for three doses (see below for description).

Level Six Rituals

Calling up the Great Servant
The Setites generally prefer not to put their trust in the Bane Mummies, for while undeniably powerful in themselves and in their magic, they are of Apophis and not of Set. They are unpredictable, and most Setites consider them an offence against Maat, tolerated only because they can not now be destroyed. In extremis however, a task may be deemed so vital and so dangerous that one of such power is needed to perform it. In such circumstances, this ritual its very existence known only to the nomarchs, kenbet and tjaty is used to call one of the Bane mummies forth from Apophis. To perform the ritual, the prophet must gain access to the body of one of the Bane Mummies, all of which are ideally stored in a sealed crypt at the Temple of Uganda. This crypt, the Tomb of Apep, is notable for being sealed against anyone leaving rather than entering it, and further bound about with spells to prevent the spontaneous rising of the Children of Apophis. He must gain the sanction of the tjaty for the release of the body, and bring it to a place of darkness, far from the temple precinct. Here, the blood of at least seven vampires and seven humans must be spilled over the body, the humans dying in the procedure. The prophet then calls upon the spirit of the Bane Mummy to return from its long sojourn in the belly of the serpent, and names the seven dead humans. The souls of the sacrifices are called upon to form a chain as they are cast down into Apophis realm, that the Bane Mummy may ascend and return to his flesh. Once returned, the Bane Mummy is bound to perform a service for the one who summoned it back to the living realm, but once that service is complete, he will be free to do as he will. It is after the service is complete that Bane Mummies go missing; Amam and Saatet-ta were both summoned and their bodies never yet recovered. The dangers of this ritual are great, for few of the Bane Mummies are inclined to feel charitable toward the Setites for freeing them from an imprisonment extended by the Serpents own magics. It is

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used only in direst need, and the prophet who requests its use is expected to take full responsibility for the aftermath.

Shabti Rituals
The creation of shabti (or ushabti) is an ancient art, used in the funereal rites of Egypt. The funereal shabti is a facsimile of the dead person life-sized or in miniature placed in the grave. The principle was that when the dead persons ba one of the five elements of the Egyptian soul was called upon to perform corve labour in the fields of the afterlife, the shabti would answer in his place, leaving the ba free to enjoy his leisure. The arts of the Setites are able to create a variety of shabti, to perform various tasks (although many can be as well performed by ghouls), but the rituals of shabti creation are learned in a manner more akin to a Path (including Experience cost) than to other rituals. The learning of the Shabti Rituals presupposes a degree of skill in the manufacture of clay or wooden sculpture, and a Craft skill of at least 3 is required before any reputable teacher will even consider allowing the sorcerer to study the art. Once the various spells are learned, all are used in the same way. To fashion a shabti requires an Intelligence + Crafts roll, difficulty of the Path level used +3, and the expenditure over three nights of three points of blood and three points of Willpower. In less strictly mechanical terms, the sorcerer must fashion the facsimile with his own hands, making it as accurate as possible so that it knows what it is supposed to be, and then empower it. The empowering involves three nights of devotional prayers and ritual bloodletting, and the expenditure of the blood and Willpower. Once so empowered, the shabti may be activated by simply expending a Willpower point. Although a costly form of servant, shabti are still popular, especially among the traditional, and the paranoid. Even ghouls and thralls can be subverted, but shabti can not be bought off, seduced, persuaded or tricked into betraying their masters secrets. They have no minds, and so their minds can not be read. They do not truly see or understand speech, and so they can not be affected by Dominate any more than a recording device or security camera. They are incorruptible (although not through moral strength or virtue) and therefore trustworthy. Watcher
The simplest of shabti, the Watcher is immobile but when activated aware of its surroundings. They can be commanded to watch for certain individuals, certain activities, or to recognise certain passwords, and if an unauthorised presence or activity is detected they will sound an alarm by screaming loudly. They can be silenced only by total destruction, and as they do not move when they scream the source of the alarm can be difficult to locate. Once the higher levels of shabti creation have been attained, the Watcher may seem all but worthless, but it has its uses. Most particularly, it can be used to trigger an activation ritual for other shabti, and to store the energy needed to power such a spell. They are also relatively cheap, remaining active for a full month after activation with a single Willpower point. Most shabti-masters will have at least one Watcher overseeing the entrance to their haven.

Servant
In perhaps less common use than any other type of shabti, it is rare to see more than one active within a sorcerers abode. Although mobile, the Servant lacks any great agility, and is good for little more than fetching and carrying. They will obey simple commands, but freeze up if greater demands are made of them. Servants can come in many forms, but are usually a human, or a beast of burden. They can carry immense loads, and their primary use is in the construction of temples. A servant remains awake for a week once activated.

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Guardian
A popular favourite, the Guardian is a fighting shabti. Made in a variety of forms, but most often those of soldiers and hounds, Guardian shabti are generally only activated at need, as they remain awake for only one hour per dot of Craft used in their creation.

Ka Double
An extremely useful spell, this ritual creates a duplicate of the sorcerer. When activated it remains awake only until the next sunrise, but while active it acts in all ways as if it were the sorcerer. It can be taught a simple daily routine, and in the creation process absorbs something of the sorcerers demeanour. It can act sufficiently like the sorcerer to convince passing acquaintances, and is thus most useful for when the sorcerer must be seen to have a daytime life. As a last resort, it can also be used as a decoy for would be assassins and assailants.

Companion
This ritual is unique, in that its product is possessed of a very dim intelligence. The ritual is far more involved than any other, requiring that the facsimile be all but perfect (at least 5 successes on the Craft roll), and that the sorcerer spend far more time over the empowering rituals than normal. In addition to the standard devotions, the sorcerer must spend time each night speaking to the Companionto-be, telling it in great detail who and what it is supposed to become. By so doing, the sorcerer calls up the dim sentience of the spirit of the material used, and imbues the creation with true awareness. Once activated, the Companion remains awake for one day per dot of Craft used in its creation. When first activated, it has a dim, almost childlike awareness of whom it is supposed to be, but over time especially if not allowed to become dormant it can grow. Regardless of its development, the Companion remains a reflection of the Setites original intentions, but for a paranoid, megalomaniac sorcerer this can make for the perfect company.

Level 2 Ritual
Storage of Sekhem
This ritual allows the sorcerer to store up the power or sekhem which animates the shabti in advance within their bodies. It can only be used once per night per shabti, and involves the sorcerer making a ritual offering of bread and beer to the shabti which is to receive his sekhem. He then expends two points of Willpower. Each use of the ritual stores one point of Willpower within the shabti, which can later be drawn out by the sorcerer to animate it. Each shabti can only store a number of Willpower points equal to the level of the Shabti Ritual used to create it (e.g. a Watcher can store one, a Guardian three). The sorcerer must have two dots in Shabti Rituals to learn this ritual.

Level 3 Ritual
Wake the Guard
The sorcerer wishing to employ this useful ritual must have learned three levels of Shabti Rituals, and the Storage of Sekhem, for stored energy is required. The ritual takes three hours of prayers, devotions and incantations to perform, and consists of three parts. Firstly, the sorcerer selects a Guardian shabti, and in a very formal ceremony appoints the figure as a Captain of shabti. Then he selects up to three other Guardians, and performs another ceremony assigning them to the Captains command. Finally, the Captain is taken to a Watcher, and the Watcher is likewise assigned to the Captain. Once the ritual is cast, the Watcher will, upon detecting an intruder, attempt to awaken the Captain; for this it must have a point of Willpower stored within it. The Captain is then in turn empowered to expend whatever Willpower is stored within it to awaken his troops to meet the threat. The obvious drawback of this ritual is the cost of storing so much energy, but the advantages in terms of daylight defence are clear. The ritual is rarely used for the defence of the outer boundaries of the Setite temple, since such simple guards make for bloody misunderstandings, but is popular among elder sorcerers for the protection of their sanctums.

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The Observances of Set

In addition to their magic, the Setites have their religion, although the borders between the two are blurred in a manner which defies modern western understanding. The Observances of Set are the most holy rituals of the Followers of Set, and their significance can not be overemphasised. Most have no strict mechanical effects, but like the Ritae of the Sabbat, the observances are of paramount spiritual and moral importance. They create the spirit of unity and purpose which drives the Cult of Set forward while those of the other Egyptian Gods founder in the keeping of the weakwilled and the faithless. The observances are led by the Prophets of Set, the senior priests of each temple, and are of three kinds. The Festival Observances are performed at specifically prescribed times in the astrological calendar, while the General Observances are performed either monthly or at times of temporal significance, such as the celebration of a victory or the elevation of a new Prophet from among the wab. Finally, the Lesser Observances are a host of minor acts of worship, either to Set or to his consorts and servants. It is considered a great privilege to be permitted to serve as a wab during the period of a Festival Observance. Both prophets and wab dress in white robes, a fact that surprises many of their defamers. This is because white symbolises purity, and while they are purposefully not virtuous, the Followers of Set nevertheless see themselves as pure of purpose. Moreover, whatever the nature of the Dark God and his rituals, all Egyptian temples were intended to be places of spiritual purity, and Set is no less demanding than any other god. If a character wishes to perform a major role in the observances, he must learn the Knowledge Setite Theology, which differs considerably from the more temporal Knowledge Setite Lore/Clan Lore: Setites. Further, the individual observances must be learned from a mentor, although Lesser Observances may be invented or improvised by a sufficiently knowledgeable theologist. Festival Observances typically take at least a month of instruction to learn, and it would be considered fairly blasphemous to lead one without having attended and assisted in the observances of a master on several occasions. General Observances are simpler, but take about as long to fully memorise. Once taught however, the Setite would be considered perfectly qualified to lead the observance. Lesser Observances can be taught in a few nights, and anyone with any knowledge of Setite theology would be considered worthy of performing them. A note on human sacrifice: In some countries, repeated rites of human sacrifice represent an unacceptable risk to the security of Sets temple. In these countries, animal sacrifices are substituted; for preference pigs, dogs, snakes, crocodiles and hippos are chosen for the Rites of Sacrifice (or cats for sacrifice to Anat). Birds of prey are preferred for the Beautiful Festival of the Blood, representing Horus (although if not even a single human is secured for the Beautiful Festival it is considered pretty poor going). Even in such cases, a human sacrifice is preferred, and many Followers have taken to smuggling immigrants to provide the necessary material. It should be noted however, that while danger to the temple is a reason for using animal victims, it is not an excuse for using sub-standard sacrifices. A fine hunting hound is far preferable to some drugged-up whore or sore-ridden wino dragged off the street.

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Festival Observances
Beautiful Festival of the Blood
Held on the holiest of holy days, this is the grandest of all Setite Observances. Held on the twenty-first day of July, the Festival celebrates the anniversary of the birth and death of the Dark God. While there is some contention regarding whether or not Set was born and Embraced on the same date if he needed to be Embraced at all and regarding the specific date of those events, by current tradition the twenty-first is chosen to be the date of this Festival. On this night, as the darkness passes around the globe, the Followers of Set gather in their temples as far as they are able to and perform a great sacrifice to Set. In each temple victims are brought before the statue of Set, at the heart of his house. The nature of these victims depends upon the denomination of the temple: Typhonists prefer the slaughter of pure innocents; Ecstatics choose the most gloriously sinful; for the Medjay, only the mightiest foes of Set will suffice. Typically between two and ten victims will be offered depending largely on the size of the temple in the course of a long and solemn ceremony, for which the three Paths again have slightly differing versions. All attendees must undergo the Lesser Observance of purification before entering the temple on the night of the Beautiful Festival. The Statue of Set is brought out of his house and paraded around its bounds on the shoulders of his congregation. In areas where this is not practical (such as places where the Setite presence is a secret) the congregation will process in plain clothes, each wearing an amulet bearing the gods likeness. In the full procession, and within the temple, the Followers dress in the full ceremonial regalia of white robes, a multitude of amulets and adornments, and great and impressive head-dresses. Once the parade returns to the central shrine, the victims are brought forth, dressed in pure white, and anointed with a mixture of precious oils and the blood of the High Prophet, dedicating their souls to the service of Set for all eternity. Once the victims are dedicated, they are brought, one-by-one, to the altar of Set. Here their throats are slit, and they are hoisted above the statue so that their blood drenches it. The ritual is intended to supply this blood to the Dark God, but that which he refuses (i.e. which runs off the statue during the ritual) is gathered up and distributed among the worshippers after the ceremony. In general, only Setites are permitted to attend the ceremony. Even members of other clans who have been instructed in one of the Paths of the Serpent and are usually permitted to serve as wab are not admitted. If an exception is made due to long and loyal service, the one admitted is expected to show full appreciation of the honour he has been shown. System: The Beautiful Festival of the Blood must be performed within a temple properly consecrated to the Dark God, and on the correct day. It supplies six points of blood for consumption by the ritualists for each victim sacrificed; the rest coats the statue or seemingly goes to Set in his torpor. Any Follower of Set who partakes of this blood, reverted from the table of the Dark God, regains all of his Willpower. If any take the blood who are not faithful to the Dark God, it causes intense nausea and disorientation, reducing all dice pools by 3 for the rest of the night and causing the sufferer to vomit up the blood, plus an equal quantity of the blood already within them. Needless to say, anyone who displays such a reaction can expect little chance of ever leaving the temple alive.

Affirmation of the Dark Gods Favour

The Affirmation is performed each year in early June at the beginning of the Egyptian season of akhet, or inundation (a time of particular importance to Setites as much as to all other Egyptians at least historically). This observance is used to reassert the hierarchy of the Temple and also the hierarchy of each individual temple. It is performed in each temple across the world although individual temples may vary the date slightly. In large temples it may span several nights. Prophets and wab make their affirmation before the great statue of Set in the central shrine, but semedet are required to address him through an intercessory, at the shrines of his consorts and servants. During the Festival, each worshipper beginning with the High Prophet and working on down the hierarchy places his hand upon the statue of Set (or the intercessory) and calls upon Set in all his forms and titles. This is a list of about seventy names which the Setite is expected to recite from memory. Even if using an intercessory, the affirmation is made to Set. The Setite then speaks the following affirmation: I [insert name] affirm that in this year I have served Set with my heart and actions, and that for all that I have done, though I seek no reward for myself, still I have been rewarded. I have been rewarded with the recognition of my elders, with the respect of my peers, and with the obedience of those less favoured than I. I affirm that I have no cause to resent my treatment from above, or from

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below, and that I have given no such cause to those below or above. I have achieved my station through my efforts, and my station befits my achievements. I have given no cause for any to think that I have outreached my ability, nor have any given me cause to believe that just station has been denied me. I am where I am, where I should be. Where Set wills me to be. The affirmation need not be true, but any complaints should be raised before the ceremony. The Affirmation of the Dark Gods Favour is not, and should not be treated as, an industrial tribunal. Once all have made the affirmation, the High Prophet leads the congregation in a pledge of obedience to Set and to the order that he has ordained within his cult. System: The Affirmation creates a sense of divine order within the ranks of the Temple, but has no direct mechanical effect.

Dedication of the Temple

One of the most important of observances occurs annually, on the anniversary of the founding of each temple. The observance consecrates or re-consecrates the temple precinct to the worship of the Dark God, ritually invites Set to take residence there, and devotes the efforts and deeds of the worshippers to the greater glory of Set and his Temple. Without the dedication, the temple is just a place, unsuited to the performance of the Festival and General Observances, or to the practice of HekaSutekh rituals. This is the only observance at which all worshippers of Set are permitted to be present. While semedet are usually limited to the outer precinct, except at the Beautiful Festival, from which nonSetites are excluded, at the Dedication of the Temple, all may come into the presence of the Dark God, that he might know his servants. The ritual is led by the most senior priest. At all but the initial dedication this should be the High Prophet, but as a High Prophet must be invested in his own temple, the first performance of the Dedication is traditionally led by the nomarch of the sepat in which the temple is founded. If the nomarch cannot be present and to miss the Dedication of a new temple is a great shame upon him the observance is led by the prophet who will become High Prophet. In a few cases, a Tjaty may deign to perform the Dedication or rededication of a temple, but this is a rare honour indeed, marking the members of the temple for great things; woe betide the temple which disappoints such expectations. For the initial Dedication, the great statue of Set, which will be his form within the new temple, must be brought to its new home. The statue is dedicated at another temple the motherhouse and then processed in darkness to the new site. By tradition it should be borne on the shoulders of a dozen wab, and transported on a golden barque, by river where possible. By practicality, it is more common for the Dark God to reach his new home by van, although attended constantly by wab. The motherhouse also donates a number of its semedet and hemw to see to the defence of the new temple during the observance. In rededication the temples own hemw protect the precinct when the entire congregation enters the shrine. The temple congregation assembles in the main precinct of the temple shortly before midnight, each one purified by a night of fasting and ritual cleansing and garbed in white. Perfume and make-up usually quite prevalent in the ritual garb of the Setites are not permitted for the dedication, and all Followers are required to shave their heads for the evening. The Medjay wear ceremonial bronze khopesh at their belts, but no other weapons are permitted within the precinct. At the beginning of the ceremony, the officiating priest processes about the bounds of the temple, before entering the precinct and sealing the main door. The Followers form into ordered ranks; the priests stand apart from the semedet, the Medjay from the other semedet, the Setites from the non-Setites. The officiating priest then passes through the ranks, beginning with the prophets, then the wab, progressing to the Setite semedet, the foreign semedet, and finally the Medjay, and requires each of them to swear obedience and devotion to the Dark God. Depending on the size of the temple, and the degree of formality favoured by the officiating priest, this may take anything from a few minutes to over an hour to complete. As each oath is accepted, the Followers file into the shrine. The officiating priest is the last to enter, and moves to stand before Sets altar. Here, he recites the long litany of Sets names and deeds, followed by the litany of the temples High Prophets and their achievements, then the litany of the mother-house, and of that temples mother-house, and so back as far as it is known. In temples with a well-recorded litany, this stage of the ritual may progress well into the early morning. It is vital that the officiating priest judge his timing well however, since to let the ceremony extend beyond daybreak is a blasphemy; Set can not look upon his house by daylight. The final stage of the observance is the recitation of the oaths which bind the temple and its members to Sets absolute service. This is a relatively short procedure, taking no more than threequarters-of-an-hour, but requires the congregation to have memorised a series of responses to the

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priests recitation. At the culmination of the recitation, the entire congregation calls out Sets name, over and over, while the priest leads them in procession to the doors and casts them open. The ritual complete, the congregation may disperse, with due care for the security of the temple. System: Without this rite, no other observance can be performed within the temple. It is also impossible to perform most Heka-Sutekh rituals, save in a dedicated temple. Lesser versions of this observance are used by sub-cults to dedicate shrines to other gods, most often Sets consorts.

General Observances
The Investment of Set
The presence and credibility of the High Prophet is one of the most important elements of a temples structure. He is the nearest thing there is to a deputation from the Dark God, and barring the temporary presence of an elder of the Temple, such as a kenbet or nomarch, the supreme authority within his temple. As such, the rituals surrounding the investiture of the High Prophet are extremely significant to the Followers, and take the form of a Festival Observance. During this observance the chosen prophet must undergo vigorous ritual purification, and then be directly invested with a fragment of the divine ba of Set, as the Pharaohs of old were invested with the ba of Osiris. To prepare for the investment, the prophet must spend a full week an Egyptian week of ten days in prayer and meditation in the presence of the Dark God. He must purify himself with fasting and ablutions, washing himself thoroughly twice each night and taking no blood. Meanwhile, the prophet chosen to officiate at the investment a tremendous honour must select from among the hemw of the temple a vessel suitable for the transfer of Sets divine ba. The vessel must be a mortal of outstanding beauty and physical condition, must understand the purpose which they are to serve and be willing to offer themselves up in the Dark Gods service. As the Setites are not careless with their High Prophets, this is naturally a once in a lifetime opportunity, and no true Follower of Set would refuse it. Once the vessel is chosen, he or she must be cleansed of all impurities, by washing three times each day, and by the eating of natron, a sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate based compound with a long history in Egyptian purification rituals. On the night of the observance which must be a new moon the officiating priest brings the vessel to the presence of the Dark God; usually the only occasion on which a mortal worshipper will ever come into the presence. They wait there for the arrival of the High Prophet-to-be, who must make his own way to the shrine by midnight, forcing himself to remain clear-headed through his hunger. During the wait, the priest dedicates the vessel to the service of Set, and cuts many symbols of Sets dominions into the vessels flesh. The most difficult part of the ritual comes once the candidate arrives in the shrine. Most will be extremely hungry after ten days fasting, and they enter the room to be met by the scent of offering fires and the strong, healthy blood of the vessel. He must steel himself against his thirst however, and speak a solemn oath to guard and guide the temple and the God to the last of his blood, to bear the responsibility for his followers actions, to answer for their mistakes to the Dark God and his envoys. This oath must be sworn to all of the names of Set, and only when it is complete will the vessel be filled by the divine ba, and the prophet be allowed to drink, draining the vessel and thereby taking a portion of the ba into himself. The rush of the investment is said to be unlike anything else in the world, and the High Prophet emerges from the shrine more confident and inwardly powerful than he entered. The vessel is killed, but he is mummified and placed in the crypt with the torpid elders, in recognition of the fact that his soul now waits to serve the High Prophet in the afterlife, and that he is therefore one of the most honoured members of the temple. System: The officiator must roll Intelligence + Setite Theology, difficulty 8, to correctly dedicate the vessel. The chosen one must roll Self-Control, difficulty varying according to the level of blood remaining in his pool, to control his thirst, and Intelligence + Setite Theology, difficulty 7, to recall all of the names to which he must swear his oath. If successful, the new High Prophet receives the acclaim of the Temple and a massive surge of confidence and morale from the absorption of the divine ba. If the dedication fails, the High Prophet is still recognised, but will be aware of the shortcomings of the ritual. Most in such a situation will punish the officiator severely, then seek a new investment at the next new moon. If the oath is fouled up, the candidate must attempt the observance again in a months time. The vessel is released, but will be useless for any later ritual; most who suffer this fate kill themselves, or offer themselves in sacrifice, their one moment of transcendent glory shattered. Repeated failures of the ritual will be deemed a sign of the candidates unworthiness, and a new High Prophet will be chosen. Should the candidate lose control of himself, and so much as taste the vessels blood before the oath is complete, then he has blasphemed most terribly. Having taken without right or leave that which

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has been declared Sets, he is cast from favour and immediately ceases to be considered a Follower of Set. He must complete a great usually near suicidal penance before he can even be called semedet again, and may never again be a wab or prophet. If the vessel survives such an act, he is not shamed, and it is his right and duty to stand as vessel for the investment of the next High Prophet candidate.

The Rites of Sacrifice

The Rites of Sacrifice represent a lesser version of the Beautiful Festival of the Blood. It is traditionally performed three times each year, once in each of the three Egyptian seasons: akhet (winter), peret (spring), and shemu (harvest) by one of the Prophets of a temple, and involves the sacrifice of a living human to the Dark God or one of his consorts. In particular, Anatite Ecstatics often sacrifice to their mistress, Anat, at the general rites, reserving sacrifice to the Dark God himself for the Beautiful Festival of the Blood. As well as the monthly observance, the Rites of Sacrifice are often performed to Sets consorts on the night of the Beautiful Festival. The Rites of Sacrifice are usually performed at the beginning of each season (traditionally in the west June 1st, October 1st and February 1st), although modern temples often time their Rites according to when they are able to procure victims of sufficient quality. A single victim is chosen for each sacrifice, usually on the same grounds as the victims of the Beautiful Festival. The victim is prepared by the wab, washed thoroughly and dressed in a ceremonial robe of pure white. The face of the victim is painted in the manner of an Egyptian prince or princess. Male victims have their heads entirely shaved, save for a single lock at the left side, in the manner of a child. Female victims have their hair lacquered and perfumed, and both sexes are anointed with fragrant oils. In addition, whereas the screams and struggles of the victims form a major part of the dynamism of the Beautiful Festival, the victims of the Rite of Sacrifice are placed into an acquiescent trance by the use of Presence, Dominate or drugs, in order to ensure their quiet compliance with the more sombre ritual. Once prepared, the victim is led into the sanctum by one of the wab, then lifted into the arms of the great statue. The Prophet intones the prayers of sacrifices, commending the blood and spirit of the victim to the use and service of the god (or goddess), and invoking the deity by a number of his or her names (usually no more than two dozen, save on special occasions). Finally, the Prophet stands upon the altar, and with the ritual bronze blade, splits the victim open from sternum to crotch in a single blow, which must leave the heart undamaged. The body is left in the arms of the statue until the next nightfall, when it is taken down and prepared for a formal Egyptian burial, before being removed to a cache, where the mummified remains of all the victims sacrificed in the same temple are stored, inviolate. It is considered a tremendous honour for the victim of the Rite to be chosen, and it is sometimes considered a reward for great service to allow a ghoul to die in this way. The mummies of the dead, although cached instead of being given full burial (except in the largest of temples) are treated with all reverence, for their owners are now considered to be the personal slaves of Set. The cache, although usually some distance from the temple itself, is jealously guarded, and its disturbance brings great shame upon the temple, and will bring down the Setites ire on the desecrater. System: The Prophet must make a Strength + Melee roll, difficulty 8, to perform the single cut successfully. If he succeeds, it is good luck for the season, and all participants regain their full Willpower. If he fails, it is an ill omen, and morale in the temple will suffer. Also, if the cut fails the body is taken away directly and burned, for the Rite has failed to send Set a new slave, and the evidence should be disposed of before the soul comes looking for it.

Feast of the Ka
It is not merely Set and his consorts who rest in deep torpor, and with this observance the Setites see to the sustenance of the elders of their temple who lie dormant in the crypt. This rite is a form of the Rites of Sacrifice performed annually at the shrines of the elders. It is performed as nearly as is possible on the anniversary of each elders lapse into torpor. The victim of this sacrifice is washed and anointed in the same manner although less richly as the victim of the Rites of Sacrifice, but the process is quite different. The victim is kept docile as in the greater rite, but is simply bled into a bowlshaped depression in the floor of the shrine. The body is given no reverence, as the prey of a vampire, not the slave of a god, and is usually cremated as discreetly as possible. The quality of the victim and his preparation is dependent on the regard in which the recipient is held. A well-respected elder will receive fine sacrifices, promptly delivered. If an elder is not respected however, he may receive any old trash. Any blood which remains in the bowl for more than eight hours is passed down to the prophets of the temple, then to the wab and finally to the semedet, according to the standard practice of reversion of the offerings. System: Without a vampire actually drawing on the veins, or the use of a pump (which would be somewhat of an intrusion into the time-honoured ritual) it is possible to extract about seventy percent

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of a victims blood; seven blood points from a human victim. The priest leading the observance should roll Manipulation + Setite Theology, difficulty 8. Each success transfers a blood point to the slumbering elder (up to the maximum available) through the action of the elders ka (another element of the soul, a double of the body which guards it and accepts offerings), while the remainder reverts to the priests.

Brewing the Elixir of Set

This ritual is a form of Setite mass, performed nightly by one of the prophets for any of the temple members who wish to take part. It is expected that all Setites should partake of the Elixir at least once every month, but non-Setite temple members may do so as often or as infrequently as they wish. In the observance, the participants must supply a source of blood (anything from a living victim although this does require attention to the security of the temple if they are to be released again to a blood bag, or even the vampires own vitae). The supplicant places the blood in a bowl at the foot of the statue of Set, and dedicates himself to the service of the god. The prophet performing the observance then calls upon Set to bestow his favour upon the supplicant, to whom he then returns the bowl, which must be drained at one draught (actually very easy for someone who need never breathe). The prophet then pronounces Sets blessing upon the recipient of the observance, and upon his endeavours in the name of the Dark God. System: The Prophet rolls Manipulation + Setite Theology, difficulty 7. If successful, the blood is transubstantiated into the Elixir of Set. Although offering no sustenance over and above that of the blood itself, the Elixir has an extremely potent bouquet, and provides a feeling of euphoria and strength to the recipient.

Rite of Investiture
The hierarchy of the Temple is religious, not temporal, and so any priest has to be recognised by the Dark God before taking up office. There are two variants on this observance, the first being for the investiture of wab priest, the second for the creation of a new prophet. The two share many common elements: The candidate is bathed and purified, washing twice nightly and taking no blood for several nights before the investiture; the candidate is dressed in a simple, white robe and brought before the God in his shrine; the High Prophet of the temple recites the names of Set, and the candidate swears allegiance to the Dark God by each of these names; the High Prophet calls upon Set for a sign of his displeasure should the candidate be unworthy of the honour he is to receive, and finally; the candidate is permitted to kiss the feet of the God, and is then adorned with the symbols and accoutrements of his new office. The differences between the two observances are of degree, rather than of kind. One wishing to become wab must fast and wash for three days, a prophet for seven. A wab must swear allegiance to only the seventy-some names of Set used in the Affirmation, a prophet to these plus twenty-one further secret names. The accoutrements of the prophet are also more elaborate than the wabs, consisting of many amulets and a white head-dress held by a golden band with the Apophis serpent rising from the brow, in addition to the bronze collar and white mantle of the wab. System: The candidate and the officiator should both roll Intelligence + Setite Theology (difficulty 6 for a wab investiture, 7 for a prophet) to correctly recall the required names of Set. Only correctly invested priests will be accepted as leaders by the Temple.

Passage From the West

This observance is particular to the Path of the Warrior, and celebrates the passage of a senior Medjay onto a new Path, having attained the pinnacle of his own progress as a warrior. The observance takes the form of a ritual rebirth, following a great trial of the spirit, the name representing the return of the Medjay from the land of the dead. The purpose of the observance is to guide the Medjay through a series of tests in the realm of Osiris, so that the once-warrior can be reborn to his new life having symbolically repeated Sets defeat of his brother. The observance is not without risk: The trials faced in the Western Lands are very real to the Medjay, and failure means death or madness. The observance is overseen by a Medjay wab priest, and only Medjay are permitted to attend. The one preparing for passage who will already have studied for some years with a Typhonist or Ecstatic master must select two warriors to aid him in his passage, and perform a ten day course of ablutions, devotions and meditations before the Dark God. Once cleansed, he comes before the altar of Set, and declares himself ready to face the trials and move beyond the simple ways of the warrior. He is then laid upon the altar, his heart and organs removed and placed in Setite canopic jars and his body wrapped in bandages soaked in natron. The two assistants now watch over the mummified form of their comrade, and the officiating priest speaks words of guidance and warding, whilst the postulants spirit undergoes the trials prepared for it by Set. No Setite who has undergone the Passage From the West has ever spoken of the specifics

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of these trials. It is known that the warrior must pass through the lands ruled by Osiris, facing many adversaries and resolving various challenges of might and wit, and thereafter pass a series of even more fiendish tests ordained by Set, in order to prove himself worthy. After three nights, if successful, the warrior rises, casts off his bindings and reclaims his organs from their vessels. He is now considered a follower of his chosen Path, no longer a Warrior, but he will always retain the respect of the Medjay. System: Either the officiating priest or the postulant himself must obviously possess the power Heart of Darkness, in order to remove the postulants heart. Each night of the Passage, the wab must roll Intelligence + Setite Theology (difficulty 8) and the postulant Wits + Setite Theology (difficulty 7), in order to successfully pass the tests set for the supplicant. A total of ten successes are needed over the three nights. Furthermore, the warrior must make a Willpower test each night (difficulty 8) to emerge unscathed from the ordeals. Failure results in the acquisition of a derangement, usually such effects as panic attacks, phobias ranging from fear of hawks and falcons to fear of the dark, paranoia, depression or bipolar disorders, as a result of the terrors unleashed upon them.

Cursing the Forgotten Name

To the Egyptians, it was important that a persons name be remembered after death, in order that their akh could continue to exist. The most heinous of crimes were therefore punishable by the destruction of the criminals name, and in some cases such as those who plotted to assassinate the pharaoh Amenemhat your honourable name was even taken away for your trial, replaced by a new, insulting, and above all powerless one. To the Setites, there are two names which must never be spoken in the temple precinct: The names of Nephtys and Astarte. This observance is a condemnation of their vile treachery, and refers to them by a variety of insulting names, including whore-of-Osiris for Nephtys and she-whom-all-theworld-despises for Astarte. The observance is performed twice each year, at the beginning and end of the inundation. The wab and prophets gather in the shrine, face outwards from the statue of Set (for their insults are directed from him, not at him) and each in turn issues one of the abuses until all are done. There are twenty-one official abuses for Nephtys, sixteen for Astarte, but frequently the priests will add their own as they see fit. System: To the Setites at least, Cursing the Forgotten Name strikes a crippling blow against the goddesses despised. It is also a focus for the aggression of the priests anger and resentment, and prevents excessive internal dispute.

Lesser Observances
Averting the Eye
To the Setites, the sun is more than just a ball of fire in the sky. It is the very eye of both Ra and Horus; it is itself one of the forms of Horus (or indeed several, changing during the course of the day) or of Ra; it is the solar barque, and about a dozen other deities as well. The moon is almost as significant, and is the abode, sign and shape of Thoth, and of the god Khonsu, and most importantly to the Setites the other eye of the sun. The moon is the eye of Horus put out by Set when they fought, later restored and now set for all time to watch over the night which the Dark God rules. This being so, the Setites are wary of venturing out under the full moon, in order to avoid the gaze of the One-Eye. Consequently, they have developed this short prayer to avert the gaze of the One-Eye. System: The Setite prays at a shrine of Set for him to conceal him from the Second Eye. For the remainder of the night he may travel without fear of being spotted from the moon, and the penalty imposed by the Setite weakness for acting in bright moonlight is ignored (although all other light sources still have the usual effect).

Judgement of Set
When an issue arises which can not be resolved either by the individual Setites involved, or by the intercession of the temple priests, then they may turn to the Dark God for judgement. Those suspected of a transgression, or the complainants in a dispute, are brought into the temple precinct, and the God is brought out from his shrine on a litter. The High Prophet then prays to Sutekh, begging him to reveal the guilty or favoured parties, at which the statue will incline towards the party it wishes to single out. System: For the most part this observance serves to confirm the judgement of the High Prophet, and the wab who bear the statue are made aware in which direction to tip the statue. This does not make it a corrupt observance in Setite eyes however, for it is understood that no High Prophet would abuse the rite, for fear of Sets anger.

Blessing of the Warriors

When the soldiers of Set must go into battle which happens rarely these nights, but does happen they gather before the God to receive his blessing in battle. Even the mighty Rameses did not

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disdain to fight with Set at his side, and to the Medjay and to any other Setite forced to take up arms it is a comfort and a strength to know that he is with them. System: The warriors come before the great statue, and a priest often a Medjay wab where available speaks a prayer for courage and strength. Although brief, the rite is very solemn and greatly enhances the resolve of the warriors. All those blessed regain all of their temporary Willpower. The effect is psychological, and the rite may only be performed once for any given battle; even in defence of the temple, warriors can not simply pop back to the shrine to recharge.

Dedication of the Prey

An observance widely used among the Ecstatics and the Medjay alike, this rite simply involves presenting Set with the scent of one whom the Setite has chosen to hunt (either literally, in the warrior case, or figuratively), and asks for the Hunter-Gods blessing on the chase. The pursuit then becomes almost a sacred quest, and the Setite extraordinarily focused on his goal. System: The Setite must place an item once possessed by the prey upon Sets altar and speak a short prayer. For the next ten nights any penalties applied to the pursuit (difficulty or dice pool penalties) because of adversity or distraction are reduced by one. However, because failure now entails failing the God, if the quarry is not snared within the ten days the Setite loses two points of temporary Willpower.

Sealing the Tomb

When a Setite falls into torpor providing the body can be recovered he is placed in the crypt beneath the temple which he served. This rite details the strict observances regarding the disposition of the body in the crypt, and the ceremony of sealing the tomb. The torpid form is laid in a sarcophagus, wrapped in bandages and equipped with amulets and papyrus scrolls from the Book of Going Forth By Night to defend his ba against the perils of Osiris realm. Other passages are inscribed on the inside of the coffin lid, along with the embracing image of the goddess Meretseger. If possible, his heart is removed by a Setite with the power Heart of Darkness and placed in a canopic jar. The same is done with the redundant organs liver, intestines, lungs and stomach which can be safely removed by a skilled embalmer without risk of permanent harm. The body cavities are filled with natron and incense. System: The rite of Sealing the Tomb must be correctly observed in order for the torpid vampire to receive nourishment from the Feast of the Ka, or be protected by the Seal of the Pharaoh.

Purification of the Servant

Prior to serving in the temple as a wab, or participating in any General or Festival observance, a Follower of Set must be purified. For a vampire this means fasting and bathing three times each night for three days, after which they are considered purified for seven days, so long as they do not engage in sexual activity, feasting as opposed to just eating the drinking of wine or spirits although beer is permitted the killing of animals or humans, or any of up to about a dozen other activities considered unclean by the High Prophet. System: This rite must be observed before the Setite may participate in any but a Lesser Observance, or serve his week as a wab priest.

Feast of the Gods

Among the Ancient Egyptians, it was traditional to make a daily offering to the Gods in the temple, in addition to specific sacrificial offerings when praying for aid or intercession. These offerings were usually of bread and beer, although the Pharaohs would periodically make more substantial offerings at the major temples, often running to thousands of loaves and barrels, along with all manner of treasures and mundane items for the Gods use. These offerings are believed to provide the god with staple sustenance, and are not sacrifices. A wab priest usually brings the god this simple fare nightly, and shortly before dawn anything the god has not eaten almost invariably everything is taken back and distributed to the priests. The offerings continue to revert in this way, usually passing untouched until they reach the hemw, since most vampires have little use for bread and beer. System: There is no mechanical effect to this observance, but it does keep the Setites feeling the gods are happy.

Acts of the Hunter

The principle observances of the Path of the Warrior form a ten day cycle, in which the Medjay ritually act out scenes from the Book of Sutekh in the East. The ritual leader takes the role of Set in the presentation, and speaks the ritual words of the Dark God; this is the only necessary element. If other warriors are present, they are assigned supporting roles in the vignette, but this is purely gravy. The ten episodes which form the cycle, and their ritual representations, are:

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Defiance. The banishment of Set. The leader recites the words of Sets defiance of his brother, and his promise to return. Other Medjay may be called upon the recite the feined grief of the False One or the tyranny of Osiris. II. Persistence. The wanderings of Set in the Red Lands. The leader speaks Sets loneliness and hunger. Others may recite the Red Lands cruelty. III. Strength. The triumph of Set over the Red Lands. The principal part is Sets triumphant declaration of his survival. Others include the Red Lands submission and the awe of Sets prey. IV. Dominion. The coming of Set to Canaan. The leaders role is Sets annunciation to the people of Canaan. Other roles include the fear of the lesser gods and the panic of the Canaanites. V. Sovereignty. The time of Set as Baal. The ritual leader recites Sets assumption of the mantle of Baal in the East. Other parts include the adoration of Anat and the reverence of the people of Canaan. VI. Ambition. The fall of Babylon. As before, the ritual leader speaks Sets annunciation, this time to the people of Babylon. Other Medjay may represent the adoration of its people, or the submission of its gods. VII. Presence. The rout of Olympus. Drawing on the Greek legend of Typhon (and perhaps somewhat marking the relative youth of the cycle) the ritual leader recites Sets triumph over the gods of Olympus. Other parts are the terror and mourning of the routed Olympians. VIII. Will. The triumph of Set. The lead role is Sets dominion over the land beyond the Nile Valley. Other roles are the adoration of the foreign peoples and gods. IX. Patience. The return of Set to the Black Land. The lead role is Sets demand for Osiris submission. Other warriors speak Osiris fear, and the crooked words of Isis. X. Vengeance. The destruction of Osiris. Marking Sets last act as the pure warrior and hunter, the ritual leader recites Sets triumph over Osiris and his demand to be granted his sovereignty. Others recite the treachery of the False One and the flight of Isis and Horus. The Book of Sutekh in the East is not claimed to be fact, but rather allegory. These rituals celebrate the important virtues of Sutekh, rather than specific acts. System: The Warriors believe that they must keep the memory of Set the hunter and warrior alive, lest he forget and lose the mound on which his might is founded. While they garner no direct benefits from these elaborate rites, to them the performance of the Acts maintains the one from who they draw all that is theirs.

I.

Striking the Falcon

Performed anywhere from nightly to monthly depending on individual tastes and other commitments this is a ritual abjuration of the One-Eye. Each temple maintains an image of Horus for the purposes of this observance, the only such image allowed within the precinct. When a Setite comes to perform the rite, he visits the temple, and strikes a blow to the image with a copper dagger; the Horus in a well-established temple can often be all but invisible behind the chips and gashes. It is considered an almost fatally bad omen if the knife snaps. System: The Setites believe that each blow to the image of Horus chips a little of his power away, postponing the time of the Mummys next rising. A variant may be used to attack an image of any known mummy. If that mummys location is known, then regular performance of the ritual over that location will strip a point of ba from the unfortunate immortal each year. If the mummys true name is known, the victim can be stripped of all his power once per year. Without the true name or the location of the khat, the ritual is simply good for letting off steam at an old foe.

Striking the Serpent

This observance is identical in almost every respect to Striking the Falcon, but is aimed at keeping the seven Bane Mummies contained until they are needed.

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Setite Religion
Setite religion is a highly complex organism. It is not as many non-Followers believe the arcane relicts of a dead system of primitive, mystical-superstitious worship, but rather a living faith. Setites do not pray blindly to mouldy old statues, nor do they claim Set to be a god to elevate their own position. As far as a true Follower of Set is concerned, Set is a god (as well as a vampire), and the statues of Set and the other gods are so long as they are tended properly true manifestations of the deities themselves. All that is done before the statue is done before the god. Much of the misunderstanding comes from the deep divide between Setite religious and secular life. As far as most Followers are concerned, the sacred and the profane are utterly distinct, and must remain so. The temple precinct is no place to talk politics, nor is unconsecrated ground a place to speak of matters of religion. The gods are spoken of freely enough, but discussion of the observances is not a matter for profane soil or for profane ears. Consequently, learning anything about the religion without actually becoming a Follower of Set is nigh impossible. Setite religion involves a great deal of formality and ritual, and service as a wab usually involves dealing with day to day duties such as making offerings to the gods and cleaning their house (the temple). In addition to the temple, most Setites will have an area of their haven set aside for a small shrine to Set, or to one of the other deities worshipped by the Followers. It is of vital importance in understanding Setite beliefs to realise that they are polytheistic, worshipping many gods and believing in many more besides.

Lesser Cults
Most Followers of Set of any age and standing will belong to one or more cults of his supporting deities. These cults are not generally political in nature, and with only a few exceptions they do not oppose the aims and actions of the central cult of Typhon. Membership of a cult means that the Setite in question will worship at the shrine of his chosen deity or deities, for plurality is not a concern in addition to the shrine of Set. More serious members of the cult will tend to have their own shrine, probably in their haven, and may lead others in the worship of the deity. Cults also have their own priesthood, but holding priestly rank in one of the lesser cults has no direct bearing on a Setites standing in the temple. As with multiple memberships, holding more than one priestly rank is not only accepted, it is almost expected for senior members of the Clan. In the Old Country, a nobleman or woman might hold two or three priestly in addition to his or her civil ranks, and the Pharaoh was High Prophet of several cults.

The Dark God

The paramount god is of course Set himself. He is known by many names, epithets and titles, and worshipped in many forms, of which the most common is that of a tall, powerful man with the head of a strange, red-furred beast, usually called the thyphonian. The beast has tall, square ears and a downward curving snout, and has been mistaken by some for an anteater a slur which many Followers find hard to take. If pictured as a complete thyphonian, Set has a dog-like body and a long, erect tail, with a forked end. If in human form, his hair is red. Sets depictions are usually armed, and always imposing. He is held to be the mightiest of gods, both in body and in will. He is also believed to possess a great

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appetite for life, and most especially for women. Despite the fact that they tend to gloss over his traditional weaknesses, even the Setites find it hard to recount Sets characteristics without admitting this failing. Some hold that his lust for the disguised Isis lost him his throne, while the Anatites continue to recount the story of the Seed of Pre (see below). According to Egyptian belief, after Osiris was slain by Set and became God of the Underworld, Ra supported Seths efforts to be declared the new king of the living; his rival, Horus, was seen as unfit, due to his youth. However, with the aid of his mother, Isis, Horus obtained Ras support and was declared King. Some accounts also explain that Isis seduced Set and tricked the Dark God into condemning his case by his own tongue. In any event, as a form of consolation prize, Set was given the honour of defending the Sun God from the serpent Apophis as he passed through the Underworld each night and the Caananite goddesses Anat and Astarte to be his consorts. Some stories tell that Set was emasculated in his battle with Horus, but the Setites tell it differently. Had Set lost his potency in this way, he would have had little use for two such lovely, passionate companions; indeed, the gift could only have been a mockery. Rather, say the Followers of Set, it was Isis, not her son, who unmanned Set when she deceived him, and robbed him of the generative powers he had once shared with Osiris, his brother. Thus Sets domain became a desert, and the ability to father children was taken from him. The Followers of Set also accuse Isis of stealing from their god his only child, who now lies eternally in the belly of his mother, Tawaret. It was, the Setites say, this loss which embittered Set, and which led him at last to his current course. It was with the loss of his generative power that he became a blood feeder, and learned to create childer as a vampire to take the place of the children denied to him. Bereft of the power to give life, he slowly became a taker, a destroyer and a corrupter of life, and this bitterness led him at last to rebel against the god who had allowed this treatment. After thousands of years guarding Ras barque as it sails the Underworld, Set came to realise that he had been played for a fool. With the Apophis serpent to occupy him at night, and his consorts to divert him by day, Ra had simply hoped that Set would never realise how thoroughly he had been robbed. But in time he came to brood on the trickery Isis had practised on him, he heard a whisper that Isis had blackmailed Ra into judging in Horus favour, and he saw that he had been deceived. Angered beyond tolerance, Set betrayed his post. He plotted with Apophis to destroy Ra, whom he now hated with a passion no mortal could ever match, and would have succeeded but for the treachery of his consort, Astarte. Ever since, Set and the sun have hated each other, and the Dark God has sought ceaselessly to bring down the corrupt old king and take his place, thus neatly overstepping the dominion of the One-Eye. He has also fought constantly to rein in the purely destructive urges of his co-conspirator, Apophis, whose influence over the Clan is blamed by many for its failings. Set is viewed by his Followers with absolute awe and reverence. The statues of Set which reside in the main shrines of his temples are almost always very old. A large temple will have many statues of the Dark God, and when founding a new temple, the mother-house will if possible transfer an older secondary statue and have it replaced, instead of creating and dedicating a brand new one. Whether this means that the statue is somehow imbued with a measure of the Presence of the priests who have worshipped at it over the years, or whether the Dark God truly does manifest

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through his image, the great statues of Set have about them a near tangible aura of majesty and menace, impressing a sense of the Dark Gods power on all who see them. As well as being a dread master however, Set is regarded with considerable adoration, and indeed affection. The Dark God is not some oppressive tyrant who will crush anyone who fails him in the slightest way. He is to the Setites a great and noble king-in-exile, whose openness and trust was once abused, to his ultimate loss. If he seems harsh, it is because although he loves his Followers, he fears to be hurt again. Setite methods of deceit and corruption are seen as a logical reaction to Sets mistreatment by lesser gods who feared to confront him openly; turn-about is, after all, fair play. Set himself is a corrupter now, but he is not and never has been corrupt. Set is not merely the progenitor of the Setite Clan, he is also a god of storms; of the desert; of all foreign lands. He is master of the beasts of the desert, and associated with the hippopotamus, the crocodile, and with any other animal harmful to man. He is all foreign gods or perhaps rather, all foreign gods are him. With his favour comes victory over foreign powers, with his enmity comes ruin and conquest. His domain while less important to the Egyptians and the Setites than the Nile Valley was and is the most expansive of any god.

A note regarding Baal and others

Set is known to use many names and faces, and in Canaan he was known as Baal the Lord. The Setites honour him as such still, but they rarely refer to the connection publicly since the appearance of the Baali. Some have suggested that there must be a connection between the Setites and the Baali, citing this connection, as well as similarity of methods and obedience to evil and external forces. It is not wise to suggest such a connection to a Setite however. To them, Baal is Set, a god, and for a group of penny-ante, demon-worshipping infernalists to call themselves Baali is nothing short of blasphemy. This abuse of Sets name however unspecific the title Baal may be is something which the Setites find impossible to excuse. Few Clans have as strong an institutional hatred of the Baali as the Setites do, and the feeling is mutual. The Setites and possibly Set himself are said to have unleashed the cataclysmic forces which destroyed the labyrinth of Knossos, forcing the Baali leaders to flee their stronghold, and this too is not easily forgiven. There is no love lost between the Followers of Set and the Baali.

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The Handmaidens of Set

One of the most important groups of deities worshipped by the Followers are the handmaidens, a selection of goddesses believed to be variously the confidantes, lovers, consorts and playthings of Set. Sets lusts are well attested in mythology, where he is seen to have many beautiful consorts, and to desire many other women besides. The exact position of the various handmaidens depends largely on the strength of their cults Anat, worshipped by almost all Ecstatics, is far and away the most favoured of Sets consorts but also on their roles in myth and legend.

Anat
Sometimes equated with Nephtys although not by the Setites, for whom both Nephtys and Astarte are traitors Anat was one of the consorts given to Set by Ra. She was a goddess of Canaan, associated with both fertility and with battle, consort to the god Baal, who was also her brother. According to Ecstatic lore, she was the sister of Astarte, and both were given to Set in his aspect as Sutekh, and also in his aspect as Baal. A figure of startling contrasts, Anat is a warrior-goddess as well as the consort of Set and almost irreconcilably with the passion she is said to share with her lord an exemplar of perpetual virginity. She is said to have celebrated one of her lovers victories in battle by inviting the survivors of the army he had defeated to a great feast, at which she slaughtered every last one of them and wore their dismembered bodies as trophies on her belt. She is also said to have sought her beloved when he was hunting and copulated with him seventy-seven times in the wilderness. A fitting partner indeed for the Dark God, although even in the latter incident she remained pure. One of the few known fragments of Egyptian mythology regarding her is the tale of the Seed of Pre. In this story Set spies the Seed of Pre Pre being a form of Ra, the Seed probably the goddess Hathor or one of her alternatives, as well as the generative power of the sun god bathing in the river, and attempts to force himself upon her. To escape him, the Seed hides within his forehead, causing him crippling pain. Without his Seed however, Pre is left withered and impotent, and the sun fails to rise. Maat is endangered until Anat clearly described as a warrior woman in male dress appeals to Pre on behalf of Set. She persuades him, and he calls his Seed back to him. The sun rises, and Sets pain is gone. In the Ecstatic version of events, Anat more clearly manipulates Pre by seduction, but from either version they insist that her importance can not be underestimated. To the Ecstatics, it is Anat and Astarte who replace Nephtys in Sets affections after she sides with Horus and Isis, and Anat who remains true to him when he turns on the traitor Ra. The lesson they hold is clear: While the Setites may control others by their pleasures, they must be sure that they remain true. Anats statues are among the few allowed to rival Sets for size and splendour. She is typically depicted as woman of incredible beauty, dressed in the male costume of skirt and tunic, bearing a weapon in one hand. In Ecstatic temples, Set and Anat are often depicted seated together on twin thrones in a separate chapel of the temple. She is revered by the Setites as the Dark Gods feminine side, a woman every bit as fierce, passionate and noble as he is. The Ecstatics also recognise her as the source of their code, founder of the Path of Ecstasy.

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The Cult of Anat

Anat has the greatest of the handmaiden cults. Essentially encompassing all followers of the Path of Ecstasy, the cult goes wherever Sets cult goes, for Anat is the Dark Gods most true and constant companion. Members of the cult of Anat rarely worship her singly, but maintain the double shrine to the divine couple of Set and his consort. They maintain strong ties with the other Ecstatic cults, and also the warrior cult of Ramses II, who is known to have greatly honoured Set and Anat in his lifetime. As a warrior, Anats cult also maintains strong ties with the Medjay, and some female followers of the Warrior Path devote worship Anat as their particular patron. According to the cult, Anat is an essential part of the Dark Gods completion. In order for his power to be fulfilled, Set requires his feminine counterpart and a child (see under Tawaret). This triad would mirror that of Osiris, Isis and Horus, although in the Setite view superior in every respect.

Face of Innocence (Level 3 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

Anat is the divine wanton, yet at the same time she is the perpetual virgin. While her worshippers may be unable to truly replicate this feat, this ritual is said to have been granted them by the goddess to allow them to assume at least the outward appearance of absolute innocence. Similar to the Negative Confession, this ritual has however a far more subtle effect. The sorcerer may perform the ritual for her own benefit, or on anothers account, and the recipient of the effect must prepare a scroll or tablet explicitly stating the fact of her (or his) virginity. As with the Negative Confession, a point of the casters blood is needed to make the ritual effective, and for three days after the statement is activated, the recipient will seem to all to be the perfect picture of sexual innocence and ingenuousness. Her mannerisms become shy, almost awkward, and any but the most empathic will perceive only innocence in her every word or action. Not even physical proof of a female recipients experience will entirely dispel the illusion. This ritual is obviously of most use in places where society places great weight on virginity and innocence, and of most use to female worshippers. It has fallen greatly out of use among modern Setites in the Western world, for whom their virginity was often baggage they were keen to shed. By older Ecstatics however, it is still considered a valuable tool, particularly in seducing those (usually) men who would prey on such innocents if only they had the nerve and opportunity.

Hathor
Hathor is a many-facetted goddess. She is to some the mother of Horus, and fulfils a role similar to that of Isis, or alternatively the One-Eyes wife. To others she is the divine prostitute, the embodiment of wanton female sexuality. She is the goddess of ecstatic pleasure, sexual love, of music and dance, and especially of the sistrum a kind of rattle frequently shaken in her observances. She is associated by many with the destructive goddess Sekhmet, or with Bastets often hidden savage side, and by the Ecstatics with the Seed of Pre. Her primary importance to the Setites however is as the goddess of foreign lands, as which she is all foreign goddesses, as Set is all foreign gods. As befits such a complicated being, Hathors relationship to the Dark God is considered to be a torrid and mercurial business. Lover, rival, bitter foe; Hathor is the Seed of Pre who cripples Sets power, daughter and concubine of the sun god, yet by her association with the goddesses of foreign lands she is tied to Set by a hundred marriages and couplings. To the Setites then, she is a goddess to be revered, adored and worshipped, but never completely trusted. Hathor is usually depicted as a cow, or as a woman with a cows horns and sometimes ears. The Setites usually prefer the latter image as the former is usually associated with the suckling figure of Horus although the traditional sun-disc is absent from between the horns. She can also be a lioness or a serpent, or a woman with the head of either, depending upon which role and aspect she is depicted in.

The Cult of Hathor

Of primary appeal to Ecstatics, the cult of Hathor is devoted to the worship of their goddess through music, dance and sexuality. Her cult tends towards the highbrow not to say pretentious as

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those who choose to worship her are usually accomplished artists of some form, as well as devoted practitioners of the art of seduction. To worshippers of Hathor, sexual seduction is more than just a means to an end, it is an end in itself. They see the act as the deliberate sublimation of anothers desires to ones own, and consider it almost the highest form of art. They also believe that sex without pleasure is a blasphemous act in the eyes of the goddess of ecstasy. Hathors shrines are typically located beyond the bounds of the precinct, but directly connected to it. As well as her own cult, many lay-Followers not permitted to enter the temple itself under normal circumstances worship Hathor as an intercessory deity, praying for her to carry their devotions to the Dark God; her cult encourages this as a means of strengthening her worship. Her cult is on good terms with that of Bastet, but often comes into conflict with the Medjay, who consider Hathor to be unworthy of worship by the Followers of Set, and her cult to be reckless seducers, responsible for the fall of many Ssha. Some Ecstatics also question the cults professionalism, and feel that Hathors worshippers tread dangerously close to falling to their own weapons by insisting that sex must be joyous.

Blessing the Bed (Lesser Observance)

This is but one example of a number of fertility rites preserved by the cult of Hathor. The worshipper must craft a model phallus or female form although it need not be of great artistry, so long as the intent in its making is pure and place it in the shrine of Hathor. For ten nights, the worshipper must say a prayer to Hathor, asking her to bless the union of the chosen couple, after which the model is placed in the couples bed. For ten days thereafter, the couple will enjoy an increased intensity in their sexual performance, and an improved chance of conception. System: During the ten days, so long as they make love in the bed where the model is secreted, the couples chances of conception are increased by approximately 10%. This can even circumvent the effects of contraception.

Dance of Hathor (Lesser Observance)

Practised almost exclusively by female worshippers of Hathor, this is an observance of seduction. It is said by some that the dancing of Hathor as the Seed of Pre was necessary to persuade the sun to rise anew each morning, and this observance honours this fact, as well as Hathors more overtly sexual nature. The worshipper must perform a seductive dance for the object of their intentions, a dance which must include the playing of a sistrum a brass rattle bearing the image of cow-eared Hathor upon it. The purpose of the dance is to arouse and ensnare the passions of the target, easing the further progress of his seduction. System: The dance performed must meet Hathors standards, requiring the Setite to score at least five successes on a Dexterity + Performance roll, difficulty 6. Provided this standard is reached however, the Setite gains an extra die to any attempt to seduce anyone who witnesses her dance, and deliberate attempts to resist her are at +1 difficulty.

Unction of Hathor (Level 2 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

Another tool of sexual control, this ritual is used to create an aphrodisiac balm. The sorcerer must mix a point of her blood with incense, perfumed oil, the milky juice of the Egyptian lettuce, the nectar of a blue lotus and with both male and female sexual fluids. The mixture must be placed in a shrine to Hathor for a day and a night, in a bowl resting on a scroll, on which the sorcerer has written a long prayer to Hathor, imploring her to grant some of her power to this unction. The resultant product is a milky-red, oily, headily perfumed salve, in sufficient quantity for three applications. The oil may be used in three ways: in the preparation of food, in the doping of blood, or in the anointing of the genitals. If a single application is added to food during the cooking, the oils power is passed to the food. A couple and the power is lost if the food is served to more than a single couple whose food is so treated will experience a euphoric feeling, and a sudden and almost uncontrollable growth of mutual desire. Added to blood, an application of the oil will cause a vampire who drinks it to start experiencing strong sexual desires, which will normally be translated into hunger for the blood of a human, taken during an act of sex, rather than for sex per se. Finally, anointing the genitals with the oil a single application being sufficient to anoint both members of a couple creates radically increased sensitivity and stamina. If use on a vampire, the oil draws blood to the genitals, adding sexual sensation to the usually mechanistic sexual act. The Unction is a powerful tool, and the worshippers of Hathor use it sparingly and with due care. Frivolous use would be a blasphemy, as would use of the oil without joy. Overuse of the oil can also be extremely dangerous. Use of more than two applications per night one in the blood, one to the genitals or more than one use in a single method can cause a vampire to enter a feeding frenzy, even if he is fully fed. A mortal couple fed two doses become literally uncontrollable, and will simply fall upon each other, regardless of where they may be at the time. If a mortal is anointed with a double

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dose, the effect is even more severe, and he will utterly exhaust himself by his efforts. No mortal has ever survived a triple anointing.

Faces of Hathor (Level 4 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

As well as the goddess of sex, Hathor is the goddess of foreign places, and this ritual allows her worshippers to pass among foreign peoples as if one of them. The ritual requires the worshipper to don a mask, on which is inscribed the name of a foreign land, and of the goddess of that land who corresponds most closely to Hathor, and pray for a full night in the shrine of the goddess. Thereafter, so long as the Setite keeps the mask on her person and for this reason simple eye-masks are preferred she will appear to all observers to be a native of her chosen land. Although still recognisable as herself to close inspection, the Setite will take on characteristics of the dominant local people, including skin tone and facial proportions. She will also unconsciously adopt the local mannerisms, be able to speak the local language as if she were a native including dialect and slang and have a basic understanding of the local customs. Unless she makes an effort to memorise the knowledge language, culture etc granted her (i.e. by spending Experience points) it will all vanish from her mind as soon as she loses possession of the mask.

Tawaret
Tawaret is the hippo-goddess of pregnancy and childbirth. By virtue of her role she was one of the most popular of the Egyptian gods, along with Bes, a lion-faced dwarf god also associated with childbirth. Taking the form of a female hippopotamus, Tawaret was associated with Set, whose beast the hippo also was, and she was deemed to be Sets consort. But to the Egyptians, while the female hippopotamus was in part by connection to Tawaret a gentle, benign creature, the male was truly an animal of Set, fierce and dangerous. Consequently, in the mortal view at least, Tawaret was the ally of Horus against Set. Despite this, Tawaret remains a goddess whom the Setites revere, and the reason for this apparent double-standard bearing in mind the ferocity with which Nephtys and Astarte are condemned is to be found in the Setites version of Tawarets myth. Tawaret is depicted as a bipedal hippopotamus, and heavily pregnant. According to the Followers of Set, the child she carries is that of Set, and when the strife between Set and Horus began, Isis placed a curse upon the child that it should never be born. Tawaret, in the desperate hope of appeasing Isis, sided with Horus. Still, the Setites believe, Tawaret hopes that Isis will release her to bear the child of the Dark God, but one day, she will return to Set. On that day, a million years after she left him (a million years being a fairly standard formula for a very long time in Egyptian texts), Set will break the curse of Isis, and his child will be born. Obviously, the bearer of the Dark Gods heir will always be an important figure to the Followers of Set, but there is more to this joyous event than is at first apparent. It is believed that, when the child of the Dark God is born, Sets true power, once broken by Isis deceptions, will return to him with greater force than ever before. He will walk once more under the sun, and the sun will tremble at the sight of him. The birth of the god-child is the Setite Gehenna myth, and because of it a place is reserved for Tawaret at the side of her rightful lord.

The Cult of Tawaret

Tawarets cult was once strong, but is now dwindling. The dominant attitude among vampires is that Gehenna myths are nothing more than fairy stories, and even among the Setites, ever fewer neonates believe in the god-child. Among the elders however, Tawarets cult is still strong, but it is and has always been devoted less to her veneration and worship, than to an ongoing plea for her to return.

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A Cry to the Heir of Darkness (Lesser Observance)

Aside from a very few Setites who make offerings to Tawaret when their favoured hemw fall pregnant, the primary prayer to Tawaret is this call for her return. The Cry is a long and beautiful poem in the ancient Egyptian tongue, allegedly composed by Set himself, and inscribed into the walls of his original temple at Memphis. The Cry is traditionally performed every evening, and takes about half an hour to recite. System: There is no direct effect of performing the observance, but the Setites believe that every recitation of the Cry brings the return of Tawaret and supposedly Gehenna a little closer.

The Canopic Guardians

These four handmaidens hold a special place in the Setite pantheon, for they are the guardians of the canopic jars in which torpid Setite elders have their organs placed before being laid out in the temple crypt. In a traditional Egyptian burial these jars are protected by the heads of the four sons of Horus, but obviously this would be deemed deeply unsuitable for a Setite burial. The fifth jar the jar of the heart is not used in a typical Osirid burial, but is specific to the Setite elder burial rite. This jar is protected by the head of Set himself, who alone holds the hearts of his servants. The removal of these redundant organs causes no lasting harm to the torpid vampire. In the normal run of events they will simply regenerate shortly after he rises, save for the heart, which must be removed using the power Heart of Darkness if the operation is not to be fatal.

Bastet
Cat-goddess of per-Bastet (the House of Bastet, called Bubastis by the Greeks), Bastet is a far less likely consort to Set than Anat. Although originally a lionessheaded deity, it is as the cat-goddess that the Setites still revere her. As such, she is the enemy of vermin and the protector of the hearth, a most gentle goddess at first sight. She is however still seen as capable of sudden violence, is associated with the Cat of Heliopolis, who slays Apophis, and is a patroness of song, dance and sensual pleasures, much regarded by the Ecstatics. It is in her sensual nature that she is associated with Set, as one of his many divine consorts. Bastet is depicted as a woman with the head of a cat, or simply as a cat. Her shrines are usually small, and often located beyond the precinct of the main temple. She is one of the most popular haven-gods, which is to say that many Setites keep a shrine to Bastet in their haven, to protect against intruding vermin of the two- or four-legged varieties. She is also regarded as a canopic funerary guardian, and her cathead is placed on the lid of the canopic jar containing the liver, in place of Imsety, human-headed son of Horus. Bastets place in the Setite heart goes some way towards explaining another phenomenon. Through the millennia, the Setites have maintained a turbulent love-hate relationship with the Bubasti were-cats. Although officially and overall the Bubasti hate the Setites even more than the Silent Striders do, it is far from unknown for uneasy alliances to arise between the two groups. Some Setites actually believe that their gods wish the Followers of Set and the daughters of Bastet to be at peace, but then some Setites believe that they should be fighting against all non-Egyptians alongside the Striders.

The Cult of Bastet

The cult of the Cat-Goddess has a limited spread among the Setites. A few Ecstatics worship her sensual side, while as guardian of the hearth she has a small following among the Medjay. Her shrines appear in many havens, but for most Setites she is a personal and not a cult goddess. There is usually a

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shrine to Bastet within the crypt of a temple, so that the goddess can oversee the protection of the liver jar. Those who do worship her almost invariably keep a large number of cats in and around their havens, whom they feed and tend with great devotion.

Praising the Guardians (Lesser Observance)

The worshippers of Bastet are notable for the care with which they tend the needs of their cats, but there is more than simple kindness involved. The care and feeding of a Bastet worshippers cats is literally religious. Piety to the goddess requires that she spend upwards of an hour each night petting and stroking her cats, feeds them only the finest food and ensures that they are kept healthy. This observance is spoken over each cat as she is stroked, and involves a short prayer to Bastet and a few words of complement to the cat herself. System: The observance is very simple, but does seem to keep the cats content. More importantly, a cat regularly tended with this observance and otherwise well treated comes to recognise her keepers moods and react accordingly, and can be the subject of the ritual Preserving the Guardian after death.

Ridding the Haven (Lesser Observance)

This is another very simple rite, in which the worshipper implores Bastet to rid her haven of all pests and vermin. Spoken every evening, this inspires her servants the cats to keep the haven free from scampering feet. System: This observance increases the chance of one of the worshippers cats catching and killing any vermin which might enter the haven. As a side-effect it indirectly guards against spying by Animalism.

Preserving the Guardian (Level 3 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

In ancient Bubastis, when a cat died it was mummified, with all the ceremony shown to a human being. The cult of Bastet has preserved this tradition as a means of protecting their havens from violation. When one of the sorcerers cats one cared for in accordance with Bastet tradition dies a natural death bumping off your own cats does not work the sorcerer removes the animals organs, preserves the body in natron and winds it in at least thirty feet of linen bandages. A death mask must be made for the cat, and be fitted atop the embalmed body. The sorcerer then performs a long and involved ritual chant, imploring the ba of the cat, over and over again, to return from the Duat and repay her past kindness. System: The sorcerer must roll Intelligence + Embalming to correctly prepare the body prior to working the actual magic. Once the ba has been recalled it will remain with the mummy, and guard the sorcerers haven against intrusion by hostile spirits and sendings. Any magics cast at the haven, or at the Setite whilst in her haven, are resisted by the mummies. Each guardian in the haven acts as one die of counter-magic against such attempts (difficulty of the aggressive powers Level + 3), to a maximum of seven dice. In addition, hostile spirits must raise the cost of any charm which they employ by one for each mummy present. Alternatively, assume that the spirits of the cats fair-sized Gafflings in Werewolf terms are capable of attacking any invading spirits.

The Pillar of per-Bastet

One of the few political sects within the Temple, the Pillar is an Ecstatic cult who oppose the methods and doubt the motivations of the Typhonists. The Pillar believe that the Typhonist doctrine follows the will, not of Set, but of Apophis. They hold that the Path of Typhon has strayed from the true way, and that its relentless quest for power is a manifestation of Apophis all-consuming hunger. The Typhonist course is set in opposition to Maat, seeking to destroy rather than subdue that which opposes their goals. The Typhonists naturally consider the Pillar of per-Bastet to be deeply heretical, but widespread support among the Ecstatics for the Pillars pious devotion to the responsible spread of corruption has prevented any action being taken against its members. Particular allies include the cults of Anat and Hathor.

Serket
As a scorpion-goddess, Serket is associated with Set through her totem animal. She is both the source of the scorpions venom and a protector against it; the Setites themselves still call upon her to cure a victim of poisoning. She is a funerary goddess, and her principle function to the Setites is the protection of the intestines, in place of Qebehsenuef, hawk-headed Son of Horus, whom she watches over in more orthodox

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burials. She is also the watcher of one of the pathways in the Underworld, down which the dead must pass, and she is seen as a protector of the ba when a torpid Setite walks the paths of the Duat. Serket is not usually seen as the consort of Set, but rather as his agent. She is noted as are several of the handmaidens as an enemy of Apophis, and in this role is believed by the Followers to have been one of Sets soldiers when he guarded Res barque. It is said that when Set rebelled against Re, Serket stayed true to her captain, and not to her corrupt monarch, and she is seen as a model of proper behaviour and true obedience to Maat. Serket is depicted as a woman with a scorpion on her head-dress, typically poised to strike. Her shrines are found in the crypts, alongside the other canopic guardians, and in the havens of her worshippers. It is rare to find a shrine to Serket within the main precinct of the temple, but she is sometimes depicted in wall friezes, standing watchfully over the spirits of Setites travelling in the Duat.

The Cult of Serket

Few Setites would dare the Duat without the protection of Serket, and so her crypt shrines receive many offerings. She is a very popular goddess, but like Bastet, although she has many adherents she has few priests. Her few active worshippers tend to be apothecaries and poisoners, who employ her name in their preparations, both venom and anti-venom. There are also a number of Medjay who venerate Serket for her devotion to her true lord above a false one.

Keepers of the Dead (Level 4 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

This potent rite is used to add extra force to the already frightening curse of the Seal of the Pharaoh. The sorcerer obtains or prepares a number of large precious or semiprecious stones, cut into the rough form of scorpions. She spills her blood upon them, and calls out a prayer to Serket, dedicating the scorpions to the defence of the tomb into which they will be placed. The sorcerer must expend as many blood points as she creates scorpions. The stones are then taken, and placed within the sarcophagus of a torpid vampire. The sorcerer speaks a final incantation as the sarcophagus is sealed, binding the scorpions to strike down anyone who violates the body of the vampire. If anyone opens the sarcophagus from the outside, without the use of the observance of Passing the Seal, the scorpions animate, and will strike at any hand which reaches into the sarcophagus. The venom of the scorpions is deadly to mortal and vampire alike, inflicting six dice of aggravated damage per sting. Each scorpion can only strike once before the animating magic is exhausted, but that is usually enough.

Meretseger
She-who-loves-silence is a cobra-goddess, and her connection to the Setites is primarily through her ophidian nature. She is also a guardian of the crypt, and as such highly revered by those who must spend long periods helpless in the sepulchre. She is a harsh but just goddess, who strikes those who commit crimes against the sanctity of the necropolis (originally the Theban necropolis, but extended in the modern day to all Setite crypts), afflicting them with blindness. As with Serket, Meretseger is seen as an ally of Set, rather than a consort. She is treated somewhat warily, being perhaps a little too just for the liking of some Typhonists, but generally given the respect due to one of the canopic guardians. She is the protector of the lungs, in place of Horus baboon-headed son, Hapy. Meretseger is unusually not depicted as a woman with an animal head. Instead, she is a coiled cobra, sometimes with a human head, and an arm reaching from behind her hood. She has her shrines in the temple crypts, as do all of the canopic goddesses, but that of Meretseger is always nearest to the entrance. She is sometimes depicted with Serket, standing watch over the khat while the scorpiongoddess protects the ba.

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The Cult of Meretseger

Meretsegers cult enjoys considerable prestige through the patronage of her Tjaty namesake. The Setite Meretseger is believed to have revered the goddess in life, and on into undeath, and her support has made the cult the most numerous of all the canopic goddesses. Bastet may have a greater number of worshippers, but Meretseger has more priests. The cult tend to busy themselves with the protection and tending of the crypt, and are among the most active practitioners of the Feast of the Ka.

Passing the Seal (Lesser Observance)

An important rite, this observance calls upon Meretseger as guardian of the crypt to allow the Seal of the Pharaoh to be lifted while the priests perform the burial rites on a new resident. It is not exclusive to the Cult of Meretseger, but it is required learning, and if a priest of Meretseger is available it is considered highly rude to have anyone else perform the observance. To perform the rite, the priest must intone a long, cyclical chant throughout the time in which the crypt is open. She must continue until the entrance to the crypt is completely resealed in order to prevent the curse of the seal falling on the one who opened it. Obviously the performance of this rite is considered a great responsibility, and failure in this role is a cause of great shame. System: So long as the priest is successful, the seal remains effectively unbroken.

Keepers of the Dead (Level 4 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

This ritual is identical to the one used by the followers of Serket, but instead of scorpions the stones must be cut in the image of coiled serpents.

Mafdet
A close relative of Bastet, the guardian of the stomach replacing jackal-headed Duamutef is a panther-goddess. Like Bastet she is a noted killer of scorpions and snakes and foe of Apophis; the merest scratch of her claws is said to be fatal to all serpents. Despite this, she has found a place in the Setites collective heart, exemplifying the might and ferocity expected of Setite warriors. She is said to be one of Sets soldiers, as with Serket, but she is also his consort. Mafdet is portrayed as a woman with a panthers head, or simply as a panther. She sometimes has braided hair, or sometimes the bodies of scorpions hanging from her brow. She is a powerful goddess, similar in many respects to the mighty Sekhmet. It is rare for her to have shrines outside of the crypt, since many Setites are wary of her temper and her snake-killing ways.

The Cult of Mafdet

Mafdets cult is all but non-existent. While her role guarding the stomach jar is seen as important, most modern Setites fear her reputation too greatly to risk allowing her to enter the main precinct, even within the confines of her statue. Only a very small number of Medjay make a formal practice of Mafdet worship, and these tend to be considered a trifle odd, even by other Medjay. Most Setites give Mafdets chosen a wide berth, considering them to be deeply disturbed. Those who choose to worship Mafdet often braid their hair, and in extreme cases hang the articulated corpses of dead scorpions from it. They hold to strict codes of weaponry, refusing to use anything more technically sophisticated in battle than a khopesh, and preferring overall to cultivate Protean in order to fight with Mafdets own weapons. The cult of Mafdet is firmly opposed to all forms of Apophis worship, and views the Discipline of Serpentis with suspicion (although not to the point of seeking to abandon its use).

Claws of Mafdet (Protean 2, Serpentis 4)

This terrifying power transforms the Setites ordinary Feral Claws into envenomed barbs capable of killing with a scratch, just like Mafdets. The Claws of Mafdet cost an additional blood point to activate, but inflict one die of damage more than regular Feral Claws, as well as delivering a poison which is deadly to mortals. It costs 10 Experience points to learn this power once the appropriate Disciplines have been mastered.

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Other deities
Beyond the handmaidens, the Setites worship a number of deities considered too venerable, powerful or simply useful to ignore. Some of these are considered servants of Sutekh, others allies, or even respected foes. The list given here is not exhaustive, for individual Setites vary in their tastes and theologies. However, the deities mentioned here all enjoy a notable place in the cosmology of the Followers of Set.

Maat
One of the most important of all goddesses, Maat represents the balance of the universe. It is against her symbol, the feather, that a mortals heart must be weighed and found to balance exactly before he may enter the afterlife. As the god most directly responsible for maintaining this balance in opposition to the overwhelming drive for order and enforced morality among the other gods and humans, Set is described at least by the Setites as Beloved-of-Maat, but she is not considered a handmaiden. Maat is one of the only deities accorded precedence over the Dark God. Although she is less worshipped and considered less powerful than Set, he does her will because it is the correct thing to do. Maat has no cult per se, but is broadly revered throughout the Temple. She is often depicted in wall paintings, and the feather often appears on the statues and inscriptions of Set, to indicate that he is Beloved-of-Maat. Most temples will have a shrine to Maat, where daily offerings are made to her. She is also the patron of the kenbet, who wear a feather token as a badge of office.

Sekhmet
She-who-is-powerful as the name of Sekhmet is translated was and is one of the most feared deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Closely tied to Hathor and Bastet, Sekhmet was the savage, vengeful aspect of those goddesses. A lioness, or lionessheaded woman, she was the Eye of Ra, and the bearer of Ras anger upon humanity when they rebelled against the gods. So overwhelming was Sekhmets bloodlust that, when calmer heads talked Ra out of the utter annihilation of mankind, she had to be tricked into halting her slaughter. Not even the sun-god dared try to rein her in by main force. Sekhmet was eventually controlled by dyeing a huge quantity of beer to look like blood, so that the bloodthirsty goddess became drunk and passed-out. Afterwards she sulked in Nubia for a time, until at last Thoth persuaded her to return. Once returned she took on the less savage mantles of Bastet and Hathor, but the resurgence of her destructive side has always been a lingering threat. Some Setite scholars attribute the Biblical plagues of Egypt not to an act of the Hebrew god, but to the return of the She-who-is-powerful5. The Setite relationship with Sekhmet is complicated. Although she is the Eye of Ra, and unleashes her destructive fury upon his enemies, she is not considered the foe of Set. As with Hathor, she is seen as a sometime partner and sometime rival, and offered great reverence. Her might is considered peerless, unrivalled even by the Dark God himself, and Setite worship of Sekhmet is at times almost placatory. Most established temples have a shrine to Hathor, at which Hathor-as-Sekhmet is regularly

See also Act of God by Graham Phillips, one of the better alternative history authors out there.

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offered red-dyed beer, or sometimes red wine, in order to keep her fury blunted with drunkenness.

The Cult of Sekhmet

The cultic worship of Sekhmet is limited to a small sect of female Medjay. These few perform their observances at shrines to Sekhmet in their havens, for their practices are forbidden at the temple itself, for fear that they will draw the Eye of Ra upon the precinct. The rites of Sekhmet are primarily associated with battle and death, and include a form of particularly brutal mock-combat, and occasionally enemies are captured and brought to fight for their unlife before the burning gaze of the goddess. As with the cult of Mafdet, the cult of Sekhmet is often considered dangerous by other Setites. Its adherents tend to let the more general rites of worship slide and concentrate on their chosen goddess instead of the whole pantheon. Their ferocity and loyalty are unquestioned however; merely their wisdom is doubted. Along with the followers of the panther-goddess, Sekhmets worshippers tend to be found in the vanguard of any major military action the Setites deem necessary.

Rousing The Flame of Sekhmet (Lesser Observance)

Prior to battle, the members of the cult of Sekhmet in an area gather at their shrine to work themselves into a state of near-frenzy, filling themselves with the bloodlust of Sekhmet in order to give them greater strength in the coming conflict. Each in turn, they declare to the goddess their intention to slaughter their enemies, to break their bones, tear their flesh, crush their organs and feast on their blood. Over and over they declare this, until all of the warriors are in a state of intense rage and bloodlust, in which state they sally forth to bring death to the enemies of Set. System: Each warrior taking part in the successful observance becomes enraged and bestial. She makes frenzy rolls at +2 difficulty for the next twenty-four hours, and the same penalty applies to all Social rolls except Intimidation.

Rameses
The pharaoh Rameses II was a particular supporter of the cults of Set and Anat, and in death the Setites return the favour by venerating the deified king. Rameses was known as the Great, and with good reason. He ruled for many years, won famous victories over foreign enemies and maintained a strong rule in his own land. He built many monuments to himself and the gods, including dozens of statues of Set and Anat most of which are known to have been desecrated by later pharaohs. In life he was moreover the very incarnation of Set, being a powerful, red-haired, lusty warrior, his strength likened to that of both Set and Anat.. To the Setites, the deified Rameses is one of Sets most beloved servants. Depicted as a tall, powerful warrior, often riding in a chariot, the Setites always make a point of showing Rameses red hair6 (seen as a mark of Sets favour). He is a popular war god, and a patron of political strength.

The Cult of Rameses

Always popular among the Medjay, Rameses cult also has followers among the Typhonians. His shrine is usually close to that of the divine couple when both are found in the same temple, and offerings to the couple often revert first to Rameses and then to the priests. The Cult practice no special rituals, but make daily sacrificial offerings to the pharaoh and may perform a number of warrior rites.

Imhotep
Another deified mortal, Imhotep was once high courtier and tjaty to King Djoser of the Third Dynasty, and is credited with the design of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. On his death, Imhotep became a wisdom god, and is especially associated with
6

The mummy of Rameses the Great had tufts of red hair still attached to the scalp; not bad for a man of around seventy.

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architectural skill and medicine. To the Setites, he has become the premier apothecary god, master of all potions. His shrines are usually located in the havens of his followers, where they are used in the ritual of Healing Blood to cure mortal servants of disease. Imhotep is depicted seated, with a papyrus roll open on his knees. Deification especially of a courtier, even one of such rank as Imhotep was extremely rare in the Old Kingdom, and it is this which gives Imhoteps veneration the force which has led the Setites to adopt his worship.

The Disciples of Imhotep

Imhoteps cult is extremely limited in its spread among the Setites. Those who practice his worship are a collection of Typhonist and Ecstatic apothecaries and alchemists calling themselves the Disciples of Imhotep. Almost exclusively sorcerers, the Disciples are all skilled herbalists and architects; such must be demonstrated before a Setite may join the cult. They are deeply scholarly, but are not above utilising their skills to aid those who take a more active role in furthering Sets cause, or to destroy those who hinder it.

Waking the Plant (Level 2 Heka-Sutekh Ritual)

To the Egyptians, the border between medicine, magic and religion was extremely narrow, and physicians would tend to prescribe for ailments not only a medicinal compound but also a prayer, and a spell or amulet. This ritual blurs the lines even further, by using magic to enhance the effect of herbal compounds. To use the ritual, the Setite must know the true name of the herb he is using (in this context, its Egyptian name), and call to it as he prepares it. The finished preparation will have a greatly enhanced (typically doubled) effect, and may with five successes even affect the undead and other supernatural beings usually unaffected by mundane herbal compounds.

Apophis/Apep
Apophis is the mighty underworld serpent. Each night at sunset and at sunrise he assails the barque of the sun, attempting to slay the sun-god and claim mastery of the gods for himself. By Setite mythology he was thwarted in his aim for millions of years by the strength of Sets will and the might of his arm, until at last Set chose to use Apophis to avenge himself on the treacherous Ra. After the betrayal of Astarte, Set and Apophis sank into the darkness to plan anew. This is the Orthodox version of events, but the Order of Apep tells a different story. According to the Books of Apep, the Serpent approached Set, revealing to him the sun-gods tricks and persuading the Dark God to aid him in the overthrow of Ra. This version of events, showing Set as it does in a poor light, is frowned upon by the established Temple, and has led to a decline in Orthodox Apophis worship, forcing the Order of Apep underground; or at least further underground. The name Apep has now come to be associated specifically with the Order, while the Greek Apophis is preferred when referring to orthodox rites. The Serpent is depicted as a great snake, coiled in the primeval waters beneath the earth, or stretched out as he stalks the barque of millions of years. He features in a number of scenes of his defeat by Set and various of his more martial handmaidens, but is always accorded a certain respect. If nothing else, the Setites recognise him as the source of their Clan Discipline, and as the keeper of Sets most potent and dangerous allies, the Bane Mummies. Apophis typically has a small shrine located in an area beneath the main temple, but away from the crypt. He is attended by the priests of Set in rotation, no single priest being permitted to spend too long in his presence, for they are not immune to his influence, and his plans are while not directly opposed not completely compatible with Sets. the Serpent must be kept fed and passive, rather like Sekhmet, but is not permitted his own cult or priests.

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The Order of Apep

While Apophis has no officially sanctioned cult within the Temple, he is worshipped by a small minority of Typhonists as the true power behind the Setite Clan. These Setites hold that Apep is the superior deity, and thus the mightiest of all gods although orthodox scholars may actually debate whether Apophis is a god at all. The Order has few followers in the Paths of Ecstasy and the Warrior, for the Ecstatics consider Apophis to be a wanton destroyer, not a keeper of Maat, while the Medjay form great chunks of their philosophy around Sets supremacy over the Serpent. The Order is deeply heretical, but while a source of concern to the orthodox hierarchy is too small to really threaten the Theophidian mainstream. It is forced to operate in secrecy, for fear of destruction or worse should the kenbet learn of its activities, but in general other Setites tolerate the Order so long as they do not make trouble. Periodically there may be a series of purges, but for the most part the Order are safe so long as they keep their heads down. There are rumours that the Order have dealings with the Bane Mummies, and in some instances are reported to have concealed the Children of Apophis from Setites seeking to cast them back to their masters realm. Such reports usually describe the most radical members of the Order of Apep, and these often adopt beliefs akin to those of the Shemsu-Heru, viewing their master as the Garou Wyrm, and Set as a mere pawn. These radicals follow a variant form of the Path of the Shattered Serpent7, and tend to separate themselves from the Temple altogether. These few are considered the most heinous of heretics, and have no support or sympathy from the orthodoxy. The Order as a whole practices variant forms of most of the Setite Observances, drawn from their sacred texts, the Books of Apep. In general terms they can perform any ritual usually devoted to Set, altering its subject to Apep, although these must be learned independently of the orthodox rituals. The Order also practice two unique blood magic paths; the Heka-Apep. These powers, while not overwhelming, do provide the Order with a few unexpected tricks, and an air of mystery.

Heka-Apep
Who Writhes Beneath the Earth
Apep is the underworld serpent, and his movements cause the earth above him to shift. When an earthquake strikes, the Setites see Apophis thrashing in the darkness of the underworld, and this path is used to direct the energy of his motions as the sorcerer desires. To use the powers of this path, the sorcerer makes a standard Willpower roll (difficulty of Level +3) and spends one blood point per level (representing the increasing strain placed upon the magician by the higher levels). The caster is unaffected by the tremors his power unleashes, regardless of the level.

Shatter
At the most basic level, the power of Who Writhes Beneath the Earth allows its wielder to bleed off a fraction of Apeps energy to shatter brittle objects. Glass, pottery, ceramics and brittle plastics can all be affected by this simple spell. System: The power causes one item made from a brittle substance anything from window glass to Bakelite to shatter, as if struck by a hammer. Collateral damage from flying shrapnel tends to be minimal.

Shudder
Having gained in power, the sorcerer is now able to cause objects to shake, as if at the epicentre of an extremely minor earthquake. Things may shift, fall over and break if fragile. System: The shaking is limited to an area about fifteen feet in diameter. Anything not fixed down will be shifted somewhat, anything top-heavy will fall, people will stumble and falls and fragile objects may well be broken.

Rattle
The sorcerer may now unleash a more powerful and sustained tremor, affecting an entire house and causing substantial damage. System: The shaking now seriously affects an area up to thirty yards in diameter, and can be accurately detected by seismic monitoring equipment up to five miles distant. It can cause subsidence, structural failure and foundational damage to buildings, as well as destroying any fragile items within the area and inflicting five dice of bashing damage on any other object or creature within the area.

Tremor

http://www.mants-lair.org.uk/Vampire/serp_path.htm

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His power growing, the sorcerer is now capable of subjecting up to a city block with serious tremors. System: The effects are equivalent to those of level 3, but spread over a wider area (some one hundred yards diameter). It can be detected up to a hundred miles away, and the subsonic vibration of the earth (or alternatively the bellowing of Apep) will upset animals within about five miles.

Quake
More powerful and more focused than Tremor, this power allows the sorcerer to inflict serious damage to a limited area. System: This spell affects an area some thirty yards in diameter, but within this area any brittle object or solid structure suffers ten dice of lethal damage. Other objects and creatures suffer twelve dice of bashing damage.

Swallower of the Sun

This useful power allows the sorcerer to occlude, smother and extinguish sources of light. It is especially useful for those who wish to pass unnoticed, providing excellent shadows for sneaking and Obfuscation, but is also used to provide limited shelter from the sun, or other sources of uncomfortably bright light. It requires only the normal roll for blood magic. Douse a candle or smother the light from a torch. Extinguish a lantern or obscure a normal light bulb. Extinguish a hearth fire or occlude the light from all of the bulbs in a room. Douse a bonfire or smother a searchlight. Cover the face of the sun with clouds for one second per success.

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The Enemies of Set

The following are those gods considered to be the foes of Set, yet still worthy of respect. They are not worshipped by the Setites, but nor are their names despised; these are the honoured and worthy foes, whose opposition to Set keeps Maat, as surely as does his opposition to them.

Thoth
The scribe god Thoth is the wisest being in the universe, and it is his function as a courtier and bureaucrat which ensures the correct running of the court of the sun. he is vital to the preservation of order, and renowned for his impartiality as well as for his wisdom. To the Setites, he is the offspring of Set, having sprung forth from the head of the Dark God. He sided with Horus because the law supported the rights of the son over the brother, but he stood firm in his beliefs and did not vacillate, and so is respected. Thoth is usually depicted as a man with the head of an ibis, or as a baboon. Although he has no cult among the Setites, his image is not uncommon in their temples, where he is depicted as the impartial observer, and at times as the adviser of Set.

Isis
While the Setites recognise Isis as their most bitter foe, and the cult of Isis as One-Eyes most devoted and dangerous following, they can not help but admit an admiration for the Dark Gods sister. She is respected for her wisdom and her guile, for her beauty and seductive charm, and for her power in magic. The Setites believe that it was Isis alone who won the throne for her son, by hook and by crook, and while this can not be forgiven, she must never be underestimated again. Isis is depicted as a slender, beautiful woman, wearing her hieroglyph on her head. Her image rarely appears in Setite temples.

The Forbidden Gods

The Sun-God
The great sun-god, in all his forms, is despised by the Setites as a coward and hypocrite. Where Isis and Thoth are the Dark Gods true and stalwart foes, the sungod usually known to the Setites as Amon-Ra once supported him, but turned on him when he saw that Sets case was lost. In trying to buy Sets forgiveness or at least forgetfulness Amon-Ra cast aside all that made him worthy of respect, and set the course of the Setites for his overthrow and replacement. The forms and representations of the sun-god are myriad, but he is never depicted in the Setite temple, in any form or by any name. No falcon or disc is permitted to adorn the walls of the precinct, and even the name of Amon-Ra is rarely used.

Osiris
The brother of Set is hated for banishing Set and stealing his sister-wife. By Setite lore, Osiris exiled his brother from the Black Land specifically in order to seize his property, and his wife, Nephtys, for himself. Human tradition states that Nephtys seduced Osiris by getting him drunk after Set could not provide her with a child, but

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to the Setites, the Dark Gods brother and sister conspired to be rid of him. Furthermore, with Set gone the kingdom fell out of balance, and Osiris became a bloodthirsty tyrant, a thousand times worse, say the Setites, than Set ever was or will be. In slaying Osiris, Set rendered a service to the Black Land. After his death, Osiris became the Lord of the Western Lands, ruler of the Duat. Set is content to let him remain so, while claiming dominion over the lands of the living for himself, but for his Followers life is a little more complicated. When a Setite falls into torpor, it is believed that his ba enters the Western Lands, where it must wander until his body is able to rise again. Setite funeral texts and observances are specifically geared towards ensuring that the wandering ba does not fall victim to Osiris servants in the West.

Nephtys
Nephtys is hated for her betrayal of the Dark God. Only a few Setites go so far as to say that Nephtys deliberately prevented herself falling pregnant by her true brotherhusband, but all recall that with Set barely gone from the kingdom she became pregnant by Osiris, bearing him a son; the god Anubis. Moreover, after Sets return Nephtys rejected his forgiveness which the prophets of Set insist would have been forthcoming and sided with Isis and Horus. The image of Nephtys a slender woman, very like Isis but bearing on her head a different hieroglyph is banned from all Setite temples. Furthermore, even to speak the name of Nephtys in the precinct is forbidden. Only Astarte comes close to attracting the sheer intensity of hatred from the Followers that Nephtys does.

Anubis
The jackal guardian of the necropolis and guide of the dead is thrice-over hated by the Setites. Firstly, he is the bastard spawn of Nephtys and Osiris, a walking insult to the Dark God. Secondly, he is the servant of Osiris. Finally, he walks in the shape of the Silent Striders as a jackal or a jackal-headed man the greatest of Sets modern foes.

Astarte
The second consort to betray Set, there are two versions of Astartes story. The first states that she was always the agent of Amon-Ra, and knew full-well that she was given to Set as a distraction. She was a spy in the Dark Gods bed, and when he turned on Amon-Ra she fled to him with the news. The second version says that she grew jealous of the favour which Anat enjoyed and turned on her husband out of spite and envy. This version barely mentions Apophis, and is taken by some to suggest that Astarte was one of Sets vampiric childer, as well as a goddess; as Anat is believed to be. Like Nephtys, Astartes very name is forbidden in the temple, let alone her image. She was once portrayed in a similar way to Anat, and the two goddesses are sometimes spoken of as sisters. False-sister is a common epithet for Astarte, counter to which Anat is True-sister. Astarte was as Anat a goddess both of sex and of war, and those who still worship her can be even more frightening than the Followers in the extremes of their devotion to these principles.

The Sword of Astarte

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Astarte has become the inspiration for one of the few organised cults of Innocent Setites. The Sword uses a mixture of humanist and warrior doctrines, and espouses a variant of the Path of the Warrior which rejects duty to Set in favour of duty to Astarte and the other enemies of Set. The Sword maintains no permanent temples, but worship around portable statues of the goddess. They have no full-time priesthood, but all members of the Sword act as wab. The Sword practice rites of sex and death, revering Astarte as warrior and lover. The older members of the sect, especially those who follow the Warrior Path, are fiercely fanatical and ruthless. A few Serpents of the Light are members of the Sword, but most members are independent Setites.

Horus
Perhaps the most despised of all deities is the One-Eye. Although the ShemsuHeru apparently believe Horus to be capable of defeating Set in battle, the Setites hold that Isis intervention is all that has kept Horus from joining his father in the Western Lands. Horus is seen by the Followers of Set as a child, naive and foolish, dominated by his powerful mother and dependent on her for support. Importantly, Horus is not despised for relying on another, or on a woman, but specifically because that woman is his mother. It should be understood that this does not mean that the Setites have no fear of Horus; when all is said and done, even a weakling god is still a god. The image of the falcon emblem of Horus, who can be depicted as a full human, a falcon or falcon-headed is not permitted within the Setite temple precinct. The nearest image allowed is that if the ba, which is seen as a bird with the head of the person to whom it belongs.

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Setite Religion and True Faith

Can a Setite possess True Faith in Set? It all depends. If the Storyteller believes that Set is just a vampire, and that the other gods of Egypt were either lesser vampires or mere spirits, then probably no. The faith is false, and it is unlikely that belief in a false god would produce the effects of True Faith. If however Set is deemed to be a god, along with all of the other members of the Egyptian pantheon, or if the Storyteller rules that Faith is a matter of personal belief instead of divine grace, then there is no reason why a Setite should not be able to possess True Faith. It is important to note however that Setite True Faith would be almost nothing like that possessed by the Judeo-Christian or Islamic faithful. For example, Setite Faith would be unlikely to be very effective at repelling vampires. The effects of a Setites True Faith would have to depend upon the gods towards whom the Faith was directed. A blessing in the name of Set, Anat or Sekhmet might grant strength in battle for example, while Hathor might grant success on a different field. Moreover, a Setites religion simply puts less value on force of belief than on ritual. A Setite would be unlikely to be able to simply wave a symbol around to achieve any effect, but would have to pray and make offerings, even if the Faith comes from personal belief. Unless the Storyteller decides that True Faith is a force flowing exclusively from the one true God, there is no reason why a Setite could not possess the trait in respect to the Egyptian gods. A player wishing to do so should however be aware of roughly how Egyptian religion operated, and understand that pious thoughts and abstinence would not be enough to rate True Faith in a Setite.

Setites and Voodoo

The Followers of Set were among the first Cainites to land in the New World in numbers, travelling across with the slave shipments to the West Indies. The slave ships actually provided a perfect mode of transatlantic transport, with their dark holds and the expected and accepted levels of fatality among the cargo making feeding a simple affair. Once in the New World, the Setites sought to establish their temples, but as the so-called Voodoo religions grew they adapted with the times. To the Setites of Haiti, the Loa became new faces for their ancient gods. Set and Hathor walked the land of this New World as they walked in the Old, and so their practices changed. The leader of this movement came to be known as Ghede to outsiders, but in fact he made no claim on God-hood. The piety and intensity of the Setites faith never wavered, and it is important in understanding the Setites of Haiti to realise that their worship of the Loa is absolutely genuine. The Followers of Ghede practice two variants on their rituals. The first is a private and pious celebration of their faith; the second is a form of pop-voodoo for the masses. The private rites borrow from the original Setite rites, as well as incorporating authentic and deeply spiritual elements from Voudun, Candomble and other West Indian religions. They are very serious religious practices, and most of the Setites Haitian recruits are attracted to this side of their worship. The other rites are altogether more showy. They can go through as many as twenty black cockerels (other roosters are often painted to make up the numbers, and in extremis a comb and wattle may be glued to an unsuspecting hen) in a night, and

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include a cocktail of varying parts ethnic costume, gratuitous nudity, glossalia, the eating of broken glass and coals, weird sexual performances and drug-use and abuse. Once used to control the simpler elements of the slave population without admitting them to the true rites, these performances have, in modern nights, become a tool to hook tourists in search of the exotic. The Setite Mumbos (as they call those blessed with the theatrical panache to lead these phoney performances) have learned well that the tourist mentality can be led into great depths of vice and depravity by the promise of the exotic and the genuine, and the assurance that there will be no difficulties with the law.

The Serpents of the Light

The Serpents of the Light fall loosely into two theological camps. The majority, especially of younger Cobras, deny the divinity of Set. He is to them no more (although certainly no less) than an ordinary Antediluvian. The oldest however, still hold in secret to the notion that Set is a god, and work harder than any other faction within the Sabbat to prevent the coming of Gehenna because of it. To the latter group, they have turned from worshipping a god to seeking his destruction, and nothing good can await them if he wins through. The Serpents of the Light often use voodoo as a means of gathering and controlling a herd, and of combating the influence of the orthodox priests, but as with the Haitian Setites, they do not scorn the deeper spiritual elements of the various religions. Indeed, the voodoo religions form an important prop for older Cobras, providing them with a focus to replace that which they have surrendered. For others, this focus is provided by the secular mysticism of the Sabbat itself, the performance of the Ritae replacing the Observances of Set in their unlives.

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Setite Ritual Texts

Setite religious practices have many textual sources. These sources have a wide variety of provenance, but most of those considered truly valuable are said to have been composed by Set, or by his childer and closest followers. A typical Setite text will have an original copy, this being the oldest known, and this original will usually be a tomb or temple inscription. Most of the copies circulating among the modern Followers of Set are written on papyrus scrolls, for the sake of longevity as well as tradition, for papyrus lasts many times as long as paper. The texts are the sources of the Setite Observances, and also contain long lists of the names of the gods, and involved accounts of the doings of Set and other mighty figures of Setite legendary. No Setite takes all of the books as gospel truth indeed, to do so would require a flexibility of belief beyond even that shown by a people who consider the sun to be a manifestation of more than three dozen different gods, whether concurrently or consecutively but most elders hold fast to the contents of their own favourites.

The Books of Sutekh

The most sacred of all the Setites sacred texts, the Books of Sutekh are said to be the keys to the power of Set himself; no less than the power of a god. In coded form they are said to contain his true name, and the true names of all things that are under his dominion. To read even a single spell from the books would unleash power beyond the ken of ordinary mortals and vampires. The Books are said to rest within the innermost sarcophagus of Set in his temple in Uganda. This lies within two other nested sarcophagi, which in turn are sealed within a great coffin of blood-red stone. Three shrines likewise nested one inside the other enclose the coffin, and all is set within the crypt of Sutekh, sealed by tons of rock and mortar and protected by deadly guardians and traps of devilish cunning. In these enlightened days, only the oldest of Setites truly believe that the Books of Sutekh exist. This has not stopped many people Setites and mortals alike from trying to find and recover the books, and many an Indiana Jones wannabe has met his end attempting to find and penetrate the temple of Set.

The Book of Going Forth By Night

The Spell For Going Forth By Day aka the Egyptian Book of the Dead is a massive collection of funerary spells (about two hundred in all) placed in the tombs of the dead from about 1700BC onwards. The Setite Book of or Spell For Going Forth By Night draws upon the much older Pyramid and Coffin texts which provide about half of the spells contained in the Book of the Dead. Whereas the Book of Going Forth By Day contains spells to allow the dead soul to pass through the trials of the underworld, be judged worthy before the God Osiris and pass forever as a blessed akh into the afterlife, the spell for going forth by night is intended to prevent the soul of a torpid or deceased Setite ever entering the court of Osiris to face his corrupt judgement. The book contains the observances to arrange, furnish and seal the crypt when burying a torpid vampire, and for their care and feeding while they wander in the West. It also contains the spells which the wandering soul must know in order to conceal his true identity from the servants of Osiris, and so pass safely through the Western lands and in time return to his body. The book was supposedly authored by

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Set himself, and carved into the walls of his temple at Memphis. Every temple has at least one copy of the book, etched into the walls of the crypt, and spells from the book are placed on the amulets and sarcophagi of torpid Setites.

The Typhonian Gospels

This is a series of texts, each said to have been authored by one who knew the will of Set. Taken together, these documents supposedly form a details account of Sets goals and plans, laid out for the lowliest to read, but there is considerable controversy over which texts count. There are twenty-one known Typhonian gospels, of which no group supports more than seven. The term gospel was actually applied to the texts not because they are gospel truth, but because like the Christian gospels no one seems sure which are valid, and you can never tell when another will turn up. Perhaps the most widely accepted of the gospels is the Gospel of Anat, followed by the Gospel of the Cobra (also reputed to be the work of one of Sets childer). The Gospel of Rameses, attributed to Rameses the Great, is commonly accepted as genuine, but not as the pure word of the Dark God. The Gospel of Set is thought to contain some of the actual words of Set, but recorded altogether too anally and thus including many deeply mundane statements, and lacking any theme or direction. For example, I hunger, in the third scroll, is thought by many to be a reference to the Dark God needing to feed at the time of dictation, rather than being a statement of his desire to consume the world.

The Cry to the Heir of Darkness

This is the poem used in performing the observance of the same name. Not only is the Cry said to be the work of Set himself, it is said that he carved it into the walls of the Memphis temple with his own hands.

The Song of Sutekh

Like the Cry to the Heir of Darkness, the Song of Sutekh is but a single devotional poem. Attributed to Nefertiti and dated to approximately 1300BC, the Song is a long and fabulously beautiful tribute to the majesty, nobility and power of Set, and is recited by many as a part of the Beautiful Festival of the Blood.

The Book of Anat

The premier source of Ecstatic practice, this work which includes the Gospel of Anat details the creed of the Path of Ecstasy, the importance of maintaining Maat and the observances of worship to Set and Anat as the divine couple. It is considered, along with the Cry and the Song, to be one of the most beautiful works in the Setite canon.

The Litany of the True and the False

This very important work is attributed to one Imsety, a high prophet of Sets temple during the reign of Rameses II. Although rejected at the time by mortal authorities, Imsetys work aroused the interest of Sets young childe, Nefertiti, and she ensured that it was preserved by the Setites long after the priests of Amon-Ra had demanded Imsetys death.

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The Litany contains observances and prayers to all of the deities worshipped by the Followers of Set, but more importantly, abjuring rites against the influence of his enemies, including Averting the Eye, Striking the Falcon and Cursing the Forgotten Name. It is also one of the few texts which expounds in detail on the crimes of the forgotten ones, Nephtys and Astarte.

The Book of Sutekh in the East

This book contains a series of ten warrior observances in the form of an allegorical chronicle of Sets doings and experiences in the Eastern realms during his exile. The observances mirror the deeds and trials of Set, and are performed on a weekly (ten day) cycle as the Acts of the Hunter.

The Book of Rising From the Darkness

This is the orthodox Setite source regarding the position of Apophis in Setite theology. It depicts the Serpent as a potent but primitive force, capable of overwhelming all but a handful of the gods by means of its hypnotic gaze and overpowering presence, which Set manipulated as part of his effort to topple the corrupt regime of the sun-god. There is no question that Set is superior to Apophis, and that the elements of Serpentis drawn from the powers of Apophis were taken from him by Set, not gifted by a benevolent Serpent to his underling. The book is said to have been composed by Nefertiti, c.1000BC, at the request of the Dark God, in order to combat the false doctrine of the Books of Apep (see below) and the spread among Typhonists of the Order of Apep. Parts of the text are said to be drawn from inscriptions at Memphis, while others were supposedly dictated by Set directly to his childe.

The Lotus Text

This volume is a comprehensive (and extensive) list of Sets consorts and paramours. It is considered of great importance because each goddess or princess mentioned in the text represents a greater conquest, but in all honesty it is primarily preserved for other reasons. The text goes into great detail regarding these liaisons, and this elements has led to its adoption as a form of Setite Karma Sutra; although calling it the Karma Sutekh is considered poor taste. It is also one of the only Setite religious texts disseminated beyond the Temple albeit in a much edited form where it enjoys an avid audience among jaded Cainites of all Clans.

The Nephtys Texts

This is a collection of stela prayers and tomb texts attributed to Nephtys herself, and as such its mere existence is considered almost blasphemous to the Followers of Set. Various forms and versions of the Nephtys texts exist, and they are about as compatible as the Typhonian gospels in places. It is forbidden for any Setite to keep such a text, and indeed it is the duty of all good Followers of Set to destroy any book even claiming to be the Nephtys texts. A number of copies do exist in Setite hands, but the spells and observances within them are not believed to function if a Setite attempts to practice them. It is a matter of some very circumspect speculation whether this is because Nephtys will not answer a Setite, or because Set will not allow the calls of his Followers to reach her. Those among the Innocent who still practice Setite-style worship and who study the art of Heka value these texts immensely.

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The Isis Mysteries

A broad catchall term, the Isis Mysteries are a vast collection of texts, linked by their attribution to Isis, or to the Cult of Isis who served as the keepers of the goddess arts when she passed beyond the mortal Realm to dwell in the West. They are mystery texts, and as such nothing within them is to be taken at face value, but to those with the skill and knowledge to read beneath the surface the Isis Mysteries represent one of the greatest concentrations of mystical lore in the world.. The body of Isis texts is vast; a complete set of Isis Mysteries would run to more than a hundred substantial volumes, but would contain the potential to grant incredible, even godlike power to the one who was able to decode their secrets. However, the spells and prayers contained within the Isis Mysteries are widely crossreferenced and inter-linked, such that fragments of the Mysteries are exponentially less valuable than the complete work. Although Isis is an enemy of Set, his Followers are actively encouraged to gather her mysteries together, in an attempt to unravel such secrets as the Spell of Life used in the creation of the Shemsu-Heru. The Innocent also value the Isis texts, if only for the sake of keeping them from the hands of the Followers of Set.

The Book of Thoth

According to hermetic scholars the receptacle of all the wisdom and power in the universe, the Book of Thoth is avidly sought after by the Setites. To the Followers of Set, the Book of Thoth contains the true names of everything in creation, even the gods themselves, and thus a copy of the Book would allow a skilled sorcerer to effectively control every creature, every spirit, every deity and every object in the universe. As with many of the oldest and most powerful of such legendary texts, most younger Setites refuse to believe a word of it.

The Book of Astarte

An Apocryphal Typhonian gospel, this is a text said to have been authored by Sets treacherous consort. It purports to be an account of the betrayals of Nephtys and Astarte, and depicts Set in a most unflattering light. According to the Book of Astarte, Set was a deeply flawed, jealous tyrant, who made a pact with Apophis to destroy Ra because he could no longer stand to serve the rightful king of the gods, but lacked the strength and courage to despatch him in person. The Book extols the sexual, generative nature of Astarte, and makes the claim that Set destroyed his own generative ability in his lust for power. It was because of this that Nephtys chose to bed Osiris, thus producing the god Anubis. The book is held to be the greatest of blasphemies by the Followers of Set, but it inspirational to the Swords of Astarte one of the few organised Innocent groups. The text also details a number of Astartite observances, mostly military or sexual in nature.

The Books of Apep

This series of texts relate to the practice of Apophis worship, the veneration of the underworld serpent. Despite the fact that Setite religion accepts the worship of the great serpent however, these books are considered blasphemous, because their contents imply equality of power between Apep and Sutekh. Only a few of the oldest, most fanatical Typhonists dare to hold and use these texts, which are the source of all the observances and rituals of the Order of Apep.

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Setite Practices
It is a popular misconception that the Followers of Set sleep in sarcophagi. They walk around in Egyptian garb, with their hands held together in an attitude of false supplication, offering free drugs, sex and services to all and sundry in dubious, sibilant accents; or something similar if less extreme. The Followers of Set make no attempt to dispel this image, since it is perhaps the best defence they have against other Cainites spotting them at work. Over the centuries, the Setites have honed the skills of seduction and corruption into art forms. Compared to the Setites, the Baali are amateurs and the Nephandi children. An elder Setite can turn black to white, right to wrong; he can take your most cherished values and make them seem worthless folly. Moreover, you probably would not notice him doing it. What follows is a distillation of a little of the wisdom of the ages; a summary of Setite methodology.

Precautionary Measures
A bloodline as widely despised and mistrusted as the Setites must needs act with care and discretion. It only takes a small slip to persuade a Sheriff or Prince that a Setite is a liability, and some will seize on any excuse to eliminate any member of the line. Consequently, the Setites have learned to work in the shadows.

Conceal your identity with care

Lie about your name, lie about your age, lie about your Clan, but be careful how you lie, and who you lie to. Names are a matter of choice to the Setites, since they would never give away their true name, and any other is merely a label. Consequently, they find it childishly simple to give a false name, since it is to them no more false than the one known to their closest friends. In terms of age, most Setites choose to either claim no knowledge of their exact age and Generation, or to keep silent about them altogether. Lying about Generation risks being caught out by suspicious Tremere, and although it can be explained by fear of diablerie, it is easier not to have to bother. As for Clan, again the favoured option is to begin by claiming to be Caitiff, although some play the Toreador line. As with Generation it is easy to explain why a Setite should hide her Clan, but better not to have to. A favoured tactic on entering a new town is to try and cultivate a local protector. Once the Setite has their trust, they tell their protector exactly who they are, but beg for indulgence and protection. This means that if the Setites secret comes out, she can state that an influential local has long known her secret, and rely on some support of her motives and good intentions.

Do not take your faith to work

While the Followers of Set are not in general given to hollow ritual, they have learned that talking too openly about their beliefs is one of the fastest ways to get killed. Discussion of the specifics of Sets worship is expressly forbidden beyond the temple precinct, but it is held to be wise to extend the principle to any discussion of Setite faith. In particular, it is felt unnecessary to inform outsiders that there is a temple within a city, save in exceptional circumstances. Those who do not feel it necessary to be so circumspect are known colloquially as Standard White Egyptians, and are considered something of a liability.

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The temple must be free from blame

Also known as dont shit where you eat, this principle regards hunting patterns. Setites are discouraged from regular feeding too near the temple precinct, as this may attract unwanted attention to the area. The same applies, only more so, to the gathering of sacrificial victims. In general, any activity which might draw the attention of Cainite authorities, mortal law enforcement or vampire hunters should be taken as far from the precinct as possible.

Have no idle dealings with the shapechangers

Alternatively: Do not taunt happy fun wolf. Of all the Clans, the Setites have the longest and most specific history with the Changing Breeds. While few other vampires know what a Tribe is, most Setites over about thirty years dead will be aware that their particular enemies are the Silent Striders. Most Setites believe that the Garou are a threat which must be stamped out, but notwithstanding general policy is that trying to take an active hand against them is more trouble than it is worth. The favoured tactic with the Garou is to attack them very subtly, by corruption where possible, and through intermediaries at all times. The Setites have also learned well to ensure when direct action is necessary that they do not stop until they have got all of them. Other shapeshifters are more of a mystery, although the elders of the Clan have considerable knowledge of the Bubasti. The general rule is to observe the highest degree of caution whenever dealing with shapeshifters, for they are among the most dangerous of foes. Few will take the risks involved in trying to strike allegiances with the Changing Breeds, regardless of the possible benefits.

Vice and Services

Be it sex, drugs, illegal weapons, child pornography or immigrant slave labour, the Setites have long excelled at the art of supplying just what is wanted. The usual progression is to find a mark, identify what they want, carefully advertise that you can supply it and then slowly begin squeezing. These are a few of the rules of such an approach.

Do your research.
Do not pick targets at random. Find a person who for a Typhonist can give you something you want, or who for an Ecstatic shows signs of suppressed vice. When you have your mark, dont strike at random; find out what he wants whether he would admit to wanting it or not and make certain that you can supply it. Identify and exploit the weaknesses in your targets armour, however great or small those chinks. To aid their efforts a number of modern Setites train and practice as psychiatrists or were already qualified therapists at the time of their Embrace enabling them to access the secret fantasies and desires of their patients. While the need to interview patients at night may seem odd at first, Setite psychiatrists often make it a part of their practice, spinning a line about the liberating influence of the night. Others work through ghouled or otherwise controlled mortal psychiatrists to gain similar information. Similarly, cab drivers, bartenders and others employed in similar service industries are frequently used as sources of information by Setites although it is rare for these types to be ghouled, unless perhaps the Setite runs a bar and has a few

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favourites among the staff. While it is very rare for a person to unfold their complete life story to a total stranger, these people are in a privileged position to pick up titbits from people while they are low and at their most vulnerable, and an accomplished Setite needs little more.

The first time is free.

A time honoured maxim of the drugs trade, adopted by industries as diverse as perfume sales, book clubs and collectable cards, this works well as a beginning. Any experienced Cainite will see through the trick, but against nave humans and neonates it is still a killer. The companion to this is hook them while theyre young, and this too is a staple of especially Ecstatic method. An addicted neonate is seen as an investment for the future. Although it will tend to make more cynical and experienced marks suspicious, this trick is good for establishing yourself in an area.

Wait to be asked.
People especially Cainites are apt to be suspicious of people offering to do anything for them. Experienced Setites never offer anything to anyone; instead they let it trickle out that they can do certain things, or supply certain merchandise, or have certain contacts something which the individual they have targeted wants and wait for their target to ask them if they can provide. Consequently most Setite pushers establish themselves with a number of other customers as means of concealing their interest in the mark. A patient Serpent may be operating for years before making contact with his target. This has the added advantage that such a mark will be far less willing to make a fuss by crying foul at a later date.

There is no such thing as a free lunch...

and even if there was, no one would trust it. Unless targeting a very nave mark (see The first time is free), always charge a hefty price. People trust what they pay for someone who would pay a psychiatrist five-hundred dollars an hour to listen to their personal hang-ups, fantasies and fetishes without fear of disclosure would be unlikely trust the same psychiatrist if she offered the same service out of the goodness of her heart. Consequently, it is always best to charge the highest competitive price for any goods or services you supply. It also pays to make it sound like you are making it sound like you are doing them a favour. In other words, always try to project a certain smugness covered by a cutting-my-own-throat expression. This maintains the impression that you are focused on getting the money, and as much money as possible, not on supplying the service however much you may be getting hosed.

Special services for special clients.

Once you have established a businesslike relationship with a customer, you can start doing favours. This can usually start with little extra services and discounts unexpected windfalls you are passing on to your best customers but the aim of this tack is to get to the point of offering the godfather of modern leverage: Credit. Once you can tell a mark you know theyre good for it, you can start racking up the account and interest. From there it is only a matter of time and patience before they try to persuade you to let them pay in some other way. There is also a certain skill in judging when a mark has reached the point at which they will fold if you ask them for payment in kind, as opposed to finding new

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strength. Many promising relationships have been squandered by asking for special forms of payment before the mark was too desperate to accede without really questioning why you want what you ask for. It can help to not go straight for the throat, but to ask for a few other favours ones which will arouse less suspicion but weaken the marks ability to threaten going to the Prince or an Archon as a prelude to really putting the screws on.

To a tourist, everything is for sale

A favoured tactic among Haitian Mumbos, this principle is based on the conviction in the tourists mindset that they are some kind of untouchable ambassador for their culture, and that even if they do anything bad it isnt really bad, because they can leave it behind when they go home. In addition, some tourists just want to experience everything, and can be easy to convince that without that little extra frisson their visit will have been wasted. Drugs, weird foods, weird sex, all of these are the staples of Setite practice, but some tourists will even attend acts of human sacrifice, or go so far as to commit acts which amount to rape or murder, secure in the knowledge that it will all be fine when we get home. Of course, it is not all fine, especially if the Setite has contacts where the tourist lives who can prey upon his guilty mind. There is of course an art to spotting the tourists who are prepared to go that extra mile for the authentic experience, but that is the sort of thing at which Ecstatics excel.

Sowing Doubt
A truly skilled Setite has no need of the trappings of the trader to corrupt minds and souls. Doubt is one of the Followers most powerful weapons, and many elders need nothing more than a few conversations to destroy the artificial value systems instilled by modern society. Especially favoured by Ecstatics, this method often has no particular aim save to force the separation of the virtuous and the venal. It can however be used as the first step towards recruiting an outsider into the Temple. Of course, if you go around telling people that their values are false, they are likely to argue. The real trick lies in getting them to question their own values. In the course of a conversation, the skilled Setite will probe gently to find the strengths and weaknesses in a persons beliefs, raise a few pertinent points and put a few wellcalculated questions and thereby set their mark on a road to questioning their own beliefs. This task is made even easier by the fact that so few people in the modern day truly know why they believe what they believe. The other tack is speaking with outright candour and conviction, and not allowing any argument. A skilled talker can reel off a long-winded and detailed account of his own beliefs without giving a listener any chance to reply or break away. The real trick is simply to be so plausible and confident that the listener never stops to think about whatever flaws and inconsistencies may exist in your argument until long after he has become sufficiently immersed to begin making excuses for you himself. In the modern day, the most effective variant on this theme is to get on TV, closely followed by writing a book on how the practices and wisdom of the Sethite Serpent Cults (or of course any chosen alternative belief system) can: a) change your life; or b) unlock the secrets of the Bloodline of Christ/Holy Grail/The Templars (who learned much from Set worshippers in Jerusalem, who imported the practices from Egypt when it was under the rule of Saladin dontcha know). The recent boom in selfhelp books, the resurgence of the acceptable face of paganism and even Satanism and the irresistible rise of cult archaeology has been a tremendous boon to the Setites.

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They have not been slack in cashing in on the hordes of people seeking a new wisdom by producing books which fill this need, and in doing so promote a freer, more natural value system. Actually, Set is usually left unmentioned in this approach, since it can cause people to freak out, given modern associations with Satan, and the outsider-vampires view of the Temple. A favourite alternative is the wisdom of Isis or Osiris, since this has the added benefit of sullying the names of those deities by association with whatever claptrap the Setite comes out with. The Templars are another favourite, simply because of their perennial appeal, as are attempts to portray the Egyptian gods as aliens.

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Serpents of Note and Infamy

Tony Griffin
And we can clearly see therefore that the holy spirit which entered the virgin was in fact the spirit of Tawaret, and the child that she bore was the child of the god Seth. - King of Gods, King of Men, Tony Griffin (1997, Mallard Press) English-born cult-archaeologist (or seeker of the truth in his parlance) Tony Griffin is the author of Barge of Infinity: The Intergalactic Journeys of Ra and Set (1991), The Engine of Osiris (1993), and the number one best-selling Eye of Ra (1995), in which he detailed the conclusive evidence left in the Earths geography and cultures of the savage rampage of the goddess Sekhmet. He was not a real archaeologist, having failed to graduate in Oriental Studies from Keeble College, Oxford in 1987, but he was a charlatan of considerable skill and charisma. He became moderately successful with Barge of Infinity, although his sales fell rather short of for example Von Danikkens, and gained a certain notoriety among trained archaeologists. He issued numerous invitations for Egyptologists to meet him in debate to refute his claims, treating their disdain as evasion. Engine of Osiris cemented his place in the hallowed ranks of cult archaeologists, and following its publication he made appearances at a number of pseudo-archaeological conferences. He even had a two part Channel 4 series based on Engine in 1994, which received a mixed critical reaction but appealed to the growing audience for such material. Engine was re-released in a TV tie-in edition, and when Eye of Ra was published it sold like hot cakes and received glowing acclaim from cult archaeologists Graham Hancock and Andrew Collins. However, when he approached them, Channel 4 said that they were not interested in budgeting him for a four-part series on Eye of Ra. This fact became public, and damaged Griffins credibility. In early 1996 he was seeking a new angle, and was beginning a move into a more spiritual vein, seeking to distance himself perhaps from his recently unearthed first book: The Pyramids of Eternity (1989). Pyramids was a science fiction prequel to the classic Dr Who story Pyramids of Mars, published as part of an anthology of work by student authors, but it bore more than a passing similarity to the facts presented in Barge of Infinity. It was at this time that he met Susan Nefertiri, a new age occultist who supplied him with just the angle he needed. Susan introduced Tony to Set worship, and in so doing became his muse. Feeding him a somewhat bastardised reinterpretation of Sets story, her material spawned King of Gods, King of Men (1997), and its follow-up The Hand of the Gods (1997). These books take the familiar theme of the lost bloodline of Christ and expand it backwards to make Jesus the scion of Sets line, depicting Mary as an incarnation of Tawaret. A darling of the alternative history scene, Tony Griffin is at the forefront of the Setites move into the realms of cult archaeology. He was Embraced by Susan Nefertiri while halfway through the writing of King of Gods, King of Men. Today he continues to churn out books and to make personal appearances, giving lectures to packed halls, which typically run late into the night.

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Mont
The man who was to become the highest-ranking member of the Warrior Path, Zine Mor was born in Tunisia in 1745, and his father became the ghoul of a Setite named Mata a year after his birth. Mata, one of the Medjay, employed first the father, and later the son as well, as a guardian of his haven. He quickly came to consider the father as no more than a servant, finding him too weak for any greater purpose, but the boy he groomed and eventually took as his childe. Embraced in 1860, Mont has since become a paragon of the Warrior Path. His devotion to his duty has included the slaying of his renegade father, the destruction of a Theophidian Apep cult in Libya, appointment as nww, assistant to the kenbet of the First Nome, and finally his appointment as successor to the kenbet on his retirement into torpor. As a consequence of the Warrior Paths strict codes on priestly advance, Mont accepted the promotion on the sole condition that he not be considered a full prophet, but should remain a wab until such time as his journey along the Warriors road be complete. Some question the suitability of a warrior for the diplomatic elements of the kenbets duty, but Mont has cultivated a fierce, direct, in-your-face approach, which serves well to convince listeners that he is both committed to his duty and fundamentally guileless. His attitude has been likened to that of a maverick movie cop, and while few people could be said to like or truly trust him, most feel confident that what they see is what they get. The truth is of course subtler, and Mont is quite capable of both outright lying and manipulation of the truth to get what he or rather the temple wants; he merely finds it useful to be considered a simple man.

Heth/Hathor
The elder known privately as Heth, and publicly as Hathor, is surrounded by rumour. An Arab-Caucasian half-caste, born in the late twelfth century, she is said to be the daughter of the great Saladin and a Christian slave. She is likewise said to have been trained in the arts of corruption, seduction and intrigue by Nefertiti herself. Many tales are told of her successful activities in the Almohed Empire, and the politics of the Medieval Mediterranean, but it was her actions in Greece in the late eighteenth century which secured her place in Setite history and legend. It was there and then that she met and seduced the young Silent Strider DragonWalking. With his aid she formed the cult known at first as the Benu, and later as the Dragons Path. This sect has spread like a canker in the Silent Strider Tribe, and while still not extensive has proved a great source of tribulation to the Setites ancient foes. To this day the Path endures, preaching the reuniting of the Egyptian people: Setites and Silent Striders standing as one against foreign Garou and Cainites alike. Hathor remains the Paths high priestess, and a significant part of its strength is engaged in her defence. Her success is considered an unadulterated triumph for the self-perpetuating corrupting methods of the Path of Ecstasy, and has ensured her continued favour. She currently operates a series of night-clubs, through which she supplies the means for others to indulge their vices.

The Hand of Set

One of the great bogeymen of the Setite world, the Hand of Set is said to be the eldest living childe of Set. If he exists then he is millennia old, and he is the sacred assassin of the Dark God. The tjaty seem to believe in him, but few younger Serpents do, and his name has become almost a byword for an imaginary enemy.

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But speak of the Hand of Set to an Elder-Snake, and he will blanche, and pray a little harder at his shrine that night. To the Elders the Hand is no joke, but the manifestation of their blackest fears. Bereft of his own self, the Hand is a virtual extension of his masters will, the bringer of brutal death to those who defy the Dark God. The true nature of the Hand is unknown, for none are believed to have met him and lived.

Swallower-of-the-Sun
All cultures have their folk heroes, and their folk villains, and Swallower-of-theSun is a little bit of both. A legendary figure, Swallower-of-the-Sun earned his name by tricking the priests of Amon-Re into believing he had consumed the sun by a cunning illusion of smoke and mirrors. He is said to be able to open his jaw in the manner of the snake, and swallow a man whole. He is said to have once vomited a lion from his jaws, to have turned cities into deserts and deserts into oases. If Swallower-of-the-Sun had done even half of the things attributed to him, he would have to have lived twice as long as the Dark God himself. Swallower-of-the-Sun is an ambivalent figure in many ways. Although a committed foe of Amon-Re, his serpent jaw smacks a little too much of Apophis, and he is sometimes described as Apeps Throat. His connections with the Bane Mummy Amam the Devourer are also a subject of some debate. In these nights it is at least as common to hear Swallower-of-the-Sun invoked as a bogeyman as the Hand of Set, yet he is at the same time held up as a shining example of what a Setite of true drive and ambition can become.

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Appendix
Descent into the Western Lands - Torpor
All vampires fear torpor, for it renders them helpless before their foes. Very few however fear this state with such intensity as the Followers of Set. Like all Cainites, Setites fear to leave their physical body exposed and impotent, but beyond this it is their belief that while the body lies in torpor the ba wanders in the unearthly paradise of the Western Lands. While this may sound all well and good, for the Followers of Set it presents a grave peril, for the Western Lands are the domain of Osiris. When a Setite falls into torpor as a result of injury, his body is taken if possible with all speed to the crypt of his temple. If he can not be revived, then his body is prepared for interment and he is left to recover as any other Cainite would be. However, during the interment, a number of ritual acts are performed in order to keep the ba of the fallen serpent safe until it returns to his khet. The ideal arrangements are as follows. Firstly, the body is embalmed, and the organs removed and stored in canopic jars bearing the images of the Handmaidens of Set. If possible, the heart is removed from the chest by a Setite with the Serpentis power Heart of Darkness, and stored in the fifth jar, bearing the head of the Dark God himself. The body is preserved in natron and other chemicals and wrapped completely in bandages. Amulets and other protective talismans are placed within the bindings, which both protect the torpid Setite and serve as a conduit for the Observance of The Feast of the Ka. Then, the Setite is placed in an anthropomorphic coffin, with his head resting upon the scrolls of the Prayer for Going Forth By Night. The words of the text are for preference also inscribed upon the inside of the coffin, along with images of the Handmaidens and prayers of protection. Once sealed, the coffin is placed in a stone sarcophagus, also inscribed with protective spells. Particularly wealthy or influential Setites may have several coffins nested one within the other. A shrine is constructed around the sarcophagus, and the crypt is resealed as the burial party leaves. The first advantage of these preparations is that the body of the Setite does not decay, even if forced to go without blood. The disadvantage is that it becomes more difficult to rise from torpor. The Setite must regenerate his lungs, stomach, liver and intestines before he can rise to seek his heart, requiring the expenditure and thus the supply of at least ten blood points over and above that expended normally. Once the organs are regenerated, the body of the Setite will begin to decay if he is denied further blood and does not rise, although at half the normal rate. The main advantage however is that the Setite is protected against attack by the minions of Osiris in the Western Lands. A Setite ill-prepared for the journey risks the destruction of the ba, leaving the khet a helpless shell, and at best can expect a long and difficult sojourn. With the proper preparations however, the Setite is equipped with all of the protective amulets and spells required to pass for the dead soul of a worshipper of Ra, Horus and Osiris, and will pass safely and swiftly through the perils of torpor. In game terms, the risks are really down to the Storytellers discretion. If he decides that the perils of the Western Lands are all a figment of foolish Setite superstition, then these elaborate preparations are a kind of comfort blanket, albeit an expensive one. If on the other hand he should prefer to treat the Western Lands as

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a reality, then an unprepared Setite could be psychically damaged, or even destroyed. In the right circumstances, a Storyteller could even run a few sessions as a kind of spirit-quest in which the Setite would have to negotiate the perils of the underworld.

New Abilities
Funerary Arrangement (Skill)
Master; may I ask a question? Of course, the embalmer replied, without looking up from his work. How else shall you learn? With painstaking care, he removed the heart from the prophetess chest and handed it to his Childe, who placed it carefully in a clay jar with a murmured prayer before continuing with her question. Why dont we just place her in the crypt? Her body wouldnt decay and it surely would be easier for her to recover if her body were intact. Easier? The elder replied coolly. Yes, it would be easier, if not for the fact that an illprepared Setite would be overwhelmed and destroyed in the West by the hordes of Osiris. He looked up at the young serpent before him. One day you too will fall into torpor, he told her. Pray that you have someone as conscientious as I to tend you when you do. More than the simple, scientific mortuary preparation and chapel booking of the modern day, this is the ancient art of mummification and interment, both according to Osirid and to Setite funerary practice. The preparation of embalming oils and powders, the ritual removal and preservation of the organs, the winding of the cloths, the arrangement of the protective amulets within the bindings, the laying out and decoration of the tomb, the prayers for the dead and the rituals of internment are all included under this general heading. Novice: Your skill is limited, but you are a useful assistant. Practised: You would be entrusted with the internment of a loyal retainer. Competent: A Setite would not take it as an insult for you to prepare his body for torpor. You would be permitted to embalm those sacrificed as Sets servants. Expert: A worshipper of Bastet would let you embalm her cats. Master: You could embalm and eel given cause. An elder would entrust her torpid khet to your keeping. Possessed By: Setites, Mummies, Children of Osiris, Rare Scholars. Specialities: Preparations, Tomb Layout, Amulets, Prayer and Ritual (Osirid or Setite).

Scribe-craft (Knowledge)
This Knowledge (which overlaps considerably with the Knowledge Ancient Languages, and even Linguistics) specifically covers the many dialects and forms of hieratic and hieroglyphic scripts used by the ancient Egyptians. For a Setite, it also covers knowledge of the language and accompanying hieratic script used exclusively by the sesh in internal communications of the Temple. The composition of any but the shortest hieroglyphic text takes hours of painstaking work, and the finished text is usually a work of great beauty, especially if the writer is also artistically-gifted. Hieroglyphic scripts are used only for religious and magical texts. Hieratic is a quicker, everyday script, and is used in composing more mundane documents. This Knowledge may also encompass various languages and forms of cuneiform and hieroglyphic script used from Syria-Palestine to Assyria and Babylonia. It should be noted that taking into account time periods and regional variation the number of such languages is vast, but that only a few have survived in written form to any degree, making translation and understanding difficult to say the least. Some Setites may use the more obscure forms of Aramaic or Assyrian as personal codes. This Knowledge may be complimented by History (Egyptology or Assyriology speciality), and such a combination would be possessed by anyone pursuing an Oriental Studies course at university. Most such students would also be able to read and write fluent German and/or French although their spoken language might not be so good as a great many of the more important works in the field including many site reports are written in these languages. Student: You know one or two dialects and scripts around a single language. Degree: You know one or two languages and most of their more common associated dialects and scripts, and can begin to make educated guesses to related forms.

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Masters: You know up to four languages with most of their scripts and dialects. This is the minimum level of this Knowledge for a character to represent a trained sesh with knowledge of the specific language of the Setites. Doctorate: You may know as many as six Oriental languages and their associated scripts and dialects. Scholar: You know as much about Oriental language and writing as anyone on the planet, including fluency in more than six such languages and their various forms. A mere handful of individuals possess this level of knowledge who did not speak at least one such language as a native. Possessed By: Old Setites, Sesh, Old Serpents of the Light and Innocents, Orientalists. Specialities: Theban, Memphite, Setite, Syrian, Aramaic, Hittite, Hyksos, Assyrian Other dialects.

Setite Theology (Knowledge)

So what you are saying master, the apprentice said. Is that while the sun is always Ra in his barque, it is also the One-Eye in the Horizon, the eye of the One-Eye and of Ra and of Ra. And at the same time the body of Sekhmet, who is the Eye of the Sun? Is that right? That the sun is five different things, including three times over its own eye? No; of course not, her Sire replied, laying a gentle hand on the girls shoulder. He winked conspiratorially. But I think that is as many as you need to deal with for now. This Knowledge represents detailed understanding of Setite religion and religious practice. It includes knowledge of the Clans legendary history, of the roles and natures of the gods, and of the meaning and method of the Observances. Without this knowledge, the most detailed and accurate performance of any observance is a hollow sham. Semedet: You understand that Set is a god, and one of many, and that the priests know more. Wab: You know at least one version of the Setite origin myth in full, and the common names of Set. You have sufficient understanding to perform Lesser and assist in General Observances. Prophet: You know several versions of the Setite origin, and how to accommodate all of them. You know all of the names of Set. You may perform General and assist in Festival Observances. High Prophet: You have mastered the theological double-think necessary to reconcile numerous versions of any mythic event without having to choose between them. You may perform Festival Observances. Tjaty: You have some inkling of the true will and nature of the Dark God. Possessed By: Setites, Old Serpents of the Light and Innocents. Specialities: The Cults of Specific Deities, Apepism, Astartism, Typhonism, Ecstatic Theology, Medjay Theology.

The Khopesh
Why do you carry that thing? The Typhonist asked in a short-tempered hiss, hefting his 9mm. This is the twentieth century. Why do you still pray to Set? The Medjay asked him in return. His face contorted in fury. Tradition, she said, answering her own question. And because it is the true way. Besides, she gave an evil smile as she brandished the khopesh in her left hand, and drew a massive handgun with her right. The Typhonist looked at his own gun, feeling slightly inadequate. Once I knock them down, I need something to take their heads off with. This Egyptian sword is a sickle-like weapon. They are forged in a variety of sizes, traditionally from bronze, although modern Setites have not eschewed the use of stronger steel and alloys. It is used one-handed and inflicts Strength+1 to Strength+3 damage,

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depending on size. While most Setites prefer handguns for convenience and practicality, the Medjay cling rigidly to the khopesh, and most Warriors will carry one at their hip; usually next to a .45 or an SMG. The khopesh is also the only weapon permitted in the inner areas of the temple, and all Medjay will carry one at major festivals.

The Fatal Pleasure

Whats happening to me? Vic demanded. The lawyer looked terrible, eyes sunken, skin sallow. He was plainly suffering from some form of flu which his system was no longer able to fight. All fight was gone from him; now he would do whatever she asked, including betraying each and every one of his professional confidences. Youre dying, Chandra replied succinctly, wondering if this could really be the same man she had once found so attractive. Youll die without it. She pushed the cup across the table. Vic stared at it for all of a second, then swept it up and drank greedily. As he fell into the Bliss, Chandra saw the life returning visibly to his limbs. She clucked her tongue impatiently; he bored her now. It must have been his defiance she had found attractive, his refusal to submit to her. Such a waste. The Setite superdrug is perhaps their most vicious weapon. It is not used often, being expensive to produce and risky to employ, but when it is, it rarely fails to be effective. A reddish-black paste, the fatal pleasure has a slightly sickly odour and a sweet taste. It is taken orally, mixed with warm milk, and is ineffective against the undead, unless taken through the blood of another. A person who takes the fatal pleasure experiences three effects. First comes what modern Setites call the Bliss; a feeling of intense euphoria and total relaxation. The traditional name for this first phase is Anat in the arms of Set. This lasts for some five to ten minutes, depending on the users constitution, before slowly fading, to be replaced by the Rush, otherwise known succinctly as Anat seeking the love of Set in the wilderness. During the Rush, the user finds all of his senses heightened to an incredible degree. The slightest sensation becomes a rush of feeling somewhere on the threshold between pain and pleasure. The Rush lasts for up to six hours, again depending on constitution, before it begins to fade. During this time, the user craves sensation, and will seek out any sensual experience he can find. In particular, sex and violence sequentially or simultaneously have been observed to exhibit a powerful attraction to one in the grip of the Rush. Once the Rush fades it leaves a residual high known either as the Buzz, or as Anat in the blood of her kill. For anything up to a week after the drug is taken, the user experiences a limited version of the Rush. Everyday experiences become sources of sensual pleasure, and the user also feels a sense of heightened awareness and potency which results in a general feeling of strength and wellbeing. But as the Buzz fades, the user begins to doubt his new-found confidence, and to crave a return to that elevated state. After the first use wears off, the user feels depressed and enervated, but nothing more than. Each successive use of the drug strengthens the feeling however, and after a second use, a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) is required to resist the temptation to seek out another fix. A third use increases the difficulty to 8, and a fourth to 9. After the fourth use however, the Jones is the least of the users worries. Once the fourth dose has been taken, the users physical withdrawal becomes life-threatening. The users body begins to turn against itself, depleting blood, bone marrow and most

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especially the pituitary gland. The immune system begins to fail, and there is a real chance of death unless another fix is obtained. System: Whilst in the grip of the Bliss, the user is almost completely helpless. Even serious injury will not make a dent in the euphoria, and he could easily bleed to death in total contentment. The Rush heightens perception but dulls awareness, adding 2 dice to all Perception rolls, but reducing any Wits or Dexterity roll by the same amount. Wound penalties are ignored however. The Buzz is like a lesser Rush. The user in this state adds 1 die to all Perception rolls, and reduces Wits only by the same amount. Any wounds cause an additional one die penalty, because the senses are heightened without the extreme disassociation of the Rush. Once the fourth dose is taken, the user must make a Stamina roll once each day after the Buzz fades, difficulty 6. If he goes two weeks without failing any of these rolls, or the Willpower rolls to resist seeking out another dose, the addiction fades. Any failed roll prevents the user healing any wounds that day, by any means short of Disciplines or magic. Three failures in a row cause the user to lose a point of Stamina. Lost Stamina is regained when the user receives another dose of the Fatal Pleasure. However, for each additional dose, the difficulty of the Stamina roll increases by one, to a maximum of nine. After nine doses, the physical need for the drug can no longer be shaken; the user is irretrievably hooked on the fatal pleasure.

The Children of Apophis

A powerful blow of the hammer drove the nail completely into the wood of the crate top. With a fervent prayer, the elder held out a hand to his Childe. She picked up the last nail, the metal minutely carved with the hieroglyphs of a prayer of binding, and passed it to her Sire. She was as discomforted as he, because she had never seen him so afraid. Is it not dead? She asked him, as the final stroke drove the last nail home. The crate contained a sarcophagus, set with a great seal, inverted to keep its occupant in. Within the sarcophagus were three nested coffins of rare woods and metals, bound about with prayers and spells. Within the innermost coffin, lay the body of a man, so hideously injured that it was barely recognisable. Yes, he replied, gesturing for his ghouls to place the crate in a further receptacle; a shipping container. But such things have a way of not staying dead. Ever. Of all the acts of Set, only one is openly regarded by the majority of Followers as a mistake. The creation of the Bane Mummies. According to Setite lore, the Dark God once seized what he believed to be the Great Rite from the cult of Isis, the spell required to create an immortal Shemsu-Heru. He was deceived however, and the seven servants that he slew and revived became the Bane Mummies8; twisted, immortal abominations, living only to bring to others some measure of the suffering which they endure every second of their existence. By their creation, Set unleashed upon the world a plague without cure. Virtually indestructible, awesomely powerful, utterly evil; the seven Bane Mummies are doubtful allies at best. Tainted by Apophis, they spend their deaths in the belly of the great serpent. Even when they are regenerated, it is difficult for them to return to the world of the living, for their ties to Apophis hold them to him. To further insure against their
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Mummy.

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return, the Temple makes every effort to gather the Children of Apophis together, and keep them from regenerating their ba and their khat. They are kept in a special crypt, buried deep beneath the House of Set in Uganda. This crypt is bound with spells of awesome magnitude, designed expressly to prevent the ba of the Bane Mummies exiting or entering the chamber. The observance of Striking the Serpent is performed daily at the House of Set, and regularly at temples around the world. On very rare occasions a crisis may arise which is considered so grave that the use of the Bane Mummies can be justified. When this is the case, one of the contained Mummies is sent out from the crypt, and a sorcerer performs the Rite of Calling up the Great Servant. The Bane Mummy is aided in his release from Apophis and his return to the world, and bound to perform one task for the summoner. Once that task is done however, he becomes an enemy once more, and is hunted down and returned to the crypt. Some believe that releasing the Children is never worth the risk, but enough Typhonists refuse to acknowledge that Sets judgement should have erred so completely to keep the Seven in circulation. Unfortunately, retrieving the Bane Mummy is rarely easy, and each time one is released, the risk is run of it gaining its freedom. Currently, only five of the seven are contained, Amam the Devourer and Saatet-ta the Darkener of the Earth being unaccounted for. Saatet-ta a mistress of deception and illusion seems simply to have given her custodians the slip after being raised in the late 70s, but Amam is believed to have been aided in his latest disappearance by the Order of Apep. The task of returning the Bane Mummies to the keeping of the House of Set is primarily the responsibility of the one who applies for permission to raise each one. In the event that one of the Seven escapes however, the hunt for them is entrusted to the Sa-per. Somewhat analogous to the Camarillas alastors, the Sa-per are chosen by the Tjaty in the fervent hope that their services will never be required. The Sa-per of whom there are rarely more than two or three at any one time are united only in their belief that no circumstance justifies the release of one of the Children of Apophis.